The headlines russia is facing demands for a full investigation into what happened to the outspoken kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The German Government is saying it has unequivocal proof he was poisoned with a novichok nerve agent the same substance used in the attack on the skripals in salisbury in 2018. 1a people have gone on trial in paris charged with helping the gunmen who attacked the french satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a jewish supermarket five years ago. Over a three day period, three men killed 17 people before being shot dead by police. An International Team of scientists has detected a huge gravitational shockwave caused, they believe, by the merging of two black holes. The discovery challenges current theories of physics, raising the possibility that black holes merge often across the vastness of space. The number of people under 25 who are on universal credit has doubled since march. The government has now launched a scheme called kickstart, with a £2 billion fund to help create hundreds of thousands of work placements for those aged 16 to 2a who are at risk of long term unemployment. Ministers are urging firms to sign up straight away. Our Business Editor simonjack has more details. A generation of Young Workers whose prospects have been hit hardest by the biggest economic shock in nearly a century. Their futures are now looking less bright. Lois, pictured here, was due to start a job at a holiday camp that role no longer exists. She hopes the kickstarter scheme can help. Loads of people are being made redundant and especially as a college leaver, jobs are so hard to come by at the moment. As a young person that has just finished college, its an amazing opportunity for me to get out there, build up skills on my cv and hopefully maybe get a job out of it, and sort of, you know, keep in the working way
and still earn some money from it. The scheme is available to under 25 who are claiming universal credit. The government will pay National Minimum wage for up to 25 hours a week for six months, plus Employers National Insurance contributions. There are also grants of £1,500 available to employers to cover their set up costs. The £2 billion the treasury has earmarked for the scheme, on paper could provide 300,000 six month placements. Thats three times the size of a similar scheme launched after the financial crisis, but those numbers are dwarfed by the tens of billions the government has spent supporting furloughed workers, and its unrealistic to expect this scheme to offset the flood of job losses, as that scheme is withdrawn at the end of october. There are fears Older Workers will be let go to be replaced by essentially free youngsters, but the government says the scheme is designed to prevent that kind of abuse. John nollett runs an Engineering Firm in warwickshire. Hes keen that firms who can take fewer than 30 people will have to join forces with others, which means it will take time to get people into work. The details have been sketchy. We knew the scheme was there, we wanted to use the scheme, were keen to use the scheme. We now have the details today, which is great, but we now find we have to use an intermediary, because we only want a few people, we dont want 30, so theres a lot more to go yet, before we can actually start employing these people. So, i believe weve got to wait till about november. Meanwhile, the Industries Hit hardest, leisure, retail, hospitality, are the ones laying off the highest proportion of Young Workers. The government hopes this scheme will help prevent youth unemployment from turning into lifelong disadvantage. Now on bbc news, coronavirus your stories. Philippa thomas hears
from people about how covid 19 has changed their lives. Welcome to coronavirus your stories, a programme about how covid 19 is changing lives around the world. Im Philippa Thomas and this week we are looking at education where there has been enormous upheaval over the last six months as country after country went into lockdown, millions of schools closed their doors. Those that were able to, took their teaching online. Now, in many places, we are in back to School Season and this week we will hear stories about how the pandemic has already transformed teaching and what it feels like when going back to the classroom is not an easy option. Later we will speak to an american interning here in the uk who is campaigning for students
like herself who are immunocompromised and so most at risk from returning to campus. First, two teachers with very different stories about how they have adapted during the pandemic. Peter tabichi is a Science Teacher in remote rural kenya who took home the Varkey Foundation global teacher prize last year. Jamie frost is a london maths teacher who is a finalist for that award this year. Jamie, if i can come to you first. Here in the uk, covid has meant remote teaching. How has that been for you . We have been able to continue lessons to a degree of normalcy, obviously without that face to face interaction but we have done our best to maintain the usual routine of a school day so the lessons are still at the normal time. We have been encouraged to have as many live meetings as possible and i do many things i would normally do in a lesson, such as teaching from powerpoints, i can still use those, ijust
annotate it with a virtual pen and they can see that. I can still speak to students and target them for questioning. It has been very different but its been interesting how it has in some ways become a new norm, we have been doing it for so long that it just now seems relatively normal. Peter, i think your story is different. How has the coronavirus changed the way you teach . I can say that it has had a very negative impact. As a teacher we are used to going to class and teaching face to face but that is not happening now and i consider that many educators agree with me that teaching is very important. I can say that teaching science is not very easy at the moment because you need the practical aspect, you need to have students around with you, putting them into groups and right now that is not possible. That is one of the challenges i experience. There are a number of things i do to make sure some things are done but it is not possible to achieve that. Not having the routine of school, has impacted my students in many ways. For example, they greatly miss theirfriends, because every day they were interacting with them but right now they are not interacting with them and then the other thing is that they are unable to have access to things such as counselling and even free meals which they used to enjoy at school. Jamie, there is clearly a different story between the two schools but the fact that pupils, that all of us are social beings, that must make a difference for the students that you teach as well. Indeed. I have some of the same problems as peter at my school. So the fact that we do not have face to face interaction in terms of pastoral support for students, it makes it much more difficult without being able to see them face to face. For example i have been trying to organise a weekly form time
to check on student welfare and such and catch up with them and what they have been doing for the week. But it has been more difficult and when these students cannot see each other because they have to isolate in their own houses and i know they communicate via social media apps and such in a similar way they would when they actually come to school anyway but it is just not the same. And i think they would be incredibly glad when they can come back to school and have normal interaction with each other. I want to ask you more about how you teach. Jamie, even before the pandemic you were something of a wiz with virtual teaching. Tell us about that. I run a platform called drfrostmaths, and its used by several thousand schools. Note that all these will eventually have a worked example video. And it has come into play quite
a lot during the pandemic because the Certain Software that ive developed that helps in terms of remote teaching. There are things like Teaching Resources and a number of teachers have used my slides and such for their lessons. Another way you can think about it is area. Some have been making youtube videos where they have been teaching my slides which has been great and there is also for example, like, a virtual white board that i have used an awful lot during my teaching. That allows me to connect with students whiteboards so i can see what they are writing on their boards and i can put exam questions and stuff and i have been trying to adapt my Technology Since the lockdown so i can support students better. For example, one thing i was doing before lockdown which worked effectively was setting a gcse paper during the lesson via the platform and i can sit at my computer and i can see live their answers coming in so i can identify what questions students have misconceptions with and you can imagine how helpful that has been during the lockdown. I have adapted that further so you can see live as it comes in without me having to refresh. In that way i can still get an assessment for learning without actually seeing the students visually. Peter, you are in a very rural area of kenya and getting online is not that easy for students. Tell me about the way you are trying to use technology. The students dont have access to computers, even in my own school we do not have those facilities. So what i do right now is i support the idea that learning is a continuous process. Even if the students are not in school, learning should still take place and it is not limited to the four walls of the classroom. I give them affordable mobile phones because that is what they can afford right now and at the same time i give them weekly internet bundles because they have to be connected. Without that you cannot connect with them. And at the same time, a part from just leaving them phones and internet bundles, i collaborate with other teachers to give them continuous online mentorship, because that is very important for them to know how to use the mobile phones, which are the websites to use, what my colleague from the uk has said, he has a very nice website which they can use off line because most of the time we dont have internet around here. And the other thing that i do as part of this programme is we also help parents and guardians with teaching tips because, you know, even my own father. Most of the things i learned i learned from my parents. My father was a teacher. Learning can take place at home, not just at school. So we help parents and guardians with teaching tips
so they can also help their children learn about practical aspects and life skills while they are at home. Jamie, do you have any reflection on what we heard from peter . Its a very holistic approach to education. My school is in a lucky situation compared to peters in terms of the provision we have and availability of internet and such. And i think it is how we can best use the resources we have to support students in that completely holistic way, pastorally academically and spiritually. Jamie, one report in the uk this week that came out says that what the pandemic has done is shown that those who are better off have done better from education. More resources at school and at home et cetera. Those who are socially and economically worse off have really struggled and may have lost as much as three months of education. I suppose that is a worry for the entire teaching community. Absolutely. And i think that is why it is so imperative that we make sure and i think it is the governments responsibility here, to ensure that all students have some sort of device with reliable internet so they can access education. Technology has power to transform education but we must make sure every student has appropriate access. Peter, i would like to know more about what has been happening to your students. How would you say the pandemic has affected your community . The community has been affected and everyone has been affected. We used to go to school and we had that routine. You are going to wake up, you teach, you interact with students and then with other teachers in the staffroom. But right now that is not happening. I consider it has had a psychosocial effect on us, on the students and the community. Currently many students are staying at home with their parents and i consider the majority are doing
nothing to keep busy and active. Young people like being active and interacting with others. And this has led to boredom and i am sorry to say we have seen cases whereby this has resulted in things like drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, area marriage and as teachers we have some fears that some students may not be able to report back to schools when the schools reopen and we hope that will happen soon. Students also used to enjoy free meals being offered but that is not happening right now because most of our students come from very poor homes and there is a serious food shortage. So i think some parents are trying to teach, trying to teach their children and this is the time when they appreciate
the importance of a teacher. They now see the great work that the teachers are doing. But i consider this, you know, later at the end of the term and that is why i am so happy with the initiative being taken by the government and the minister of education and other education stakeholders to ensure that they come up with a solution for ensuring that even when the schools reopen that the students are safe and teachers are safe and learning continues. 0ne silver lining, i say this as a parent, is that parents really appreciate teachers, having seen much more of what they do. Jamie, a final thought for you. Do you think education really has changed forever . I think certain practices will change, as we come back into teaching obviously schools have to be incredibly reliant on technology in the uk and already a staff meeting
this morning, because this is my first day of school, and we are discussing how we are going to use that technology more, even though we are in school now. Certain things like, parents evenings, we are going to do online now and certain as pects of our lesson. We are still using the same technology we were using a few months ago and there will be certain things that will be back to normal. My teaching is not going to change drastically but certainly think i will have a greater reliance on technology as we come back to normal teaching. Peter tabichi in kenyas rift valley and jamie frost here in london. Two of the many ingenious and inspiring teachers around the world, determined not to let the virus stop them. You are watching coronavirus your stories. A programme about how covid i9 is changing so many lives around the world. Im Philippa Thomas and this week we are looking at education. It is back to School Season for so many students,
but what if you want to keep studying online because you are clinically vulnerable, you fear that going back to school could actually damage your health . 19 year old Cameron Lynch is just finishing an internship here in london with disability rights uk. She is due to continue her education back home in virginia in the United States but worries that after month of online learning, physically going back to school could pose a serious risk to her health. When she spoke up about this, she realised she is not alone. Cameron has been telling me her story. I have type i diabetes, a form of muscular dystrophy, and coeliacs disease, so returning to campus for the fall semester is dangerous for my health, and id believe that im not necessarily given the same opportunities as my able bodied peers in order to take the same classes and have the same graduation track as i am
supposed to, so i have been trying to make sure that i still get the same education and opportunities as my other peers and to make sure that i am not falling behind in my work and trying to do the same for other students with disabilities as well. Tell us about the letter that you wrote, and you put it on social media, and what happened . Injune i wrote a letter talking to my college age peers about how their use of social Media Broadcasting that they didnt care about the isolation or the pandemic and were continuing living their lives was impacting my Mental Health because i was still in complete isolation, still hadnt seen anyone for couple of months, so it was very hurtful to me to watch my friends go about their lives. And i didnt expect this to happen but i had maybe a0
other College Students with disabilities or with autoimmune conditions reach out to me, telling me how much my letter meant to them and how they felt less alone. So i then turned this into a support group for immunocompromised College Students to have people to talk to and to have someone who understands their frustrations. Can you give us an idea of the range of disabilities or vulnerabilities that the students you are talking to are dealing with . Theres 50 of us in the group, we have a very wide range of conditions. We have some students who are in wheelchairs, theres a lot of students with diabetes, similar to myself, but we kind of have a lot of autoimmune conditions. And right now, this week, in many countries theres a lot of talk about going back to school and its seen as a physical thing. Moving back onto schools, campuses, but for you, do you feel that the conversation simply overlooks you . Yes. I would say so. I think there are very few schools that have even acknowledged their immunocompromised students or even acknowledged the presence of us and acknowledging that this is a very difficult time for us. We have been in complete isolation for five months now, it is not an option for us to go back to school. I think there is a lot of narrative about choosing to go back or not choosing. If i could choose, i would be back on campus at my school in a heartbeat, but i dont have that decision, that was already made for me by my health and by my doctors, so i am staying at home, and my biggest concern moving forward is, im worried that students who are still at home are getting left out of the conversation and out of communities, so i am trying to increase awareness for the Mental Health of students with disabilities, because i know that a lot of them are feeling completely isolated and completely alone so how can we make sure they still feel cared for and still feel like
universities or colleges still know who they are . And what, cameron, would make enough of a difference . What specifically are you asking for . Is that for all classes to be also Available Online . Yes. I think there has been confusion of what i am asking for. I am not saying that they want all classes to only be Available Online, im just asking that we have the same opportunities to take classes that able bodied students have. So if the class is only offered in person, we obviously cant take that class, so i am just asking for them to consider us, and consider us in their decision about classes and having them available to us, even if we are not able on campus, because we know they can do it. Its not beyond their jurisdiction, they did it in the spring when they shut down campus, and they have continued to show that if a student were to get covid i9 they can continue
their Classes Online from quarantine, so why cant we do that from the beginning . Student years are often meant to be the best years of your life, arent they . Oh yes. Yes, and i think there is a rhetoric around college as, these are the best four years of your lives, these are the best years, you will never have the same life again, and i think its very damaging for Mental Health of students who arent able to live that life, and to begin with, disabled students dont get the same kind of College Experience that normal College Students get, so this rhetoric of, this is the best time youll ever have, these are the best days of your lives, thats not necessarily true for everyone. We have to fight to even go to college in the first place, so it is hard to hear that i will never be as happy
as i am in these four years when im still sitting at home, trying to maintain a sense of healthiness and trying to just take my classes and do my internship. Does it expose that, and provide that opportunity you are great example of a student with disabilities, clinically vulnerable, speaking up and getting others to hear you. Yes. I think it definitely, as much as this pandemic has been stressful and has been kind of a very terrible time to have disabilities, it has given me a community. I have met so many students who also have disabilities who kind of felt alone before and having to fight for my rights at school and having to do all of this, and i have been able to help other students realise that they are not alone
and that they have a sense of community still, even if it is a virtual sense, and theyve already talked about, one day after all of this is over, meeting up and finding a way to connect in person, so i think it has definitely given me a community. It is also given me a voice and a passion. Through this project, i started an internship at disability rights uk, which has also given me a great platform to continue to work for change here in the uk, and im able to kind of be a voice for young people with disabilities because we are often forgotten about in the media and i think it is really important to bring awareness that people like me still exist. Not all young adults are out partying with their friends, there are still people like me who are still scared and still needing to take it very seriously. What do you say to young
adults in that situation . Because there will be a lot of people who are watching who are alone and may be struggling on the way that you describe. I would say that, you are not alone. There are a lot of people out there who are still having to take it seriously and still in your position, and know that eventually this will be over and you will be strongerfor it, and people, young people with disabilities, we are fighters. We know the meaning of life and we know, from a younger age, kind of, what it takes to survive. Which sounds dramatic but, so we have a greater sense of empathy, i would say. So use that to your advantage, how can you speak up for what you believe in and speak up for what you need, because a lot of times, we have
to fight for everything. So how can we make it so that the people who are younger than us wont have to fight as much or as hard. Cameron lynch on the dilemma for clinically vulnerable students like her who want to pursue their learning without damaging their health. Im Philippa Thomas. Thank you for watching this weeks coronavirus your stories. Hello. It will be a much milder end to the night, that is because weve picked up atlantic weather fronts as more cloud around. And although that is clearing away for many, we will still have quite a cool and brisk breeze with showers coming in on that atlantic wind. These are the weather fronts ive talked about, some heavy, thundery rain for a time through the night. This cold weather front is bringing some more persistent rain southwards and to the south of that it is very misty. Low cloud is shrouding the hills and headlands in fog, but it was three or four
degrees on wednesday morning in some areas in suffolk. So it will be a milder start, but a grey one for some. Already, though, the brighter skies are with us for scotland, Northern Ireland, northern england, filtering through wales in the morning, into the midlands in the afternoon, but the more appreciable rain could linger into the second part of the afternoon further south and the cloud towards evening as well. But we will still see temperatures into the high teens in the low 20s, and obviously with some sunshine in North Eastern areas of both scotland and north east england, feeling pleasant enough, but there will be a near Gale Force Wind in the far north west of scotland, most will have a breezier day than wednesday. That breeze will blow the cloud in the rain away from the south on friday, continue to push showers into the north and west but actually, through into friday morning it will be chillier to start, so much milder this morning but a chilly one again on friday morning. There is some uncertainty on the details for friday regarding the rain. Still sunny spells and showers, possibly more of them in the north on friday, but this area of rain may push in across southern parts of england and wales,
through the second half or during through the day and its just uncertain as to how much we are going to get. So well firm up on details with time. As that then clears away the weekend is set up with low pressure to the north and a brisk north westerly wind. High pressure starting to build into the south west. But again, its a chilly direction so if anything, temperatures will be suppressed a little bit more this weekend, just the mid to high teens for most, and showers continuing, possibly something a little wetter later in the day in Northern Ireland but at this stage, the devil is in the details but if that does develop that could push further southwards during saturday night and into sunday, bringing more showers across england and wales potentially, by that stage. Either side of that, some drier brighter weather, still quite cool in that brisk north westerly wind, high still into the high teens. As ever, theres more online including the warnings. This is bbc news welcome if youre watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. Im mike embley. Our top stories demands for moscow to explain what happened to Alexei Navalny as german doctors say he was poisoned with a nerve agent. This is directly leading to the russians. They are the only ones who have ever made this stuff, they are the only ones who have been known to use it before. 14 go on trial in france over the deadly attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, five years ago. What happens when two black holes collide . Scientists may have found the answer, and its challenging the laws of physics