certain infections, and also chemotherapy drugs can be very toxic to the foetus. but don't fear — a maternity—leave—induced nurse shortage isn't on the way. we've been planning for this for months. it's left some of these nurses learning a lesson. you find out how supportive your co—workers are of you, and your management team. it's been a good experience. in mesa, max gordon, arizona's family. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there, the weather's staying pretty cloudy and humid for the next couple of days, then we start to see a change, something cool and fresher and brighter towards the end of the week. tonight, though, is another cloudy and a pretty warm and muggy one across the board. the breeze across the south will tend to ease down as well, as the night wears on. further north, we could see some lengthy clear spells developing, especially across scotland. if that does happen, then temperatures here may fall down to around ten or 11 degrees, but for england and wales warm and muggy under that cloud blanket. 15 to 17 degrees. so we're starting monday off on a rather grey note, warm and muggy.

through the day, sunshine will tend to come and go, and could even see cloud thicken up across western hills to produce the odd spit and spot of light rain, but for most of us it should stay generally dry, with lighter winds, and it's going to be a warm one, 20—25 degrees. it will be quite pleasant where you get any sunshine. so for this week we're starting off cloudy and humid, and midweek onwards something a little bit brighter, something fresher by the end of the week. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. rescue teams continue to step up their efforts to try and reach thousands of stranded families inflood—hit indian province of kerala. almost 200 people have died in the last ten days. many people are still trapped in the houses in many places, i hope they get the help very soon. we couldn't stay there any more, and i'm thankfulfor the people who brought us out of there.

a british woman who spent ten hours in the water after falling from a cruise liner near croatia has been rescued. she's in a stable condition in hospital. the campaign for another brexit vote has received a £1 million boost, after a donation from the co—founder of the fashion label superdry. now on bbc news, the travel show. this is japan's most northerly main island of hokkaido. for decades, travellers have been drawn here by its stark contrast to the rest of the country. it's anotherjapan, one that is wild, challenging and remote... it's an incredible experience! ..with distinctive communities. i've come to meet them, and to find out more about

the country's northern frontier. so, if you look out to where i'm heading, that is japan's most northerly point. but on the other side, just a0 kilometres from the japanese coastline, is the great landmass russia. now, that is important, because it was russia expanding eastwards that led to japan, 150 years ago next year, to annex that island and give it the name hokkaido. the island isn't small. it is around one fifth

of japan's total land mass, but nearly a century and a half after the move to fully populate hokkaido, still only around 4% of japan's people live here. hello, hokkaido. but, because of this relatively recent migration, the island that was developed by those first japanese settlers took on its own distinct characteristics, making it markedly different from the mainland. one of the immediate issues was how to live alongside what many agree to be the island's indigenous inhabitants — the ainu. i had come to meet monbetsu, who had recently returned to his heritage, following in the footsteps of the ainu. for his ancestors, hunting animals was key to survival. today, this means a fusion of modern and traditional hunting techniques, like making use of every part of the hunted animal. when the japanese settled here,

the ainu were made to assimilate into japanese society. their traditional lifestyle was banned, and so today, little of their old way of life remains. konnichiwa. so, we're going hunting? hunting. excellent, let's do it. there are bears in this forest. i'm sticking close to him. so tell me, you go hunting every day? until recently, those who openly

showed their ainu status have faced discrimination. but, with the ainu nowjust starting to get recognition injapanese law as indigenous people with their own distinct language and culture, things are beginning to change. so, this is where the deer trap is, yeah? well, he's clearly disappointed that there isn't a deer in his trap here, so he's adjusting it a bit. between you and me, i'm a bit relieved. look around you and you can see what attracts travellers here — stunning landscapes. but, for young people seeking opportunities, this island doesn't make things easy. over the years, japan has wrestled with economic challenges. hokkaido has been one of the areas hardest hit. in the previously thriving mining city of yubari, 90% of their population have moved

away in 50 years. demographically, yubari is the oldest city injapan, probably the oldest city in the world, and quite possibly the oldest city ever. and, at 80 years old, one of its residents has achieved celebrity status around japan. konnichiwa. mascots are big business in this country, and they don't get much bigger, or frankly scarier, then yubari's very own melon bear, a nod to the city's famed and prized fruit. why do you do it? but there is a much more serious

side to melon bear — to entice tourists to yubari. and maybe in one sense it has worked, because travellers are now coming here. ruins left by economic turbulence

litterjapan‘s landscapes, and here, it has sprung up a hobby called haikyo, exploring the abandoned buildings. look at this. this is industrial history, isn't it? just over a decade ago, yubari was declared bankrupt. those who remained were made to move into a small central area of the city, leaving everything else abandoned. at places like the old thermal power plant, sato—san hosts art projects and helps people to explore. walking around, i'm left with mixed feelings,

because it so powerfully symbolises the decline of a once—prosperous place, but i can also see why people love exploring here. there is a mysterious beauty to what's left behind. and making the most of disused buildings isn't just confined to the city. in nearby nayoro, i had arranged to stay in a unique guesthouse. tomioka worked on trains most of his life. when he stopped working on the trains, he restored an old disused station house back to its former glory. so, this used to be a railway line here? in contrast to the japanese

mainland, much of the urban life in hokkaido first developed around the rail infrastructure. some of the old local train routes closed, with a loss of industry. but for some people, like tomioka, this is not the end of the line. this is an incredible experience! on an old, disused railway line, very shuddery, but exhilarating. absolutely exhilarating! it's great, really good! it is a world away from this country's high—speed bullet trains, but what a way to experience the nature this island is famous for. i've got my sleeper carriage berth, so let's see where the night train takes me. good night.

when the japanese came to colonise hokkaido, they sent former samurai with a mission to cultivate the island. that is one of the distinct ways it has developed: miles upon miles of beautiful landscapes. one way to get close to nature as a traveller would be to hike. but there is another uniquely japanese way. this is mochi pounding. what might look like hitting rice as hard as you can with a mallet until it turns squidgy is a highly refined process to make a sweet known as mochi. i'm about to have a lesson from a real expert as to how

to be a proper pounder. ok, so i have to be honest with you, this is extremely heavy. hokkaido‘s climate is perfect for developing the sticky rice needed for mochi. the region has become the biggest producer injapan. every year here, local farmers hold a competition to find the best mochi pounders. how do you become a good mochi pounder like you? here we go. mash it.

how does hokkaido rate in terms of its mochi? now then, this is where he risks the use of his hands for the rest of his life. one... all right. one! it takes 100 strikes of the mochi to make itjust right. and this is notjust about speed. i am told how you hit it affects its taste. obviously, i'm holding back here out of fear of outshining my hosts... the proof, as they say,

is in the pudding, or the tasting, so let's see what the judges say. that was not in the script. i reckoned that was a fix. and after all that exertion, it's time for a well earned rest. i'm heading south, where my trip comes to an end in hokkaido‘s main city of sapporo. it is a fitting place to finish the trip around hokkaido, because here in sapporo, they are hosting a dance festival, that pays homage to the whole island's connection to the sea. just down there is where

the festival takes place. yosakoi soran is one of the biggest international dancing competitions. teams dance to music inspired by the hokkaido folk song soran. this folk song was about fishermen traditionally. it has come a long way since then. one of the teams here with their own take on this dance is the russians. interesting, considering the history between the two nations. hats off to them.

really good. i had arranged to meet someone who had taken part in this festival many times, since she was a child. finding one dancer among 30,000 others was proving a little trickier than i expected. hi! konnichiwa! you're a veteran of this festival? yeah. you will teach me about all of this? 0k! fantastic. what makes this festival unique injapan? this yosakoi festival in hokkaido has two rules. every team, every dancer has this naruko.

and the second line, do you know it? # yaren soran, soran #... so, even though it might sound a bit different, and there is dancing, and everything, there is always the same melody inside. how does it go? # yaren soran, soran #... even though it takes a lot of practice, i am told that in my case an hour should do it. i have to wear it? yes. very happy. 0k. a very public training session for newbies like me will be followed by a chance to take part in the main festival parade around the streets of the city. tell me about the first time

you entered the festival, and how it felt, and what you did. attitude is what you need for this. from the top. it is dance move upon dance move upon dance move. many of these moves are based on the tasks that old fishermen had to perform, like dragging nets, and pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. can't you tell? that is only the practice.

we have not even started the real thing yet. so i havejust had a rigorous workout and lesson. i supposedly know the whole thing. and now we will do the dance in the square in front of the crowd. thanks to your wonderful teaching, i feel quite confident. ok, let's go! the nerves have all gone. who cares how good you are? this is about community, festival. i'm getting it now. yes, it is exciting. as the festival comes

to a dramatic close, my time in hokkaido finishes in what feels like a world away from where it started. i found a place that has, in a short time, adopted so much of japanese culture, but within that has found its own way of expressing itself. who knows what the next 150 years might bring to this unique japanese island? check that out. i mean, that is an act. hello there. sunshine was on very short supply today, many places held on to the cloud. but at least on the up side, it was pretty warm across the board. now tonight we'll hold on to a lot of cloud, and it will remain pretty warm and humid, especially

for england and wales. winds still a fair feature across england and wales, as we head on into the overnight period, but they will tend to weaken and be become more confined to the channel islands, the far south—west of england. could see a few clear spells, lengthy clear spells develop across the northern half of the country, especially for scotland. if that does happen, then temperatures may dip down to 10 degrees here, but elsewhere for england and wales, where we have the cloud blanket, 15 to maybe 17 degrees, so a warm and muggy start to monday. the pressure chart monday shows we're in between weather systems, widely spaced isobars, so the winds will be lighter. we will have this weak weather front though, straddling central areas, and it could just produce the odd spit and spot of rain through central parts of england in towards wales, perhaps across and towards the irish sea. but to the north of it, generally cloudy, with a few sunny spells, and to the south of it as well variable cloud, with some holes appearing in that cloud from time to time. a warm one again, where ever you are, but especially england and wales, — 22 to 25 degrees. so it will be pretty warm, albeit cloudy in nottingham and trent bridge there for the test match at cricket. it should stay largely dry as well. as we head on into tuesday, we have a weather front pushing into the north—west corner

of the country, so here outbreaks of rain, strengthening winds. elsewhere, though, actually with the high pressure beginning to build in, looks like we could see a greater chance of seeing some sunny spells. once again, it will be warm and humid where ever you are. temperatures reaching 25 or 26 degrees in the south—east. that weather front to the north—west spreads its way south—eastwards on wednesday, weakens as it does, so it will produce a line of cloud with some showers here and there. to the north and west of it something brighter but cooler. temperatures into the mid upper teens celsius to the south—east of it — could see some sunshine and it will remain pretty warm, temperatures reaching 26, maybe 27 celsius. but the warmth ebbs away as we head on into thursday, as cooler air pushes down from the north—west across much of the uk by friday. so that will introduce a bit of brighter weather as well. so we start this week on a rather cloudy, humid note. something a little bit brighter midweek, and by the end of the week it will turn fresher, cooler for all. this is bbc world news today, i'm ben bland.

our top stories: two new earthquakes hit indonesia's lombok island, which is still recovering from fierce tremors two weeks ago. afg hanistan‘s president declares a ceasefire with the taliban. he says it'll last three months if both sides take part. translation: we call upon the leadership of the taliban to welcome the wishes of afghans for a long lasting and real peace. president trump revoked his security clearance — now former cia directorjohn brennan says he may take the white house to court to get it back. and in the sport, a bad day for manchester united, losing their second game in the premier league season to brighton.