a massive demonstration of the this is bbc news. size of the opposition to i'm maryam moshiri with the latest headlines president lukashenko following for viewers in the uk on from that election, which took place a week ago and and around the world. election which is been fiercely in belarus — huge crowds fill the streets in one disputed amounts pretty strong of the biggest protests yet claims that were entirely against the president. but alexander lu kashenko falsified. they were very remains defiant — telling his supporters he won't give up his country, after a week of demonstrations hopeful and upbeat. i think the against his contested re—election. fa ct hopeful and upbeat. i think the fact that so many people had student activists stage more come was a really emboldening anti—government rallies in bangkok, demanding political moment for people here to be change and reforms to the monarchy. surrounded by so many like—minded people. you have to remember a week or two ago, and — as the democratic party prepares to hold its national convention — demonstrations we saw here were we take a look at how the party faithful view their presidential candidate extremely dangerous. you're joe biden. very likely to be picked up by security forces, so i think

people were optimistic and kosice. the reality of course is lots of people a bit on the streets —— optimistic and cautious. president lukashenko retains a firm control over security. so there's no obvious route in which he could be removed from office. people in belarus, the largest anti seem pretty infused by the government protests since last week's disputed elections, have been taking place, with further calls for alexander lu kashenko to step down. massive turn out on the street. it was a very large and but he's vowing to stay impressive show of the will of in power, claiming belarus the people here. jonah, what is under threat from foreign forces. mr lukashenko is accused about its potential involvement of rigging the vote here? that is in the back of and unleashing a violent crackdown against demonstrators. everybody‘s mine. we know that russia has been following events here very closely. many it's thought as many as 100,000 people took to the streets in the centre of the capital, minsk, from wherejonah fisher, in russia see belarus has sent us this report. effectively pa rt in russia see belarus effectively part of their backyard. there have been discussions taking place between russia's president chanting. putin and president lukashenko a week after the disputed election, belarus is in the last couple of days with voting with its feet. the centre of the capital, the mention of russia offering

minsk, taken over by hundreds some sort of security of thousands of people. assistance. so i think people here are worried to a certain united in their demand that alexander lu kashenka, extent that this might possibly the only president this country lead to some sort of russian has ever known, leave office. intervention from the russian side. then you move to try and well, i really hope that alter political situations when he sees all these people, he will step down. here, it's like belarus carries do you really think that's likely? he's been here a long time. its own risks, they will be maybe... i hope so. only too aware of the number of people who came out against do you think that this sort of demonstration president lukashenko today and is going to convince the dangers for a way russia is the president to go? received here if they are seen yes, we believe, and that's why we are all here. to be moving to try and prop all of minsk, him up. that's jonah fisher there. let's bring you some all of our country. breaking news from the united states. nancy pelosi has said belarus has never seen she will recall the chamber scenes like this before. a couple of weeks ago, this week to vote on demonstrations were extremely legislation to protect the rare and they were usually postal service. brutally snuffed out by the government. in a letter to lawmakers, pelosi said the house would vote on legislation now there are people marching to prohibit the postal service as far as the eye can from implementing any changes see through the centre to services it had in place

of the capital, minsk. there's a real sense on january first. of change in the air. democrats have accused but for now, president president trump of trying to hamstring the cash—strapped lukashenka clings on to power. postal service to suppress this was his rally mail—in voting. today in minsk. this comes after the just a few thousand showed up. main investigative an embarrassing turnout for a man who claims to have won 80% of the vote. committee of the house called on top figures in the postal service to testify at an emergency hearing later this month amid allegations of widespread mail delays and potential interference in a defiant speech, by president trump. he rejected calls for new elections, telling his supporters that nato tanks mr trump has warned the us were near the border. is not ready for mail ballots in the november elections. in north carolina protesters "leave, leave," they chant. gathered again outside the home of the postmaster general but exactly how that happens is farfrom clear. louis dejoy. do you think that the president they claim mr dejoy — who is is going to go peacefully? a supporter of donald trump — is intentionally gutting i'm not sure about it, the postal service to help the president. but we will not go away. today, tomorrow, next week, we will stay here on the streets. the speaker the us house, nancy and i would like to say that i was born in 1998, pelosi says she will recall the and i spent all my life chamber later this week to vote with president lukashenka on legislation to protect the postal service. more on this with president lukashenko story as and when we get here and i don't want it any more. and bbc news.

this was a day when new zealand's general election has been postponed bela russians found their voice. because of the recent outbreak of covid—i9 in auckland. "lukashenka — lock him up," they're saying here. the poll had been due europe's longest—serving to take place in september, leader may have passed but the date has been pushed the point of no return. back by four weeks to the 17th of october. the prime minister, jacinda ardern took the decision after consulting the other political parties. 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 and i spoke tojonah fisher earlier and he began by telling 00:04:49,339 --> 2147483051:39:09,384 us more about the unprecedented 2147483051:39:09,384 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 events on sunday. 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 0ctober election day, the commission will be able to leverage and draw much of the work already undertaken to deliver the election. 0pposition activists in thailand have staged another anti—government rally in bangkok to demand political change. as well as a revision of the constitution, the demonstrators called for reform of the monarchy. an estimated 20,000 people have joined a protest in bangkok calling for sweeping political reform. the thai government successfully contained the coronavirus, but the tourism—dependent economy was badly hit, and a series of other blunders have eroded its popularity. however, it is the student movement's unprecedented call for reform of thailand's monarchy, which has stunned the 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

sorry but it seems technical gremlins have stopped us from playing you that package. we will try and get that to you later on in the programme. this move later on in the programme. this m ove o nto later on in the programme. this move onto somalia. 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. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: he's not donald trump — is that all democratic challengerjoe biden has going for him? we investigate, ahead of the national convention.

washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed i did have a relationship with miss lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 sub mariners who died. we are all with them now. they are in our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than two and half million people in his hometown of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope. "so you want me

to desert rome? " this is bbc news, the latest headlines. tens of thousands of people have turned out 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 back to thailand now would have been protest. 0pposition activists in thailand have staged another anti—government rally in bangkok to demand political change. the student movement has surprised many in the country. 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, 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—19 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.

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 16—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, yourfuture 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 1% 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. 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. 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 was that a lot of these afghans were responsible for killing nato soldiers, the french government was public on this and nato governments are demanding these prisoners not be freed. and that would really be a big blow to the americans

and to the afghan president. the democrats will host their national convention on monday, wherejoe biden will be confirmed as the party's nominee for us president, in november's election. the event has been scaled down due to the coronavirus pandemic. 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 19% 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. trump campaign ads have sought to portray the 77—year—old as a man who is losing it. i'll make sure that we are... ..in a position that... go ahead. oh, no, probably best i don't. certainly, biden is gaffe prone. if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or trump than you ain't black... and that i'm going to beatjoe biden. we hold these truths to be self—evident. all men and women created by the... you know the... you know the thing. the next vice president of the united states of america! in 2008, when a youthful

barack 0bama stood with joe biden as his running mate, the optimistic and positive message was hope and, yes, we can. ready, set, go. in this strange 2020 election, not being donald trump might be joe biden‘s biggest plus. jon sopel, bbc news, wilmington, delaware. plenty more on all of the stories on our website. thank you for watching. goodbye from us. 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 mist 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 or30 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 onwards, but that's not an end to the wet story. it stays unsettled with rain or showers to take us into next weekend.

this is bbc news. the headlines: an enormous crowd of opponents of belarusian president alexander lu kashenko has gathered in minsk to demand his resignation. it comes amid growing anger over alleged poll—rigging and police violence at subsequent protests. but the president vows to stay in power, claiming belarus is under threat from foreign forces. the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi, has said that she will recall the chamber later this week to vote on legislation to protect the postal service.

democrats have accused president trump of trying to hamstring the cash—strapped postal service to suppress mail—in voting in november's election. new zealand's prime minister has announced that general elections due to take place in mid—september have been postponed because of a fresh covid—19 outbreak. jacinda ardern told a news conference the poll date has been pushed back to october the 17th, giving parties time to resume their suspended election campaigns. now on bbc news, hardtalk.