this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has called for decisive action against the taliban after one of the deadliest attacks on the afghan capital in recent months. at least 95 people were killed and more than 150 wounded when an ambulance packed with explosives was blown up in a busy part of kabul. gunmen have stormed a nightclub in north—east brazil, killing at least 1a people. the attackers arrived at the venue in fortaleza in three cars during the early hours of saturday. local media said the shootout was a clash between rival drugs gangs. water levels are continuing to rise along the river seine in paris, following some of the heaviest rain for a century. the river's expected to reach six metres higher than usual.

sections of the louvre museum have been closed, some basements have flooded and tourist boats are no longer operating. 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 send jo 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 passed by tractor to the waters‘ edge. it's a distance 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! it's not a big one, yeah. 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, for 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 purest... 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 is 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 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, bb 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, ‘cause 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, like, 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! wew! in the meantime, make sure you to join our adventures on the road by following us on social media. from myself, and the travel team here in mexico, it's adios. hello again, good morning.

yesterday, we had some rain for a time, then we saw the cloud thinning, but we will see the clouds thickening up again and more rain returning across northern parts of the uk on that weather front. that area of low pressure to the north, though, for a while has been bringing some very windy weather across northern scotland, the winds easing by the morning, and we will have mild air all the way from southern parts of the mid—atlantic heading our way. this is tropical maritime air and it means a lot of cloud. across scotland, some rain. it won't be as windy by the morning across northern scotland. there will be some showers here, but rain across central southern scotland and quite a soggy start probably across northern ireland. and some rain and drizzle over the hills of northern england, where it will be quite gusty in the wind. generally dry elsewhere across england and wales, mild and cloudy, but still very misty and murky over the hills of wales and perhaps in south—westjust for a while. for most of us, it will be a cloudy day. that rain still there for central southern scotland. improving conditions, though,

for northern ireland. still a bit dreary over the hills of england and wales. 0n the whole, it will be cloudy and breezy, some gusty winds around. widely, temperatures around 12 degrees, even in the cloud. get some sunshine to the east of high ground and they could be even higher. a bit chillier across the far north of scotland north of that weather front there, which is bringing the rain actually across scotland. the weather front takes the rain southwards overnight and starts to arrive into england and wales on monday. behind it, we start draw down some colder air. the really mild air getting squeezed away into the near continent. so some changes on the way. by monday, the rain could be heavier at times, moving southwards across england and wales. in the afternoon, it is more across southern england, and that's where we will have the highest temperatures. eventually, we will have some sunshine in wales and the midlands. sunnier skies further north in that slightly colder air. the showers in scotland could be wintry over the higher ground but there's colder air to come later on in the week. a chilly start for tuesday. maybe some frost around here and there but some sunshine early doors before things tend

to cloud over, and it's going downhill right at the end of the day as we start to see some rain coming into the south—west. at the same time, some rain heading into the north—west. so temperatures are little lower, 6—8 degrees, fairly typically. those two weather systems bringing the rain sweep through overnight, then we draw our air all the way from the north and north—west, and that means it will be turning colder. it is also turning very showery, i think, on wednesday. there will be some strong winds around as well. and particularly for the northern half of the uk, those showers will be of a wintry flavour. it feels colder with the strong winds. goodbye. hello and welcome to bbc news, i'm duncan golestani. president trump has called for decisive action against the taliban, in the wake of one of the deadliest attacks on kabul in recent months. at least 95 people were killed when an ambulance packed with explosives was blown up in a busy part of the afghan capital. zia shahreyar reports from kabul. an ambulance packed with explosives,

driven into crowds on their way to work. the force of the blast shook the windows of buildings at least