this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. in belarus — huge crowds fill the streets in one of the biggest protests yet against the president. but alexander lukashenko remains defiant — telling his supporters he won't give up his country, after a week of demonstrations against his contested re—election. student activists stage more anti—government rallies in bangkok, demanding political change and reforms to the monarchy. and — as the democratic party prepare to hold their national convention —

we take a look at how their presidential candidate joe biden is viewed by the party faithful. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and i hope you can stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. in belarus, the largest anti—government protests since last week's disputed elections have been taking place, with further calls for alexander lukashenko to step down. but he's vowing to stay in power, claiming belarus is under threat from foreign forces. mr lukashenko is accused of rigging the vote and unleashing a violent crackdown against demonstrators. it's thought as many as 100,000

people took to the streets in the centre of the capital, minsk, from where jonah fisher has sent us this report. chanting. a week after the disputed election, belarus is voting with its feet. the centre of the capital, minsk, taken over by hundreds of thousands of people. united in their demand that alexander lu kashenko, the only president this country has ever known, must leave. i hope he will step down. do you think that this sort of demonstration is going to convince the president to go? yes, we believe, and that's why we are all here. all of minsk, all of our country. belarus has never seen

scenes like this before. a couple of weeks ago, demonstrations were extremely rare and they were usually brutally snuffed out by the government. now there are people marching as far as the eye can see through the centre of the capital, minsk. there's a real sense of change in the air. but for now, president lukashenko clings on to power. this was his rally today in minsk. just a few thousand showed up. an embarrassing turnout for a man who claims to have won 80% of the vote. in a defiant speech, he rejected calls for new elections, telling his supporters that nato tanks were near the border. "leave, leave," they chant. but exactly how that happens is farfrom clear. do you think the president is going to go peacefully? i'm not sure about it,

but we will not go away. today, tomorrow, next week, we will stay here on the streets. and i would like to say that i was born in 1998, and i spent all my life with president lukashenko and i don't want it any more. this was a day when belarusians found their voice. "lukashenko — lock him up," they are saying here. europe's longest—serving leader may have passed the point of no return. the numbers on the streets of minsk were huge and unprecedented but it may turn out to be moscow that has the critical voice in what happens next. we know that russia has been following events here very closely. many russians see belarus as effectively part of their back yard. russia's president, vladimir putin, we also know is no fan of the sort of people's revolution that might well be unfolding here at the moment.

discussions have taken place in the last couple of days between russia and president lukashenko in belarus as to some sort of security assistance of some form. in the back of people's minds as they continue their protests and the strikes continue is the possibility of some sort of russian intervention. an estimated 20,000 people have joined a protest in bangkok, calling for sweeping political reform, and supporting a student movement which has revived and expanded its anti—government campaign, since thailand ended its covid—i9 lockdown two months ago. the thai government successfully contained the coronavirus, but the tourism—dependent economy has been badly hit, and a series of other blunders have eroded its popularity. however, it is the students‘ unprecedented call for reform of thailand's monarchy,

which has stunned a country, where harsh laws criminalise any negative comment about the royal family. jonathan head reports. they haven't seen a protest this big in thailand since the military seized power six years ago. and for these youthful demonstrators, the military‘s influence is still too great. it's performance in government on freedom, human rights, and in managing an ailing economy is now a burning grievance. this large gathering at the monument which has always symbolised the hopes for a real democracy in thailand is the culmination of weeks of student led protests, demanding wholesale reform of the political system. but that is not all they are demanding. they are also asking for significant changes to the monarchy, an institution that is officially viewed as sacred and untouchable. and in a country where few have even dared to broach the subject before,

that is revolutionary. it is almost unimaginable. only a couple years ago, saying what the youth are now seeing what the youth are now demanding on stage as part of their manifesto for reforms. they seem to be unafraid i would say. they haven't been held back by the concerns that previous generations had before, not even to talk about, or even discuss about the monarchy. complaints about the monarchy have been heard at the protests in recent weeks. but it was the manifesto read out by this young woman at a university rally last monday that sent shock waves through the country. for the first time, it demanded an accountable monarchy. one that limited its power and its spending. the king, making a rare visit back

to thailand this week from germany where he stayed during the covid—i9 crisis, has said nothing. the prime minister, while acknowledging the student's right to protest, said he would investigate who was behind them and punish any who had broken laws. the students, though, seem undaunted by threats of prosecution or worse. we have to try to start talking about and making it a new norm for the society that it is ok to talk about the monarchy. do you think many thai people agree with your programme? i think the silent majority itself want to talk about it, and the monarchy, because if you don't act on something or reform something, nothing will happen and it will collapse on itself. this is a historic moment for thailand.

a taboo has been broken by a younger generation who have lost faith in the old royalist establishment and want change. it is though hard to imagine that they will be allowed to go on saying what has always been unsayable here. somali special forces say they have ended a siege at a hotel in the capital mogadishu, that was stormed by armed militants. reports say more than 20 people were killed when a car bomb exploded on the recently built elite hotel on lido beach, which is reportedly owned by an mp, and is frequented by government officials. according to one government source — more than 200 people, including cabinet ministers and members of parliament, were evacuated from the beach—side hotel. the al—shabab militant group has claimed responsibility. sources in the afghan government say the release of some of the most controversial taliban prisoners,

is being delayed because of objections from foreign governments and from within kabul. last weekend, a grand council approved the release of 400 remaining detainees, a demand of the taliban as a pre—condition to the start of intra—afghan peace talks. further doubt was cast on the negotiations process after a recent attack by a gunman on a negotiator and prominent afghan women's rights advocate, fawzia koofi. the taliban has denied involvment in the attack. ahmed rashid is a journalist and foreign policy author, focusing on afghanistan, the taliban and the wider region. he said it was difficult to have hope for the peace process. i think it's becoming very difficult to see how it will succeed. it has already taken several months to reach to this position whereas when after the american taliban deal was signed

in february, we were hoping for a meeting of the taliban and the afghan government by march. that has not happened. this present issue has weighed every thing down. and now it's becoming more acute. the americans were urging the afghan government to free these 400 extremist prisoners who are wanted for terrorism and kidnapping and other heinous acts. and clearly the americans did not confer with their nato partners and what happened was that a lot of the afghans were responsible for killing nato soldiers, the french government was public on this and nato governments are demanding these presidents not be freed. and that's what really made a big blow to the americans and to the afghan president.

india has the fourth worst outbreak of covid—i9 in the world by number of deaths and has the fastest growing spread of the infection. according to johns hopkins university the country has reported on average over 64,000 new cases a day over the last five days. studies have shown that infections in some areas of mega cities like delhi and mumbai have been so bad there's talk of reaching so—called herd immunity — but what is this and should we be cautious over it's benefits? to discuss this further we arejoined by dr shailendra sawleshwarkar, a senior lecturer and program director at sydney medical school. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. first off, describe to us what herd immunity is. it is important to

understand, i people must have heard about it, it is basically coming from when somebody is affected or given a vaccination against a certain pathogen, what happens is that people develop immunity. that is individual. when you stretch state—wide population level. a person who is not affected or to getting this infection is protected bya getting this infection is protected by a large section of the population being exposed are vaccinated against that particular infection. the challenge we have come it works things for well for things like measles where vaccinations exist, the protection is high. what we don't know about covid—i9 is how good the protection is. that protection depends on a number that we always called the reproduction number. it is somewhere between two with three based on the current estimates. what that means is that

about 50 to 67% of the population needs to develop an effective immunity for the herd immunity to ta ke immunity for the herd immunity to take place for this infection. and thatis take place for this infection. and that is where the challenges. there area that is where the challenges. there are a lot of unknowns in the covid—i9 situation. are a lot of unknowns in the covid-19 situation. when you look at the progression or characteristics of the spread of covid—i9, and india, it it fit the pattern of heading towards herd immunity? how would you characterize a?|j heading towards herd immunity? how would you characterize a? i think the challenge we have what it would look at india or surveys is that it tells you the exposure to the virus. what we are measuring is antibiotic. it doesn't necessarily mean the antibodies actually protect you against infections. and that is with the challenges. for example, in the mumbai survey which showed about 57% antibodies and some population. between that survey, what is interesting to look at is the difference between islam and

non—slum areas west of the non—slum area, shut only about 16%. —— slum and non—slum. this dichotomy up 57% and non—slum. this dichotomy up 57% and a section of the population versus about 16%. how do you compare that to other cities? the problem we have a comparison is that countries are different. you cannot compare apples to oranges. people have gone and said the survey, 40%, as we did with 8%, some places with 10%. if you compare that to mum by an overall 40% looks a high number. but within that, it the non—slum areas, 60%, very similar to a lot of developed countries in western countries. i think what we forget is that it countries. i think what we forget is thatitis countries. i think what we forget is that it is not unique in the slum areas and a mumbai fuzz that which is published showed about 54%. thank you. i'm so sorry. we have to leave

it there. thank you for breaking that down for us. the headlines on bbc news... tens of thousands of people have turned up at one of the biggest demonstrations in the history of belarus to protest against what they see as the rigged election victory claimed by president lukashenko. student activists stage more anti—government rallies in bangkok to demand political change and reforms to the monarchy. anger and confusion for thousands of ‘a' level and gcse students in england, as the exam regulator withdraws its guidance on appealing against grades, hours after publishing it. there's more uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of students in the uk. the exams regulator has withdrawn its advice on how pupils in england and wales can appeal their allocated grades,

just hours after making the advice public. the uk government has been under fire since thursday, when end of school results for 18—year—olds were awarded — with nearly 40% of teacher assessments having been downgraded. there's concern there will be more confusion with school results for i6—year—olds just days away. here's our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. 0utraged, disappointed by their a—levels. the common theme is anger, a lot of people are really sad and distressed. it's a really stressful time, like, your future is uncertain. students brought their protest to westminster today. i was predicted a, a, a, and i got given b, c, c. i think it's unfair that we got given these grades, even though we didn't actually sit these exams in the first place. afraid their future is at stake. i don't really know what to do.

the only thing i have left to do is wait for the government to reveal a fair appeals process. some did get the grades they needed, but 40% of a—level grades were adjusted down. next week, with gcses, it could be worse. half a million pupils will get their grades. in england, only a i% rise overall is allowed. senior tories calling for a rethink. there will be a massive number of downgrades this thursday. a really great massive number. we mustn't forget half a million people take maths gcse, so you're into numbers of hundreds of thousands complaining that they've been hit. you know, when you're in a hole, stop digging! goodness knows what is going on at 0fqual. it sows confusion amongst pupils, head teachers, school teachers, and it's the last thing we need at this time. we need a ronseal appeal system that is simple, that people understand it.

the politics of grades never so heated. the pressure on ministers building. i care about these young people, to be honest, and the hundreds of thousands of students who are affected by this disaster. so, that's why i'm calling on the prime minister to step in, quite frankly. he needs to right this wrong in the next 24 hours. that's why he's the prime minister of the country. he needs to get up off his backside and help and support these young people. when schools shut, exams had to be cancelled. but now support for the alternative is falling apart. it's really not good enough for us to be finding out information last night, which our members are going to have to implement. you know, one head teacher saying they're going to have 900 appeals across their school at a time when they're trying to do the logistics of this pandemic. there has to be a sense of government, the regulator working with the very people who are responsible for young people and who have to implement these ideas. and still, it's not clear how many will appeal, as rules for that have been rewritten.

branwen jeffreys, bbc news. in the past few minutes, new zealand's prime minister has announced that next months election in the country has been put back by four weeks. there had been calls for the vote to be either delayed or postponed after a new outbreak of coronavirus cases. jacinda ardern has been explaining the thinking behind pushing the election back to october. i have received advice from the electoral commission on a range of options, including retaining the current date of the 19th of september, moving the election by four weeks to the 17th of october and the final possible date the electoral commission considers the election could realistically be held, which is the 21st of november. having weighed up all these factors and taken wide soundings, i have decided on balance to move

the election by four weeks to the 17th of october. at the end of last week, i was advised that this date is achievable and presents no greater risks than had we retained the status quo. i've also been advised that in moving to a 17 october election day, the commission will be able to leverage and draw much of the work already undertaken to deliver the election. unidentified gunmen have shot dead at least eight people in a small town in southwest colombia. several others were wounded in the attack in samaniego. most of the victims are reported to be young adults. the first cruise ship to put to sea since operations were suspended worldwide in mid—march has left the italian port of genoa. the msc grandiosa will stop at three italian ports and the maltese capital valletta in a seven—day voyage. the operators, msc cruises, say all passengers and crew must take a coronavirus

test before boarding. in the us, the main investigative committee of the us house of representatives has called on top figures in the postal service to testify at an emergency hearing amid allegations of widespread mail delays and potential interference by president trump. mr trump has warned the us is not ready for mail ballots in the november elections, even though many americans are calling for postal voting because of the pandemic. in north carolina, protesters have gathered again outside the home of the postmaster general louis de joy- they claim mr dejoy — who is a supporter of donald trump — is intentionally gutting the postal service to help the president. meanwhile, the democrats will host their national convention beginning monday, wherejoe biden will be confirmed, as the party's nominee for president, in november's election.

because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year the event is scaled down and mainly virtual, with speakers giving their addresses from different remote locations. mr biden knows there are some in the party less than enthusiatic about his nomination, particularly on the left. but there is a belief his choice of running mate senator kamala harris, can help him unite the party and turn a healthy lead in the polls against donald trump, into victory. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. folks, thanks, i understand there are thousands of you on this zoom... campaigning, covid style. this is a socially—distanced fundraiser. but there are no phone banks, just thousands on a zoom call. and since kamala harris joined the ticket, the money's been pouring in. $48 million raised injust 48 hours. the excitement is palpable! at least i'm excited.

but enthusiasm is hardly the right word. even among democratic voters, like these college kids. he's getting older. i don't think he's the strongest candidate that was out there, but he is the lesser of two evils, definitely. maybe not the most, like, the person i would want if i had any option, but, yeah, definitely the lesser of two evils. i'm voting for him, sadly. um, because at the end of the day, electoral politics is... it's basically damage control. and these students aren't exceptional. a newly published pew research poll asked democrats why they'd be voting for biden. a staggering 56% said it was because he wasn't donald trump. the next most important was his leadership performance. just i9% said that would be the reason for backing him. butjoe biden has likeability. ask the owner of this diner in his home town of wilmington, where the biden family have been regulars for decades. i wouldn't just vote democratic, ijust...

i'm on his side. you know, i agree with his policies and hopefully that's going to get us out of a big mess. for the past five months, joe biden has scarcely emerged from his basement hideaway in the house behind me. and keeping such a low profile, paradoxically, has served him well. his poll numbers keep going up. but, surely, in the next three months, he's going to have to campaign hard, if he wants to win the presidency. you're to win the presidency. watching bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. hello there. we had lots of thunderstorms across england and wales on sunday, but it's not every day you see one of these. yes, a waterspout that formed out in the bristol channel, and this was seen by a number of our weather watchers, actually,

from north somerset. it was also spotted around the newport area of south wales as well. that was all associated with this low pressure that's across northern france. we can see an occlusion. this band of cloud here that brought some thunderstorms across eastern england, and they were torrential. 28 mm of rain on sunday fell in bedford. looking at the weather picture at the moment, this system, essentially, is going to split into two bits, with this branch not really making much progress further north. that means the rain will continue to affect greater manchester, lancashire, merseyside along with wales for a time, before easing later in the night. it won't really push that much farther north. that means the far north of england, northern ireland and scotland stay largely dry over the next few hours, but with low cloud, there'll be some and fog patches, and maybe a little bit of drizzle around some of the eastern coasts in scotland as well. for the rest of monday, the low pressure will continue to move its way in, and that will bring showers. this time, the showers will be affecting scotland and northern ireland through the afternoon, but it's further south across england and wales that the day's heaviest showers are most likely to be.

20 or 30 mm in the space of an hour. again, that's enough to cause some localised flash flooding. in between those showers and the sunshine, still feeling warm, still a little on the humid side. but we're not finished with the showery story just there, because tuesday will be another showery day. this time, the heaviest showers look more set to go in across northern england and scotland. lots of thunder and lightning, a bit of hail mixed in with some of these fewer showers in the south. still one or two fairly pokey ones as we go into the afternoon. beyond that, we see some changes in the weather. this area of low pressure slow—moving, will be with us for much of the rest of the week with fresher air following this cold front through. it means on wednesday, many of us start off on a dry note, but the cloud and rain will spread in across northern ireland, england and wales. eventually, it will turn a fair bit windier across the southwest. gusts of around 30—40 miles an hour, all the while staying largely dry in scotland through the afternoon with sunshine. fresher air then arrives from thursday on words, but that's not an end to the wet story. it stays unsettled with rain or showers to take us into next weekend.

hello. this is bbc news with nancy kacungira. —— with lu kwesa —— with lukwesa burak. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment. first, the headlines. an enormous crowd of opposition supporters gathers in the centre of the belarusian capital minsk to protest last weekend's disputed election. student activists stage more anti—government rallies in bangkok, demanding political change and reforms to the monarchy. anger and confusion for thousands of a—level and gcse students in england, as the exam regulator withdraws its guidance on appealing against grades hours after publishing it. new zealand has announced that

general elections due to take place in mid—september have been postponed to october because of a fresh covid—i9 outbreak. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are andy silvester, deputy editor of city am and the journalist and author yasmin alibhai—brown. hello to you both again. i'll chat ina hello to you both again. i'll chat in a moment. first, a look at some of those front pages. the metro leads on the angry student protests outside downing street after the controversy over a—level exam results. the ‘i' reports on the two legal challenges launched by students against the exam regulator 0fqual over the statitistical model used