president trump has suggested he's willing to meet iran's leaders without any "preconditions", to discuss how to improve relations between the two countries. tensions have increased since may, when mr trump pulled out of the iran nuclear deal, and the white house is about to reimpose sanctions. more than 50,000 people have now fled their homes in california as wildfires continue to ravage the state. at least seven people have died, including four firefighters. thousands more are working around the clock to battle the blazes. there are about 130 wildfires burning across the us and canada. votes are being counted in zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections. turnout was high, with long queues at some polling stations. observers say it had been a peaceful day, which might prove to be the country's first day of democracy. some rail services in the north of england that was scrapped back in may because of a shakeup in the timetable back. 75% of the trains

are back up and running again but angry commuters still faced delays in many areas. just after 7am this morning, lorna fitzpatrick is waiting in burnley for her daily northern service to leeds. it arrives on time but she says the new timetable means more stops and more passengers. a have just read every single morning because i know the train is probably going to be late and i'm probably not going to get to work on time, as usual. every single aspect of my life revolves around this train and ijust aspect of my life revolves around this train and i just absolutely sick of it, i am sick of it. it has had such an impact on my life, my professional and my personal life, and they cannot be the only one in this situation. northern says a more gradual reintroduction of its timetable system will ensure a more gradual service. that may have greater manchester says enough is enough. today i have called on the

prime minister to intervene because passengers in the north cannot keep running the daily lottery of turning up running the daily lottery of turning up to the train station hoping they will be able to get to work on time. they deserve much more than this. and that was reflected at this company in manchester, who are having to deal their day around the delays of staff commuting on northern. there are usually calls from people saying we are going to be late, we are going to be late. it is chaos, we have meetings, we were trying to win new business, it is actually having a huge impact on us being able to win business and promote. northern says training has new happened, the unions disagree. your operating services on overtime, that says to me, our members and i suspect our passengers that you have not run off staff in the first place. there were certainly fewer complaints on social media about the trains today, but the commuters we met for the real test will be in september. —— thought the real test.

now on bbc news, the travel show. hello, and welcome to the travel show. coming up this week... rajan follows in the footsteps of lawrence of arabia injordan. we swap water for wine and get a soaking at a festival in spain. and our global guru has some tips on where to find the best september sun around the world. this week, we're injordan, which is marking the centenary of the culmination of the great arab revolt, when much of the middle east rose up against the ottoman empire. it was also the inspiration for the classic 19605 film lawrence of arabia. so we sent rajan there 100 years on. head south from the capital amman towards the saudi arabian border, and you find yourself

in another world. wadi rum. a natural wonder, a geological phenomenon. a valley that is just basically huge swathes of red sand surrounded by mountains and ridges of really strange shapes made of sandstone and granite. astonishing. so otherworldly is wadi rum, that's has actually been used by hollywood as a stand—in for mars. it's now also the scene of a thriving tourism economy run by local bedouins. wadi means "valley" or "channel", and it's hard to believe that this was actually a seabed many hundreds of thousands of years ago. today, it pulls in an eclectic mix of backpackers, tour groups, and hardcore climbers. but i'm not here for the climbing — thank god, it's boiling — but to witness a little bit of history being created.

—— recreated. it's all to do with the great arab revolt of the early 20th century when this region was ruled by the ottoman empire, and the famous british adventurer and army officer te lawrence joined the guerrilla attacks with the arabs. the armed revolt was led by faisal, the sharif‘s son, and co—ordinated by lawrence of arabia, who through folklore has since been depicted as an altruistic swashbuckling hero — mistakenly so, according to this expert. he used the arabs for his ambitions. this is the big deception by the british to the arabs. because when the arabs have a kind of treaty with the british, to give the arabs a kind of independence in all of this area,

and to support the arabs in the economy and social aspects. the allies were to row back on this promise, but the attacks on the ottoman supply lines on the hejaz railway route, which ran north to south through what is nowjordan, proved to be highly effective. this is a reconstruction of one of the original trains on the hejaz railway, used to carry pilgrims and supplies to the ottoman troops. i'm going to take a trip now through the stunning landscape. it's baking hot out there. i hope it's cooler inside. check this out.

every little boy's dream. train whistle this is a glorious feeling. huge, vast arid desert around me, big granite mountains on either side. just how you would imagine it. whoa. my god! horses! go low.

whoa! that's a bomb, i think you'll find. that's a bomb. 0h! what the hell? that is loud. so, what i'm guessing is that this train is being hijacked and that a bomb has been exploded on the line. and we cannot move. we have been well and truly hijacked. i tell you what, for a reenactment, it's pretty realistic. i'm actually scared. even though i know they're blanks. yeah, i'm coming. what the hell? hey! my parents were indian!

i'm on the same side as you. 0k. yep, hands are up. ok, i'm good, 0k. i get it, i get it. yep, yep, 0k. you can'tjust leave me here! i'm being abducted! ullulation 0k, 0k. hands are up. hands are up, man. it's scary! dramatic music

the constant attacks on the ottoman railway supply lines worked. the war ended and several new nations like syria, iraq, lebanon and jordan were formed. the origins of the middle east that we know today can be traced back to these attacks on the hejaz railway and the subsequent carving up of the region by the brits and french. i have got to say, that was a pretty memorable experience, and if they talk today about how tourism should be immersive and experiential, that is doing it in spades. the project started by recruiting local community teams, and we provided the horses. so now we are achieving one of our main objectives, which is to create opportunities for the communities. for the bedouins, they feel honoured, actually.

they're carrying the heritage down, as their fathers and grandfathers did. most of them are descended from the actual fighters that fought for the arab revolt. wow. yeah. war veterans who were experts in horses were hired to train the actors. it was a big challenge, actually. the logistics is really tough. we were supported by the corporation that runs the railways. so we do manage it. i notice you don't have anybody playing lawrence of arabia. there is no te lawrence driving them. yeah, we couldn't find the blonde guy! well, maybe that's appropriate anyway, because in more ways than one, thejordanians have reclaimed ownership of their proud arab revolt. well, do stick with us

on the travel show, because coming up... 0ur global guru simon is here with tips on the quickest and cheapest ways to board your boat in new york. and we head to spain for a wine festival where everybody goes home soaking wet. the travel show, your essential guide wherever you're heading. welcome to the slice of the show where i try to help you make the most out of travel. coming up, getting from plane to boat by train in new york. and the best escape

for september sunshine. first, i'm here in the netherlands, where there is a great celebration about the final completion in amsterdam of the north—south metroline. i've been watching the construction of this travel project for over 15 years, and it's finally connecting the communities on the north side of the river with the rest of the city, and opening up some of the fascinating southern neighbourhoods of amsterdam. next, bernadette harper and her adult daughter are seeking some september sunshine. they stipulate: bernadette, in september you don't need to fly more than three or four hours from the uk. the islands of the southern mediterranean are at their very best at that time of year.

and the ocean is at its warmest. cyprus and malta both have lots to offer, but my favourite island is crete, and in particular the resorts of illunda in the east and chania in the west. they both have a lovely waterside settings and are laced with history. carol brown is off to new york, but she's not staying there any length of time because she is going to the cruise terminal to board a ship. cape liberty cruise terminal is tucked away in an industrial area in a corner of newjersey, handy for newark airport but not forjfk. the only way to get there from jfk is an on—demand car service such as uber or lyft, or a taxi, and both of those will cost

well over $100. so instead i suggest you catch the scheduled bus grand central terminal in manhattan. choose one of the many hotels around there. next morning, you will inevitably wake early because ofjet lag and you can watch the city come to life. then, catch the path train to hoboken and transfer to the hudson—bergen light rail and go to 34th street, where finally you will have to pick up a taxi for the last couple of miles. that whole journey from manhattan will cost around $15, and you will be able to amaze your fellow cruisers with your intrepid adventure. finally, geraldine smee has a question about that moment when the hotel receptionist or the waiter hands you the credit card device and says, which currency would you like to pay with? always choose the local currency.

the opportunity to pay in your own currency is known as dynamic currency conversion and is presented as a great service to the customer, allowing you to know to the last pennyjust how much that mealjust cost, but it is a moneymaking exercise with a dismal rate of exchange. if you choose local currency, although you will not know exactly the rate at which your bank is going to exchange those euros for pounds, it is guaranteed to be better than the rate the waiter is offering. if you want some advice, e—mail me and i will do my very best to find an answer. bye for now and see you next time. thank you, simon. well, to end this week, la rioja in spain is well known for producing some of the country's finest wines.

haro is well known for some great wine festivals and we went to enjoy the fun. there are over 500 wines in la rioja, so making and drinking wine is a way of life here. it is also my favourite part of the country and i grew up here. today is a very special day, it is la batalla del vino, the battle of wine. people have been waiting the whole year to celebrate this.

i haven't been here since i was a kid, but i can guarantee you this is going to be very special. the annual battle is part of the week—long haro wine festival. it is steeped in religious tradition. the celebrations take place every year on st peter's day to honour him. back in the 17th century, a wine fight erupted during the st peter's celebrations, and ever since, locals and tourists alike have been recreating it. this is my uncle, a loyal soldier of the wine battle. how much wine are you putting in it? 15 litres, more or less. we have three or four boxes like this. 60 litres, i like that, that sounds like... yes. now i am ready for the battle.

white, red, and an important detail — glasses, so as to avoid the wine getting into my eyes. let's go. i would love this one actually. i cannot wait. although this is great fun, there is a serious side to it. it is all about paying homage. every summer, thousands of winemakers, locals and a growing number of tourists arrive to not only honour st peter, but to give thanks to his contributions to the town's culture.

the festival begins with a pilgrimage to the church. you are supposed to respect the tradition and not start the battle until you go to church. you can see that is not happening. my friends, this is the problem. you are coming back, they recognise you and... trying to get up there is going to be a battle in itself. what does this festival mean to you? this festival is tradition, and for people from haro, tradition is very, very important. we have been celebrating this festival for 150 years, and it is great.

so what do you think wine means to people in haro? wine is everything for us. it is our way of living. we have wine. it is our landscape, it is our world, it is everything. as the spontaneous battles continue, ijoined the pilgrimage to the local san felipe church. so early in the battle, but yeah. you know one thing that i really love, the smell of wine in your clothes is fantastic. it's great to be back. singing

now, the battle has begun. we are getting into the thick of it. i am going to engage in battle with somebody. drumming music somebody tell me when it's finished.

although i'm a local boy, tourists are very welcome. but do come prepared, old clothes and eye protection are essential. and of course, you will need your weapon of choice. so, the battle is over. i think i lost it miserably, but i loved it because i had a great time and i will come back next year. well, that is all we have got time for on this week's show but coming up next week... as south africa celebrates the 100th anniversary of nelson mandela's birth, we head tojohannesburg to discover a new site. this trail runs right

through the heart ofjohannesburg and since it was opened, it attracts more than 600 visitors each weekend. and also travels to cape town, where they are hoping to keep mandela's dream of a rainbow nation alive. this is where all that hard work pays off. so dojoin us if you can, and in the meantime, don't forget you can keep up with us in real time while we are out on the road by signing up to our social media feeds. details on the screen now, but for now, from me and the rest of the travel show team, it is goodbye. hello again.

love it or loathe it, it looks like the hot weather is set to return to south—east england towards the end of the week and the weekend as well. before we get there, though, we'll showers on monday. there will be further showers around today as well. of more immediate concern is this developing area of cloud towards the south—west approaches. this is going to reactivate a weatherfront, and during the early hours of tuesday, we will see showers widespread in southern england, wales, the midlands and one or two in northern england as well, but as well as those showers, there's going to be a clump of heavier rain that will probably become quite widespread across central, southern england, the south midlands and swinging into east anglia and south—east england. the thing with this big area of rain is we will have squally winds

and could have some lightning in it as well. the rain could be intense, so we could have some pretty awful conditions on the roads first thing in the east midlands, east anglia and south—east england, somewhere in that part of the world. looking at the weather picture further northwards and westwards, it was always going to be a kind of cloudy and windy kind of day and there's rain in the forecast too, especially in the highlands and western isles. a few showers pushing into north—western counties of northern ireland, but otherwise, there should be a fair bit of dry and cloudy weather. temperatures, 18 in belfast. moving further south and we lose the early rain in eastern areas, that could be quite heavy and the afternoon is much brighter with some sunshine, and temperatures pushing on to around 25 degrees. it might feel a little on the humid side for you. that's tuesday's weather, let's take a look towards the middle part of the week, and we've got this warm front approaching the british isles. that's going to thicken the cloud up in northern ireland, and outbreaks of rain setting in here through wednesday afternoon, turning quite heavy as well.

i think it probably will cloud over across wales and south—western england too. we'll get some rain towards the end of the day working into west scotland, but that still leaves east anglia and the south—east of england with warm air, temperatures up to 27. so pushing into the 80s in terms of fahrenheit. showers will continue to be a feature on thursday into north—western areas, some of these could be quite heavy, and normally there's a good deal of cloud in the north—west, keeping the temperatures generally in the low 20s. not bad for the time of year, but it's the heat is really lingering in east anglia and the south—east of england as well. those temperatures build further towards the end of the week into the weekend. look at cambridge, not far from 30 here. cloudy but bright in north—western parts of the uk but towards the end of the week, some areas could reach the low 30s in the very hottest spots. that's your weather. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories. president trump says he's ready to meet iran's leaders "any time" and with "no preconditions".

the hunt for is fighters escaping syria 0 we have a special report from the border. here, in the last four months, they have stopped more than 1000 is fighters. some of them small fry, some of them commanders. many more are still on the run. burning out of control — raging wildfires in california force 50,000 people to leave their homes. high turnout — and hopes for a better future. counting is under way in zimbabwe's historic elections. and a crushing blow against crime in the philippines. millions of dollars of luxury vehicles a re destroyed to deter smugglers.