this is bbc news. i'm tim wilcox. the headlines at 4pm... as more pupils prepare to return to the classroom — england's chief medical officer says the risk to schoolchildren from coronavirus is low. many more are likely to be harmed by not going, than harmed by going, even during this pandemic. opposition protesters in belarus hold a big demonstration in minsk, two weeks after president lukashenko‘s disputed election victory. president trump declares california's wildfires a major disaster — releasing federal funds to victims who've lost their homes.

but there's snow in south—east australia — the unseasonal weather triggered by antarctic air. and coming up at 4:30 — dateline london discusses the sanctions on chinese telecoms giant huawei. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. children are more likely to be harmed by not returning to school than if they catch coronavirus according to the uk's chief medical adviser. but in a statement, the chief medical officers from all four uk nations are cautioning that there are "no risk—free options". england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty said the chances of children dying from covid—19 are "incredibly small" — but missing lessons "damages children in the long run".

a report by public health england reveals there were 30 outbreaks of coronavirus in english schools after more pupils returned to the classroom injune with 67 single confirmed cases. while pupils in scotland have already returned — millions of children across england, wales and northern ireland prepare to go back to school in the coming weeks. 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're 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 that we've 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 in our 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.

just bring you some latest figures about the number of deaths in the uk from coronavirus, and that number of deaths is six, but 1141 people have tested positive. so this figures just out, six deaths, 1141 testing positive. let's hear now from a union that represents education staff across a variety of roles — including teaching assistants, school cooks and those working in the office. jon richards is the head of education for the union unison. so, your people are working in very important roles in schools, even though they're not actually teachers 01’ though they're not actually teachers or their teaching assistants? how concerned are you about your members returning to work, and what sort of credence do you give to the chief medical officer's statement today? well, obviously the chief scientific officer at knows much more about the science and idea but inevitably he focused on the science relating to children. he did touch on staff but

not really so much, and as you said, the people i represent, represent 50% of the workforce. they are the people who make schools one and they allow teachers to teach but throughout this they have been overlooked. all the sciences tended to focus on teachers but what we know for the sort of forgotten 50% and they tend to come from slightly higher risk groups. ever higher numbers of black workers, higher numbers of black workers, higher numbers of black workers, higher numbers of older workers, and higher numbers of older workers, and higher numbers who live in areas of economic disadvantage, and they are all slightly higher, and one of the concerns we have is that that group of staffs, the science hasn'tjust been focused on them, it's all been about teachers. do accept there is a different threat risking different schools? so primary schools, potentially, say for it would seen in secondary schools, especially when you're dealing with older teenagers, saying six collegesabsolutely. it certainly seems to be that young people, very young children are not passing the virus, but again, the question is,

is that to do with because, you know, some people have suggested it's because they're quite small, adults tend to be quite high and sit up. and that is true that teachers who can spend a long time is standing up what many teachers do sit down and talk to them, but our teaching assistants sit down and work closely one to one in very small groups of again it is slightly different for those group of workers who are working hand in hand, and what the government have also said as they have talked about making it safer by holding people in bubbles. now, that works if you are a teacher working over bubbles for other groups of staff have to work between that. for instance, you have it dish nations who have to be called in emergencies to come and work across different year groups. —— it technicians. now, they are not legible to do it with bubbles. teaching assistants moving between... you have of dimension mentioned the whole issue around catering and what we know is they're going to stagger lunch times but our groups of school meals workers will be in those kitchens are facing a

whole range of different groups. justa... whole range of different groups. just a... don't have very much time it is your union's of i steel workers to go back to work then, yes, are you looking for extra conditions, extra precautions? a sane look, it's so not safe enough? no, no, no. what we're saying that we wa nt no, no, no. what we're saying that we want schools to look with us and work with us and make it safe as possible and do this assessments with us and we will have been working with schools all summer will continue to be working to try make it as safe as possible. does that mean that your members will be going back to schools when they reopen but will you say that we're going to carry on working to get somewhere safer? the vast majority of we absolutely expect that they have worked through the processes and helped us to create the safest environment possible and we will do that. if the schools have ignored that. if the schools have ignored that and haven't tried to make it safe obviously will need to talk with the school and discuss more with the school and discuss more

with them. just on that point, forgive me. dell makes stopping them, so if the schools haven't met your requirements, your advice will be look, the school isn't safe you to go back to work? certainly we will be asking. the responsibility for making sure the schools are safe is with the schools and we are working closely with schools to make sure that they have a safe as possible and we think, for the absolutely... we don't think there will be any major concerns are major problems with this process, but we can understand that what we want to do is we want to ensure that eve ryo ne do is we want to ensure that everyone is as safe as possible going into that, and chris whitty has said that we agree with him. john vis shirts, thank you very much for joining john vis shirts, thank you very much forjoining us on bbc news. ——john richards. you can find the latest developments and up—to—date information on schools during the pandemic on the bbc news website, head to bbc.co.uk forward pandemic on the bbc news website, head to bbc.co.ukforward news. in california the huge wildfires destroying parts of the state have

in belarus, thousands 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 and sent this update. yeah, well, it doesn't look like president lukashenko has decided to solve the problems of the street protests here in minsk today. you can see behind me another very large crowd. many of the people have just started a march, a march for a new belarus they're calling it, so many of them are moving towards another point in town and then will come back here. but very vocal, and what you can probably not see is that there is a very significant security presence also here around the fringes of the square. there have been lots of security agents, military vehicles, put around, but so far, despite warnings on a loudspeaker which has made periodic interventions here saying that this is an illegal demonstration and it would be dispersed, there has been no sign of any attempt to disperse the crowds. to be quite frank, it is very hard

to see what the security forces can do with a crowd of this size. for now it has been a peaceful demonstration — it's still ongoing of course, things might change — but despite a heavy security presence, for now things are going well and at least smoothly. natalia denisova is a lawyer from minsk who was arrested and imprisoned after complaining of election fraud. and elena korabelnikova is a small business owner also based in minsk. thank you forjoining us. is there any way out of this the president lukashenko now, any way out of this the president lu kashenko now, that any way out of this the president lukashenko now, that you think the end is near? we know, it is difficult because there is a situation where there is the majority of people, but those people

don't have any means of suppression, any weapon, and there is a minority which possesses all the suppression means, all the weapons, the ani, the police, they can frighten people, they can threaten people, so it's difficult to see how to resolve the situation. —— the army, the police. elena, have you taken part in the demonstrations over the past fortnight, and are you getting any impression at all that the army and police are beginning to change their views about the president because presumably they would need to switch sides for anything to happen? hello, thank you very much for having me there and yeah, i have been participating in all those protests and, frankly speaking, i have just come back recently for this

interview from the streets. i am quite excited to see so many people out despite the weather, which looks a bit english today, so with rain, but frankly speaking, talking about police, i can't say that they are changing side so massively. there are cases of that, but i don't see this shift, it's a massive shift. so i think it's too early to say. natalia, let's go back a full night. you were involved officially with counting and checking the ballot papers. what evidence was there a folder as you would understand it from the polling stations you are at? for instance, one day, it was on thursday actually, we have six days of elections, not only one main day which was on the ninth. only 50 people came to votes to the voting station, to the pole station, but the commission put into their

official protocol 426, so it was like ten times... and i can show you all these letters, this isjust like ten times... and i can show you all these letters, this is just a pa rt all these letters, this is just a part of them, i submitted a loss of complaints about those frauds every day, i submitted a complaint to the district attorney committee the central election commission, to everybody, even to the police, and all they did isjust everybody, even to the police, and all they did is just send me a quick notice that they just submitted it to some another place, so nobody took it seriously. you were arrested, is that right? yes, that is right, i was arrested on the main day of the elections just because i wa nted day of the elections just because i wanted to stay and function as an independent monitor. and how long we re independent monitor. and how long were you detain for and how long we re were you detain for and how long were you detain for and how long were you treated in custody?”

were you detain for and how long were you treated in custody? i was detained only for three days. it is not much in comparison to what happened to other people. i wasn't beaten but i was humiliated, they made a loss of pressure on me, i was made a loss of pressure on me, i was made to stay naked in front of people and so on, but it was like psychological pressure, but what happened next, it wasjust psychological pressure, but what happened next, it was just the psychological pressure, but what happened next, it wasjust the hell on the earth, people were tortured, people were even killed during ninth, tenth, and other days when people start protesting. elena, do you know people who have been detained? there are stories, some confirmed, some not of protesters being taken away, beaten up, beaten up, and even salters killed in the body dispatched elsewhere. how flighted our people, elena?|j body dispatched elsewhere. how flighted our people, elena? i think people are frightened of course but

we are trying to overcome our fear so we are trying to overcome our fear so there is a lot of news everywhere in telegram channels, on the internet, with all these horrific stories, and today in the morning, so stories, and today in the morning, soi stories, and today in the morning, so i saw one story and i recognised one of my clients, he was telling the story how he was beaten and he was detained for, i don't know, probably like three days, and that is terrible when you see people who you know. and i think now, like in each family, everybody has somebody, so each family, everybody has somebody, so i've a friend or of an acquaintance of a relative, so it touches everything, everyone, sorry 110w. touches everything, everyone, sorry now. natalia, people talk of course about the geopolitical significance of belarus in terms of its geographical location close to russia. it's not as if anyone protesting is one thing, actually, wash protection or actually posing some threat to russia, but how frightened are people about

president putin getting involved for his own geographic position in that pa rt his own geographic position in that part of the world? yeah, people are frightened, and we are fighting not because putin is going to decide this book because our president, he said that he's going to involve rosser actively. that is why we are frightened, of course. just a final question, elena, ifi frightened, of course. just a final question, elena, if i meet you, because supporters of president lukashenko will say that actually, unlike otherformer lukashenko will say that actually, unlike other former soviet states, people have stayed employed, for example those tractor factories whose output is pretty low now continues to employ perhaps many more people then would have occurred in the former soviet union where the business was sold to oligarchs and they were much more ruthless. so is there any support to president lincoln cent code for looking after people, for maintaining, for

example, employment? —— president lukashenko. of what will happen to people after lukashenko? know, the people after lukashenko? know, the people who kept theirjobs, it is not the most efficient economy but people have worked there and that is what supporters of lukashenko will say. yeah, but we can look at the example of poland, our close neighbour, everything is fine there and people have jobs and people had decent lives and people have salaries and to think that, so, after lukashenko is gone, so everything will collapse here, of course that's long. people will have support. i think, course that's long. people will have support. ithink, like, all we need isjust an support. ithink, like, all we need is just an honest, support. ithink, like, all we need isjust an honest, clever leader with the clever team who will introduce reforms and he will people initially so, like, probably some retraining, andl initially so, like, probably some retraining, and i think, so i am quite optimistic about future without lu kashenko, quite optimistic about future without lukashenko, really. 0k,

elena and natalia, thank you very much indeed forjoining us here on bbc news today. we have slightly over one. it is time for us now to catch up with some spot. pakistan have just put the brakes on england a bit on day three of the third and final test in southampton. they had slumped to 75 for 5 earlier, but azhar ali's half century has them 158 for 5 as he moved past 6000 test runs. james anderson is chasing history too, he's three wickets away from 600 in test cricket after dismissing asad shafiq earlier for 5, his fourth wicket of the innings// dom bess then found dom bess then found some spin and fawad alam edged into the gloves ofjos buttler, gone for 21. but azhar ali as i said has stopped the slump and frustrated england and he's closing in on a century, on 82. a draw is enough for england to win the series. in tennis, britian‘s dan evans is in action later — preparing for the us open

in new york — and will 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 in three sets at the western and southern open. the grand slam itself gets under way in eight days. fellow brits kyle edmund, cameron norrie and heather watson are however all out. there are two games in the scottish premiership today, one already into the second half. aberdeen, taking on bottom of the table livingston, are 2—0 up after two quick goals after the break a ferguson penalty, scott wright doubled the lead. hibs could go level on points with leaders rangers — if they win at stjohnstone — that kicks off shortly. 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 european domestic treble — just their second ever.

while 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 in lisbon, really, are notjust for the final, but, you know, are there, and they're just...they‘re great to watch. i think the two most talented players in the world play for psg, in mbeppe and neymar. the best player in the world plays for bayern right now, and that's lewandowski. normally these are cagey games, aren't they? whereas this, i don't think it has the capacity to be cagey, just cos neither team really plays that way. we look forward to that one later. british boxer dillian whyte says he's hopeful of a rematch after his dream of a world title shot was wrecked by alexander povetkin last night despite being on top early on against the russian and knocking him down twice in the fourth round, whyte was soon on the receiving end —

he was floored by povetkin in the 5th after a devastating uppercut. but he should get a rematch, with promoter eddie hearn looking at a date in december. 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. the second diamond league meeting of the year is under way in stockholm with a number of british athletes taking part including laura muir who broke the british thousand metres record at the last meet in monaco. and she's been in great form again today in the 1500, clocking the world leading time this year of three minutes 57.87 seconds. 87 seconds. fellow britons laura weightman and melissa courtney—brya nt were second and third. and adam gemili won the 200 metres in 20.61 seconds, just

outside his season's best. richard kilty was sixth. austria has provided drama for a second weekend in a row with miguel oliveira becoming the first portuguese to win a motogp race. the styrian grand prix was suspended for a quarter of an hour after maverick vinales had to jump from his yamaha after its brakes failed. there was more thrilling action on the final lap with a three way battle for victory which was won by ktm's oliveira. britain's cal crutchlow and bradley smith could only manage 17th and 19th. that's all the sport for now. a reminder, you can find more on all those stories and follow what's happening at the women's open golf on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport organisers of illegal gatherings in england could be fined up to £10,000 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. the woman who organised it was fined £100. soon she and others like her could face much biggerfines. dance music plays. around 3,000 people attended this event at charmey down 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. andy moore, bbc news. 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, 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 — yes, snow. phil mercer sent this report. wheee! 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 or the finance for the snow, this is absolutely brilliant for them. up to a metre of snow has fallen elsewhere in the state of new south wales. the wintry blast has hit victoria, and wildlife has had to contend

with the icy conditions. but there are fears that trees and power lines could collapse under its weight. forecasters have said this is a one—in—a—15—year weather event. australia is a land of extremes. snow falls on its mountains every year, but the amount there is... want to have a taste? no. the complex low pressure system that brought this wintry spectacle is expected to ease. a world away up in the tropics, the temperature in the city of darwin on sunday will reach 34 celsius. phil mercer, bbc news, sydney. now, unfortunately it is neither darwin or the south—east of australia over here! which can explain. hello. there are still a fair few days

of august remaining but as far as the weather is concerned, it's going to feel like autumn has arrived early at times this week. more wind and rain to come, particularly around tuesday and wednesday, it will turn cooler later in the week as well. some showers in the forecast later today and most will ease tonight although some will return to south west england and parts of wales and some of these could well be on the heavy side. a mild night in the south but a very cool one further north, some spots in scotland out in the countryside could get down to two or three degrees. so a cool start in the northern half of the uk, one or two showers here, but a lot of dry weather and this cluster of showers will run across the midlands, east anglia and the south—east before clearing away and many places will be dry into monday afternoon. small chance of catching a shower, temperatures of 16 to 20 degrees and then we get to tuesday, a deep area of low pressure bringing some heavy rain and some unseasonably strong winds.