there are still places that surprise me, even after travelling for nearly 20 years — countries that appear to be one thing but, when you dig a little deeper, turn out to be something completely different. this is pretty spectacular. it is, it is. and i'm loving all the colours. the cabo verde archipelago, located just over 600km from senegal�*s coast, is one of them. tourism has really picked up pace here in recent decades, and it's easy to see why — crystal—clear waters, golden beaches, year—round sun, all the ingredients for an amazing holiday. but i feel there's so much more to this place just waiting to be discovered by travellers like us. and all you have to do is head beyond the beaches.

i've been lucky enough to explore a lot of africa, but what i've heard about cabo verde is that you get this real sense of worlds and cultures colliding. so, if you take a look at the shops and some of the market stalls, they're selling african—style arts and crafts. the churches look like they've been lifted straight from a street in europe. and with a shared ancestry

and heritage, you really get this south american feel through the people and the music. cabo verde consists of ten islands and was a portuguese colony till 1975. atjust 30 kilometres long and 12 kilometres wide, sal is one of the archipelago�*s smallest islands but the most popular for tourists. many visitors stay in santa maria, in the south of sal, and it caters for their every need. but i want to get a real taste of life here. and to do that, i need to head to the beach and get myself a guide. he speaks creole oh, sorry! english. oh! i only talk english! you look local. it's not the first time someone has told me i look like i'm from here. yeah, yeah. i'm sure it won't be the last. so... but i'll take that as a compliment. thank you. yes! so, my name is elvis. i'm lucy. pleased to meet you, lucy.

good to meet you. so here, we are local tour guides... mm—hm. ..in sal island, who do the tours. i want to see the real sal. i want to get away from the touristy bits. i want to get a real flavour for what this place is about. it pleased me to take you out from that touristic atmosphere. yeah, i want to hang with a local, i want to meet some locals, i want to get a real vibe of this place. and it sounds like — i think you sold me — it sounds like you're the guy. good! all right! thank you. so i can show you the car. all right, let's do it. you can choose to sit in the cab... yeah. ..and you can sit in the back. come on! you know what i'm going to say — the back, obviously! let's do it! this is a really nice way to travel around the island — sun in yourface, wind in your hair. definitely beats sitting in a cab. in the town of palmeira, you can experience a slice of authentic cabo verdean life,

just 19 kilometres away from the ever—changing santa maria. palmeira is an important port where everything that comes and goes from sal passes through. it's vibrant, colourful and an idealfirst stop on my tour of the island. this is so different to anywhere i've been so far. it's so colourful! that's it. that's why you have to get out from that touristic atmosphere... mmm! ..come down, see the local people, try the local foods. yes! once you try a local food, yeah, you'll say, "oh, should i go back or should i stay here?" oh, you will feel at home. yeah, yeah! you will feel the vibe of the cape verdean people. different flavour of cabo verde. yeah. yeah! cristina is the matriarch of the candida family. every day, they prepare cachupa, cabo verde�*s national dish. it's made for local people and to be served at a nearby restaurant.

the smell of the wood smoke and the bubbling stew is something else. so what have we got here? that's. . . pork. that's pork? yes. untranslated all the different ingredients represent different cultures. cos that's quite important to this dish, right? we have the beans and the corn from brazil... yeah. ..banana, sweet potatoes from west africa... mm—hm. ..the meat came from the portuguese... yeah. ..and then the fusion. and now it's not from portugal, it's not from brazil, it's not from africa, it's for cape verde and the cape verdeans. yeah, yeah. to see all these nationalities that have shaped cabo verde come together in the national dish is a perfect metaphor for cabo verdean culture. but the question is, does it taste any good? thank you. obrigada!

this looks good! i've been waiting for this. i've spent a lot of time watching it be made. i need to try it now. i've waited long enough. you definitely will like it. all right! let's do it! mmm! you know, as i'm eating it, it's really reminding me ofjust a bean stew that my mum makes. and she still makes to this day, actually. yeah! it's kind of bringing me home a little bit. well, good. they laugh so, traditionally, who ate cachupa? when the portuguese was trading slaves to sell, they had to give them something, and then it starts the cachupa. when the portuguese came back from brazil with the corn, growing corn, and then putting everything together, anything you have at home, so... so there you have it... yeah, yeah. ..our national dish, cachupa. yeah! it's brilliant. it's great to get a real taste of cape verdean food. the island of sal was first named llana back in 1460, which means "flat".

but beneath this arid landscape, there was something to be found, something that would change the destiny of this place forever. it's definitely worth taking a tour to the salinas, because when you get here, you are completely surrounded by sal, which just happens to be the portuguese word for salt. and as you probably guessed, it's how the island got its name. the word salinas roughly translates to "salt mines". in this age—old technique, sea water is allowed to stand in ponds, and as the water evaporates, it leaves behind solid salt crystals. here is like a rock now. yeah, it is. yeah. and it's still giving me impressions that i'm standing on ice.

i know it's not ice. yes. no, no, you are. here is the unique place where we can stand, walk, lay down...on the snow. you don't need gloves. you don't need nothing. you canjust come on a picnic... laughs: yeah, my kind of snow, my kind of snow! salt mining was the main industry in sal for many years. elvis is taking me to what was once the heart of the operation within a volcanic crater. and what he showed me was like something from another world. it feels like i should be shooting some kind of sci—fi flick set on another planet, or maybe a spaghetti western, playing some kind of gunslinger. she laughs elvis, what is this place? so this place is a salt refinery... uh—huh. ..where the industry of salt... it was here where they used to refine the salt, and that's connecting to the salt lake by this cable... ..one kilometre and 100 metres

down to the salt lake, and that was able to transport 25 tons of salt per hour. it looks like it was once a very impressive bit of infrastructure. that structure and the cable cars, it took two years to be built... yeah? ..from 1919 to 1921. wow! so it really changed the game when this was built? big, big change. yeah. big change. i don't know if it's just me, but there's something a little bit eerie about looking at this. it's a bit... you know, it's broken down, it's decay and damage and... yeah, unfortunately. ..the machineryjust left untouched and rusty. it's almost making me a bit sad. unfortunately, it is like this. those boats was used taking the salt out to the big ship to brazil. yeah, yeah. so what happened? to encourage the brazilians to produce them own salt, they put a really high tax on our salt that made

it very expensive. so that's the way they killed our business of salt. yeah, a pretty underhanded way to kill the competition. so when things started to decline and, you know, the operation started to close down, what was it like for the people living here? quite a few businesses collapsed, but luckiest was when the airport had the international certification, so many people had the opportunity to find a job at the airport. so, the airport did solve a problem of many people. here probably will have the best view, the best picture of the island. yeah? so that's the famous salt lake. here we are! that's unique around the world, inside on an... ..extinct volcanic crater. yep, yep. it is one of the seven wonders of cape verde. you see, it makes, like, 900 metres long and it's around two metres under sea level. yeah, and i'm just checking — you did say extinct, right?

extinct volcanic crater. yeah, yeah. well, i've got to say, as far as views go, this is pretty spectacular. it is, it is. and i'm loving all the colours. you've got the pinky, kind of purple hues at the bottom. the white ice! yeah... still looking like ice to me! yeah, the rusty mountains, the blue sky, the greenery. it's just such a beautiful mix of colours. so it was this lake inside this crater where the salt was mined and then began its journey up the cable cars that elvis told me about. and now it's evolved into quite a fun tourist attraction, where getting in the water here is said to be like taking a dip in the dead sea. so you don't really swim, but you can float and bob around. and as i'm here, it'd be rude not to give it a go, right? who needs inflatables when you've got this? she laughs

i'm heading back to the beach here on sal, but there's no cocktails or sun loungers on this particular one, and it's rather ominously named shark bay. ok, so there's lots of tourists here, plenty of souvenir stalls and no—one�*s running from the water, screaming, so it can't be that bad, right? lemon sharks may be closely related to great whites, but luckily for me, they're not considered a threat to humans... you see? oh, yes! 0k. it camouflages well, but we've seen a shark. ..which gives tourists a chance to have — yep, you guessed it — real—life sharks swimming around their legs. i'm joining berta from the conservation group

project biodiversity, who are always looking for tourists to volunteer with them to help study sal's wildlife. and then we will turn it to check. as demonstrated on this cuddly toy, we'll be tagging and measuring baby lemon sharks who live in the shallow waters here. with the sharks spotted and the team briefed, it was time to prepare the sharks�* supper before wading out to sea. all we had to do then was wait. the water's not too cold. no, it's not cold at all, actually. so, is there an optimum time for this, where you get more sharks than other times? here, they really come at 9:00, when the first bus is coming... yeah, yeah. ..and they leave at 5.00 with the last tourists. 0n the nine—to—five! yeah, exactly. they laugh this is not for the impatient.

so what's the purpose of the microchipping, the measurements and taking skin samples? what's the purpose? so in this particular case, we are doing that because this area, it's believed to be a nursery for the lemon shark, but there's no proof of that. we see baby sharks all the time, all year round, yearafteryear, but we need to prove that. yeah. so tagging helps us to show that they are not only born here but that they spend some important stages of their life, and that is something that happens continuously, and also to say whether we are seeing only one shark — the same one 20 times — or 20 different sharks and, like, estimating the population. and off it goes! it's been tagged, it's been checked, and now it's back off into the wild.

with so many other islands to explore, it was time to leave sal behind. and if you think cabo verde is all about golden beaches and blue seas, think again. this is the island of santo antao, the westernmost point of africa. it may be the archipelago�*s second—largest island, but without an airport of its own, the only way there is on a ferry from the neighbouring island of sao vicente. she hums this island is perfect for those who love the great outdoors, so i'm meeting shekinah, who takes tourists hiking across santo antao. hello! good morning! how are you? hi! hello! hi. loving the sign.

the whole of cabo verde was completely uninhabited when it was discovered by the portuguese in the 1a00s. and in santo antao, not much has changed, what with this unspoiled landscape. en route, shekinah wanted to show me this gem of a village sitting in a valley atop of a rock. this is fontainhas and has some of the best views on the island. i can't believe people live here. how many people live here? nowadays, in fontainhas, there's, like, less than 200 people living here, you know? what do you think are the main reasons for them leaving? is it mainly work? work. and they are looking for better living conditions. we call cape verde as well the "terra sodade", which is "the land of missing". yeah. you know, we really love the loved ones, so we tend to come back, for sure, for them one day. so talk me about what it is that makes you stay here.

i could start speaking about the morabeza, which is the word that we use. . . mostly for people here that are very friendly, like, the hospitality. they open their hearts and they help you. they don't have much, but they give it to you if you need it. i will give you an example in real life... yes, please! ..so you're going to see how it works here. so maybe let's have a grogue... 0h! i've heard so much about this. i'm ready. our local drink! they laugh she speaks creole oh, it's a shot! it's a shot! all right. 0k, what is this drink? well, this is our rum. we call it "grogue" in creole. yeah. "grogue"? grogue, yes. it's a mix... it's a sugar cane. we make it from the sugar cane. can i put it full? yeah. why not? why not, right? it's been a long hike.

they laugh after the long hike! well, here, in creole, we say "txin—txin!" or we say, "salud." which one should we go for? it's like, "cheers!" salud! txin—txin! salud! hold on. she laughs it is strong. that is super strong. oh, yeah... it actually took my breath away. they laugh that was nice. 0oh! another one? they laugh did you like it? oh, it leaves a bit of a fiery taste in your throat. mm—hm. softly: yeah. after spending the day on santo antao, it was time to get back on the ferry to spend the night on the island of sao vicente. travelling around cabo verde, it soon becomes apparent each island is its own unique world, with much of its character derived from its geography.

but the more time i spend in sao vicente, it's clear that this island isn't defined by mountains or deserts, but by its people. so, every february, they hold carnival here. but even in the fallow months, carnival groups still get together and rehearse. and, i mean, how can you not love this carnival vibe? edson is the vice president of the carnival group cruzeiros do norte. african countries, the rhythm, it's in our blood and people, when they come, automatically, they start to shake and dance... just born with the vibe, born with the carnival spirit! the port of mindelo is sao vicente�*s city of culture, and its flourishing art scene is mainly the direct influence of one woman. so, mindelo was made famous by the late, great, grammy award—winning cesaria evora. and it doesn't take long

for you to discover that she is quite the national treasure here. and that's because she is everywhere, from murals to t—shirts. and she's even on the money. she sings fame found cesaria later in life. born in 1941 in mindelo, for her first 50 years, she was weighed down in poverty and sang in obscurity. but for the following 20 years, before her death in 2011, she waved the flag for cabo verde, spreading its style of music across the globe and earning herself the nickname of "the barefoot diva". she sings woman sings in bar her legacy is inspiring a brand—new generation of musicians. nadia is a professional singer and says cesaria has taught her dreams can come true, no matter what your background is.

i think cape verde�*s music, you see, and we cannot escape from music. yeah! it's a poor country, but you can see the face of the people. they are happy, yeah, because of this evolving with culture. culture, dancing, singing makes the people feel different despite of the problems, but because of the culture... yeah. ..it make them feel happy. cabo verde may be one of the smallest nations in africa, but it is without a doubt one of the most colourful. and when you're wandering around mindelo, you can't help but take in the hundreds of years of cultures just

echoing through the streets — whether that's through the music or from the warm and welcoming nature of the people here. and, yes, you could come here and never step foot out of your resort, but why would you do that when there is so much to see here? that's why i'm so happy that i've taken the time to get out, taste the food, meet the people, walk the landscapes, and now i can go home knowing the true identity of this wonderful and beautiful nation. woman sings

hello there. instead of snow falling, it's rain that's going to be falling this weekend and that, combined with some snowmelt, has already seen large numbers of flood warnings, particularly through the midlands and southern england. the weekend, though, does look like it should be a bit drier than it has been. we've got this weather front, though, bringing some wetter weather towards scotland and we've still got low pressure in charge but the colder air is getting restricted to the far north of scotland on saturday with milder conditions elsewhere leading to that snow melting. there may not be a great deal of rain falling. most of the wet weather will be in scotland with snow really in the far north over the tops of the mountains there. and we may well get some sunshine later in southern scotland, also northern ireland, and a brighter day for northern england. some sunshine elsewhere across england and wales with a few showers, mainly for south wales and the south—west of england. we're making 12 or 13 degrees

in the south east of england and seven degrees across large parts of scotland. so the milder air is pushing northwards following that weather front and the last of the cold air moves away from the north of scotland, so we may have some brighter conditions here as well. maybe the chance of a bit of rain, though, coming from some weather fronts through the north sea near those coasts. otherwise, quite cloudy to begin with. a bit of sunshine coming through, the odd shower around southern and western areas — nothing particularly heavy. still a bit blustery through the english channel, otherwise the winds will be light. and those temperatures are going to be nearer 8—10 degrees, so continuing to turn a bit milder in scotland in particular. there is some slightly coolerair, though, coming in from the atlantic on this polar maritime air mass that's originating from the north—west and swinging round to the uk as a westerly wind. and that's going to bring sunshine and showers, really, for monday, and the bulk of the showers will be towards the north—west. and because it's a bit colder, there could be some wintriness

over the hills in particular. one or two showers heading towards cumbria, too. but for many eastern parts of the uk, monday should be dry with some sunshine around, and those temperatures nearer 7—9 degrees for the start of the week. that low pressure still to the north of scotland, still feeding in a few showers overnight. and then this weather system is coming in from the south—west on tuesday. so still a few wintry showers for northern scotland, some sunshine in the rest of the country and for northern ireland for a while, but the cloud will increase quickly across england and wales. and across wales, southern england, this is where we're probably going to see the bulk of the rain, especially in the afternoon. ahead of that, we could make eight or nine degrees in north—east england and also much of scotland. things are milder further south and this mild southwesterly wind will bring some further rain overnight and into wednesday. things are a little bit chillier in the north of scotland, where it's generally dry here with some sunshine.

but some outbreaks of rain developing in northern ireland and also southern scotland, and that hangback of rain across southern england and through the english channel means we may see some sunshine through the midlands across to some eastern parts of england, where temperatures are reaching 11 or 12 degrees. now, looking further ahead, some uncertainty, yes. some computer models want to take areas of low pressure and continue to move them over the uk. what is marginally more likely is that that area of low pressure is going to move away. and anything coming in from the atlantic is just going to get stalled out at sea as we get a bit of ridging across the uk, and that happens because the jet stream is going to really buckle into this sort of shape. we're going to be on the colder side of the jet stream, so later next week, into the weekend, things may turn a little bit colder, bringing the risk of some frost. but it should be a bit drier.

live from london, this is bbc news. leaders of rival parties in pakistan claim victory after the general election, even though the final results are yet to be announced.

the israeli prime minister has ordered the military to prepare to evacuate civilians from rafah, in southern gaza, ahead of an expanded offensive against hamas. police in london are to begin searching the river thames for the body of a chemical attack suspect. and coming up — why taylor swift is dominating all the super bowl headlines. hello. i'm nicky schiller. we start this hour in pakistan. supporters of rival parties in the country's general election have been celebrating, after their leaders claimed victory, even though the final results have yet to be announced. the jailed former prime minister, imran khan, used an ai—generated message to reject a declaration of victory by his opponent, nawaz sharif. mr khan was barred from standing, but independents linked to his pti party have emerged as the largest group. mr sharif, who's been prime minister three times,

called on others tojoin him in a unity government.