welcome to bbc news. i'm aaron safir. our top stories: protests on the streets of belarus for a seventh day as pressure continues to grow on president lukashenko. president trump claims plans for universal mail—in voting — proposed for november's election — will be catastrophic. a prominent women's rights advocate in afghanistan has been wounded in a gun attack. the taliban denies responsibility. south africa announces a major easing of lockdown restrictions, people will be able to buy alcohol and tobacco.

we begin in belarus, which has seen the seventh straight day of protests against president alexander lukashenko, since he claimed victory in a disputed election last weekend. demonstrations have continued to grow despite accounts of police brutality — including torture — from protesters who've been detained over the past week. us secretary of state mike pompeo, on a visit to poland, said washington and its eu partners are closely following developments. and the eu has already acted — taking the first steps on friday towards imposing sanctions on senior officials in the belarus government. meanwhile president lukashenko says he's worried about nato military exercises being carried out in poland and lithuania — saying there's been a military build—up. and after speaking with his ally president putin, mr lukashenko said russia would provide "comprehensive assistance" in the event

of an external military threat. well, saturday's protests in the capital minsk were focused around the spot where a young artist taking part in a demonstration died on monday during clashes with police. the bbc‘s abdujalil abdurasulov sent this report from there. fear has been replaced by anger.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 bade farewell to the man who has turned into a symbol of change in belarus. president lukashenko has never faced 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 belarussians 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. let's get more on this with maria snegovaya, a fellow at the centre for european policy analysis. thank you forjoining us. seven days of protest and we heard from some of the protesters there in that piece talking about this being an opportunity and a moment of change. do you see it that way? is this a tipping point? thank you for

having me. definitely the events in larousse are com pletely events in larousse are completely unprecedented for the development in the last 30 yea rs the development in the last 30 years and the protesters have been able to achieve quite a lot. the very fact that they survived the unprecedented police brutality and violence and it is a dictator state, we know that, but what has been done against protesters is unprecedented, even by the criteria of belarus. protesters have been able to survive and demonstrate that they will continue no matter what and force lukashenko to stop the violence somewhat. it is a strong achievement. but at this moment it is important to not feel relaxed. it is not yet over. lukashenko feel relaxed. it is not yet over. lu kashenko is feel relaxed. it is not yet over. lukashenko is shrewd, smart and experienced dictator who will not leave just yet. he will hold onto power no matter

what because he has much to lose. this is why it is important that at this moment the international community helps and supports the protesters and threatens the regime with sanctions to make it more open to negotiations with protesters in belarus. on the other side of courses the support of the russian president. how deep is that support? how far do you think the russian president would be willing to go to keep his ally empowered? many observers mention that vladimir putin is afraid of a chain reaction if a democratic movement in belarus is allowed to when. that will create risks for vladimir putin himself in russia. but belarus is also important for strategic reasons and the kremlin uses it asa reasons and the kremlin uses it as a buffer against western leaders and as a matter of fact

there is a doctrine that outlines mutual commitments between vladimir putin and belarus to help one another in case of armed attack. in this sense there is actually a lot at stake for vladimir putin at this moment and it seems like the kremlin is weighing up its options right now. i think the options right now. i think the options are to either support lukashenko indirectly. options are to either support lu kashenko indirectly. i options are to either support lukashenko indirectly. i don't think direct military interference but something else, economic assistance for example stop or negotiating roundtable talks which would ring to power another pro—russian candidate. i do not think the kremlin is ready to let belarus go. and by the way, the evidence of this trade—off ongoing between putin and lukashenko at the moment is that lukashenko lukashenko at the moment is that lu kashenko is lukashenko at the moment is that lukashenko is letting go ofa group

that lukashenko is letting go of a group of 30 mercenaries. the fact that they were returned to russia demonstrates that there is a trade—off between vladimir putin and lukashenko as we speak. quite a comprehensive picture you have painted for us. thank you for your time. president trump has warned that despite the coronavirus pandemic, the united states is not ready for a postal ballot in the november elections. he's said that universal mail—in voting would be catastrophic and make the nation a laughing stock around the world. the ongoing row over mail—in voting has sparked protests outside the home of the postmaster general, who is a trump loyalist and donor. president trump is opposed to more funding for the postal service, even though the organisation has warned that millions of mail—in votes may not arrive in time to be counted on election day. for more we've been hearing from amy gardner, national political reporter at the washington post, who explained the issues surrounding postal voting

in the us. 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 election that we were facing in the united states, state election officials and local election officials across the country started to plan for the reality that many voters would not feel comfortable voting in person. and so many states, virtually every state, has taken steps to make mail balloting easier. to make it allowable in the states where it wasn't. some states require you to have a reason to vote absentee, like out of town or overseas or ill. many states have changed 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 it leads to 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 has also said that mail balloting will harm republican chances at the polls. so he is admitting that there is a political motive for him to oppose mail balloting. and then when we had this sort of funding crisis of the postal service that erupted this week, on the news and in the 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. the prince of wales has led british commemorations of the allied victory overjapan 75 years ago, which ended

the second world war. 50,000 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. nicholas witchell has the full story. in the open spaces of the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire, a carefully choreographed commemoration, attended by a0 veterans who served in the 14th, sometimes forgotten, army. many thousands lost their lives in the jungles of southeast asia and in japanese prisoner of war camps. they shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

last post plays after the sounding of the last post by a royal marine bugler, a two—minute silence was led by the prince of wales. and in remembrance of lives lost from so many nations, from british, pre—partition indian, and other allied armies, wreaths were placed at memorials here and in many of the nations which were involved in the conflict.

today, in this hallowed place, and in the presence of all those gathered here, or in their homes, wherever they may be, let us affirm that they and the surviving veterans are not forgotten. rather, you are respected, thanked, and cherished, with all our hearts, and for all time. in a tribute recorded on horse guards parade and broadcast by the bbc tonight, images of veterans, including the duke of edinburgh. he was aboard a warship in tokyo bay when the second world war ended. his grandson spoke of the need to cherish peace. we must not forget our responsibility to learn the lessons of the past and ensure that the horrors of the second world

war are never repeated. we owe that to our veterans, to their families and to the generations who will come after us. 75 years on, thanks were given for the moment a world war ended. nicholas witchell, bbc news. at ceremonies in japan marking the end of war, emperor naruhito expressed deep remorse for his coiuntry‘s past —— country's past military actions. however, four senior cabinet ministers ignited controversy by visiting the yasukuni shrine in tokyo, which honours convicted some war criminals among the millions of war dead, and is seen by neighbouring countries as a symbol of past military aggression. joining me from tokyo is motoko rich, the new york times tokyo bureau chief. thank you for your time here on bbc news. it is interesting

that are receding further and further into the path and there are fewer and fewer people alive who remember them and yet it is still deeply controversial how this war is remembered in japan. yes controversial how this war is remembered injapan. yes partly because there is a sense in surrounding neighbours, prominently china and south korea that japan is not sufficiently atoned for its past atrocities and in japan, particularly on the right wing there is a sense that they have apologised over and over but many times the language used is quite vague and in the ceremony the emperor used the word deep remorse which is very clear but sometimes when other politicians speak they speak a little more vaguely and seem to include as much the victims in japan, including the soldiers as they do the vic's of their own aggression and so i think there is a lot of controversy about that and a sense that in

japan there are some who wish to revise history. what is particularly controversial is that classic war criminal rebuke of the history, honouring those who should not be honoured, particularly in south korea. the foreign minister yesterday said they would disappointed that these foreign ministers visited. but there is also modern geopolitical overtones. china has definitely been increasing its military aggression in the region and so there is a sense as well that injapan visiting the site has a symbolic value that goes beyond or memory. i was going to say, it is more than hurt feelings have strong opinions. there are real—world repercussions among countries which japan would like to be cooperating with a lot more closely. and this stumbling box seems to come up almost every year. well, yes. real-world

consequences in that japan, almost uniquely because it lost the war and was occupied by the us after the war, and has a constitution that was put in place by the american occupiers but specifically says japan has to forever renounce war, and that they can only have military service for the purposes of self defence. so any move japan makes which suggests it is trying to become more aggressive militarily is something that is watched incredibly closely by its neighbours, who were previous victims of that aggression. but it is complicated. it has been 75 years since the end of the war. geopolitical tensions have changed. china itself has become much, much more powerful. also, japan is right by north korea, which of course has nuclear weapons. so the sense in japan of has nuclear weapons. so the sense injapan of a real need to defend itself differently from how it has in the past is something that the political

establishment is grappling with. but the shinzo abe administration, which is a fairly right—leaning coalition, the prime minister has talked about some of his goals of making japan about some of his goals of makingjapan be, about some of his goals of making japan be, as he describes it, a more nate —— more normal nation militarily. he has talked about wanting to revise the pacifist clause in the constitution which would allow japan in the the constitution which would allowjapan in the real world to do things differently than it has in the past. so i think there is concern among neighbours and among citizens of japan for whom this pacifist clause is also very cherished, it is seen as a really integral pa rt it is seen as a really integral part of japanese identity. it is seen as a really integral part ofjapanese identity. it isa part ofjapanese identity. it is a fascinating topic, we could talk for hours, i am sure, but we will have to leave it there. thank you very much for your time. thank you for having me. this is bbc news. the headlines: thousands of people have taken to the streets of the belarusian capital minsk to mark the death of a man on monday at a protest against president lukashenko's contested re—election.

president trump has claimed plans for universal mail—in voting, proposed for november's election, will be catastrophic. to afghanistan now, and a high—profile member of the afghan team that's due to hold peace talks with the taliban was wounded in a gun—attack near kabul. fawzia koofi is a leading women's rights campaigner and a former member of parliament. the taliban denied they were involved in the attack. alanna petroff has the latest. fawzia koofi has now survived two assassination attempts. the trailblazer rose to prominence asa trailblazer rose to prominence as a politician after the us—led invasion of afghanistan in 2001, the year the taliban was ousted from power. she served as deputy speaker of afg hanistan's parliament. she

campaigns for women's rights in a nation considered to be one of the hardest places in the world to be female. she is part of the negotiation team for afg hanistan's peace talks of the negotiation team for afghanistan's peace talks with the taliban, aimed at ending 19 yea rs of the taliban, aimed at ending 19 years of conflict. her attackers shot her outside kabul. her official facebook accou nts kabul. her official facebook accounts is her right arm was injured, but it isn't life—threatening. herfriend spoke out on her behalf. the chief of afg hanistan's independent human rights commission called for an investigation. she noted a worrying pattern of targeted attacks that can negatively impact confidence in the peace process with the dell abound. —— with the taliban. shootings come as afg hanistan's government has been releasing prisoners, some accused of connection to horrific attacks. release was a precondition of peace talks with the taliban. as the negotiation approaches,

many have concerns about the protection of women's rights. during taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001, women were bound from education, and leaving the house without a male relative. —— banned from. fawzia koofi doesn't want peace with the taliban to hurt women standing in society. if they want to be pa rt in society. if they want to be part of the political structures of afg ha nista n, part of the political structures of afghanistan, they have to adopt with the current situation. the upcoming talks have been a long time in the making. women are understandably wary, and this latest attack shows how high the stakes are. south africa is to lift its ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco, which was introduced as part of its efforts to tackle coronavirus. president cyril ramaphosa's announced a major easing of its lockdown restrictions, saying it appeared the country had passed the peak of covid—19 infections. 0ur africa correspondent andrew harding reports.

this is a big moment for south africa, as one of the world's longest, toughest lockdowns is significantly eased. guided by the advice of our health experts, the medical advisory committee, and after consultation with provincial and local government, cabinet has decided to place the entire country on alert level two, with effect from midnight on monday, the 17th of august 2020. praising his government's response to the pandemic, president ramaphosa spoke of a new phase and of signs of hope. and he has a point. the official death toll here is 11,000. but a quick, aggressive response has enabled most hospitals and provinces to contain an outbreak many feared would overwhelm the nation. the economic price has been devastating, though.

the president spoke of hardship and hunger for millions and warned it would take years to rebuild the economy. there are still big concerns about a second wave of infections, which, he warned, could be worse than the first. in order to keep the remaining restrictions in place and to maintain some of the essential elements of our health response, it is necessary that we extend the national state of disaster once again until the 15th of september 2020. but many south africans, still sporting face masks in public, will be relieved. the alcohol and tobacco industries, which had bitterly condemned a controversial ban on all sales, will now be anxious to make up for lost revenue. the republic of ireland has reported its highest daily increase in coronavirus infections since may. there have been 200

new cases of covid—19 across the country, with the acting chief medical 0fficer, describing the rise as "deeply concerning." tributes are being paid to indian cricketer ms dhoni, who has announced his retirement from the international game. he captained his country in more than 300 matches, and led them to a world cup victory in 2011. the bbc‘s tim allman looks back at his career. ms dhoni was arguably india's greatest ever cricket captain. whether as wicketkeeper or batsman, he was mr consistency. but now, after a 16 year international career, he is calling it quits. in a statement on his instagram page, he said... the response on social media was immediate. the country's greatest ever player tweeted. ..

and the current captain said... ms dhoni made his debut for india in 200a. he became captain three years later. 0n the field, he won pretty much everything that could be won. india were briefly the world's number one test side. but it was off the field where he made his greatest impact. a young man from a cricketing backwater, his success a symbol of a new india. he once said i want the team that can stand before an advancing truck.

you can reach me on twitter. i'm @aaronsafir. hello there. we still have a lot of humid air across the uk, the same air mass that brought us the hot and sunny weather. the big difference now is that the extensive low cloud. because of the humidity, still mist and fog and also bits of drizzle dotted around. you see a pretty extensive cloud but that is continuing to work its way northwestward and we also saw saturday some heavy thunderstorms, worked into parts of essex and in writtle brought 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, so the majority of that brought flooding around the writtle area, including around the chelmsford area. looking at the weather picture, we see that excessive cloud and it is marching its way northward. murky around the coast

and hills with fog and quite an extensive drizzle and occasional heavier rain mixed in. a humid, warm feel to the air. temperatures starting off sunday morning around 18 degrees in the south. sunday, a 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 sunshine will be across northwest scotland. through the day, we will quickly see thunderstorms working in the southwest england but another batch of storms is likely to affect southeast england, east anglia and the midlands and maybe wales. 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 at heavy thundery downpours at times and notice the rain is turning to move northwards and after a dry few days across parts of northern england, northern ireland and scotland, 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 coolerfresher air following an across the uk behind that cold front. but it will stay pretty cloudy in the week ahead and there will be further bursts of rain at times, it is 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.

this is bbc news. the headlines: anti—government protesters have held demonstrations outside state television buildings in belarus, as unrest continues to spread across the country. the country's president, alexander lu kashenko, says he's agreed with president putin that russia would provide what he called comprehensive assistance in the event of an external military threat. president trump has warned that despite the coronavirus pandemic, the country is not ready for a postal ballot in the november elections. speaking at a press briefing, mr trump said that universal mail—in voting would be catastrophic and make the nation a laughing stock around the world. south africa is lifting a ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco products, imposed as part of its coronavirus lockdown. president cyril ramaphosa said all indications were that the country had reached the peak of infections. he removed restrictions, allowing restaurants and pubs to return to normal.

thousands of british holidaymakers have arrived back