this is bbc news. the headlines: the head of russia's wagner group says its forces now surround most of bakhmut, the east ukrainian city that's been the focus of extensive fighting. the mercenary group says the last open roads leading westwards out of the city are under heavy russian shelling. the white house has confirmed president biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed sucessfully during a routine health screening last month. mr biden�*s doctor said the affected tissue was removed from the 80—year—old's chest, and no further treatment is required. at least 17 people have been killed and dozens injured after a huge fire broke out in a fuel storage depo in the indonesian capital. emergencey services say thousands of people had to be evacuated as the blaze

engulfed houses in the plumpang district of jakarta. now on bbc news, witness history. hello. i am hello. iam ben hello. i am ben boulos. hello. iam ben boulos. thank you forjoining me at the queer british museum in london for this addition of witness history. i will bring you important moments from the past as told by the people who were there. in this episode, we are focusing on lgbt history, stories about lesbian, gay and trans people from all over the world. coming up, we hear how lesbian activists broke through bbc security to stage a protest on live tv. plus, the fight for

lgbt rights in uganda where being gay was punishable by death. how the balkans war by the groundbreaking film about france sex workers. and the fight to use the word olympics for the very first gay games. but first, to san francisco, and the aids memorial that would make headlines all over the world. activist cleve jones was living there in the 1980s when a mysterious disease started killing his friends. the suffering he saw inspired him to create one of the world's guest ever arts projects. —— biggest. i world's guest ever arts projects. -- biggest. italked about this— projects. -- biggest. italked about this idea _ projects. -- biggest. italked about this idea for _ projects. -- biggest. i talked about this idea for a - projects. -- biggest. i talked about this idea for a whole i about this idea for a whole year and everybody told me it was the stupidest thing i had ever heard of, but i ignored them and kept going and found people who share the vision, and it ended up becoming i believe the world's largest community arts project ever. fix, community arts project ever. a quilt commemorating 40,000 people who have died from aids

has gone on display in washington.— washington. quilts traditionally - washington. quilts traditionally were l washington. quilts - traditionally were made from castoffs taking scraps of fabric and around different colours and textures and sewing them into something that is warm and comforting. behind all of those horrendous statistics were actual human beings that were actual human beings that were part of families and communities and neighbourhoods. in the early 1970s i was one of many thousands of young gay and lesbian kids who got here anyway we could. of course at that time, it was still a felony to be gay in this country, so we under a great deal of repression and fear. i think this idea that gays are going to take over a city government, its... ithink going to take over a city government, its... i think it is amusing when i hear that. there were a few blocks within the city where we could be completely free and be ourselves, and that meant you

could hold hands with your partner, you could kiss, it was incredibly exciting. in partner, you could kiss, it was incredibly exciting.— incredibly exciting. in 1981, american _ incredibly exciting. in 1981, american doctors - incredibly exciting. in 1981, american doctors were - incredibly exciting. in 1981, i american doctors were baffled by a bizarre disease. within six years, aids has spread to 71 countries and infected up to 10 million people. we 71 countries and infected up to 10 million people.— 10 million people. we are filmin: 10 million people. we are filming this _ 10 million people. we are filming this interview - 10 million people. we are filming this interview at i 10 million people. we are filming this interview at a | filming this interview at a restaurant called catch, i was living just a couple of blocks away when i read the first story is about this new disease. that was the summer of 1982. by the fall of 1985, most everyone i knew was dead or dying. people began to get skinny. we saw people die all around us. on one block in my neighbourhood, everybody died in the span of two years. ultimately, over20,000 in the span of two years. ultimately, over 20,000 gay men would die in this

neighbourhood. i actually acquired the virus in the winter of 1978, 1979. acquired the virus in the winter of1978, 1979. i acquired the virus in the winterof1978,1979. i did acquired the virus in the winter of 1978, 1979. i did not begin to show signs of that infection until 1992. i got very, very sick very, very quickly and came close to dying in 1994 before i got access to one of the very first clinical trials. i miss my friends. i miss them a lot. i barely passed high school biology, but i understood clearly that there was no such thing as a gay virus, and that what we were experiencing here was going to be experienced by all sorts of different kinds of people all around the planet. i remember one day exclaiming in rage to my friends, if this was a meadow with a thousand corpses rotting in the sun, then people would look at this, they would see it. so each panel is three feet by six feet, the approximate size of a

grave, and that was deliberate. once people could see what i was talking about, then they kind of got the power of it. by october 11, kind of got the power of it. by october11, of1987, kind of got the power of it. by october 11, of 1987, they were placed on a national wally national —— washington, dc and in every newspaper in the world. this quilt is a pretty extraordinary testament to what we went through, and it is a place that is known for its monuments, they remain out —— made out of stone and steel, and we took a monument there that was made of cloth and red zone by ordinary americans and people from all over the planet love someone who died of aids and wanted them to be remembered. it was that simple and that amazing.— and that amazing. cleve jones and that amazing. cleve jones and the story _ and that amazing. cleve jones and the story of— and that amazing. cleve jones and the story of the _ and that amazing. cleve jones and the story of the aids - and the story of the aids memorial quilt. now to 1988, and the moment lesbian activists invaded a bbc tv studio live on air. they were protesting against the

introduction of new uk laws to limit lgbt rights. this is one of the demonstrators. six. of the demonstrators. six o'clock news _ of the demonstrators. s o'clock news from the bbc news. in the house of lords... about taken — in the house of lords... about taken place now... in the house of lords... about i taken place now. . ._ it taken place now... shouting. it is about right _ taken place now... shouting. it is about right for _ taken place now... shouting. it is about right for lesbian - taken place now... shouting. it is about right for lesbian and - britain was quite a hostile environment in the 1980s for the lgbt community. about 75% of people when survey is that it was mostly or always wrong to be gay. embley by walking down the street, if somebody identified you as lesbian or gay, identified you as lesbian or 93)’, w“ identified you as lesbian or gay, you could be getting abuse or violently attacked. this catalyst moment where a book was published about a girl who lived with her two dads, and it kicked off a moral panic in parliament. section 28, and local authorities from

promoting homosexuality. the second part of it banned the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality in schools. basically it meant closing down of services. young people became very vulnerable and schools couldn't protect people from being bullied. all crimes all over the country began to protest. all over the country began to rotest. . ~ . ., , ., protest. ian mckellen was at the head of— protest. ian mckellen was at the head of a _ protest. ian mckellen was at the head of a procession - protest. ian mckellen was at l the head of a procession which stretched nearly two miles. aha, stretched nearly two miles. group of lesbians chained themselves to buckingham palace gates dressed as suffragettes. a group of lesbians abseil into the house of lords. all the campaigning prior to the enactment, can i get them to understand what the impact was on our community and children. really, the only thing left was to actually be the news by being on the news. we met outside the television centre, we managed to get through the security, the whole thing was timing, really. and as soon as

the lights changed, we barged into the studio. the whole place went mad, i got smacked to the ground by i don't know how many people for of our members managed to handcuff himself to a camera and the other one got behind the news desk where she was quite violently subdued by nicholas witchell, who has since apologised. they carried on trying to read the news. i do apologise — trying to read the news. i do apologise if— trying to read the news. i do apologise if you _ trying to read the news. i do apologise if you are - trying to read the news. i do apologise if you are hearing quite — apologise if you are hearing quite a _ apologise if you are hearing quite a lot of noise in the studio— quite a lot of noise in the studio at— quite a lot of noise in the studio at the moment. i am afraid — studio at the moment. i am afraid we _ studio at the moment. i am afraid we have rather been invaded _ afraid we have rather been invaded. in afraid we have rather been invaded. afraid we have rather been invaded-— afraid we have rather been invaded. ., ., invaded. in the footage, it all not invaded. in the footage, it all got rather — invaded. in the footage, it all got rather muffled _ invaded. in the footage, it all got rather muffled and - invaded. in the footage, it all got rather muffled and you i invaded. in the footage, it all. got rather muffled and you can hear little muffled shouts of, "stop! " eventually we were all arrested. we did get huge media coverage. the headlines were all about the lesbians. over time and yonder that, i have heard quite a lot of people what it meant to them as young lgbt people in their own home,

maybe not even out, and just felt empowered by it. so here we are at the television centre again 30 years later. clearly things are a lot better than they were in the 1980s, but it has completely changed and there are very dangerous pockets of homophobia —— has not changed. the fact we are here today means the story has been remembered. the here today means the story has been remembered.— been remembered. the lesbian -rotest been remembered. the lesbian protest at the _ been remembered. the lesbian protest at the bbc. _ been remembered. the lesbian protest at the bbc. our- been remembered. the lesbian protest at the bbc. our next i protest at the bbc. our next film is about the struggle for safety and acceptance in uganda. in 2009, ugandan mps tried to make acts of homosexuality punishable by imprisonment and even death. homophobia was rife with tabloid papers printing the names and addresses of gay people. many feared for their lives, including the activist victor macarthur. uganda already has a law that can be

used as homosexuality but the new backbench bill goes much further. the penalty for gay sex could be death. i further. the penalty for gay sex could be death.- further. the penalty for gay sex could be death. i got death threats, sex could be death. i got death threats. my — sex could be death. i got death threats, my children _ sex could be death. i got death threats, my children got - sex could be death. i got death threats, my children got death | threats, my children got death threats. the story of lgbt activism sometimes, but i felt that we are notjust going to be buried like this. in a country _ be buried like this. in a country where - be buried like this. in a country where biblical i be buried like this. in a country where biblical values are deeply ingrained, homosexuality is generally deployed. mr; homosexuality is generally deployed-— homosexuality is generally delo ed. g ., , , deployed. my family was very conservative _ deployed. my family was very conservative family, - deployed. my family was very conservative family, staunch l conservative family, staunch catholic family. me being the first born girl then, i had issues with gender identity. i transgressed unintentionally, tra nsgressed unintentionally, by the transgressed unintentionally, by the time i started being aware of my existence. they bought me a very nice yellow dress and i went and changed, i put football shorts, i felt more comfortable that way. and then when i came out, my father was in the hallway and he gave

me a slap. he said, go back and dress up appropriately. and then i put on that yellow dress and i coiled inside, ifelt like i was different now, i wasn't proud anymore, i wasn't happy anymore. ifought wasn't proud anymore, i wasn't happy anymore. i fought against my sexual orientation for so many years. i wasn't my own because my family didn't want anything to do with me at that point, and eventually, i was homeless. so i felt that i needed to hear from this thing thatis needed to hear from this thing that is causing me suffering. and so i took myself to churches.— and so i took myself to churches. . , , , churches. re'ects suddenly! re'ect churches. rejects suddenly! reject perversion! - churches. rejects suddenly! reject perversion! they - churches. rejects suddenly! | reject perversion! they were ra in: reject perversion! they were praying for — reject perversion! they were praying for me- _ reject perversion! they were praying for me. and - reject perversion! they were praying for me. and then - reject perversion! they were praying for me. and then as | praying for me. and then as they were praying, i started stripping me off, it was my clothes making me a man, so they stripped me naked. and they stripped me naked. and they started to lay their hands on me, and these are boys and their pastor, they laid hands

in particular my genital area because they say that was the centre of it all. and that is when i felt that it is torture. but i said, this is who i am. inside me, ifelt it was ok but i said, this is who i am. inside me, i felt it was ok to be the way that i was, and that god was not mad at me. last ear, god was not mad at me. last year. under _ god was not mad at me. last year, under the _ god was not mad at me. last year, under the headline - year, under the headline hanging them, i tabloid magazine published the names and addresses of 100 gay men and addresses of 100 gay men and lesbians. the and addresses of 100 gay men and lesbians.— and lesbians. the effects of that publication _ and lesbians. the effects of that publication were - and lesbians. the effects of| that publication were major. they were horrible. a lot of people during that period lost jobs, were evicted from homes, killed. shouting lawyers and activists have

challenged the act on the grounds that it violated human rights. mr; grounds that it violated human riahts. y . ~' ., grounds that it violated human riahts. g . ,, ., rights. my children know me as daddy and _ rights. my children know me as daddy and they _ rights. my children know me as daddy and they called - rights. my children know me as daddy and they called me - rights. my children know me as i daddy and they called me daddy. they don't say, hey, trans— daddy, they call me daddy. it shouldn't matter. but it matters now that i am dead afire as a transgender man because that is the beginning of a conversation about what transgender is. not for me, because i have survived, but the people who are still struggling to come out or to even ask for what they need. so thenit even ask for what they need. so then it matters.— then it matters. victor and the fi . ht for then it matters. victor and the fight for lgbt— then it matters. victor and the fight for lgbt rights _ then it matters. victor and the fight for lgbt rights in - fight for lgbt rights in uganda. remember, you can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel, or you can catch up on all our films along with more than 2000 radio programmes in our online archive. just search for bbc witness history. now to the 19905 witness history. now to the 1990s and how a chance encounter with a trans— sex

worker inspired the serbian film director to make a groundbreaking film. they celebrated the lives of the lgbt community in belgrade and made a star out of the trams actor malinger. this piece does contain some outdated language which you might find offensive. now, the situation is so weird, and so upside down, we have a feeling that we are free to just show ourselves as we feel.

i was heading towards a railway station, a woman approached me and said i know you from the press, i am interested to spend some nice time with me? i said let me go, i have a train in ten minutes, and she said you are too old so you are afraid of women, and i said no, just let me go now, and then she pulled the week off and i saw it was a friend of mine, who i metjust ten years ago, and i was surprised. that is something that i never expected to see in belgrade, i thought

if a man went in women's clothes, he would be attacked and beaten up on the street. we are a patriarchal society. i was very satisfied that we have now the possibility to become friends with these people who have been suppressed, so we have been suppressed, so we have had the feeling that we are somehow helping some idea of free expression. the atmosphere was like in a stove full of anger but also

interest. , and then the audience burst, some people had been shouting, this is not belgrade, so we went on stage, 15 of us also, and then people started throwing eggs on ice and paper and started throwing eggs on ice and paperand said started throwing eggs on ice and paper and said stop, stop! iam and paper and said stop, stop! i am asking the audience are there any transvestite, gay and lesbian people, i said come here on the stage, and about 400 people came on the stage, so it was an explosion, an unexpected explosion! magda and her friends, unexpected explosion! magda and herfriends, the mostly boosted and encourage the people to come out.

and encourage the people to come out-— and encourage the people to come out. serbia's first lg tv film. come out. serbia's first lg tv film- our— come out. serbia's first lg tv film. our final _ come out. serbia's first lg tv film. our final witness - come out. serbia's first lg tv film. our final witness is - film. ourfinal witness is sarah wedell lewin steen, one of the founders of the first gay games, launched in california in 1982, the event attracted athletes from all over the world, but it was not plain sailing, and a row with united states olympic committee nearly scuppered the whole thing. nearly scuppered the whole thin. ~ ., . thing. when we marched in, we had all of— thing. when we marched in, we had all of these _ thing. when we marched in, we had all of these people - thing. when we marched in, we had all of these people on - thing. when we marched in, we had all of these people on both | had all of these people on both sides of the stadium clapping for us, we all cried, we all cried. .., ,., cried. may i welcome you, athletes — cried. may i welcome you, athletes and _ cried. may i welcome you, athletes and spectators i cried. may i welcome you, i athletes and spectators from all over — athletes and spectators from all over the world, to the first— all over the world, to the

first gay— all over the world, to the first gay games.- all over the world, to the first gay games. all over the world, to the first ga names. ., ~ ., , first gay games. tom medel was the founder _ first gay games. tom medel was the founder of _ first gay games. tom medel was the founder of the _ first gay games. tom medel was the founder of the gay _ first gay games. tom medel was the founder of the gay games, i the founder of the gay games, an athlete in the 1968 mexico olympic games. a lot of the men and women in the olympics at the time were in the closet, they did not want to come out. if they did, they got harassed in the locker rooms and what tom wanted was for everyone to be part of the games and at the time i was a bigwig in women's softball. when i met time, it was a kindred feeling, it's like love at first sight the way it is supposed to be. he had the same feminist values that i had, he didn't ask for my help, he said i needed my help. we didn't have very much money, so we hustled. we were trying to do as many fundraisers and raises much money as possible to put on the sports, to get the medals, and about six weeks before we were putting on the games, we were running like crazy and we got

hit from the lawsuit, objecting to the word olympics, saying they owned it. i never saw them owning the word, so they were suing us, but we found the police and pigs, firemen olympics, i didn't see them suing las vegas over the poker olympics. we had to get the word olympic up everything we had done, that was devastating to us, all i had time for was get your body into gear, come into the office and start crossing off everything. it is with greatjoy crossing off everything. it is with great joy that crossing off everything. it is with greatjoy that i am here to celebrate the opening of the first international gay, athletic gay olympics games. opening ceremonies for gay, i still get tears... we had no idea how many people were buying tickets and all of our athletes marching in, the balloons, everything, 40 years

later, it still runs my mind. we played yesterday,. had you feel about _ we played yesterday,. had you feel about the _ we played yesterday,. had you feel about the gay _ we played yesterday,. had you feel about the gay games - feel about the gay games overall? i feel about the gay games overall? ., �* overall? i love it, i've never felt so at — overall? i love it, i've never felt so at home, _ overall? i love it, i've never felt so at home, in - overall? i love it, i've never felt so at home, in a - overall? i love it, i've never felt so at home, in a long i felt so at home, in a long time. _ felt so at home, in a long time. it's— felt so at home, in a long time, it's nice to put your arm around — time, it's nice to put your arm around your— time, it's nice to put your arm around your girlfriend or whatever, it's really nice and comfortable.— comfortable. every sport facility was _ comfortable. every sport facility was full, - comfortable. every sport facility was full, packed, | comfortable. every sport - facility was full, packed, and every gay that went by, it got more packed. —— every day that went by. more packed. -- every day that went b . ~ . more packed. -- every day that wentb .~ . more packed. -- every day that wentb. ., went by. what was the most memorable _ went by. what was the most memorable moment? - went by. what was the most memorable moment? to - went by. what was the most | memorable moment? to feel went by. what was the most - memorable moment? to feelthat ou are memorable moment? to feelthat you are unified, _ memorable moment? to feelthat you are unified, everybody - memorable moment? to feelthat you are unified, everybody is - you are unified, everybody is for everybody else. we had about 365 athletes. it for everybody else. we had about 365 athletes.- about 365 athletes. it took away the _ about 365 athletes. it took away the stereotypes - about 365 athletes. it took away the stereotypes and l about 365 athletes. it took - away the stereotypes and made them athletes.— them athletes. tom was a wonderful _ them athletes. tom was a wonderful human - them athletes. tom was a wonderful human being i them athletes. tom was a . wonderful human being which them athletes. tom was a - wonderful human being which is why i asked him to have a child

with me, i wanted to have a child. we worked on getting pregnant right away and i got pregnant right away and i got pregnant right away and i got pregnant right away. when i look at my daughter, she will be 38, she happened because of the gay games. the be 38, she happened because of the gay games-— the gay games. the amazing family behind _ the gay games. the amazing family behind the _ the gay games. the amazing family behind the first - the gay games. the amazing family behind the first gay i family behind the first gay games, and that's all for this edition of witness history, here in the queer museum in britain, london. we will be back with more first—hand accounts from extraordinary moments from the past, but for now, me and the rest of the witness history team, goodbye.

hello. some subtle changes in our weather as we head through the weekend. it is going to start to feel just a little bit colder. it will often be cloudy. there will be some scattered showers. most of those showers will be falling as rain. but into the start of the new week, the changes become more dramatic. it will certainly feel much colder, particularly given the strength of the wind, and there'll be some snow and ice to contend with in places. �*s at the moment, though, the really cold air is quite a long way away to the north of us, we do have this cold front sinking into the picture on saturday that will bring a band of cloud and some showers in north—east scotland and then slumping onto the east coast of england. even further west, i think there'll be quite large amounts of cloud. best chance of any sunshine across parts of western scotland, north—west england, maybe parts of wales as well. temperatures 6—9 degrees,

about where they have been really through the last few days. now, as we go through saturday night, again, we keep large areas of cloud, some showers, particularly in the north of scotland. if you do see clear spells for any length of time, you could just about get a touch of frost. most places where it stays cloudy will stay just above freezing. and into sunday, another mostly cloudy day with limited sunshine, but a few more showers around this time. and some of those showers across high ground in the north of the uk could start to turn wintry, because it will start to feel just a little bit colder. but the changes really kick in as we move out of sunday and into monday. developing across the northern isles is this weather front. now, it'll push its way southwards. initially it will bring some rain, but on the back edge that is likely to turn to sleet and snow. and behind it, we open the door to significantly colder air, it will be cold enough for snow showers in the north of scotland. eventually some snowfall getting down into parts of northern england. and then by tuesday, that weather front continues to journey southwards, clearing most areas through the day. behind it, some sunny spells, but some showers, and it certainly

will be cold enough for those showers to fall as snow. and those are the temperatures on the thermometer, but factor in a brisk wind, particularly in northern and eastern areas. this is what it will feel like. it will feel like —4 celsius at best there in aberdeen. there are already met office yellow warnings in force for snow and ice in parts of northern and eastern scotland, north—east england, but there could be some wintry weather in other parts of the uk as well.

welcome to bbc news. i'm monika plaha. our top stories: the head of russia's wagner group says its forces now surround most of bakhmut, the eastern ukrainian city that's been the focus of extensive fighting. we have practically surrounded the city. only one root out remains. now we are increasingly seeing old people and children. the white house confirms president biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest during a routine health screening. at least 17 people have been killed and dozens injured after a huge fire broke out in fuel storage depo in the indonesian capital. translation: iwasn't sure what happened. i people were running away