the supreme court to suspend his 12—yearjail sentence for corruption. it comes just hours after he was due to hand himself into police. he has been holed up in the headquarters of a steelworkers‘ union. doctors treating the former russian spy who was attacked with a nerve agent in the uk say he's no longer in a critical condition. sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in salisbury, nearly five weeks ago. russia has threatened a ‘tough response‘ to new us sanctions imposed on russian officials and companies, who are accused of profiting from president putin's efforts to undermine the west. the blacklist includes mr putin's bodyguard, his son—in—law, oligarchs close to the president and a dozen companies they control. police say they'll take no further action against a pensioner, after an intruder was fatally stabbed at his home. henry vincent died at the house in south—east london, belonging to richard osborn—brooks.

our correspondent simonjones sent this update from outside the house in hither green. it was on wednesday morning that the pensioner decided ——discovered two intruders at his home here, it is thought one of the intruders was armed with a screwdriver. police said there was a struggle and that ended up with one of the intruders, henry vincent, being stabbed. he was discovered collapsed on the road and later died in hospital. the pensioner was arrested on suspicion of murder, much of the horror of some of his neighbours who said he was only defending his property. tonight the met have said no further action will be taken against him, they have not given explicit reasons why, but they describe what happened here as a tragedy to everyone involved. the law states that a householder does have the right to use reasonable force if they genuinely fear for their own safety in self—defence. there is no sign of him here at his home tonight, but the police presence remains. now on bbc news, it's time

for the travel show. this week, we're in cairo, as egypt's capital prepares to open the doors to the biggest archaeological museum in the world. it's fit for a king. and we go behind the scenes as scientists attempt a delicate operation to restore a priceless discovery back to its former glory. this is one of the oldest structures of wooden ship in the world. plus we hear about one man's incredible solo journey across an uncharted mountain range. we start this week in egypt's

capital cairo, a huge sprawling city and home to more than 20 million people. the traffic here in cairo is just another level. cars everywhere, and the sounds from the horns beeping, it is just nuts. as we reach giza, we get a glimpse of the archaeological wonders that have fascinated

visitors for centuries. wow! is that them? i've only ever seen them on tv. we are still quite far away from them, but actually it's breathtaking. the ancient egyptians built these pyramids as elaborate tombs for their rulers, or pharaohs, some a500 years ago. they have become the calling card of egyptian tourism. and the oldest, the great pyramid of khufu, stands at nearly 150 metres, and is the largest stone monument anywhere on earth. wow, that is awesome. seeing them in real life is so cool. tourism is one of egypt's biggest moneymakers, and in 2010 it reached an all—time high up with more than 1a million coming here on holiday.

but the following year, everything changed. change, change, change! anti—government demonstrations in cairo‘s tahrir square kicked off a wave of protests across the country. standing on the corner of the square is egypt's national museum. built in 1902, it houses perhaps the world's greatest collection of ancient artefacts, including the magnificent treasures of the boy king tutankhamen. during the turmoil, looters and vandals took advantage of the chaos and broke in. suddenly, thousands of years of the country's history were at risk. what were your emotions, what did you feel? i was concerned at first, then i keep watching and felt secure after the museum was protected

by our armed forces, and proud of those who formed a shell around the museum to protect the museum. thieves damaged the building and stole more than 50 priceless a rtefa cts. following the looting, a number of stolen antiquities ended up for sale online or at auction. the egyptian authorities managed to track them down, and now most of the stolen treasures, like this limestone statue, have been recovered. well, we are in front of the statue of king akhenaten, one of the objects that was stolen during the revolution here in egypt, and we are so lucky to get it back here at the museum, by the help of the security forces in egypt. was it damaged at all? it is not damaged, and it is as we found it, and as we got it again, so it is not damaged. cramped, dusty and overflowing, the museum holds a special place

in the nation's haase. in the nation's heart. but the break—in exposed it's outdated and weak security, and highlighted what was already known — the need to better safeguard the nation's unique treasures. here in the shadow of the pyramids, a new ambitious project is entering the final stages of construction. due to open later this year, the grand egyptian museum will be equipped to take the country's ancient treasures way into the future. when completed it will be the biggest archaeological museum in the world. this place is absolutely enormous. the footprint is 500,000 square metres. there are over 3,000 labourers working here 21w, and it cost over us$1 billion

to construct. this is the main atrium, the entrance, and when you arrive you will be greeted by this imposing statue of ramses ii, one of the greatest egyptian pharaohs. i think even he would have been impressed by the scale of this place. it is fit for a king. this state—of—the—art monument will be the new home to tutankhamen‘s treasures. and for the first time, over 5000 objects discovered in the boy king's tomb will be on display to the public. but now, they will be better protected by modern security, shedding new light on the lives of the ancient egyptians. so tell me about this piece here. this is one of my favourite pieces. it's one of the chariots of king tutankhamen. so we are pretty much looking at a 3500—year—old artefact,

but in perfect condition, intact, as it was? if we consider the 3500 years, it is in a perfect condition. restorers in these specially built labs are using the most advanced technology in the world to prepare the artefacts were display. it is very convenient now that we can use modern x—ray, we can determine the composition of the materials that were used, the original colours, the nature of the gilding, all of these new, valuable information, is being disclosed to us in a non—destructive way. more than two thirds of the objects from tutankhamen‘s tomb have been hidden away in boxes since their discovery by howard carter

almost 100 years ago. they are unrestored, and have never been seen by the public. so, nagm el deen, tell me what we can see here? what does it tell us about the king, what's the story? tourism here has really suffered over recent years. not just because of political unrest, but also through acts of terrorism. with assurances of increased security, it is hoped that this new centre dedicated to egypt's

unique history will finally help encourage tourists to come back. it's magnificent, how with every piece you discover, you add a new piece to the puzzle of ancient egypt. and the fascination doesn't stop. if you are thinking of coming here any time soon, here's the travel show‘s tips for what to know before you go. in terms of weather, egypt is pretty much a year—round destination, but temperatures can be uncomfortably hot here betweenjune and august.

so it's best to travel between september and april when the heat is a lot more bearable. before you book, make sure you check your government's travel advice, because although the vast majority of the country is safe to explore, some areas are still subject to travel advisories. sharm el sheikh is one of those areas, if you are a beach or dive fan, then check out other resorts like hurghada or el gouna instead. flights to these areas have increased, and you will still find plenty to keep you occupied. and finally, never be afraid to barter while you are here. how are you doing, you are ok? while most traders have suffered because of the downturn in tourism, haggling is still very much part of the art of buying and selling in egypt. so hold your nerve

and meet any price you are given with a much lower offer, and eventually you will agree to meet somewhere in the middle. how about 85? no problem. still to come on the travel show, we discover how a passion for hiking led to one man's incredible journey into the unknown. and i will bejoining a team of experts as they battle to retrieve a 5000—year—old piece of history from underground. so stay with us for that. next up on the travel show, a new series where we hear about some of the incredible journeys happening around the world. in armenia and georgia, the building of a new hiking trail set val ismaili on a path that took him well off the beaten track and

tested his lifelong passion for hiking. i just really, really love the act of walking itself. and what comes with it. the best feeling, when you're out on the trail are those moments when you complete something that is really difficult, or there is a danger to it, and you go through it safely. there is that feeling of complete ecstasy, that moment of immersion is, to me the reason i go hiking. i am val ismaili, and last summer i spent two months hiking 1500km

on my own to become the first person to hike the trans—caucasian trail through armenia and georgia. at the time i could not point on the map where georgia or armenia was. the trans—caucasian trail is a young project, to build a 3000 kilometre network of new purpose—built hiking trail in the caucasus, which is on the border of europe and asia. half of the volunteers are typically internationals, half would be local armenians and local georgians. it will go into the future, the next ten years, to finish. in the caucasus, there is a massive range of ecosystems, up north you have these massive alpine mountains, 5000 metres, but down to the middle and the south, is pretty much everything else you can imagine. you can walk for days and not see people, not see buildings, be completely alone.

the last time the caucasus was mapped was in the 1970s by the soviets. you can walk for days and not see people, not see buildings, be completely alone. the last time the caucasus was mapped was in the 1970s by the soviets. and so i had a chance to really contribute to the design of the trail by finding different potential routes to connect the known sections of trail with the unknown sections of trail. i was hiking by myself for eight weeks and there are no hostels along the way, there are no places you meet other travellers.

so that sometimes makes it really difficult to just carry on. and at that point, when i was struggling the most, shepherds would be living up in the mountains, they don't have very much but they would see me walking in the mountains by myself and, you know, from a distance, a kilometre or two kilometres away, they would scream at me and encourage me to come in. they would offer me food and a bed to sleep in for the night. what i would leave, they would give me a care package of food and one of the most common things in it was jars ofjam, believe it or not.

amazing fuel for the mountains. one of the best things is that the infrastructure is coming into those countries, we are building a trail, the first map since 1970s for armenia was used this summer, and is now on sale in armenia, so locals are using it. and i think that is a massive benefit to the country itself, being able to contribute in that way was really cool and finally, i am back in egypt's capital, cairo, on the banks of the nile. today 95% of egyptians live along the nile. it has always been essential to life here. the ancient pharaohs built elaborate vessels to travel along the river and these boats became some of their most prized possessions. in the scorching desert heat, an extraordinary operation is under way. i am going to a unique laboratory specially construct of next to the great pyramid

of pharaoh khufu. inside, archaeologists and scientists face a daunting task. they are trying to excavate an ancient wooden boat which was buried nearly 5000 years ago. what can we see here? this is khufu's second boat, built in bc, before christian, 2700 years. this is one of the oldest wooden ships in the world. these scientists are being led by a team from waseda university injapan, who have developed pioneering

techniques to salvage the boat. it is a delicate and painstaking process. it can take a week to recover a single plank. what is happening now? they are now trying to lift up a very long, big wooden piece. unfortunately, this boat, the condition of the boat is not so good, very weak. it is thousands of years old. yeah. if the condition is good it is easy to lift up with manpower. but in this case we did tentative reinforcement, and we lift it up very carefully. it is the second of a pair of boats which were buried in pits next to the pharaoh's final resting place.

the other ship, now housed in a museum in giza, was excavated in 195a. the boats had been carefully dismantled into thousands of pieces before being buried, along with hieroglyphic instructions on how to reassemble them. that is because the ancient egyptians believed that in the afterlife the boats would be needed to transfer the rulers‘ resurrected spirits up to the heavens. so what is happening in here? this is a lab for the conservation of khufu‘s second boat. after, as you saw, lifting the pieces from the boat, we bring the pieces here. the planks are incredibly fragile and removing

them can cause even more damage. so this temperature—controlled lab was erected to examine the pieces on site. we take the weight, and we must keep the humidity at 55%... to help preserve the wood? yes, yes. the team are cleaning and restoring the wood piece by piece. they are literally rebuilding history. this is the dream for any conservationist, not only an egyptologist, but all over the world, people would love to work on this project. we are most proud of this work. this is one of the most famous of boats. back in the excavation area, the team is still struggling to save a large part of the hull.

it has been buried for five millennia and the slightest knock could be catastrophic. it looks like it is about 20 metres long. it feels like an incredible moment here. applause. how exciting. it‘s a little bit of history. it will take several years before this remarkable boat is fully restored. but when it‘s finished, it will go on display with its sister ship in the new grand egyptian museum.

so, there you go. that‘s it from us for now. join us next week when henry heads to alice springs in australia, to find out how mountain bikes are helping to revive this iconic 0utback town which has slowly been slipping off the tourist map. and don‘t forget, you can keep up with us on all our travels in real—time by following us on social media. but for now, from me and from all the travel show team, here in a foggy ehypt, it‘s bye—bye. or as they say here, ‘salaam wa—alaikum.‘ hello.

thoughts on the weekend in just a second, but first of all, i think we should mark the fact that on friday here in the heart of london the temperatures reached in excess of 17 degrees celsius, the warmest day of the year so far. not far behind in the sunshine stakes, this was south wales. but somebody had to have all the cloud and rain and initially it was there in northern ireland and then it moved on to scotland and it was captured beautifully by graham in the heart of sterling. the weekend, for the pessimists amongst you, cloudy, damp and mild. for the optimists, there will be dry weather. this is how friday shaped up. the reason why we had the brightness down towards the south—east and the warmth was because the frontal system never actually made it down into the south—east and into the first part of saturday, the rain still drifting its way slowly

towards the northern half of scotland and then it arcs back from the north sea down to a new area of cloud and rain towards the south—west. all of that cloud means that the weekend will not start on a particularly cold note. that frontal system that i‘ve drawn there as a straight line will wave all over, particularly the central and eastern parts of the british isles for a good part of the weekend. to its east, there is some relatively mild air to be had. as i say, we‘ve already got the temperatures up to 17 and we won‘t be far off that mark — if we get a little bit of brightness, perhaps, across east anglia and the south—east. but further west, closer to that weather front, perhaps, the rain can be quite heavy for a time and as you see, it really only drifts very slowly further north. it could eventually end up into northern ireland, could get up to the scottish borders and eventually clear from the south. a bit of brightness here, that‘s where it could hit 16 or 17.

some nice dry weather across the north of scotland. and from saturday on into sunday, the same weather front. we‘ve got one little wave on it there. it‘s a zone of cloud rather than a thin banner of cloud. and, again, at its thickest, it could be producing rain. at this distance, my money is on the fact that there could be cloud and rain across east anglia and the south—east. elsewhere, this is where the optimists get their day, lots of dry weather around and there may be sunshine that could, even as far north as edinburgh, be boosting the temperatures to around about 13 degrees. just a sneaky peek at the start of next week, when you thought it was this atlantic front coming in to dominate the weather, in fact it is a low pressure over france, which eventually churns cloud and rain in from the east and south—east across a good part of england and wales. the best of the dry weather further north. hello, this is breakfast, with rachel burden and steph mcgovern. 300 extra officers are being deployed on the streets of london this weekend to tackle

a rise in violent crime. more than 50 people have been killed since the start of the year. today there are calls for police to make more use of stop and search powers. good morning, it‘s saturday the 7th of april. also this morning: how holidaymakers are losing out. new figures show booking scams cost over £6.5 million last year. russia warns of a tough response after the us imposes sanctions on oligarchs and government officials.