good afternoon. children are more likely to be harmed by not returning to school than if they catch coronavirus — that's according to the uk's chief medical adviser. in a joint statement, the chief medical officers from all four uk nations are cautioning that there are "no risk—free options". it comes as millions of pupils in england, wales and northern ireland are preparing to return to classes — scotland's schools have already reopened. caroline davies reports.

empty playgrounds and deserted classrooms. but after months, millions of pupils in england, wales and northern ireland are due to return to school within weeks. the chances of children catching covid and then getting long—term, serious problems as a result of it solely due to going to school are incredibly small. they're not zero, but they are incredibly small. the chances of many children being damaged by not going to school are incredibly clear. and therefore the balance of risk is very strongly in favour of children actually going to school. and of course the floor markings we have put down... at this primary school in east london, they're looking forward to having the children back. i worry about the lack of social interaction that those children have had. i worry about the lack of child development. i look at things like their fine motor skills, they way they would hold a pencil, the way they would form their words, so their speech and language. and some of those children

who won't have had those experiences over this time. any area that would normally see people gathering in groups has been closed — the staff room, the library and the lunch hall. start times will be staggered to stop parents crowding at the school gates. but what if there's an outbreak of the virus, either in a school or in an area? headteachers and teaching unions say the government haven't told schools what their procedures should be. i represent people who want to know the logistics. if a child is going to be sent home, we get public health advice. are we told that some other children will have to be sent home? might it be a whole year group bubble? should those young people be in on a rota—type basis? all of those, it seems to me, are important questions. government advice says that if a local area does see a spike in infections, the appropriate authorities will decide which measures to implement to help contain the spread. the uk's chief medical adviser says a vaccine is unlikely to be ready before next winter. businesses like shops and restaurants may be forced to close to keep children learning.

we're walking an incredibly narrow path between relaxing enough as individuals and as a society that actually transmission takes off, or overdoing it and doing damage socially and economically. it means measures in schools will likely still be in place for several months yet. caroline davies, bbc news. our political correspondent leila nathoo is with me. so schools reopening is now top priority for government — and is this message is designed to reassure? yes, it is an intervention from all the four of the chief medical officers, laying out where we are up to with the evidence op how safe it is for children, and teachers to get backin is for children, and teachers to get back in to classroom, the message is really the risks are low and it is worse for children to be stuck at home. now the government hopes this will persuade those who are nervous, remember we are some months on now from when the government had a plan to reopen all primary schools in england before the summer moll day, it ended up being a patchy picture,

now we are at a different stage, schools will have made adjustment, so schools will have made adjustment, so ministers are now more confident, it will be better this time round. borisjohnson has spoken of a moral duty to get children back in to classrooms. gavin williamson said it isa classrooms. gavin williamson said it is a national priority, now labour's accusing the government of having wasted time, dealing with the fall out with the exam results instead of plan for what should happen next. it says it wants to see children back in classrooms but with what has happened in recent week, it is now a big political test for the government, to see if they can get it right. thank you indeed. and you can find out the latest developments and most up to date information on schools during the pandemic on the bbc website. in california the huge wildfires destroying parts of the state have been declared a major disaster by president trump. at least six people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled

as over 500 separate fires burned more than 4,000 square kilometres of land in a week. peter bowes reports from los angeles. some of the biggest wildfires california has ever seen. the north of the state is the worst affected. there are multiple blazes burning in the mountains around palo alto, in the san francisco bay area. and another complex of fires is wreaking havoc in wine country, south of sacramento. in all, almost 600 separate fires, many of them started by a series of rare dry lightning storms. a blanket of smoke hangs over much of the state. 175,000 people have been told to leave their homes. some are nervous about taking shelter in crowded evacuation centres because of the coronavirus. there are more cases in california than any other us state. with local firefighters growing weary from the unrelenting battle,

back—up crews have been drafted in from neighbouring states, and further afield. it is hoped teams will fly in from canada and australia, to help tackle the growing inferno. officials are warning that there may be worse to come, with more lightning forecast and blistering heat that could go on for another week. california is used to the annual threat from wildfires, but they are getting worse. record temperatures, the lightning, tinder dry brush — a perfect storm for a long, hot summer of destruction. peter bowes, bbc news, los angeles. in belarus, hundreds of protesters are continuing to stage demonstrations against president alexander lukashenko and the election they say he rigged two weeks ago. riot police have been ordered onto the streets, but demonstrators are demanding that mr lukashenko stand down. our correspondentjonah fisher is in minsk our correspondent jonah fisher is in minskjonah

fisher is in minsk. can he ride out the protestsjoanna? that is the big question here in minute —— minsk, you can see behind me another large demonstration calling for evgenie plushenko, the man who has run this country —— president lukashenko, who has run this country to step down, it has been tense here, what you can't see, behind me is the fact all the streets running up to the square are full of riot police and military. there have been announcements over the loud speaker in the scare, several time, calling for people to disperse, and that this is an illegal demonstration. president lukashenko has in the last few days being talking very tough, saying he will not allow demonstrations to continue, he will not allow unrest and it will have to be sorted out. we have to see what he means by that. joanna, thank you for that. in

minsk. in minsk. it's almost 18 months since the terror attacks on two mosques in the new zealand city of christchurch in which 51 people died. the gunman will be sentenced in a few days time. whose lives were changed by the attacks. it was an attack that devastated new zealand and shocked the world. the quiet city of christchurch became the scene of the country's worst mass shooting. on march 15th, 2019, a gunman opened fire in two mosques, killing 51 people and wounding dozens more, as they got ready for friday prayers. taj kamran was shot three times in the leg at al noor mosque. his best friend died next to him. he struggles to walk, and the horrors of the day still haunt him. he's now dreading facing the killer at court at sentencing.

because i see the gunman at the time he shot me, and shot my friend, that's too hard for me. i see watching, looking, that one is very difficult. yes, guilty. earlier this year, brenton tarrant admitted 51 murders and a0 counts of manslaughter. the 29—year—old australian was also the first person to be convicted under new zealand's most recent terror laws. dozens of survivors and victims‘ relatives will address the court in the presence of the killer. they will describe how his crimes changed their lives. but with new zealand's borders closed because of covid—19, many families, as well as international media, will have to follow the sentencing remotely. i did go back—and—forth with making the decision. despite the restrictions, some relatives were granted visas to attend. hamimah tuyan‘s husband zekeriya died in hospital, almost two months after he was shot. she's travelled from singapore and has spent two weeks in quarantine. my husband is not here to speak for himself, so i am his voice.

the children love him so much. brenton tarrant is responsible for one of new zealand's darkest days, and will get a mandatory life sentence. the judge must now decide if he will ever be considered for release. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, in sydney. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is just after 6.30, bye for now. good afternoon. first to the third and final test in southampton, where as you've been hearing england are in total control against pakistan on day three. and have taken another

wicket on day three. henry morean has been watching — james anderson picked up where he left off yesterday and is closing in on history? he is. 600 test wickets inside. he is under 597 and has taken all four wickets that have fallen so far. pakistan coming out to bat after lunch at 111—4. a frustrating day with the weather. more showers in southampton so an early lunch was taken and we got people to start again and then we it has been one of those days. the forecast of the afternoon is better so we hope we will get plenty of play and hopefully james anderson can will get plenty of play and hopefullyjames anderson can take the three wickets he needs to join the three wickets he needs to join the 600 club. what a remarkable achievement it would be if he was able to do that. for pakistan it is all about trying to save this game. england 111—4. pakistan, to put it mildly, are in a precarious position. thank you.

thank you. next to tennis and britian‘s dan evans is in action later — ahead of the us open — and he'll be hoping to follow andy murray into round two of the warm up event at flushing meadows. murray — who hadn't played on the tour since october — beat american frances tiafoe at the western and southern open in three sets. the us open gets underway a week tomorrow. fellow brits kyle edmund, cameron norrie and heather watson are however all out. what a game in store for us later. it's the german champions versus the french champions as bayern munich take on paris st germain in the champions league final. for bayern — victory would seal a eurpean/domestic treble — whilst for psg — it would be the first time they're crowned champions of europe. either way — despite there being no fans in lisbon — former bayern and england international owen hargreeves believes it'll be a special night.. it's beautifully poised, i mean the two best teams are in lisbon, really, notjust for the final, but, you know...

and they are great to watch. the two most talented players in the world play for psg in mbeppe and neymar. the best player in the world plays for bayern munich right now and that is lewandowski. normally these are cagey games, aren't they? whereas there is, i don't think it has the capacity to be cagey, just because neither team really plays that way. british boxer dillian whyte's world title hopes — and potential matchup with tyson fury — are over for now after he was knocked out in his latest fight. despite being on top early on against alexander povetkin, knocking the russian down twice in the fourth round. he was soon on the receiving end — floored by povetkin in the 5th. whyte should get a rematch though and he let his promoter eddie hearn know he's up for it, not long after the fight. listen, can you get a rematch? yes. that's what i'm saying, yeah. cool are you all right? yeah, i'm good. it's one of those things, it's just london, isn't it?

i'm bossing it. totally. he had a couple of good early rounds, but you were in total control. yeah, exactly. and in the fourth round, he was done. exactly. you know what i mean. it is what it is. rematch, it's all good. that's what boxing is all about. thanks. no such problems though for ireland's katie taylor. she won her rematch with delfine persoon on points — meaning she retains her four world titles. that's all the sport for now. a reminder you can follow the final round of the women's open golf on the bbc sport website with world number 30a sophia popov in the lead... chasing a first ever major. more from me later, back to you. let's hear more now from england's chief medical officer — professor chris whitty — who has given a wide—ranging interview about students returning to school and a warning that the transmission rate could rise as pupils return to the classroom.

the evidence that not going to school damages children in the long run is overwhelming. and that includes their long—term chances. it increases the risks of disparities, increases, entrenches problems, deep—rooted problems that people may have. it increases the risk that they have mental and physical ill—health in the long run. so, school is an incredibly thing for children. set against this there is obviously the risk that parents are reasonably worried about their children going to school and catching covid and this causing long—term damage to them that way. so, what we lay out is the other risks and the first thing to say really clearly is there is overwhelmingly clear evidence that the chances of children dying from covid are incredibly small and every single death of a child is a tragedy, but the great majority of those very small numbers, both in the uk and internationally have been in people who have got significant pre—existing health conditions. there is also very clear evidence, from the uk and around the world,

that children much less commonly get severe illness and they end up having to be hospitalised if they get symptomatic covid at probably a rate of one tenth of that, of the general population. and there is some evidence that children, particularly primary school children, are actually less likely to catch covid in the first place. so, the reason that it is important to layout, is, the chances of children catching covid and then getting long—term serious problems as a result of it, solely due to going to school, are incredibly small. they are not zero, but they are incredibly small. the chances of many children being damaged by not going to school are incredibly clear and therefore the balance of risk

is very strongly in favour of children actually going to school, because many more are likely to be harmed by not going, but unharmed by going, even during this pandemic. we want to be very clear that the evidence in this area is weaker, but the evidence that children are less likely to transmit to adults is much stronger for younger children than for teenagers. so, teenagers are closer to adults in their ability to spread, as far as we can see. that includes spreading from one to another and from teenagers to adults. what about the risks to staff picking it up in schools and spreading it? there is... as with all workplaces, there is some risk of staff acquiring transmissions of covid in schools and one of the things that it now looks, both from the uk and other data, as if what happens is that

a lot of this is staff spreading to other staff members and that is may be actually more important than staff members catching it from peoples. so, it is much like any other workplace, it is adults coming together and spreading it to one another. i think that re—emphasises the importance of maintaining social distancing, not only in the classroom, which is very important, but also maintaining it in common rooms, in places that people can meet. and in all the other environments outside the classroom. what we have at the moment and i think it is clear from the data that you can see from the uk, is that the transmission rates at the moment the uk, all four nations of the uk are broadly flat. there are some areas where it is going up slightly and some areas where it is going down slightly, by bringing schools, opening schools, which i think everybody agrees is absolutely essential for the education of children, we are going to bring

households together who would not otherwise have been together. some of it directly, some of it indirectly through, for example, allowing people to go to work. and the result of that is it will create some upward pressure on the r, it may increase it. the evidence from other parts of the world is that when schools have opened, this has not led to a sudden surge transmission that looks as if it is due to the schools opening and we are very confident that this effect is not anywhere near as severe as it would be, for example, with flu, where children and schools are a very large part of the transmission. but it is likely to put some pressure upward on r and if that happens, we will then have to respond and it may happen locally, or it may happen nationally, but it is clear that across all the nations, all the political parties that are in power and the different nations, school opening and keeping

schools opening, except where there are localised outbreaks, is going to remain a very high priority for society. i would be quite surprised if we had a highly effective vaccine ready for mass use in large percentage of the population before the end of winter, certainly before this side of christmas. now, that may be wrong and a lot of people are doing huge amounts scientifically and logistically to make sure that actually that is a pessimistic statement, to try and see if we can get a vaccine in the extraordinarily fast speed, but we have to check that it works and we have to make sure it is safe and these things do take time. i think if we looked forward a year, i think the chances are much greater than if we look forward six months. tension is building in belarus where thousands of protestors have gathered in the capital, minsk, demanding the country's long—serving president

steps down immediately. demonstrations have been growing since a disputed election two weeks ago, which critics say was rigged in alexander lukashenko's favour. dr nigel gould—davies is a former british ambassador to belarus, and a senior fellow for russia & eurasia at the international institute for strategic studies. i asked him if he thinks president lukashenko can withstand the protests against him. there are different considerations to bear in mind. on one hand, the recent history of eastern and south—eastern europe suggests that when people power on the scale we are seeing in belarus mobilises for long enough then it is impossible for the existing regime to sustain itself. sooner or later, it is the people against a dwindling circle of those with the big sticks and eventually some sort of tap on the shoulder of the kind jonah described.

on the other hand, we face some unique circumstances in belarus. lu kashenko has been there a very long time. it is reallyjust about him, there are no other centres of power around him. russia is in the wings waiting too. the key to this is the military and other structures of that kind that take the view the status quo is unsustainable for the country and their interest lies with the people. he appeared before factory workers the other day, theyjeered him and heckled him. reminiscent of romania. but you don't think that will be enough to push him out of power? the country is pretty much

on a knife edge now. the initial response for lukashenko, the only way he knows, was to crush and repress the protests against the falsified results. that did not have the intended effect of frightening people into silence as in the past. on the contrary, it has brought new and wider groups into the support of change. the workers in the state—owned enterprises, the crown jewels of lu kashenko's economy, they have increasingly sided with the opposition. a combination of forces, really, overwhelming in the country, from border to border, a raid against the authorities now. it is a situation lukashenko does not know quite how to deal with it, which is why he is now throwing more sand in everyone's eyes by claiming a external threat,

which is manifestly untrue. organisers of illegal gatherings in england could be fined up to ten—thousand—pounds from next week, as police are given more powers against those breaking coronavirus rules. the new measures could also see tougher penalties for those who fail to wearface coverings when required. andy moore reports. filmed from a police helicopter, an illegal party in a back garden at gorton in manchester. police said it was attended by over 200 people, and they were pelted with missiles when they tried to break it up. a the women who organised it was fined £100. soon she and others like her could face much biggerfines. around 3,000 people attended this event near bristol. arrests were made and equipment seized, but from friday ahead of the bank holiday weekend,

the courts will have far greater powers. anyone organising a rave or an unlicensed music event of more than 30 people could face a fine of up to £10,000. anyone attending could be fined £100, with that fine doubling for every subsequent offence. the home secretary, priti patel, said these gatherings are dangerous and those who organised them show a blatant disregard for the safety of others. "i am pleased the police have already stepped up their response, and i am giving them the tools they need to continue to keep us safe. in london, police have responded to over 1000 illegal events since the end ofjune. at many of them officers were injured as they tried to break up the gatherings. police forces across the country are planning to step up their patrols next weekend to stop such events. they are warning the organisers that equipment will be seized

and they could be prosecuted. they are also calling for the public‘s help in giving them early notice that an illegal gathering is starting. also on friday new fines come into effect for people who persistently refuse to wear face masks where it's ordered. those fines will start at £100 and then double up to a maximum of £3,200 for each repeat offence. the last surviving d—day landing craft from the second world war has been forced to postpone its final voyage after a six year renovation project costing more than four million pounds. choppy waters and strong winds would have left the craft unable to make its final landing at portsmouth, where it's going on display. our defence correspondentjonathan beale has been keeping track of its journey so far. imposing strings music. archive: the dawn ofjune the sixth comes up like thunder over the invasion coast. it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. d—day, 19114, bringing an entire allied army to france

to defeat the nazis. and it would never have happened without these. hundreds of landing craft, the workhorse of the invasion. quickly built — and just as swiftly discarded after the war. this was britain's last known surviving landing craft designed to carry tanks into battle. lct 707a was eventually turned into a liverpool nightclub. ..and then left to sink in the mud and buyer of the mersey. just six years ago, the painstaking restoration began. it's an absolute miracle, and it's just — it's so amazing. every step we've taken in this project, i feel like we've given her a little bit of her dignity back. when i first met this ship, she was a funnel sticking up out of the water in birkenhead, covered in rust and barnacles. so, we've had six years, really, from recovering herfrom there, cleaning her, pumping out 80 tonnes of gunk

from the inside of her double bottom. she's staggeringly important. these landing craft are what makes d—day work. and until you see one and you stand on this one, and then you realise there were 800 just like this, only then can you really understand the scale of d—day. in 19114, it took three months to build her and at a cost then of £28,000. restoring her has taken much longer and cost nearly £5 million. all restored to her former glory. tell us what you think? gosh, look at that! but for this d—day veteran, it is now a wonder to behold. mickjennings was 18 years old on d—day, one of the crew of the same type of landing craft that stormed the normandy beaches. i'll be honest — i was a little bit scared. it's only until something goes bang and you realise like a shell has

dropped on the sand, that, you know, they weren't doing that for fun. mick didn't know whether he'd survive that day. and now, nearly 95 years old, he didn't think he would be reminded of it in such a powerful way. i thought, i don't think i'm going to live long enough to see it, which is another amazing thing, you know? and she'll be there to remain generations to come. in the early hours of this morning, the ghostly image of lct 707a made what was meant to be her final move by barge from portsmouth naval base to her new home at southsea. but with strong winds, her planned landing has had to be postponed until later this week. like d—day itself, it's the weather which has the final say. jonathan beale, bbc news, southsea.

australians in several south—eastern states are experiencing surprising — and unseasonal — weather triggered by antarctic air. many people have been out enjoying the rare event despite strong winds — and heavy snow. phil mercer sent this report. a rare antarctic blast has turned parts of south—eastern australia white. blizzards have brought chaos to some roads and the icy cold front has sent temperatures plummeting way below average. towns to the west of sydney in the blue mountains have been blanketed by late winter snowfall. a few months ago, the region was battling bushfires but this has been a treat for locals and visitors. it's brilliant, especially for the kids and other people that can't get to the snow or those that don't quite have the funds on the finance for the snow, this is absolutely brilliant for them.