jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. but is change inevitable at this point in belarus?e future. he is the information secretary of the main bela russian emigre body, the rada council. the protest situation now in belarus is unprecedented in terms of the scale of protests and really what it looks like the chances of them finally to succeed. but we've been through similar situations in 2006, in 2001, in 2010 when there was an illusion that victory of democracy was very close. but in the end, he finally found a way out, meaning lukashenko. is there any sign that the army or police are deserting him? the signs are very weak at this moment but there are individual officers, individual soldiers who resigned and who publicly resigned who have declared their discontent with the police and their disagreements with the unprecedented police brutality, absolutely many evil police brutality that we have seen last week. there are signs of that but not yet an avalanche so to say. what about the relationship with russia? because that has been problematic and troubled for some time. it

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. let's get some of the day's other news. the worst hit country of covid—19 outside the us. it has over 3.5 million cases. must president has defended the handling of the epidemic as well as its governments judgement of the fires of the advisory amazon. our south america correspond reports. of course we regret the efforts of more than 100,000 brazilians 0k, more than 100,000 brazilians ok, but the federal and state governments did everything that we could. we were successful in adapting the curve of the pandemic to the capacity of our public hospitals because in the beginning, everybody was afraid of this, that we would have people dying in the halls of our hospitals. and this did not happen stop and also, we had a lot of measures to mitigate the economic and social problems. i think that doing a good job. bolsonaro has made it clear about how he felt about social distancing, he has pushed back on the wearing of facemask. he has had it, the same as the first lady, a lot of people feel perhaps that the leadershipjust does not

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.ntion is getting under way. 20 years experience but this is uncharted territory. how do you think this is going to play with the voters? in some ways, it won't be much different to previous conventions because prime—time television in the us only ever played one hour a night, just what they are going to do now. most voters will experience at the same way they have before stop the cable will show more. in some ways it is not that different. in other ways, we have no idea! wejust don't know. the spontaneous moments that you have in conventions, the emotion you have, for example ba rack obama's the emotion you have, for example barack obama's speech in 2004, jesse jackson in 1988, those kinds of moments where you get energy from the crowd, those aren't going to happen. sometimes they are transformative moments. sometimes they are tra nsformative moments. it sometimes they are transformative moments. it is really ha rd to transformative moments. it is really hard to say but i think for a l

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.urdering her disabled son. the body of ten—year—old dylan freeman, whose father is a celebrity photographer, was found at home yesterday after his mother, olga freeman, walked into her local police station. self—employed workers who are eligible for government support during the covid crisis, can now apply for a second — and final — grant. the first scheme, launched in may, saw nearly £8 billion claimed by 2.7 million people. but many self—employed people are concerned that they are again being left out. emma simpson reports. vanessa's getting ready for her next client. more prep work now, but this beautician from kent is just relieved to be working properly again, helped by the first government self—employed grant. it was a life—saver for our family and it kept us afloat, it kept us fed and itjust meant the world to us. but things are far from normal. it's very important to catch up with all the lost finances that we've had and just to keep us afloat and to keep me running my business

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, beating all records.re on earth. 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 ms 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. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! czechoslovakia must be free! chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more than 2.5 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?" welcome back, very glad to have you with us. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: the race for the us presidency is kicking

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.what is happening there of course, not least the russian president vladimir putin. what is the making of the developments in larousse? —— belarus? the bbc‘s sarah rainsford is in moscow. there is concern about an old ally slipping out of moscow's group. these countries have a collective security treaty in moscow has said it will honour that. we can't entirely rule out the idea of russian security forces heading in, and in belarus. especially if the kremlin signs of what is either the western meddling. so far the western meddling. so far the statement in moscow have been pretty muted, and i think what is important is important is the protest in belarus are not pro—eu, not pronator, not anti— russia. they are anti— lukashenko. i think if russia we re lukashenko. i think if russia were to and prop him up, that would actually backfire. belarusian is would actually backfire. bela rusian is good would actually backfire. belarusian is good turn against russia. russia, there are other risks as

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. other news: a strong earthquake has shaken the island of masbate in the central philippines. social media post show houses shaking during the tremor — and light—to—moderate damage to roads and buildings. the philippine institute of seismology says the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 but there is no threat of a tsunami from the earthquake but warned that aftershocks are expected. federal officials will face a parliamentary committee over a cruise ship scandal that fuelled australia's coronavirus crisis. more than 2,500 passengers were allowed to leave the ruby princess without being tested after it docked in sydney, in march, despite suspected covid—19 cases on board. the new south wales state government has apologised and has admitted "monumental mista kes" were made. british universities are braced to deal with an increase in calls from students after yesterday's u—turn over how a—level results were decided. ministers in england, wales and northern ireland have confirmed pupils wou

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.will be live to moscow shortly to discuss that story in more detail. to the us now, where house speaker nancy pelosi is arranging for a vote in congress later this week on legislation to protect the postal service. ms pelosi has accused president trump of a "campaign to sabotage the election" and her democratic party is looking to unwind recent changes which they say could hamper postal voting in november's presidential election. alanna petroff has the story. banjo playing and singing # do not deliver us mail should be against the law #. cheering it's come to this. a musical protest about the post office. demonstrators gathered outside the home of the new postmaster general louis dejoy, for another day of dissent. de joy, recently appointed to the role, is a big trump donor. his cost cutting moves at the cash—strapped postal service have slowed down mail delivery. i was overseas and i cast my vote by mail—in ballot! protesters worried de joy's changes will hinder mail—in voting during

our correspondentjonah fisher is in minsk our correspondent jonah fisher is in minskjonah fisher is ine out the protestsjoanna? that is the big question here in minute —— minsk, you can see behind me another large demonstration calling for evgenie plushenko, the man who has run this country —— president lukashenko, who has run this country to step down, it has been tense here, what you can't see, behind me is the fact all the streets running up to the square are full of riot police and military. there have been announcements over the loud speaker in the scare, several time, calling for people to disperse, and that this is an illegal demonstration. president lukashenko has in the last few days being talking very tough, saying he will not allow demonstrations to continue, he will not allow unrest and it will have to be sorted out. we have to see what he means by that. joanna, thank you for that. in minsk. in minsk. it's almost 18 months since the terror attacks on two mosques in the new zealand city of christchurch in which 51 people died. the gunman will be sentenced in a few days time.

let's speak now to our correspondent in minsk, jonah fisher. i hope you can hear me.retty tense because the security forces are very much on standby there? yes, that is right. i mean, independence square at the centre of minsk. this is a gathering point for today's demonstration. you can see people behind me chanting, long live belarus. probably about 5000 people 01’ so belarus. probably about 5000 people or so here at the moment. we are expecting more to come. what you cannot see hair is the riot police. there is a very significant riot police and military presence in the streets around the square. one streets around the square. one street alone i counted at least 25 vehicles so a show of force certainly from president. it is unclear at the moment whether they are going to intervene to stop this protest, this valley, taking place. about half an hour or so ago we had announcements over loudspeakers saying that this was illegal and they were planning to disperse this demonstration. it has not deterred people from gathering here so there is an element of tension in the

let's speak now to our correspondent in minsk, jonah fisher. more big demonstrations expected today.ko is in now and how much are the protests... today we are expecting the opposition to try and put on a very large demonstration, something similar to what happened last sunday when the entire centre of minsk was taken over by demonstrators, several thousand people on the streets. the problem for the opposition, the man in charge for the last 26 years, president lukashenko, he has built the security apparatus and for now that appears loyal to him. the military here has been loyal to him. the question is the demonstrators face and that they are at the moment facing increasing pressure from the riot police and security, how do they handle the progress towards removing president lukashenko from office. people power will not be enough to push him out? how is he likely to be removed? it seems there would have to be a move against him from within the security apparatus, the closed group to him, someone might tap him on the shoulder and say it is time to go. in moscow, vladimir putin might sa

thank you, jonah fisher live in minsk.ow there were 1,040 new confirmed cases of covid—19 reported in the latest 24—hour period. the seven—day rolling average for daily cases is 1,085, so as you can see here, the average is slowly rising. five deaths were recorded in the same 24—hour period, taking the total number across the uk, to 41,366. the number of reported deaths is generally lower at the weekend. on average in the past week, 13 people are reported to have died every day from coronavirus. globally, the world health organisation says nearly 300,000 people tested positive for covid—19 in the last 24 hours, the highest rate of the pandemic so far. countries across europe are reporting rising infections, including spain, where experts say the situation is critical. and in italy and france, there are surges in cases, while south korea has recorded its biggest outbreak in five months. but in south africa, the government says infections have peaked, and so lockdown measures, were eased today. meanwhile back here, one of th

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.later we'll hear from an expert on the region on why he thinks president lukashenko won't be able to stay in power. the speaker of the us house of representatives, nancy pelosi, says she's recalling the chamber later this week to vote on legislation to protect the country's postal service. in a letter, ms pelosi accused president trump of a "campaign to sabotage the election". of mail ballots may not arrive in time to be counted in november's election. in north carolina, protesters gathered again outside the home of the head of the postal service, postmaster general louis dejoy. he's a loyal supporter of the president and a republican donor. critics blame him for a slowdown in deliveries, and say he's intentionally gutting the postal service to help president trump. earlier i spoke to steve herman, the white house bureau chief at the voice of america, and asked him if a vote on legislation would put an end to the dispute. maybe not. it really remains to be seen if there will be enough

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk. a little later we will heard —— here from an expert on the region.pelosi says she is recalling the chamber later this week to recall legislation is protecting the us postal service. there are already calls for the usps to testify before lawmakers against, the democrats have... , there are already plans for top figures in the usps to testify before lawmakers — amid allegations of widespread mail delays and potential interference by president trump. the democrats accuse the president of trying to suppress postal voting in november's presidential election. well in north carolina protesters gathered again outside the home of the head of the post office, postmaster general louis dejoy. mr dejoy is a supporter of donald trump and a major donor to the republican party, and protesters say he's intentionally gutting the postal service to help president trump. earlier i spoke to steve herman, the white house bureau chief at the voice of america, and asked him if a vote on legislation would put an end to the dispute. well, maybe not. it really remains to be see

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.0renstein is professor of russian and east european studies at the university of pennsylvania he says we're witnessing a pivotal moment in belarus‘ history and that the president won't be able to hold on to power. i think everybody on the street knows that he lost the election and they're not going to go away, in my view. what's happened, in fact, is they've created a national movement probably for the first time in belarus. what you're seeing is the standing up of a nation, very similar to wenceslas square in 1989 in prague. something like that which is, i think, a unique moment for belarus. you're a professor of russian and east european studies. let's talk briefly, if you can, about russia. the role of belarus‘ neighbour is going to be in the back of minds of many people out on the street. talk us through what the relationship is between those two countries and the two leaders. absolutely, its very complex. russia and belarus have played an interesting dance for quite a long time an

that's jonah fisher there. let's bring you some breaking news from the united states.he will recall the chamber this week to vote on legislation to protect the postal service. in a letter to lawmakers, pelosi said the house would vote on legislation to prohibit the postal service from implementing any changes to services it had in place on january first. democrats have accused president trump of trying to hamstring the cash—strapped postal service to suppress mail—in voting. this comes after the main investigative 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 by president trump. mr trump has warned the us is not ready for mail ballots in the november elections. in north carolina protesters gathered again outside the home of the postmaster general louis dejoy. they claim mr dejoy — who is a supporter of donald trump — is intentionally gutting the postal service to help the president. the speaker the us house, nancy pelosi says sh

as many as 100,000 people took to the streets in the centre of the capital, minsk, from where jonah fishers report. chanting. a week after the disputed election, belarus is voting with its feet. the centre of the capital, minsk, taken over by hundreds of thousands of people. united in their demand that alexander lu kashenko, the only president this country has ever known, must leave. i hope he will step down. do you think that this sort of demonstration is going to convince the president to go? yes, we believe, and that's why we are all here. all of minsk, all of our country. belarus has never seen scenes like this before. a couple of weeks ago, demonstrations were extremely rare and they were usually brutally snuffed out by the government. now there are people marching as far as the eye can see through the centre of the capital, minsk. there's a real sense of change in the air. but for now, president lukashenko clings on to power. this was his rally today in minsk. just a few thousand showed up. an embarrassing turnout for a man who claims to have won 80% of the vote. in a defiant speech,

first time, there was a pro—government rally in the centre of minsk, from where our correspondent, jonah fisherdisputed election, belarus is voting with its feet. the centre of the capital, minsk, taken over by hundreds of thousands of people. united in their demand that alexander lu kashenko, the only president this country has ever known, stepped down. do you think the president is going to go peacefully? i'm not sure about it but we will not go away today, tomorrow, next week, we will stay here on the streets. i spent all my life with president lukashenko and i don't want it any more. do you think this sort of demonstration is going to convince the president to go? yes, we believe, and that is why we are all here. belarus has never seen scenes like this before. a couple of weeks ago demonstrations were extremely rare and they were usually brutally snuffed out by the government. now there are people much and as far as the eye can see through the centre of the capital, minsk. there is a real sense of change in the air. but this isn't over. earlier in the day, president lukashenko held his own

jonah fisher gave us the latest from minsk.ikers were coming out against president lukashenko. yesterday, a very different mood. president lukashenko coming out with some strong words, instructing the interior ministry here to restore order on the streets of minsk, and certainly the numbers yesterday were considerably reduced, possibly out of fear that there might be reprisals and attacks on people coming out. the headlines on bbc news... there's been a steep rise in gcse grades in england. pupils have been receiving them after a uk government u—turn means marks are now based on teacher assessments. students in wales and northern ireland are also getting grades today meanwhile, chaos for hundreds of thousands of pupils as btec students are told they won't get their marks, just hours before they were due to be published. the russian opposition figure alexei navalny is unconscious in hospital with suspected poisoning. the anti—corruption campaigner fell ill during a flight. thousands of people have been forced out of their homes

our correspondent jonah fisher is there. there is no sign of these protests stopping, is there?? absolutely huge protests on the streets of minsk yesterday. unprecedented by the standards of this country. hundreds of thousands, i think, of people on the streets here demanding that alexander lukashenko, europe's here demanding that alexander lu kashenko, europe's longest here demanding that alexander lukashenko, europe's longest serving leader, step down after what most people think was a heavily rigged election a week or so ago. yes, there will be a series of strikes today, hitting many of the major industries here in belarus including car manufacturing, tractor manufacturing, fertiliser production, and we are waiting to see just how extensive they are, but there is a real sense of the pressure building on alexander lukashenko and i think many people are now not looking to belarus and the streets of minsk as to what's going to happen next. but further afield to russia, the key relationship for this country, looking very closely to see whether just might be some form of russian i

fisher is in minsk... quite a considerable size demonstration behind you. how serious is this one compared to previous, jonahve this crisis soon? well, it doesn't look like president lukashenko has decided to solve the problems of the street protest minsk today. you can see behind me another very large crowd. many of the people have just started a match, a match for a new belarus they are calling it, so they are moving to another point and then they will come back here. but very vocal and what you can probably not say is that there is a very significant security presence also here around the fringes of the square. there have been lots of security agents, military vehicles, around, but but around, but so far, despite warnings on a loudspeaker which has made periodic interventions here saying that this is an in legal demonstration and it would be dispersed, there has been no sign of any attempt to disperse the crowds. to be quite frank, it is very ha rd to the crowds. to be quite frank, it is very hard to see what the securities forces can do with the crowd of this size. for now it has been a peaceful demonstr

jonah fisher, bbc news, minsk.vestigative committee of the us house of representatives has called on top figures in the postal service to testify at an emergency hearing, amid allegations of widespread mail delays and potential interference by president trump. mr trump has warned the us is not ready for a postal ballot in the november elections, even though many americans are calling for postal voting because of the pandemic. speaking a short time ago top democrat senator chuck schumer said any attempts by the president to undermine the postal service should be called out in the strongest possible terms. to slow down the mail at any time is disgraceful. to slow it down in covid is despicable, and hurts people's lives. donald trump is aimed at hurting the elections. he wants, he has said... this man has no limits. unlimited gall. he says he wants to slow down the mail to hurt the elections and make people doubt the results of the election. maybe he's worried he's going to lose — it doesn't matter. our elections are

jonah fisher has the latest from minsk. car horns toot.s was the day the workers turned on alexander lukashenko.