for a time -- that rain showering for a time —— more patchy through. dry from the west. strong winds around particular for channel coasts, gusting up to 30 or a0 mph. maybe a5 or 50 through the dover straits this evening —— dover straits. 12 or 13 across scotland, 15—18 elsewhere, perhaps a late high of 19 or 20 in the isles of scilly and the channel islands. eventually the heaviest of the rain will clear way from the east coast later this evening. behind it, some showers in parts of northern england and scotland and elsewhere a mixture of variable cloud and clear spells. temperatures dropping between 91a, not quite as cool as the last few nights. and i'm generally between 9-1a. it will nights. and i'm generally between 9—1a. it will be generally warmer. sunshine around. still some rain at times. for many, bank holiday monday, some showers, it be com pletely monday, some showers, it be completely dry that much drier day by comparison to today. mixture of sunny spells, cloud coming and

going, large amounts of cloud in the afternoon and brisk winds at first will ease down as in the sunshine, temperatures between 17—17, cooler for the far north of scotland. the cloud will fit in and break and the showers will fade and tomorrow evening we will have clear skies. tuesday, we are between weather systems. the isobars by this stage are further apart, lighter winds on tuesday. this front is never too far away from the far north—west of scotla nd away from the far north—west of scotland and northern ireland. more cloud on tuesday and a noticeable breeze and outbreaks of range of the afternoon. further south and east and it should be a mainly dry day. mixture of sunny spells and variable cloud with lighter winds and in the best of the sunshine, temperatures between 18 and 23. hello — this is bbc news with me ben brown. our latest headlines: the pope visits the shrine of knock — and says he begs for god's forgiveness over sex

abuse allegations linked to the catholic church. this afternoon he celebrates mass in dublin, where 500,000 people are expected. translation: this open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. there have been many tributes for senatorjohn mccain, vietnam war veteran turned senator and us presidential candidate, who has died at the age of 81. former us president barack 0bama said he was an "american hero". emmerson mnangagwa has been sworn in as president of zimbabwe. the main opposition party boycotted the ceremony. a search and rescue operation is under way off the coast of great yarmouth in norfolk for two fishermen after their boat sank. three other men were rescued 25 miles out at sea by a passing cruise ship. beauceron headlines.

now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. mauritius, a force of nature in the middle of the indian ocean. mauritius is marking the 50th year of independence from british colonial rule, but the intriguing, rich and sometimes dark story of this island nation goes back way before then. 0n myjourney, i'm going to explore the history of mauritius... ..see and taste how multiculturalism works here. mmmm, that is nice. go on a day to the races. 0h, did he win? did we win? and visit a unique conservation project saving endangered species.

this island is so often labelled as just a luxury beach paradise, but the reality is so much more fascinating than that. mauritius, gorgeous beaches, turquoise waters and lush vegetation, but the human story is just as awe—inspiring. le morne mountain, on the south—west of the island, faces in the direction of madagascar and stands 555 metres high. it's also at a a5—degree incline. no walk in the park. for the likes of me, this is a challenging climb,

i've got to say. in fact, i'd say for anybody it's challenging. whoa! near the top, ijoin a guide who's done this climb up to three times a day every day pretty well for 13 years. you can feel it's all, like, volcanic. this is volcanic rock? yeah, yeah, yeah. it's probably from the first eruption 10 million years ago. ten million years ago? yeah. and actually it's very good for climbing. yeah, there's lots of good grip. le morne marks a dark but symbolic chapter in the island's history, the days of slavery under dutch, french and british rule. this is where many escaped slaves, called the maroons, found refuge. they could have a look towards madagascar and for them... that's home. that was home, you know, it was the sight and they expected

one day maybe to build, like, a craft and go back home and just to escape from this prison. horrible. it's a world away up here from the beach resorts that populate the rest of the island, but actually, this trek is almost a pilgrimage to get to the very heart of mauritian identity. and there's a particularly poignant tale told about the maroons in what should have been their moment of celebration. when slavery was abolished here in 1835, soldiers climbed the mountain to tell the maroons that they were free, but the escaped slaves thought that they were being recaptured and instead chose to jump off the mountain. why do you think this is so important to the identity

of people from mauritius? because i guess it's a unique story. it's part of our story here in mauritius and it's one of the only places we know of that somehow the slaves resisted their masters, and for us, it's almost like a venerated mountain, a sacred mountain, not only for the descendants of a slave but for the mauritians as well. after slavery was abolished, the british brought in hundreds of thousands of so—called indentured labourers from india and china in what was known as the great experiment. today, port louis is the country's capital, with its colonial legacy and contemporary diversity everywhere to be seen. i'm about to get a personalised,

unique tour of what this city and mauritius offers in terms of its diverse food and other wares as well. hi, how do you do? nice to meet you. hi. nice to meet you. so this is a food place here? yes. but you'd never know to look at it, it's pretty low—key. yes, but it's pretty famous as well. he's making some deep—fried cakes. 0k. mauritians are fond of deep—fried cakes, you can deep—fry almost everything. it's just — he has this batter that he made, it's with chickpea flour, some herbs and salt. mauritius may seem isolated in the middle of the indian ocean, but it was actually nicely placed on the spice route,

which linked asia, africa and europe. now he's adding all the herbs you need for the chilly bites. you need for the chilli bites. and the chillis. chillis. yeah. are they strong chillis? spring onions. there's a clear inference from gujarati traders whose forefathers came over from india in the 19th century, but there's a distinctive mauritian accent to the food too. coughing itjust hit me! now, this is a multi—ethnic, multicultural, multi—lingual, multi—religion country, so hinduism is the majority religion but you've also got christianity, islam, chinese religions, buddhism, it's all here. where are we now?

we are in a small market which is made up of street vendors. all these people, they used to be selling everything from clothes, to food to electronic gadgets on the street, but that was illegal so the state gave them some spaces. bonjour. ca va? so this is arthur, he used to be on a street corner in chinatown selling dumplings with his father. so now he's here. chinese—mauritian? yeah, yeah. this is the long fish? yes, the long fish. that is nice, that's really good. how many years have you worked here? for myself, after schooling, it's near to 50 years. 50 yea rs! the sheer diversity of food is one

benefit of the cultural hotpot in mauritius. another is language, french, english and creole are all spoken here. and then, there's music. sega is a rhythm and genre indigenous to this island. and this lady is known as the voice of the indian ocean. the distinctive drum is called the ravanne, a home—grown instrument. 0n the tiny islet of ile aux aigrettes, mauritius is playing host

to a unique conservation project, which takes us back to a time five centuries ago, before mankind ever set foot here. the ecosystem of an island like mauritius is extremely fragile, and ever since mankind arrived in the 17th century, that ecosystem has been severely disrupted, and that has led to the extinction of some very important species like, for example, the dodo. the dodo lost the ability to fly through evolution because until man brought in predators, they didn't really need to. today the one remaining native mammal to mauritius, the fruit bat, can fly with elegant ease, but it's not a great favourite for some, like fruit growers. so this is the mauritius fruit bat.

it is a bat which is unique to mauritius. it can travel for 15 kilometres, 20 kilometres, a0 kilometres in one night. it's like man has got hands, but these hands here have been modified, amazingly, to become a wing. it's an animal that can see very, very well, despite what a lot of people think. they need to rest during the day to save their energy because it gets hot in the tropics, but at night, as it's getting dark, they leave their daytime roosts, as they are called, and they go out and they look for food. they will first of all eat fruits to keep themselves alive, but also, they'll be dispersing fruits and they maintain their own survival by maintaining the forests. the larger project here

is hugely ambitious and earning international acclaim. we're actually recreating the whole ecosystems. it's one of the few places on earth were we're notjust trying to save a few odd plants and a few odd animals, we're actually piecing together, as best as we can, it will never be perfect, but as best as we can, the whole ecosystem as it existed prior to the arrival of man. should we be frightened of this animal, should i be frightened being this close to this animal now? well, i'm not frightened of the animal, i don't know why anybody should be. there are some countries where bats are dispersing — are carriers of diseases but in mauritius, that's not the case. of course, where they are carriers of diseases, there are some precautions to be taken, of course, but that's not the case here. would you like to hold the bat?

are you serious? really? oh, my god. yes, it will probably nibble you a little bit if that's ok? nibble me? its claws can be quite sharp. you must take this. wow. i can't believe it. this is weird, is all i can say. this is a magic moment. i never thought i'd actually find a bat, or an animal like this, vaguely even cute, but you know what? it is kind of cute. and luckily, not disease ridden... no. as it bites my finger. no! do you want to fly off, shall we get you to fly off? come on then. animals are central to mauritian identity in more ways than one. take this weekly ritual which has

become tightly wrapped up with mauritian social life and culture — going to the races. fanfare the islands independence from british rule was declared on this very racecourse, the champ de mars, in 1968. built more than two centuries ago, it's the oldest racecourse in the southern hemisphere. and from the start, it's very aim was to bring disparate communities together. oh, and to satisfy the locals' love of gambling, of course. and today, there's one family who now dominate

horseracing in mauritius. actually, it was my grandfather who introduced our family to horse racing. he was the first indian to be a member of the national assembly of parliament. and in 190a, he was a businessman. at the beginning, he was a milk seller, but then he started doing business, buying land and buying and selling land and property. he also realised that buying a racehorse would allow him to mingle with the big cheeses, especially french businessmen, who ran the economy then and loved racing. today is a very special day. it's the final classic race of the season, the duke cup, and a chance for this elite family to great history in the country's national sport. what has happened is that we have been able, with a bit of luck, to win the first three classics,

and if we win the fourth one today, we will be creating history. and we got a peek into the paddock to meet soun‘s cousin. this gentleman, i know him very well. i often see you on the bbc all over the world! this is very much a family affair. that's the cup that we are looking for. this one here? can i touch it? anyone can touch it before, but i want to touch it after. afterwards, yes... this is fantastic. i'm getting a real insight behind—the—scenes with one of the most important men in racing. inside the jockeys‘ room, preparations are underway.

preparations are under way. down by the track, i can feel the sense of occasion here. here is where everybody gathers, rich, poor — everyone. whatever language or culture they're from, whichever ethnic group, this is the day, and this is the first race of the day. i wanted to get a feel for the passion for racing and gambling here, and so i approached a local punter. i'm from england, do you recommend any horse in any race? i think this one. number three, rogue runner, in this race. i'm going to bet. number three. but i'm not sure. there is my horse, number three, rogue runner, and if i put 100 rupees on it, it says i'll get 600 rupees back. hey, can i have 100 on number

three, rogue runner? a lot of money going on rogue runner. you like rogue runner? is it a good one? and this is my horse, number three, rogue runner. go for it... i like his colours. laughter do you want number three? number three? here they come. 0h!

did he win? it was very close, who won? number three. number three won! at the last minute! at the last moment... yes! and now it is time for the climax to the season — the big one, the dukes cup, and a time for the gujadhurfamily to make history. they haven't left much to chance, they have three out of the 12 running, including the favourite, enaad, ridden by the most successful champion jockey in the race. 0ur man's in his lucky spot to watch the race next to his family. the favourite and their big hope ennad is struggling.

it doesn't look good. ennad, get on, don't let him coax you back! until from the outside another horse from the gujadhur stable suddenly starts making ground. ready to attack is, well, ready to attack. come on ready to attack! cheering well done! idid it! well done! well done, sir!

well done! the family have done it and made history. cheering now this is over, what do you feel? a sense of relief, almost? frankly, i don't get worked up before a race. i watched you during the race, you do a bit... i do a bit, but you know, the people around, and the well—wishers, the supporters, everywhere you go around the island, you know, theyjust wish you well. i wanted to win that race for them. and in this 50th anniversary year of independence, it seems the people of this island have plenty to celebrate. during my time here, i've seen a strong sense

of nationhood amongst mauritians, and also realisation that precious wildlife must be protected. this is a relatively prosperous country, breaking free from its complicated and sometimes shameful colonial past. and what's exciting is that right now, its unique cultural identity is still evolving and making it so much more thanjust a high—end holiday hotspot. it's been a wet sunday, parts of pembrokeshire have seen in excess of 20 millimetres of rain, raonic, so there is more to come although slowly the rain is easing away slowly the rain is easing away slowly from the west. it comes courtesy of this frontal system working eastwards, notjust the rain, the isobars close together so strong and gusty winds too andreolli radar picture tells the story well,

stretching from the north of scotla nd stretching from the north of scotland to the south bank of england but already seeing something drier ride across northern ireland, northern and western parts of wales and north—western england, becoming increasingly patchy. through the midlands and northern england in the next few hours, the heaviest rain across central, southern and south—eastern england taking its time to clearfrom south—eastern england taking its time to clear from the east. some gusty winds as well particularly for the channel coasts in the next few hours where we could see gusts of 30 01’ hours where we could see gusts of 30 or a0 hours where we could see gusts of 30 ora0 mph, hours where we could see gusts of 30 or a0 mph, touching 50 miles per hour through this evening. temperature is not getting much above 12 or 13 across scotland, feeling cool elsewhere 16—18dc, the late high of 19 or 2a the channel isles. heaviest rain clears overnight, leaving some cloud, shower still going in parts of northern england and scotland, not feeling as cool as the last few nights, temperatures generally between 9—1adc. for the week ahead for most it will feel warmer than it

has over the last few days, still some sunshine around, also some rain around and the emphasis on the dry weather. tomorrow is a bank holiday and it's a much drier day, the windstorm noticeable, brisk north—westerly wind feeding some showers across during the day but most escaping, mainly dry, while large amounts of cloud there will be some bright spells and temperatures up some bright spells and temperatures up to 16—20dc. the cloud will thin and break more through the evening, the showers will fade to leave clear skies at first overnight at there will be more cloud across northern ireland and scotland as we go into tuesday because we have this front fairly close by. it is quite slow—moving so any cloud and outbreaks of rain will be confined to the northern and western parts of scotla nd to the northern and western parts of scotland and perhaps western parts of northern ireland in the afternoon. a fairly noticeable breeze but further south and east mainly dry, a mixture of variable cloud and sunny spells and in the best of the sunshine temperatures up to 18 and 23 celsius.

this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh, live in dublin. the headlines at two o'clock... the pope has visited the shrine of knock, saying he begs for god's forgiveness over sex abuse allegations linked to the catholic church in ireland. translation: this open wound challenges us to be firm and decisive in the pursuit of truth and justice. we will bring you continuing coverage of the pope's visit to ireland as he prepares to say mass in front of a crowd of half a million people in phoenix park in dublin. and i'm shaun ley.