a veteran civil rights campaigner. mr trump took to twitter after john lewis, who is a democratic member of congress, questioned the legitimacy of the president—elect‘s win. serbia has defended its response to the extreme cold weather that has claimed dozens of migrants‘ lives. the minister responsible told bbc news that many have refused shelters, fearing they would be deported. aid agencies warn many across europe are at risk of freezing to death. four months after one of its rockets blew up on take—off, spacex has launched a falcon nine rocket from a launchpad in california. after putting ten satellites in orbit, engineers cheered as the first stage touched down successfully on a barge moored in the pacific, nine minutes after launch. the committee of mps overseeing the brexit process has called on the government to reveal details of its plans by next month. the all—party group of mps also says the government should reach a transitional agreement with the eu to give the economy time to adapt. our business correspondent

joe lynam reports. for months, britain's largest employers have been calling for clarity on what type of deal will emerge post—brexit. many want a transition arrangement with the eu, so they can plan ahead for the future. today, mps on both sides of the brexit argument piled more pressure on theresa may, by calling for exactly that. we think that any return to tariffs or bureaucratic obstacles would not be in the interest of british business, and the committee believes the traditional arrangements will be needed to smooth the process as we leave the european union, particularly if there were to be any changes to the way we trade or the way we sell our services. this group of mps and businesses want to know whether britain wants to remain within the single market, and they want to give mps a vote

on the final deal. and, if the deal cannot be reached within the two—year timeframe, they want a transitional phase to smooth the process out of the european union. and one of the key sectors in all of this is the city of london, which provides more than a tenth of uk tax revenues. critics say that is what the government should be protecting. we suspend two years of negotiations on financial services. we do not need a transitional arrangement. the chief negotiator gave his warning today as well. responding to newspaper reports that he wanted the special deal with the city, mr barnier said no. on tuesday, the prime minister gives a key speech on her plans for brexit negotiations. it is farfrom certain, though, that she will be able to provide the detail that many on both sides are now demanding. now it is time for the travel show. this week, i'm exploring russia's

hidden underground military history in vladivostok. i can just imagine the dark deeds that would be done here. oh, my god. something dropped on my head! we go shopping in myanmar. it's actually quite difficult to walk through here. it's so busy. simon calder has tips on what to do if you're heading to rome with toddlers in tow. hello and welcome to the travel show, with me, carmen roberts. coming to you this week from russia. and a little later on in the programme, i'll be going underground, into the tunnels beneath the streets of vladivostok. but first, we head to myanmar, a country off—limits for decades because of military rule. but now, it's opening up, and tourism is booming. we sent rajan datar on a trek off the beaten track to find out about a project aimed at helping local people benefit from the increase in the number of people now visiting

their previously off—limits country. dazzling pagodas and ancient temples, these are the iconic sites that are attracting more people than ever before to myanmar. but i'm here to get away from the main tourist sites and see a way of life that's remained unchanged for centuries. i'm heading to pindaya in the danu zone of the shan state to follow one of a new series of trials that it's hoped will kick—start tourism in the region. i'vejust arrived in pindaya and its market day. and it's bustling, it's full of people selling their wares, loads of different vegetables, loads of fruit, meat, the whole thing. and if we go down this channel here, we'll see what else we can find here. it's actually quite difficult to walk through here. it's so busy. the market is the starting point for many of the new danu trails. there's an incredible array of stuff on offer, but the thought actually trying to buy anything in the crowds

of people is a little overwhelming. do you know what, i can't figure out who's selling and who's buying here! even though it's kind of like anarchy, you feel any sense of danger. no one is trying to rip you off. no one's trying to steal anything. it's a nice atmosphere. really cool. back into the throng. there are more than 20 different walking routes that've been mapped out through this region, with different levels of distance and difficulty. expert guide dohjoins me to lead the way. tell me why it's good for the danu people to have this trek. for danu people, they will get extra money from tourism. like, let me say about a supply change. so, tourism creates, and many people they can getjobs. so, shopkeepers, hotel owners, waiters. maybe we can create more and more jobs. the trail network winds

through villages that have rarely seen tourists. please, take off shoes, sir. yes. thank you very much. this farming family produce bamboo hats as a sideline business. they can make up to 300 week. and then put on and cut. they need ten pieces to make one hat. this is a hat for the man. a hat for the man. and this is the hat for the woman. 0k. different. ah, 0k. whoops! a bit too far on the other side. i'm not so sure! lets me get that exactly right.

are you laughing at me?! so, in here, you can make one size. very nice. well, one size fits all. let's see if it fits me. shall we? can i try? ah! free size! she must have guessed the size of my head, because it fits perfect. she said this is for you. i couldn't! 0k, iwill, then. the rest of the hats are bound for the market. so, what's the legend of the spider? so the spider capture the seven... and last on our trek, this major site of pilgrimage. statues of a huge spider and a prince sit at the bottom of these stairs.

figures from ancient legends. look at this. wow! it's like a...wow. these caves are home to 9000 statues, some dating back hundreds of years. they're all brought and donated by devotees hoping for a blessing. it's just buddhas galore, and they're made of, what? what material underneath the gold? like a concrete. concrete? so, when making a good image, what did the people hope happens in terms of buddhism? is it to give them a better life, afterlife? this is like a good deed. yeah, like merit making?

yes. and maybe for the next existence, to get to a better place, you know? people to be up and into nirvana in one day. wow. and if nirvana is not an option, i, for one, am happy after years of this country being in isolation to settle for a slice of this magnificent landscape and culture. and if you're thinking of visiting myanmar in the near future, here are our list of the best things to see and do. the shwedagon pagoda has stood the 2500 years, a tribute to myanmar‘s buddhist faith. catch it at sunset to see it below. at 42 square kilometres,

bagan is one of asia's largest archaeological sites. access was restricted under the military junta, so most tourists are still to discover its monasteries and temples. nearby, mount popa is another less visited holy spot. at over 700 metres, prepare yourself for a steep climb. also, watch out for thousands of macaque monkeys live on the mountain, and some don't take kindly to visitors. keep any food you have sealed if you don't want them running off with your lunch. next up, it's our thirsty explorer brad cohen, who this week is off to kosovo in search of some home—made rakija. so we embarked on a whirlwind trip to learn about the drink known

as raki or rakija. though language, culture and religion may divide kosovo and other former yugoslavian countries, they all share a love for this ubiquitous fruit brandy. everywhere we went there was raki — a judge's party, a lingerie shop, even a monastery. monks here produced wine since the 14th century. what makes it good? taste it and you tell me what you think about it. for nearly 700 years, wine and rakija helped support the serbian monks. here it has to be soft, but here it is to be strong. i imagine this can get you through a pretty rough balkan winter. and a nice balkan summer! as we toasted, i couldn't help but wonder how often a serb and albanian kosovar actually shared a drink these days. you guys seem pretty peaceful right now.

we grew up in the same country. his friends needed more rakija for his bar. let's go. so we headed to his producer's house. a town renowned for its rich soil and production of rakija wine. here, we got a lesson in home—made distillation. we were greeted in typical kosovar fashion, with a warm handshake, something to drink and far too much food, which was quite literally from the table. two hours now of eating and drinking home—made drink and food. life is good. sakib‘s story is common in the balkans. during the yugoslav wars throughout the 90s, jobs became scarce. but there was plenty of fruit, and people used it to turn centuries—old family traditions into a business. supplying bars with

home—made rakija. that is tasty. that day, sakib was making plum rakija, and friends, neighbours and the entire family rushed to help with the precision of a pit crew. at its best, rakija tastes anywhere between a tasty grotto or fine cognac, depending on ageing and type of fruit. at its worst, rakija tastes like embalming fluid. i think you could preserve bodies with. unfortunately, it's impossible to know before you taste it. stay with us, because later on in the programme, i run into some unexpected visitors deep beneath the streets of vladivostok. and our global guru simon calder is here with his advice on the best things to see and do in lisbon, so don't go away. welcome to the slice of the show

that tackles your questions about getting the best out of travel. coming up shortly, the ideal way to see rome with toddlers, and the challenges of rail travel in laos. but first, there's been lots of interest in the first nonstop scheduled flights between europe and australia. from march 2018, you should be able to fly from london heathrow to perth in western australia in 17 hours. one of the world's very longest air routes. tickets don't go on sale until april, 2017, and we don't yet know how much the trip will cost. next, emma fletcher treated a cheerful video message to bbc travel show asking... hi, we are the fletcher family in chester.

we're off to rome in a week in the middleofjanuary, and wonder if you've got any tips for us with toddlers. thank you! first, visit explora il museo dei bambini as it calls itself, full of fun, interactive exhibits for small children, and free for the under fives. next, there's the villa borghese bioparco. although rome's zoo is modest, the reptile house is always fun, and warm injanuary, too. and for an ice cream at a price that won't send you into financial meltdown, giolitti, an elegant institution at the heart of rome and well worth the inevitable queue. drjs baug is heading to europe from his home city of mumbai. i'm travelling to lisbon for a business meeting, and i have a full day free. can you suggest the best tour options to see lisbon? start in the elegant city centre, known as bayelsa, mostly built in the 18th century. then explore the hills to the east with the original moorish quarter of alfama.

from there, tram 28 planks its way westwards across the city and clambers up to the giappo district, perched on a hill high above the noise and bustle of the centre. along the way, you can barely move for eating and drinking opportunities, including my favourite coffee spot in europe, the cafe a brasileira, a feast of mahogany and mirrors that has been serving sweet, strong coffee for almost a century. finally, john rose was in cambodia last year, and says... we met a couple who told us they had travelled from the very north of laos to the south by train. have you any information regarding this, as we'd love to pursue it? john, the couple you met had perhaps been travelling too long. unlike neighbouring cambodia and vietnam, laos hasjust six kilometres of railway. the line runs from the friendship bridge over the mighty mekong river, which marks the thai border to thanaleng station, 13 kilometres from the capital, vientiane.

a shuttle train meets the express from bangkok to run across and into laos, where you can get a visa on arrival. to reach the capital, you then have to take a bus or a taxi. until the rail network expands, the ideal way to travel in laos is by riverboat on the mekong, though go downstream from the fine city of luang prabang to vientiane. unless you've got plenty of time on your hands to travel against the current. whether you or after a slow boat or a fast train, the travel show is here to help, so e—mail your question to thetravelshow@bbc.com, and i'll do my very best to find you an answer. from me, simon calder, the global guru, bye for now and see you next time.

vladivostok in russia's far east is home to over 500,000 people. and it's no stranger to traffic jams, partly because there's no subway system here. but what do live beneath the hills are the remnants of what used to be one of the most powerful maritime fortresses in the world. abandoned for decades, some areas are now open to tourists. this is vladimir, an author whose interest in vlad ivosto k‘s military past was sparked as a young boy growing up in this area. is this where you used to come as a child? yeah, yeah, yeah. today, vladimir and i are exploring his childhood stomping ground, also known as stronghold number one. so those holes there were made by guns? they are holes made

from quick firing guns. at the turn of the 20th—century, tsarist russia went to war with japan over who controlled korea and manchuria to the south and the waters surrounding them. vladivostok was home to the imperial russian fleet, and that made it a potential target. vladimir, why was vladivostok such an important military point? it was the only gate of russia in the pacific region, and it was the only port on the russian pacific shore connected with siberia and other russia by trans—siberian railway. well, i didn't expect the ceilings to be so high. it was proposed as a shelter for peoples, and not only as an access path. that is why there is a lot of space. yeah.

space for people. although many parts of the fort were used during the cold war, this particular stronghold was abandoned after world war ii. it's safe to say it has seen better days. to be honest, ifind this place quite creepy. maybe i read too many crime novels, but i canjust imagine the dark deeds that would be done here. oh, god. something dropped on my head! you know what? people are still allowed to come in here. there are no doors barricading people. you can see from the rubbish on the floor that people still use these shelters. that was gross, that thing that fell on my head. during the soviet era, vladivostok was closed from the outside world. it only opened to visitors in 1992. as the cold war thawed, a new generation of enthusiasts got interested in the abandoned forts and sprawling underpasses, some of them with more western influences.

today, sasha takes tours around fort number seven. in good condition, it is one of the easiest forts to visit. but although it is well looked after, it's still best to go with a guide. fort number seven was completed in 1916, and it housed troops until 1923 when the city was demilitarised. during soviet times, the fort was used as a political prison, after which it was deserted. but, despite years of neglect, sasha tells me the fort still has many of its original features. tell me where we're going. fort number seven is used by locals and visitors who come here for guided tours and for leisure activities, such as skateboarding and laser tag. there's a guy with

a gun pointed at me! what am i meant to do?! no, i'm notjumpy at all! although many of the military structures in vladivostok are still derelict, it's great to see more people getting interested in them, because whether its history or a fantasy game that gets you here, these structures, that once aimed to make vladivostok impregnable, deserve to be preserved. that's all we've got time for this week, and don't forget, if you want to follow us on our travels in real—time, you can sign up to our social media feeds, where you can share your travel tales, too. coming up next week, we head to the us to go whale watching off the coast of new york.

there's a lot of excitement on the boat, because someone... there it is! and ade sees how far he can get exploring a massive cave network in oman. there's flights and flights of stairs, even i'm not going to attempt to go up them. it would probably easier to get up to heaven than to get up that lot. that's on the show next week, but for now, for me, carmen roberts, and the rest of the travel show team here in russia, it's goodbye. hello there, good morning. we are turning things milder from the west overnight tonight and into tomorrow. but, before the milder air comes

to all, there is still snow on the leading edge of this system. at least for a time in the eastern side of scotland and the north—east of england. but for many places it is just a wet night. air coming in from the west, temperatures will get up to 8—9 in western parts. still pretty chilly further east and still a chance of wintry weather to be had in parts of yorkshire in the morning. that drifts down into lincolnshire and east anglia and the south—east as well. just be aware there could be some slippery conditions and ice on the roads first thing in the morning. it is wet in london and cold, four or five degrees. but temperatures could creep up further west. eight or nine to start the day in cornwall, devon, much of wales too, but with lots of cloud and rain. some of the cloud in northern england is low, so quite a grey look to things. eight or so degrees in the north—west of england. into northern ireland, 9—10 degrees to start the day. relatively mild but cloudy with outbreaks of rain.

a lot of low cloud and outbreaks of rain in scotland. relatively mild out west, eight or nine degrees, but still quite chilly further east, in particular the north—east, 11—5 degrees. the north—east of england, chilly for some, 3—4 degrees in the hull area. through the morning, wintry weather slowly fizzles out from east anglia, so most of us will be pretty cloudy. sunshine will be in short supply on sunday afternoon. but there will be a bit of cloud and some rain to be had as well. quite a dull and damp day, really. temperatures into double figures for many western areas, but some eastern areas still quite chilly, maybe only two degrees in norwich. quite a raw feel to things. and then as we go through the evening, we keep the line of rain from the isle of wight, through the midlands, up into wales and northern england, scotland too. that line of rain is still with us in monday. chilly to the east of that. but relatively mild towards the west of it. monday afternoon, again out west temperatures into double figures. the south—eastern corner likely to see the lowest temperatures, 5—7 here on monday afternoon.

monday afternoon and on into tuesday, high pressure is in charge, keeping it pretty quiet for most areas. patchy rain out west and most of any rain will be in the north—west, where it will be relatively mild in comparison to what we will see in the south—east. for tuesday and wednesday, it will stay pretty chilly in the south—eastern corner. a risk of frost and maybe morning fog. further north and west, milder, but with cloud and rain at times. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting at home and around the globe. i'm ben bland. our top stories: donald trump hits back at a prominent civil rights politician who refuses to recognise the result of the presidential election. struggling through freezing temperatures. aid agencies say thousands of migrants in europe need more help. ahead of his inauguration next week,

donald trump has provoked outrage in the united states by criticising a veteran civil rights campaigner. mr trump took to twitter after john lewis, who is a democratic member of congress, questioned the legitimacy of the president—elect‘s victory in a tv interview.