in pittsburgh in the united states. the gunman is reported to have shouted that alljews had to die. president trump says hell travel to pittsburgh after the shootings, which he described as an evil anti—semitic attack. a helicopter belonging to the thai billionaire businessman, vichai srivaddhanaprabha, has crashed and burst into flames at leicester city football club. witnesses say it had taken off from inside the stadium an hour after a match between leicester and west ham, but span out of control. the leaders of turkey, russia, france and germany have again stressed that a permanent peace in syria can only be found through political means. following a summit of the leaders in istanbul, they promised to work to ensure the current ceasefire in the northern province of idlib became permanent. those are the latest headlines. the duke and duchess of sussex have attended the closing ceremony of the fourth invictus games in sydney. the sporting event, established to inspire recovering soldiers,

and help them deal with the trauma of combat, has seen more than 500 competitors from 18 nations take part. prince harry and meghan, will be travelling onto new zealand as part of their 16—day commonwealth tour. our royal correspondent jonny dymond reports from sydney. announcer: joshua david smith. a week of competition and camaraderie comes to a close. today, athletes from militaries around the world received medals with a royal touch. one of the british medallists this week was former lance corporal andy white. our invictus games sydney 2018 medallists! dragged out of depression by what he calls the invictus spirit. because we're all ex—military and the things we've done, we are another family, we are the invictus family. we'll always look out for each other. there are sporting competitions that are bigger than invictus and there are sporting competitions that are richer than invictus, but you would be hard—pressed

to find a competition with greater unity of purpose. they came to celebrate that purpose in sydney tonight, competitors and meghan too, who spoke of the importance of family and friends. once home, the need for that anchor of support from loved ones, especially given how much it accelerates recovery and rehabilitation, is immeasurable. and then the man who brought all of it together, who dwelt again on the mental wounds of war and loss. i've been there, you've been there, and we now need to reach out to those who can never imagine themselves in that place. (applause) he told competitors that they had shown us all that anything is possible, and with that, he closed the games. jonny dymond, bbc news, sydney. now on bbc news, witness.

hello and welcome to witness with me, razia iqbal. i'm here at the british library to guide you through five extraordinary moments in recent history. told to us by people who were there. we'll hear about a mother who had corporal punishment outlawed in scottish schools. how a racially motivated murder of a bengali man changed london in the 19705. the first female gazan athlete to lead the palestinian delegation at the olympic games. and the story behind a revolution in childbirth. but we start with an individual

who helped create a fashion industry in the soviet union. under communism, clothes and designs were regulated by the state. but this designer had the urge to break away and create new designs. he became the first soviet designer to start his own haute couture fashion label. translation: what is the point of a fashion designer? it's to give people joy. the joy of connecting with beauty, you see. this has been the most important thing in my life. for the ordinary russian in the streets, such styles are a long ways off. fabrics runs are altered only once in three years. to get a design from drawing

to mass production takes two years. translation: soviet factories produced a very basic goals, poorly cut and badly stitched. soviet fashion houses worked for clothes factories and every design had to be approved or rejected by a commission of representatives from ministries and other organisations. they had nothing to do with the art of fashion. yet they told artists what to do. myjob was boring and uninspiring. so i left the state fashion industry. ideas were pouring out of me. i got together a group of young people and we began to create our own collection. at the time, the problem was getting hold of enough cloth. there was a shortage of fabric. we used fabric from a state warehouse. the fabric belonged to the state and we got state funding. the tickets are as hard to get and just as expensive

as the bolshoi ballet. it's the fashion show, moscow's latest entertainment and one that can be assured of a full house as long as russia's top designer can be persuaded to put his models through their paces. translation: working with black only is boring. but we didn't have any other colours. so i kept buying black fabric. for the moment, the fashion world regards his work as rather old—fashioned. but then, that's hardly surprising for a man who until a few years ago had to rely on friends to give him old copies of fashion magazines. translation: in 1989, i went to america and got hold of new italian fabrics. these were beautiful fabrics. and i used them for a high—fashion collection. in the past few months, he's taken his models to new york and paris, and the changes are already beginning to show. see, high—fashion is high art.

it is the art of creating a costume, a style which reflects its time. high fashion is still well above the heads of most of his audience. translation: high fashion reflects the most striking features. 19805 was all about shoulder pads. creating the image of a woman who's more refined, more confident. she's in touch with herself. she's free of male influence. but although his customers are part of the elite, it's hard to imagine the kremlin wives in some of his numbers. translation: in 1989, i showed my collection injapan. i was recognised as one of the top five designers in the world. that was an amazing moment. i'm a working man. i push myself hard. and fashion is what gives me greatjoy.

our next film takes us to scotland in 1983. corporal punishment in schools was still legal across the uk. but grace campbell objected to the possibility of her children being beaten and campaigned to get the law changed. a recent survey of scottish teenagers showed that a third of the boys and 1 in 12 of the girls had been belted in one fortnight period. people say that if you don't have kids, you're spoiling them. i say they have to take a long, cold, hard look in the mirror. because when you're stripping away, what you're really talking about is hitting another individual. most of scottish secondary school teachers possess one of these thick, leather straps with a double tongue. the largest teachers union

in scotland maintains that it's an unpleasant necessity in today's unruly classrooms. corporal punishment in scotland was institutionalized. it was very strange that in a country like britain, in the ‘70s and ‘80s, corporal punishment will still around. because, actually, it wasn't in many european countries. the local authorities, local education authorities had set down guidance for teachers on what impliments to use. what was known as a belt was used to hit you on the hand. it's difficult to describe why the belt was such a terrifying thing to look at. but i think it's just because, from a very early age, you know, you hear from the other kids, the older kids at school, about the belt. it's a single—use thing. it doesn't have any other legitimate use. it's just for hitting people. that's all it's for.

and so when you see it, ok, that is something to be wary of. my mum had been subjected to corporal punishment when she was in school, and she was absolutely clear she didn't want it for her children. so, she tried to seek assurances from the local school. "could you make sure my kids won't be belted?" she went to the local authority, regional counsel at the time, there were absolutely clear about guidance is that he gets used. she was in touch with the local mp, the counsellors, trying basically to get something done. and eventually, it was clear that under scots law at the time, there was no point in trying to go through the courts in scotland. so, my mum had no choice. she ended up having to go the european court of human rights in strausburg. it didn't do me any harm. i think it should be kept. why's that? because there'll be more vandalism and fighting and bullying.

in society at the time, they were definitely perceived to be troublemaking. the majority in society wanted to keep corporal punishment. the court did rule that beating children against their parents' wishes violated the human rights convention. i'm very pleased with the outcome of the case and feel that a speedy implementing of the findings will improve the educational environment for both teachers and pupils. when mama got the news of thejudgement, there was a lot of spontaneous dancing and hugging my dad, which in a west scotland family, just isn't a normal thing. and they were absolutely cock—a—hoot, really, really pleased. after the law was changed, it was changed i thinkjust before the start of the school term. and after that, it just disappeared overnight. it was like it never existed. andrew campbell

remembering his mother, grace. in 1978, a bengali textile worker was murdered in london's east end. the killing of the 25—year—old was racially motivated and mobilised the bengali community to act. rafik recalls what life was like in the east end and the events around the murder. chanting. in 1970, life in east london wasn't very pleasant due to racial abuse. a recent up report on racial violence in this area described this as an isolated and terrorised community. the victims of an appalling catalogue of violent crime. we had fire put through our letter box. urinating in our letter box. people are frightened

to leave their house. spitting, pushing, it was common. it was really frightening. i was in fear all the time. national front is a group of people who always hates people. chanting. most of them were skinheads. all the message was against immigration. it was thursday 4 may, it was election day. after work, he was walking through this district, through here to go home, approximately 6pm. and when he got there, i don't know the actual spot, but he was attacked and knifed in his neck. all of a sudden, we heard sirens from every angle. as we heard sirens...

siren. you can hear sirens now. similar sirens from every angle. after about half an hour to 45 minutes, we had a bengali man had been stabbed to death. we're very angry, we don't know what to do. everyone was shouting, crying. the community finally united. chanting: the national front is the nazi front! the national nazi front! we organised a march on the 14th to hyde park corner. to 10 downing street to the prime minister. it was the biggest bengali—led march in the uk.

and our message is no more killing. in brick lane, a favourite sunday morning gathering spot for national front supporters, the group of some 200 bengalis sat down in the road to listen to a succession of speakers... after the big march, the national front continued with their activities, so we had to march every sunday after that. and our slogan was "black and white, unite and fight." eventually, the national front lost that grip. because they know our community is no longer fighting. we stood firmly. where i am sitting now, this has been named after altah ali. he will always be remembered

and we have a memorial there at the back. we come and flowers in his memory. so he is not forgotten. here in altah ali park. remember you can watch witness every month on the bbc news channel. or you can catch up on all ourfilms along with more than 1000 radio programmes in our online archive. just go to bbc.co.uk/witness. at the 2004 athens olympics a young 100 metre runnerfrom the gaza strip became the first woman to lead the palestinian delegation as an opening ceremony. —— 800m runner. her name: sanaa abu bkheet. translation: it was my greatest moment. my name went down in history

as the first palestinian woman to carry the palestinian flag at the olympics. running was a hobby for me. i started as an amateur in school. at school were confined to inside the grounds. when ijoined the national team and started running on the streets, my conservative society did not look favorability on a palestinian girl running in public. but when i persisted, people accepted me and began to encourage and support me. when i run, ifeel happy, free and relaxed. all my worries disappear.

i prepare for the athens olympics in a stadium in gaza. it had a sandy track. i was then sponsored by a palestinian businessman to go on a training camp for a month on a greek island. in month was not enough for to take part in the olympics and get good results. my participation was symbolic. because the situation in gaza does not allow us to prepare properly for medals. it was such a beautiful scene. because as soon as everyone saw the palestinian flag, they began clapping. but i also felt overwhelmed to find myself on the starting line.

you have this feeling inside. but as soon as you get going, you forget about everything. whoever comes last still gets cheers, just like the winner. athens was a start for me. in 2009 i took part in the athletics world championship in berlin. i'm still training, but because of the siege i can't go outside of the gaza strip. i cannot compete in international races. i manage with the thanks, thank god, because of my husband's support. he is now my coach. for the past four years, no athlete from gaza has been able to take part in any event outside. a short while ago, there

was an invitation to go tojerusalem and ramallah for events. but they were all denied travel permits. allahu akhbar. translation: my advice to other palestinian women is hold on to your dreams, do not give up, do not allow any pressures to defeat you. go for what you love most. for our final 5tory, we head to france in the late 19705 where doctor michel odent 5tarted a childbirth revolution with his new invention the birthing pool. he tells us how it came about. there is something special about human beings and water. as soon as it is lifted

into the air, its lungs start to work normally. crying. the doctor runs his maternity unit according to his deeply held beliefs about women and natural childbirth. the right place to give birth would be the right place to make love. in 1962, the way of giving birth was in the same, in a hospital, on a table with plates and stirrups. —— legs in stirrups. but gradually, we recon5ider everything. we had introduced the concept of homelike birthing. a smaller home with no physical medical equipment to help me feel

more at home in hospital. ata time at a time when they still had the vi5ion at a time when they still had the vision of a hospital as a place where you come when you are sick, or to die. 1am and a young couple have driven 150 miles to have their first baby here, in an ordinary state hospital in northern france. by changing the environment we have attracted more women. women coming from far away. and that is why i became an obstetrician. from 200 births, to 1000 births a year. a pool to help mothers ease the pain of labour.

babies are born underwater. we have painted the walls in blue, a dolphin on the wall, many women could not wait. they wanted to enter the birthing pool before it is full, not wait. the main objective was to break a vicious cycle, and by replacing drugs — all medication, all drugs, have side effects. after being in the womb and more fluid for nine months, the baby emerges happily into the warm water with its life—support system from the mother still intact. singing. i remember the visit we had with this british obstetrician. what do you think of the pool? well, i don't think we'd have room for it in our hospital.

i find the doctor's views about it a wonderful mixture of mysticism and science. i don't think the word mysticism is appropriate. it showed that i try to consider in a scientific language some emotional state. translation: it felt like a family atmosphere. very reassuring. it gave you confidence in yourself and that's what i needed. i'm pleased when i hear women talk in a positive way about the birth of their babies. we have to learn from positive experiences, that is the way forward. dr michel odent on the water birth revolution. that's all from witness this month at the british library. we will be back next month with more first—hand accounts

of extraordinary moments in history. but now from me and the rest of the witness team, goodbye. good morning. saturday was certainly a shock to the system, cold for all of us, but really it was a day of mixed fortunes, because for some there were beautiful spells of sunshine. a beautiful weather watchers picture sent in from keswick in cumbria. however, if you were caught under the showers it was miserable. frequent showers in the north—east of scotland, some of them wintry over higher ground. frequent showers running in across the yorkshire coast, east anglia, the midlands and the south—west.

and that brought rumbles of thunder, and to close out the day in parts of lincolnshire and cambridgeshire, there were some hailstorms as well. so a pretty miserable story, and we are in this cold air now, right across the country. not just the uk. through much of europe as well, descending as far south as spain and portugal, where on monday they had temperatures into the mid—205. they're going to close out the week, if they're lucky, on 10—11 degrees. for us, we start off sunday on a chilly note, a touch of light frost in parts of scotland. western areas will see the best of the sunshine on sunday. that north—easterly breeze always running the risk of driving in showers along the east coast and a real nuisance again across east anglia and the south—east of england. highest values on sunday, 8— 11. still not particularly warm. winds will fall on sunday night into monday morning, the skies will clear, and there is the possibility of a widespread hard frost first thing on monday morning. so certainly a cold start to the new working week. hopefully to compensate, some lovely sparkling sunshine to go with it. it should be a really quiet day. one or two isolated showers into the western isles. don't be too concerned about this rain out in the atlantic. temperatures 8—11 again.

in fact, looking ahead, we need to look at what is happening across in the mediterranean. a real storm across portions of italy. heavy snow over the alps, and that is going to be spreading its way steadily north. so there is a level of uncertainty, just how much of eastern england is going to be affected by that area of low pressure, it could bring some significant rain. it will also bring something a little less cold, some mild moist air moving in across the sea up through the middle part of the week. all that translates into a forecast like this. it does look like there will be dry weather for many, but there is the potential for rain, some of it heavy, into the south—east, to make itjust that little bit milder. that's it. enjoy your sunday.

welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: at least 11 people are shot dead — after a gunman opens fire in a synagogue in the us city of pittsburgh. the gunman — who's been named as robert bowers — surrendered to police after a shootout at the scene. this evil anti—semitic attack is an assault on all of us. it is an assault on humanity. in other news, a helicopter belonging to leicester city's thai owner has crashed, after taking off from the football team's stadium. and the caravan of migrants making its way to the united states rejects an offer of asylum from mexico.