in response to the new concerns. india launches its first observation mission to the sun, just days after the country made history by becoming the first to land near the moon's south pole. the studies will help scientists understand solar activity. now on bbc news: africa eye: sickle cell: the enemy within.

1000 people are born every day in africa with sickle cell. i have sickle cell disease. up to 90% of us died before the age of five. our government do little to help us. and i'm advocating to those in power to change that. even in our own communities, people with sickle cell are often treated like an outcast because of misconception and stigma surrounding the disease.

iam i am putting my life on the line to fight this deadly disease. and to dispel the myths that surround it. sickle cell is not witchcraft, it is not. it is something that we can solve.

the abnormal red blood cells in my body affect my oxygen levels. one of the biggest problems with sickle cell is oxygen. like, if you don't have sufficient oxygen so you can only push your body via for a good number of days before you need to really rest. i'd been raising awareness about the devastating impact of sickle cell patients and families for years. i tried to help my fellow survivors. and advocate to the authorities to act. it is also a way for the government, the ministry

to see that these people are a forgotten demographic in this country and the need to set up help and support infrastructure to be able to manage it.— able to manage it. when i was ounuer able to manage it. when i was younger i _ able to manage it. when i was younger i never _ able to manage it. when i was younger i never knew - able to manage it. when i was younger i never knew what - able to manage it. when i was i younger i never knew what sickle cell was. ijust knew sometimes my sisters would just wake up in pain at night. sisters would “ust wake up in pain at niuht. ., ., , sisters would “ust wake up in pain at niiht, ., ., , at night. throughout my battle with sickle cell, at night. throughout my battle with sickle cell. my _ at night. throughout my battle with sickle cell, my brother— at night. throughout my battle with sickle cell, my brother paul - at night. throughout my battle with sickle cell, my brother paul has - sickle cell, my brother paul has always been my rock. now he is at my side again as i take on my biggest challenge yet. with my brother's help i plan to fight through maleness and run the

nairobi half marathon. when it comes to sickle cell they are encouraged against getting tired. i also knew that when she bites into something she doesn't let go. the marathon idea came — came into my mind when i was like, "i need to do something. "i need to do something to —

to physically show that i can "— i can do it, like, someone with sickle cell "can do it." my doctor has cautioned against running the marathon — it could trigger a crisis and bring on severe complications — but i'm determined to do it. notjust for me. 80 million of us suffer with this disease across africa. we have to believe. the other day, i was telling one of my sickle cell advocates in nigeria that i am doing the marathon and she was like, she was like — she was very, very upset. she was like, "no! "no! "sickle cell patients have this thing of saying "they can do this. "you cannot do a marathon. "lea, please! "you cannot." so, of course i can. of course i can. and i will, so... yeah, i want to do that. not to show her because yes, i have a chip on my shoulder, but i want to live a normal life.

i want to do these things that i want to do. i want to see where my body can — can — can stretch to, yeah? without snapping, of course. for my training, i'm going back to my home town, taveta. it's also the place where i think i can make the biggest difference for thousands of people living with the disease. in taveta, almost a quarter of the population have the sickle cell gene.

but those living with the disease receive very little support. ijoin a local group as they prepare to march on a nearby hospital and demand better services for sickle cell patients. we go to the local hospital to protest.

albert is the leader of this group. like so many other parents of children with sickle cell, he has suffered from the stigma and poverty that surrounds the disease, but he is determined to find a solution. singing.

albert was one of the first people i met and he was one of the few who spoke to me. like, the passion — like, this was one of the parents that i saw who did not feel the shame or the stigma of sickle cell. all sing.

i know how destructive the myths surrounding sickle cell can be, especially in rural areas. a lot of communities, we attribute sickle cell to ancestral curses, witchcraft. this is — ok, this is a situation for any unknown thing in the community. people form their own stories around them. so, i had to go and tell people that sickle cell is — is not witchcraft. it's not — it's not

ancestral curses. it's something that we can solve. but slowly, things are beginning to change. i organised a meeting, hoping the community might come out. i needn't have worried.

with the community behind us, albert and i decide to join forces and up our game.

albert and i scour the community, finding more and more people that have sickle cell in their families, many of them in dire need of medicine. i soon realised the true scale of the problem and how desperately the people in taveta need access to quality, affordable care. majority of people who earn less than $1 a day or $2 a day will not sacrifice the meal of their home to buy this expensive medicine. it's either the meal or the medicine.

i'm getting my community to help it needs. but it is tiring work and the marathon is only four weeks away. so this is the tavern. today, i was able to run, but i ran for approximately 20 seconds and had to stop, take a breath, relax, walk, then run again for 20 seconds and, yeah, it was... it showed how unfit i am — like, i am extremely unfit, but i am working on that. my family has always been there to help me through my most difficult times but they, too, have their challenges. all my sisters have sickle cell. my oldest sister magdalein succumbed to sickle cell.

the sister who i lost, i never met her. she died before i was born. death's on the way — sickle cell and just the way we live in our house, how it affected my parents, my sisters. i could say that that created,

like, a kind of environment. sickle cell has made me and my family stronger. but as i prepare for the marathon, the warnings from my doctor keep playing on my mind. the doctors disagree with me about my doing the marathon. essentially, i will be reducing the oxygen circulating to my body, the functionality of my organs and risking things like strokes or neuroretinopathy or, like, something just obstructs somewhere and it'lljust collapse, and, yeah... as the day approaches,

i'm excited and determined. emcee: ladies and gentlemen, wed like to welcome you to the 2018 nairobi standard chartered international marathon! i'm feeling good at the starting line. the adrenaline kicks in and i'm all set. cheering and applause. starter's gun fires. cheering and applause continues. after 2km, my body starts to give out. the sun is so hot, my breathing becomes laboured. ifeel like i'm chained to a boiler.

man, i have to keep going! my brother and friend both rush to support me. but i can't give up now. i have to reach the end. i tapped into my energy deep down. and somehow managed to push through. but as i crossed the finish line, my body simply gave out. i felt faint. ijust could not catch my breath. this was everything my

doctor and friends had warned me about. the end of the marathon was scary and could've cost me my life. but it showed me that once i set my mind on something, there's nothing on earth that can stop me. i head back to taveta with an renewed energy! i'm determined to get sickle cell patients and families the support they deserve. and i decide to confront our member of county assembly.

the governor promises his support and i speak to as many officials as i can, hoping to drum up support for a specialist centre. thank you so much, mama. finally, after years of advocating, a special clinic for sickle cell patients

in taveta is unveiled. all the battles, all the obstacles — finally, we are here. having a sickle cell clinic in taita—taveta is not easily done. having you of all come together for the entire country is not a force to joke with and... applause. having passed through this trouble with us, now fearless, these people here show me that we are not alone, i am not alone, we are not walking alone, we are creating this path. however long it will take, however hard the struggle, the lives lost — maybe some of us will not be here to see the future — but we must walk.

0k? thank you so much. applause. for me, this new clinic isjust the beginning of my mission to improve the lives of all sickle cell patients and families notjust in kenya, but all over africa. we're just getting started. this is not a marathon. it is — it is not the one who — who is the — who is the winner, who runs the farthest or who runs the fastest will win. this is a relay race. and me, i know that — i realise that this problem, i will not solve its entirety

in my lifetime and the person coming after me will be — you know, will have it easier and be able to take it even further. it's a beautiful morning in taveta, kenya, and we are doing 10km to holili with my mum — she's right ahead, she's a rummer — and, yes, so we'll be doing ten, ten, so 20km today, so i'm so excited, guys! look at that sunrise! so, it has been a rainy experience.

chuckles. we are all wet! wet! our brother here, it's like he was dipped in water! in a swimming pool! 0h! neverfelt so much rain in my life, and that was an amazing experience! and, yeah, so tired. we've just finally finished 10km. now, we are doing ten more.

hello there. one of the features of this year's summer season is temperatures didn't get that high. 32 celsius is the highest temperature of the year. more often than not, we seen temperatures into the mid 20s, and although we might not quite reach 32, in the week ahead, 29 or 30 degrees as possible. so, some of the warmest weather of the year so far. there has been plenty of sunshine today. this is mevagissey in cornwall earlier today. the early morning cloud melting away across most of the uk to reveal those sunny skies, and yes, it felt pleasantly warm, with temperatures pushing on into the mid 20s across parts

of south—east england and the midlands as well. overnight tonight, the majority stay dry, a few mist and fog patches possible, however, for northern scotland, outbreaks of rain will turn more persistent and heavier here through the night. temperatures on the mild side with 12 to 15 celsius, and looking at the picture over the next few days, we have this area of high pressure to thank for the fine, settled, sunny spell of weather this most of us will see. just a few weather fronts skirting around the periphery of that high. one of those where fronts will be with us for northern scotland on sunday, and here, the cloud will be thick enough for occasional patches of rain, but away from the far northwest scotland, it'll be another dry day, with any early morning mist and fog patches burtn out of the way. it will feel warm in that september sun, with temperatures in scotland and northern ireland of 20 to 23, warm enough. and 23 to 25 in england. and then we have more of that sunshine on the way as we look at the forecast deep into the new week. this is how monday looks. it is just the final for scotland where you might see a few passing patches of rain, with shetland, the hebrides, and highlands most likely to see that. temperatures likely to rise otherwise. 27 degrees around the london area, and it is set to get even hotter than that as we get all the middle

part of the week. just the outside chance of a shower towards the south—west on tuesday. that weather front for northern scotland should get a bit more squished on tuesday, so a better chance of staying dry and bright here as well. wherever you are, in the sunshine, it will feel pleasantly warm. that sunny, warm weather stays with us for most of the week as well. it's only really as we get into next weekend that we see a change, with the weather becoming cloudier, cooler, with the threat of some rain. but for most, a lovely spell of weather.

live from london. this is bbc news. concerns in england over the presence of lightweight concrete in schools and hospitals — labour calls for urgent checks on all public buildings more than 100 people have been injured in violent clashes between israeli security forces and eritrean asylum seekers in tel aviv. and we follow the london cabbies taking british war veterans to the netherlands as the country marks their liberation from nazi occupation in191m.

hello and welcome to bbc news. in the uk, labour is calling for an urgent audit of the concrete in public buildings, with some hospitals and courts known to contain the potential dangerous type known as raac. it comes as more than 150 schools in england and 35 in scotland were found to have the material, and so have had to completely or partially close. investigations in wales and northern ireland are contining. harry farley has the latest. emergency classrooms being set up in bingley, west yorkshire. more schools are expected to close next week. parents are facing an anxious wait to know whether it's safe for their children to return to the classroom.

in one school, i have ten rooms and a staff room i cannot use.