this is the big eastern areas. this is the big picture for friday morning. this weather front pushing across eastern areas bringing milder air. weather front pushing across eastern areas bringing milderair. it weather front pushing across eastern areas bringing milder air. it will be with us into the weekend. a little on the chilly side in eastern counties. a wetter day for scotland to killeen in the north, heavy rain at times. some patchy rain in northern ireland. a damp start for england and wales. a few breaks in the cloud will allow sunshine, temperatures lifting up. a mild night into saturday. rain at times in northern scotland. elsewhere, a dry day on saturday. some sunshine breaking through. temperatures

widely in double figures. coolest in lincolnshire and east anglia. the dryer theme continues on sunday with sunny spells. still some rain in the hebrides. some of the modest conditions with temperatures peaking at 14. conditions with temperatures peaking at 1a. more coming up later.

hello, this is bbc news with christian fraser. a powerful typhoon tears through parts of the philippines, killing at least 16 people and leaving thousands homeless. firefighters continue to tackle out—of—control bushfires in australia, with a warning that more record—breaking temperatures could be on the way. the owners of a spanish hotel where a british man and his two children drowned say their deaths

were a "tragic accident". israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, faces a political fight as his likud party decides who will lead them into the country's third general election in a year. now on bbc news, it's witness history, and a look back at one of the highlights of the series. razia iqbal has five stories from the history of space exploration, to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing injuly 1969. hello, and welcome to a special edition of witness history with me, razia iqbal. we have been looking back on the many extraordinary moments from history that we have brought you in 2019, so here are five of our

favourite stories to share once more. coming up, the children sent away by their parents to save them from the nazis, the ballet company that defied racism, the first african in the arctic, and the man at mission control when neil armstrong set foot on the moon. but first, a moment which in many ways said the cause for the second half of the 20th century, the birth of the people's republic of china. 0n the people's republic of china. 0n the 1st of october, 1919, mao zedong declared china a communist state. 0ne young recruit in the people's liberation army took part in the parade in beijing which marked that momentous day. translation: i was in the infantry, marching ina translation: i was in the infantry, marching in a prominent position. i was so marching in a prominent position. i was so excited and proud to join the parade. i didn't sleep well, i kept

thinking about my steps. if my commander ordered, look right, would ibe commander ordered, look right, would i be able to do it? in 1919, i was 19. only some of us could be selected to join a military parade to celebrate the birth of the people's republic of china. we had a month's practice for the parade at a compound in southern beijing. we learned how to do step in unison, marching together as if we were one man, looking to the right towards the audience. 0n the day, i saw chairman mao and the other leaders of the country in tiananmen square, i was so excited and overwhelmed. i felt so optimistic because chairman mao said that the army belongs to the people. it was different from the people. it was different from

the nationalists. october the 1st was the day that the people's republic of china, the world's most populous country, was proclaimed a communist state. until the day, the people's liberation army had fought a bitter civil war against the nationalists. now they were victorious, and mao took over the reins of government. translation: at that time i thought oui’ translation: at that time i thought our country would become a communist country where everybody could be fed and everyone would have a job. in the old society, this was unimaginable. i saw hunger and death at every corner in prerevolutionary beijing, but no—one cared about it. ever since childhood, my life was tough. when i was six, my father died, and my mother and

tough. when i was six, my father died, and my motherand i had to tough. when i was six, my father died, and my mother and i had to go on the streets and beg for a living. it was hard trying to survive. everyone was poor. people gave us free buns and bread which help keep us free buns and bread which help keep us alive for a while. after trying lots of different ways to keep food on the table, my mother had to marry again to survive. i went to a local factory to learn how to make and fix bikes, but i still couldn't in enough to buy basics like bread and butter, so i learned how to ride rickshaws in beijing to own more money. after the peaceful liberation of beijing in early 1919, an undercover communist party member approached me. he explained that the communist army was different from the nationalists. it worked for the people and helped the poor. it made me feel like they were family. that is when i decided to become a communist soldier in beijing. i

often told my children and grandchildren that i was so proud to join the army. but even now i deeply regret that i was not allowed to join the communist party. i think it is because i was a litter it. i never had the chance to go to school and getan never had the chance to go to school and get an education, but when i was in the army, i performed really well and won many medals. here is my proof. i was a beggar in the old days, but my life was transformed into a better one. i won't forget what the communist party did for me. but there is a long way to go to reach the final goal of building a communist society. a soldier of the people's liberation army on the birth of communist china. next, one of the earliest instances of mass child migration, just before the

second world war, in 1939, dame stephanie shirley's mother put her ona train stephanie shirley's mother put her on a train in vienna bound for london, not knowing if they would ever meet again. she was one of thousands of the mostlyjewish unaccompanied children whose parents sent them to the uk for safety during the rise of the nazis in europe. archive: the children are between the ages of five and 17, the advance guard of the child refugees from birmingham to be provided with a temporary home here while arrangements are made for them to immigrate... everybody said, aren't you lucky? and indeed we were. sometimes, when i've been asked date of birth, i have said 1939. because to me my life started then. the kindertransport was an amazing

rescue mission set up by christian and jewish activists who brought nearly10,000, mainlyjewish, children out of nazi europe. we had moved over quite a bit of europe, starting in dortmund, where my father was a judge and had been fired in 1933 and finished up in vienna, my mother's home city. i think it was clear that we faced catastrophe. there was an announcement that there had been a concession by the nazis to allow children up to the age of 16 to leave without their parents, so we knew something was afoot and that we

we re knew something was afoot and that we were going to england. i can remember the scene at the station of many, remember the scene at the station of any remember the scene at the station of many, many families, mostly weeping, some ina many, many families, mostly weeping, some in a sort of whaling. i believe most some in a sort of whaling. i believe m ost pa re nts some in a sort of whaling. i believe most parents did not expect to see their children again. my mother didn't cry, nor did we. i was with my sister, renata, who was ten years old. i clutched her you know, because i was scared. we had an overnight crossing to harwich, and then another train to liverpool street station. when we got off the train, the platform was silent, you've got 1000 children, tired, smelly after two and a half days, just absolutely exhausted, and there was no chatter, no noise. children we re was no chatter, no noise. children were called, and off we went with oui’ were called, and off we went with our new parents. we were among the

last to be claimed. we were fostered bya last to be claimed. we were fostered by a lovely english couple in the midlands of england who had seen a photograph in a local paper of my sister and i with just a few lines underneath, saying two sisters, well brought up, seeking a home, can you help? they couldn't speak a word of german, i couldn't speak a word of english. i was traumatised, they we re english. i was traumatised, they were nervous, it was pretty grim! my feelings were just of being disturbed, of being with strange people, not understanding what was going on. when was i going to see my mother again? we were reunited after about 12 months or so, and we lived with our natural parents when i was in my teens, but as i think happens quite often with separated families,

i never really bonded with them again, and that i really mourn. the act of sending your children away is act of sending your children away is a fantastic act of love. it didn't seem like it at the time, but it is the most loving thing a parent can do. the former child refugee dame stephanie shirley. now to america, and a pioneering dance company that defied the prejudice that kept black people out of ballet. the dance theatre of harlem was the first classical ballet com pa ny theatre of harlem was the first classical ballet company for black dancers. it was founded by arthur mitchell in a converted garage in harlem in 1969. virginia johnson was one of the first to join. it wasn't until i was graduating

from the washington school of ballet that the director came to me, and she said, you know, you're going to have a career, you're a really wonderful dancer, but you're never going to 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 a principle dancer with the new york city ballet, the first african—american to achieve that level in a major american ballet company. he looked around at this neighbourhood and said, these kids don't have a future. education is terrible, the schools are failing, nobody cares about them, they don't have a way of breaking the cycle of poverty. but if i teach them ballet, i'm 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 form, but i think that is the strongest technical foundation. after that, you can do anything you want. classical ballet is impossibly difficult and requires focus, it requires self—discipline, and it requires self—discipline, and it requires perseverance. in two months i had 400 kids, in eight months i had 800 kids, so it shows there was a need and a desire for this.|j had 800 kids, so it shows there was a need and a desire for this. i got to new york in the fall of 1968, and somebody told me that arthur mitchell was teaching a class on saturdays and i could go up and get a little ballet back in my life. i joined the dance theatre of harlem in the spring of 1969, and right from the start it was magic. he was

maniacal. if we were going to do ballet, we were going to be the best ballet, we were going to be the best ballet dance of the world had ever seen. it was extremely difficult and painful, there was first years, nothing that we did was right. he was driving us, he was pushing us every minute. so there were black people who didn't want us to do the white man's art form and white people who thought we could never understand it or have the talent. and we were really fortunate, for our first new york performances, the big critic from the new york times said this is the most exciting thing in ballet, so he gave us the little nod, and people were saying, 0k, let's see if they are any good. ten yea rs let's 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. we have been performing

all over the place, celebrating the 50th anniversary. it is notjust about being perfect on balance in a tutu. that is just a sliver of what ballet ca n tutu. that is just a sliver of what ballet can say. virginia johnson is now the dance theatre of harlem's artistic director. you can watch us every month on the bbc news channel catch up on all our films along with more than 1000 radio programmes in our online archive. now to a story of courage and adventure. as a hejoined a he joined a snake cult and went as far away from west africa as he could, finally reaching greenland in

1965 to fulfil a childhood dream of living in the arctic. i started a journey of discovery only to find that i was being discovered. i was one of them. i became kind of the african eskimo. i was born in 1941 in togo, west africa. i grew up as an ordinary african boy. but one day i was an ordinary african boy. but one day iwas ina an ordinary african boy. but one day i was in a tree and there was a snake, ifell, i was in a tree and there was a snake, i fell, and i was in a tree and there was a snake, ifell, and i was badly

injured. after my convalescence, i went to the missionary, and i saw a book, eskimos from greenland to alaska, and i learnt that it is so cold in greenland that there are no snakes. 0h, where is that paradise?! i was obsessed with eskimos. people said, yeah, you are completely mad! iran said, yeah, you are completely mad! i ran away from togo. i was 16 said, yeah, you are completely mad! iran away from togo. i was 16 and a half. it took me eight years to get to greenland. i was the first black quy to greenland. i was the first black guy they had ever seen. as soon as they saw me, all talking stopped. and the children were so afraid,

some started weeping, but i was a lwa ys some started weeping, but i was always welcomed by eskimos, who became my friends. i had to learn everything from them. i had to learn the language. slowly by slowly, i became accustomed to the climate. i was happy. i really wanted to live forever in greenland. but my countrymen have never seen the polar light before, and i said to myself, after the slavery and colonisation, why can't i write for my people to

see the eskimos through, through our eyes? so i decided to go back. it took me five years to write it. but my deepest wish would be to end my life in greenland. it is my country. yes. tete-michel wrote an award—winning account of his adventures which has been translated into eight languages. 0ur adventures which has been translated into eight languages. our final witness describes probably one of the most important moments in living memory. injuly1969, the most important moments in living memory. in july 1969, apollo the most important moments in living memory. injuly1969, apollo xi became the first space flight to successfully la nd became the first space flight to successfully land people on the moon. flight controller gerry griffin was at mission control in houston as the world watched in all.

mission control was made up of a bunch of young people. i was 34 and i was one of the older guys in the room. i think we all felt that nobody has ever done this, so let's just do it. there was a routine from launch, i would say, to the point of going into lunar orbit. the final phases of the descent of apollo 11 were kind of fraught. he could already see that the computer was taking him we had two computer alarms saying that the computer was being overworked. they took a quick look to make sure all the guidance was correct. quickly gave them a go. so it was dicey, and then they started running short of fuel,

and we were concerned. you heard 60 seconds, 30. neil armstrong said that. neil was a very, very good pilot. he could already see that the computer was taking him into a boulderfield, so he had to manoeuvre to try to find a smooth place. and the fuel gauge was heading down, and we were watching it. and it was nerve—racking. i never will forget when buzz aldrin said we were picking up dust, he did that a little less than 100 feet above the surface, and that is when i thought, "we will make it."

when they first touched down, it was a great relief. i remember being proud — we did it! neil told me one time, "it's like an automobile, when it is on empty, there is a little bit left in the tank." neil went down the ladder, the television picture was pretty grainy, but we could basically tell what he was doing. i think everybody was just awestruck, and there was very little being said in that room. he first actually got down to the footpath, and he was standing there, i think he was collecting his thoughts, and i think he wanted to make sure that he was calm enough and not too excited,

which he never was. then he took the one small step. i remember thinking, you knew he would come up with something profound. you knew he would come up buzz came after him. you knew he would come up when they planted the flag and talked to the president, i heard these two guys standing on the moon — wow, it worked! it kind of amazes me, 50 years later today, you realise what we did? flight controller gerry griffin remembering the moment that changed the way we look at the world and the universe. that is all for this month here at the royal academy, we will

be back next month with more first—hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. for me and the rest of the team, goodbye. after the christmas day sunshine, boxing day cloud across the country today. outbreaks of rain and gusty winds into southern and western areas. the heaviest of the rain has been there so far. turning lighter this afternoon. pushing into southern scotland, northern and eastern england. dry for a time in its wake, but further heavy showers pushing into wales and the south west. here is where it is windiest. cooler in the east. afternoon sunshine, light winds, not a bad boxing day for the far north—east of scotland, 0rkney and shetland in particular. this evening and overnight, patchy

rain and drizzle in eastern areas, wettest weather in the west and south, rain continuing on and off through the night. with all of the cloud, it will be a mild night in the west, a little bit cooler in the east. given the cloud amounts, we should be frost free. big picture for friday morning. we've got the front pushing in the east, slowly bringing mild air across all of us, and it will be with us until the weekend. a little bit on the chilly side in eastern counties, particularly south—east scotland and north—east england. cloudier and wetter for scotland, particularly in the north. rain on and off throughout in the west. patchy rain in northern ireland. a damp and murky start for england and wales. patchy rain in the east, but mostly becoming dry, a few breaks in the cloud. temperatures continue to lift. a mild night into the start of the weekend.

rain at times in northern scotland. rain never too farfrom the hebrides on saturday. elsewhere, most will have a dry saturday, murky to begin for england and wales, sunshine breaking through. temperatures more widely into double figures for many. coolest in lincolnshire and east anglia. some sunny spells on sunday. sunshine in eastern scotland and the east of northern ireland, still rain in the hebrides, the highlands, 0rkney, and shetland, but here some mild conditions, peaking at 14, higher than for much of this christmas. more later. see you soon.

good afternoon. at least 16 people have died and many more are missing after typhoon pha nfone hit the philippines on christmas eve. the storm carried winds of 120mph and has left a trail of devastation through the centre of the country. james waterhouse reports. typhoon phanfone first arrived on tuesday night. with it came winds of almost 120 miles per hour, causing devastation and fear. the storm then worked its way over the islands