this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm james reynolds. our top stories: a senior belarusian opposition activist takes refuge in poland, saying she's been forced to choose between jail and exile. india records 90,000 new coronavirus cases on sunday, a new global daily record. this is bbc news, a rare and dangerous heat wave the headlines: is hitting california. temperatures could hit 49 degrees celcius in some areas. and, the bolshoi ballet and opposition activist from is back treading the boards belarus said she was driven to after shutting down the board and forced to leave during the pandemic. the board and forced to leave the country. 0lga kovalkova said had she not left the country she would have been in prison. india announced on sunday it had 90,000 new cases of coronavirus, a new record, it is struggling to contain the

virus as it is moving quickly into smaller towns and rural a leading opposition activist areas from the major cities. in belarus has arrived forecasters warning that people in california will have to go in the polish capital warsaw after fleeing the country. through a rare and dangerous 0lga kovalkova was told heatwave with temperatures by the authorities she hitting 49 celsius in some areas and authorities warn would face further arrest extreme weather could raise the if she didn't leave the country of forest fires and calls after already spending ten days injail. paul hawkins has more. roving blackouts. they are 0lga kovalkova, another already recovering from a heat opponent of belarus' president, wave in august and devastating who says she's been forced to leave the country. wildfires. it was either that, or a long spell injail. she's now in poland. translation: i consider everything that's happened to me in recent weeks to be torture. i received threats that i will 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 that i leave the country, otherwise i would stay in prison for a very long time. translation: as long as belarus

and belarusians 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 repression in belarus, can count on the support and protection of the polish state. in the belarusian capital, minsk, many feel politically repressed. "don't touch them, they're children, let them go," yells someone in russian, as masked security agents took away some of these students for protesting against president lukashenko. chanting. later, these women marched through the capital, some of them chanting "new election". 30 people were detained on saturday, this the fourth weekend of mass protests since the president claimed to have won an 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 sitting at home. this is a feeling of solidarity, we are not alone, we are numerous, and together, we can change something. belarus' main opposition figure, sviatla na tsikhanouskaya, remains in exile in lithuania. on friday, she urged the un to follow the eu and impose sanctions on individuals close to president lukashenko, who she said was "desperately clinging to power". but the president, backed by russia, is going nowhere for now. he remains stubbornly in power, while protesters stubbornly defy the crackdown. 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. hundreds of mourners have attended the funeral in south africa of a 16—year—old with down's 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. 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. teachers and students have been demonstrating in madrid, demanding better measures to protect against coronavirus at schools and universities, before they re—open. 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. the surge in coronavirus cases in india is outpacing every other country

in the world, spreading rapidly beyond major cities into smaller towns and rural areas. the country reported a record jump of over 90,000 new cases of the new virus on sunday, a global daily record. with me is our reporter ishleen kaur. these figures keep coming every day, talk through what happens in the smaller towns and villages as the virus hits their? there is a resurgence in cities like delhi and mumbai but now the virus is going beyond the major cities, spreading in north—eastern states and if you look at these smaller second tier cities or rural areas it is important to understand that most of india lives in rural areas, where healthcare facilities are really, really poor and testing capacity is abysmally low. if you look at private healthcare, very few hospitals, and government hospitals have been

overwhelmed, even before the epidemic, there are hardly any doctors or hospital beds to cater to patients. that is what worries the experts most. it is that if the callous load rises in rural areas that if the callous load rises in ruralareas — that if the callous load rises in rural areas — as if the caseload, it will be hard to reverse the pandemic, keeping the focus in rural areas. young people want to become doctors and engineers, they are right now having to face exams as well? it is true, it is the medical entrance exam and medical entrance exam and medical entrance exam for medical entrance exam for medical and engineering students. they have been protests to reschedule the exams in india, i think the stu d e nts exams in india, i think the students in rural areas are particularly at a disadvantage because some areas have been ravaged by floods and to get to the examination centre is a task for the students. within

india, other students also think it is not a good time to be preparing for exams because they are not sure about the examination centres and their conditions quite from what i understand, the exams are getting and going ahead, and let's say they get through the exams during a pandemic, will they getjobs at the end of it? that is another big question because if you look at the recent figures, and i was looking at a report by the international labour organisation, they said that 4 million indians below the age of 30 have lost their jobs during the pandemic, and the age group that has been hit worst is 15—24, so that is the aspect that young people are losing theirjobs but also that the batch graduating next year, the batch graduating next year, the student is undergoing exams right now, they will not be able to find jobs, all they willjoin this big army of unemployed people. looking at those young people, those doing exams and trying to getjobs,

do they feel from what you can tell, did they feel they have a voice in india at the moment? they are actually really, really worried, james, and to be fair the exams take place in april and may and they have been postponed twice and the government feels it's important for them to take the exams and have to go ahead but young indians definitely are facing a very tough time. thank you. leading british scientists have warned the country faces a critical moment in the battle to contain coronavirus. infection rates are growing among young adults, as students prepare to return to university. 0ur correspondent richard galpin reports. 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 like that, 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 is 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 really 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. 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. 0n the us west coast, the covid threatjoins forces with deadly heat and an increase in wildfire danger. between california, nevada, arizona and colorado, at least 43 million americans are baking under record temperatures. california is experiencing record—shattering heat that is so oppressive, officials warn it could be deadly. i spoke to eric boldt, warning coordination meteorologist at the national

weather service of los angeles, and asked him just how hot it is in the region. it's very hot. we have had temperatures in many of our valleys, here in southwest california, reach 115 degrees. the highest i have seen today is woodland hills, 117 degrees fahrenheit. even downtown los angeles, near 100. so today and tomorrow, we are expecting similar, if not 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. you say these numbers — some of them are more than half the way towards the boiling point of water. what is causing the heatwave? it's a very strong high—pressure system that's 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 degrees fahrenheit at night. that sounds extremely uncomfortable. how do high temperatures increase the risk of wildfires, which we have been covering in recent weeks in california? right, so wildfires are a big concern right now. we already see those taking off today, because you have all the ingredients — the hot, dry air and a little bit of cold air up aloft, and that creates giant smoke plumes over the top of those fires, which can cause, basically, the fires to spread rapidly, out of control. so a lot of evacuations, a lot of people forced to leave their homes tonight. this is bbc news, 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 recorded 90,000 new coronavirus cases on sunday, a new global daily record.

how slow is slow? a cord change music which lasts for 639 yea rs. it is the first chord change to as slow as possible in seven years. the work by avant—garde composer, john cage, began 19 years ago and is one of the world's longest and slowest pieces of music. the change of chord took place on the specially—built organ on which the composition is being performed. tone hums. tone changes

slightly. and there it was! that was quite rare. iam nowjoined by pianist stephen drury. stephen, what is it about this work, and that cord change, which has caught so many people's imagination? you know, i was listening to that and i could just... i could hear john's voice going, isn't that marvellous? isn't that beautiful? it's, it's something about having this vision of his fulfilled in an order of magnitude greater than i think he would have ever thought possible. a lot of the world

knows him as the composer of 4"33, which in case people don't know, is in effect silence. how did he redefine what we understand of his music? well, i thinkjohn cage basically made us understand that music is the listening. it is not the making. and once you realise music is the listening, then you can listen to 4"33, four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, and hear the sound thatis silence, and hear the sound that is never really silence. and also, you realise you can use any sound to make music stop you don't have to use the 12 tones of the piano, or instruments, or anything. anything that sound is music. and looking at this piece, which lasts for 639 years, from what you can tell, is it a good tune? it is all good! any

sounds is beautiful, with the beauty coming from my attention being placed on that sound. any two years listening to the sound makes it beautiful. you knewjohn cage. what was he like? he was, i mean, you know, i grew like? he was, i mean, you know, igrew up like? he was, i mean, you know, i grew up with him is kind of a legend, and then to meet him and to realise what a sweetheart he was and what a decent, kind human being, and generous, and a tremendous sense of humour. and then he would stop in the middle of a sentence and he would go, what, is something wrong? and finally i realised, no, he wasjust listening. hejust stopped i realised, no, he wasjust listening. he just stopped and listened. it was, he was a great guy. and his work will and in the year 26110. i don't

even know how to say it, it is so far in the future. you and i will not see it, butjust for the sake of it, for the fun of it, and you picture the scene in the church in the year 26110 when ductwork comes an end? oh, and it's a small room, as far asi and it's a small room, as far as i can tell. i mean, i hope to live long enough to go on here a little bit myself, but at that moment, when the organ quits creating the sound and everybody is still listening to the sound ofjohn cage, in spite of there being no music coming out of the organ, that isa coming out of the organ, that is a reason to get good exercise. let's see how long we last! stephen drury, thank you so much. my pleasure. 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. protesters in louisville have been holding counter—demonstrations on the day of america's famous horse race, the kentucky derby. this year's race ran without spectators due to the covid—19 pandemic. it 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 activists were confronted by right wing militia groups, many armed with semi—automatic weapons. i've been speaking to local louisville reporter ryan van velzer and asked him for his take on the day's events. i'm here in south central park in south louisville where the protesters are starting to disperse. as the derby ran, which they call the two most exciting minutes in sports here, outside there was a police

line, there were protesters behind a fence, and the crowd was making as much noise as possible as the race ran. why are the protesters in particular choosing to protest at a horse race? right. you know, it's not the first time in louisville history in which protests have been contemplated at the derby. actually, back in the 1960s, martin luther king jr 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 across the country. of course. and you live and work 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 louisville. 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 only time this has happened — you have george floyd, you have ahmaud arbery, and even since breonna taylor, you've had other black people who have died at the hands of police. we've talked about the black lives matter protesters, have there been right—wing protesters that you've seen today? earlier this morning, in downtown louisville, cou nter— protesters faced off against some of the more regular protesters who are in jefferson square park in downtown louisville. these right—wing groups who kind of have a loose affiliation with militias, with three percenters, there were a lot of trump supporter flags in the audience, and it got

pretty tense because the police weren't there at the time. so the protesters and the counter—protesters got right up on each other‘s faces. thankfully, they managed to end things peacefully without any violence. indian and sri lankan naval authorities say they have managed to to a supertanker on fire to deeper water some 60 kilometres away from the coast of sri lanka. the tanker, carrying more than a quarter of 1 million tons of crude oil, caught fire on thursday, telling one crew member. a spokesperson said there had been no oil leak. britain's chief negotiator has want 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. 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 over1 billion roubles, that's about $15 million, in lost ticket sales, the famous bolshoi theatre is back in action. the reopening of the grandest 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 their temperatures measured and will be asked to wear masks. only 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 stage, only 70 people will be allowed at any given time, and bolshoi has known

much bigger productions. the director said that unlike some western theatres, they still keep their singers and their 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 too far. translation: i would go to the theatre butjust because it's the bolshoi. translation: i dream to go see the nutcracker in december, naturally. i hope it comes true and everything will be fine. translation: of course, you should go to the theatre and not be afraid. my face shield isjust a style 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 that we'll be shut for another quarantine on 1

october but we are trying to brush the thoughts aside, we don't want the lockdown to be repeated. there are talks that some of the restrictions can be brought back if infection rates go up, and they may do, after muscovites came back from their summer vacations and after their kids started going to school, but still, most of the evenings now, well—dressed 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. let's stick with culture. 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. life is coming back piece by piece. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @jamesbbcnews.

hello, there. we can sum the weather up this weekend as sunshine and showers and the showers through saturday were most frequent across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. that focus shifts slightly as we head 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 scotland and northern ireland with some spells of sunshine. in fact, most of us will see some spells of 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 eastwards, if you shut up and down into 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 scotland and northern ireland through the evening and overnight. slowly pushing its way eastwards. ahead of that a lot of cloud spilling into southern scotland, northern england and north wales. while we have the cloud in the rain temperatures will easily stay in double figures but while we have clear skies, particularly further south, still in single figures and we start the new week with a north—south split. so wetter and windy to the north the uk, drier and increasingly warm and humid for the south. on monday, rain already across northern ireland and scotland will sink its way slowly south eastwards, tending 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, temperatures 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 head through tuesday and for some, on wednesday although the temperatures start to come down 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, maybe northern ireland, some patchy drizzle across the west of wales and south—west england but look at those temperatures quite widely in the high teens to low 20s celsius. as we head through the middle part of the week, we hold onto that warmth and humidity for the south and then turning 00:28:18,803 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 cooler elsewhere by thursday.