tributes have been paid to the african—american actor chadwick boseman who's died four years after being diagnosed with cancer. he continued to work on films during his medical treatment, including black panther, which won several awards. its director described his death as a crushing blow. new zealand's prime minister, jacinda ardern, has been announcing the partial easing of restrictions in auckland as the country continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic. social gatherings will be allowed, but limited in number. face masks will be mandatory on public transport across the whole country. the italian coast guard has responded to calls to help dozens of people stranded on a refugee rescue boat in the mediterranean. people were taken off hours after the ship's leaders said they had called for help near lampedusa. those are the latest headlines on bbc news.

there was a bit of a thrill for a group of children in norway this summer when they found a message washed up on the beach, not in a bottle, but in a tiny boat. and it turns out that the little boat had been on a big journey. it set sail ten years ago from the remote scottish island of st kilda. it's a replica of the miniature boats the islanders used to send messages to the mainland. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has the story. a summer holiday surprise from islands far across the sea. messages not in a bottle, but in a tiny mail boat, washed ashore and discovered by children playing on a remote norwegian beach. the kids, as always, were messing around down by the water and looking for things and just playing around and they just stumbled upon this boat. they found it and look what i found and then, by coincidence,

totally coincidence, they just dropped it and it opened. what they found inside was a treasure trove of postcards, intact after a ten—year, thousand—mile journey from the shores of the remote scottish islands of st kilda. the mail boat tradition stretches back to when the islanders who used to live here had to send messages appealing for help from the mainland. life in this rocky outcrop in the atlantic was extremely harsh and the islands‘ last—remaining residents voted to leave and were evacuated in 1930. just imagining that life there, and you can see the abandoned community and it is all still there to see — the street, the graveyard, the church, the school — just all left when people walked out 90 years ago. alexander gillies—fergusson, here wearing the cap, as a teenager was one of the first to launch a mail boat from st kilda, his story passing down the generations.

when he was 1a, in about 1885, he sent one of these st kilda mail boats with a message in it saying that the winter storms had damaged their stores and that the people on the island were getting very hungry, if not getting near starvation. it worked. the message reached help and st kilda was resupplied. their tiny mail boats a unique reminder of a way of life left long ago. lorna gordon, bbc news. what a story. now on bbc news, it's time for witness history. hello, and welcome to witness history, with me, tanya beckett, here at the royal academy in london. today, we present five extraordinary moments from history as told to us by people who were there. coming up, the british alternative to prison that was copied around the world.

the moment idi amin expelled thousands of ugandan asians in the 1970s. and the artist couple who wrapped germany's reichstag in fabric. but first, we go back to a defining moment in modern chinese history. in 1989, the chinese army opened fire on tens of thousands of students in tiananmen square in the centre of beijing. they had been demonstrating for weeks, demanding greater political freedom. dan wang was one of the protest leaders. this is his account of what happened. the noise of gunfire rose from all over the centre of peking. translation: someone called us from a phone box in a street near tiananmen square. he said the gunmen had opened fire on the students. i've never thought anything

like that would happen. i was in shock. the troops have been firing indiscriminately, but still, there are thousands of people on the streets who will not move back. translation: we immediately organised about 200 students to go to tiananmen square to support the others, but all the main roads were blocked by the army lorries. i was in my first year in peking university. i was 20 years old. i play a leading role from the very beginning of the protests. we went onto the streets to demand democracy. although the communist party had tried to reform, it hadn't done enough, and we wanted to pay tribute to the communist party leader, hu yaobang, who had just died.

we students love him deeply, because he was open—minded. i left tiananmen square around noon onjune 3. although we all knew we were surrounded by troops, people were smiling. everyone was so optimistic that we were going to win. 0n the evening ofjune 3, i was in my dormitory in peking university with other students, discussing the future of our protests. tanks and troops are patrolling the streets of central peking after the bloody operation to crush student—led protests. some reports say more than 2,000 civilians were killed in last night's army assault on tiananmen square, held for seven weeks by students demanding greater democracy and an end to corruption. translation: other student

told me i have to hide. they hid me in the other universities and i went on the run for about a month. i didn't have a radio to listen to updates about the crackdown. ididn't dare turn on the tv either. after being on the run for a month, i decided to go back to beijing, because i realised that the longer i hid, the more guilty i would look. i didn't want to live like a rat hidden in a tiny room, never coming out for daylight. as soon as i went back to beijing, i was arrested. i was in prison for nearly a year before i was put on trial. then i was sentenced

to four years injail. i even thought i would be executed because i was number one on the chinese government's wanted list. it turned my life upside down. i'd always been a top student and i was a leader in the communist party youth league. who would have thought i would end up in prison, then in exile? the tiananmen square crackdown changed my whole life. otherwise, i would be a poet. the former tiananmen square protest leader dan wang. next, the story behind a legal reform that has changed many lives. in 1972, england and wales became the first countries to pioneer a new alternative to prison. it was called ‘community service'. the scheme was soon copied around the world. we hear from one of the people in charge of implementing

this new sentence for criminals. britain has one of the world's largest prison populations. we maintain 42,000 prisoners in victorian conditions designed for half that number. it costs more than twice as much to send your son to wormwood scrubs as it does to send him to eton. prison sentences, particularly short—term prison sentences, were not effective. about 70% of people who were serving less than 12 months were being reconvicted, so prison in that sense was a failure. some of the younger chaps who are in here, they come in here for small sentences and go out as animals. the great and the good in legal terms began to think we must be able to do something more constructive as an alternative to prison, and community service was at least a worthwhile experiment to see

if we could have some positive results and reduce the level of reoffending. in 1972, the then—home secretary introduced the criminaljustice act, which brought forward community service orders as a new method of reducing the prison population. this was completely new, in fact it was a world first. as an alternative to prison, an offender is given between a0 to 240 hours, it's a penalty, a fine on time, and is expected to do constructive work in the community. i was the senior probation officer responsible for the introduction of community service in one part called nottinghamshire. any sentence in the court is a punishment, i think that's one point we've got to get over very clearly. 0n the other hand, you could use community service as some kind of springboard for rehabilitation. some people have said it's a form of reparation, making up for the damage one has done in the past.

we have people on community service for burglary, for theft, grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving, all kinds of different offences. come on beth, come on. you can do better than that. we had negotiated a whole series of tasks with voluntary organisations, with public sector organisations, social services, hospitals, youth clubs. the benefits to the community are obvious enough. this church hall has had £3,000 worth of work done by offenders. people who had been in trouble felt valued. they learned new social skills. in that sense, it bore great fruit. sports night at a youth club in nottingham. the instructor is an ex—boxer and an ex—convict. aged 32, he has spent 20 years inside. he has been convicted of robbery with violence and would be injail again

today if he hadn't been given an alternative. 200 hours community service in his spare time. all the times i'd been inside, i knew, no matter what i said, or what i wrote people, that eventually i was going to be in trouble again, but this time, just...i don't think so. we've had more lasting effects in terms of staying out of trouble than those people who've been into prison and didn't have the benefit of a community service order. and it was about a third of the cost of prison. we had lots of visitors from overseas countries wanting to study our legislation. we became the most copied piece of legislation in the western world. but i think these days, politicians talk up punishment because i suspect it gets you votes with members of the public. the pioneering probation officer, john harding. now, we stay in the 1970s.

over in uganda, in east africa, the dictator idi amin was in power and in august 1972, he announced plans to expel the country's asian population. about 60,000 people were given 90 days to leave the country. gita watts tells witness history about her family's traumatic experience. we had 90 days to sort everything out and get out of the country, and he sort of made an impression that if we didn't get out on time, we would be sitting on fire.

it's estimated there are more than 12,000 towns and villages like this in uganda, and in every one of them, the government is pressing its campaign against the asian traders. the asian community was really close—knit, so all the asian shops went and enrolled together and we all knew each other. each family and all the kids knew each other. we were not well off, but we were comfortable. people started rushing to the embassies and my dad had to sign everything over, that means his assets and his business, over to the ugandan bank. we were given £55 — that's all he was allowed to take with him. it was just unbelievable, you know, after everything that you owned, he was just left with £55. when we first got to the airport, people's luggage was opened out

and clothes and everything thrown everywhere so they can check for gold and money, and for some reason, my parents put a ring on my finger and we were told to get that ring off me, and because the ring was so tight, it was quite a struggle to take it off and my parents tried everything to take this ring off and in the end, it was cut off. the scariest bit was that we had soldiers with guns and knives surrounding. i'm panicking, really, to get this ring off. it was a relief that we actually got on this plane and the plane's taking off and we're safe. and probably for my dad, he was probably thinking he, you know, he got through, he got his family out of the country at last, but he was leaving back something that he really loved, the country that he loved. the asians arrived in cold, wet weather at stansted. whole families had arrived with little cash. the few belongings they brought often seemed of nothing more than sentimental value. the time of the year that we arrived as well,

it was like the wintertime. and that made it worse as well with the rain and the snow, and i'd not seen the snow before. we were... we were scared. because we didn't know where would we go. i mean, we were — and my mum was told that — to take is to leicester, a town called leicester, and we did not know what it was like. we did not know any english. when i grew up and went to secondary school, i came through a lot of, you know, abuse, racial abuse from kids, you know, again calling names and waiting for me outside school and wanting to, like, beat me up and not liking my colour. recently, we just went back to uganda. i just wanted to see the country that i was born in and why my parents love that country so much. it was nice to go back to the hospital where i was born. it really was an amazing experience. gita watts, who had to begin a new life in britain. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all of ourfilms, along with more than 1,000 radio programmes, in our online archive. just search online for "bbc witness history". next, we go to cuba.

gita watts, who had to begin a new life in britain. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all of ourfilms, along with more than 1,000 radio programmes, in our online archive. just search online for "bbc witness history". next, we go to cuba. in july 1989, four top cuban army officers were sentenced to death and executed after being convicted of drug trafficking. but critics of the regime believe the case was, in fact, a political attempt to punish the officers for advocating change in fidel castro's communist cuba. we hearfrom ileana de la guardia, the daughter of one of the executed men. it was the show trial that shook havana. general arnaldo 0choa, a comrade in arms of fidel castro and hero

of the revolution, was sentenced last friday to be shot by firing squad, along with three other army officers. translation: when they read out that my father, antonio de la guardia, as well as 0choa and the others were all sentenced to death, it came as a massive shock. my father looked over to where i was sitting, but i did not want to start crying. some of the other relatives broke down and cried, but i did not want to show that weakness. maybe it was my way of giving my dad a little hope. my father, antonio de la guardia, was head of a government department created by fidel castro, tasked with breaking the us blockade on cuba. his job was to smuggle in high—tech equipment from the us. my father was accused of being in contact

with drug traffickers. it was said that was the only reason he was executed. but for me, it was all about politics. fidel castro wanted to do away with a group of officers who had different opinions to those of the regime. from about 1985, we began to feel the influence in cuba of the reforms in the soviet union, perestroika. these were issues that were being openly talked about here. my friends and i used to sit in the garden with my father and talk about how if things were changing in eastern europe, then cuba should change too. i did not imagine that expressing those opinions could mean being arrested and then executed. the trial was filmed every day. it lasted a week and was

broadcast each night on tv. it was totally controlled. the accused could only say yes or no. the last time i visited him injail wasjust days before his execution. by then, it was obvious that we were going to lose him. he asked me to look after my younger brothers and my grandparents. the death sentence was carried out onjuly 13th. the families were informed by telegram. on each anniversary of his death, it is my duty to make sure he is remembered

as he really was. what i would like now for my family is for the cuban government to recognise that they committed a great injustice. ileana de la guardia is still in exile in paris. now, to one of europe's most dramatic public art projects. injune 1995, artist christo and jeanne—claude wrapped the former german parliament building, the reichstag, in fabric. more than 5 million people came to see it and it became a symbol for berlin's renewal after the fall of the wall and the collapse of communism. christo tells witness history how they did it. it's an eccentric dream, but one that a husband—and—wife team have cherished for more than a quarter of a century and this weekend, the bulgarian—born artist

christo and his wife jeanne—claude began wrapping the german parliament building in silver fabric. it is very difficult to explain it if you don't see it. no drawings, no sketch and no scale model can match the complexity of the project. the fabric is actually — it is not completely touching the stone, the surface of the structure. the project started in 1972. the cold war is still in full speed. you know, the berlin wall was built. permission to wrap the reichstag was refused three time. if the wall would not fell down, probably will never have do the reichstag. for more than two decades, the artist christo and his wife jeanne—claude have wanted to work with the building that, for them, symbolised the cold war. you know, i was born in bulgaria in 1935, highly sovietic, communist country, and i escaped to the west alone, speaking only russian and bulgarian. coming from communist country, i had to do something involving

the east—west relation. it's been bombed and set on fire, seen war and revolution, but never before has the reichstag been wrapped in silverfabric. we never can believe what is the project until we see the real. christo himself is paying for the project, helped the reichstag cost us $12 million in 1995, which is was about — probably today is about $20 million or $25 million. it was wrapped by near 100 rock climbers. they come down, installing all this 100,000 square metres of fabric in the matter of one week. now, jeanne—claude and myself, we are both together artists, you know, and this is why i miss so muchjeanne—claude today. we were partners, we lived together, we fight together, and it's like an adventure that you cannot repeat it.

this novel treatment is, they say, in the classic tradition of art. the reichstag was the victorian building with a lot of ornaments or decoration. suddenly, it was changed, like a sketch, like what is essential of the height, the width, the forms, and they are all hidden by this fragile material that moves with the wind, in constant motion. the building took on a shrine—like nature and was treated with something approaching reverence. it's very special and it's — it always changes with the light. the first time in history probably that this building is nice and makes people happy. i came to germany especially to see this project and i think it is great. oh, i don't know really what the point is! for two weeks, the area has witnessed one continuous party

with scenes reminiscent of when the berlin wall came down six years ago. everybody who came to see the project, and there was 5 million people in two weeks in the reichstag, they know that they were seeing something will never happen again. last night was the final and the biggest party, with 100,000 people swarming around the building well into the early hours. today, the dismantling work began and germany's former and future parliament building came blinking into the summer sunshine. and then rebuilding starts, ready for the german parliament, which arrives in 1998. after two weeks, it's gone for ever. cannot be repeated. something happened, it will stay forever in that particular unique moment. the remarkable artist christo. that's all from witness history this month, here at the royal academy. we'll be back next month with more first—hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. but for now, from me and the rest of the witness history team, goodbye.

hello. in the sunshine on saturday, it looked like summer but, with a brisk northerly wind, it did not always feel that way. temperatures in places struggling to get above the low teens in celsius and for others no sunshine to speak of, just cloud and rain through parts of northern and eastern england, the midlands, east anglia, and south—east england. all tied in with this area of low pressure, continuing to pull away eastwards through the early hours of sunday. high pressure to the west of the uk and, in between, the squeeze in the isobars. still some gusty winds down the eastern coasts. it's a cool if not

chilly start to sunday, particularly across rural scotland, where we could see temperatures getting close to freezing, perhaps a touch of frost through the glens. but a good deal of sunshine to start the day on sunday. what we'll find through the morning is cloud will tend to build and eventually spread out. so bright or sunny spells through the afternoon. maybe one or two showers across scotland and northern ireland. most will be dry. lighter winds compared to saturday. but still a noticeable northerly wind down eastern coasts, just taking the edge off temperatures which, at best, are going to be 1a or 15 celsius. we could get up to 18 or 19 across central, southern england in the best of the sunshine. now, most of us will see some sunshine to end the day and then, through the night, as we go into monday, a mixture of variable cloud and clear spells but, once again, it's fairly cool if not chilly. temperatures widely in single figures, and low single figures across rural parts of northern england, scotland, and northern ireland. now monday, away from scotland, is a bank holiday. high pressure the dominant feature, this frontal system out to the west. friday more clouds and maybe some rain later in the day into northern ireland and western scotland. but let's just cast our minds back to this time last year, to the late august bank holiday,

where it was the warmest on record — 33 celsius in both london and cambridgeshire. something much different this year. but it will be dry, quiet, some spells of sunshine through the morning on monday. once again, cloud tending to build, and certainly increasing across northern ireland and western scotland. a bit of patchy rain here by the end of the day. most will be dry but temperatures at best 16—18 celsius. this year it could be the coolest late august bank holiday on record. then looking ahead through tuesday and wednesday, oui’ eyes once again turn to the atlantic, particularly on wednesday. a fairly deep area of low pressure tracking to the north of the uk, bringing some wet and windy weather. but probably not to the south of england. so some rain in the forecast in the week ahead and still not feeling particularly warm. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm aaron safir. our top stories: new zealand's prime minister announces a partial easing of restrictions in auckland and makes masks compulsory on all public transport. for new zealand as a whole, you remain at level two. for auckland, you are out a form of level two —— at a form of level two that i am going to call level 2.5. tributes to the hollywood actor chadwick boseman, the star of ground—breaking blockbuster black panther, who died at the age of a3. the italian coast guard takes 49 migrants from a rescue ship funded by the artist banksy.