welcome to bbc news — i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: chanting striking in support of the protesters. workers in belarusjoin the public outcry over disputed elections, as more stories emerge of torture and abuse by police. politics and the post office: how the mail has become a divisive issue in the lead—up to the us presidential election. a desperate dash to the french port of calais — as britons scramble to get home before the uk's new quarantine measures come into force. and a lesson in public health management: how images from a crowded school hallway in the us state of georgia have reignited the conversation over opening schools.

the president of belarus has failed to suppress the demonstrations that have erupted across the country calling for him to quit, despite a violent response from the security forces. they've continued for a sixth day and more testimony is emerging from protesters who'd been detained for several days, alleging serious human rights abuses. alexander lu kashenko says forces outside the country are behind the mass protests against his disputed election victory. just a warning that you might find some of these images disturbing — these images show the bruises of men released in the last 2a hours. public anger has been fuelled by accounts of torture and abuse from both men and women who have been detained. the eu has started planning sanctions against officials

involved in the violent crackdown. earlier on friday, demonstrators converged outside the parliament building in minsk‘s independence square, for a peaceful protest. at least two security officers lowered their shields, prompting women to run forward to hug them. it's not clear though whether there is wider support for the protesters among the security forces. our correspondent, abdujalil abdurasulov, has sent this report from minsk. the opposition movement against president lukashenko is growing. "love, not violence" — that is the message of the demonstrators here in belarus. despite the brutal police crackdown, people continue to come out onto the street. protesters have gathered in the main square of minsk. they are chanting "freedom, freedom". they have got flowers and balloons to show that their movement is peaceful. this is unprecedented for belarus, where authorities

violently crack down on protesters. i have been living here for 28 years, and 26 of them, he was the ruler of this country, mr lukashenko. and i am really tired of it and i want to change it. at the notorious okrestina detention centre, a volunteer reads out the list of names of those who still remain inside. and as detainees leave jail, they show us bruises from vicious beatings. many tell harrowing stories of torture and abuse. sergiy was arrested on monday. riot police threw him into a police van before torturing him. they used batons and electrocuted him with a stun gun. translation: whenever we moved or said a word, they would beat us. one of the police said, "if i was ordered to burn you alive, i would".

they could do anything to you. the pain was unbearable and i begged him to stop but he carried on. opposition candidate svetla na ti kha novs kaya, who earlier had to flee the country, has called on authorities to stop the violence. translation: the people of belarus no longer want to live with the former regime. people don't believe in his victory at the elections. let's defend our choice. back on the square, special forces nervously keep an eye on the protesters. the president tried to soften the mood today by calling on security forces to be more gentle. but this may be too little, too late for the regime. rachel denber is deputy directorfor europe and central asia at human rights watch, an international ngo. she's in new york.

thank you for coming on the programme. my pleasure. so what are you hearing from your people on the ground about what is happening there to people? what we are hearing and seeing are numerous credible accounts of beatings... humiliation, egregious lee bad conditions in custody with people lying stacked up next to each other, and beatings at the moment of apprehension, beatings and the police vans, beating that the police vans, beating that the police stations, people being apprehended, this is in the first four days, people being apprehended for absolutely no reason. they have been thousands of people detained in belarus in the past, since sunday, half, more than 6500 throughout the country, at least half of them in minsk which is only a city of about 2 million people, so this is a

wild scale —— a widescale operation, and what we are finding indices allegations that are backed up by so many -- is that are backed up by so many —— is these allegations which are backed up by so many videos and credible testimonies, your correspondence just showed the images of the bruises, it is so widespread and so systematic that it widespread and so systematic thatitis widespread and so systematic that it is pretty clear that it is coming, that it came from the top. that is what ijust wa nted the top. that is what ijust wanted to ask you, you say systematic there, so your allegation is that this is not allegation is that this is not a local level police officers acting out of turn, this comes from orders from how high up? that is really hard to say, it definitely comes high up in the law enforcement agencies because you know, there is a record of police brutality in belarus, we have seen severe belief brutality in 2010 right

after a stolen election —— police brutality right after a stolen election but of a much smaller scale, 700 people were rounded up back then but this is so brutal and so systematic and the message of humiliation and the message of humiliation and the message of humiliation and the message of punishment is so clear, and it is so even across so many stories in different custody situations throughout the city, it is pretty clear that they... either had an indirect or direct message that, but the police could do whatever... to use the force, not that they... not that they needed but the force that they wanted. and if thatis force that they wanted. and if that is true, if that does turn out to be true, what kind of international response do you want? three things, for things really. first i think the eu has already been discussing reinstating sanctions that have been put on belarus for egregious human rights abuses

backin egregious human rights abuses back in 2011, the year —— eu and also uk did this, second, continuous monitoring of the situation on the ground, third, there needs to be people bearing witness, diplomats bearing witness, diplomats bearing witness, diplomats bearing witness on the ground as people move into trials, many people have been released but it is pretty clear that some people will go to trial, force, accountability for the horrific abuse that has taken place and fifth there needs to be really strong support for belarus' horrific be really strong support for bela rus' horrific human be really strong support for belarus' horrific human rights activist who are trying to ensure that families can find their loved ones in custody, to ensure that people get lawyers in custody and to document the systematic abuse. they need human rights activists, they need to be supported, they could be injeopardy, we have seen could be injeopardy, we have seen authorities go after human rights activist in the past in

the wake of these crackdowns so these people need to be protected. thank you for coming onto the programme and talking to us, rachel. as the us presidential election gets closer, and the coronavirus outbreak in america continues to spread, there's been an increased focus on using postal votes. there are questions over whether the us postal service, or usps, could cope with the increased demand. the usps says some states have reported election mail volumes which are ten times higher than any previous year. it's advising several states they may need to expand their voting by mail deadlines to allow the system to cope. the issue has been put in the spotlight for two reasons — firstly, the postal service has been struggling financially, which some people blame on changes to regulations dating back several years. and secondly, president trump has made claims, about the possibility of electoral fraud through postal voting, without providing evidence. he was asked about

whether he would give the usps extra funding at a news conference a few hours ago — here's how that exchange went. if the democrats were to give you some of what you want, what you articulated in a series of tweets in the last hour, would you be willing to accept the $25 billion for the postal service, including the $3.5 billion? it is not what i want, it is what the american people want. here's our north america correspondent david willis. the us postal service is a beleaguered service at best, it is $160 billion in debt, and of course postal voting is expected to be conducted in unprecedented numbers this year because of concerns over the coronavirus. now president trump doesn't like that notion at all, he has warned that increased mail—in balloting will lead

to massive election fraud, though he has yet to produce any evidence to support that claim. but he has also conceded that the use of postal ballots writ large tends to lead to larger turnouts, which tends to favour the opposition democrats, so he is blocking additionalfunding, billions of dollars of additionalfunding to the postal service. today the washington post reported that the postal service chiefs wrote to about 46 different states warning that their deadlines are too tight, and that millions of people could potentially be disenfranchised, and votes will not count because they will not be received or delivered early enough. democrats, as you can imagine, are up in arms over this, they have said that postal voting is a health issue in this election, given the spread of coronavirus, and former president barack obama has accused donald trump of kneecaping the postal service

as he put it, in a bid to discourage people from turning out to vote. hundreds of thousands of british holidaymakers are desperately trying to return home to the uk, after the government imposed quarantine measures on people returning from france and five other countries. the new restrictions start in two hours' time. travellers arriving after that will have to self isolate for 1h days. lucy williamson reports from calais. the countdown began this morning at france's ports. thousands of british tourists beating the deadline for quarantine. in calais, eurotunnel told us their shuttles were fully booked despite running extra trains at peak times. we decided to try and book a ferry, cancel our holiday and come home to avoid it. i think it's very sudden. i think it could be a bit more gradual, maybe a bit more notice. i've driven for, what, 11 hours with breaks, so, you know, getting back to make sure that i don't have to self—isolate. that's it, really.

august is a busy time at the border anyway. the race to escape today less noticeable here than online. it was only literally 15—20 minutes. i think we were 852nd in the queue. at the other end of the country, in nice, passengers complained of long queues at the airport. unfortunately, because of the quarantine, we've had to cut short our holiday. really disappointed with the uk government response. they could've given us a bit more than 2a hours' notice. the uk's decision on quarantine wasn't unexpected. many tourists had already factored in the possibility that they might have to isolate when they got home, and eurotunnel says many of its customers are choosing to simply stay on till the end of the holiday. of course, it hasn't stopped travel in the other direction. we're still seeing people coming to france and going on holiday. we're seeing cars with, you know, bicycles on the roof, so it's absolutely clear that they‘ re holiday—makers.

today, france declared the regions around paris and marseille high—risk zones. the national infection rate has risen to sa cases per 100,000. as we were literallyjust about to put the cases... that didn't worry paul howard and his family, who were due to leave for france today. going to put the cases into the car and then got the breaking news. knowing, you know, that we would definitely have to quarantine, my son would miss two weeks of school, i had concerns around insurance. in the end, we knew that there was only one decision to make, but it's just so disappointing. there are nowjust a few hours and just a few ferries left until the deadline passes. after that, the journey across the channel will mean an hour at sea, another two weeks at home. lucy williamson, bbc news, calais. stay with us on bbc news, still to come, legacy of war: why 75 years on, japan's role in world war ii still inspires

bitterness in the region. the big crowds became bigger as the time of the funeral approached. as the lines of fans became longer, the police prepared for a huge job of crowd control. idi amin, uganda's brutal former dictator, has died at the age of 80. he's been buried in saudi arabia, where he lived in exile since being overthrown in 1979. two billion people around the world have seen the last total eclipse of the sun to take place in this millennium. it began its journey off the coast of canada, ending three hours later

when the sun set over the bay of bengal. this is bbc news. iam i am lewis vaughanjones. the top story: strikes spread across belarus as unrest over the disputed presidential election grows. the european union is moving closer to imposing sanctions. in the united states, president trump has been outspoken in saying that schools should reopen this autumn. those decisions are being made at a local level. take the example of one school in the state of georgia. education administrations are doing damage control after a picture of a crowded hallway went viral. our us correspondent larry madowo has the story.

a heated meeting between the parents, teachers and the officials of the board of education. the 28,000 students in this district were among the first to return to school as covid—19 ravages america. is the china virus prevalent in children? my point is as much that we try to prevent illness and injury in children, it can still happen. and requiring children to wear masks and not play outside on equipment is not going to change that. 15—year—old hannah waters was surprised when she returned to school. she was suspended after tweeting this now—viral picture of her first week and sharing video of crowded hallways, no social distancing and few students wearing masks. i've also been surprised at how many parents are upset with me because, if i were a parent, and i was sending my kids to school and i saw that, i would be upset with

the county and upset with everyone, basically. but i've gotten a lot of backlash from parents and students. hannah's suspension was reversed after public outrage and the school closed. it is reopening next week with a mixture of rotational, in—person attendance, and online learning. but masks are still not required. masks have been politicized and so has the virus and it shouldn't be. it's just straight science. jenna thames is allowing her eight and six—year—old boys to go to the elementary schools for face—to—face classes. one of their schoolmates tested positive for the virus, butjenna doesn't worry, because she says nobody in herfamily is at risk. being a former teacher, ijust know how important it is them to have that face—to—face school setting with a teacher and so they can socially and emotionally thrive. because they learn from their peers and they also learn from their teachers. if any of the other classmates catch coronavirus, will that change your mind? no, i do not think that

will change my mind. i feel that it's a virus and i feel like people are going to get it. jenna calls the public hand—wringing over the new school year "an overreaction". but when returning to another high school, he stayed for only three lessons before asking his dad to pick him up. he has asthma, his dad has an autoimmune disorder and his mother has diabetes. i saw teachers and students not taking it seriously. and i also saw teachers not taking it seriously. it just felt like it wasn't the safest environment for me to be in. i heard them saying masks are stupid and they're making fun of others for wearing them. this high school has become ground zero for the controversy around reopening of american schools. it pits parents who think the threat of coronavirus is overblown, against their peers, who accuse school administrators of not doing enough to protect their children. it has become a divisive political issue in a divisive election year.

these kids are really just taking to school what they learn at home. we live in the country and a lot of people here have backwoods, southern politics. there is a ku klux klan bar, like, six miles down the road. rudy and his family plan to move from the county from a neighbouring one where they will feel safe again and so noah can attend another school district. georgia does not have state—wide guidance on school reopenings, so local school districts make the rules. but in an election year, even going to school has become a political statement. larry madowo, bbc news, atla nta. one of the countries hit earliest in the coronavirus pandemic was south korea. the authorities there were praised for their quick and efficient response to the outbreak. like in other places, public transport is a potential area where the virus could spread. but in seoul they're trying to make it as safe as possible, as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. in the age of covid—19,

travelling bio bars can be a hazardous business. but in south korea, technology is your friend. and this is a bus stop unlike any other. called a smart shelter, it's air—conditioned, sterilised and opened only to the coolest of travellers. literally. translation: we connected a thermal imaging camera with a door so that people feel safe here. after checking body temperatures, the doors will be open for only those whose temperatures are lower than 37.5 c. we also set up as sterilisers, which can remove 99% of viruses. ten of these high—tech bus stops have been set up in the capital, seoul. each one costing more than $80,000. but that his customers, that seems to be money well spent.

translation: i felt uncomfortable at first, as i had to take my temperature before i answered, but it didn't take long, so it was good. there are air—conditioners and sterilisers, which remove viruses, so i feel safe here compared to normal bus stops. translation: if there are many people gathering at a bus stop, i feel worried about coronavirus and uncomfortable with people sitting next to me. but i feel safe here. more smart shelters are being planned. south korea, determined to do what it can to combat the virus and key passengers are safe. tim allman, bbc news. saturday marks the 75th anniversary of victory over japan day, or ‘vj day‘ as it's known to millions. that's when the country's emperor hirohito announced japan's unconditional surrender. yet even now the legacy of the conflict lingers. many japanese see their country as a victim of the us atomic attacks on hiroshima

and nagasaki. meanwhile, china and korea view japan's post—war apologies as incomplete and insincere. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. at tokyo's yasukuni shrine, the narashino brotherhood has come to bow to the spirits of japan's wartime leaders. august is a busy month for these far—right nationalists. first, they tried to get to japan's parliament, but the way is blocked. so they crank up the speakers and begin shouting abuse. "the liberal democratic party is useless," they shout. "you're idiots!" with more and more of her troops landing at shanghai... japan committed many crimes during world war ii, but by far the worst was the nanjing massacre. after the city fell, tens of thousands of chinese soldiers and civilians were slaughtered. but not according

to takahiro ozaki. translation: first of all, the nanjing massacre does not exist. the civilian population of the city was evacuated. if there was a massacre, where did all the dead bodies go? there is no evidence, it's all a lie. china is not the only country these groups claim has wronged japan. today, their target is russia. so this is another piece of highly contested history for japan's nationalists. up the streetjust here is the russian embassy, and they believe that at the end of world war ii, russia stole a big chunk of territory from japan, and today, they‘ re here to demand it back. 75 years on, the wounds inflicted by world war ii remain open and festering. anger is strongest in south korea, where japan's prime minister, shinzo abe, is a figure of hate and ridicule. last month, a korean artist

unveiled the statue of mr abe prostrating himself before a young korean woman. it symbolises the begging for forgiveness that japan has yet to do for the crimes it committed against thousands of korean women. the united states, which was the occupying power injapan, did not want to get into the history question, wanted everyone to move forward. and you had, you know, millions, tens of millions of victims in china and korea. they're saying, "wait a second, wait a second, that's not ok, i'm not ready to move on." on saturday, thousands will gather at the yasukuni shrine. many will come to pray for a relative, one of the 2.5 million japanese war dead. but others will come here to pay homage to the 1a class a war criminals who are also honoured here. in seoul and beijing, they will see a country that still refuses to face its own past. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in tokyo.

that is it from me. i am lewis vaughan jones, and this that is it from me. i am lewis vaughanjones, and this is bbc news. hello there. over the last few days, temperatures have slowly been coming down, something a bit more comfortable both by day and by night. although we'll hold on to the humidity across england and wales as we head on into this weekend. but for this weekend, it's generally pretty similar to how the last few days have been. rather cloudy, a bit of sunshine in northern and western areas. humid in england and wales, where we'll continue to see showers and thunderstorms at times. now on saturday, the pressure chart shows higher pressure to the north, lower pressure to the south. that's why we'll start off with showers and thunderstorms across some southern portions of wales and southern england. further north, it'll be rather grey, pretty much grey everywhere, but the sunshine will break through central and western scotland, northern ireland, north—west england, perhaps a few sunny spells across the south—east of england. this is where we'll see some of the heaviest of the downpours

into the afternoon. temperatures low to mid—20s where you get the sunshine, but quite cool across some north sea coasts where we hold on to the cloud and mist. as we head through saturday night, the threat of showers and thunderstorms drifts a little bit further northwards into northern england, southern scotland, north wales. and for many of us, that cloud will roll back in, so it will be anotherfairly mild night, quite muggy again for england and wales. on sunday, subtle changes. our area of high pressure drifts northwards. that allows this area of low pressure to push north across the country. so, we'll start off plenty of showers across central and northern parts of the uk, although much of northern scotland will stay dry with some sunshine. we'll start with some sunshine across southern england and wales, but then as that temperature rises, then thunderstorms will break out here into the afternoon. some of them could be quite heavy. again, temperatures low to mid—20s celsius across southern areas, cooler where you hold on to the cloud and mist on the eastern coasts. on into monday, that area of low pressure sits on top of the uk. quite a weak feature,

so these showers and storms spiralling around across the country will be moving quite slowly. the lion's share of the storms, though, will be across england and wales. fewer for scotla nd and northern ireland, where we should see a little bit of sunshine at times. those temperatures ranging from around 17 to 23—24 degrees in the south. then big changes as we head on into the middle part of next week. something we haven't seen for a while, a deep atlantic low will sweep in to bring much fresher conditions, some strong winds at times through wednesday, particularly into thursday. we'll see a band of rain followed by sunshine and showers, and it will be turning cooler and fresher for all by the end of the week.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

strikes and protests have been taking place across belarus, demanding the resignation of president alexander lukashenko after his disputed re—election. the demonstrations have been fuelled by accounts of torture from protesters detained earlier in the week. estonia's foreign minister has said the election was not democratic or legitimate. the us postal service has advised several states they may need to expand their voting by mail deadlines to allow the system to cope in the run up to november's presidential election. president trump has been accused of deliberately underfunding the service to try to benefit his election chances. thousands of british holidaymakers have spent the day trying to return to the uk from france, before the requirement of a two—week quarantine comes into force. the new rule also affects five other countries.