welcome to bbc news. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: a senior belarusian opposition activist takes refuge in poland, saying she's been forced to choose betweenjail and exile. india records 86,000 new coronavirus cases on saturday, a new global daily record. a rare and dangerous heatwave is hitting california. temperatures could hit 49 degrees celsius in some areas. the bolshoi ballet is back treading the boards after having to shut down for covid—19.

hello and welcome to bbc news. a leading opposition activist in belarus has arrived in the polish capital, warsaw, after fleeing the country. 0lga kovalkova was told by the authorities she would face further arrest if she didn't leave the country after already spending ten days injail. paul hawkins has more: 0lga kovalkova, another opponent of belarus' president who says she has been forced to leave the country. it was either that or a long spell in jail. she is now in poland. translation: i consider everything that has happened to me in recent weeks to be torture. i received threats, i would be jailed for a very long time. when i fell ill in my cell, it wasn't doctors who came, but representatives of the authorities. they suggested i leave the country, otherwise i would stay in prison for a very long time.

translation: as long as belarus and belarus and is are not able to speak freely about their views and beliefs, as long as repression continues, according to the decision of the prime minister, every person who has been subjected to political oppression in belarus, can count on the protection and support of the polish state. in the belarusian support of the polish state. in the bela rusian capital, support of the polish state. in the belarusian capital, minsk, many feel politically repressed. "don't touch them, their children, let them go!", yells somebody russian, as masked men take away students, who were protesting against president lukashenko. later, these women marched through the capital, some of them chanting for a new election. 13 people we re for a new election. 13 people were detained on saturday, this the weekend of mass protests since the president claimed to have one and allegedly rigged election. translation: at the time being, it is hard not to be in the

street. it is very hard to watch the current events at home. this is a feeling of solidarity, we are not alone, we are numerous, and together, we are numerous, and together, we can change something. belarus' main opposition figure, sviatlana tsikhanouskaya, remains in exile in that the waning. 0n friday, she urged the un to follow the eu and impose sanctions on individuals to president lukashenko, who she said he was desperately clinging to power. backed by russia, president lukashenko isn't going anywhere for now. more demonstrations are expected on sunday. paul hawkins, bbc news. let's get some of the day's other news. rescuers in beirut have found no sign of life in the rubble of a building destroyed in last month's massive explosion. a sensor detected possible signs of life on thursday, but after clearing 95% of the rubble, workers have not found the source of the reading. about 50 volunteers, including a team from chile,

have been at the scene. teachers and students have been demonstrating in madrid, demanding better measures to protect against coronavirus at schools and universities before they reopen. amongst their demands are a call for all class sizes to be kept below 20 to allow for social distancing. the protesters, many wearing green, kept apart from each other on the march. police in the us city of portland have arrested 27 people after protesters marched through the streets and refused to disperse. the demonstrations — which began after the police killing of george floyd in minneapolis — have been going on for almost 100 straight nights. hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral in south africa of a 16—year—old with down syndrome, who was allegedly shot dead by police. nathanieljulies was killed on august 26 after going out to buy biscuits near his home in a johannesburg township. at least two police officers have since been arrested.

i'm a corresponded rich —— richard galpin reports on university students and the risk of coronavirus. the new university year is approaching for students here in leeds but the movement of thousands of students to universities could lead to a surge of coronavirus cases, and while a coronavirus infection has little impact on the young, they can then spread the virus to other people. i'm a bit worried about the population, that they might bring something with them because they're from all over the uk and america and things, and we don't know if they're carrying it. as long as i limit my interaction and, like, use my mask and stuff, i'm not really that concerned about spreading it to anyone else. but experts believe it's likely there will be significant outbreaks. this is indeed a critical moment.

we are now seeing actually the highest numbers of infections, or at least detected infections, in younger people. universities are having to put in place important measures to ensure they have testing capacity and also thinking about how they teach their students. leeds is already on the government's watchlist of areas of concern. and officials here are worried young people are becoming complacent. whereas we were focusing more on specific communities at the beginning, it's now clear that the pattern is changing, and a very strong message going out from us to avoid having further restrictions put on us. the watchlist of hot spots like leeds is growing. south tyneside, middlesbrough, rossendale, corby, kettering and norfolk are also all now on the list after increases in cases. and this evening, bolton has announced a further tightening of restrictions.

people here being asked to avoid mixing with other households and only use public transport if essential, because, the council says, its infection rate is the highest in england. back in leeds, another busy day at flamingo's coffee house. social distancing vital, but the owner says people are still ignoring the rules. 99% of people want to do the right thing. people are getting fatigued from coronavirus, everyone, me included, we slip up a bit, it's hard to keep everything going and also there are some people that just don't want to socially distance. and as long as that continues, then infection rates will not come down. richard galpin, bbc news. let's stay with coronavirus. the surge in infections in india is outpacing every other country in the world as the virus spreads beyond major cities into smaller towns and rural areas. the country added over 86,000

new cases of the new virus on saturday, a global daily record. health officials are struggling to stem the surge in the virus as it spreads beyond major cities. with me is our reporter ishleen kaur. explain this rise in smaller cities and towns, then? india has seen the fastest growing coronavirus are great and the last cases have been over 13 days. so these are varying statistics, but the virus is now moving beyond the major cities, into smaller towns and rural areas. and most of india actually lives in rural areas, where healthcare facilities are really, really poor and testing capacity is abysmally low. it's pick up on that point. for people who live in towns or even villages, what kind of access to doctors, nurses or testing might they have? there are very few private healthcare facilities. if you look at government hospitals, they have been overwhelmed, even before the pandemic started. if i could throw a few numbers that you come india anyway has the

lowest doctor density in the world, 0.55 per thousand in the population, and in brazil, the numbers are higher. and if you are looking at states like bihar, bihar‘s rate is even lower. and the number in delhi, one bed per thousand of the population. hospitals, very, very few. and states like bihar and samar, some of the most populous in india. so as the case load in india rises, these states will not be able to cope and it will be harder to survive the epidemic. getting through the pandemic is bad enough on its own, but in the middle of all of this, as far asi middle of all of this, as far as i understand, millions of stu d e nts as i understand, millions of students are having to sit two of india's most competitive exams as well? it is the net

and thejee, nec is medical exa m and thejee, nec is medical exam and thejee is the engineering exam. there are 2.5 million students in this every year. the competition is extremely stiff and it is an unnerving time for students. what was happening was, you know, it's pandemic times so stu d e nts know, it's pandemic times so students were obviously worried because of the examination centre they may contract the virus. they don't know about the conditions of these examination centres. so, exams about another in a good year. ina bad about another in a good year. in a bad year, the business be excruciating for millions of students. -- exams are bad enoughin students. -- exams are bad enough ina students. -- exams are bad enough in a good year. it is. they launched protests on social media and even petitioned the supreme court of india, asking them to reschedule the exam. but they dismissed their plea and stu d e nts dismissed their plea and students are finally appearing for these exams. ishleen kaur, exams are still sent a shudder through my system. thank you so

much. an excessive heat warning is in place in california this weekend. the temperature in los angeles is around a0 degrees celsius now and officials are expecting up to 50 degrees in some parts of the state. neighbouring nevada and arizona are also on alert. joining me now from california is eric boldt, warning co—ordination meteorologist at the national weather service of los angeles. let's start with precision. how hot is it now, and how hot is it going to get? it's very hard. we have had temperatures and many of our values here in southwest california reach 150 degrees —— valleys. within hills, 170 fahrenheit. downtown los angeles, near 100. hills, 170 fahrenheit. downtown los angeles, near100. so hills, 170 fahrenheit. downtown los angeles, near 100. so today and tomorrow we are expecting similar, even hotter temperatures tomorrow, which is starting to set all—time record highs for the month and possibly all—time on record for these stations that have been around for over 100 years.

sadie's numbers, some of them are more than halfway towards the point of water. what is causing the heatwave? it's a very strong high—pressure system that is centred over nevada and arizona, it's kind of spreading across california. all of california is pretty much in an extreme heat warning through at least monday or tuesday. and the other factor with this heatwave is the night—time temperatures, some of them not getting below 90 fahrenheit at night. that seems extremely uncomfortable. how high do temperatures —— how do high—temperature is increase the risk of wildfires in california? wildfires are a big concern right now. we see them almost taking off today because you have all of the ingredients, the hot, dry air and a little bit of cold air up and a little bit of cold air up a lot, that creates giant smoke plumes. that can cause the fire is to spread rapidly out of

control. so a lot of evacuations, a lot of people forced to leave their homes tonight. and what kind of advice is the national weather service giving to people, especially towards the elderly? you really need to take it easy during the hottest part of the day, get to someplace that is air—conditioned. we have grilling centres available for people to go to. just to really protect themselves —— cooling centres. even hiking because a closing because it isjust centres. even hiking because a closing because it is just too hot to be outside during the peak of the day. eric boldt, thank you so much. thank you. the headlines: a belarusian opposition activist says she was driven to the polish border by the security services and forced to leave the country. india records 86,000 new coronavirus cases on saturday — that is a new global daily record. protesters in louisville, kentucky have been holding

counter—demonstrations on the day of america's famous annual horse race, the kentucky derby. this year's race which ran without spectators due to the covid—19 pandemic became the focus for anti—racism protestors calling for justice for breonna taylor, the 26—year—old woman who was shot and killed by louisville police when they entered her home without warning back in march. the protesters were met by right wing militia groups. we can now speak to local reporter ryan van velzer who has been following the protests in louisville. bring us up—to—date with the protests. i'm here in south central park where the protesters are starting to disperse. it has been about an hour since the kentucky derby race was run. as the derby ran, which they call the two most exciting minutes in sports here, outside there was a police line, protesters, and the crowd was making as much noise as possible as the race ran. why other protesters in particular choosing to protest ata particular choosing to protest at a horse race? right. you

know, it's not the first time in louiseville history in which protests have been contemplated at the derby. back in the 19605, at the derby. back in the 1960s, martin luther king at the derby. back in the 1960s, martin luther kinng had contemplated having a civil rights protest at the derby and cancelled at the last minute. they are doing it to raise awareness about the death of breonna taylor and racial justice, awareness about racial justice, awareness about racial justice across the country. of course. and you live locally, can you explain to us the strength of feeling locally about the breonna taylor case? we have entered the 101st day of protest here in louiseville. it is... there is a lot of anger at the injustice, what protesters say is the injustice in the breonna taylor case. it's also symbolic of what's

been happening around the world and around the country in america in regards to police brutality. this is not the, obviously this is not the early times it happened, you have george floyd, a and even since breonna you had other black people who have died at the hands of police. we talked about the black lives matter protesters, have there been right—wing protesters that you have seen today? i'm sorry, say that again? we talked about the black lives matter protesters, have there been counter protesters from right—wing groups? yes. earlier this morning, in downtown louisville, counter protest is faced off against some of the more regular protesters who are injefferson square more regular protesters who are in jefferson square park more regular protesters who are injefferson square park in downtown louisville. these right—wing groups have a loose affiliation with militias, there were a lot of trump's in there were a lot of trump's in the audience, and it got pretty tense because the police were not there at the time. so the

protesters and the counter protesters and the counter protesters got right up on each other‘s faces. thankfully, they managed to end things peacefully without any violence. thank you so much for talking, holding a phone and balancing your mask. thanks so much. the indian and sri lankan naval authorities say they've managed to tow a supertanker on fire to deep waters, some 60 kilometres away from the eastern coast of sri lanka. the tanker, carrying more than a quarter of a million tons of crude oil, caught fire on thursday killing one crew member. a spokesman said there had been no oil leak. there are warnings of high winds, heavy rain and storm surges as typhoon haishen approaches japan. factories, shops and schools have been closed, hundreds of flights have been cancelled and train services suspended. the authorities have stressed the risk of coronavirus infection should not deter residents in the regions of okinawa and kagoshima from moving into storm shelters. britain's chief brexit negotiator has warned the eu that the uk isn't scared of having no trade deal

at the end of the transition period. lord frost has told the mail on sunday that boris johnson won't compromise on britain having control of its own laws. his eu counterpart, michel barnier, has expressed disappointment about a lack of concessions from the uk. hundreds of people have joined anti—lockdown protests in the australian city of melbourne, as tensions rise over the state's handling of the pandemic. at least 15 people were arrested as some demonstrators clashed with police. freya cole reports. chanting: freedom! chanting for their freedom, which these protesters say has been taken away from them. in return, police form a barrier, pushing back against a crowd which has no regard for the coronavirus lockdown in place. it is not safe, it is not smart, it is not lawful. in fact, it is absolutely selfish for people to be out there protesting. the only protest we should be engaged in, the only argument, the only fight we should be engaged in is against this virus.

it didn't take long before things turned ugly. more than a dozen people were arrested. in some cases, there was violence. melbourne is coming to the end of its second six—week lockdown. covid cases have fallen dramatically. there were 89 new cases in the last 2a hours. the restrictions are due to end next week, but the premier hasn't ruled out an extension. human rights matter! divisions are growing deeper — a bitter rift between anti—lockdown protesters and those willing to comply. freya cole, bbc news. a hospital in jerusalem is reporting what it says is a world first to support covid—19 patients. people who have recovered from the disease are volunteering to help those currently being treated. it comes amid a surge in cases in the region. here's our middle east correspondent, tom bateman. in the sealed world

of a coronavirus ward, the sick fill bed upon bed, and fight illness alone. shuki knows how the isolation feels. he had the disease in april. now recovered, he is one of a small army volunteering to help those suffering now. i was looking at this together with my wife, and we said, that's what we've been waiting for, i guess. it's a chance to give something back. hadassah hospital started the trial last month, thought to be one of the first of its kind in the world. the volunteers are all survivors of the disease. now reassuring current patients, feeding them or helping them call relatives. for under—pressure nurses, it's been vital support. all the patients are very lonely. they have nobody inside. no family, no friends, no—one.

only the staff and the staff are dressed like aliens, so it's very important for them that someone can come, sit near to them and talk to them. the science is still unclear aboutjust how much or even long people might have immunity from having had the virus and that is why all the volunteers here where exactly the same protective gear as the nurses. shuki says he knows the risks but feels safe enough. he hopes the project can help others overcome the desperate isolation coronavirus can bring. my assumption is that i'm geared up just like any other staff member and then i have another layer of protection, these antibodies, so the worst case, i'm like anybody else that goes in. try to keep it simple and do whatever i can. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem. ten people have been arrested following clashes

between anti—migrant demonstrators and the police in dover. rival protesters also gathered in the town in support of migrants arriving in the uk. police from neighbouring forces were called in to help maintain order. several boats have sunk on a lake in the us state of texas while taking part in a parade to support president trump in november's election. the sheriff's office for travis county said some boats took on water, some stalled and others capsized. it said it had launched an investigation but added there was no evidence of any intentional act. no injuries were reported. russia's most famous theatre venue, the bolshoi, reopens on sunday in the final stage of easing of coronavirus restrictions in moscow. the first few performances have been — perhaps predictably — sold out. there is excitement but also apprehension as some are concerned about a new wave of infections once all of the measures are relaxed. 0leg boldyrev of the bbc‘s russian service reports from moscow. after five months of staying shut and over 1

after five months of staying shut and over1 billion roubles, that's about $15 million in lost ticket sales, the famous bolshoi theatre is backin the famous bolshoi theatre is back in action. the reopening of the greatest of all russian theatre that is, for many, an indication that life is coming back to normal. of course, there will be limitations. visitors will have the temperatures measured and will be asked to wear masks. 0nly half of the seats will be filled in chequered order. the musicians, everyone apart from the brass section will be playing behind screens and of course on the state, only 70 people will be allowed at any given time and bolshoi has known much bigger productions stopping the director said that unlike some western theatres, they still keep that singers in they still keep that singers in the actors on the payroll, but the actors on the payroll, but the payments for each individual performance will be going down, no—one in the industry pretends its life as usual. some moscow theatres have opened earlier and of course in the city of 15 million people, there will be enough people willing to go, pandemic or no pandemic. and in many aspects, life in moscow is

in pre— pandemic mode, but no—one plans to far. translation: i would go to the theatre but just because translation: i would go to the theatre butjust because it's theatre butjust because it's the bolshoi. translation: a dream to go see the nutcracker in december. i hope it goes well and everything will be fine. translation: of course, you should go to the theatre and not be afraid. my face shield isjust a stale element. it matches my top. i don't have to wear it all the time. translation: we are studying at the conservatory and there's rumours will be shut for another quarantine in october but we are trying to brush the thoughts aside, we don't want the lockdown to be repeated. after muscovites came back from their summer vacations and after the kids started going to school, but still, most of the evenings now, well crowds will be coming to these entrances and even if you are not an opera fan, this is still an

indication that one day, life will go back to normal. 0leg boldyrev, bbc news, moscow. there's just time to take you to colombia, where salsa has returned to the streets of the city of cali, at a traditional open air festival. it's been allowed to go ahead, despite a surge in cases in colombia in an effort to reactivate the local economy. this year of course, couples are keeping their distance from other dancers and masks are being worn. a reminder of our top story. a belarusian opposition activist that she was driven to the polish border by security services and forced to leave the country. she said she would have been jailed if the country. she said she would have beenjailed if she had not agreed to leave. don't forget, there's lots more on all the stories we are covering on our website, or if you want, you can download the bbc news app

for your tablet or smartphone stopper you can even send me a message! i'm on twitter. hello. we can sum the weather up hello. we can sum the weather up this weekend as sunshine and showers and the showers through saturday were most frequent scotland, northern ireland and northern england. that focus shifts slightly as we had through sunday, still some showers around, courtesy of this feature but this time the focus is across england and wales so a drier day for scotla nd wales so a drier day for scotland and northern ireland with some spells of sunshine. in fact, most of us will see sunshine through sunday but we do need to watch out for those showers. most frequent through the morning, across northern england into wales and the midlands. it could be heavy, maybe even thundery, sliding their way south and east with, if you shut up and down into lincolnshire and east anglia, asi lincolnshire and east anglia, as i said, many will be dry

with some spells of sunshine and lighter winds as well compared to saturday so it should feel a bit warmer, 16— 20 celsius for many, little bit cooler further north across scotland. then we see rain and cloud arriving into western scotla nd cloud arriving into western scotland and northern ireland through the evening and overnight stop is slowly pushing its way eastwards. ahead of that a lot of cloud spilling into southern scotland, northern england and north wales. while we have a cloud in the rain temperatures will easily stay in double figures but while we have clear skies, still in single figures and we start the new week with and we start the new week with a north, south split. so wet and windy to the north the uk, drier and increasingly warm and humid for the south. 0n drier and increasingly warm and humid for the south. on monday, rain already across northern ireland and scotland will think its way slowly south end is to fizzle out as it does so but likely some rain into northern england, parts of wales, south—west england, drier further south and east you are but with increasing cloud and perhaps some gusty winds for a time across the north of england, into scotland and northern ireland but despite the breeze, the cloud and the

rain, damages will still be in the high teens across the north of the uk and perhaps up to 20 or 21 celsius further south and east and we hold onto that plume of warmth as we had through tuesday and for some, on wednesday although the damage is done to come down across the north of the uk. tuesdayis across the north of the uk. tuesday is a mostly cloudy day, the best of the brightness will be the further east you are, likely see some rain into western scotland, may be northern ireland, some patchy drizzle that across the west of wales in south—west england but look at the quite widely in the high teens to low 20s celsius. as we had through the middle pa rt as we had through the middle part of the week we hold onto that warmth and humidity for the south and then turning cooler elsewhere by thursday.

this is bbc news. the headlines: an opposition activist from belarus says she was driven to the polish border by the security services and forced to leave the country. 0lga kovalkova said if she had not agreed to leave the country, she would have faced a long spell in jail. india announced on saturday that it had 86,000 new coronavirus cases. that's a new global daily record. the country is struggling to contain the virus as it moves quickly into smaller towns and rural areas from the major cities. forecasters warn that californians will have to endure a rare and dangerous heatwave with temperatures that could hit 49 degrees celsius in some areas. there are warnings also for nevada and arizona. the authorities warn the extreme weather could raise

risk of forest fires and cause rolling electrical blackouts