for the second day of the republican national convention the focus moves to the white houes where the first lady is due to address delegates from the rose garden. she is expected to make the case for re—electing president trump as the race against the democrats takes a harsher tone. the parents ofjacob blake, the unarmed black man shot by police in the us state of wisconsin say their son has been left paralysed from the waist down. they also pleaded for an end to the protests sparked by the shooting, as the destruction does not reflect their son. secondary school pupils will have to wear masks in corridors — in parts of england where local lockdowns are in place. the government says it's changed its guidance after updated advice from the world health organisation. the opposition labour party say they don't think the new rules go far enough. as children prepare to go back to school next month,

millions of people are also considering whether to return to their offices, or continue working from home. recent surveys suggest british workers have been slower to get back to their desks, than in other parts of europe. our science editor, david shukman, has been looking at the risks and possible solutions. the government wants people back at work in our city centres, but we now know that inside buildings, it is possible for the coronavirus to be carried through the air. it was found in the ventilation system of this hospital in oregon, though it's not clear if it was still infectious. the virus spread in an office block in south korea to more than 90 people all working on the same floor. and in a restaurant in china, it was passed from one infected person to nine others, as air was recirculated around the room. if there had been fresh air to dilute the virus, it would have made a difference.

the bigger the building, the more likely it will have sealed windows and a ventilation with a network of ducts to keep the air moving. it's piped to central units, usually on the roof, and building managers can choose how much stale air, shown in yellow, to recirculate and how much fresh air, marked in blue, to bring in and add to the mix that is sent back to the rooms. so, in really large offices and other buildings that rely on ventilation systems, what can be done? well, specialist engineers have come up with some recommendations. the first thing is to increase the flow of fresh air. there is evidence that this really does make a difference. also to minimise the recirculation of air, especially from one room to another. and avoid stuffy areas where the air is not moving. that's a sign that the ventilation isn't working and the chances of infection are increased. the air is filtered in these systems which should help and give early warning if someone has brought

the virus into a building. at the university of oregon, they reckon the filters on each floor could quickly reveal if infections are spreading, and help to target efforts to deal with them. so, before we see office workers return in greater numbers, the advice for every building manager is to think notjust about social distancing and hand hygiene, but also the air, how it's moving, and what it could be carrying. david shukman, bbc news. now on bbc news it's witness history, where we hear from five people who have experienced important moments in history, including a jewish woman who found refuge in britain after she was transported out of nazi germany. hello and welcome to witness history with me, razia iqbal, here at the royal academy in london. today we'll hear from five people who have witnessed incredible moments in history.

coming up: the soldiers who fought for the british but were not allowed to settle in britain. the last days of the sri lankan civil war, the first latin american coup, backed by the us, and when the soviet union banned alcohol. but first, to a story of love, hope and sacrifice. from 1938 until the start of the second world war in 1939, thousands ofjewish children were sent from europe to the uk. most of them travelled without their parents, fleeing the rise of the nazis. dame stephanie shirley was only five years old when she said goodbye to her mother, never knowing if she would see her again. newsreel: 200 boys and girls with a greeting to england and the land of the free. they are between the ages of five and 17, the advanced guard of the first 5000 jewish and non—aryan child refugees

from germany have been provided with a temporary home here, while arrangements are made forthem to immigrate. everybody always said, aren't you lucky? aren't you lucky? indeed we were. sometimes, when i've been asked my date of birth, i've said 1939 because, to me, my life started then. the kinder transport was an amazing rescue mission, set up by christian and jewish activists, who brought nearly 10,000 mainlyjewish children out of nazi europe. i was five years old and i was one of those children. my family was secularjewish. we had moved over quite a bit of europe, starting from dortmund where my father was a judge and he'd been fired in 1933 and finished up in vienna,

my mother's home city. i think it was clear that jews in central europe faced catastrophe. there was an announcement that there had been a concession over the nazis to allow children up to the age of 16 to leave without their parents. we knew something was afoot and we were going to england. i can remember the scene at the station of many, many families, mostly weeping, some wailing. i believe most parents did not expect to see their children again. my mother did not cry, nor did we. i was with my sister, renata, who was ten years old.

i clutched her, 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 1,000 children — tired and smelly after two and a half days, absolutely exhausted. there was no chatter, no noise. eventually children were called and off we went with our new parents. we were among the 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 in english. i was traumatised, they were nervous, it was pretty grim. my feelings with just of being disturbed and being

with strange people, of 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. as i think happens quite often they separated families, i never really bonded with them again and that i really mourn. the 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. next we hear the story of the first latin american coup, organised by the us government. president presidentjacobo arbenz of guatemala had proposed land reforms that

were seen as a threat to america's united fruit company. he was labelled a communist in the company wanted him removed. his son, also called jacobo, remembers when his father's government was overthrown in 1954. translation: i was only seven years old when my father was overthrown in the coup, organised by the cia. i remember having to hide under the bed during the bombing. my parents did their best not to worry us but we soon realised how serious things were and the dangers that we faced. guatemala was a very backwards country, based on a colonial, almost feudal system. one of the first things that my father, coloneljacobo arbenz did as president, was to bring in reforms to modernise farming. america's united fruit company,

which had enormous economic power in guatemala at the time did not like the changes. they became very upset when they saw that their monopoly was being affected. this was the time of the cold war, so they took advantage of this to label my father a communist, which was totally untrue and that is how they promoted and justified the idea of an invasion. newsreel: aircraft parachute meagre supplies to the airstrip as the rebels tried to oust the government. the shabbily—clad, poorly trained troops from honduras over ran the sleepy town... translation: the basic plan of the cia was to promote an invasion from neighbouring honduras. they trained mercenaries

in the us and in honduras, too. at first, when they crossed into guatemala, the army managed to beat them back. my father spent most of the time in the ministry of defence. i remember him always looking very worried, pacing up and down, smoking, trying to work out what to do next. when aeroplanes started bombing guatemala city, my father moved us out of the presidential palace and then his fellow officers got scared and told him, colonel, we can no longer support you. carrying anti—communist banners, jubilant soldiers celebrate victory following their two—week revolt in guatemala. my father resigned as president onjune the 27th may 195a. i have taken a momentous decision for our country

in the hope that it will halt the invasion and bring peace back to guatemala. i remember that my sisters and i were only allowed to take a few toys with us when we left. unfortunately, the invasion and the coup had a terrible lasting effect on our family but also on the guatemalan people. my sisters took it all very badly and resented what had happened. as a result, in 1965, one of them took her own life and the other one did the same in 200a. my father died a very bitter man, disappointed that what he had tried to do for guatemala had been so misunderstood.

jacobo arbenz with his memories of the first latin american coup organised by the cia. now to south asia and the final days of the civil war in sri lanka. for more than two decades, the army had fought the tamil tiger rebels. in 2009, the government forces began to close in on them. thousands of civilians were trapped alongside rebel fighters, beyond the reach ofjournalists, aid workers and independent witnesses. former united nations official gordon vice remembers it as one of the worst situations he'd ever encountered. sri lanka's government says it is close to winning the island's civil war after 25 years. the fighting has been intense and bloody. in a 25—year civil war, there had been many terrible episodes. this final few months

of the war was by far the most bitter and the most vicious. 250,000 people caught in the middle, hungry, frightened, tired. many of them on the run from fighting for up to a year. some of them had been displaced 10 or 15 times. i had worked in a number of conflict zones before and since the war in sri lanka but the sri lankan experience was unique. the conflict on the island has pitted the government, based in colombo and dominated by the sinhalese majority against the tamil tigers. they'd been fighting in the north for a state for ethnic minority tamils. the tamil tigers or ltte have been ruthless, pioneers in suicide bombings. they also stand accused of conscripting child soldiers but the government has been using brutal methods of its own. the offensive opened with very heavy bombardment, breaking up the tamil tiger positions and rolling

the civilian population back. the un had fairly good access to these areas but then in september 2008, the un was told in no uncertain terms that it needed to move its international offices out of the siege area. the purpose was to ensure they were not independent witnesses to what was going to happen. this footage was released by pro—tamil groups yesterday. it claims to show carnage caused when shells hit a clinic. it is impossible to know for sure when or where the footage was shot. the tigers claim the army is using heavy weapons. the government says that is a lie and these imagesjust propaganda. on one particular day, we had very graphic descriptions from the doctors who were managing the hospitals inside the zone about a very heavy bombardment that had taken place in which dozens and dozens of civilians had

been killed and injured and that was the day that we declared that there had been a bloodbath. the government was very unhappy with us. they began to threaten to expel various un officers, myself included. my reaction was, even if a proportion of those images and reports that we were getting out where true, the impact on civilians was clearly very high. this was a classic siege, of course. the tamil tigers obviously had an interest in not allowing civilians to cross the front lines into government territory, because that was the one thing that was really standing between them and defeat. the international community had a great deal of ambivalence about what was going on because they wanted to see the tamil tigers destroyed as well. the tamil tigers were a listed

terrorist organisation. in the last few days, more and more civilians were able to escape the siege zone. the siege area became smaller till it was a patch and a couple of hundred square metres. a symbolic moment. sri lankan movements meeting today and cutting the tamil tigers‘ last hope of escape. we had been caught between these two opposing sides, enemies who were literally intent on destroying each other and the un were stuck in the middle. it was an experience that never leaves you. former united nations official gordon weiss. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel or you can catch up on all ourfilms, along with more than

1,000 radio programmes in our online archive. just search online for bbc witness history. now to a story of triumph over injustice. for over 200 years, soldiers from the small south asian country of nepal fought and died for the british armed forces. the soldiers are known as gurkhas and more than 200,000 fought in the two world wars. it is only in 2009 that they were actually given the right to settle in the uk. one major remembers the long campaign for equal treatment for gurkhas. outside parliament, the gurkhas and joanna lumley watched as the home secretary finally ran up the white flag, government surrender on the gurkhas terms. all former gurkhas who have served more than four years will now be eligible to apply for settlement in the uk. when the announcement was made in 2009, everyone was really happy,

exuberant with the news. but i would call it a half—ba ked victory. i served in the brigade of gurkhas for 31 years. nepal allows recruitment in nepal itself for enlistment into the british army. nowhere will you see this arrangement in the whole world. the gurkha saying is "better to die than be a coward." gurkhas have fought and died for the british army since 1814. they suffered 20,000 casualties in the great war. sadly, although we are an integral part of the british armed forces, we have never been treated equal. we have our own terms

and conditions of service. the way we were courted, a family life, barracks, there was a total difference. the pay we received was about one—third of what the british received. we had no right to settle in the uk. we felt like second—class citizens. having served the british army loyally, people were being deported and that was really scary. they were living in fear day and night because they did not have any status. last weekend the home office deported a former gurkha despite 13 years of service in the british army. it was a disgrace. they have been in the british forces for nearly 200 years. they are the bravest soldiers i had ever served with. newspapers got involved. we received massive support from the media and the british public. it has been a long battle. five years ago, the government ruled only gurkhas who retired after 1997 could

settle in britain. they took their battle to the doors of downing street with 250,000 signatures. still, the government resisted untiljoanna lumley took command. when joanna lumley got involved, she was instrumental. her father served with my regiment. he was an officer in the gurkha rifles. there was no gurkha present during this meeting. we fought so hard for nine years and to be left out when the crucial policy was being made was a big letdown in itself. our campaign was for equality — equal pensions and settlement. to actually be on the meeting and see and hear what was discussed. why did they come to the conclusion of settlement only? we are glad and thankful that the government did change the policy. we achieved what we thought would be impossible, ie, settlement rights for all

the gurkhas across the board. we will now carry on for equal pension, and that is the last stand. this was a turning chapter. it marked that we were now considered equal to the rest of the british armed forces and that is certainly uplifting. our final witness remembers a unique, if brief, moment in soviet history. in 1985, communist authorities restricted the sale of alcohol in the ussr to fight rising addiction. three years later, the campaign was abandoned as the soviet economy began to fail. we spoke to a former adviser to the central committee of the communist party who helped put the law into place. there used to be just one image of the soviet worker and this was it — young, efficient

and, above all, sober. now there is another, half asleep and halfway to dipsomania. translation: a quarter of all workers would have a glass of vodka before going to work. this was widespread among our working class. the russians call alcohol ‘the green snake' and opening time ‘the hour of the wolf'. put the two together and the results can be disastrous. translation: i saw clearly that in a country where a quarter of all workers are alcoholics, this country survives by killing its own people. that was very clear to me. the state makes billions in alcohol tax, but the state has ordered its people to sober up. translation: as someone who spoke to gorbachev often, i could tell that

he did not understand what the ussr was about. of all the soviet freedoms, only one was always there — the freedom to drink. translation: all russians love vodka. for years, ambulances have patrolled city streets by taking people to special drying out centres, but medical facilities are now to be improved. the authorities say they will fight this ugly phenomenon and remove it from soviet life. translation: as part of the campaign, alcohol sales were limited to the period from 2pm to 7pm. many wine shops were closed and, most importantly, only one bottle of vodka was sold per person. so if you add a birthday party, you had to show your passport to prove that it was really your birthday.

by about 1988, 1989, it became clear that the campaign was damaging. the soviet system simply collapsed. millions of people lost theirjobs. in the soviet days, if a worker had a drink before going to work, at least there were some restraint on him in the workplace. with the collapse of the ussr, there were no social structures anymore and the alcoholic had nothing holding him back. we didn't understand it and neither did gorbachev. remembering interesting times

with former president mikhail gorbachev. that is all from witness history this month from royal academy. we will be back next month with more first—hand accounts of more extraordinary moments in history. for now, from me and the rest of the team, goodbye. hello. storm francis battered a large swathe of the uk through tuesday. we had a gust of 79mph at the needles on the isle of wight. for many southern and western coasts, scenes like these. all tied in with this area of low pressure, and through the early hours of wednesday morning, it tracks its way eastwards into the north sea, taking the strongest winds and the heaviest rain with it. still some gusty winds for a time down eastern coasts through the morning. some leftover rain for a time

for southern scotland. that will soon ease. and for most, mainly dry and spells of sunshine. a few afternoon showers developing in northern ireland, a few across northern scotland, perhaps a couple developing along the spine of england, but for most, it is dry. and crucially, the winds will not be as strong on wednesday as they have been on tuesday. still, some gusts initially alongside eastern coasts, which will ease through the afternoon. feeling a bit warmer as well — 22, 23 celsius. quite widely in the high teens for many. still around 13 or 1a for the far north of scotland. showers keep going overnight across parts of scotland, northern ireland, a few into north wales and north—west england. our eyes once again turn to the atlantic. another area of low pressure heading our way as we move into thursday. that will mean we'll start the day with rain across northern ireland and northern england, it could be heavy for a time. and rain starts to arrive into wales and south—west england in the afternoon. ahead of this, showers, but driest across england, and northern scotland as well. temperatures, though, a little bit lower on thursday compared to wednesday.

this area of low pressure still with us on friday. tracking its way eastwards. notice how the isobars just start to move closer together, so the winds will be strengthening once again on friday. heaviest of the rain at this stage probably across northern england and into north wales and the midlands, but also some heavier rain developing across parts of southern and south—west england through the day. dry through the north and west of northern ireland and much of scotland. we cannot rule out a few showers. as i mentioned, the winds will be picking up once again. quite wet and blustery, and along eastern coasts, temperatures are going to struggle in places to get much above 1a or 15 celsius. for the weekend, the rain will slowly ease from eastern parts of england. the winds will ease down too. and for most, it's dry. some sunshine, but there will be some chilly nights. and this isjust an indication of the overnight temperatures on saturday across parts of the uk. that's all for me. bye— bye.

a warm welcome to bbc news. my name is mike embley. our top stories: keeping it in the family: melania trump is to headline the second night of the republican national convention. wisconsin declares a state of emergency as the family of the unarmed black man shot by police say he's been paralysed. my son matters. he's a human being and he matters. the uk government reverses its advice on the use of masks in secondary schools in england. and a new arrangement — the bbc says it will play rule britannia at the last