this is bbc news — our latest headlines: north korea says the latest un sanctions are an "act of war" — as they amount to a complete economic blockade. pyongyang has vowed to strengthen its nuclear deterrent. rescuers are searching for victims of a tropical storm in the southern philippines. more than 200 people have died in mudslides and flash floods. emergency services have yet to reach some of the affected areas. two men have died after a multiple vehicle crash on m40. four people were injured, one seriously. the motorway is now re—opened. britain's political leaders are using their annual christmas messages to praise those who help others. theresa may thanked the armed forces and emergency services. labour'sjeremy corbyn urged people to think of the lonely and those in conflict zones. now on bbc news, ade adepitan looks back at 2017 on the travel show. a year in which the team have visited 60 countries to bring

you the best stories from around the globe. wow! that's just a taste of what's coming up in the next half—hour, as we take a look back at some of the best bits on what has been a truly memorable year. it's taken us to all four corners of the world, we've met some amazing people with some fantastic stories. but first, let's kick off with these ones. in a moment we've got me fishing for my lunch here in finnish lapland and then rajan gets to be the first member of the public to take a ride on europe's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. but first, back in january, henry travelled to turkey to explore a massive underground city recently found that is slowly revealing some fascinating stories about the country's history. wow, look at all of this.

i find it hard to believe that people were living on top of here and all of this was actually hidden, so they had no idea this was here. that is insane! wow, that ceiling is unique. what's all this? this is a monastry and, according to the scientists, the monastery dates back to the sixth century ad. the winding tunnels and hidden openings offered protection from attacking armies. wow! look at that! i've actually heard of this spot, because all of the archaeologists were very excited about this. this is a church, an underground cave church, dating back to the 12th century. going forward there are plans

to turn sections of the cave network into an archaeological park with art galleries and boutique hotels. authorities hope to open it to the public in 2018 when visitors can see the excavations in theirfull glory. it's —13 degrees celsius today and guess what i've got lined up? it's a great way to keep warm. if you're cold, do that! yeah. the real thrill here is actually trying to catch fish with a rod. can i have a go? yep. there are fish below us, swimming under one metre of ice. well done!

it's getting tougher now. argh! there's layers under, so... ah! see i did all the hard work and then you did a little bit! i take the credit! give me some reindeer hide! there's a real emphasis on low impact tourism here, which is playing a big part in protecting this fragile arctic ecosystem. you should admire my technique here. multitasking. yeah, multiple chances to get fish. fishing isn'tjust done for the tourists, it's a real fact of life for many of the people who live here. with only a handful of shops around, most fish still have to be caught rather than bought, otherwise nobody eats.

did we get a fish? look at that! it's a pike. it's a pike! and it's been messing up my net. so fish and potatoes on monday, potatoes and fish on tuesday... wednesday, maybe reindeer bits, thursday fish and potatoes. good diet! portaventura is a well—established theme park, spain's biggest in fact, and they get about 4 million visitors here a year. but now they're building something that they say will take it to a different level and will give us one of the most amazing experiences in the world. i've come to ferrari land, licensed by the famous car brand, just as the finishing touches are being put to the site days before the launch. there are 11 rides here in total, but one in particular is hogging the limelight as the main attraction. a velocity accelerator

ride called red force. two years in the making, it's now europe's and fastest ever rollercoaster. 112 metres high at a speed of 180km/h. that's nought to 180 in five seconds flat! shall we go for it then? yeah, let's go for it. come on, let's do it. just do it. 0h, we're going to get the best views from the front. you feel the force on your face as well. right...right. there's a loose bolt there. should that be... 0h, there's a loose bolt, is there? hands up? yep, thanks up. eyes wide open. you don't want to miss it. ok, i'll try my best! i'll try my best. see if you can tell the difference... here we go! ..between the seasoned coaster and the rookie tv presenter. no, i knew you wouldn't be able to. 0h!

what the hell! you know, over the past year we estimate the travel show team have clocked up over 60 countries, travelled through 2a different time zones, countless times, to give you some of the best stories from all over the world. and here are a couple where we met some truly inspirational and remarkable people.

in a moment we'll see rajan report from gir national park, in western india, where he went on patrol with the real—life cat women who help to protect the endangered asiatic lion. but first, earlier this month i headed to america to join disabled athletes from across the globe who travelled to maryland to take part in a championship that pushes them to the limit and beyond. the working wounded games has adaptive athletes compete across a range of body building and weightlifting challenges. volunteers! most para—sport is categorised by ability, but the working wounded games are different. by modifying rules for each individual athlete, they encourage

people with a range of capabilities to compete together. let's go! and one 18—year—old competitor is getting a lot of attention. tell me what you're trying to do. and it's mainly because of your right—hand? there's no strength in it. nora has never been able to complete a pull up. unless she can now figure out a way, she'll finish last in this round. this is going to be a real challenge for her, physically and mentally. go, go, go! yeah! two in a row!

how many had she done? there's no let up. it's then on to the rest of the workout. yeah! you were crying, you had tears. your coach was hugging you. why were you so emotional? it's ok, take your time. was that the first time you've been able to do pullups? it's norwegian power! definitely. on average, the unarmed ranges cover

25 kilometres a day and have to tackle than snakes, leopards and poachers, as well as lions. if they did get agitated, how would you be able to tell from the animal? how would you know if you are safe, being this close to the animal? and it did get dangerous forjayshree early on in her career. applications from women for these posts have rocketed and the rangers are role models and trailblazers in the region today. look at that mouth! the good news is that from once being in danger of extinction, numbers have climbed to over 500.

the next much more welcome problem is if the sanctuary is actually big enough for their growing population. up next, a couple of films that put my fellow presenters to the test. back in september, carmen faced her fears and took on some ofjapan‘s more challenging traditional dishes. first, back injanuary we skipped a hotel and arranged for christa to spend the night in a draft english church instead. thankfully she survived, but i'm not sure she'll be booking again next year. i am here for a spot of champing — church camping. it's available at 12 historic venues around the country. beautiful, ancient sites that are rarely, if ever, used as places of mass worship any more. a very big hotel room. money raised from letting champers

like me means the crumbling buildings are spared a slow and inevitable decline. somebody at the pub just told me that tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the year, so that's good, as i head into my unheated church room for the night. i've got my air bed... sleeping bag... i've just got into bed and it's quite... i'm quite comfy, actually. quite cosy, given how cold it is and i can see my breath. i'm going to try to go to sleep now and try and forget that i am entirely surrounded by graves. it is quite cold.

i'm notably quite cold. i think there's jolly good reason that champing is usually only done during the summer. deciding to come champing in the dead of winter was a really terrible idea. wow, look at this octopus. this is tsukiji in tokyo. this is the world's biggest fish market. the early morning tuna auctions are the biggest attraction. butjust the sheer range of creatures here makes forfascinating browsing. this is all so fresh. i think i need something with a kick. the outer market is where you can try some of the more exotic flavours. this is fish fermented with its own entrails in a salty liquid usually made from wheat, miso and soy. mmm!

laughs very strong! it is really chewy, really, very very strong. speaks japanese. carmen there taking on some of japan's more challenging tastes. so to finish off this special look back at 2017, here's a run through of some of my personal favourites of the year. and over the past 12 months we have been so privileged to really see up close some amazing animals all over the world, and meet the people who live and work alongside them. i can't think of a better way to finish the programme than to share with you some of those stories again.

wow, look at that! they are so cute! i'm amazed at how much banana a little monkey like that can eat. laughs that monkey must have eaten at least ten bananas. they can eat more than ten. the villagers here believe these monkeys are sacred. there are two types — the cheeky mona, and the black and white colubus, which is slightly more aloof. harming either species is strictly forbidden under local law, which means these villages have become a sanctuary. in fact the monkeys here are loved so much, that once they die

they are given a proper burial. here, the monkeys belong to the gods, so the villagers have to stay with the monkeys peacefully here. if we harm them or punish, we get the same punishment from the gods. so we have to stay with them peacefully, and that is why the monkeys are unique from other parts of ghana. what kind of patients do you have? we have all kinds of illnesses, sicknesses, knife wounds, gunshot wounds. some have diarrhoea, constipation, cataracts, some have serious cancer, tumours. the most difficult case are the victims of landmines. for this elephant, each day starts

with her prosthetic leg being fitted, so she can walk out for breakfast. adult females weigh just under three tons on average. so the prosthetic is needed to give vital relief to her other three legs which are under enormous pressure. how long did it take her to get used to the prosthetic leg? five to seven days. the focus here is working with elephant owners in the community to help any animal that needs medical attention. they also have a nursery section and i am fortunate enough to be able to see... a newborn. the doctor gives the baby a

check—up. learning what goes on here has been an amazing experience that i won't forget any time soon. i am heading out to be desert

to experience something i am told you can only experience in dubai. i hear it will be truly breathtaking. we will release 0beron from the basket. so what's going to happen next is, i've untied him, you'll see he is wearing a transmitter on his tail, that is so i can find him if he flies away. ready, guys? five, four, three, two, one... wow! amazing. well done. did you want a go?

oh yeah, i'd love to. oh yes. peter has helped to hand rear these birds from birth, and the bond of trust between them is vital. it is clear that for him the falcon‘s welfare is paramount and months of work goes into training the birds to get them used to the sights and sounds of the balloon and its passengers. if practised correctly, these birds are in good shape. essentially the bird is not suffering? absolutely. what more could you ask for? unique experience, and what a beautiful animal. that's it for our look back at 2017 here on the travel show.

i have had such a great time seeing even more of the world and being able to share that with you guys, and i hope you have enjoyed notjust following me but the rest of the travel show team too, as we explore the world together. please make sure you join us again in 2018, but in the meantime, all that remains is for me to say goodbye from here in finnish lapland, and join the rest of the team, wherever they are in the world, in wishing you a happy and healthy new year. bye— bye. lapland, look at all that snow!

something that some of us will only be dreaming this christmas. a very different story in the uk now. no snow at all. just a pretty picture here. the headline for today, for christmas eve — mild, breezy and damp and wet in the north. the air is coming from the south and before it reaches us it cools a bit, but it is still mild and temperatures in double figure. look how far the mild air has stretched not quite into lapland, but almost. at 3 o'clock today, 11 degrees even in newcastle. 10 in glasgow. five in lerwick. and there is the rain around and that will be heavy around the lake district and more rain to come into scotland, northern ireland and to

the south of that, into the early hours of christmas, you can see the persistent south westly winds. newquay wakes up to damp weather. the afternoon could be wet. rain getting into pembrokeshire and the peninsula. but for most of england into northern england it is mild. wet for the far north of england, for northern ireland. you can see some snow mixing with the rain across the southern uplands. but five degrees in the lowlands of scotla nd five degrees in the lowlands of scotland on christmas day. so a hint of colder weather. christmas night into boxing day we're expecting some wintry weather in the north as colder air tucks in and swing in from the north. so let's look at the arley hours of boxing days. a bit of wint riness across the southern

uplands. some sleet in southern britain. boxing day, most of the morning and afternoon is bright. colder with five degrees. but watch this low pressure sneaking in, getting into that southern portion of the uk during boxing day night. there is the clock, it is difficult to get the days right this time of year. here it is, the outlook for christmas. so there will be some rain. some will be turning to snow, but a little bit later on into boxing day maybe in southern parts of uk as well. on balance we won't be seeing scenes like this. this is just for the festive period. that is it from me, have a great day wherever you are. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2.00pm: north korea says the latest un sanctions are an "act of war," as they amount to a complete economic blockade. rescuers are searching for victims of a tropical storm in the southern philippines —

more than 200 people have died in mudslides and flash floods. emergency services have yet to reach some of the affected areas. 70,000 people have been displaced from their homes. two men have been killed and four people injured, following a multiple vehicle crash on the mao in 0xfordshire. the motorway has now reopened. also — britain's political leaders use their annual christmas messages to praise those who help others. theresa may thanks the armed forces and emergency services. labour'sjeremy corbyn urged people to think of the lonely and those in conflict zones.