on members to resist any reference to phasing out fossilfuels. ukraine's first lady, olena zelenska, tells the bbc that ukrainians will be left to die if western countries don't continue their support for the country. now on bbc news, the travel show — costa rica: guarding the green revolution. i'm in a wild country! a place bursting with life and stunning landscapes. this is costa rica. over the past couple of decades, this small central american country has been transformed into the eco—tourism beacon of the world.

each turtle is unique, and they have a lot of things to teach me. she whistles. i'll be meeting the people trying to protect costa rica's remarkable treasures. 0h, cool. yeah, yeah, yeah. we want you enjoy the natural, and connect with birds. this is a beautiful rainforest right next to the ocean. it's very important to take care of this. and i'll be finding out what challenges costa rica's tourism boom poses for its green revolution. costa rica.

this is a country that i have wanted to visit for years, partly because i've never been to central america, but also i've heard so many good things about this place. rainforests, amazing beaches and colourful animals. but i'm starting myjourney somewhere a little bit different. the capital — sanjose. woman shouts. this is a proper capital city. it's loud, it's bustling, there's people everywhere. and it's pretty congested. buses are the cheapest way to get around here. excuse me. sorry. can we get on? over there? 0k, great. even if they're a little confusing to a first—timer. hola. thank you. hablas ingles? how many stops? cinco?

cinco, yeah? 0k. he sighs. made it. well, that was fun. a bit sticky and flustered, i'm heading to a more peaceful spot. for many visitors, sanjose is just an entry point to then go and see the rest of the country's incredible landscapes. but i'm about to meet a man who lives and breathes the city, and says there's plenty here worth sticking around for. roberto. hello. very nice to meet you. what a place this is. so calm. yeah! why do so many people leave the city, then? why are they not sticking around? yeah, there are many things that we need to improve. that congestion is sometimes a problem. then we need to create more places for the people. there is a project that is trying to create a new place where you can walk, where you can ride a bicycle and you can interact with nature. roberto guzman is a tour guide, and wants to share with me his favourite hidden gem of the city.

this is a very special place... just a stone's throw away from the noise and traffic is a community venture that hopes to open up much of sanjose�*s undiscovered green spaces. so we have to go this way? yeah. and so we're going to see some butterflies right now. wow. and then we are going to be walking more into the wild, to say something. oh, wow! 0k. and this is still sanjose, the same place...? this is san jose. ..that, earlier, we had so much traffic and busyness. exactly. i feel like within the space of two minutes, 50m walk, we've gone from complete urban sprawl to the nature, the landscape everyone raves about when they talk about costa rica. which way are we going? wow. and you see now, it looks like we are in a national park or something. this is the first time since i've been in this country that i can hear birds. they're not being drowned out

by the traffic or the noise. yes. exactly. like that. birds chirp. as part of a wider project to create new public spaces and a biological corridor through the city, 25km of forgotten rivers are being restored. so, qasa, this is the place... local groups like rio urbano want to reclaim these lost treasures. here, we have annette. hi. and annette is part of rio urbano. nice to meet you. lovely to meet you, annette. oh, thank you for having me. so, what are you up to? well, i'm cleaning the river. you want to help? yeah. yeah, sure. wow. i'll be honest, i didn't expect to be doing this... ..when they said, "come to costa rica." this simple filter helps trap pollution and rubbish, making it easier to clean the river. qasa laughs. nearly went then! 0h! oh, god. 0h. look at this.

0h. annette, how am i doing? you're going great. you need to aim for a little more. a little bit more. 0k. i need to get my hands dirty, don't i? that's the thing. roberto, what are you doing just standing there? come on! oh, yes. yeah, roberto, it seems like there's a proper ethos here for looking after this country, this environment. yes. i don't know if you have heard the expression in costa rica, pura vida. pura vida? yeah. no. what's that? well, pura vida in english is literally "pure life". pure life. every costa rican use that expression. it's also like a way of life. we try to be a greener country, but we need to do more in order to be greener. i love that phrase. pura vida! pura vida. roberto laughs. leaving the buzz of sanjose, i'm off to what's known as the amazon of central america, tortuguero national park, where eco—tourism is having a positive impact for the wildlife there.

wow. it is hot today! so that is the end of the line for the van, because where we're going, there aren't any more roads. right. all i know i've got to do now is find a captain called hermelo. there doesn't seem to be anyone here. uh... i'm sure i'll find him. hello? do you know where captain hermelo is? hermelo. 0h! hi! around 80% of visitors to costa rica come here for nature—related activities. hola, capitan. ready to go? woohoo—hoo! yes. ever since i've been a child, being on a boat hasjust been my absolute favourite.

i love it. it's just so chill, really relaxing. and what a way to take in costa rica! snaking their way through hundreds of miles of tropicaljungle, these waterways are the main entry point to the national park. here we are, the village of tortuguero, and it's mad! haven't seen anyone for, like, two hours coming up here. and this place now... sorry. tranquilo. tranquilo ..absolutely rocking. i love it! although this place is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, tens of thousands of people come

to visit every single year, and most for one reason — the sea turtles. tortuguero is a key nesting site for three types of sea turtles, including the endangered green turtle. one of the biggest threats to these animals comes from poachers targeting them and their eggs, which they lay on the beaches here. local conservation groups say that the turtle—spotting tours help keep a watchful eye over them. but they mainly nest at night, and so it's a late one for me. hello. hi. i'm looking for caitlin. it's me. hi. caitlin rankin, from the sea turtle conservancy, has been helping to protect these creatures since she was 12. so maybe you can help me with it? it's the calliper. what's this for? it's for taking measurements of the carapace — from the turtle. wow. yeah. are they that big?! they can be. caitlin laughs.

really?! yeah. wow! until one metre and...a half sometimes. oh. i hope we see some that big tonight. yeah. that'd be amazing. when we get to the beach, we'll have to turn off our lights as they can scare the turtles. but if we're lucky enough to find one, we can switch to our sensitive red lights. when you get there, how do you find the turtles in the dark? oh, we look for tracks first, and the tracks looks darker than the sand. we follow the tracks and we find the turtle. oh, can't wait. let's get going. look at this. yeah. it's beautiful, right? my eyes are already adjusting... i can actually see your face. i can see everything around me. but i can't see any tracks yet. can you show me? there's one. what? so this is... ..down track. so these turtle already left. but it's an up track.

so we have a turtle up there. aha! one is here somewhere? yeah. we just got an up track. right. we've got to find it. yeah. do you hear that? what's that noise. it's the turtle. that's the turtle? yeah. you can turn on your light now. it will be easier to see her. and we can get closer. oh, wow. what was that? she's throwing a lot of sand because she's camouflaging. just got a bit of sand in my eye. that's ok. so she just threw up sand with herfront flipper, like, really strong behind to hide the nest, the egg chamber. got ya. there's a lot. caitlin laughs. yeah. she's saying, "yeah, you got close enough." they laugh. so what kind of turtle is this one? well, it's a green sea turtle. yeah. they can weigh until 200kg. wow! yeah. tortuguero is the second most important in the world for green sea turtle.

so we have good numbers, but the whole population is going down. so how does your organisation help all these turtles? well, we take measurements of the female and we tag her. we know one turtle can lay until six or seven nests each season. we know they wait until two or three years to come and lay again. and we know all of that because of the tags. so can we measure it? sure. but i'm going to do it first and then you can try it. 0k. all right, let's go. we place this in the beginning. and we take it all the way to the end. 0h. is she done? i think...i think she leaving. she's done?! yeah. right. we need to get out of her way, don't we? yeah. you cannot be in front of her. you can't be in front? no. 0k. what a moment!

look at her! for me, this is really special. how do you feel, given the fact you've done this so much? does it still have that special feeling? yeah. i get, like, really impressed with turtles and how majestic they are and how beautiful they are. each turtle is unique, and they have a lot of things to show me and teach me. talk about your luck being in. incredible! i've been up all night, but, boy, was it worth it! saw sea turtles right up close and personal. and it was just absolutely amazing. and when you witness something like that, of course you understand why people here in costa rica care so much about their environment, and they have that connection with nature. it's been incredible.

costa rica has a wealth of biodiversity. around half a million species live here. this small country is famous for exotic mammals, reptiles... ..and creepy crawlies. but whilst eco—tourism can help with their conservation, there remain concerns over the current tourism boom. in addition to more and more tourists coming here every year, thousands of foreigners are also buying their own piece of paradise in costa rica. hi. busy, busy around here. seems to be a lot of people doing some work. construction. hi. gabs, right? gabs acevedo lives in a uvita,

on the pacific coast, and designs adventures for tourists. let's do this! he wants to show me just how quickly his area is changing. wow. there's a lot of construction going on here, isn't there? yeah. and you wouldn't imagine, but this is a beautiful rainforest right next to the ocean. they've been, you know, doing terraces and clearing the area. so how long has it taken for all these developments to spring up on this mountain? two years, three years. yeah. it's been just going faster and faster. because we have this development coming up here. that is going to be a very nice house one day. are they all of this size, all of this magnitude? you know, this is probably the most modest house right here. really?! i think so. who's buying that house? well, i can tell you who's not buying that house, because definitely not costa ricans. yeah. these houses, i've heard they go around $2.5 million.

so is this kind of becoming like an expat mountain? yeah, it's kind of incredible because around 90% are from the united states. and the scale of the development is huge. i've heard that the project's up to maybe 90 of these houses around there. 90 houses on this mountain? that's going to be a very busy mountain, you know? how do you feel seeing this? nature is very important to me, and i feel like the attraction of coming to costa rica is enjoying nature. but if you come to costa rica to live in your, you know, million—dollar house, and you won't have those macaws any more and you don't have the monkeys any more, then you might as welljust buy another house in malibu or wherever, you know? and gabs believes the impact on wildlife here is already underway. i was driving down when i saw a puma right here. so when was this? how long ago? this was maybe, er, two months ago.

not that long. yeah. this is exactly where it went. right here. right down here? right here. it's very important to have wildcats in this mountain... drilling. ..and the noise and the construction... we've got drilling going on right now. that's going to keep pumas away, isn't it? and the trucks and the lights. just listen to all this noise. it's like, this is normal here, you know? yeah. and there's another one. there's another one. you can see how the puma, most likely in wildlife, you know, is not going to come crossing this road any more. i think that'll be the last time i'll be able to see something like that, here in this area. that's so sad. towards the top of the mountain, gabs wants to show me why people are willing to pay millions for a place here. oh, yes, gabs. this is lovely, mate.

beautiful, right? what a view! i can see why people want to develop here. can we have a place that is beautiful but also development happens? yeah. there's actual solutions happening right now in costa rica, more sustainable eco—developments, where they're taking into account, you know, their environment, doing it in a sustainable and conscious manner. so i think as long as people are informed and they do their homework, i think we'll be fine. so you're not anti—development? you just want it done in a respectful, responsible, sustainable way? exactly. developers here argue that the construction industry provides many opportunities and that they must abide by strict environmental laws. clearly, though, getting the balance right will be crucial in maintaining costa rica's reputation as a top destination for nature lovers.

just a few kilometres away from all this construction is the oro verde reserve. it's home to rare and endangered birds. this little bird live in the primerforest, a kilometre from here. samantha duarte runs twitching tours here. this is such a cool place, samantha. what sort of birds do we have in here? we have a special bird. the name is susie. susie? yeah, but the real name is antpitta. antpitta. i tried to call in this place because this is the favourite place for susie. 0k. she whistles. you are so good at that. thank you. it's many years for practice. she whistles. yeah. maybe it's not here. 0k. so maybe we can go for

to try to find susie. let's do it. bird—spotting is all about patience. yeah. you need to stay relaxed. everyone tells me to stay relaxed. not always my strong point. 0k. i'm zen. i am at one with the forest. you are a plant. i am a plant. he laughs. yeah. 0k. 0h! careful. what other birds do you have here? we have trogons. we have especially a one... yeah. the name is red—capped manakin. red—capped manakin? yeah. and the other name is michaeljackson. michaeljackson?! yeah. the reason is because make the same dance that michaeljackson. is very fun to see. so can you do the dance? come on. oh, no. yeah, you can! you do it, and i'll copy you. what's the dance? 0k. let's do it. she whistles. oh, yeah. i like it. i like it!

the bird is better than us. she whistles bird chirps. ah! do you hear? yes! uh—hmm. i'm going to get on here. i'm going to channel my inner tree. you are a tree now. i'm a tree. you told me i'm a plant, yeah? good energies? good energies. come on, susie, come to us. whistling. i sound like a drunk bird. he whistles she whistles bird chirps what's that? this is black—throated trogon. oh, it's very close. oh, yeah. yeah. she whistles oh, cool. yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. bird chirps

this is the black—throated trogon. it's yellow, though. yeah, it's yellow. half yellow—throated. and in the back is...is green. it's not very common. you only see it here in the mountains. that's pretty cool. this is... you remember you asked me about my favourite bird? yeah. this is one of my favourite birds. this one?! i love the colours. it's... nice! ..amazing. go on, lad. i want to show you the people and teach the people about the importance of the ecosystem. important mountain birds. many people only think build construction. we want you enjoy the natural and connect with birds, trees. and so for me, this is the important thing.

costa rica is such a special country, and it's going to stay with me for a long time. it's done brilliantly in attracting millions of visitors, whilst also protecting its beautiful environments. but it's at a crossroads. as there's more and more development, is there enough will here to conserve the very things that make it such a unique destination? i've met a lot of people on this trip, and one thing i know for sure is they'll give it a real good go. hello. a lot of rain and wind recently and really quite stormy around some western coasts. how about the outlook for the next ten days or so? well, i think the next few days

will bring further bouts of wind and rain and relatively mild to. after that, there are indications that high pressure may build from the south and the weather could settle down, but not necessarily everywhere. let's concentrate on the here and now. so the weather map for sunday and this is actually storm fergus approaching ireland with some very strong winds here to the south of this area of low pressure, a plume of relatively mild air streaming into many parts of western europe. now, let's concentrate on sunday then. so i think overall it is going to be anotherfairly wet day. but towards the end of the day, things may actually dry out across some western parts of the country. so this is midday. you can see that band of rain or the weather front spiralling into the centre of storm fergus here as it approaches western ireland and notice this clearance to the west of the weather front. so actually the weather may end up being pretty decent around the middle of the afternoon, iii in plymouth, but colder

there in the lowlands of scotland and wet too of that rain continuing into the evening hours on sunday. then these strong winds moving from ireland, transferring into the irish sea, so eventually turning very blustery with further rain across western parts of the uk sunday evening. so really quite a stormy spell of weather at the moment. now here's monday then. so as one area of low pressure pulls away to the remnants of storm fergus, another low pressure approaches. but we are in between weather systems. it's actually called a ridge of high pressure, where the winds tend to be fairly light. you can see that from the wind arrows windy there in the north sea, windy out towards the west. we're in between and actually some pretty decent weather, some sunshine i think around on monday with temperatures of around 12, 13 in the south, ten in liverpool and about seven degrees in glasgow. and then that ridge of high pressure moves away, slips away, and then the next low pressure comes in. it's that conveyor belt of weather

systems being pushed by quite a strong jet stream. so we're right in the middle of this area, more or less low pressure on tuesday, strong winds around some of these southwestern coasts out of the west, strong winds out of the east. here in scotland, the other side of the low, quite wet and unpleasant here around five from the coast of aberdeenshire. and then that low pressure on tuesday night into wednesday pulls away into the continent. and there are signs of high pressure to the southwest of us trying to build in. but it's going to be quite a slow process. but i think on wednesday i think the best of the weather will be across scotland, northern ireland, but many north sea coasts and also the southeast, often cloudy and probably some spits and spots of rain as well. really feeling quite chilly, for example, on the lincolnshire coastline and then the next few days. so thursday, friday to the following weekend, look how this high pressure tries to build in. but to the north of it, where the fronts are sort of running

around the area of high pressure. so not necessarily turning settled everywhere. so here's the summary then for sunday and monday onwards. and it does look as though things may settle down at least across some southern areas as we head towards the end of the following week. that's it for me. bye— bye.

live from london, this is bbc news. a senior un official warns half the population of gaza are now starving — and says conditions on the ground make the delivery of aid nearly impossible. israeli tanks are advancing slowly towards the centre of khan yunis, amid house to house fighting in southern gaza. also in the programme — ukraine's first lady, olena zelenska, appeals for further military support for her country and warns russian aggression will spread like a virus unless the west stops it.

welcome to bbc news. a senior un official has warned that half of the population of gaza are now starving, as israel continues its assault on the territory. the world food programme's deputy director, carl skau, says nine out of ten people are not eating every day. israeli tanks are reported to be slowly advancing towards the centre of khan younis, as intense battles continue in southern gaza. there are reports of house—to—house fighting in the city. there's also fighting in the north. these are the latest pictures from the israel defense forces, showing gun battles in the jabalia refugee camp, which remains surrounded by israeli tanks. people there say they ve been without food and clean water for several days.