Weeks after running aground in the im a recess a japanese ship begins to break apart spilling even more fuel onto the pristine coastline. We begin in baton rouge were to mulch as week of protests down the government crackdown has now culminated in the largest demonstrations yet against president Alexander Lukashenko a week after he declared an overwhelming victory in the president ial election his government is facing its greatest challenge since he came to power nearly 3 decades ago speaking at a progovernment rally rejected calls for his resignation or a rerun of the vote you accuse nato of sending troops and planes to the countrys western border a claim promptly rejected by the military alliance across many a crowd gathered for what they called a day of freedom longstanding grievances. I mean economy and the governments response to the coronavirus all contributed to growing anger over last weeks vote which the opposition says was was rigged and then theres been calls for lukashenko to step down now coming from within his own government the ambassador to slovakia has become the 1st high level official to publicly back the opposition protests step process and has our report. They went from fear to defiance and from sadness to anger in just one week. Never before have so many people in bellows taken to the streets to protest hundreds of thousands marched through the main avenues of minsk to demand president look at shankar to step down. We wont forgive you de chant the accounts of torture and abuse of thousands of detainees has also and good lookers shanku supporters and people who are never interested in politics will protest here against the violence was just happening is the reason we acknowledge that people can have different political views of reference us but on the no condition can people be bitten off and raved in the Police Station as in i stand here must go away we dont need it and as a blood with just me and peace and we. Want justice honestly election whilst the planet the kind of guy the woman many voted for in last weekends election has gone into exile or campaign or money or kolesnik over addresses the crowd. Cheered she was the more we go on expressing our dissatisfaction the sooner change will come. For the 1st time in 26 years we feel that we are free european nation and we are together together we shall win. I sense. That i have changed. My mind by march i. Was. In a desperate attempt to show he still has support because shankar organized a progovernment rally earlier in the day a few 1000 people were brought in on buses and trains you might say dont understand their fear in the country apart there will be no bell or roofs the embattled president sounded emotional and once again that Foreign Forces are trying to destabilize belarus time to somehow to turn the jets are on standby within 15 minutes reachable border this is not for nothing nato forces a rattling tank tracks at our doors military power is building up on the western border of our country his words were lost on these protesters they called for a strike and to continue demonstrating for as long as the president clings onto power stuff fasten aljazeera minsk. Well dr Alexander Harrison manka is from Oxford University he specializes in authoritarian regimes and social movements he spoke to us about russias options in the wake of these historic protests in paris looks like there are many options for team for putin and to consider and it relates to the position of russian russian government that. Look said belarus as its sphere for influence and it doesnt really its not really prepared to lead others go decide things solid at the moment it looks like so putin has an option to have economically. Anyhow politically on in military terms or sends in for this Additional Police forces for he says to belarus so how to helps to control the movements its quite difficult to be honest to find any politician in belarus who is prominent who is more progress. But the same time they see that he is getting we care every day and they might not rely on them all on him as much as they used to be so well they can concede in other candidates for because position there was a similar approach not similar but there was a purpose and a meaning which is also another part of kind of part of russian influence and in case of armenia russia really didnt through interfere so it might be also a case was bellers all are all the top story the south thousands of people have joined student led rallies in thailands capital calling for political reform in the biggest protests there in recent months and demanding a new election and an amended constitution as white hair reports from bangkok some thais even broaching taboo subject with calls for reform of the monarchy. In big numbers they came to the center of bangkok to escalate their call for change protesters gathered around democracy monument a symbol of what they say thailand doesnt have. I can pick the fact that the government is so corrupt its been in power for far too long and things arent getting any better after weeks of peaceful protests led mainly by students this was by far the largest and most diverse attracting thais from different sectors of society including other groups who staged mass rallies in the past. That well im glad more people have come out today the pair of young people and students alone cant force change we need everyone to work together. The protesters say thailands entire political system needs to change including the monarchy its a dangerous and sensitive issue to take on because the royal family is protected by strict laws designed to prevent criticism demonstrators also want the government gone and on thursday thailands Prime Minister the army general who led the military coup in 2014 addressed the nation he urged unity at a time when the economy is being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic only. Right now we must focus on the economic survival of the 10s of millions of people here lets get the economy going 1st get that done by working together then we can look at fixing the other issues collaboratively later but the protesters say the pen demick is proving and highlighting one of their points that thailand is an economically Unequal Society and must change tires that are well accustomed to political protests but there is a sense that this is Something Different a move being centered around a new generation theyre making unprecedented demands and wanting something profoundly different for thailand the. In recent weeks the government has warned the protesters to be careful what they say and arrested 3 protest leaders but if that was a tactic to try to scare them and bring an end to the movement it hasnt worked and judging by the size of this crowd it may be having the opposite effect when hey al jazeera bangkok. Somali Security Forces have ended now a 5 hour siege on a hotel in the capital mogadishu. A suspected car bomb and shootout at the. Store at least 6 People Killed and 40 others wounded Security Forces say 2 gunmen are among the dead government officials often stay at that facility the Group Alshabaab says it was behind the attack. On the feeling that i could buy a car full of explosives was rammed into the front gate of the hotel then attack is from alshabaab stormed into the hotel and started shooting everyone they came across i saw many did bodies on the ground the situation in there is really miserable. The head of the u. S. Postal service has been summoned to testify at a Congressional Committee later this month lois to joy he was appointed postmaster general by president onil trump and now facing accusations of trying to sabotage the mail network head of novembers election by withholding funding and limiting its operations on saturday the Postal Service warned millions of mail in ballots mine are riving time to be counted on election day thats now speak to mike hanna whos in washington tell us more about why the democrats have called for this in the agency hearing. Well marion there originally the House Committee had called for the postmaster general to appear before it in september but now it speeded up the process in a sentiment letter demanding that he appear before them and next monday also its demand that in the next 3 days he provide documents pertaining to the changes that hes made within the Postal Service since you took over as postmaster general in may now joy is a close confidant of President Trump hes also a former chairman of the Republican National committee so already questions about his political partisanship have been raised since hes been taken to this post but the chaos that has erupted within the Postal Service since he took over has deeply concerned democrats in particular but all those who want to see the smooth running of elections which in this time of pandemic is very likely to rest very much on mail in ballots in which the Postal Service will play a fundamental role and now the Postal Service says that it may not be able to turn around ballots quickly enough to allow postal voting to be a viable option so the House Committee will be asking questions about this it will be asking questions about why hes made these sweeping changes within the Postal Service which have included for example a slashing of overtime decommissioning off a number of mail sorting machines louise to joy he says this is all to cut costs but many in the public believe that it is perhaps a way in which to delay any form of postal voting within the president in according with the wishes of his close friend and confidante president donald trump. Is anything being done to try and address this dysfunctional Postal Service in the run up to the election. Well youve got the postmaster general being called before the Oversight Committee democrats in the house are also talking about introducing a bill which will free use the changes in the Postal Service essentially that bill says that any changes made after january the 1st off this year must be reversed and the service must run exactly as it did before essentially. Took over so that is one move that is happening the House Speaker nancy pelosi has floated the idea of recall being at the house in this time of autumn recess once again showing how serious the matter is but its not only congress that is making moves a number of state governors are actually exploring legal action against the postmaster general in terms of the impact that he has had on the Postal Service and the impact that it could have on the election process in the theres also some private groups that are bringing legal action against the postmaster general it all comes down to this particular issue postal voting is going to be absolutely critical in the elections in november a state like california for example has had postal voting for decades there more than 50 percent of people vote absentee ballots but what you are looking at now is a massive increase in the number of people who will use postal votes or use absentee ballots that they want to drop off at someplace or put it in the mail and this is threatened by the disruption of the Postal Service that has occurred in particular in recent months thank you mike hanna in washington. Now the japanese ship that ran onto a coral reef off the coast of nourishes last month has broken up a ship that already leaked around a 1000 tonnes of fuel into the water over the past 3 weeks now there are fears about how the rich and fragile ecosystem can recover from the spill what it could mean for an economy that relies heavily on terrorism or a bad nanny has more. Seawater flooding in oil boosting out. The japanese owned vessel and the rock a share has split apart and the oil is there spreading along the pristine coast side of east and richest. The ballcarrier running to a reef a point does need 3 weeks ago a 1000 tonnes of oil spilled into the ocean presenting a huge danger to Marine Wildlife some unique to the country the area both colorful reefs mangrove forests protected wetlands and pristine beaches and environmental emergency was declared last week we are facing another threat of another 50 tons of fuel against being in the logo and in the long term were also looking at the in the longer term impact of toxic elements containing the ship like the batteries toxic paints and other elements containing the ship which we see been to the sea and contaminate further will go and so the damage of the work actually is not a short term damage its a very long term damage japan other fronts responded to calls for assistance joining thousands of local volunteers who are bracing at the clock to protect the wildlife and some have got creative. Using booms made from human hair and husks from sugarcane to soak up as much of the oil and sludge as possible the island of 1300000 people relies heavily on tourism many are angry the government did not act quickly enough it blamed bad weather for the slow response and is investigating why the ship came so close to the shore it was supposed to stay at least 16 kilometers away many fear the spill could impact the local economy for decades and do irreversible damage to the local wildlife. The aljazeera. Much more ahead for you on the program we look at why the opening of venezuelas 1st iranian supermarket is being seen as an important symbol of solidarity. On the planet environmentalist horn of a rising tide of pandemic driven plastic waste. Hello there pens he will rain in the forecast across southern sections of australia got 2 main areas of weather this is the one with some thunderstorms just sitting off the southeast coast of victoria and then this this way the cloud here is well working its way across the great by the as the area of low pressure the winds a fairly strong east coastal areas but a bad day the really impossible monday quite cloudy the terminal to about 16 degrees but the rain is elsewhere it really is spreading across the great buys and pushing some heaviest spells across into central areas of victoria not a bad day in tasmania kind of a sandwiched in between these 2 systems a not a bad day monday across much of uneasily but the rain is on its way across the tasman sea the winds as well fairly strong really pushing those shadows on those west facing coasts and again this is some here quite slow to move but it can bring some strong winds on choosing across into adelaide also melbourne on again into hope with a full of warmer dry in sydney with a high of 22 i mean one across into asia plenty more rain of course in the 4 cars that you have some good guys that really across much of south korea and this is our looks embarrassed on gosh what a difference a few weeks make but again conditions did should stay mostly fungi through monday the rain is very extensive though through essential west and as the china the really the bulk of china is kiran and also very warm. A face can tell a story without uttering a single word that. Unknowing gone can guide us. To a simple touch to inform us. The unconventionality of life witnessed through the lens of the human mind. Is what inspires us. Witness documentaries on aljazeera. A quick look at the headlines now belarus the scene its largest protest yet against president Alexander Lukashenko 7 days after an election in which he declared an overwhelming victory which the opposition says was regs a long time leader told his supporters at a smaller rally that he wont be calling for a new election and accuse nato of mobilizing forces at the countrys western border. Thousands of people have joined a student led rally in thailands capital calling for political reform and cuts to the monarchy protests in bangkok was the largest antigovernment demonstration since the coup in 2014 and the head of the u. S. Postal service has been summoned to testify in front of the Congressional Committee over widespread cost cuts. Lou is to joy he was accused of trying to sabotage the mail network head of novembers president ial election. Well in other news renewed coronavirus measures have come into effect in the colombian capital despite protests against the countrys a 5 month lockdown Business Owners rallied in bogota after 2 weeks of strict measures were imposed in 7 of the citys neighborhoods protesters want the mayor to find ways to revive a struggling local economy colombia now has more than 450000 confirmed cases of covert 19 and almost 15000 people have died already with the retail trade dies every day in the corn team is killing off retailers the retailers cant take it anymore we have to pay rent. Or more than 80000 people depend directly and indirectly on our work many families depend on us. Elsewhere south koreas reported its highest daily jump in new code 1000 infections since the month of march there were 279 new cases on sunday most of them were in the capital Seoul South Korea as recorded more than 15000 affection since its outbreak 1st began and at least 300 deaths or if it is this latest could grow into a large outbreak hinduja home of to you more to the phenomenon we are now seeing appears to be the early phase of mouse virus resurgence the food to control the spread then it could cause serious damage through a nationwide virus spread in a spike in a number of patients the government is taking the Current Situation very seriously and making palm governmental efforts to prevent further spread of the virus. A mediterranean cruise ship has set sail from genoa for the 1st time since the beginning of italys corona Virus Outbreak passengers aboard the m. S. A. Grandiose to pass temperature checks and also comply with other person calls before being able to set sail on a 7 night cruise the global cruise industry has been one of the hardest hit by the pandemic off to several ships had major outbreaks on board. Well south africa is easing its coronavirus restrictions because of few a new infections president Cyril Ramaphosa says the country has passed the peak of its outbreak you cases of fall into around 5000 protege from the high have 12000 from monday onwards travel will be allowed between provinces and a ban on sale of alcohol and cigarettes lifted but south africas borders will remain closed to this is his. Lebanon has reported a record daily number of new chrono virus infections while still struggling with the aftermath of that massive port explosion in beirut at least 439 new cases and 6 deaths were confirmed in the past 24 hours daily cases had already been on the rise and the explosion made social distance on obviously more difficult for people countries Health Sector has been under a lot of pressure because of the pandemic and also a deepening economic crisis it now has more than 8000. 00 cases and 56. 00 deaths meanwhile the United Nations says its 200000000. 00 short of donations to help that and repair catastrophic damage to that port the lebanese are counting on International Aid to rebuild but many of them made homeless by the huge explosion and theyre also relying on volunteers charities and friends president michel aoun has said that all of the aid will go to people who need it u. N. Workers in lebanon say they are trying to ensure donations are distributed properly. And immediate needs are really covering very specific sectors the 1st one is about education because we dont want to undermine the future a few by man and the children the really need to go back to school and to get all the psychological support Food Security and obviously we dont want to have any interruption in terms of food in terms of availability of the wheat or in flour but also to make sure that we start belies or activity that nationally grain supply. A new iranian Supermarket Chain is opened in venezuelas capital for residents and crack us it means access to all wider variety of daily necessities its also an indication of a growing alliance between the 2 countries which are both subject to strict u. S. Sanctions on latin america editor lucy and human reports. In a renewed tractor enhances the entrance of magog. This spanking new mega supermarket in caracas is certainly an eye opener. Notated on the edge of caracas is largest the countrys 1st ever iranian supermarket offers products such as garlic shampoos and sweets flavored with date syrup all exotic items have been israel in slick and recovering chill and his wife of a mannequin. Its the 1st time ive come its spacious and has a wide variety of products its a bit more expensive but i guess its because almost everything is imported. To make guys the Supermarket Chain says its a private company in that israel had to do business but the only person authorized to speak to us on its behalf was the 1st secretary of the Iranian Embassy who seems well versed on the subject but and their mother. Was one of the best sellers right now because of the pandemic is a vegetable based anti septic hand made from sweet beetroot also toilet paper napkins detergents and liquid soap also the typical things like past and rice has been israel has close ties with iran date back to former president chavis but under current president nicholas my little the 2 opec members have become even closer as both face tough u. S. Economic and political sanctions inmate 5 rein in gasoline tankers brought desperately needed fuel driven israela despite u. S. Threats to intervene. The u. S. State Department Says the iranian supermarket is the quote latest example of a growing alliance between 2 pariah states. Irans ambassador to the an israel and tells aljazeera his country has every right to establish commercial ties with whom it pleases and both of them if they do so love us not them of the American Government charges mean nothing to us theyre worried that were providing food and medicine to venezuela they want countries like iran venezuela and cuba to suffer from the sanctions all they want is that people to suffer until they are by washingtons orders. The ambassador denied us reports that the mccaskey Supermarket Chain is run by irans revolutionary guard iran is also providing Technical Support to venezuelas crippled oil industry its unclear what its getting in return except perhaps in israel and gold which is also subject to u. S. Sanctions but theres another explanation solidarity another way of demonstrating the ancient proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend you see in human aljazeera or weve been seeing some clara skies and cleena waters in places since the pandemic started but environmentalists a warning that its too soon for optimism a new study found that the country produced 10 percent less rubbish since the lockdown started but the rising use of disposable protective gear it will wipe out gains made curbing single use plastics. Explains. Its a scene weve all become familiar with no matter where in the world wearing a mask is our new normal. But all single use protective gear might be saving lives theyre also polluting our environment granted up on them yet their movies are in the pandering ricin an increase in the usage of individual protective gear such as face mask and gloves very often made out of plastic. The Italian Institute for Environmental Research found that in just 2 months of lockdown during march and april. The amount of general waste fell by 10 percent thats 500000 tons. Researches also looked at the increased use of personal protective gear during this time. We were there we started 6. 00 to 9. 00 glove models and more than 30 face mask models all very different from each other they have different structures some have false some have filters and therefore different weights we made an assumption on the average wage and they found that at the end of 2020 this production will create 300000 tons of additional waste and thats just masks and gloves alone. I mean. Researches say that means the totals will balance each other out by the end of the year and the amount of waste produced is likely to be similar to before the pandemic. Environmentalist are also concerned that the pandemic has rolled back global efforts to curb single use plastic. We have also seen an increase in consumption of packaged foods and ecommerce that uses a lot of single use Plastic Packaging we dont have an estimate yet of how much of those objects were dumped into the environment but what is sure is that all of those that have been abandoned sooner or later will reach the sea. The un trade body u n c t 80 estimates global marcels have doubled since last year with a trade worth 166000000000. 00 plastic pollution was already one of the greatest threats to our planet before the outbreak and around 75 percent of use mosques as well as other pandemic related waste will end up in landfills or floating in the seas. Sort of out of disease. Now some news from new zealand where the Prime Minister has Just Announced the countrys elections will be delayed by 4 weeks because of the coronavirus the country had been free of covert 900 for more than 100 days when new infections were discovered this week there are currently 69 active cases in the biggest city or clint has gone into lockdown for 2 weeks i have decided on balance to move the election by 4 weeks to the 17th of october. At the end of last week i was advised that the state is achievable and presents no gracious risk then head we retained the status quo ive also been advised that im moving to a 17 october election day the commission will be able to leverage and draw on much of the work already undertaken to deliver the election. Its a quick look at the headlines before we go but are resisting its largest antigovernment protests yet 7 days after the disputed reelection of president Alexander Lukashenko across the capital meant tens of thousands of people gathered what they called a day of freedom opposition supporters say last weeks vote was rigged and it demanding local shanker stand down after 26 years in power. Follows as a different country than it was just a week ago. And violence happened on the street a Police Crackdown torture beatings and now unprecedented scenes are happening here fans of thousands up to 100000. 00 people here on the square the Independence Square not only the now to violence but also asking for change. History is a live making. We want. To leave. Meanwhile there was also a separate rally in the capital with a longtime leader. Telling supporters he wont be calling for a new election and he accuse nato of mobilizing forces at the border a claim that was quickly dismissed by the military alliance a russian president Vladimir Putin has offered assistance to look part of a collective military pacts. In our other headlines this hour thousands of people have joined a student led rally in thailands capital calling for political reform and cuts to the monarchy students have been leading a daily protest for the past month but sundays demonstration was the largest since the coup in 2014. Somali Security Forces have ended a 5 hour siege on a hotel in the capital mogadishu a suspected car bomb and shootout at the elite hotel in light of beach so at least 6 People Killed and 40 others injured Security Forces say 2 gunmen are among the dead government officials often stay at that facility the Group Alshabaab has claimed to be behind the attack on the head of the u. S. Postal service has been summoned to testify at a Congressional Committee later this month that was to joy he was appointed postmaster general by President Trump and now facing accusations of trying to sabotage the mail network head of novembers election by withholding funding and limiting its operations. Thats it from london from our witnesses coming up next but there will be more news from doha in about half an els time. On the counting the costs tell powerful banking and political plans destroyed but all the talk of controversy about some stories to oversee loved america is recovering from the pandemic loss the Company Awarded billions for a gas. That wasnt even good. Counting the cost on aljazeera. Last socials. Biggest news basis last month the news. And its