this is bbc world news. the headlines: the turkish president recep tayyip erdogan says 350,000 people filled hagia sophia and the surrounding streets for the first friday prayers since the building was converted back into a mosque. in an exclusive interview with the bbc — britain's prime minister borisjohnson has admitted the government didn't understand coronavirus at the start of the pandemic and could have handled things differently. beijing has orderd the closure of the us consulate in the city of chengdu, just hours after the american secretary of state said that washington was hardening its stance in its dealings with china.

a court in hong kong has found a couple not guilty of rioting during last year's pro—democracy protests. they had faced up to seven years in prison. the verdict could set a precedent for hundreds of others charged with similar offences. at ten o'clock clive myrie will be here with a full round up of the days news. first, philippa thomas hears from people around the world about their experiences during the pandemic and how covid—19 has changed their lives. welcome to coronavirus: your stories — a programme about how covid—19 is changing the lives of people around the world. i'm philippa thomas.

this week, we'll be hearing stories of youth activism in the face of this crisis. in the philippines, we hear about a family aid program to feed thousands of neighbours who've lost access to jobs and to food because of lockdown. in the us state of pennsylvania, a 17—year—old tells me how she's managed to finish high school while taking on 30 hours a week as a supermarket worker to help fund herfamily. but we start with the story of a teenager in stockholm who's been helping to get vital information about virus protection to vulnerable migrant communities. the parents of this 17—year—old brought her from somalia to sweden when she was just a baby — giving her opportunity she says she would never have had otherwise. and as covid—i9 hit sweden, she tried to do her bit to help those who are vulnerable to misinformation or panic. me, alongside the other

ambassadors, had one critical assignment, and that was to share information about the coronavirus — basically how to take precautions, how to protect yourself and how to protect others. so, we handed out leaflets in around 2a different languages. so, anything from finnish to arabic to russian to somali. and as ambassadors, we had different nationalities and we knew different languages. and that also gave us a kind of a wider approach. and this was to make sure that the information reached every single citizen in need. and i believe that the swedish community as a whole were in need of this information. and what was it about these communities that made them so vulnerable, do you think? why? why were they at risk? i believe that any community can be vulnerable and in a risk

without the correct information and the proper procedures. i believe that, as a community, there's always going to be loopholes. there's always going to be exceptions. and that's why our work as ambassadors were so important, so that every single person could take advantage of the knowledge that we were providing and handing out. when i was talking to people face to face, i was giving my community some kind of comfort and trust, because if i was walking and i met someone trying to help me as a citizen, i would kind of feel safe and a bit more calm. why did this matter to you so much personally? were you thinking about your own parents, your own family, as well? i was already working with the county on a democratic project for the youth before the pandemic started, and i do believe that my engagementjust kind of continued from there. but the main reason as to why i wanted to help was because of my parents and the influence that they have on me. we are a family of help

and i always picture when i'm working... i always picture myself a family, a home with parents new to the country who probably have gone through hell and back and have struggled to find a safe home for theirfamily. and they're trying to adapt in this difficult time. they're trying to adapt to this new language. and on top of that, there's a pandemic going on and they don't know how to get information or understand the information. and that's why it's so important to kind of reach out to them. and even though covid—i9 is affecting a certain risk group, i believe that no one is safe. and therefore, i chose to spend my easter holiday protecting those families because i think of them just like i think of my own. tell us a bit more about your family. i think you came to sweden when you were a baby. yes, i came to sweden when i was a baby. my parents brought me to sweden. that obviously came with difficulties. and i'm sure that many people can relate to them. them being old and having

a hard time learning the swedish language doesn't come as a surprise. my parents also came to sweden a very long time ago to provide me a better life, yeah, to provide me and my siblings with a better life, to kind of ensure our safety and ourfuture. and i do believe that the hardship that they have gone through day in and day out gives me the dedication to truly do everything at heart. and that's why i work with the democracratic project, with the youth, because i want kids to understand democracy. and my dad, being one of those in the risk groups, just makes me realize even more how important the job that i was doing was. because if i managed to inform just one person who may not realize that they had symptoms and kept that person off the streets, i may have saved someone from contracting the virus. and ijust believe that life is so precious and my parents have taught me to never take it for granted.

you are talking about the importance of understanding and i'm thinking about members of your community who might not speak english as articulately as you do or even speak swedish. there's then the potential for getting the wrong kind of information, isn't there, about something scary like a virus? yes, i do believe that the wrong information... when facts are going around, especially on social media, people are getting the wrong information in the wrong language because they might not understand english or they might not understand the swedish language. and that's why it's so important, again, that the youth workers are out there giving out the right information. so people are not scared and feeling afraid and feeling anxiety over covid—i9. i'm now thinking about you as youth workers being out there. and we know that sweden hasn't had an official lockdown like many other european countries. what did you think about that? personally, i do think it's kind of, like, hard to understand why.

but i do believe that whatever decision that they made was with good intentions. it is the country that i live in and i'm being raised in. and what i seem to understand is that in the beginning, i think i was scared when the first news came out that the pandemic was real and was on the move. i believe that i'm not the only one that felt panic, felt anxiety, or just felt the feeling of being afraid, the feeling of fear. did you feel a pull there, a tug, because teenagers want to go out and want to be with their friends? i think in the early stages i was understanding and i do think that teenagers all around the world were understanding. we knew what was at risk. people were dying. you know, covid—i9 has ta ken people's grandpas, aunts, mothers, sons. you know, we understood the necessity of staying home because we were protecting the people that we love and were taking responsibility. but i do think that

when you stay home for this long, just something happens. you may not be able to, you know, go out orjust a feeling of being close to other people kind of affects you, you know, kind of affects your mentality. i believe. so, age doesn't really matter. i think the maturity that you sit on is what determines if you're understanding. if you're understanding enough to think about others rather than think of yourself. we havejust been, like many teenagers around sweden, taking online classes. so, i haven't seen my classmates for so long. and adults stay home if they can work from home and they haven't been able to see their colleagues. so, i think there's a balance to therefore being a teenager and being adult. it's the same thing. we're all, you know, having a hard time. how confident do you feel about your future? i believe in the swedish government, so i do feel very confident. i am pretty sure that we're all going to be just fine.

i am very positive and optimistic about the future. warda abdulla in stockholm, sweden. let's take you now to philadelphia in the us state of pennsylvania, where i've been talking to one of thousands of teenagers who've been picking up more essential work as the adults around them either get or shield from covid—i9. gloria lubrano torrez has been working around 30 hours a week in a supermarket as well as trying to finish high school. i was working more hours, so the amount of time that i had to do my homework was minimal, but i could have still done it because it was online school, so it didn't really matter what time of the day i would be able to log in and do my homework. tell us about the juggling you were doing with your work and school. i tried to manage time,

but at the time i fell back on my schoolwork, cos i was more focused on work than school, i think. and your work was essential. i mean, you were one of the key workers. ithought, you know, essential workers were like firefighters, but i never really thought i would ever be in a position where i would call myself an essential worker, you know? were you worried or frightened? working as a cashier at a time when this virus is going around. yeah. at times, cos you never know who is coming down the line or coming down your register and could possibly have it. in the end, you did get covid—i9, didn't you? how was that? yeah, i did get it. it was not severe for me. but there's a few people that i know, that are

friends of my family, that have passed away, so i'm grateful that it didn't hit me as hard. and tell us something about how you doing more hours at work and bringing home more money was able to help your household. there are quite a few people in your house. it just gave more leniency towards my aunt and she's been my provider, my guardian, since i was three years old. so, i think, like, just bringing out that stress for her was a big relieverfor her, since she wasn't working at the time. your aunt's been looking after you since you were three. tell us a little more about that. so, my mom was in a coma for ten—and—a—half years and my dad was never really in the picture. so, she is... she took me

in when i had nobody. and she's been taking care of me since my mom got sick and she's... she's my all. gloria, ifeel as if you have had to grow up very fast. i know you've now graduated high school, but it must have been quite a source of tension for you having to deal with what's going on and being at the frontline. yeah, i think so, but i think all your, like, life experience, like the fact that i don't have a mom and dad... again, i still have to, like, get my things on my own, not like any other kid. just that itself is, like, an obstacle. so, if i could overcome one obstacle, i think i could overcome multiple. so, you've got through high

school graduation, you've made it through high school, gloria. and i think, unlike your mom and your aunt, you're a us citizen. what do you want to do next? what opportunities do you want to get to? well, i want to go to college, to montgomery community college for my four years and then eventually go to temple for a business degree. like my aunt, she didn't get the same experience that i did. she never really got an education when she was young at the age of five. she was put to work. so, she never really got that education, so i'm going to take advantage of my opportunities and get the education that i want. gloria zambrano, who is looking forward to community college and a brighter future.

you're watching coronavirus: your stories. a programme about how covid—i9 is changing lives around the world. i'm philippa thomas. 0ur third personal story comes from the philippines, where a 24—year—old and her brothers looked around their town and realized that thousands of people in lockdown were losing jobs and also access to food. well, my family and i, ever since march started our program, which is basically similar to our own personal relief operations. afterfour months, we managed to procure and distribute up to 200,000 pieces of food and relief in order to provide for tens of thousands. ever since march many have lost — either temporarily or permanently — their main or sometimes only source of income. because the lockdown has spanned four months long, people have ended up using up all of their savings. people have ended up selling

off almost all of their items at home just to be able to get whatever form of income. you're talking about some essential food. there's also a need for milk, for children, for babies. at our peak, i think i was receiving 30 to 50 messages on facebook messenger from different mothers in the community asking for help because their children couldn't just drink water, couldn't drink coffee, sometimes couldn't drink water with sugar, they needed milk. and so we used our general donor fund to procure children's milk on a daily basis and to distribute this milk, to the different households of the mothers we were in contact with. so, at the peak, we were distributing milk to about 100 mothers every week. this is a lot of work and a lot of organization for you and your brothers.

tell me something about you and your family. what made you so determined? my father and my mother... they're both doctors, but for a majority of their profession... in fact, for my father, for all of his professional career, he's chosen to serve the underserved. he chose to forgo private practice in order to service the patients in government hospitals. sometimes he hardly charges anything because he feels medicine and health before anything is service to the people. and i think growing up, this is the type of upbringing we've had and this has really embedded in us a call to service, a call to use our profession, our capabilities and our resources to see what kind of impact we can have on others, especially the underserved and the marginalized.

and so clearly, when we saw a need in our very hometown, my brothers and i really just had to act. and what do you think gave you and your brothers the stamina to keep going with a project like this? so, i've been a badminton player for ten years of my life. i'm pretty sure my coaches have trained me enough to do the heavy lifting on and off the court. my brothers, likewise, are national athletes. 0ne brother is still in high school. but my brothers and i are national athletes for basketball, i think that this, the competitive, the drive and the never say die spirit that was inculcated within us through all those years of athletic training and competing really helped us continue on, despite all the challenges, despite all the trials and despite all the, again, negativity that we may face and that we have been facing over the four months that we've been conducting this food program.

and for everyone that you've helped during this time of coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, what are you hearing back? what kind of messages do you get? honestly, we've been hearing the best of messages and i say this not with a boastful heart, but with a very, very grateful heart. people in the communities, especially those that we've reached, that we've helped give milk to, give relief packs to, would send messages, would send videos and pictures of their children with the milk or with the food. really just thanking us for the support and the food or relief we've given them. and, honestly, when you think about it, we gave five kilos of rice, 14 pieces of canned goods, maybe a box of milk.

to a lot of people that's nothing. that's something that's part of their grocery lists. but to be thanked the way they thank you, it just shows that to them, what you gave, regardless of how small you think it is, actually means the world. to a lot it might just be their world because they survive on a day to day basis. and so really when you think that when you give, you're the one on the, again, giving end, but really, when you give, you're the one on the receiving end because you're touched, you're changed and you're basically allowed to be the type of person we all were supposed to be, which is basically persons with and for others, especially those who need help and need support the most. shawntel, would you describe for our viewers around the world what your town,

what cainta is like? a lot may not know this outside of the philippines, but cainta is the catch basin of manila. so, when the typhoons come in, and they do so every year, we always are heavily affected. but this has resulted to us and our people being as resilient, as caring and as, say, really supportive as we can in terms of helping one another. so, this is really the kind of power that we have. in our language, we have what we call the bayanihan spirit, which is basically a heroic spirit. but a type of heroism that is rooted not in, say, self glory and strength, but in your ability to reach and help other people out. and over the course of the lockdown, we've seen this bayanihan spirit within our town, thousands upon thousands of people donating what they can for our

marginalized communities. someone even donated washing machines. so, really, i think that if you were to have me describe our town, i'd give you the figures. we have 322,000 people. we're a suburban town. we are small, relative to maybe other cities in the country, but we are one of the most resilient, hardworking and caring people. and, shawntel, i've heard about the resilience in your community, but that resilience is really needed now because i guess, in the philippines as a whole, covid has hit quite hard. yes, indeed. 0ur cases are still rising and we still have a lot to change to improve and refine, in terms of our programs, our policies and the support we give to our marginalized communities and sectors. resilience really is key.

but, you know, honestly, more than any form of leadership, i believe in the power and, again, the resiliency of the filipino people. we've gone through a lot. we've gone through typhoons, through colonialism, through a lot of other factors, such as a martial law. and we will get through this pandemic because, again, i believe in the power of the filipino people. i believe that throughour resilience and our capabilities, we can find a way to change what we have to change, improve what we have to improve and do what we have to do in order to get through this pandemic even stronger, better and in great shape. shawntel nieto ending this week's edition on youth activism in the face of coronavirus. i'm philippa thomas. thank you forjoining me for coronavirus: your stories. hello. if you are not a fan and a

summer hello. if you are not a fan and a summer heat this july just hello. if you are not a fan and a summer heat thisjulyjust keeps on delivering. it is cooler than average by day and they have been some very pleasant days as many of us some very pleasant days as many of us had during fridayjust has not been that hot. in the short term it is about to turn what they are and a little cooler. and we could well see ourjuly with no 30 degrees days if we do go with that will be the first time since 2011. the reason why the weather is in no hurry to warm up over the next few days, wanted of the big clues is thejet stream. look how far south it is an across the uk. a lot of the uk staying on the uk. a lot of the uk staying on the cooler side of the jet stream, and along the jet stream, running through the uk, some areas of low pressure bringing some rain at time. and indeed for the weekend, we have low pressure, very close to the uk, starting saturday with a lot of cloud around, for some rain overnight and for the showers during saturday and heavy and possibly fend re—emerging to give longer spells of rain the parts of the east and southeast of england or some ac to

just above 20 degrees. most of us around a 20 degrees mark and what will be quite a blustery day and we go to the evening with heavy and thundershowers, notjust go to the evening with heavy and thundershowers, not just in southeast england by some towards western parts of the uk as well. the area of low pressure by sundayjust close to northwest scotland so it will be quite windy and rainy at times and elsewhere, some sunny spells, but showers around and more towards the north and west of the uk, some will push further eastwards and showers will tend to move through and still a brisk and gusty south—westerly went at temperatures a few degrees to the side of 20. looking at the big picture going into monday, and area blood pressure still close to scotland and we can see another one coming into the uk writing that jet stream see another one coming into the uk writing thatjet stream and a bit of uncertainty about position and my timing of arrival of rain on monday. and it could be we see this veil of rain pushing and across parts of england and wales in particular and closer to that other area of low

pressure, quite what towards northwest scotland and windy as well. and temperatures taking a little bit more of a downward turn, so little bit more of a downward turn, so most of us just in the teens. 0n tuesday, we see low—pressure beginning to pull away and the weather front clearing the way. 0pening weather front clearing the way. opening the door to a from the northwest and not a warm direction, still any brisk breeze, still with a few show as a runner tuesday. but there will be some sunny spells too. but note these temperatures, just a few into the low 20s but most of us will not get that high. the picture going from tuesday into wednesday is one where we see high—pressure beginning to take over. that will have a settling influence on our weather. it will still be breezy initially and a few showers running through and more towards the north and east of the uk and many places have a dry wednesday afternoon and there will be some sunny spells around. still not particularly warm. however, back to the jet stream, noticed as we go through the second

half of next week, it will bump in the jet stream a little rich moving in with the area of high—pressure and a change in one direction and the jet stream moving and a change in one direction and thejet stream moving north, and we will go to allow some warmer air to move into the uk and temperatures look to be on the up across much of the uk towards the end of the week. how high? maybe close to 30. but that may actually happen on the 1st of august. and only briefly. that is your weather.