donald trump has officially declared a nationwide public health emergency in response to the growing use of prescription painkillers and other opioids. overdoses of opioids kill more than a thousand americans each week. critics have complained that the announcement does not allocate extra money. the crisis over the spanish region of catalonia is expected to intensify on friday, with two key votes in madrid and barcelona. the spanish senate is set to approve government plans to remove some powers from the autonomous region. the catalan parliament is expected to declare independence. president trump has ordered the release of nearly three thousand classified documents relating to the assassination of presidentjohn f kennedy in 1963. a woman from birmingham, who bought her husband a combat knife that he planned to use in a terror attack, has been found guilty of preparing an act of terrorism. madihah taheer, who's 21,

had expressed her support for the islamic state group on social media, but she told woolwich crown court that she hadn't known what the knife was for, as our home affairs correspondent dominic casciani reports. wrestled to the ground by armed police, a birmingham man setting out to kill. this was the man arrested, ummariyat mirza. he wanted to rampage in his home city. now convicted alongside his wife, madihah taheer, and his sister, zainub, who encouraged them both. mirza was obsessed with knives and replica guns. he wanted to fight in syria but then turned his attention to home. his pregnant wife bought him this combat knife on her credit card and he trained on this martial arts dummy. mirza's attack plan wasn't fully formed when he was arrested but he has admitted preparing an act of terrorism by researching targets, including a synagogue and this raf careers office in the city. it is one of seven foiled

plots so far this year. typical of the kinds of terrorist threat we are now seeing in the united kingdom. small groups of individuals, or in this case family members, or it could equally have been friends, sharing very explicit extremist material, being inspired by other attacks they have seen either in the united kingdom or abroad. taheer told the jury she wanted to escape her abusive father. she fell in love with mirza and he brainwashed her into supporting the so—called islamic state. as their wedding approached, taheer messaged her boyfriend, radicalisation experts say her conviction is symptomatic of the new role that some women now play. what we have seen is a woman who seems to be in control, she is confident.

she is not someone who is going to stand there but she is actively encouraging. so i think that needs to be borne in mind in terms of a shift in gender roles. the jury concluded madihah taheer was no naive young woman. she was her husband's willing partner in crime. she had wanted a hero, like the painting she placed on her facebook profile, and she found him and now they both face jail. dominic casciani, 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 in 1999, 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. so, what is that, that i've found? i think that's a fragment of burnt bone. 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 dotted 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 1m 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 1300s, dunnottar castle is a ruined

mediaeval fortress 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. we're flying! 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. ijust wanted to capture the atmosphere of the city. classical music plays. 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 plays. don't forget to get in touch. to end this week on the travel show, we're off to the macedonian town of krusevo, which up until now, hasn't 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. as we found out. 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 that 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'm at the czech and macedonian 0pen, one of the dozens of international competitions that krusevo has hosted over the years. the wind strength for today, predicted for the whole day is 6—plus metres.

today's competitors have come from as far away as india, russia and new zealand. they're 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's easy being here. and also, the weather is very reliable. it's almost perfect when you want to fly a lot. in a short period of time. 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'm hoping that all of the wonderful

things i heard about krusevo's flying conditions are correct because i'm about to go flying myself. i've never gone paragliding before, and even though this will be in a tandem, there's 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's 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 to be 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 aren't 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 we 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 take—offs. and i'm not totally convinced we are going to get off the ground. oh, my god! but suddenly, the wind takes hold and we are airborne. we're flying! i've never experienced anything like this. my heart is in my mouth as the ground disappears below. whoa! as cliched as it is to say, it is a feeling of pure freedom and of complete vulnerability. many of us may be used to looking down on the landscape

from aeroplane windows. but it's altogether different when there is absolutely nothing between you and the sky. wow! that was amazing! i really want to go up again. but i don't think we're supposed to, the wind is definitely getting worse. and i think one flight was all we get today. but i'm really happy with that. it was awesome. i loved flying so much, i'm a little disappointed that 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 paraglider yet, but it's easy to see the attraction. well, that's all we've got time for on this week's program. coming up next week, ade is in swedish lapland, finding a city on the move, literally, in one of the world's biggest ever urban transformations. about 6,000 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 here in 0rkney, it's goodbye. well, friday is looking beautiful and sunny across most of the uk — how about that! at least that's the forecast. the morning might be a little cloudy and misty in some areas, particularly across the south of the uk but by the time we get to the second half of the morning, and certainly lunchtime, it really will be a case of a beautiful autumn day across the country. we had a lot of cloud and drizzle earlier on, but now that has pushed out of the way, it is moving further east and south.

this high pressure is building. it is squeezing out that weather front which will be just about hugging the south coast during the early morning, so temperatures still here on the mild side. it's the tlick cloud and a bit of drizzle that keeps those temperatures from dropping too low. but the clear skies further north means that it will be quite nippy start to the day. so in glasgow, i think, six degrees first thing in the morning. a little bit less cold in belfast, around nine degrees. but wherever you are across the country, it will be somewhere within that range. the far south still around about 11 or 12 and, notice, that parts of somerset, devon, maybe cornwall, still underneath the cloud. this is a during the early morning. even a spot of drizzle but that should quickly fade away and then we are left with a mostly windless day, sunny skies and very decent temperatures. nothing to be sniffed at, in fact. across the south of the country, up to around 15. notice that the winds are a little bit stronger, more arrows here, across scotland. in fact, the northern isles will be very blustery and those winds will be increasing and there is a change on the way because friday will be the best day

overall of the next few. by the time we get to friday night, and into the early hours of saturday, the winds keep on strengthening across many northern and north—western parts of the country and that cloud returns off the atlantic. there will be drizzle in places and some hillfog too, so i think quite a grey picture on saturday for many of us but eastern parts of the country, anywhere from aberdeenshire the borders, say, hull, london, down to the south coast, these areas will have another sunny day. and then saturday into sunday, we see colder air coming in, from the north — not desperately cold — we are not forecasting a freeze or anything like that — it's just that it's going to feel quite a bit fresher compared to what we would have had recently. so temperatures, i think, on saturday and certainly sunday around 8 or 9 degrees across northern areas. a few showers scattered around. further south you are, the milder it will be — in london and plymouth, for example, still around the mid teens. so a big contrast between the north and the south but still relatively settled with high pressure. later on, monday into tuesday, we'll start to see weather fronts

marching in off the atlantic. bye— bye. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is duncan golestani. our top stories: president trump declares a national public health emergency, saying opioids kill more than 1,000 americans every week. spain's parliament is expected to vote on imposing direct rule on catalonia to prevent its bid for independence. 3,000 once—secret files about the jfk assassination are released, but hundreds more are held back. also in the programme, rescued after five months at sea — the two sailors and their two dogs who disappeared in the pacific ocean.