yes. more like. 2 leading opposition figures are arrested in belarus as alexander lukashenko remains defiant after a month of unrest. also this hour caught in a vicious circle as journey demands russia investigate what happened to opposition activists i don't see them all meet with moscow and turn calling on berlin to share its data berlin though designed to send it straight to the global chemical weapons watchdog instead. and the oscars set out new rules on day bursty which filmmakers will have to meet to qualify for the best picture award we debate whether it's a helping stop or interference. will put up with the american people films with

women with minorities are not yet the same great force affirmative action get what you want you in the you want it you see you see what kid i knew when. this is r t international bring you your blog news update this hour welcome to the program. 2 leading opposition figures have been arrested in belarus and a nother security crackdown following last month's contested election that leaves the opposition governing body with just one recognized leader meanwhile hundreds of people have rallied in support of another activist help earlier maria kolesnikov a. police

trying to disperse the protesters when that failed they started to make arrests dozens were poorly detained our senior correspondent ron johnson is in minsk and breaks down the developments. to compromise here there is very little give in either side president if you can seemingly determined to hold on to power to preserve the state and the system that he has built over the many long years of his rule the protesters undaunted seemingly by the increasingly heavy hand of the lord as an example this is a spontaneous protest last 10 minutes away from us we set out immediately by the time we got that there wasn't a side that there had been just minutes before a violent confrontation so i'd mock that and scary big bloody intimidating men in a mug's uniforms without any visible identification fullface mosques. they seized and tied up everyone that looks suspicious and it was over in media minutes it

seems that the better russian government recognizing the futility of trying to end these protests is now trying to contain them trying to restrict them to the weekends and that is when we will undoubtedly see tens of thousands of people marching down the streets of min's against president of the the fact that a prominent opposition member maria plastic of a has been arrested will undoubtedly breathe fresh life into these protests because she's a member of the opposition the coordination council which is a very long time stated different goals from securing a transition of power to merely organizing new elections fresh elections and she's facing very serious charges of trying to undo fully seize power which. as a penalty of 3 to 5 years in jail maria kolesnikov his father spoke to r.t. and described the circumstances of her rest to us on the phone i reported to police

my daughter's disappearance because there was already a video on the internet and there were so witness that unknown people pushed marie into a van and took her away now it's almost all the words on the internet i had been saying to him maybe you'd better leave bella ruth she was replies to me that she would stay until the bitter end and i didn't mind because i know her character and her responsibility according to the official version of events the belorussian government's version. of opposition figures and members of the coordination council if there are violations suddenly decided to leave the country if you ask the opposition and their allies that they give a completely different account they describe pressure psychological and even physical pressure so opposition figures being grabbed by the arm put into caused by security services driven to the border with ukraine to poland and told to scrap and told to leave the country and many of them have done so one has been arrested at

this point there is only one problem an opposition figure member of the coordination council that is still free that hasn't fled the country or being arrested and not this strict lana alex shavit a famous speller russian author winner of a new bell prize and she has stabbed her apartment in new dated with foreign diplomats and embassy workers who have out of solidarity gathered that the sort of form a human shield around had to try to 'd discourage president lukashenko from making any moves or trying to arrest her or force out and president. she mainly. encouraged is feeling more confident that these protests haven't become captive cataclysmic haven't grown out of control that stills something he can. ravage and they just dragging on at this point which is perhaps why he's tubes and now to strike at the coordination council the investigation has brought proof that some

people from the so-called coordination council have committed actions aimed at destabilizing the situation in better roost and harming national security maria kolesnik over has been arrested currently all circumstances in the criminal case of being established the situation here is a spray carious it is very very tense balance on the knife said and unfortunately with neither side willing to compromise you question who wanted to see the problem protesters god the protesters wanting to see you the shame to god and all it will take really is is a spot a little shove a little push to set this tinderbox alive and if that happens these files will bud hawt and the ugly meanwhile look a shadow says he has no intention of quitting as he needs to protect the country looks like i spoke to russian media including r.t. you can watch the interview in full od r.t.

dot com so here are some highlights. i mean the earth watching all of this is very painful and even tragic for me but it doesn't mean that i'm giving up because i look at this philosophically some day god will cool me up the but now i must protect what has been built with our homes protect the people who have built it and they are an overwhelming majority of. the stakes have risen in the diplomatic row over the mysterious illness of alex and the only with germany handing test results on the russian politician to the international chemical weapons watchdog all the while demanding that russia probe what it calls his poisoning moscow in turn says it has no idea what kind of data berlin has as it won't share it and snow investigations possible for the time being now to discuss poland latest moves and moscow's reaction we're joined in the studio by artie's dollar quarter donnel is all of this wrangling getting us anywhere while jackie it just seems like this political dispute over the alleged poisoning of alec saying of all me is entering its next chapter germany's handing over the evidence it claims to have to the

o.p.c. w when the kremlin has already said it's not happy about it. it looks like it talks occasion. but it's not by all accounts of the berlin clinic but a kind of clinic. it's not the case we can hope but wonder why germany is having trouble sharing the information with us we have no idea what the 100 over to the w. i would much rather they had. so this is basically the essence of what's been going on over the last couple weeks berlin saying they've established then of all me was poisoned and demanding that russia investigate while at the same time moscow is asking to see that that alleged evidence and which they actually need to open a criminal investigation if there needs to be one and they're just being ignored that will give our viewers a little background how did this all began well it started when the volley was flying from siberia to moscow in mid august 28th else seriously ill now the russian

doctors who treated him in the siberian city of all they said they didn't find any toxins at his in his system but when he was airlifted to germany the doctors there said that they did in indeed find a chemical agent in his blood they say that it was not a chalk specifically a nerve agent that was developed in the u.s.s.r. and now that the o.p.c. w. is involved the whole situation really seems a lot more suspicious for moscow since the organization's words doesn't hold much weight with the kremlin if your p.c. w. is in deep crisis what with the. activities and the extreme politicization and this didn't take place just today it started a long time ago and the practice of reaching consensus decisions has been completely forgotten. now the organization's handling of the 2018 alleged chemical attack in dumas syria was what soured its relationship with moscow a number of inconsistency is were left unaddressed and according to whistleblowers

that came from the organization they said that anyone who dissented from within was silenced but nevertheless russia's representative to the o.p.c. w. has said that the kremlin will be willing to work with the organization on this case r.t.l. in court i think you for bringing us that report. the french president has been accused of hypocrisy it for removing his face masks during a meeting with students despite a law requiring them to be worn and public and to make matters worse when you're mccrone began to cough.

the president coughs outside of his mom's constrictors out his hand to take and return a glass of water straight off to no jail no handwashing what can we hope for macro and can't stand the fabric masks which is sparingly distributed to teaches however he only spoke for 5 minutes with his what are teachers have to say who forced to speak with one sometimes for 8 hours per day that the president does law forget the world what are we expecting that the video to be broadcasted schools will be saying that should not be done just as france and the world brace for a 2nd wave of the pen demick math skeptics are rallying our to charlotte n.c. has the data of. masks are just a look around on the streets of paris everywhere people are following the

rules but what if you're one of those people who has questioned the whole idea of wearing a mask all effective do they prevent the transmission of 19 and what if you're one of those people who doesn't just question this in private but has actually gone to a protest about that attack on germany's democracy protesters from a demo against the country's coronavirus restrictions try to storm the german parliament. this is how the mainstream media. and she locked down protesters has spent the afternoon terrorizing police it will be made of people. people who think the coronavirus does not exist hundreds of vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists put their faith in science instead of conspiracy theories if they want to avoid getting covert one team that's being backed up it seems

a study conducted via facebook carried out by those who enjoy his foundation it found that the typical anti mascot here in france is a woman in her fifty's she's educated and supports the yellow vests she'd refused to have a coronavirus vaccine if it was available and she believes in conspiracy theories probably being the most. controlled and i think it's because there's a difference. between the politicians and the scientific of a. 'd lot of confusion among the general public but when it comes to mosques dig a bit deeper and you find that 3 of the 4 main reasons that respondents gave to objecting to wearing them were not but here. ups and totally unreasonable. they were mosques was breathing difficulties well while of course you can breathe while

wearing a mask some people have complained that when it's hot out all they've stepped up the pace wearing a mask isn't the most comfortable or experiences to they are a hive of bacteria well yes there is bacteria all around us and that's why it's recommended to wash masks regularly or change them 3 they are useless in preventing 19 contamination the jury is perhaps to live on this one i say that as there is still no consensus that a governmental level here in europe as to whether or not face masks are an essential to in combat in the spread of 19 so while in france and germany for example why did you sit your face masks has been recommended or made obligatory in the netherlands there was a short trial of mask wearing in busy cities was carried out that seems ended while

the dutch study their effect if this sweeping of course went totally against the grain of the country's top epidemiologist threw his weight behind the new mask policy saying this is very dangerous to believe facemasks would change the game when it comes to. even the w h which made a u. turn and is now recommending face masks says this we still don't know how much protective value fabric must have for the wearer that's why when you wear a mask you're protecting others and when others where the master protecting you we're still in the midst of the pandemic in the past several months the medical and the scientific advice has been a constant merry go round so is it so unreasonable. some people choose to question more i think because of the conflicting statements

from politician and so on the white house will deny vision as well as from the scientific community he had to do quite a bit of confusion and uncertainty in the general public and that led to some not only distrust but also. in the journal. and that has i think probably primarily contributed into a more aggressive to work by aggressive behavior toward the space coating. so had the british government has admitted that its new trade bill weld by a late international law and its cost shock among allies have a live report on that story after this park.

so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy on sunday shouldn't let it be an arms race is also a spirit dramatic development that only. i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time to sit down and talk.

welcome back the british government's admission that its new bill will violate international law has caused uproar among allies including the us the internal market bill if passed will clash directly with the e.u. withdrawal agreement that took effect back in january let's cross live now to our to shaadi edward dostie in london could you explain to us what's behind this bill and why it's causing such a stir well the timing of all of this is quite crucial as right now the e.u. and the u.k. are locking horns in this final round of post trade talks and it's about to be thrown into jeopardy entirely as now the united kingdom is somewhat trying to reinterpret special breck's every entrance made for northern ireland and it could mean that ministers would be able to change these these export declarations for

goods moving from britain to northern ireland and while it may seem like a fairly good idea on paper actually the government has even admit it it will violate international law. god's great international law in a very specific limited boy you can the power to disappoint e.u. law concept of dog and to create required by school for a certain very totally different circumstances. now it's all about the internal market bill which was published just yesterday on wednesday and it's a designed to blow apart the bricks that withdrawal agreement that was negotiated last year specifically talking about the northern ireland protocol although quite the opposite at least according to the government that claims it's not designed to blow apart the brics it would draw agreement but trying to put it all together and trying to unite and unify the united kingdom's for home nations they say specifically it will try and salvage over lation ship with the u.

especially if a trade deal isn't agreed to by the end of the next few weeks now granted in the us almost suggesting that it's designed as a limited and reasonable step to create a safety net in that event and while some commentators are also saying it's more just tough talk maybe like a somewhat threat to try and pressurise the european union into trying to reach a trade deal by the end of october but even if the threat is more in a technical sense at the moment it's sending shock waves throughout the diplomatic circles. the strategy and behavior of the british government was one of brinkmanship was one of threatening to crush you know if if you don't if we don't get to an agreement we might go chemicals on you that sort of thing trust has been eroded. tension has been created don't have been created and that's not conducive to solid because. we didn't want to deal with any course to work with us constructively in front compromises the interests of both sides any example of

britain's undermine the agreement would have serious consequences. so the admission has led to a torrent of criticism also weighing in is the former prime minister theresa may and she says that it ultimately undermines the fact that the u.k. is a trustworthy nation and she couldn't be more wrong according to. who is the president of the european commission she says it does just that it undermines the trust that the e.u. has for the united kingdom but banding bridges with the european union may not be that much of a surprise right now but it seems like this somewhat political stunt may be causing quite a lot of consequences further afield as the united states is now warned london that if indeed it goes ahead and tries to violate the good friday agreement well therefore there will be no u.k. u.s. post bret's a trade deal of course that is something that the u.k. was heavily relying on moving forward into the next few years now currently david frost who is the u.k.'s chief parks and go she will be meeting with his counterpart

michel barnier they're having the final round of these crunch talks but no doubt this very prolific and provocative stunt might be at the top of the agenda are 2 shoddy edwards reporting live from london thank you. and other world news wildfires are raging along the u.s. west coast fanned by high winds and some areas that inferno turned the sky orange hundreds of homes have been destroyed in california washington state and oregon on wednesday at least 6 people including 2 children were killed in the fires. and a fire tragedy across the atlantic as well blaze has torn through europe's largest refugee camp on the greek island of less posts but it shows the destruction of the previously overcrowded facility that has left nearly 13000 people without shelter migrants now have nowhere to go and are forced to live on the streets.

a major scene change is coming to the oscars after years of criticism over its lack of diversity and a film hoping to win the best picture award from 2025 will have to meet inclusion standards one of the main characters or a significant supporting character must be a person of color at least 30 percent of the whole cash should be from an under represented group at least 2 off screen at leadership positions and 30 percent of crew jobs must also go to under-represented people to be similar representation in the film's publicity marketing and distribution teams as well but the new rules aren't popular with all actors.

the changes come after claims that the ceremonies are overwhelmingly white movements against that have been growing for years now voting group has also invited more than $800.00 new actors and directors in the push for diversity 45 percent of the new invitees were women and 35 percent result representatives of racial minorities we put the new diversity rules up for debate. you take a look around the world and you realize that for the most part well what african american people terms what women lead minority leads are not given awards at the same rate and that only 15 people of color have received academy awards only 9 people hispanic people have received can their wives realize that there is just a cultural bias that exists and so in order to correct that we have to come in and address the issue of what the represents function is and so even if we have to

mandate elders numbers it's just what's necessary if you go through history a lot of things that have been under represented. certainly people of ages shirt people of different looks in weeks for you to mandate whether self-imposed or my legislation but a mandate a sure require me a certain number of people based upon demographics is sheer. lunacy and in an industry that is right now. we know for a fact that the grammys i'm sorry the oscars and other you know cultural organizations have consistently shown year in year out that they do not have the knack for being inclusive in 2020 we're deciding that we want to get a little crazy and we're going to follow the path looking into how we can include

more people who have typically read on the outside that's not a negative in government if i'm not as non-profits that is not for me to wrangle inequality and how and work it. that is not the role of hollywood let me explain something to you if there is a good role with good especially today irrespective of sexual identity kishen whether it's color if it's good it's going to work this is not title 19 this is an education this isn't you can't force affirmative action against unless you want to unless you want to just say no let's see what can i ruin now does adding women of color is adding my one person who's been from a marginalized community dry got to take away something from the creation of the film people's films unlike a lot of creations are not just the concepts of one person's might be known on

where we go to see the world around us when we are imagining the future where i don't want to looking at the past and can you imagine if i would say you know what i think we need to have more of a ringback representation so i'm going to force a bunch of but people by virtue of their color into the n.b.a. or or are here or hip hop because i want to see more of a ballads no there's no guarantee of equality in music that's the way it is so if it's good it's good and if it's good it'll sell and. that's been our breakdown of the day's top stories for more details and up to the minute reports follow us on facebook or twitter. problem drugs don't always come from unscrupulous dealers but from pharmacies to in

every state in the united states we've seen a very sharp increase in the number of people seeking treatment for addiction to prescription opioids oids invaded america under the banner of medicine persisted with the pain but instead of trying to wean him off though she just goes after dose after dose after dose and really became his drug dealer so who's to blame patients doctors manufacturers all the governments. seem wrong. all just all. get to shape out just to become active. and engaged because the trail. when so many find themselves worlds apart. just to look for common ground.

new gold rush is underway and gonna thousands of ill equipped workers are flocking to the gold fields hoping to strike it rich is a good. day oh by those that work children are torn between gold. from me was very poor i thought i was doing my best to get back to school which side will have the strongest appeal. this is boom bust the one business show you can't afford to miss. going to washington coming up astra zeneca put

a major corona virus vaccine trial on hold due to an unexplained illness but many doctors and researchers are now saying that now is not the time to worry and he approaches the line for the possible way in chinese products south korea samsung made stand to benefit in the race for the i have a lot to get to fill let's get started. one of the world's largest coronavirus trials is on hold after one of its participants came down with a serious illness well it's prompting fears of an adverse reaction the sudden news for the late stage trial sent shares of u.k. based astra zeneca as low as 6 percent throughout the day well the world's top doctor is there now urging people not to worry will artie's john hardy joins us live with more on the story john what's the latest. well astra zeneca so that the company's standard review process triggered the pause in the trial in the study to allow review of safety data so basically that the.