this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. protests on the streets of belarus for a seventh day, as pressure grows on president lukashenko. on the 75th anniversary of the end of world war two injapan, emperor naruhito expresses deep remorse for his country's past military actions. new quarantine rules in the uk as countries across europe continue to fight the spread of covid—19. the us postal service warns that mail in votes may not arrive in time to be counted after president trump denies the organisation extra funding.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. bela rusian president alexander lukashenko says he's agreed with president putin that russia would provide what he called comprehensive assistance in the event of an external military threat. mr lukashenko told a gathering of defence chiefs he was worried about what he said was a build up of military forces in neighbouring poland and lithuania and was moving additional troops to the country's western border. following discussion with president putin, mr lukashenko said the ongoing protests posed a threat to both his country and russia. abdujalil abdurasulov has more. fear has been replaced by anger.

thousands of people in belarus continue coming out onto the street to voice their protest against president lukashenko. people are gathering at the sideway. alexander taraikovsky, one of the protesters who died during the violence here in minsk. they are chanting, we will never forget, we will never forgive. such kind of scenes were unimaginable in belarus just a week ago. we are sure everything will change. we believe in our victory. that is why we will come in the street every day, every single day. i was calling my parents to tell them to go to the city centre, where the girls are out there with the flowers, because you can raise the freedom for the first time in almost all of your life. hundreds of people gathered to attend the funeral of alexander taraikovsky.

people sang the opposition anthem and bode farewell to the man who has turned into a symbol of change in belarus. president lukashenko has neverfaced such a challenge in his 26 years of being in power. today, he spoke to russia's president, vladimir putin. both sides expressed confidence that this situation will soon be resolved. translation: there is a need to contact putin so i can talk to him now. because it is notjust a threat to belarus any more. there are a lot of clever russians there. they started to chant against belarus. i would like to say that defending belarus today is nothing less than defending our entire space. the union state of belarus and russia. an example for others. if belarusians cannot stand, the wave will flow there. observers say that russia's support will be key for mr lukashenko to hold onto power.

but this crowd may be a sign that he has reached the point of no return. witold dobrowolski is a polish photojournalist who has been covering both the elections and protests in belarus. he was arrested the day after the election and kept in custody for three days. maryam moshiri has been speaking to him. really, i was kidnapped in belarus in the centre of the capital city. by the militia. i was beaten, i was beaten many times and then they sent us to a place where there was torture for the next 15 hours. at least 300 people were detained there, beating, torture, was all the things that were accompanying us. so it was like horrible, horrible

thing that nobody expected really, even belarusians that believe in this regime, they did not expect such a thing. the japanese emperor, naruhito, has expressed deep remorse for his country's past military actions, on the 75th anniversary of japan's surrender at the end of the second world war. the war was brought to an end shortly after the us dropped nuclear bombs over the cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. naruhito is the grandson of emperor hirohito, in whose name imperial troops fought the war. translation: looking back on the long period of post—war peace, reflecting on our past and bearing in mind the feelings of deep remorse, i hope the ravages of war will never be repeated. to those who lost their lives, both on the battlefield and elsewhere, i pay my heartfelt tribute and pray for world peace and for the continuing

development of our country. 50 thousand british and commonwealth troops died in the war againstjapan, half in prison camps. some of their relatives joined surviving veterans at britain's national memorial arboretum for a ceremony to remember them. our correspondent, sian lloyd was there. 96—year—old joan burfield, known asjohnny since her navy days, one of the remaining few who remember vj day because they were there. she was then a wren, aged 21, stationed in the far east and tasked with decoding signals, one of a group of young women who'd joined the navy to serve their country. 75 years on, she hasn't forgotten the most important message she came across. we were receiving signals, you know, from all over the place. and, well, somebodyjust shouted, "it's over!" "it's over! the war‘s finished!" but we still had to carry on.

for sergeant francis raley, the japanese surrender signalled the first steps towards freedom. like thousands of others, he had endured years of suffering in prisoner of war camps. his daughters proud to be here today. he was taken captive by the japanese and taken to sumatra and he was there for three and a half years, where he saw the most horrendous torture of people. he was lucky that he didn't receive, you know, too much bad treatment, in that respect. but it must have been horrific for him. gosh, if he was here today, he would just... well, he would say, his buttons would be popping off his chest, that'sjust how he was. he would just be thrilled to be here. it was an event to mark a historic day. it's been a lovely service. it's brought back lots of memories, especially when they talked about the prisoners, because those men, they were half starved, could hardly walk...

remembering those who finally brought the second close. sian lloyd, bbc news, staffordshire. the us postal service has warned that millions of mail in votes may not arrive in time to be counted on the presidential election day on three november. it says that certain deadlines are incongruous with their delivery standards. after the usps sent out the warning in letters to states across the country, protesters marched on the home of postmaster general, demonstrating against what they see as voter suppression. president trump opposes additional funding for the usps and also he claims postal voting can lead to fraud. amy gardner, national political reporter at the washington post, explained the issues surrounding postal voting in the us.

mail postal voting in the us. balloting is common in ma states mail balloting is common in many states in the united states. it is much less common in many other states. and when the pandemic settled in to all of us around the world, and we had this incredibly momentous selection that we were facing in the united states, state election officials at a local election officials at a local election officials at a local election officials across the country election officials across the cou ntry started election officials across the country started to plan for the reality that many voters would not feel comfortable voting in person. in so many states, virtually every state, has taken steps to make mail balloting easier. to make it allowa ble balloting easier. to make it allowable in the states where i was in. some states require you to have a reason to vote absentee, like out of town or overseas or ill. many states have change those rules. so currently, the vast majority of americans say they are planning to vote by mail. over 50%. at the same time, president trump has been criticising mail balloting. he has said that he thinks that at least two fraud, that foreign actors could

come in and steal ballots and mail them in, duplicate them. there is no evidence for this. there has not been any documentation of the kind of widespread fraud in mail balloting in the united states that he describes. he is also said that mail balloting will harm republican chances of the polls. so he is sort of admitting that there is a political motive for him to oppose mail balloting. and then when we had this sort of a funding crisis of the puzzle surface that erupted this week, on the news and in the headlines, he actually stated that headlines, he actually stated that he was going to oppose the funding that congressional leaders are requesting, democrats on the capitol hill, because he does not want mail balloting to be expended in the united states. thousands of british holiday—makers have arrived back in the uk, after a last minute dash to avoid new quarantine rules. travellers from france, the netherlands and four other countries, would have been subject to 14 days self isolation, after concerns over rising coronavirus cases abroad. andy moore has the details.

there were long queues at calais early this morning as people scrambled to get back to the uk ahead of the 4am deadline. at passport control, to get this far, they told us we should be fine to get back to the uk for the 4am deadline. on one of the last ferries out of france from dieppe, some exhausted travellers. and i'm told the ferry people know we need to get to the uk before four o'clock, so we will see you later. the ship docked in new haven just before the deadline. 3:58am in the uk. they laugh. fantastic! one group of edinburgh—based musicians who had been performing in normandy... classical music plays. ..hired their own fishing boat

to get back in time. after an eight—hour crossing, they landed at hayling island in hampshire ten minutes before the deadline. the airports were also busy with flights to the uk. the queue just keeps going and going and going. this was nice, last night. we've just boarded the plane, it's about ten o'clock and we had a really long, hard day. so many people in the airport, but we're finally on a flight. at gatwick airport this morning, some of the first passengers arriving back from france, who will have to go into quarantine. we were five hours too late... for the quarantine. so now we all have to quarantine. my husband's losing money for two weeks. it's ridiculous. the passengers arriving here from france are going into a very strict form of self isolation for two weeks. they won't be able to go out for exercise, they won't be able to walk the dog and any shopping will have to be brought to them.

and the penalty for breaching those rules starts at £1,000. andy moore, bbc news, gatwick airport. in south africa, the government has announced a widespread relaxation of coronavirus lockdown measures. speaking in a tv address, president cyril ramaphosa said infections in the country appear to have peaked and nearly all restrictions would be eased from monday. a controversial ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco will also be lifted. south africa has officially recorded more than half of africa's covid—i9 infections, with more than 570,000 cases and 11,500 deaths to date. the headlines on bbc news... thousands protest on the streets of belarus for a seventh day, as pressure grows on president lukashenko. mr lukashenko has rejected the idea of foreign mediation to resolve the crisis. japan's emperor naruhito has expressed deep remorse for his country's past military actions, on the 75th anniversary of the end

of world war two injapan. the covid—19 pandemic has caused disruption to schooling across the world with many countries delaying or cancelling end of year exams this summer. in england the exam regulator has set out a new appeals process following controversy over this year's high school exam result, which were calculated based on predicted grades and a range of other factors. almost 40% of teacher predictions were downgraded, and many students are expected to appeal against their final results. here's our education correspondent, elaine dunkley. trust our teachers! protests by students who feel failed by the system. maddie was hoping to study law at oxford university but has missed out on her place. she wants the government to follow scotland's example and upgrade results in line with teachers' predictions. we want a u—turn, like scotland has done.

they've admitted they were wrong and that they were sorry and that's what we need as well. we organise this protest today because it's simply not fair. students across the country have been let down by the system. there is no idea what is going on about the appeal process and that is my future hanging in the balance. quual, the exam regulator, has set out guidance for those appealing based on their mock exams. it will also consider non—exam assessment marks. the rules state that mocks must have been supervised and taken under timed conditions. they must be based on the relevant exam board assessment material and must have been completed by the 20th of march. however, if the grade submitted by school or college is lower than the mock grade, the grade will not change. you now see in the small print that if your mock result is higher than your assessed grades that your teacher has assessed, it won't be your mock

grade that applies, it will be your teacher assessment. so i think the situation is becoming utterly shambolic now. it's expected that there will be a high number of appeals, after almost 40% of a—level grades were moderated down. worcester college oxford has said it saw deeply worrying trends in the results and is promising to accept students already offered a place, regardless of grades. we made 83% of our offers to state school candidates, which was great for us. and then we saw nearly a quarter of those candidates be downgraded, such that they missed their offers. and that was in comparison with only a tenth of our private school offer holders. the government says the exam regulator has decided that not all mock results can be appealed in the hope of a grade increasing. further anxiety for these students now hanging their hopes on an appeal. elaine dunkley, bbc news, in liverpool. ghanaian world war two veteran, private joseph hammond, became known worldwide for his efforts to fundraise for vulnerable veterans and front

line health workers fighting covid—19 in africa. private hammond, who's now 95 years old, was one of 100,000 africans who fought for the british army against the japanese in the burma campaign. private hammond has been reflecting on his time in burma. and a warning, viewers may find some of the images distressing. i see the fighting. the artillery. the bombs from the aeroplane. it is madness. i've met two officers at the recruitment centre. they take a liking to me. i was going to the war in india and burma. the fighting was so ferocious. i have never seen

anything like that fighting. when you see a enemy, you killed him straightaway. we were not sluggish. we were prepared to kill or to be killed. in some of the river it was up killed. in some of the river it was up to our neck like this. a bullet touches your brother and he fell. you just luck. you have no right to go back, touch them or do anything. you get moving! when you weep, you will go hide yourself when things are good. you will fight. you'll wipe yourface. nobody are good. you will fight. you'll wipe your face. nobody sees it. are good. you will fight. you'll wipe yourface. nobody sees it. we are black. japanese snipers, they don't see the black colour. every morning, at the end of it, you see that. six or seven whites would die. no blacks would die. they brought

camouflage onto me. the cover their face. the killing stopped. we used to hide. wejust say face. the killing stopped. we used to hide. we just say we are black, they don't see us. soldiers are more than fighting. the relationship is excellent. both whites and black. their father spotless beers but these men handle their weapons as expertly as white gunners. —— if i put spears. if you come outside to see was alive, you clear all. tribalism and all that. past memories flow back to you. i sit and

i see the fighting from artillery, the bombs, the japanese aeroplanes. it is madness. war is never good. i have experienced i am 95. i have seen it. i have passed through. we lay down our life. for humanity. just to save others. to enjoy their peace. i neighing world war ii veteran private joseph hammond. —— i neighing world war ii veteran privatejoseph hammond. —— got neighing. president trump has said his younger brother is having a "tough time" as he visited him in a new york city hospital. us media reports say 72—year—old robert trump is seriously ill with an undisclosed illness. mr trump wore a face mask as he entered new york presbyterian hospital on friday afternoon. continuing to gather around the prime minister benjamin netanyahu residence against his alleged

corruption. these protest have been happening every weekend evening for the past few weeks. demonstrators argued that mr netanyahu should not remain in office while on trial for correction, hrt denies. ijoined by protesters who accuse unity government of hit and miss handling the covid—19 crisis. in thailand, two men given the death penalty for killing two british backpackers in thailand have had their sentences reduced to life in prison following a royal decree. the burmese nationals were convicted of the britons in 2015. the shift that sleep more than 1000 tonnes of oil in pristine waters off the mirror coast appears now to have broken into. the japanese owned mb struck the reef on the 25th ofjuly and began using oil a week later. to a protected marine part containing endangered species. —— the marisa skull swept up in the usa to georgia rival groups of protesters confronting each other in a major in the my gimmick to the proslavery

confederacy. right—wing militias have been refused permission to hold a rally in the carving but many still turned out and challenged by antiracist protesters who want the monument to be destroyed. —— other ina monument to be destroyed. —— other in a major way. time for a look at the sports news. hello. the latest from the bbc sport centre. there has been plenty of drama and the last champions league quarterfinal after liam pulled off a shot went over man city. the league tied to the lead in the 24th minute. kevin de bruyne equalised after the break but lion were in front after dembele restored their lead. raheem sterling missed a centre like not in the game. before dembele scored just minutes later. leon will face german champions bayern munich in the last four. —— leon mack what's up is

becoming an increasingly familiar sight in formula 1. mercedes dominating across the race weekend for the happening again a qualifying for the happening again a qualifying for the happening again a qualifying for the spanish grand prix. six time world champion lewis hamiltonjust edging out team—mate doctor who brought toss. formula 1 reporter jenny brooks is up—to—date.m brought toss. formula 1 reporter jenny brooks is up-to-date. it was a lwa ys jenny brooks is up-to-date. it was always going to be a good chance mercedes would be in pole position and they did it once again. bearing in mind they done it previous seven yea rs. in mind they done it previous seven years. one or other of their cars being in pole position. that is done. not a lot we can do about that but i hope is max when it comes to the race. he will start a third place and much like last time, they will hope that he can get a months the fight and maybe even win the race and for the championship that is what really needs to happen. he is what really needs to happen. he is the one pushing at the moment 13 points behind hamilton. hamilton 92nd pole position. it is quite formidable he finds himself in at the moment. the racing points will make it a decent battle behind those

top three drivers really aiming to get in the mix and try and really just emphasised that they have got last yea r‘s just emphasised that they have got last year's mercedes and they can do something decent with it. worth bearing in mind they are but are barcelona and this is not the usual time they race. normally we race in april. this is around six of the world championship and it takes place in a very hot august temperature around 33 degrees so it will be a challenge for the drivers and it will be hard work and they will be likely to stop a couple of times and that at as to the drama and the strategy so you never know. maybe we will get another upset around these circuits. india's most successful cricket captain has retired after the international game. he has tapped into all three icc trophies and the world cups in the champions trophy and also took idiot to the top of the world test rankings his retirement bring to an end a 16 year international career.

that's also took any of what that bad weather meant they three of the second test was england and was wiped out at the gs ball. bad light rain and a wet field prevented pakistan resuming on the overnight lead. there was a frustrating period in the afternoon when conditions seem to improve. after three pitch inspections, plate was abandoned at quarter past five local time in england lead 1—0 and the three test series. the village and a writer at remco i've been has crashed and followed several metres off a bridge during the tour of the race with them he was taken to hospital in a neck brace and his team has released a statement saying he has a fractured pelvis and a bruise right lung. the 23rd gold is one of the most promising prospects in road cycling having a ready one the tour up cycling having a ready one the tour up all of this one byjacob of the asta na tea m. up all of this one byjacob of the astana team. the first danish writer to win the one they classic. that is

not a sport for now. will be back soon. “— not a sport for now. will be back soon. —— that is all of the support for now. you are watching bbc news. some breaking news now. regarding the criteria that the exam regulator off call published only a few hours ago earlier today. for a level appeals. —— quual. they have suspended that criteria in the last few minutes according to its website. in a very brief statement, quual say the policy was being reviewed by its board and that further information would be released in due course. the criteria said that students would be able to challenge the a—level grades they received on thursday on the basis of the results from their mock exams they take earlier in the year. as we have been reporting there has

been disarray regarding those results because something like 40% are predicted grades where downgraded by the regulators algorithm. so we know no more at the moment and the department for education say they have nothing to add because quual are independent body but it looks for the moment that those criteria were only released earlier today have now been suspended. time for a look at the weather. hello there. i let him air across the uk, the same hermas that is right is the hot and sunny weather. the big differences now that the extensive low cloud. —— same hermas. the humidity, still mystified and also bits of drizzle darted around. you see a pretty extensive cloud but thatis you see a pretty extensive cloud but that is continuing to work its way northwestwa rd and we that is continuing to work its way northwestward and we also saw saturday with some heavy thunderstorms, worked into parts of essex and then riddled comment a0 mm of rain in the space ofjust an hour

and through the 2a hours we have 57 mm and that is over a month the majority of that brought flooding around the rental area including around the rental area including around the rental area including around the chelmsford area. looking at the weather picture we see that excessive cloud and it is marking its way northward. murky around the coast and hills with fog practice and quite an extensive drizzle and occasional heavier brace mixed in. humid, warm feel to the air. temperature starting off sunday morning around 18 degrees in the south. sunday, cloudy start for many of us and heavy downpours on the way. i think we will see the skies brighten up but the best of any sense signed will be across northwest scotland. through the date we we re northwest scotland. through the date we were quite quickly see thunderstorms working in the southwest england by another batch of storms is likely to affect southeast england, east anglian air the midlands and maybe wales. please thunderstorms capable of bringing torrential downpour so i think we could see some further localised

flooding particularly sunday afternoon. for monday we see an area low pressure drifting northwards so again we are looking get heavy thunder he downpours that at times and noticed the rain is turning to move northwards after a dry few days across parts of northern england, northern ireland and scotland come it will be a greater chance of seeing some rain working in here and it will continue to feel humid but again those downpours will be very heavy so there is an ongoing threat of localised flooding. we have humid air with us at the moment, but it looks like by thursday we will start to get cooler fresher looks like by thursday we will start to get coolerfresher air looks like by thursday we will start to get cooler fresher air following an across the uk behind that cold front. but it will stay pretty cloudy in the week ahead and there will be for the burst of rain at times only really later in the week that it starts to turn a bit brighter and a little bit fresher as well. that is your latest weather. goodbye for now.

hello, this is bbc news. i martine croxall. there have been large a protest in belarus outside of metro station where a protester died earlier this week. antigovernment protesters also held noisy demonstrations outside to state buildings. the united states postal service issued a warning that not all postal ballots for the presidential election in november will necessarily arrive in time to be counted. the huge increase in mailings —— g voting expected due to the virus. japan was ‘s emperor has expected remorse for his country's past actions. british holiday—makers have made a last minute —— to get back to the uk before 1a day quarantine came into a force for people arriving in