Supporting the community and our partners to keep things moving. 0k, assistant chief fire officer for norfolk fire and rescue, thank you very much. Lets stay with the weather and get an update. Hello there, just about all of us have seen some rain over the last 2a hours, but in places, particularly Eastern England, there has been an awful lot. You can see on the radar picture the way in which this rain continues throughout a good part of the afternoon. For east anglia, weve had reports of flooding, some very poor travelling conditions. That rain easing off over the coming hours and then we have a brief, dry interlude during tonight. But it doesnt last long. Through the small hours of monday, rain returns from the west. Winds will strengthen. A fairly cool night in eastern areas, but turning milder across the west as cloud and rain arrives. Also very brisk winds. We could see wind gusts of 60 70 mph for a time across the Western Isles of scotland. This wet weather pushes its way eastwards through the day, clearing to leave a mix of sunshine and showers for the northwest of the uk. Top temperatures between 11 and 16 degrees and as you head through the week head, it stays very unsettled. More rain at times. Some sunny spells and it will often be windy. Hello this is bbc news. The headlines. Police in hong kong charge protesters with batons and use tear gas once again a day after the government brought in emergency legislation banning the use of face masks. Coming infairly coming in fairly indiscriminately over the top. The police are over there. There is no violent confrontation but this is the first sign of them trying to disperse the crowd today. Us media report that a second whistleblower has come forward in the impeachment case against donald trump. A man is arrested and a Murder Investigation is launched after three men are found dead at a property in colchester in essex. Borisjohnson urges the eu to show that its willing to compromise with the uk on a brexit deal. The met office has issued an amber warning for heavy rain in the east of england, warning that disruption from flooding is likely. The british rock drummerginger baker who was part of the band cream with eric clapton has died at the age of 80. Its time now for witness history. Hello, and welcome to witness history from the Royal Academy in london. Today we will 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 wave a greeting to england, land of the free. They are between the ages of 5 and 17, the advance guard of the first 5,000 jewish and non aryan child refugees from germany to be provided with a temporary home here while arrangements are made for them to immigrate. Everybody always sort of said, arent you lucky, arent you lucky . And indeed, we were. Sometimes, when i have been asked my date of birth, i have said 1939. Because to me, my life started then. The kindertransport 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 a sort of secularjewish family. We had moved over quite a bit of europe, starting from dortmund, where my father was a judge, and had been fired in 1933, and finished up in vienna, which was my mothers home city. I think it was clear that jews in Central Europe faced catastrophe. There was an announcement that there had been a concession from the nazis to allow children up to the age of 16 to leave without their parents, so we knew something was afoot, and that we were going to england. I can remember the scene at the station of many, many families, mostly weeping, some sort of wailing. I believe most parents did not expect to see their children again. My mother didnt cry, nor did we. I was with my sister, who was ten years old. I clutched her, you know, because 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. Youve got a thousand children, tired and smelly after two and a half days, just absolutely exhausted. And there was no chatter, no noise. 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 the local paper of my sister and i withjust a few lines underneath, saying two sisters, well brought up, seeking a home, can you help . They couldnt speak a word of german, i couldnt speak a word of english. I was traumatised. They were nervous. It was pretty grim. My feelings were just of being disturbed, of being with strange people, not understanding what was going on. And 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. But, as i think happens quite often with 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 didnt seem like it at the time, but it is the most loving thing a parent can do. The former child refugees, dame Stephanie Shirley. The former child refugee, dame Stephanie Shirley. Next, we hear the story of the first latin american coup organised by the us government. President Jacobo Arbenz of guatemala had proposed land reforms that were seen as a threat to americas united fruit company. He was labelled a communist and the company wanted him removed. His son, also called jacobo, remembers when his fathers government was overthrown in 195a. 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 around the dangers that we face. But we soon realised how serious things were and the dangers that we faced. Guatemala was a very backward 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. Americas united fruit company, which had Enormous Economic power in guatemala at the time, didnt 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 to the idea of an invasion. Newsreel aircraft parachute meagre supplies to the airstrip as the rebel drive to oust the red tinged government bogs down. The shabbily clad, poorly trained troops overran this sleepy town. The basic plan of the cia was to promote an invasion from neighbouring honduras. They trained mercenaries in the us and in honduras, as well. But 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 president ial palace, and then his fellow officers got scared and told him, colonel, we can no longer support you. Newsreel carrying anticommunist banners, jubilant soldiers celebrate a victory following the two week revolt in guatemala. My father resigned as president onjune 27,1954. Translation i have taken a momentous decision for our country in the hope that it will halt the invasion and bring peace back to guatemala. Translation 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, but 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 weiss remembers it as one of the worst situations he had ever encountered. Newsreel sri lankas government says it is close to winning the islands civil war after 25 years. The fighting has been intense and bloody. In a 25 year civil war, there had been many, many terrible episodes. But 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 have been displaced 10 or 15 times. I 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 have 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 recruiting child soldiers. But the government has been using brutal methods of its own. The offensive opened with a very heavy bombardment breaking up the tamil tiger positions and rolling the civilian population back. The United Nations had fairly good access to these areas, but then in september 2008, the un was told no Uncertain Terms that it needed to move its International Offices out of the siege area. The purpose, of course, was to ensure that there were not independent witnesses to what was going to happen. This footage was released by pro tamil groups yesterday. It claims to show the carnage caused when a shell hit a clinic. 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, but the government says that is a lie, and these images arejust propaganda. On one particular day we had very graphic descriptions from the doctors who were managing the hospitals inside the siege 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 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 that even if a proportion of those images and reports getting out were true, the impact on civilians was clearly very high. This was a classic siege, of course. The tamil tigers 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 and the area became smaller until it was just a patch of a couple of hundred square metres. A symbolic moment. Sri lankan units meeting today and cutting the tamil tigers last hope of escape. We had been caught between these two opposing sides, enemies who were bitterly intent on destroying each other, and the un was stuck in the middle. It was an experience that never leaves you. That was the former United Nations official gordon weiss. You can watch witness history every month on the bbc news channel or catch up on all our films along with over a thousand 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 nepalfought and died for the British Armed forces. The soldiers are known as gurkhas and over 200,000 fought in the two world wars, but it only in 2009 that they were actually given the right to settle in the uk. Major Tikendra Dal Dewan remembers the Long Campaign for equal treatment for gurkhas. Outside parliament, the gurkhas and Joanna Lumley listened as the home secretary finally ran up the white flag. Government surrender on the gurkhas terms. All former gurkhas who retired before 1997 and 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 felt very happy. It was very good news. Exuberant with the news. But i would call it a half baked victory. I served in the brigade of gurkhas for 31 years. Nepal does allow recruitment in nepal itself to enlist gurkhas into the british army. Nowhere will you we see this arrangement in the whole world. The gurkha motto is kaatar hunnu bhanda marnu ramro. It means better to die than be a coward. The gurkhas have fought and died for the british army since 1814. More than a hundred thousand fought in the great war suffering 20,000 casualties. 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 are quartered, family life, barracks, it 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, while living in the uk, 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 is a disgrace theyve been in the British Forces now for almost 200 years. The bravest soldiers i have ever served with. The way the government has treated them is disgraceful. The newspapers got involved and 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 a quarter of a million signatures on the petition. Still the government resisted, untilJoanna Lumley took command. WhenJoanna Lumley got involved, she was instrumental. Her celebrity status helped the whole campaign. Her father served with my regiment. He was an officer in the 6th gurkha rifles. There was no gurkha present during the closed door meeting. We fought so hard for nine years and to be left out when the crucial policty was made was a big let down in itself. Our campaign was for equality, equal pensions and settlement. It could be any gurkha but to be in the meeting, to see and hear what was discussed. And 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 gurkhas across the world. The gurkha fight now carries on for equal pension and that is the last stand. This was a turning chapter in the gurkha history. 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, alexander tsipko. He helped to put the law in place. There used to be just one image of the soviet worker, and this was it young, efficient and, above all, sober. But now there is another. Half asleep and halfway to dipsomania. Translation a quarter of all workers would have a glass of vodka before 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 one 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 can 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. All russians love vodka. For years, ambulances have patrolled city streets, 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 between 2pm and 7pm. Many wine shops were closed and most importantly, only one bottle of vodka or sold per person. So if you had a birthday party, you had to show your passport to prove that it was really your birthday. Translation by about 1988, 1989 it became clear that the campaign was damaging. Translation 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 restraints on him in the work place. With the collapse of the ussr, there were no social structures anymore and alcoholic had Nothing Holding him back. Any more and alcoholic had Nothing Holding him back. Gorbachev did not understand it. That was alexander tskipko remembering Interesting Times with former president mikhail gorbachev. Thats all from us this month here at the Royal Academy. We will be back next month with more first hand accounts of extraordinary moments in history. For now from me and the rest of the witness history team, goodbye. Hello there, weve seen heavy rain pushing across just about all parts of the uk over the last 2a hours but Eastern England has had more than its fair share. This was how it looked for a weather watcher in norfolk a little earlier on and if i show you the radar picture you can see why it was so wet because the rain really did linger across these eastern areas. You can see the dark blue colours on our radar picture affecting parts of norfolk and suffolk for a good part of the afternoon. That rain easing through the next few hours and it will clear away as we get into the overnight period to leave a drier interlude. But only a brief one because behind me you can see our next weather system approaching from the west. Outbreaks of rain splashing in here. Brisk winds as well. A mild night in the west, but a rather cool one further east where we see, temporarily at least, some clear spells. But tomorrows weather will be dominated by this, a deep area of low pressure. Notice a lot of white lines here on the chart, a lot of isobars, some very windy weather to come across the far north west of the uk. We could well see gusts of 60 to may be 70 mph across the Western Isles. Windy elsewhere as well and as we go through the day, we see these outbreaks of rain tracking eastwards across the country. This rain could deliver 20 or 30 millimetres in places, not quite as much as weve seen over the last 2a hours, but the ground is so wet and that could cause some furtherflooding problems and certainly some very poor conditions out on the roads. Brightening up for scotland and northern ireland. A mix of sunshine and showers here through the afternoon. Temperatures of 11 to 16 degrees. And this area of low pressure stays with us as we head deeper into the week. The low, lumbering quite slowly eastwards just to the north of the british isles, feeding showers in our direction and from time to time, those showers willjoin together to give longer spells of rain. On tuesday, it looks likely the showers willjoin together into bands with some drier intervals in between. Top temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees still quite windy out there as well. Wednesday, a fairly typical sunshine and showers day. The showers perhaps focused across Western Areas but the winds will be Strong Enough to push them across to the east from time to time and those temperatures still in the range of 13 to 15, maybe 16 degrees. So to sum up for the week ahead it stays very unsettled. We will see some heavy downpours at times. Some sunny spells and it will often be windy. This is bbc news. Im lukwesa burak. The headlines at 5. 00 police in hong kong charge protestors with batons and use tear gas once again, a day after the government brought in emergency legislation banning the use of face masks. Over the top, the police are over there. It is no violent confrontation, but this is the first sign of trying to disperse the crowd today. Us media report that a second whistleblower has come forward in the impeachment case against donald trump. A man is arrested and a Murder Investigation is launched, after three men are found dead at a property in colchester in essex. Borisjohnson urges the eu to show that its willing to compromise with the uk on a brexit deal. The british rock drummer ginger baker