the russian president alexander looking shanker accuses nato of a military buildup amid huge protests calling for him to step down. bombs a robber you want you all to serialize my headquarters here in doha coming up in the next 30 minutes japan suffers its worst economic contraction in decades as the coronavirus pandemic batters business and exports also u.s. politicians are being recalled from their summer break to vote on laws to protect

the postal service amid controversy over mail in voting. i want near a word get in there but. i have 7 years of. going on and god in a matter of seconds we meet some beirut residents who've lost everything they've ever worked for. both of the program a day after reaching out to russia for support the president of bella ruse has accused nato of deploying tanks and troops on the country's western border alexander lukashenko is facing unprecedented public protests as more than 200000 people joined a demonstration in the capital minsk calling for his resignation a week after his disputed reelection never dence is mounting that look at shame because critics are being arrested and beaten protesters want look at shankar to

face justice for the alleged torture but he's not backing down a step bassam reports from minsk. they went from fear. defiance and from sadness to anger in just one week. never before have so many people in bellows taken to the streets to protest hundreds of thousands marched through the main avenues of minsk to demand the president look up to step down. we won't forgive you de chant the accounts of torture and abuse of thousands of detainees has also and good lookers shanker supporters and people who were never interested in politics were protesting here against the bouncers happening is the reason we acknowledge that people can have different political views and preference us but under no condition can people be beaten up and raised in the police station as in eyes and ears and he must go away we don't need and as a blood with just me and peace and where. we want just honestly

election whilst the planet the kind of guy the woman many voted for in last weekend's election has gone into exile a campaign among kolesnik over addresses the crowd. cheered she was the more we go on expressing our dissatisfaction the sooner change will come. for the 1st time in 26 years we feel that we are a free european nation and we are together together we shall win. i mentioned seeing 7 minutes silence changed into one we find only 5 words i'm sorry i'm going to be the sake i'm. in a desperate attempt to show he still has support because shankar organized

a pro-government rally earlier in the day a few 1000 people were brought in on buses and trains and you pretty much though they don't understand they're tearing the country apart. there will be no below rooms the embattled president sounded emotional and wondered again that foreign forces are trying to destabilize belarus for the i don't know them to jets are on standby within 15 minutes reachable border this is not for nothing nato forces a rattling tank tracks at our doors military power is building up on the western border of our country his words were lost on these protesters they called for a strike and to continue demonstrating for as long as the president clings onto power step last and al-jazeera. the crew of our responder because her huge impact on the walls 3rd largest economy japan just announced its worst contraction in decades its economy has shrunk by a historic 7.8 percent in the 2nd quarter or at an annualized rate of 27.8

percent analysts say the pandemic has caused a slump in personal consumption including restaurants tourism and other sectors it's also resulting in a sharp drop in exports of cars and car parts michael penn is president of the should get soon news agency he says it'll take some time for japan's economy to recover. japan seen nothing like it since the country was destroyed in world war 2 so yeah i'd say you very much fits within the the bounds of what's historic and in the case of japan it's not simply a function of the krona virus so though this last quarter clearly was relayed that japan's recession actually began in october of last year when the when the government raised the consumption tax rate from 8 to 10 percent so essentially it took a big hit in the last quarter of 2019 and then the coronavirus effect began to come

in in 2020 so the japanese economy is in a world of hurt yeah japan does seem to have had some particularly i would say somewhat unique features that make it harder for it to recover than perhaps some other advanced g 7 countries so for example you know the japanese business technologies were generally although japan you know you have an image of japan's and high tech country probably in terms of the way that it functions in its daily business practices it's actually been very low tech you know some decades behind you know uses a fax machines and and all face to face there was never really a chance a move towards digitization that was done here in a serious way and so i think that one of the major problems they faced is that when people had to move to teleworking and people had to move to more digital solutions japan was pretty unprepared for that compared to other advanced economies new benches making the use of face must mandatory in public spaces across spain have

slowed protests and madrid thousands of people took to the streets of the spanish capital they chanted slogans denying the existence of the punjab because accusing the government of violating their rights saying that recorded nearly $3000.00 cases on friday bringing the total to mold and 340000 the highest in western europe. continues to spread across latin america. the fatigue restriction orders have sparked protests in the colombian capital. has more from. the streets have been cordoned off in this commercial area of central as another 2 weeks long lockdown comes into effect in 7 neighborhoods of the city shops are closed but hundreds of informal vendors are still trying to sell their products. police on foot and motorcycles pushing them away. we haven't received any help from the mayor we were

promised $20.00 a month and food aid i haven't seen it we need to be outside working because hunger doesn't wait. on saturday dozens of shop owners took to the streets to protest against the new measures they dressed in mourning saying they were staging a funeral for the dying retail business in the city. every day the corn team is killing off the retailers the retailers can't take it anymore we have to pay rent. growing in this in other countries in latin america as a struggle to deal with persistent high levels of infection or well. as mayor said she hoped this will be the last lockdown before cases start to decrease in september she asked people to be patient as the city goes through the peak of the outbreak. also reinstated some stay at home

orders mandatory lock downs are being imposed on sundays and family reunions have been banned as cases soar once again you know a country with one of the highest number of deaths per capita and where people advocate nor the rules. fine but people don't listen they say sanction people but do you think those who have family. getting being sanctioned no nothing happens left in america is accounted for almost half of all the coronavirus related deaths in the world in the past 7 days an alarming trend that has left most governments with few options but to remain pows restrictions which have become increasingly difficult to enforce alison the template to just you know what that new zealand's prime minister has delayed his election by for weeks as the country looks to contain a 2nd quote a virus our break just and our turn says that she made the decision to push back september's election after consulting with rival political parties and the

electoral commission becomes a new zealand largest city all plans went back into lockdown following a new break of cases order and says the election won't be delayed a 2nd time. the u.s. house of representatives is being recalled to vote on legislation to protect the postal service the postmaster general an ally of president trump has made cutbacks to the department and has been summoned to testify before a congressional committee it comes as protesters accuse louis to joy of trying to sabotage the mound that work ahead of november's presidential election like kind of has more from washington d.c. . for the 2nd straight day protesters gathered outside the postmaster general's home they accuse him of sabotaging the postal service with a view to restricting mail in ballots in the election essentially backing president trump in what many view as naked voter suppression he encouraged you don't have the

right you know where we're not frogs slowly boiling in a pot we see what's happening and we're going to fight against it we're going to exercise our vote and we're going to get rid of this corrupt. a president created this situation and then my estimation and many others i mean this is it's it's a maneuver by him to. to improve his chances in the election and of it's all it's all about he and mr de joy there they're pulling the strings here. democrats in congress of mt summoned louis de joy to appear before an oversight committee in a week's time and if mr joy refuses to appear. he should be stamped return to sender he shouldn't be allowed to be the postmaster general if there are all this destruction he can answer to the american people what he is doing the

oversight committee chairperson carolyn maloney has also proposed to pull that would reverse the changes detroit has made since taking over in may be using clude an end to overtime the firing all reassignment of senior managers the decommissioning of at least 10 percent of automatic mail sorting machines and even the removal of large numbers of mail boxes all this he has maintained in the interest of cost cutting house speaker nancy pelosi says she's calling house members to interrupt their summer recess later in the week to vote on the bill the postal service is the only government department with a public approval rate of over 90 percent and pelosi has move puts immense pressure on the republican controlled senate to also return from recess and consider the bull or face

a massive public backlash if passed by the senate the final question will be whether it would be signed into law by president trump who has expressed full support and confidence in a postmaster general who is both a major donor and friend mike hanna al-jazeera washington well still ahead here on al-jazeera troubled waters why garza's fishermen are caught up in cross border financing with palestine and israel. and demanding a new election than constitutional reform her students are leading the call for change in thailand to stay with us. hello the united states is definitely a country of 2 hols at the moment across the north and through much of the east the southeast in particular some pretty strong thunderstorms some flash floods have

certainly occurred as well particularly into the midwest and then out across the west it is dry and it is hot now of course the fire danger remains very extreme but of course down by the coast very pleasant helping starting to cool down the temperature is really all very high as much as 10 degrees above average and this is one particular very close to the to the border in california not far out and just look at the size of this in fact the $9000.00 have been what you're looking at that is actually a fun nato which is exactly what it sounds like it's a column of fire that twists and spins just like a tornado say some very extreme weather for a fire for the next few days across the entire area it is dry the winds are gusting the humidity is low in the town which is all very high look about $46.00 in phoenix about 6 degrees above the average discussion you shot across the south are really the bulk of the rains working their way through the midwest and through eastern as a kind of. 3 cheese day and still there's a rash of thunderstorms across the southeast some heaviest cells like you crossed

into florida as i say that also flash flood warnings in place meanwhile it's hot and dry out across the west. rewind returns with a new series. and brand new updates on the best about his english documentaries. and. rewind continues we have to be an afghan and have a president that has not and this is the powder's day hour by hour by life that was a real turning point because that gives them a lot of confidence that they can beat any team in a shoe on al-jazeera. or. hold.

welcome back you're watching al-jazeera with me as a whole robin a reminder of our top stories seen the largest protests yet against alexander lukashenko 7 days after the election in which he declared an overwhelming victory and we still positioned say it was rigged but the longtime leader told supporters he would be calling a new election and accuse nato of mobilizing the forces of the border the quote a virus pandemic has had a huge impact on the world's 3rd largest economy japan's gross domestic product shrunk by a record 7.8 percent in the 2nd quarter. of the u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi says the chamber will vote later this week on legislation to protect the postal service is a bit claims that president trump is using it to suppress many voters. thousands of people have joined student led rallies and thailand's capital calling

for political reform the biggest anti-government protest in years that abandoning a new election and the bended constitution and this way he reports from bangkok sometimes a touching a sensitive subject with calls for reform of the molecule. in big numbers they came to the center of bangkok to escalate their call to change protesters gathered around democracy monument a symbol of what they say thailand doesn't have. i can't pick the fact that the government is so corrupt it's been in power for far too long and things aren't getting any better. after weeks of peaceful protests led mainly by students this was by far the largest and most diverse attracting thais from different sectors of society including other groups who staged mass rallies in the past. i'm glad more people have come out today the pair of young people and students alone can't force change we need everyone to work together. the protesters say

thailand's entire political system needs to change including the monarchy it's a dangerous and sensitive issue to take on because the royal family is protected by strict laws designed to prevent criticism demonstrators also want the government gone and on thursday thailand's prime minister the army general who led the military coup in 2014 addressed the nation he urged unity at a time when the economy is being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. right now we must focus on the economic survival of the 10s of millions of people here let's get the economy going 1st get that done by working together then we can look at fixing the other issues collaboratively later but the protesters say the pen demick is proving and highlighting one of their points that thailand is an economically unequal society and must change time. to political protest but there is a sense this is something different

a movement centered around generation making unprecedented demands and wanting something profoundly different for thailand. in recent weeks the government has warned the protesters to be careful what they say and arrested 3 protest leaders but if that was a tactic to try to scare them and bring an end to the movement it hasn't worked and judging by the size of this crowd it may be having the opposite effect when hey al jazeera bangkok. somali security forces have ended a 5 hour siege at a hotel in the capital mogadishu a suspected shootout at the elite hotel in lido beach saw at least 6 people killed and 40 others injured government officials are bugs the day of group al shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack. i had a feeling that i could buy a car full of explosives was rammed into the front gate of the hotel then attackers from al-shabaab stormed into the hotel and started shooting at everyone they came

across i saw many dead bodies on the ground the situation in there is really miserable. so barbara's government is accusing me of an influential group of catholic clergy are being evil i'm trying to promote a civil war that follows a statement from the country's bishops that was read out to all catholic churches on sunday blaming the government for the economic collapse and human rights abuses a number of government protesters have been arrested of allegedly tortured during the crackdown in recent weeks over go to is a former spokesman for the opposition movement for democratic change party he thinks it's unlikely the churches of barclay will let this issue escalate. is one of the key christian players in zimbabwe and i know i know from experience i don't mean born and bred in this country that the end of the day the change will coupons if it is central role in the lives of more people in zimbabwe can i give please see that this 80 to 90 percent of zimbabweans are practicing christians or this somehow

believe in christianity so at the end of the day the church is a very important board deep in the lives of the majority of the people of the public and promoting not the catholic church is some of the most you know not prominent peacemakers i can mention him by now is the father then it will go on henri is that people will do a dinner a very huge role in the lead but it's not this country and i believe that is also that people you've been doing that media telling. them the 27000 transition from the mugabe government to the muslim government so i believe that people like. nouri and for their money would be you know and the luminaries in their own right and i don't see them letting this thing getting out of control. well the united nations says it's $200000000.00 short of donations to help lebanon repair catastrophic damage to beirut after a blast earlier this month before the explosion the people of lebanon were already

battling an economic crisis as bernard smith reports from the capital many of those left homeless are relying on volunteers charities and friends. like many other lebanese and one persil has always managed to get by no matter what was thrown at him conflict or economic crisis but now it's different measures to bennett going on there i walked around 8 kilometers he says as he describes trying to get medical treatment in the aftermath of the port explosion that sent a devastating shockwave through beirut. i think he has 17. counts. and there are new air news ion 70 year old antoine eventually found a hospital to treat the injuries to his head and arm now he relies on free help and volunteers stress that woods after the explosion the whole story has changed ok as if the middle class has gone with explorers there's normally class at all so

people are coming seeking medical support food clothes house cleanups whatever you think they need just got bigger the blast destroyed or damaged around $50000.00 homes affecting 300000 documents lebanon's currency has lost 80 percent of its value against the dollar and there are tight restrictions on how much people can take out of the banks and inflation is running at almost 90 percent so what little money there is people need to spend it on daily necessities there is no spare cash rebuilding. mañana blood it from me from my head and one worked 35 years in a bank he saved and bought his own home this is what's left of it a dream of a quiet retirement with his wife andrea and their 2 daughters is in tatters nobody

. this time from the government do it today what happened in iraq what. do you want what do you have what nothing i bought i bought near here in lebanon. i after 70 years on where i go now to rebuild and twine and tens of thousands of others need foreign donor help that cash will only likely be released when this country has a cabinet and prime minister acceptable to the international community talks on who make up that government continues between the political elites who control this country burn it's made out of syria beirut. israel has launched over her strikes against hamas positions in garza's border towns israel says it's a response to rocket attacks and fire bombs sent into its territory attached to balloons or fishermen in say that they're being punished across the border fighting israel has closed the fishing zone off the coast of the besieged enclave

and as laura birdman reports that means that many fisherman and i are unable to make a living. i don't care barger has been working the next on gaza city's harbor the years. he says people here rely on fishing as an important source of income. but israel has now shot off the fishing zone off the coast of gaza after cross border fighting with palestinian activists. kabocha says fishermen here are bearing the brunt of the. official. nor are the quality of the fish fish has been limited for a long time the seas closed borders are closed everywhere is closed it means we don't have any alternative to work. gaza has a population of about 2000000 people or more than half of them live in poverty that's because for more than 30 years they've lived under his radio gyptian imposed

blockade that severely limits travel trade with a devastating impact. of the. 4200 fishermen lost work 1000 fishing boats will stop working there are 50000 palestinians who depend on fishing sick does as the only source of income which is also important for food security doesn't exist anymore because of the siege. many say the blockade of gaza is making a living conditions impossible. if the siege continues things will escalate because the palestinian news cannot accept that the slow death continues the sea just more dangerous than the war. the fishing zone is patrolled by the israeli navy those who defy the band risk being shot how about the what i would what are they all we work on a daily basis to get food for children if we don't work there's no food. some

fishermen venturing into the mediterranean in search of a catch they say that's a risk they're willing to take. the al-jazeera. a new iranian supermarket chain is open to venezuela's capital is the latest symbol of the growing political and economic alliance between tehran and caracas and a sign of defiance against u.s. sanctions latin america you see in human reports. in the rain in tractor enhances the entrance of megacities this spanking new mega supermarket in caracas is certainly an aisle. located on the edge of caracas is largest the country's 1st ever iranian supermarket offers products such as garlic shampoo and sweets flavored with date syrup all exotic items have been israel in slick and liquid and chill and his wife. it's the 1st time i've come it's spacious and has

a wide variety of products it's a bit more expensive and i guess it's because almost everything is imported. to make guys the supermarket chain says it's a private company images wayland to do business. but the only person authorized to speak to us on its behalf was the 1st secretary of the uni me an embassy who seems well versed on the subject ordered them out of the corner of utah was one of the best sellers right now because of the pandemic is a vegetable based on the septic hand made from sweet beetroot also toilet paper napkins detergents and liquid soap also the typical things like past and rice has. been israel has close ties with iran date back to former president chavis but under current president nicholas my little the 2 opec members have become even closer as both face tough u.s. economic and political sanctions in maine a fiver reining in gasoline tankers brought desperately needed fuel driven israela

despite u.s. threats to intervene. the u.s. state department says the iranian supermarket is the quote latest example of a growing alliance between 2 pariah states. iran's ambassador to the israel and tells al-jazeera his country has every right to establish commercial ties with whom it pleases and both of them if they do sell their soul to the others not them the american government charges mean nothing to us they're worried that we're providing food and medicine to venezuela they want countries like iran venezuela and cuba to suffer from their sanctions all they want is that people to suffer until they are bay washington's orders. the ambassador did night u.s. reports that then the gas the supermarket chain is run by iran's revolutionary guard iran is also providing technical support to venezuela's crippled oil industry it's unclear what it's getting in return except perhaps in israel and gold which is

also subject to u.s. sanctions but there's another explanation solidarity another way of demonstrating the ancient proverb if the enemy of my enemy is my friend you see in human al-jazeera. you want your jazeera with me as a whole robin a reminder of our top stories below roots has seen the largest protests yet against alexander lukashenko 7 days after an election in which he declared an overwhelming victory which the opposition says was rigged but the longtime leader told supporters he won't be calling a new election and then accuse nato of mobilizing forces at the border the quote virus pandemic has had a huge impact on the world's 3rd largest economy japan's gross domestic product shrunk by a record 7.8 percent in the 2nd quarter analysts say the pandemic has caused a slump in personal consumption including at restaurants tourism and other sectors

. u.s. house speaker nancy pelosi says the chamber will vote later this week on legislation to protect the postal service is amid claims that president trump is using it to suppress mail in voting that's as the postmaster general a trouble ally is summoned to testify before a congressional committee mike hanna has more from washington d.c. . this would effectively reverse all the changes that have been made by louis did joy in the months since he has been head of the postal service changes which many are arguing particularly democrats in congress could impact really heavily on the election later this year in particular on the mail in voting which many people are going to turn in turn to because of the ongoing pandemic. thousands of people have protested in the spanish capital against new measures making the use of face masks mandatory in public spaces they chanted slogans denying the existence of the

pandemic and accusing the government of violating their rights spain has more than 340000 covert 19 cases the highest in western europe renewed lockdown orders have come into effect in guitar despite protests against 5 months of lock down business owners rarely did the colombian capitol against 2 more weeks of strict measures in 7 districts they want the mayor cloudy lopez to find ways to revive the struggling local economy a new zealand's prime minister has delayed september's election by 4 weeks as the country looks to contain a 2nd closed virus outbreak comes after the largest city or clint went back into lockdown following a new outbreak of cases those were the headlines here on our sara back with more news in half an hour but next it's rewind to stay with us for. in late august joe biden and donald trump will finally become the official presidential candidate but the only going to run a virus pandemic sees the democratic national convention going virtual and the

republicans being forced to rethink grand plans for the big celebration followed the u.s. conventions on al-jazeera. hello and welcome again to everyone i'm come all santa maria here on rewind we're revisiting some of the best and most influential programs from more than a decade of documentaries in the al-jazeera archive as well as bringing you news of how the story has moved on since i can 979 the world woke up to news that the russian army had swept across the border into afghanistan.