started the fall of the berlin wall. the fight online against the islamic state group in mosul. and the dancers who broke down barriers to become the first black classical ballet com pa ny. but first, as part of the bbc‘s crossing divides season, we bring you two perspectives on an historic moment in the relationship between the us and iran. in 1979, a group of iranian students overran the us embassy in tehran and took the americans inside hostage. massoumeh ebtekar was the spokesperson and translator for the revolutionary students. we had an opportunity to convey the message of the iranian people to the world, and we had to make the best of this opportunity.

in iran, several hundred students have broken into the american embassy in tehran and are holding a number of staff hostage. revolutionary guards and police did nothing to stop the student takeover. the last week has seen a series of strong verbal attacks on the united states, including several statements from the ayatollah khomeini. today, the ayatollah voiced support for the students' action. i was attending classes at the university when i was approached by some of the students, who told me that the students inside the embassy, they need you, and they are asking for you tojoin them. we were young people. personally, i was a young student. i had no military experience, no experience in dealing with reporters, or dealing with such a serious responsibility.

the students started making contact with their friends in the states. other iranian students who were there. they started constructing a delegation of american people. they would be invited to visit iran for about a week. directly, they could come and see what's happening in iran, what's happening with the students, who these people are. we had arranged everything and they arrived one by one from the airport. naturally, very tired. we went together to visit a localfactory in tehran. the workers there started speaking about the problems that they had during the shahs‘ regime.

the shah was always speaking about these doorways of civilisation, but these doorways were nowhere in sight for our workers, for the people who actually were suffering due to the severe poverty, the economic challenges that the country had at that time. we had a visit to the cemetery where thousands of martyrs of the revolution lie. it was an opportunity to speak about the revolution itself.

if we intend to confront violence, to co nfro nt if we intend to confront violence, to confront war in today's world, if we intend to establish or restore a just world orderfor we intend to establish or restore a just world order for peace, we intend to establish or restore a just world orderfor peace, for justice, for the betterment of humanity, before all, we need to engage in dialogue, a dialogue that would promote a profound understanding between the east and the west. massoumeh ebtekar went on to become a cabinet member in the iranian government. now, for the other side of the cultural divide as we hear from other side of the cultural divide as we hearfrom a rabbi who other side of the cultural divide as we hear from a rabbi who was a member of the american delegation that visited iran at the time. in america, there have been furious

demands calling for the immediate release of 60 americans being held prisoner in iran. the hostages are being kept inside the american embassy. the embassy is now controlled by a large group of students, followers of the ruler of iran, the ayatollah khomeini. all the members of the delegation assembled at a church on the upper we st assembled at a church on the upper west side of manhattan, and i guess we we re west side of manhattan, and i guess we were ta ken west side of manhattan, and i guess we were taken to kennedy airport, and we took off for tehran. there we re and we took off for tehran. there were members of the delegation from different parts of the country. they seemed to be of the same mind. they wanted to help. i felt very purposeful, very committed, focused oi'i purposeful, very committed, focused on my mission that i would employ every fibre of my being to make it successful, to reach out to the

hostages, and to comfort them at a very difficult time. we landed at the airport. here was an airport withjust pictures of the airport. here was an airport with just pictures of the the airport. here was an airport withjust pictures of the revolution and ayatollah khomeini, and there we re and ayatollah khomeini, and there were men militants —— militants with machine guns. it was hard to be one—on—one with the iranian people. ijust remember one—on—one with the iranian people. i just remember empathising but really didn't have much interaction with the ordinary people, those in poverty. i remember being very intense in iran, like every moment of the day was prayerful, dedicated. it was acutely alert, all my senses.

the day we saw the hostages, valentine's day, there was a knock oi'i valentine's day, there was a knock on the door, then all of a sudden here we are in front of the embassy. there were the students. they looked like 11—year—old students doing their homework, but they had machine guns. and we were, i guess, searched and checked out and so on and brought into a room in the embassy that had been covered with blankets and may be pictures of ayatollah khomeini. then the hostages came in. they looked nervous, so i remember breaking the ice with him and saying, hey, guys, iguess breaking the ice with him and saying, hey, guys, i guess you want to know who won the world series, and you must miss mcdonald's. by that time, i was very doubtful. as

we we re that time, i was very doubtful. as we were leaving, the students said, we were leaving, the students said, we have to detain you. someone has released a secret message from the hostages. they kept me apart from the other americans, stripped hostages. they kept me apart from the otheramericans, stripped me down to my underwear. after the longest ten or 15 minutes of my life, they let me go. i remember, we were... quite tired from all these efforts. we hope that we did our best. could we have done more? may best. could we have done more? may be at least when i come back i'll be able to tell people... a story that is more true about what happens to human beings and how they suffer, without in any way condoning the taking of hostages.

and when the american hostages were finally released from the tehran embassy, rabbi hersheljaffee was invited to greet them at the white house. now, to east germany, where in the autumn of 1989, a series of mass demonstrations in the city of leipzig shook the communist authorities to their core and paved the way for the fall of the berlin wall. martin janko ski the way for the fall of the berlin wall. martinjanko ski was one of the protesters. in 1989, iwas living in leipzig, east germany, as a peace activist and singer songwriter, as part of the opposition movement. as a student at high school, i started being observed by the stasi, the socialist secret service of the gdr. because of my oppositional writings of poems and songs and so on. since 8071 started being a member of a circle

of oppositional dissidents around them protestant cathedral in leipzig. in the beginning of the 80s, they started something we called peace prayers. this was one so called peace prayers. this was one so week and it was political prayer against this logic of the cold war. many east germans seem to object not to socialism as such but the version that has been thrust on them, a frustration summed up in the contrast between mikhail gorbachev, quite young and dynamic, and his elderly host. in the centre of east berlin at the weekend, as elsewhere, and dissenting view was being articulated. the demonstrators and the new political groups formed in the new political groups formed in the manner of poland and hungary are calling for democracy and free elections. everybody was in fear of a civil war, and nobody could

imagine what would follow, with the russians interfere? is this the beginning of a new war between east and west? we thought if there was a civil war in leipzig, may be the west had to react. when i went to church on that afternoon to do the preparations for the peace prayer, i could see that already thousands of people filled the whole centre of leipzig. i could see families with little children, grandmothers, old people and so on. then i asked myself, what will happen to them if we really have a violent conflict? when the church door closed for the prayer, we could only hear that something was going on outside, so we could hear people shout, the sirens of police cars and so on. when the doors opened at the end of this peace prayer, we couldn't go out, because the city was so

crowded, everybody was waiting outside, that there was no is of a for the people to go out. nobody in this situation wanted to get the other to shoot. we were too many in the streets. more than 70,000 people, some experts say 120,000 people, some experts say 120,000 people, stood in the streets and said, shoot us, but your name is people's police and we are the people. at the end of this evening, you couldn't really see a conflict line it was really a party atmosphere. i remember people sitting in and on the roof of a police car, having a cigarette together with the policeman and giving a light to each other.

everything followed after that. one man “— everything followed after that. one man —— one month later, the wall came down, then we had the first free elections in east germany, and nearly exactly one year later, we had the reunification of germany. and it was a consequence of that moment, the moment when the decision was made that this conflict will end peacefully. he is now a writer in berlin. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all our films, bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all ourfilms, along bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all our films, along with bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all ourfilms, along with more than 1000 radio programmes, in our online archive. just search for bbc witness history. in 2014, when the islamic state group took over mosul in iraq, they flooded the internet with propaganda. 0ne historian living in the city decided to launch a counter narrative. 0mar mohammed told witness history how, at great

personal risk, he set up a website to expose yourself —— the atrocities and violence taking place in his city. isis is a grouping of some of the world's most violent sunni militants. they have been disowned by al-qaeda. in less than a week, their army took mosul. you have to ta ke their army took mosul. you have to take a side. you have to decide whether you are with them or against them. i decided to stand against them. i decided to stand against them. at that time, i was teaching at the university, and it was occupied by them as a military camp. i set occupied by them as a military camp. iset up occupied by them as a military camp. i set up the website to get information out of isis controlled city of mosul to the rest of the world. i wake up in the morning, go out, collect the information, then i

go back, writing everything i witnessed by hand, and then i scan it, put it online. 0ne mistake could lead to death, to the end. from the pulpit, the isis leader, abu bakr al—baghdadi, proclaimed himself ruler of all muslims. i felt very offended, because who is this guy to claim that he is a kelly in our city? —— claim that he is a kelly in our city? — — khalif. claim that he is a kelly in our city? —— khalif. isis was getting into the city, into the neighbourhoods. there was only a thin wall between me and isis when i was reporting against them. next door was an isis senior fighter. the other house next to our house was an isis fighter. in front of us was

another house of isis. behind us, another house of isis. behind us, another war house of isis. and i am in the middle of this, reporting against isis. from the beginning, i decided that i would only write facts by knowing the source or witnessing the event myself. religious police controlled everything — shaving, smoking were all considered immoral, and the punishment anything from public lashings to execution. the public executions were a system that isis imposed on the city. they were enjoying this. they were feeling the pleasure of terrorising the people. isis wanted to make it like a show,

as if they were shooting a film for hollywood, a horror movie. sometimes the heading. 0r hollywood, a horror movie. sometimes the heading. or they hollywood, a horror movie. sometimes the heading. 0rthey may hollywood, a horror movie. sometimes the heading. or they may do brother shoot his brother. what made the website more powerful at that time was that its message reached out to the international media, and they made it public everywhere. newsnight has spoken to the writer of a blog which has been communicating the plight of the city for over two years. i was resisting the fundamentals of their narrative, and it was something they really didn't like. that was my strength, and that was my power, that i found a way to resist isis, and all i had at that time was the pen and paper. omar mohammed has since left mosul but

still contributes to the website. finally, to new york, where in 1969 the first classical ballet company to focus on black dancers was founded in a converted garage in harlem. the dance theatre of harlem is still running today. it wasn't until i was graduating from the washington school of ballet that the director came to me and said, you know, you are going to have a career. you said, you know, you are going to have a career. you are a said, you know, you are going to have a career. you are a wonderful dancer, but you will never be a ballerina because of the colour of your skin. it was following the assassination of martin luther king in 1968 that arthur mitchell decided to set up a dance company for black

people in harlem. arthur mitchell was the principal dancer with new york city ballet, and he was the first african—american to achieve that level in a major american ballet com pa ny. that level in a major american ballet company. he looked around at the neighbourhood and said, these kids don't have a future. education is terrible, schools are failing, nobody cares about them. they don't have a way of breaking this cycle of poverty. but if i teach them ballet, iam going poverty. but if i teach them ballet, i am going to give them something else to draw from within themselves. we started with 30 children and two dancers, and everyone said i was crazy because i was using a european art form, classical ballet, but i think it is the strongest technical foundation. once you have that technique, you can do anything you want. classical ballet is impossibly difficult, and it requires focus, self—discipline, and perseverance. in two months i had 400 kids, in

four once, i had 800. it shows there isa want, four once, i had 800. it shows there is a want, need and desire for this. i got to new york in the fall of 1968, and somebody told me that arthur mitchell was teaching class up arthur mitchell was teaching class up in harlem on saturdays and i could go and take class and get a little ballet back in my life. i joined the dance theatre of harlem in the spring of 1969, and from the start it was magic. he was maniacal. that the... oh! it's too nice. we we re that the... oh! it's too nice. we were going to be the best ballet dancers the world had ever seen. it was difficult and painful in those first few years. nothing we did was right. he was driving us, pushing us every minute. to me, ballet is about the elevation of the human spirit. i

a lwa ys the elevation of the human spirit. i always say that dancing on point is the closest that you can get to flying. it is an expression of how limitless the spirit is. there were black people who didn't want us to do the white men's art form, and white people who thought, you will never do it because you can't understand it and don't have the talent all the bodies. we were really fortu nate talent all the bodies. we were really fortunate for our first new york performances that the big critic from the new york times, clive barnes, said, this is the most exciting thing in ballet, so he gave us exciting thing in ballet, so he gave us the little nod, and people were saying, ok, let's go and see them and see if they are any good. ten yea rs and see if they are any good. ten years after that, i would see young people walking into the studio with a sense of ownership. of course, i can bea a sense of ownership. of course, i can be a ballet dancer. and that was the most beautiful thing in the world to me, that they had no question, whereas i had nothing but

question. in a sense, dance theatre of harlem was ahead of its time, so there is a desire to bring more diversity to ballet. we have been performing all over the place, celebrating the 50th anniversary. it's not just about celebrating the 50th anniversary. it's notjust about being perfect on balance in a tutu. that is just a sliver of what ballet can say. virginia johnson is now the dance theatre of harlem's artistic director. that's all from witness history this month here at the royal academy. we will be back next month with more first—hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. but for now, from me and the rest of the witness history team, goodbye.

some crisp sunday sunshine across a large swathe of the uk today, but despite this, temperatures have struggled to get much above freezing. this was planted in cumbria earlier this afternoon. showers down the east coast and cloud across southern england will fade through this evening, clear skies for england and wales, but more clout for scotland and northern ireland, bringing rain, chiefly into northern scotland as the night wears on. a milder night here. some frost across southern scotland. dry and just above freezing for northern ireland, but a widespread frost across england and wales. this frontal system is grazing northern scotland, continuing to bring outbreaks of rain through the day, heavy and persistent at first, turning patchy. there could be outbreaks of rain into the central belt in southern scotland by the end

of the afternoon. dry if cloudy for northern ireland. after a cold, sunny start, cloud increasing across england and north wales. a brisk westerly wind across the western side of scotland, so feeling milder here, nine or 10 celsius, side of scotland, so feeling milder here, nine or10 celsius, more side of scotland, so feeling milder here, nine or 10 celsius, more like 6-8dc here, nine or 10 celsius, more like 6—8dc for england, wales and northern ireland. tomorrow night, the rain continues east, heavy and persistent for a time across the northern isles, then it eventually clears away. we have a drier day on tuesday, this high—pressure starting to drift away south and east. as it does, it will pull in some more moist air, so an increasing risk we will see the fog returning through tuesday and wednesday. some could be slow to clear across england and wales. when it does, most will see spells of sunshine. effectively, it's a dry day for the whole of the uk on tuesday. more clout and a brisk breeze for the western isles of scotland. milder here. for england, wales and northern ireland, 6-8dc the

england, wales and northern ireland, 6—8dc the top temperature. the high pressure continues to drift east on wednesday. the frontal system pushes into northern ireland and scotland, the rain most persistent across scotland, then easing away. through thursday and into friday, the colder blue colours will be replaced with a milder yellow and orange colours for the end of the week. cold at first in the week ahead, slowly turning milderfrom the north. ifurther risk of fog. —— a further risk of fog.

tributes to 23—year—old saskia jones, murdered in the london bridge terror attack. her family says she had a passion for helping the victims, of criminal injustice. the cambridge graduate was killed while working as a volunteer, at the prisoner rehabilitation conference, attended by her attacker. this is an attack on our community in many ways, and it was intended as such. it was meant to produce a form of terror and sadness, and it's clearly done that. new images reveal the bravery of members of the public, tackling the convicted terrorist on the bridge, and in the hall where his attack began.

they took a decision that enough was enough. they took anything immediately to hand in order to level the odds against a madman. meanwhile the conservatives and labour blame each other, for the early prison release of the kiler usman khan. also on the programme... mass protests in malta, with calls on the prime minister to resign, over the murder of an anti—corru ption journalist. and, what happened when two popes, benedict and francis, came face to face? a new film, tells the story. good afternoon. the second victim killed in the terrorist attack on london bridge on friday, has been named, she was saskia jones, who was 23

from stratford—upon—avon. she was a volunteer with the charity learning together. her family described her as a wonderful and positive influence at the centre of many people lives. jack merritt, who was 25 and from cambridgeshire, was also murdered, while three other people were injured. the attacker, usman khan, who was later shot dead by the police, was a convicted terrorist, who'd served eight years of a 16—yearjail sentence. today the conservatives and labour blamed each other for his early release. more on that in a moment, but first for the latest on the investigation, here's our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford. saskia jones, 23 years old, a cambridge graduate who wanted to join the police. herfamily cambridge graduate who wanted to join the police. her family said cambridge graduate who wanted to join the police. herfamily said she had a passion for helping victims of injustice. she was named today as the second person murdered in friday's attack. running from fishmongers hall, where he had just killed two people, was man calm on london bridge on friday afternoon,

pursued in an astonishing act of bravery by a man armed only with a fire extinguisher and another wielding the task of a knabl, and arctic whale. he is brought to the ground and held before armed officers arrived and realise he is wearing what looks like a suicide vest. what is going on? he's got a bomb. they shoot him dead. this afternoon, toby williamson, who i’u ns this afternoon, toby williamson, who runs fishmongers hall where the attack took place was at the scene and told the bbc about the bravery of his staff who had been helping people at this conference when the bloodshed began. this is an extraordinary thing happening done by ordinary people. let me just bounce you round. in reception, you've got dawn and gareth, one trying to keep the door closed

against a vicious knifeman and the other calmly placing the emergency calls. alla and sandra, normally dealing with coats and serving coffee, now fighting a life moment, and then famously you get andy and lucas starting a fight back. they used fire extinguishers, they used chairs, they used these tasks ripped off the wall in the heat of the moment and they took the game back to the knifeman. usman khan also killed jack merritt, another cambridge university graduate who worked with prisoners to help them reform. usman khan was one of the people he had assisted, a man who was released last december after serving eight years in prison for terrorism offences but turned on jack merritt and stabbed him to death. this afternoon, some of jack's friends came to london bridge to mourn him and lay flowers as the

head of cambridge university paid him this