of the region's rights in the face of what he called a coup by the spanish state. carles puigdemont compared the actions of madrid to those of spain's fascist dictator general franco. thousands took to the streets to protest against the government. the new head of the world health organization says he's rethinking his decision to appoint zimbabwe president robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador for the global health agency. it follows international criticism of mr mugabe's human rights record and zimba bwe‘s health infrastructure. millions of japanese people are voting in a snap general election. the prime minister, shinzo abe, called the poll more than a year earlier than needed. if he wins, mr abe has proposed changes to the constitution, including scrapping the article that declares japan a pacifist country. speed limits through motorway roadworks in england could be raised from 50 to 60 miles per hour to combat congestion. according to highways england,

tests have found that drivers‘ heart rates are lower when the faster speed is allowed. sophie long reports. roadworks — some of them go on for mile after mile. the current speed limit is normally 50mph, but highways england says that could be increased to 60. they conducted trials with heart rate monitors measuring d rivers‘ stress levels as they pass through roadworks at different speeds. 60% of them recorded a decrease in their average heart rate in the 60mph zone. in the 55mph zone, there was a decrease in 56%. what you find at 50mph is many trucks have their speed limited to 56mph. and, therefore, they try and drive faster, they tailgate cars a foot off their bumper — that becomes incredibly dangerous. so, on those stretches,

if you can have 55mph or 60mph, you'll get less tailgating, fewer drivers studying their speedometer, and it really can be safer. but what about people working on the motorways? the unite union, which represents them, say these proposals ignore their safety. they say, in recent years, a number of motorway workers have been killed, and increasing speed limits will make their working conditions even more dangerous. motorists have mixed views. it would make myjourney a lot shorter, because immediately i'd start thejourney, i'm experiencing the 50mph speed limit straightaway, so 60 would be an improvement for me. i think that's too fast, especially when there's people on the roadside, men working on the road. i think that's too fast, that's dangerous. the speed limit should be 50mph, it's that for a reason. even that's pretty fast, if a car goes past. if a car passes you at 50, you can feel the speed of the wind from the car, i think it is too fast. highways england says it's carrying out further tests to ensure it can

be done safely, but the changes could be brought in by the end of the year. sophie long, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on this week's programme — i head to the scottish orkney islands to help uncover their neolithic past. it's about 5,000 years old, the like of which have never really been seen before. here we go, guys. yeah? go, go, go, go, go, go! we take off in macedonia in search of new thrills. and ade takes a look at what's been trending in travel online, including a tweet that's been beamed into outer space. william shatner: we offer friendship across the stars. the 0rkneys are a remote archipelago of islands about 30 miles off the northern coast of scotland. they're known for their rolling green farmland and dramatic cliffs, but they've also become

famous across the world for their extraordinary ancient sites. the region came to the attention of the archaeological world back in 1850 with the discovery of skara brae, a neolithic settlement on the west coast of 0rkney‘s mainland. since then, discoveries have been made across the islands, and ini999, a group of monuments known as the heart of neolithic 0rkney was declared a world heritage site by unesco. in recent years, new geo—scanning technology has meant more discoveries than ever before, and some say we're in a golden age of scottish archaeology. it was this sort of technology that, in 2003, helped reveal a hidden treasure —

a building complex up to 5,000 years old buried under a farm on 0rkney‘s brodgar peninsula. the site stretched over 2.5 hectares beneath the ground, comprising temples, paved streets and outbuildings. it's since been dubbed the mess of brodgar and hailed as the greatest neolithic find in the modern era. the scale of it, which is really... archaeologist nick card is responsible for excavating the mess of brodgar, which is no small task. the site is so big that even, you know, this trench behind us, it's still only about 10% of the whole area. wow! so what we're doing is just gradually unpicking it, trying to refine the chronology, seeing how all these buildings relate to each other, which ones were in use at the same time, and taking thousands of samples to try and work out how these

buildings were actually utilised. the site is open forjust eight weeks a year and requires the hard work of dozens of volunteers. right, christa, here we have the remains, and you can see the outer wall of a really large building in front of norman and ray here. oh, yeah — it goes all the way over there. tracking right round. a huge curving wall. i have a trowel. i've got one ready for you — yes, a key tool, yes — and we're going to get into the trench and we're just going to clean back from the outer face of that wall, and just gently clean back, scrape back, to reveal the paving, 0k? amazing. so let's get in and see. we're crouched over an old pathway and slowly, as we scrape away the soil, the ancient paving stones are revealed. it's fascinating to think that the last humans to touch these stones were people living up to five millennia ago. there could be anything right here. yes, you just never know. an incredible fine.

absolutely, yes. so, what is that, that i've found? i think that's a fragment of burnt bone. 0h! do you see how it's white? because it's been subjected to really intense heat. so is that an animal bone? probably animal bone here, yeah. somebody‘s had a meal, that's the remains. chucked it out the window. absolutely, yes. chucked it. it's not so much finding the special, pretty little things — which are lovely to find — it's the understanding of how the people lived here and when you find a fragment of a pot, and you think why is that artefact there? why has it been put there? and who put it there, and why did they put it there? you know, and it's unpicking that story, which is the really fascinating part for me. it's a great feeling to contribute even a little to the work taking place here. but maintaining an active site like this takes more than just elbow grease. it costs money — around £2,000 a day. much of that funding

comes from donations, including an active charitable fund based in the usa, but also relies on eu grants. some reports have suggested that britain's forthcoming departure from the eu could result in a loss of up to 30% of funding for uk archaeological research, which could cause problems for sites such as the mess of brodgar. i think in the longer term, not being able to apply for research grants like the european research council, is going to have a quite dramatic effect on how projects such as the mess will develop, and we will be relying more and more on public support. one possible solution to the funding shortfall could come from what is already a strong contributor to the 0rkney economy — tourism. 0rkney‘s popularity as a destination has grown markedly in recent years with visitor numbers reaching around 200,000 per annum. many of these tourists

arrived by sea, which is not surprising as 0rkney is the uk's most popular cruise ship destination. and one of the key attractions is the island's ancient past. many cruise passengers join tours straight off the ship and head to the site of skara brae, which has been famous since its discovery 150 years ago. it's now a well—established tourist site with buses arriving by the dozen and tens of thousands of visitors each year. skara brae is a great example of the power of ancient sites to draw tourists and how they can benefit from the tourist dollar. at the mess of brodgar, tourists visit the site daily during the season. they can view the proceedings from a specially built platform overlooking the dig site, and are encouraged to make donations. but the question is whether these contributions will be enough to compensate for any future shortfall in funding.

gareth crichton from the local 0rkney tourism group is hopeful that tourism revenue will grow and allow more support for sites like the mess of brodgar. tourism already is a resource for the archaeology but it should grow, there's lots of opportunity to develop that and that's it is something that here in 0rkney we're very, very focused on. it's very much a two—way thing. there's so much for visitors to benefit from here, the value that you get out of a visit to 0rkney and the sites, you know, it's fantastic, but it has to work both ways. for now, the team here are getting on with the job of uncovering the mysteries of the mess. what the future holds for archaeology in the region is, of course, unknown, but in 0rkney, there's always a good chance there could be even more astonishing ancient sites still hidden under the earth, waiting to be discovered.

and it's notjust the orkney islands that are brimming with history. it's reckoned there are tens of thousands of sites of archaeological interest across scotland. so here's the travel show‘s pick ofjust some of them. the west coast of lewis, which is the most northerly island in the outer hebrides, is rich in ancient remains. the standing stones of callanish are famous worldwide and a must—see for any visitor. these gigantic rocks stand between im and 5m high and are believed to have been constructed around 4,000—5000 years ago. the site also includes a burial camp where human remains have been found. over on the mainland, you will find the site of a pictish fort

close to the small town of burghead in moray. this north—eastern part of the country was one of the earliest centres of powerfor the picts, or ‘painted people‘ as the greeks and romans knew them. head to the bennachie hills in aberdeenshire to see a series of distinctive hilltops that are the site of an iron age hill fort. historians have suggested that this was the place where the caledonii tribe took on the might of the roman empire in a battle around 83 ad. according to the ancient roman historian tacitus, the caledonii lost over 10,000 warriors before losing the battle. and finally, built in the i300s, dunnottar castle is a ruined mediaevalfortress located on a craggy headland on the north—east coast of scotland, about 3km south of stonehaven. the rocks it was built on are more than 440 million years old, and the ruined cliff top fortress was once home to earls marischal,

one of the most powerful families in scotland, although they eventually lost their influence following the jacobite uprisings of the 18th century. still to come on this week's travel show, we take to the skies in macedonia. oh, my god! we're flying! wow! the travel show — your essential guide wherever you're heading. time now for trending travel, your monthly mash—up of the best travel—related stories, snaps and videos online. this year marked a0 years since the launch of voyager 1, the spacecraft that has gone on to become the most remote man—made object in space. it's so remote,

in billions of years' time, it could be the last surviving piece of human civilisation. to mark the anniversary, nasa launched the message to voyager campaign, inviting twitter users to submit a 60—character message to be beamed to the craft. the winning entry was announced last month and took almost a day to reach voyager 1. it was william shatner, the actor who played captainjames t kirk on star trek, who gave the command at nasa's jet propulsion laboratory to send a message, written by 0liverjenkins, that states: send the message. 0n yourcommand. message to voyager at 17:20:01. knowing william shatner read it is really cool. i'm a massive trekkie, so it was an honour to have captain kirk read my message. what could be more inviting

than swimming in a new york river? the waterways aren't known for their cleanliness but that could be about to change with plus pool. it's a swimming pool designed to float in the river and filter over 600,000 gallons of river water, making it safe to bathe in. the project has been floating around unrealised for years, attracting some celebrity backers and kickstarter funding. now, they're trying to get 100,000 online signatures to acquire a $100,000 grant which they claim will help turn these plans into a reality. thanks to everyone who sent us their pictures this month using the hashtag #traveltuesday. here are some of my favourites. claire snapped this view out of her hotel room in italy. while this was sent to us during the kampala city festival in uganda. rashid sent us a pic of these morning commuters in dhaka, bangladesh.

don't forget to check out our twitter and facebook feeds for loads of extra special travel show content. now let's look at the travel videos clocking up views online. this year marks 100 years since the russian revolution, so we've selected two films showing different sides to the world's largest country. this is a great place, it's a very beautiful and famous city, st petersburg. i wanted to capture the atmosphere of the city. classical music. i really wish i could get back to this country soon, because it's so big there is so much to discover. there is such a diversity in the languages, the landscapes, the culture, the music. classical music.

don't forget to get in touch. to enter this week on the travel show, we're off to the macedonian town of krusevo, which up until now, has not been on everybody‘s list of places to visit. but krusevo is slowly finding its place on the map for people who like to get their thrills high above the ground. the tiny town of krusevo has just 2,000 inhabitants. but what it lacks in size it makes up for in height. it sits at 1,350 metres,

making it the highest town in all of macedonia. but not many people outside of the country had ever heard of this place. there's one activity that's drawing people not only from all over the country and europe, but all over the world. i am at the czech and macedonian 0pen, one of the dozens of international competitions that krusevo has hosted over the years. the wind strength predicted for the whole day is six plus metres. today's competitors have come from as far away as india, russia and new zealand. they are drawn not only by the completion but, they say, by the top—notch conditions that krusevo offers. it's just perfect. the distance for take—off is very

short, just five minutes. the road is good. in some places you have to be driving for, like, one hour, on winding roads and stuff like that. the town is very small and cosy, it is easy being here. and also, the weather is very reliable. it is perfect when you want to fly a lot. as the competitors wait for their briefing, i catch up with the competition's current champion. he is one of many paragliders who comes here year after year to fly. i am hoping all of the wonderful things i heard about krusevo's flying conditions are correct. i am hoping all of the wonderful things i heard about krusevo's

flying conditions are correct. because i am about to go flying myself. i have never gone paragliding before, and even though this will be in a tandem, there is something about flying like a bird that makes mejust a tad nervous. you have the whistle here if something goes wrong. what could go wrong? i don't know... why would i have to use the whistle? ahead of my flight, my instructor gives me the rundown of everything he says i have to know. it's the easiest thing you can learn, it is easier than riding a bicycle, it is safer than riding a bicycle. it is good if you know how to do it, we prepare for the flight first, we check all the equipment. then in two steps, we are in the air. the wind, not too strong. if you want a good flight, we have this kind of weather like today.

a nice, sunny day with beautiful clouds. as luck would have it, even though krusevo is one of the world's best places for paragliding, the conditions today are not good. the wind is strong and keeps changing. disaster! and because we are flying in tandem, which is bigger and heavier than a single pilot glider, already risky wind conditions are even more dangerous for us. i'm just checking the lines. this was not properly attached. they weren't properly attached, so... i'm glad he figured that out. but igor is determined to find a spot where we can safely take off. due to the weather, and despite igor‘s best efforts, i can tell this is not going to be one of the most elegant takeoffs. and i'm not totally convinced we are going to get off the ground. but suddenly the wind takes hold

and we are airborne. i've never experienced anything like this. my heart is in my mouth as the ground disappears below. as cliched as it is to say, it is a feeling of freedom and complete vulnerability. many of us may be used to looking down on the landscape from aeroplane windows. but it is altogether different when there is absolutely nothing between you and the sky. that was amazing!

i really want to go up again. but i don't think we are supposed to, the wind is definitely getting worse. and i think one flight is all we get today. but i'm really happy with that. it was awesome. i loved flying so much, i'm disappointed we had to cut our flight short. but i'm incredibly glad we got the chance to experience something so thrilling, and in one of the best places in the world for it. no wonder paragliders become addicted to their sport, and no wonder so many of them come back to krusevo again and again. i may not be a paragliding yet, but it is easy to see the attraction. well, that's all we've got time

for on this week's travel show. coming up next week, ade is in swedish lapland, finding a city on the move, literally, in one of the world's biggest urban transformations. about 6000 people will be moving, because their houses and their apartments will be affected. that's because a sinkhole threatens to swallow up the whole of kiruna. and all these buildings, everything that you can see in front of you now, will eventually collapse into the hole. so dojoin us then, if you can. in the meantime, don't forget, you can keep up with us when we are on the road in real—time by signing up to our social media feeds. details are on the screen now. for now, from the travel show, it's goodbye. hello there.

storm brian has been bringing some strong winds across the united kingdom over the last 2a hours. the centre of brian crossed northern england during saturday night and headed out into the north sea, where it was going to be weakening through the course of the day. rain or showers, though, showing up on the radar picture. we do have some strong winds around the coastline of wales and south—west england, yesterday. the forecast was for gusts up to 70 mph, which wasn't far off the mark. inland, the forecasts were gusts to around a0 mph or 50 mph. and again, we had those kind of values across many inland areas. it was a kind of typical autumnal windy day, wasn't it? now, those strong winds are still with us for the early

risers, for the first part of the morning. outbreaks of rain across western scotland, north—west england, the north—west midlands, north wales. and the gusts were around a0 mph to 50 mph, irish sea coasts and the tops of the pennines, maybe one or two stronger gusts. temperatures 9—11 degrees first thing. so there is brian, working to the north sea, where it's going to continue to weaken and die during sunday. nevertheless, we'll get this area of rain extending from north—west england across the midlands for a time, and heading into east anglia and south—east england, before clearing out of the way. what follows through sunday afternoon will be a mixture of sunshine and showers. the majority of the showers across western areas of the uk, dry weather across the east. north—westerly winds, though, bringing cooler and fresher air. so temperatures a bit down on those of yesterday. highs between 11 and 1a degrees. now, through sunday night, we'll see the next weather system approach, bringing rain to northern ireland, wales, south—west england. there'll be some low cloud around, some mist and hill fog patches developing. and the temperatures will be rising towards the south—west. 12 degrees or so as a low down towards south—west england.

cooler conditions for a time across rural parts of scotland and north—east england. now, for monday, this strip of rain, this weather front, will continue to push its way in. so a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain for many of us. heavy for a time for northern scotland. brighter skies working to northern ireland and scotland as we go through monday afternoon. it turns a bit milder, temperatures up to 17 degrees across some areas on monday afternoon, and that's a sign of things to come. on tuesday, we've got a trailing weather front through the southern counties of england, bringing a lot of cloud. the potential of some outbreaks of rain as well. cloudy for many of us, but the best of the sunshine, really, for eastern scotland and parts of north—east england. notice the temperatures continue to rise for many of us. between 1a—18 degrees — a sign of things to come, because as we head to thursday, mild weather for this time of year. we could see highs of 22 degrees. not bad for summer, pretty unusual for this late in october. that's your weather.

welcome to bbc news. the political crisis in spain has deepened, with the leader of catalonia condemning the spanish government's plans to sack the regional administration. carles puigdemont declared that a coup was being mounted and compared the actions of the government in madrid to those of the fascist dictator, general franco. the spanish prime minister, mariano rajoy said he'd been left with no choice by an illegal independence referendum.