forces last month. hundreds of so—called islamic state fighters and their families escaped in exchange for hostages. some of those who left included is's most notorious criminals. a huge relief effort is under way following the earthquake on the iran—iraq border — that left at least a50 people dead and thousands more injured. communities left homeless by sunday's quake are spending a second night in the open. officials in iran are setting up relief camps for those displaced. roy moore — the republican candidate in alabama election race for the senate — has been told by senior party figures he should step aside in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. roy moore dismissed claims he initiated sexual contact with a 14—year—old nearly a0 years ago as "fake news" the church of england is telling its schools that children should be free to explore their identity and that both boys and girls should be free to dress up in a tutu, a tiara or a tool belt,

withoutjudgement. the updated guidelines aim to prevent children being bullied because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. here's our religious affairs correspondent martin bashir. dressing up is notjust a favourite activity for the reception class at this london church primary school, it's also part of a curriculum designed to encourage individuality and discourage bullying. the church of england has updated its advice for its 4,700 schools to protect children who may be considering transition from one gender to another. being an individual is very important and respecting everybody‘s right to be an individual is important to us so if children aren't themselves, then they can't be free to learn and that is key. the new guidelines say children should be allowed to try many cloaks

of identity without being labelled and that a child may choose the tutu, princess's tiara or fireman‘s helmet without expectation or comment. today's guidance is designed to prevent bullying in schools like this but on the issue of human sexuality, there is deep division within the church of england and some evangelical christians see today's announcement as an attempt to erode the authority of the bible and embrace an ever—changing culture. what people expect the church of england to do is to set forth the framework for living as set out in the bible, that we are all made wonderfully in the image of god, male and female, and the church of england today seems to have failed in its duty to say that to the nation. but the archbishop of canterbury, who expressed his support of the new guidance in writing and on social media, rejects this criticism, saying no child should be diminished by being reduced to a stereotype or a problem. martin bashir, bbc

news, central london. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the travel show — as the world marks armistice day, we are in america to explore a fleet of abandoned first world war ships. creating a national tourism resource which brings people from all over the world. these ships were involved in saving the world from totalitarianism. we meet the spider men and women of guizhou in china. and go behind the scenes at a new show were the cast members have to get used to performing in a downpour. obviously, this is due bias there is no expense spared in the staging.

we are talking 65 world—class artists, athletes and performers and best of all, in the middle of the desert, you can even get rain. the potomac passes some of washington, dc‘s most iconic landmarks. george washington, founding father and original president of the united states,

lived on its banks. but follow the river just 30 miles south and you will discover a section that is a world away from the capital's boulevards and monuments. this is mallows bay and it is a paradise for kayakers. when you look around, you can see why. so much natural beauty here and the wildlife is amazing. when the bay is full, you might assume it isjust another beauty spot. but as the tide rolls out, its secrets are revealed. this is what remains of potentially the largest group of world war i ships anywhere in the world. and i am here a century after the united states entered the conflict. the wreckage of around 100 war—era vessels can be discovered here. to find out how they ended up

30 miles south of washington, dc, i've arranged to meet marine expert donald shomette. hello, there. hello. how are you going? lovely to meet you. when we entered the war, we didn't have much of an army or a navy or much of anything and when we asked the prime minister of england, lloyd george, what can we do, he said ships, ships and more ships because one out of every two ships was being lost per week that sailed from england to france and the supply line was stretched. there was the threat of starvation. by 1918, we outstripped the united kingdom, great britain, in shipbuilding. while the makeshift vessels were built at a breathtaking speed, they were completed too late to play a major part in the war.

after the armistice, the world was in economic turmoil and the wooden ships, obsolete. with few commercial prospects, the us government sold them off to a salvage company. the company eventually brought them over here in this burning basin over here, they take the ships, burn them down and try and get the maximum metal out of them. so this is a graveyard for ships? yeah. and it's notjust first world war vessels which can be found here. donald claims the oldest wreck goes all the way back to the american war of independence, 240 years ago. in total, it is estimated the area holds the remains of almost 200 ships. this wreck is a latecomer. she is called the accomac and she was built in the late 1920s as a passenger ferry. the crazy thing is,

even though this ship has died, there is so much living stuff on it. 0n the surface, the wrecks might look like an environmental disaster but they have been left alone long enough to be reclaimed by nature. back in my kayak, i am joined by conservationist joel dunn. you can see why they call these shipwrecks flowerpots. in the uk, people pay good money to have biodiversity like this on the roofs of their houses. what sort of wildlife can i expect to see? bald eagles and ospreys and great blue heron and otters and beavers and lots of fish below the water. so you could be eaten by the wildlife if you go back into the bush there?

the bay is a relatively shallow water body with a typically muddy bottom so the shipwrecks create structure and from structure, you get diversity and from diversity, you get magic. joel, donald and other conservation groups have teamed up to have mallows bay recognised as a national marine sanctuary. if approved, the site's wildlife and history will come under the protection of noaa, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. so there's 13 national marine sanctuaries in the country, we want this to be the 14th. it will bring it more attention, partners in funding and some level of protection from people who may be harvesting historical artefacts. the biggest thing it does, though, is it creates a national tourism resource that brings people from all over the world. but opinions are divided on these new protections.

nearby, i meet some commercial fishermen making their living from the river's teeming wildlife. slimy gross thing. it is heavy, isn't it? oh, yes, definitely happy. it is going on forever. these are the blue catch. they are ugly suckers, aren't they? not real pretty. they migrated down. it's a million—and—a—half dollar industryjust on this river alone... they are concerned that turning mallows bay into a national marine sanctuary could down the line lead to restrictions on our fishing. 0ur problem is the unknowns. we want it to put in writing that they that will never bother our industry because our livelihoods depend on it as they will not give it to us, they say, "we can't do it." they say they have

no plans to do it. won't the extra tourism benefit you? no. people go into the restaurants who will want to eat, there'll be demand for more fish, won't there? our sales will not increase that much in that area. people will be going back to dc. the organisations behind the nomination insist their plans won't impact fishing. the final decision is expected next year. donald is adamant about the benefits that sanctuary status will bring to mallows bay. the visitation will enlarge enormously after it becomes a national marine sanctuary. we want americans to see this, we want the world to see this. this is a world—class site. these ships were involved in saving the world from totalitarianism. this is important. since the project began 45 years ago, in 1972,

there have been 13 marine sanctuaries designated all across the united states. you can find the first site off the coast of north carolina. the final resting place of the uss monitor. the monitor fought on the union side in the american civil war and took part in the first ever naval battle between ironclad ships. diving down to the wreck requires a permit so if you don't want to make the plunge, you can head to neighbouring virginia where a full—size replica is on display at the visitor centre. for those who prefer warm waters, florida keys is home to one of the world's largest living barrier coral reefs. there is also estimated to be 1,000 shipwrecks spread across the ocean floor. it was declared a sanctuary in 1990 and the protection zone takes in almost 3,000 square nautical miles. over on the west coast,

near california's big sur, is monterey bay. it is a popular site in for nature watchers and has been called the serengeti of the sea, a reference to tanzania's famous wildlife reserve. and if you want to visit a marine safari, from around november to february, you can spot elephant seals during their breeding season. the seals are a triumphant conservation story. once they were almost hunted to extinction but now there are more than 200,000 worldwide. coming up on the travel show, we head to china to meet the spider men and women of guizhou. anyway, it's off to dubai to take

a look behind the scenes at a new show where the performers also need to have a good head for heights. thousands of artists were auditioned from across the world. we chose 65 of them to come here and they came from 23 different countries. so don't go away. the travel show, your essential guide wherever you are headed. next up, we are travelling to guizhou in china, home of the miao minority, where for centuries they have climbed the region's sheer cliff faces without ropes. in the past they did it to collect herbs

for chinese medicines, but we heard that they are now putting their skills to a different use. so we went to meet them, and it goes without saying, please don't try this at home. the incredible spidermen and women of guizhou in china. and we are finishing this week by meeting another group of people with a great head for heights. this time in dubai, home of the world's tallest building, the burj khalifa, and is also the venue of a new show where gymnasts and athletes are turning years of training into an art form. we sent rajan to meet them. dubai might be known for its skyscrapers and luxury lifestyles, but it is here in this basement rehearsal room that the emirates' latest attraction takes shape.

new york—based artistic director tara young is responsible for leading this team of talented gymnast and performers. thousands of artists were auditioned from across the world. we chose 65 of them to come here, they came from 23 different countries. and after months of extensive training and rehearsal, they've opened a production called la perle, staged in a new purpose built home here in the heart of the city. i need to be a little bit, a little bit pointe and no inside, straight. ranging in age from 17 to 37, these championship level gymnasts have a daily training schedule, perfecting and maintaining their skills. on a day—to—day basis,

the artists train for 8—12 hours a day, depending on the day. what's unique now, in operation, is that we are now operating between eight and ten shows a week, so on top of their performance schedule they are also doing training. you can see from watching the action, there is a huge amount of trust that is built between these two. nick and hayley met when they arrived here, but they are both specialists in what they do. but they had never worked together before, so they had to learn to work together. i myself trained at gymnastics since the age of seven, like many of the performers in the show, we did gymnastics from a young age. with gymnastics it's very important the technical side of things, which helps you perform, or do the skills, and make them look effortless. and that's a really big part of ourjob

as artists, to really give intention to what we're doing, but also to make it look effortless. and obviously after many years of training it does become fairly effortless. we obviously have to put effort in, but it is making it look clean and simple to the audience, to make them feel that they could maybe try that skill and succeed, but obviously it is a lot harder than it looks. working at height brings its own challenges, and it can take many months for the artists to get used to performing in the specially designed harnesses that lift them off the ground. in the show i am classed as a flyer, so i work a lot with the guys, they lift us, they throw us in the air, somersault, catch, the opening act that we do, we are flying in harnesses and we come in from the top of the stage, and interact with the other performers on the ground, and that's a good feeling. because you are flying up from high, a big height, so it gives you a little bit of a rush. this show is the first theatrical

production to take up permanent residence here in dubai. and its home is a new purpose built 10—storey theatre complex kitted out with a state of the art lighting and sound system. the show was conceived and curated by franco dragone, the man behind cirque du soleil, and it draws its inspiration from the story of dubai and how it transformed from a humble pearl trading outpost to the global city it has become today. but audiences are encouraged to interpret the story with their own meaning, mixing fantasy with reality accompanied by a specially composed score. unique to the staging is this — the water pit, which can be filled or drained in seconds, and forms an integral part of the set, and means that the performers have to be adept at working both wet and dry. obviously, this is dubai,

so there is no expense spared in the staging. we are talking 65 world—class artists, athletes and performers. we are talking motorcycles circling round in a bowl in midair. and best of all, in the middle of a desert, we can even get rain. next year, cirque du soleil completes its 20th anniversary in residence in las vegas, and the creators of la perle are hoping that their production will be equally as successful in its new permanent home here in dubai. but in the meantime, no matter how many shows they give, for the performers pushing their bodies to the limit high above the stage, no day is ever the same. you have to say there is always

challenges in live theatre, but that is what makes it exciting for us. every day, there's new things that can happen to us, a new audience comes in, so every day is new show. technically there will always be challenges in a new theatre, but we have the most amazing crew they can overcome this, and artistically we have a really strong cast that can roll with it, and when there is a change at last minute they can actually improvise — it's because they're so skilled that that can happen, so it's all good. that's it for this week. coming up next week: carmen is injapan, learning

about what is being done to help save one of the country's most beautiful train lines. i never expected this tiny station to be so busy. i don't think we're going to get a seat! and we're off to new york to join a dinner party with a difference as we drop in on the gastronaut‘s club, which specialises in eating some of the strangest and scariest food in the world. oh dear. one of the biggest misconceptions about the gastronauts is that we just eat crazy things just for the sake of eating crazy things — that's not true, the things that we eat are actually really delicious. and don't forget you can keep up with us in real—time by following all our social media feed. all the details should be on your screens right now. but for now from me and all the travel show team here in maryland, it's goodbye.

hi there. yesterday was a pretty chilly day, with temperatures between five and seven celsius. it was even cold enough for a bit of snow in scotland. i know many of us go nuts for snow, but these scenes are likely to be short—lived, because the air is going to be turning a little bit milder today. the cold weather we had yesterday was due to these northerly winds moving down across the uk. but we've had a change of wind direction over the last 12 hours orso, dragging in much milder conditions. a weak weather front lying across central portions of the uk will thicken the cloud up,

to bring us some spots of light rain or drizzle. but still, for most of us it is a cloudier, milder kind of day. now, first thing in the morning, these are the kind of temperatures you'll be contending with as you head outside the door, typically around 6—10 degrees. a little bit colder than that across rural parts of southern england, and perhaps cold enough for a touch of frost in sheltered parts of northern scotland first thing. but, for most of us, it is quite a mild start to the day. it's mild because it's cloudy, so cloudy skies for much of england and wales. notice that cloud, thick enough to give us some bursts of rain, particularly across wales, but also some dampness at times getting across the midlands and into east anglia. north—east england,

particularly over the pennines, also pretty grey. a lot of cloud first thing in the morning, too, for northern ireland, but 10 degrees in belfast, mild conditions here. best of the early—morning sunshine will be across much of scotland, although there will be a few showers in the far north. through the rest of the day, slow changes overall. it will brighten up, though, for north—east england. the best of the sunshine continues to be in scotland. otherwise, a lot of cloud for northern ireland, england and wales, continuing to be thick enough for occasional patches of rain, not really amounting to too much. temperatures up on those of yesterday, 10—12 degrees for most. still a little on the cool side for the north and eastern parts of scotland. now, for tuesday night, if we see some cloud breaks, we may well see things turning rather foggy. otherwise, it stays cloudy for england and wales, and that cloud will help keep temperatures up, 8—11 degrees. the colder conditions there in scotland, again, with a frost, and probably becoming a little bit sharper, as well. bear in mind, though, for wednesday, some of us may well start off with some dense patches of fog. the thickness of the fog will depend on the length of those overnight cloud breaks.

but, even if it doesn't start off foggy where you are, across england and wales, it will be grey — fog or cloud being the order of the day. further west, after a bright start in scotland, we'll see a band of rain moving into western areas. that's your latest weather, bye for now. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: from raqqa — to safety. a special report on the secret deal that let hundreds of is fighters escape. it was here that they realised that they might live to fight another day. the deal to get them out of here is the deal that no one wants to talk about. it's raqqa's dirty secret. a huge relief effort is under way after the devastating iran—iraq earthquake. a50 people are dead and thousands more injured. ala bama's republican candidate for the senate faces more calls from the top levels of his party to step aside as a fifth woman accuses him of sexual misconduct.

he says it's "fake news". and from breaking bad to breaking news. we get into character with bryan cra nston.