Lukashenko under pressure as rival protests planned in Belarus capital

By Andrei Makhovsky MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was under growing pressure on Sunday with rival protests due to converge on the capital a week after a contested presidential election that has thrown his country into turmoil. Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, has faced down a week of street demonstrations and refused demands for a re-run of an election protesters say was massively rigged to disguise the fact that he has lost public support. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote. Often emotional in state TV appearances, the 65-year-old leader has alleged a foreign-backed plot to...