big mess of cloud working its way gci’oss big mess of cloud working its way across us big mess of cloud working its way across us at big mass of cloud working its way across us at the moment. it is bearing rain this afternoon, particularly for the south—east of england and east anglia. that is courtesy of a weather front. elsewhere, the prospects should become drier. stilljust before northern england, the south—west of england, sunshine further north. very windy for northern and western scotland, quite a lot of showers as well. the weather front, scotland, quite a lot of showers as well. the weatherfront, onto scotland, quite a lot of showers as well. the weather front, onto the continent, quite probably through the evening. dry if we are handing out and about. a little bit chilly towards the end of the evening. through the small hours, piling in with more cloud and a mild end to the night across england and wales. more rain heading into scotland and northern ireland. quite wet prospects for much of scotland and the north of northern ireland on sunday. further south, generally drier but still an awful lot of cloud. it will be a mild day. temperatures of 12 or 13 degrees. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. every current rape case in england and wales is to be reviewed "as a matter of urgency". it follows the collapse of several trials because crucial evidence wasn't disclosed. a0 people have been killed and more

than 100 injured as an explosion rocks the afghan capital kabul. it comes a week after a major taliban attack on a high—profile hotel in which more than 20 people died. there is relief for a thousand workers at aerospace firm bombardier as massive tariffs will not now be imposed by the us authorities. the prime minister has welcomed the landmark ruling. the release of serial sex attacker, john worboys, has been put on hold. it comes after two of his victims won the first stage of a legal challenge. paris is on high alert for flooding. record rainfall has caused the river seine to burst its banks in one of the wettest januarys in paris in more than a century. hundreds of homes have been evacuated, and tunnels and roads have been sealed off. let's have a quick look at the scene live now. you can see that the water is very high indeed there under that

bridge across the river. very gloomy day as well. you can't even see the eiffel tower. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the show: the sinkholes left behind by the shrinking dead sea. it is devastation, but it is also quite beautiful, isn't it? travel tech you can talk to... i have packed it. can you say it again? and i'm in mexico to see one of the world's most impressive migrations. first up this week, we're in the resort of ein gedi in israel,

on the banks of the dead sea. this vast, salty lake is one of the region's top tourist attractions, but it's one that's slowly disappearing, leaving behind a scarred landscape, which we sentjo whalley to explore. this is the lowest point on earth, and people come here from all over the world to experience the surreal sensation of floating about in the hyper salty waters. but, in recent years, the dead sea has been shrinking back — at a rate of more than a metre a year. the phenomenon's being caused by a sharp decrease in the amount

of waterflowing into it, as the countries along the river jordan, the dead sea's main source, harness the water's flow for industry and farming. 30 years ago, the dead sea came all the way up here, right up to these beach umbrellas. but now the sea's receded so much that tourists need to be bussed by tractor to the waters' edge. it's a distance of more than a mile. the tractor rides might be a fun novelty for tourists, but they're expensive to run. and the shrinking sea has caused an even bigger problem: as the waters recede, huge underground salt deposits are left behind, and when the salt dissolves, the ground above it can collapse

without warning, causing sinkholes. yariv has seen the impact first hand. this is the main road, and the main beach, and the main touristic place that used to be... i can see how the roads just all given away. yeah, yeah. everything just collapsing, everything just falling apart. yeah. two years ago, this road, which was one of the country's major highways, was closed and rerouted, after the surface started to sink. it's now an enormous hole. it's crazy, it looks like an earthquake. it is. yeah, unfortunately, it is. yeah, that's uh... basically, that's what's going on. the ground is just falling apart. and it's all fractured, all the way down there. and it's still active. everything's collapsed into that hole. yeah. and this is one of the — and this is part — relatively small. well not so — let's say not so big.

that's a small one? not so big, yeah. hah! how many sinkholes are there now? around... more than 6000, 6500, let's say, around 6500. when did the first hole happen? the beginning of it was the late 80s. it was a phenomenon — a nice one, interesting — very interesting phenomenon. but itjust escalated very much and very fast. and once you bring people next to it, people who live, people who work here, and tourist places, then you just have to leave the place and then you get the biggest damage that you can get. this tourist resort used to be one of the dead sea's few public beaches. two years ago, it had to be evacuated when the ground

became too unstable. wow. the whole building had to be abandoned. yeah. in a short — very short notice, we had to just take everything, pack our bags, stuff, equipment, and just leave. it looks like a war, so... there is a plan to reverse the fortunes of the dead sea by pumping water into it from the red sea, over 100 miles away, but that could take many years, and no one knows for sure if it will work. in the meantime, the people here are determined to rebuild, using satellite mapping to assess where new holes might open up. um, actually, what you see

there, like a big lagoon, is a chain of sinkholes. eli raz helped develop the satellite system. he's been studying the sinkholes for the past 17 years. so is it safe to explore this area? it is quite safe to somebody who knows where to go, somebody who knows the nature of the sinkholes. for somebody who doesn't know nothing at all, it could be dangerous. eli has started taking groups out to safely view the sinkholes. he wants something positive to come out of the problem. first of all, to raise the awareness of people to the dead sea crisis, but also, on the other hand, to give explanations. people are willing to know what's happening. and then we have also the other side of the problem.

people are amazed by the scenery. it is beautiful. and that's why it's very important to let the people an access the sea — a safe one. nowadays there is no safe access. and i think that we are losing something. the idea is for people to be able to see the geological wonders that have appeared as the dead sea has receded. i just want to show you my diamonds. oh, wow. oh my gosh. they are actually crystals, idiomorphic crystals of salt. can i keep this? yes, of course. this is, you know, a gift from... thank you very much. a giftfrom... a gift from the dead sea!

that's incredible. and it isn'tjust salt diamonds that are formed along the shore. and here is the pearls... oh wow. they form just on the slope. and the waves roll them up and down. so diamonds and pearls. diamonds and pearls, yes. you're spoiling me. it is amazing to grab handfuls of these pearls. they're so beautiful. is there a sinkhole near here? there are sinkholes, of course, all along the coastal plain. and can we go and look at one? yes. ok, let's go, then. 0h! is that it?

all of that? yeah. this is one of the biggest sinkholes, yeah. it's absolutely enormous. this is about a0 metres, 50 metres in diameter. wow! it's filled with water, as well. this is the groundwater. iam a bit scared, here, eli. being sensitive. not exactly sweet water, with the ability to dissolve salt. yeah. it's like a lagoon, isn't it? it's like a lagoon. such a lot to take in, because there is devastation, but it is also quite beautiful, isn't it? always better to look at the bright side of the problem, yes. it's the eerie beauty of this

place that it's hoped can be used to attract more tourists to the area and repair some of the economic damage that has been caused by the sinkholes. if you're planning a trip to the dead sea, you don't have to worry about a sinkhole opening up under the beach. the affected areas are clearly signposted, and should not be entered without guidance from an expert. still to come on the travel show... i'm in central mexico to see one of the world's greatest wildlife migrations. wow! normally we're not allowed to get this close! so don't go away. the travel show: your essential

guide, wherever you're heading. where's the closest train station? where's the closest pizza restaurant? what's the weather going to be like later? voice—activated tech has exploded in popularity in recent years, with gadgets and apps that use speech commands becoming a big part of our lives and our homes with little devices standing by as an in—house personal assistant. but now, smart speakers want to change the way you travel before you've even packed your bags. google home has launched a packing assistant, b bot, that has been launched by airline klm. i'm really intrigued to give this a go. 0k, google, talk to klm. where are you going? tokyo. i have made a personal packing

list that is perfect. let's start with travel essentials such as your passport and bank cards. i have packed it. make sure to pack enough underwear for seven days. underwear, very important. underwear. i've packed it. make sure to pack enough underwear for seven days. i've packed it. i've missed what you've said. i'm coming. pack pants for seven days. i packed it. i didn't get that. can you say it again? i've packed it. sorry for asking, are you a man 0!’ a woman? woman. pack enough skirts for seven days. i'd bring my sunglasses if i were you. i've packed them. sorry, can you say that again? i've packed them. sunglasses are in the bag. just don't wear them at night — you're not the guy from the song. have a good flight. right! i'm all packed and good to go!

so, overall, i'd say bb is pretty helpful in making sure you pack the essentials and you don't forget anything. but the entire process felt longwinded, you can't interrupt her when she's speaking, i couldn't find a way to go back, and after joke four or five, it got a little bit annoying. it's very cool that it uses artificial intelligence, it all feels very futuristic, but for now, i don't think i'm ready to give up a good old fashioned list. 0ther smart speakers are getting in on the travel act, too. matt's popped around to show me how amazon's alexa can help with flight and hotel searches. welcome back. what would you like to do? alexa, search for flights to paris. please tell me when you want to fly out. in one week. when do you want to fly back to london? return in two weeks. and off we go. the least expensive flight from london to paris is a nonstop flight on easyjet for £75. so it's a great way to get a kind of rough ballpark on the kind of figures you'll be paying to go on holiday, which is quite handy. delivering that through voice,

rather than having to type it out and play with calendars and all of that stuff.. yeah, makes it effortless as well, it? absolutely. in the us right now, you can actually book your hotel. i don't know how i feel about that! i need to see what i'm going to stay in. don't people want to look at what they're investing in before they go on holiday? i guess if you've been somewhere before, orfeeling adventurous... ..if you like taking a few risks! yeah, if you've ever done a bit of travelling, you just turn up to a random hotel or hostel and, you know, go on a local‘s word, maybe... so would you book your hotel through alexa ? i'm definitely going to try it. and here's a speech—activated gadget you can try out anywhere — the gopro hero 6 black. when you're using your hands to, let's say, cycle or drive, or can't reach to touch the buttons on your camera, being able to bark commands at it in order to control it is an absolute godsend. all i have to say is "gopro, start recording."

so there are loads of commands at your disposal — you can get it to take photos, you can set it to shoot in burst mode, and you can even record a time—lapse. if you think you've filmed something that's particularly standout, you can get it to mark the clip at that exact moment by saying "gopro highlight" or, if you're a bit down with the kids, "that was sick!" when you want to stop filming, all you have to say is "gopro, stop recording." you wouldn't know it to look at, but these hills are just a couple of hours' drives from mexico city, one of the world's biggest urban conurbations. this is the transatlantic volcanic belt, but it's not

volcanoes we've come to see. i'm almost at summit of bald peak, and you can tell — i'm quite out of breath. we are about 3,000m above sea level. the air‘s thin, it's quite cold, but we are beginning to see monarch butterflies. every winter, millions of butterflies fly for around two months from canada and the us to a few patches of high—altitude forest here in mexico. most are located in the state of michoacan, but this place is slightly east of there, in mexico state. cerro pelon is the least touristy site, and somewhere you can truly be alone with these creatures. wow! normally we're not allowed to get this close but, from this distance, i hope you can see there are millions of monarchs clustered in black clumps on these fir trees.

what i find absolutely amazing about this insect is they travel 4,000km from canada, the united states, down to this particular forest. it's the longest migration undertaken by any insect. scientists only recently discovered that they use the sun to navigate to the same reserves every year, where they rest, feed, and then find a mate. in recent years, the populations have dwindled, thanks to the destruction of habitats in the us and canada, and deforestation here in mexico. one study says the numbers have gone down by 84% in the last 20 years. the fear is this — one more bad winter, and the entire colony could be gone. it's been really bad, you know?

two years ago, we had a snowstorm that killed a lot of butterflies, you know? it was — it was really, really sad to see, like, these clusters — the way we saw they are... mm—hmm. ..but those butterflies were like, dead. and they still like — the looked like they were hibernating, but they were not hibernating anymore. they werejust dead. they were frozen? yeah, frozen, cos of the weather. and what happens if there's another terrible winter like that? well, i hope they will not be there, the butterflies. the population went down a lot. the village at the foot of the hill depends largely on the butterflies for its existence. it's tiny, though the people are instantly welcoming. there isjust one b&b,

run byjoel and his american wife, helen, which they set up in an effort to make day—trippers stay here for a little bit longer. and wouldn't you know it — the one local restaurant is run byjoel‘s mum, rosea. and why do you guys love the butterflies? why are you here, doing...? well, you know, that's how i met helen. that's how we met. we met in a storm of butterflies. but anyway, you know, my dad, he was a forest ranger he retired from being in those mountains for over 30 years. when we met, there was nothing here. people came on day trips, people came from far away, they paid outside operators to come

here, and none of the money stayed in the community. so really what we wanted to do, starting our busines, was have more people come here, stay in the community, stay longer. and the numbers are much lower than they used to be in the area, with the butterflies? you'd see them on the roads flying in a river. sometimes we see that in some places, but not as often as i think older people talk about, seeing that. i've only been here for four seasons, so in four seasons, it's kind of... ..it's actually gotten better, the numbers have gotten slightly better in the last four seasons, but it's still dramatically lower than what it was. ..than it used to be. yeah. this is lusher and greener than you might expect from mexico — a peaceful place to see the migration. and here's a glimmer of hope for the people of macheros. while numbers are still critically low, the signs from this year and the last is that the worrying

decline appears to be stabilising. that's all for now. join us next time, when... rajan's at the sports festival in abu dhabi, trying to get to the top of one of the world's highest sand hills, the moreeb dune, which means "terrifying mountain". wow! that was fantastic! you know what? i've been looking at one of the world's highest and steepest sand dunes for a while now. i really want to reach the top! luckily, i've got myself a lift.

woah! woo! in the meantime, make sure you to join our adventures on the road by following us on social media. from myself, and the travel show team here in mexico, it's adios. hello. some rather gloomy weather prospects for the british isles this weekend. an area of low pressure to the north of us is feeding all of this cloud our way. hopefully though

this cloud our way. hopefully though this little clearer spot here will tuck into scotland and northern ireland this afternoon bringing some sunshine, but this curl is an area of low pressure which will keep things windy with the risk of gales to the north and west of scotland. hopefully some sunshine here despite some showers this afternoon. further south, still under that mass of cloud. he a closer look. very windy for the central and northern isles. northern ireland of two a great start with sunshine developing. as we make our way into the midlands, the south—west, some drizzle possible here and for the southeast and east anglia, some wet prospects for the second part of the day. the weather front will clear off into the continent quite promptly this evening so dry weather if you are heading out. turning a little chilly

as the windfalls in the latter part of the evening, then in comes more clout, more missed, moore, but at least it will be a mild start to monday. frost is not a problem but it will be a murky start. this weather front still to come sits across scotland and northern ireland, pushing its way through. as a way to clearing that, we will keep the rain particularly to the south—west of scotland on and off throughout the day. northern ireland, a gloomy day here, further south, a dry day and with the help of breaks in the cloud, mild air could mean one or two places the temperatures of 15 celsius. 0ne could mean one or two places the temperatures of 15 celsius. one more catch up with that weather front. the start of a new working week on monday and the front slides south into england and wales, reinvigorated as well, with heavy

rain and strong winds. a change in wind direction as well, coming in from the north—west. some cooler weather on the way on monday. this is bbc news. the headlines at 11am: every current rape case in england and wales is to be reviewed after several trials collapsed because crucial evidence wasn't disclosed. prosecutors and investigators are not doing the basics properly. a0 people have been killed and more than 100 injured as an explosion rocks the afghan capital kabul. relief for a thousand workers at aerospace firm bombardier — as massive tariffs won't be imposed by america. three teenagers have been killed after a car ploughed into them in west london. a man is arrested. also in this hour: paris is on high alert for flooding. record rainfall has caused the river seine

to burst its banks in one of the wettest januarys