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day's news at 10.00pm. it's now time for our world. his is probably the most recognisable face in latin america. perhaps one of the most iconic images in the world. synonymous with youthful rebellion, with socialism, with revolution. but today, 50 years after the death of che guevara, what does he mean in a fast—changing cuba? as the communist—run island evolves, some see his example as more relevant than ever. others see a different future ahead, one that breaks with the indoctrination and intolerance of the past. i have spent the past few years living on this fascinating island at a period of great upheaval and want to know what

el che means today. it's the start of another school day in cuba's capital, havana. and the seconds are ticking down to assembly at nicolas estevanez primary school in the city's vedado district. it's one of countless schools across the island in which the memories and achievements of the country's independence heroes are marked every day by children in their distinctive uniforms of the socialist pioneers. but there's one revolutionary who has a special place reserved

in the education of these cuban children, whose name is repeated in unison every day, and has been for decades. that's not the first time i've seen the morning assembly in a cuban school. and it's funny because on one level, it reminds to you of when you were at school. but, of course, there's something here, something about the declaration towards undying commitment to communism and saying that you're going to be like che guevara that is purely unique to cuba. 50 years after his death, che's image still adorns the corridors of the primary school, as he does in schools across the country. for the headteacher here, waldir ladron, who exactly was che? camila granado was a pupil at this school herself before training

as a teacher and returning three years ago. che looked down on her as she studied in these same classrooms, just as he still does on a generation even further removed from the original. ernesto guevara was a guerrilla commander, an experienced doctor, a man of the people and right—hand man to fidel castro as he seized power in cuba in 1959. crucially, unlike some of those in the guerrilla army, che guevara was a committed marxist from the very start of the cuban revolution. and to this day, he remains a colossus in his adopted country's self image, as a bastion against imperialism and injustice. his last resting place a beacon for tens of thousands of visitors and pilgrims every year from the world over, fascinated by a life documented by iconic photographs and projected as the epitome of

romance and rebellion. ernesto guevara was born into a middle—class buenos aires family and studied to be a doctor. but an adventurous streak saw him travel the continent. influenced by examples of us intervention in the americas, hejoined a group of exiled cubans led by fidel castro in their bid to remove the military regime in havana. the men under his command began to call guevara "che", the argentine slang for friend. against the odds, after two years of guerrilla warfare in the sierra maestra mountains and in the cities, the bearded revolutionaries were victorious and took power in cuba. che's supporters saw in him the embodiment of the so—called "new man in socialism", the very driving force of the revolution. but to his opponents, he was ruthless and brutal. che might have settled down. but instead, he took the revolutionary struggle abroad, entering countries in disguise.

who would have guessed that this smart businessman is, in fact, che guevara, preparing to reach congo to wage a guerrilla campaign. but che's enemies finally caught up with him, and in 1967, the revolutionary icon was killed, fomenting rebellion against the us—backed military junta in bolivia. terrorist to some, the image of christ—like martyrdom to others. only five made it back from bolivia, and his fallen comrades are buried alongside him in this tomb in the town of santa clara. luis monteagudo fought with che in cuba and again during the revolutionary war in congo. still today he is under the spell of his comandante, che. what do you feel when you see your friend here? che was not alone in giving his life

to international revolution. more than 2,000 cubans died fighting in conflicts around the world. and those who survived still revere him. what was che like as a leader and as a friend? if a young person from europe or from the united states or from africa was to come to you when they were visiting this space and say, "well, what has the revolution achieved, what did it do?" what would you say to them? but cutting dependency on the us came with repercussions.

an economic embargo was imposed which, together with a planned socialist—style economy, has left enduring scars. in the country, empty roads cut through swathes of underdeveloped agriculture. while in havana, many homes are crumbling after years of underinvestment. the classic 1950s and soviet—era cars aren't only iconic, they're a symbol of an island economically trapped in the past. but today, cuba is beginning to change, not least in its fractious relationship with washington. i have come here to bury the last remnant of the cold war in the americas. applause recently, president trump has begun to roll back on that policy. however, the most obvious benefit of the new relations, a boost to tourism, so far seems unaffected.

ironically, much of the tourism features the great marxist revolutionary himself, central to the island's brand, on every street corner, on every t—shirt. it's an irony that doesn't worry some, though. among them, che's son, who, as well as his distinctive features, also shares his father's first name, ernesto. along with an argentinian investor, the ernesto guevara runs a motorbike tour company named after che's famous bike of the motorcycle diaries, la poderosa, on which he toured south america in the 1950s. does his son sense the irony of building a capitalist enterprise on the life story of a marxist icon? with so many new tourists to the island, business is booming for la poderosa, and ernesto is a busy man. ernesto rarely talks to the media but has invited me to ride with him to experience havana by motorbike.

in its three—year existence, la poderosa has taken advantage of new laws allowing private enterprise in cuba. previously, most private businesses were banned. today, la poderosa is gathering pace. it's close to paying back the initial foreign investment and operates a small fleet of the few harley—davidsons available on the island. on our tour, we'd arrived at a place of particular relevance to the story of el che — la cabana fortress. but la cabana is synonymous with another part of che's history.

over his six months in charge here, dozens of men and women received summary trials and were sent to the firing squad. the decades have come and gone. so have the us presidents. but 50 years after che's death, his portrait still assumes place of honour at the nation's annual demonstrations. the late fidel castro stood at this podium for countless marches in his signature fatigues and peaked cap. today, his younger brother, raul, presides over proceedings. but with raul announcing he will step down early next year, it is perhaps as important as ever to demonstrate stability will reign on after the castros in cuba. this is the image that the cuban government want to project of cuban youth — loyal, dedicated and faithful. young people turning out to pay homage to the socialist project. this man has been participating

in the event since he was a small boy, and he's clearly a committed revolutionary. many don't share his passion, though. in santa clara, beneath the mausoleum of che guevara itself lies a poor neighbourhood known simply as the hole. the residents never had permission to build their wooden shacks and breeze block homes, so aren't legally recognised by the state. and with no formal address, the community can't receive basic services. gladys was born in this neighbourhood and has lived

in it her entire life. but despite their proximity to one of the revolution‘s heroes, she says they've been ignored by the government for decades. music plays the well—worn strains of the song that immortalises che guevara, sung by the cuban bard silvio rodriguez, considered one of the revolution‘s most emblematic voices. the song is known off by heart by millions of cubans and encapsulates how the cuban state would like people to remember el comandante che. but that vision isn't shared by the singer's son, silvito el libre. his reality is very different. silvito‘s the cuba you don't know takes a hard look at the island,

raising the kind of issues that the authorities prefer to keep under wraps — violence, social decay and police control. despite his uncompromising lyrics, silvito insists he is no opponent of cuba. but silvito‘s candour has brought him problems. he says he's been detained and his friends have been intimidated by the authorities. it's led him to move away from the island to tampa, florida, where he is free to follow his career as a rapper. do you think that fear is one

of the legacies of the generation of el che and fidel castro and raul castro? few know that better than the island's dissidents. among those calling for a new political system in cuba are the ladies in white. originally formed by the wives of political prisoners, their weekly protests to call for free elections are often broken up by the police and state security, the organisers arbitrarily detained. libertad, libertad! they say they're calling for greater human rights on the island. the cuban government accused them of being mercenaries funded by right—wing anti—castro groups out of miami and washington. certainly the cuban government allows them no room to operate. this was their protest on the eve of a visit by president obama in front of the world's watching media. when our cameraman tried to film a weekly protest outside the lady's house, the police intervened. he was told he couldn't film there.

and the police removed the camera from the scene as the mood began to heat up. what happened next was predictable and swift. a number of women were detained that day. it's a side of cuba thatjars with a new hip image of the island in the eyes of the rest of the world. in some cases, even the image of che guevara no longer appears sacred. his revolutionary beret and olive—green fatigues drained of ideology and deployed for striking effect on chanel models at their recent fashion show in havana. critics thought the show was condescending to ordinary cubans, flaunting the worst of capitalism's excesses in front of them. but others thought it refreshingly reframed cuba as a global cultural icon for the 21st century. that's exactly what people like gabriela domenech would like to see.

herfashion magazine, garbos, is only available through a revolutionary idea called el paquete. with very little internet permitted on the island, it distributes global but not overtly political popular control via a semilegal system of downloading using hard drives. she is optimistic about the magazine's impact. in spite of all the difficulties we are facing in cuba, i think that young people, entrepreneurs, are very optimistic. all these kinds of people want to find their own way here in cuba. they are trying to find a way to make a different country with new ideas, new projects. there is a lot of optimism in cuba at the moment. but i can't help but wonder, 50 years after his death, how che would feel if he viewed the island today. as the conversation turned back to che guevara, gabriela had an extraordinary revelation about her family for me.

my grandfather died with che guevara — in bolivia. and he died struggling for the revolution, for the freedom of cuba. so i grew up with this feeling in my family, and this is what the young people have now. this legacy and this force for struggling to get what we want. gabriela's grandfather, she told me, was orlando pa ntoja, a guerrilla who fought alongside che in bolivia exactly 50 years ago. he died in the battle in which che was captured. i was interested how gabriela's family connection to the world—famous revolutionary influenced her life as an entrepreneur in today's emerging cuba.

do you feel like you are inspired by the sacrifices of your grandfather and his generation, or are you growing away from what they built? in spite of i belong to another generation, of course, i feel inspired by this legacy. he was struggling by what he wanted, and i'm doing the same right now. having died so young, today che guevara is all things to all people, adored and reviled in equal measure around the world for his socialist legacy. but inside cuba his image has assumed almost spiritual significance, ever present in people's daily lives and struggles. as the island redraws its future, the uncertainty is tangible. amid the transition, che guevara is a source of continuity, even as today's cuba becomes further removed from the one he helped to create. some parts of northern britain

managed to get a white christmas. we had a little bit of snow? southern and south eastern scotland also the far north—east of england and for the next 48—hours it will stay quite cold across most of the uk and in fa ct cold across most of the uk and in fact during the early hours of the morning we'll start to see some snow potentially falling across parts of wales and other areas of southern england as cold air from the north tucks in, mixes in with this milder

air that has been sitting just about across the far south of the country. so through the early hours anywhere from the welsh hills, around the cotswolds and the peak district and the towns and cities across the midlands could get rain mixed in with snow and by the morning around the hills of south eastern england. east anglia will hang on to the cloud and that sleetiness and rain through much of wednesday. a cold picture for norwich, but for most of us picture for norwich, but for most of us it looks like wednesday will be cold and sunny achl very chilly but pleasa nt cold and sunny achl very chilly but pleasant day on the way. this is the following night. wednesday night into thursday. it will be a cold night, some wintry showers there in scotla nd night, some wintry showers there in scotland and iciness developing as well. take it steady first thing in the morning on thursday. the cold air has dug down into parts of france, germany as well. we are in this colder air stream. on thursday, in between the weather systems, one

blowing out across scandinavia and one moving into south western areas. for most of us on thursday it will bea for most of us on thursday it will be a sunny and cold day. things change from thursday. weather systems start to rapidly sweep in off the atlantic, the winds will start freshening as well. with that comes another spell of milder air. you can see that cold air that has been sitting over us during the week pushes to the east and we are back into this mild south—westerly air stream. there could be snow over the hills, pennines and southern scotland. temperatures back up to double figures as the weather fronts sweep in. on saturday, the new year weekend, one low pressure moves out into the continent. we are in between low pressures. another one here. they are never too far away. it looks as though we will be in the middle of these two weather systems. that means some sunshine, but not for very long. mild, 13 degrees. that means some sunshine, but not forvery long. mild, 13 degrees. new year's eve, this is sunday we are talking about, deep low centred

across northern parts of the country, could could be further east 01’ country, could could be further east orfurther country, could could be further east or further west, difficult to say when it will sweep through. the indication is we are in for quite a blowy end to 2017, mild as well, sunshine around too. the best for midnight it will be in between two areas of low pressure with weather fronts close by. there is a risk that at midnight into 2018 it could be raining in some parts of the country, but there could be clear skies as well. sitting on the fence here a little bit, that's the best i can give you at this stage. into 2018 low pressure very close by, driven by a you pokerfuljetstream. that will continue for the first few days of 2018. it will be very windy, blustery throughout the country with spells of rain even a potential for gale force winds. we will be roaring in potentially at least into 2018. this is bbc news.

the headlines at ten: a british woman is sentenced to three years in jail in egypt for taking painkillers into the country. her sister says she fears for her safety. she's on the verge of mental breakdown. and so‘s my mum. it's just horrendous. universities should open minds, not close them, says the government, and face fines if they don't protect free speech. millions of shoppers have been searching for sale bargains, but fewer of us have hit the high streets compared to last boxing day. a russian cargo ship is listing near portsmouth harbour, and is being assisted by the coastguard. it's harry's game — tottenham's star striker sets a new record for the most premier league goals in a calendar year by scoring a hat—trick against southampton. and at 10:45, we'll bring you the paper review with political commentatorjo phillips and political editor of the sunday mirror nigel nelson.