nick connelly nick seen more we've seen more and more arrests in recent days what's the atmosphere like there and minsk. well it's def definitely calm where i am here on independence square the place that had being the site of protests day off today indeed since that rigged election on august the 9th and police have cordoned this all off people in police and secure system right gear in uniforms and in civilian clothing but if you look behind me on the square there is about an estimated several 100000 people on the independence haven't you cut off from the square by those police cordons you can just hear their screams the cries the chants from their shame to the police it's really not clear where this is going this standoff is continuing and the increasingly while the threats from the government against protesters to arrest people taking part in so-called unsanctioned protests or position versus here are unsanctioned don't seem to be working and today again many people turning out here on the streets for months. nic the protests happening in minsk though. that's true they've been protests all across the country in towns big and small this is not a capitol specific protest i went to a town called solly which is a crucial industrial town produces lots of potassium this is a product that's exported around the world and it brings in crucial revenues to the government let's have a listen to how people are feeling over there. this was a series of mines with the city in between a place that provides much of the world with fertilizers and alexander lukashenko is government with a significant chunk of its revenues any unrest here and so he goes let alone a strike would be devastating for the regime both financially and symbolically. such as. we have lived with one man in charge of everything for 26 years after this year's election we saw appalling violence against ordinary people. this regime is in human and has already committed crimes against humanity it needs to go as a signature because of his spent all his working life in these mines and now he's trying to bring them to a standstill with a full scale strike so far the results have been so only a few dozen miners have joined in the others he says just too scared and not without good reason all the strikers is set to lose their jobs and most likely the company. we try to ask the workers clocking off and their shifts where they make a video no one is willing to talk companies given strict instructions to keep quiet . it's early evening the queue snakes once across the city square a queue to sign a petition to recall local deputies something almost no one believes will actually happen but a chance for people to make themselves heard. that is it was a. political cause i don't agree with our president's politics i've had enough of seeing his face it's been 26 years you've just heard i'm not allowed. to bring the election and now he won't go to new particulars with me was the people who are empowered right now are you i want to work for ordinary people and that will show i do not want the politicians to just serve one person i knew she didn't know much about it but that bitch was good at it the better to slowly step by step we need to take the system apart doc and yes yes i am a student. you know if it were that our universities position is clear if it captured one of these protests or if you're charged even if someone just recognizes you had one of these protests to throw you out immediately. just it. would filming him waiting in line to sign a petition be enough to get him in trouble with his university would should we stop filming no he told us he'd had enough of being afraid to phrase you hear time and time again in the streets of belarus right now. this weekend's demonstrations will show whether alexander lukashenko as ever while the threat still hold their power after a quarter of a century in office. so that's the mood there in solid gold provincial town about 2 hours out of minsk people not going out on strike in large numbers but coming out not for a night to stand up for their right to fair elections as they aren't today. if we're looking at the pictures of where you are standing it looks increasingly like a standoff doesn't look at refusing protesters not showing any sign of being intimidated where is this heading. no one has the answer to that is the what makes it so interesting also so scary to be a protest on the streets today there is no roadmap for this this is a country that basically had no politics no competitive politics for a quarter of a century now suddenly people in tens and hundreds of thousands coming out in the streets and challenging a system that had controlled every last detail of their lives their work lives in political and social life and that really on the government deciding the agenda that has now been broken where this goes now is totally unclear refusing any kind of dialogue seemingly seeing that as a sign of weakness on the other hand protesters not scared by increasing numbers of arrests increasing pressure financial pressure and legal pressure against people who have been calling out the regime. reporting there thank you nick. if you want to know about the benefits of wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic in mexico you can take it from the professionals professional mexican wrestlers well famous for their colorful monsters the which i leave it av been distributing the surgical masks in mexico city it's part of a program to raise awareness about the need to protect against over 90 mexico is one of the world's worst hit nations it was a welcome brush with the public for the rest of us too because most have been out of work because of restriction restrictions on sporting events. you're watching the news from the us lots more news and background in 30 languages on our website. check it check it out you can also follow us on twitter and instagram if you don't already do the handle is asked. how else is in 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nick connelly nick you've seen more and more arrests in recent days there what's the atmosphere like. it's extraordinary. on the one hand yes clampdown in recent days more and more protests being arrested and also journalists being taken in to prevent them covering these protests but today sundays have now become the traditional day for marching in minsk several 100000 people coming out in recent weeks it looks set to be the same this week we have. independence square which has been the focal point of these protests and today it's empty because the police has cornered off there is heavy. people in heavy full riot gear cannons the police really making good on those promises to crack down but in the distance you can hear people jaring chanting crying shame policeman and i think this is to go a different course these efforts will not be enough to end the protests today. let's go to your report filed. this. series of mines with the city in between a place that provides much of the world. and alexander government with a significant chunk of its revenues in the unrest here let alone a strike would be devastating for the regime both financially and symbolically. woodlot such as. we have lived with one man in charge of everything for 26 years after this year's election polling violence against ordinary people. this regime is inhuman and has already committed crimes against humanity it needs to go it's human so again because of his spent all his working life in these mines and now he's trying to bring them to a standstill with a full scale strike so far the results have been so very only a few dozen miners have joined in the others he says it's just too scared and not without good reason all the strikers is set to lose their jobs and most likely the company hopes we try to ask the workers clocking off in their shifts where they make it or no one is willing to or the company is given strict instructions to keep quiet it's early evening the queue snakes once across the city square a queue to sign a petition to recall local deputies something almost no one believes will actually happen but a chance for people to make themselves heard. the news i guess he. wanted to get out of it i don't agree with our president's politics. i've had enough of seeing his face it's been 26 years and if you're sure shall not that it. really election and now he won't go to cape town your particular issue for me was the people who are empowered right now you i want to work for ordinary people at which oh i do i want the politicians to just serve one person i knew she had knowledge if you like it which is good at it or to slowly step by step we need to take the system apart. and yes yes i am a student. teacher that i can universities position is clear if they catch it one of these protests or if you're charged even if someone just recognizes you had one of these protests to throw you out immediately that's a moment just it. would filming him waiting in line to sign a petition be enough to get him in trouble with his university would should we stop filming. he told us he'd had enough of being afraid to phrase you hear time and time again in the streets right now this weekend's demonstrations will show with alexander lukashenko as ever while the threat still hold their power after a quarter of a century in office. is still immense for us it looks a bit like a standoff with the shankly refusing dialogue and protesters not showing any sign of being intimidated where is this heading next. well that is the $1000000.00 question there is no roadmap for this this is a country that as it were had no politics for a quarter century one man in charge and the opposition playing basically no role in daily politics for now it seems like the threat to look shanker has been making the threats to clamp down to show who's in charge on the working numbers and big people streaming sentiments right now just in the minute while that report was running the cannons and riot police and shields moving across the square behind me moving towards protest is standing on minix main street this doesn't seem to be a situation where there's any clarity how this is going over slee this is important beyond belarus this looks set to set up a confrontation between russia supporting the and the e.u. that's come out in sympathy for the protesters but for now there is no clear path forward and this standoff is continuing our correspondent nick comolli there in minsk for us thank you nick. and are some of the other stories making headlines around the world today the u.s. has accused russia of a dangerous intercept of a b. 52 bombers flying over the black sea the defense department said 2 russian fighter jets crossed the ball must pass just 30 meters ahead of it it's the plane was on a routine mission over international waters when the incident occurred. italy's coast guard has evacuated 49 migrants from a rescue vessel sponsored by british street artist banksy the operation came after the crew used twitter to appeal for help saying at least one of the over 200 migrants on board was dead and several others injured. black athletes in the u.s. have been using their platforms to draw attention to issues of racism in recent weeks here in germany a professional basketball player has followed suit after berlin decided to change the name of more street moses perking wants the city's street and train station uncle tom's cabin to also

correspondent nick connelly ease in minsk for us nick enough sky says the belly wishing people will never accept their current leadership and indeed protests show no sign of winding down at this point what comes next inmates. well there's no clear progression here and no roadmap to some kind of revolution resolution rob especially since president bush in goal i got to get the man who's been in charge of this country for the past 26 years has refused all attempts at mediation or talking to the opposition the real focus here now is becoming protest on sunday last week on sunday so one of the biggest protests abetter sister e hundreds of thousands of people out in the streets it means the organizers want to see more people out of the streets this time around one in 50 developer also being the opposition reaching out to senior members of the regimes that given that refusal by only going to look chink or to talk to the protest is direct they're reaching out to members security services in the hope that there will be some possibility dialogue and maybe some kind of. crumbling of the result of t

nick connelly in minsk welcome nick we'll talk about the sanctions on this russian police action in just a moment let's start with what's been happening in minsk to day and. who's been detained. there's been a real heightening of the police response to was demonstrations we had been seeing demonstrations of some kind or another becoming part of everyday life here in minsk in the weeks that followed that rigged election and now the government is making. is really in acting it's promised to clamp down we've seen people. taken into custody and spending time in police custody some now being given sense of several days of mr arrest for taking part in quote unquote. section protests any opposition protests going to be sanctioned right now not only that but yesterday as you mentioned journalists being taken in ostensibly for document checks in reality this is a way of trying to get in the way of press coverage to avoid unflattering images of protests being dragged away the police keen to get journalist to hand over telephones they can delete pictures and videos of these detentions. refused to do that was kept in from a 6 hours even though she was accredited even though she told write papers and she was told that some kind of procedural proceedings are now being taken against. threats of sanctions and these are to be only individuals rather than the country as a whole so who's likely to be targeted and what effect they're likely to have. i think the list is not going to be much for surprise it's going to be top figures in the regime and security officials involved in the clampdown since the night's election. i think this is to be expected and it's not going to have a great deal effect this regime has come under wave after wave of. someone telling me he doesn't like the color present but this regime has come under wave after wave of sanctions and they haven't made a great deal of difference and they've been withdrawn without doing much in the least if there is a regime in europe that is sanction proof i think it is the russian one but this is about symbolism this is about showing the protest is the outside world is watching and paying attention to what's going on here in minsk right and sanction proof presumably because interested in the e.u. into they have. to now he is off base police force if the situation gets out of control doesn't needing russian help look like weakness because. of course it does but it's not as if there's much of a choice had been trying to play a very delicate game of balancing to even russia russia keen to integrate. even closer eventually to. somehow form a union of the 2 countries with losing its sovereignty that's something that i had been trying to avoid in recent months but now given that it looks like he's going to be very very reliant on russian help to these protesters he may no be no longer be able to keep up that balancing act so how has the prospect of a russian intervention gone down with the opposition with protesters. it's definitely something that scares many people here people are concerned that may end up as something not very distant from just another russian province if it were to end up so dependent on russian help and given the kremlin's repeated. repeatedly expressed wish to draw better as close close and to somehow recreate some kind of survey union in terms of bringing close to russia at the moment no one can really know where any of this is going there is no roadmap there is no clear progression here is that you ation where not the government is willing to enter into any dialogue with protesters and on the other hand appears to seem in no mind to be scared by these government threats there is no clear path forward but it seems that this standoff is going to continue with no side really willing to give in you know come back from the brink for now. for now thank you. nick connelly in minsk. and 5 years ago this summer you're faced its biggest migration crisis since world war 2 hundreds of thousands of migrants fled their home countries in search of a better future on this continent most often crossed from turkey to greece by boat often in flimsy these more than 750000 landed on the greek shores that year for bad they took what became known as the bulk of brutes traveling north through macedonia and serbia into slovenia or hungary and then on to austria and a u. countries including germany. chancellor machall declared an open door policy for us for refugees from syria and as a result germany took in about a 1000000 people one of them was a man now known for his skill with a piano is his story. because songs tell of pain and a lost homeland but also hope 5 years ago pianist fled syria specifically the yarmouk refugee camp for palestinians. back there he played music to counter the nightmare scene of bomb craters and ruined buildings and created beauty to

nick connelly ease in minsk for us nick took enough sky says the bell of wishing people will never accept the current leadership and indeed protests show no sign of winding down at this point what comes next inmates. well there's no clear progression hand no roadmap to some kind of revolution resolution. especially since president bush in goal i got a lip sync of the man who's been in charge of this country for the past 26 years has refused all attempts at mediation or talking to the opposition the real focus here now is becoming a protest on sunday last week on sunday so one of the biggest protests in belarus history hundreds of thousands of people out in the streets it means the organizers want to see more people out of the streets this time around one interesting develop also has been the opposition reaching out to senior members of the regimes that given that refusal by only going to look cinco to talk to the protest as direct they are reaching out to members of the security services in the hope that there will be some possibility of dialogue and maybe some i think the sanctions on their own on not going to make much of a difference dollar which has been under sanctions time and time again. has rarely done anything to warrant them being withdrawn but they have been withdrawn i think the more significant thing here especially for the opposition was the decision not to recognize the results of the postelection that was symbolically a gesture something that people here could see as some kind of support from europe a sign of solidarity a sign that europe is paying attention they're watching closely what is going on here as a journalist here and there are many foreign journalists operating in dollars right now you often enough have people speaking to you and. welcome you to that country they're happy that we're here they feel a little bit safe if the outside world is seeing what's going on here but i think beyond that any kind of resolution the situation will only happen on the streets of bellerose between the opposition and. tenchi faults of the regime but maybe it will turn against you sanctions on their own on not going to resolve the situation. in about the 20 seconds we have left it possible we understand prosecutors are launching a criminal investigation against opposition activists it certainly doesn't seem like there's much room for dialogue between the 2 sides here. indeed it seems like alexander lukashenko seems to think that any kind of dialogue with the opposition would be a sign of weakness and is demonstrably rejecting any kind of dialogue for now i think in terms of the legal mechanics that are now being put into action against the opposition they were always going to expect that whether or not they'll end up behind bars in the next couple of days weeks is still open but definitely uncomfortable times here for the people coming out to protest the dollars and people trying to leave those protests nick connelly in minsk much appreciated now. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world at this hour the european union chief negotiator michel bunya a says it looks unlikely the bloc will reach a deal with britain before the deadline at the end of this year his british counterpart david frost blamed brussels for the lack of progress saying the e.u. was making talks unnecessarily difficult. in libya both the un supported government and the rival government called the house of representatives have announced a cease fire. they both say that they want an end to an oil blockade that has been crippling libya since the start of this year the announcements come midfielder's of an escalation in the conflict. in the u.s. joe biden has accepted the democratic party's nomination for the presidency in a speech on the final night of the democratic national convention biden promised leadership that's radically different than that of the republican incumbent donald tr

nick connelly in minsk welcome nick we'll talk about the sanctions on this russian police action in just a moment let's start with what's been happening in minsk today. who's been detained . there's been a real heightening of the police response to was demonstrations we had been seeing demonstrations of some kind or another becoming part of everyday life here in minsk in the weeks that followed that rigged election and now the government is making. is really you know acting it's promised to clamp down we've seen people. taken into custody and spending time in police custody now being given sense of several days of mr arrest for taking part in quote unquote. sanctioned protests and any opposition protests. right now not only that but yesterday as you mentioned journalists being taken in ostensibly for document checks in reality this is a way of trying to get in the way of press coverage to avoid unflattering images of protests being dragged away the police keen to get journalist to hand over telephones they can delete pictures and videos of these detentions. refused to do that was kept in from a 6 hours even though she was accredited even though she had all the right papers and she was told that some kind of procedural proceedings are now being taken against. threats of sanctions and these are to be only individuals rather than the country as a whole so who's likely to be targeted and what effect they likely to have. i think the list is not going to be much a surprise it's going to be top figures in the regime and security officials involved in the clampdown since. selection. i think this is to be expected and it's not going to have a great deal effect this regime has come under wave after wave of. someone telling me he doesn't like the color present but this regime has come under wave after wave of sanctions and they haven't made a great deal of difference and they've been withdrawn without doing much in turn in the least if there is a regime in europe that is sanction proof i think it is the russian one but this is about symbolism this is about showing the protest is the outside world is watching and paying attention to what's going on here in minsk right and sanction proof because interested in the e.u. into they have. to now he is off base police force if the situation gets out of control doesn't needing russian help look like weakness because. of course it does but it's not as if there's much of a choice have been trying to play a very delicate game of balancing to even russia russia keen to integrate close and to even closer eventually to. somehow form a union of the 2 countries with losing its sovereignty that's something that we have been trying to avoid in recent months but now given that it looks like he's going to be very very reliant on russian help to combat these protesters he may no be no longer be able to keep up that balancing act so how has the prospect of a russian intervention gone down with the opposition protesters. it's definitely something that as many people here people are concerned that may end up as something not very distant from just another russian province if you were to end up so dependent on russian help and given the kremlin's repeated. repeated expressed wish to draw close listen to somehow recreate some kind of the soviet union in terms of bringing close to russia at the moment no one can really know where any of this is going there is no roadmap there is no clear progression here is that you ation where not the government is willing to enter into any dialogue with protesters and on the other hand the protests to seem in no mind to be scared by these government threats there is no clear path forward but it seems now this standoff is going to continue with no side really willing to give in you know come back from the brink for now. for now we thank you correspondent nickconnelly in minsk. and 5 years ago this summer you're faced its biggest migration crisis since world war 2 hundreds of thousands of migrants fled their home countries in search of a better future on this continent most all crossed from turkey to greece by boat often in flimsy he's more than 750000 landed on the creek shows that here from back to what became known as the bulk of brutes traveling north through macedonia and serbia into slovenia or hungary and then on to austria and a huge countries including germany. chancellor machall declared an open door policy for us for refugees from syria and as a result germany talking about a 1000000 people one of them was a man now known for his skill with a piano is his story. because songs tell of pain and a lost homeland but also of hope 5 years ago pianist fled syria specifically the yarmouk refugee camp for palestinians. back there he played music to counter the nightmare scene of bomb craters and ruined buildings and created beauty to figh

nick connelly is standing by good evening to you nick i mean that looks like we've got yet another evening of protests on the streets of minsk where you are and quite a challenging day that mr luker cinco has behind him. a challenging day after a challenging week or more of resistance to his 26 year on the streets of belarus i'm here in front of government house in central square hundreds if not thousands of people were walking with their flags with their national flags not the flag of the government earlier this evening people were honking their horns in support all across the roofs and indeed minsk i think the important thing to remember these purchases that there's so diffuse this is not just about some central square these approaches that are going on across the country added and aided by strikes strikes in government run factories that have historically been very loyal to the and his government so this is really a very difficult situation is funny maybe the most difficult in his 26 years at the helm of this country we've heard several things from this week and 1st he told her just as he would have to die 1st before there were new elections now he says he would be open to new elections if the constitution were changed do you see a strategy behind all of this. i think brant he's just in survival mode now i think the individual promises all the individual details of these heady days less important than the mood the mood is something that really has changed but it was a few times over the years and you really sense. disappearance of fear people are openly challenging this government people discussing rumors that maybe members of the regime are planning an exit plan to take money and leave the country those may all be unfounded the fact people are speaking about openly is a big change the fact that members of the police have said they will refuse to serve or rule refuse to use violence against protesters that is a sea change something that we haven't seen in previous years here in belarus where this goes now what kind of deal might or might not be possible between the opposition i think that is all very difficult to tell now but you can see on the russians faces a real sense of glee at feeling that they now are in charge of a very good point today the french president the german chancellor and the foreign policy chief of the european union they all phoned the russian president vladimir putin to talk about the a ruse how much sway do they hold over how this situation developments and how much sway do they have over one of their putin right now. why i think it's clear to everyone that this will be resolved between europe and moscow and not with alexander lukashenko he in a way has lost his subjectivity in all of this he has also been under sanctions countless times and survived them so europe doesn't have particularly much in the way of instruments to put pressure on him that would really hurt where the russians are going to go with this we have no idea the had being signs that russia off the crimea off the donbass was looking for recreational with western europe was looking to an end to the sanction the really have hurt russia so that is something that speaks for russia not rushing in to prop up this regime equally. is russia's closest ally a country that most russians don't really see as genuinely being a broader foreign country that they mostly see as somehow a brother state an extension their own country rooms tonight in belarus that a russian security service plane has landed in minsk who's on that if it really has happened we can't tell but this definitely is a crisis that is bringing russia and western europe to the table again and a result which was so-called tell you is nickhartley reporting tonight from minsk in nick as always thank you. are now to the united states the democratic party convention has kicked off with a rousing speech from michelle obama the wife of former president barack obama this year's convention is unlike any other because of the coronavirus pandemic the event is being held online without crowds without the confetti the democrats will formally nominate joe biden as their candidate for president to take on republican incumbent donald trump in the november election. well our correspondent defines him and is following the democratic convention for as it's easier to do it that it would have been 4 years ago stefan you just have to watch television like everyone else on this probably is the most i would say unconventional convention ever because it is online hell where the democrats how are they dealing with these new conditions. could have said it better yeah absolutely right yeah i think the sentiment in the u.s. across borders fairly

nick connelly is in minsk tonight good evening to you nick the european union's position now is crystal clear it considers the election fraud has there been reaction from the president of bella rouge or his government. good evening brant well there hasn't been any official reaction from prison yet but in a way he doesn't need to he's already accuse european governments of interfering in belarus of financing these protests he's very cagey now costing these protests as a western conspiracy against a russian ally but just a few weeks ago he was peddling the opposite line costing the opposition as close to moscow as an attempt by the russians who were unhappy with his unwillingness to draw close to moscow to unseat him so that gives the sense of just quite how desperate position is now in on the one hand you're forcing democratic standards of demanding them and russia on of the hand wanting to join have a closer the european union is slapping sanctions on what it says is a substantial number of individuals responsible for violence repression and election fraud i mean these are targeted not to hurt the people of bell reuss will they help the people. i think we're in the realm of gesture politics here brant and i think people have taken this to hops and the people in the square protesting earlier on had read about the fact that europe wasn't recognizing these elections and sanctions have being brought in i think this is about giving a signal of solidarity or at least of hope to the protesters here so that europe is listening and watching them in terms of the nitty gritty in the power to make much difference the people who work at the k.g.b. headquarters behind me here in minsk are used to sanctions at the wave after wave of sanctions against us and they have passed without much of a change here i think people charge you have fact that those in. in the the one demand that protesters have risked their lives for in the past 10 days that demand has been new elections yet the european union today did not call for new elections bottleneck to hand didn't recognize the last polls i think these are kind of diplomatic details at a level for that for most about russians coming out to protest day after day not that relevant in terms of the bigger political diplomatic chess game i think there's a lot we're not privy to and that might just be yesterday's news within a matter of hours or days i think the more important or interesting to look at is the cultural change and people have lost their fear of speaking out you have people who are far from politics musicians coming out and giving back the government award saying that they're not happy with the government and i think that is a cultural shift that will not be easy to draw back even if these protests were to end nic there is also of concern here in europe that could have the same fate as georgia in 2008 or ukraine in 2014 you have covered the conflict in eastern ukraine extensively what do you think is a widely hood of russia sending its military into bell routes. i mean definitely this is not saying that can be ruled out and in theory wouldn't be that difficult as there are already russian troops in belarus as part of joint russian russian military bases but i think in practice the political cost diplomatic costs to come in would be exceptionally high to have russian tanks on the streets and we've seen in recent months attempts to bring some kind of recreational between the west and russia maybe some of the sanctions have slapped on russia. to crimea that would have see put paid to all of that i think what we might see more realistically is helpful some kind of russian may be right police operating without insignia as was the case in crimea back into the beginning today we had reports of russian specialists being brought in to the russian state t.v. company to replace the russians who've been locked out for being disloyal to the regime that kind of deniable help is much more likely and something that the kremlin might think will come with the smaller diplomatic preston in washington there is concern that this could all. lithuania is a nato member and is where the leading opposition candidate in bella ruse fled to after the election last week now we know russia has the capability to invade lithuania if only to make a point that would of course force nato to act is that a realistic concern where you will or. i can't see from now rushing the asian or native state i think that's the reason why russia has been so. vocally opposed to any kind of nato membership for ukraine for georgia a little and to belarus because for them and they to state is something maybe a step too far too big a risk but i will what i think nato members poland if you any of that have borders of dollars have to fear much more realistically is a much more significant russian military footprint along that border to roost. than exists already and of the integration between is to say it has progressed quite some way but there will be a price to pay even for covert help you can take a will have to allow some kind of deep integration with russia they've been pushing this for time and he's been trying to avoid this to keep his kind of room for we go between wiggle room as it were to europe and russia and he will have to somehow come up with the goods if now he relies on russian firepower and manpower to put these protests down. but we'll definitely be watching to see which side is up coming down on the right side nick connelly in minutes for us tonight nic thank you . well the european union today demanded that bella ruse release all protesters who have been detained in the last 2 weeks some 7000 in total now we understand that many of are ready been freed some say they were beaten or tortured in police custody some protesters went missing and have not been heard from since can anyone help we have more now in this report the small park in front of an isolation center on the outskirts of men's cars become an important contact point for relatives of victims of police violence volunteers provide information about the whereabouts of those who were arrested during the peaceful protests. helping those who are gradually being released from the isolation center and everyone waiting to be released we give them clothes and psychological and medical help. the authorities let some volunteers and saeed to see the detainee leaves they are the 1st to learn about the conditions of detention and the circumstances o

nick connelly he covered yesterday's huge demonstration he joins us now over the phone nick massive protests this weekend the images really very dramatic are they making any. good morning so difficult to know where this is going there is no roadmap there is no clear path if the protest is what you then why would happen but it definitely was a show of strength from the position. to 300000 people taking is the estimate right now that doesn't seem to be more than last week so a sign here is that 2 weeks. is reflection people have not given and are not tied to be protests despite the threats from the government running up to these protests we heard from authorities here that any participation in these. demonstrations to the legal. shoot expected consequences they're ready now in the end that didn't happen i think the numbers were just too big there is safety in numbers but isn't that the prospect that even so people with the. small children with graeme there really was an extraordinary strength and fearlessness for the people here in belarus and it seems like i was a little i think there was rattled and it's interesting to compare you know these images of all of these protesters out on the streets protesting peacefully then with the image of president lukashenko along with his son carrying a gun yesterday how high are the fears that he could crack down again. well those are extraordinary images jim drawing of the protest and it's interesting that he did that rather late in the day so the session being that the people in his team didn't want him to see the full extent of the protests at its height. the recording that he's read that it's really kept him looking down at the men in saying the rock is on the way meaning to protect this he has said in recent days that people here and others have not the weekend box few days to have another think and from today to monday he would crack down the time the government show who was in charge today will show whether those where you would do if you actually need press down and show. force against your own protesting nick connelly with a view from ments khan the ground there thank you so much nic. a new zealand courts has been hearing from families of some of the 51 worshippers massacred in the country's worst mass killing parents and other family members testified about their loved ones killed at 2 different mosques in christ church a court is in the sentencing phase of the case against the white supremacist who has already pleaded guilty to the murders the court has heard that brenton toronto planned to burn down 2 mosques after carrying out the killings sentencing is expected to take 3 days with toronto facing life in prison and i'm joined now by pete mckenzie he's a journalist joining us from wellington pete relatives of the victims and survivors they had the opportunity to speak before the court what was the atmosphere. yeah 60 years over 60 victims and survivors where it called course today are expected to speak for the course of the coming days and of the mood was incredibly somber various victi

davies nick connelly is on the ground in minutes covering the latest on this story for us hi nick we started enough sky speaking earlier urging belarus in people to continue their protests and indeed it seems like there's no sign of them winding down so what comes next in minsk. will sue me it is true that protest has become the new normal here in mean square over 10 days since that rigged election and people have been coming out every evening into the main square here in minsk normally that lots of more diffuse protests i'm standing here on independence avenue the main street here means that if you just sit down in a cafe you'll see groups of people 10203040 walking up and down with flags with flowers in their hands the white red flag of the protesters so it's really a very. difficult situation to follow i think that's part of the strategy to prevent the government security forces from detain people to not have one central protest camp we have seen in recent days though a clamp down on the more organized parts of the opposition so not only those opposition leaders who've been called

nick connelly is on the ground in minsk covering the latest on this story for us hi nick we saw just enough chaos making earlier urging belarus in people to continue their protests and indeed it seems like there's no sign of them winding down so what comes next in men's. well sumi it is true that protest has become the new normal here in minsk where over 10 days since that rigged election and people have been coming out every evening into the main square here in minsk not only that lots of more diffuse protests i'm standing here on independence avenue the main street here in minsk and if you just sit down in a cafe you'll see groups of people 10203040 walking up and down with flags with flowers in their hands the white red flag of the protesters so it's really a very difficult situation to follow i think that's part of the strategy to prevent the government and security forces from detaining people to not have one central protest camp we have seen in recent days though a clamp down on the more organized parts of the opposition so not only those opposition leaders who are being called in for interviews by security services but also leaders of strikes some of the big companies here that was a big worry for the government that those companies go on strike the main focus now will be on sunday last sunday we saw hundreds of thousands of people gather here in minsk for the biggest one of the biggest protests in belarus history now the organize want to bring in even more people from across the country the question will be will the government let these people travel to me will they prevent people getting on buses and trains and cars i will be see an even bigger grouping over position supporters fill the streets syrians and equipment the news out of you and you think again about how that going down. i think the sanctions as such are not that much of a phillip a boost for the opposition here but a ruse and it's present for the past quarter century have been under wave after wave of sanctions most of those of them being withdrawn without looking good doing much in return what was crucial though. the e.u. says not to recognize this last election that was definitely a morale boost of the people out on the streets here in minsk it was a sign of hope in terms of practical help for them it doesn't do very much but it does show that europe is paying attention and is watching and following their protests with sympathy. nick may have an idea where this is heading i mean you mentioned that prosecutors are launching a criminal probe against opposition activists it doesn't seem like there's much room for dialogue between the 2 sides. well definitely. is doing nothing to engage the protesters it seems like to him that would be a sign of weakness he's rejected all offers of dialogue of communication he says he's the legitimate president and that what they're doing is against the constitution so against that but we've seen in recent days opposition figures trying to reach out to top people in the regime apart from the president i'm standing here in front of the k.g.b. building in the middle of winter they've been reach out security services trying to convince the not to use force against protesters trying to get them to engage in some kind of dialogue whether or not that will work is still unclear i think the real test of these protests will be if they spread beyond the city in the middle class's to those small

nick connelly he is on the phone he is following the story for us in ments good evening to you nick we understand that police have detained dozens of people who have been protesting peacefully in the center of minsk is this part of a further crackdown that we're now seeing. getting brant while. you have promised leading into last weekend's protest that this week would show they would see the government showing who was in charge is it people had the weekend to make up their minds to think about things and then he would put an end to this challenge to his rule that seems not to be happening i think the situation today was that the protests were relatively small by the standards of the last few days and weeks making it easier for the government and security has to come in and swoop in and arrest those people having left people to protest in relative peace in recent days but most crucially this is not allowed journalists to cover these arrests people in the square being told journalists people post being told in the square that if they were to record in film these arrests they too would be taken in and detained here we understand the police have detained about 20 journalists covering the protests among them is a colleague of ours from the w's russian what can you tell us about that. so i think sunder because left has been in police hands now for several hours when the label to reach a phone is not available that seems to be standard practice that when people are taken in and the sensible reason is a document check this happened several times a day for them to taken away and then based on what people are saying coming out they were jealous and then forced to show what pictures they have on their phones forced to delete pictures and videos and those that refuse to open their phones to get the boss would need to see what's on those phones those with and given the option to spend more time in custody maybe spend the night because the food is even being to call the police officer threatening to destroy technology to say that saying that they would kill the camera rolling in some other way of making sure this material goes away. and nick the russian president vladimir putin he has valid military support for the government of libya this is exactly what has been hoping would happen isn't it. well not quite it's a 2 edged sword on the one hand yes russia would make it a whole lot easier if i got a look. on these on prospective protests 200 maybe even 300000 people out mistreatment last weekend something that was unthinkable just a few weeks ago but on the other hand russia be looking to prove other receiving type and would embrace for the last few years nixon could actually be trying to resist that to avoid losing that arson sovereignty to avoid becoming essentially a region of russia and now if you take that the pull from that if you can if you have to pay a price in the price may be better off somehow but i was being drawn into a tight directional bit where it becomes less about $1.00 fate and more a region of of a bigger russia. to diffuse nit connelly with the latest tonight from the capital bill of minsk nick as alw