members of parliament in britain have confirmed a controversial plan to approve a third runway at heathrow airport. critics say the impact on local people and environment be devastating. firefighter who led the initial response to the place at grenfell tower has told an enquiry he can't recall having any training on how or when to evacuate similar tall buildings. michael downton of north kensington road watch also revealed that he hadn't been trained on how to reconsider advice given to residents for some high—rise buildings to stay put if there is a fire. 720 firefighters, 140 fire engines, and many stories of bravery that night. at but the fire brigade‘s having to answer for its failure to tell people to leave their flats.

the evidence i shall give... shall be the truth... michael dowden was one of the first firefighters at grenfell tower and in charge for the first hour. today, it was soon clear he didn't have the right training. did you ever receive any specific training on how to evacuate people from high floors in high—rise blocks, who had mobility difficulties? not that i can recall, no. government and fire brigade guidelines did suggest commanders could change the state of policy and consider evacuations, but mr dowden appeared unaware. what training did you ever receive? he paused — for 17 seconds. as a commander, i can't remember a time that i'd actually been on a training course that would facilitate that. did anyone give you any help or advice in understanding when it might be necessary to have a full evacuation? i don't think i've ever had any input from any individual.

he accepted he hadn't done all of the fire—safety checks when he'd visited grenfell the previous year, angering families by admitting he hadn't examined fire doors, escape routes, or the new exterior panels. he also revealed they'd never practised on high—rise buildings, and he hadn't known about his bosses‘ fears about combustible cladding. do you think you would be able to identify a cladding fire if you saw one? no, i wouldn't be able to identify a cladding fire because i didn't know at that point that that was being used as a building material. in his written witness statement, mr dowden said when he arrived at the fire, he was quickly out of his comfort zone and was having to make decisions he had never made before. but he said, "we did all we could". "we were all exhausted and did our best." mr dowden didn't feel well enough to continue his evidence today. he's left serious questions for the fire brigade and the way

it trained its firefighters. lucy manning, bbc news. now on bbc news, it is time for the travel show. this week we're in cairo, where i get to check out a new style of music that has become a youtube sensation. we head to italy for a cut—price guide to florence. there are many, many places you can see forfree in florence. florence is an open—air museum. we find out how to make your travel pictures pop online. and we take a walk on the wild side in spain. it's one of the most beautiful cities in italy, full of renaissance art and architecture. we start this week in florence. but recent price increases at art galleries and museums have scared off some travellers. so we sent keith wallace to see if there are ways to experience this iconic italian city on a budget.

they call it the cradle of the renaissance, and you can see why. the streets, piazzas and galleries drip with pieces from some of the most celebrated figures in history. donatello, michelangelo, leonardo da vinci. here's where you go if you want to see all those masters in one place. it is the uffizi gallery and it is incredibly popular. you can tell that because there is a huge queue. are you paying the 20 euros? yes. quite expensive. yes, but i hope it's worth it. me too.

this year the uffizi has more than doubled its entry fee from 8 euros to 20 euros, if you go in high season. which is obviously a lot of money and frankly more than i could afford. if you bring your family here on holiday you will find your budget depleting quickly. there's a 38 euro combined ticket, which gets you into a variety of museums and art galleries. and also a 50 euro annual subscription. for comparison, the equivalent ticket at the louvre in paris and at madrid's prado museum is 15 euros. at london's national gallery, admission is free. so much impressions. we see art from 400 years, i think. so i am very impressed. and the price, 20 euros? a little too high, i say. the art was pretty amazing but at the same time i think it should be more inclusive, because that's what art is about. but if you're unable or unwilling to cough up, you will not completely miss out.

there are incredible buildings and statues around every corner. ciao! francesca tells me she thinks the city is one big open—air gallery. so, tell me about david. he was made by michelangelo when he was just 26 years old. he made it for the city. at the end of the 1800s the city decided to put the statue inside the museum and they made a copy. wait, so that is a fake david? yes, a fake david. well, it is a replica, we don't like the word fake. it is a replica from the 1900s, 1911, actually. it is a modern one. but this is definitely real. just around the corner from david lies a tiny, unassuming chapel you would normally walk straight past. this is one of the hidden gems of florence, an institution which is probably unknown even to most florentines. the chapel is a charitable institution founded in the 15th

century for middle—class is who had fallen on hard times. it still operates today and meets every friday to decide who should benefit from its donations. but it's the art we're here for. so, the frescoes were made by domenico ghirlandaio. he was the main renaissance artist and he was, by the way, the master of michelangelo. you always recognise the good men because of their clothing. they have the red and black robes. and also, they always have paper in their hands because it was a contract, they needed to leave everything written down, and the money in the other hand. seems like an odd place to bring me. it is. our next stop won't be on many itineraries but francesca maintains it gives you a fascinating insight into florentine history. we have chapels with spires and arches and pointed arches and marbles, egyptian style, for example, or neo—reinassance style. statues made by the greatest names, actually. if you didn't want to pay the 20

euros to get in to the uffizi there is still plenty to see in florence and you wouldn't feel like you've missed out. absolutely. there are plenty of places to see for free in florence. florence is an open—air museum. but the renaissance was about science as well as art. so here is one final recommendation i have been given. inside this florentine palace they're attempting to find out the following. if i take a bean plant down a fast slide, will it feel less stressed as me? i'm serious. this is a good contraption, isn't it? i need one of these for pottering around the garden. the slide was designed by carsten holler, who has installed similar chutes in london's tate modern and new york's new museum. it's as fast as you would expect.

once you're down, you hand over your little green friend for some tests. and take it for the measurements. people say, "i talk to my plants all the time." there's really no scientific evidence to say... you could find that evidence! we could, perhaps. we are doing this through measurements about whether the plant can bring in co2 or release water and whether those values change depending on the conditions, so if they went down the slide or they did not go down the slide, if they went down with a person or not. 0k, what kind of results are you seeing so far? the control plants which come from the growth room have the highest values of photosynthetic rate, for example. the plants which are going down the slide, those values are lower. when we have them go down the slide with a person who values are even lower. so there is something negative that is happening with the plant and that it experiences as it goes down the slide.

while the results are inconclusive as yet, my plant, it turns out, showed signs of severe stress and leaf trauma. the florence experiment continues at the palazzo strozzi until the 26th of august. that was keith wallace, exploring the beautiful city of florence without breaking the bank. and if you're keen to take a trip to italy, here are some travel show tips on things to maybe think about before you go. if you're after a beach holiday, the southern region of campania might be worth looking at this year. it now has more blue flag clean beach awards than any other area of the country, except liguria and tuscany. in total, italy now has 10% of all the world's blue flag beaches. the sistine chapel is a perennially

popular thing to see in rome, but there is a new show that brings some of michelangelo's stunning frescoes to life. secrets of the sistine chapel uses electronic music, laser projection and high—definition images of the artwork in a 9 million euro stage production. but if food is at the top of your list of reasons to visit italy, why not check out a foodie theme park that has recently opened close to bologna ? italy world opened at the end of last year and it's a massive site where you can explore food factories and attend a choice of up to 30 events or classes every day. we are heading across the mediterranean now from italy to malaga in spain, where you will find the caminito del ray, or kings park, which has been described as one of the world's scariest hikes. i would look away now if you're not a fan of heights.

still to come on the travel show: mike is here with the latest in trending travel, including the buskers who've gone cashless and the best colours to use to make your pictures pop online. and i hit the streets here in cairo to meet the young performers at the forefront of the new music craze that's taking the country by storm. so stay with us for that. it's time for trending travel, our pick of the best travel stories, photos, and videos that have come across our feed this month. more and more of us are going cashless on our travels, but as we switch to contactless cards and mobile payments, there is one type of person who misses out, the humble busker. there's so space for change in a digital wallet, leaving a trail of empty hats and guitar cases. that's why london recently became the first city in the world to try out contactless payments to street musicians.

it's just so much better as a busker. it doesn't interrupt my flow. i can just play. and then someone can tap and itjust resets and i don't have to stop playing to re—input the amount. i just leave it and it stays the same all the time. i think it's growing. i think it's something people will need to get used to over time. i'm hoping in the future it will be something people use regularly. people seem really impressed by the idea of it in general. it's so much more convenient for people. this is the future. if the world's your officer can be hard to find a quiet space to work. that's why business travellers going through new york's la guardia airport have the chance to book a jabbrrbox. it's an office on demand, a bookable cubicle with internet access and a charging port. this is the first one that's been stalled in a public place. you'll have to pay for the privilege though. prices begin at $10 for 15 minutes. researchers from ad agency the pantone colour institute claim to have identified the science of sharing. the four colour is most likely

to get your travel pictures liked and shared. drum roll please. the fours colours are aqua blue, mud brown, leaf green, and coral pink. so find a scene that combines those four elements and watch the instagram likes pile—up. four elements and watch now for some of the best photos you have sent us using the hashtag travel tuesday. scott sent us this view over greenland from the cockpit of a 747. chiara followed this road to the old man of store in scotland. and slavomir shared this rainbow sunset from slovakia. now, let's look at the travel videos clocking up the views this month. lebanon marks 75 years of independence this year. the country has seen its fair share of conflict over the years and travel warnings remain in place for several areas. we spoke to two filmmakers about their experiences. i was born and raised in lebanon. so to express this special relationship with my country i wanted to shoot and show intimate

moments, for example when my grandma is cooking. if you would like to visit the country, first of all, don't forget to try all the lebanese food, because lebanese cuisine is extremely fabulous. second of all, don't be scared to interact with lebanese people, because lebanese people are really friendly. my videos are dynamic, first, i like to use my camera like a third hand, almost. when i'm shooting. i move a lot. i look for people, faces, architecture. and don't forget, if you have a favourite travel moment you want to share with us and the rest of the world, and don't forget, if you have

a favourite travel moment you want to share with us and the rest of the world, tag us with hashtag bbc travel show. well, to finish this week's programme, here in cairo a new music genre has risen from the streets to inspire a freshfaced generation of stars. i've been to meet some of them. since 2002, tourists wanting to hear traditional egyptian folk music have gone to the makan cultural centre. tonight the band mazaher is playing zar, which has roots in east african ritual. in egypt today there is supposedly only a handful of people

who still perform it. i have been told that zar is mainly performed by women and that hypnotic, rhythmic thumping of drums is a traditional and ritualistic form of community healing. it's really spiritual. but on the streets, there's a new kind of music that mixes folk traditions with an aggressive new sound. this is mahragan. music plays. it means festive, it means festival. it is very much a street music. it evolved from a previous genre, called chaabi, it means of the people or popular. and it's very, very unique to egypt, and specifically cairo. it's loud and brash and has roots

very similar to the way hip hop evolved in new york. you will mostly find them, 90% of the time, in working class areas, in small alleyways, they will put on a show, bring out the lights and speakers and put on a show in the street. and how are tourists receiving the music? yeah, because it's commercialising at this point, it was an underground type of music and is filtering to the commercial scene, you will see it in a classy nightclub sometimes play one of these tracks. it is very now and very unique to this period we are in these days. do you think the revolution and the protests, do you think from that there was a lot of creativity born? absolutely, absolutely. say what you will about the status of egypt right now, what is abundantly clear is that

people have come out of their shells, there is a sense of self expression that perhaps wasn't there so much before. previously, a lot of people wanted to look outwards for music and arts and culture, they looked to the us and americans scenes for the music we all listen to, recently it has been a source of pride that we are producing an interesting type of music that has been very well received. mahragan has launched the careers of a new generation of egyptian music stars. i'm about to meet a band that have a hit that has had 125 million youtube views. shobeik lobeik is a 3—piece band from alexandria. hassan writes and composes the songs. his friend and collaborator, ahmed, is one of the managers. and ahmed's cousin ferris is the singer.

despite these defined roles, they still have some creative differences. what about your biggest hit single? what was it called? a lot of mahragan combines driving beats with performers singing about the issues that affect their lives. there is no friend is about friendships falling apart. and what about abroad, are you going to play in other

countries, will you come to the uk and play some festivals? 0ther mahragan performers have started to play sets at european nightclubs. for now, club nights remain the best chance cairo's tourists to catch

these modern egyptian beats. sadly, that's your lot from us for now. join us next week when: mike is in bulgaria, diving for long—lost treasure in the black sea. there is a giant flying saucer slowly flying over your head. get an exclusive the travel show look inside a fascinating building from the country's more recent communist past. make sure you join us for that, if you can. don't forget you can keep up with us in real—time on social media. all the details should be on your screens. but from me and all the travel show team here in cairo, it's goodbye. the heatwave is going to last into the weekend, where the you like it 01’ the weekend, where the you like it or not, but her brother likes the heat. the temperatures will hover

around the 30 degrees mark on tuesday, wednesday, 30s forfirst around the 30 degrees mark on tuesday, wednesday, 30s for first as well. it's a case of clear skies and a warm night, temperatures across the midteens, a bit fresher in the south, scotland and the north—east of england closer to single figures but on tuesday, not much to add. strong sunshine out there. clear blue skies for many of us. just the risk of one to light showers developing. here are the temperatures. i suspect will hit 30 degrees somewhere once again tomorrow, possibly 31. the outlook asi tomorrow, possibly 31. the outlook as i say, stay in hot and sunny for the next few days. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: iconic motorcycle firm harley davidson says it's shifting some production abroad because of eu tariffs. president trump accuses the firm of ‘waving the white flag'. the pentagon says two military bases

in texas are to be used as temporary camps to house migrants. it's not known if families will be allowed to stay there together. cleared for take off: controversial plans to expand heathrow airport get the green light. the search is set to resume in thailand for 12 teenage footballers and their coach — they've been trapped in a flooded cave since saturday. and drama and delight in the world cup as portugal and spain make the knockout stages.