which brought destruction to the north of the philippines. typhoon mangkhut ripped through the main island of luzon tearing off rooves, felling trees and triggering more than a0 landslides. many remote areas remain cut off. authorities in the us have warned that storm florence is "far from done". the weather system has caused catastrophic flooding across both north and south carolina. officials say at least 12 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity. the british prime minister, theresa may, has passionately defended her plan for brexit, and added she gets a "little bit irritated" about how long she'll last in thejob. in an exclusive interview with the bbc, she said "this debate is not about my future, but the future of the people of the united kingdom". the government is proposing significant changes to the law

on divorce — removing requirements to allege fault or show evidence of separation. launching a consultation on the proposals, justice secretary david gauke said he wanted to make the process less acrimonious. our legal correspondent clive coleman reports. at present, divorcing couples are forced to blame each other for their marriage breakdown on the grounds of adultery, desertion or behaviour which it's unreasonable to live with, or prove they have been separated for a minimum of two years, even if the separation is mutual. like many, jenny thinks blame can make a difficult process a lot worse. it caused an awful lot of arguments. it caused me obviously to feel very hurt — i got angry, then there were arguments which my children were witness to. it hurt them, and i really think it was completely unnecessary. when couples divorce, they are being torn apart emotionally and financially, often trying to work out sensible living arrangements

for their children, so if you throw blame and fault into the process at that stage, most people think you're just making a bad situation a whole lot worse. the government's persuaded, and it's proposing removing the need to show evidence of the other spouse's conduct or a period of living apart, introducing a new notification process where one or possibly both parties can notify the court of the intention to divorce and removing the opportunity for the other spouse to contest the divorce application. it's right that we try to take the animosity out of this process as much as possible, and we have a system that isn't looking back and trying to play the blame game, but is looking forward to find the best way in which we can have a reasonably constructive relationship between the divorcing couple. the consultation also seeks views on the minimum time between the interim and final divorce decrees, in order to allow couples time to reflect and reach

agreement on arrangements for the future if divorce is inevitable. clive coleman, bbc news. now on bbc news — the travel show. coming up on this week's programme, seeing the world bit by bit. i've never done this before, you have to help me. is cryptocurrency the traveller's friend? ijust scan the shop's qr code, and we get the tick. money sent. that was quick. find out what brexit might mean for your holiday. we will be looking at what we know, what we think we know, and what we don't know. and we explore the ghost towns of italy. for us, you know, some people choose to take their family to disneyland and we chose to come to a real place that is right out of history.

how do you pay for things abroad? most of us will collect cash from the currency exchange, trade in traveller's cheques, or put it all on our cards. we pay the fees and gulp at the charges. but now there is a new breed of traveller with a digital wallet and a globally—used form of money known as cryptocurrency. i am in australia's queensland

region, catching a flight from brisbane. this is the country's first cryptocurrency—friendly airport. it is completely digital. all transactions log onto a block chain. everybody in the world can see your transaction so it is a lot more efficient and a lot more transparent. unlike traditional currencies, the digital variant isn't issued by banks or governments. it is about an increase of freedom, freedom of investment and freedom of transactions and freedom of money. so what are the advantages of paying for things by bitcoin or any other digital currency? it is really safe and simple. there are a lot of people with digital currencies and they don't know where to use them. hello, can i get a takeaway medium flat white, please? and can i pay by litecoin, please? i've never done this before, you've got to help me.

some investors have made a lot of money speculating on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. ok, so ijust scan the shop's qr code... but for day—to—day transactions like buying a cup of coffee, it is often not particularly useful, with few retailers accepting it. we get the tick, money sent. that was quick. that is what brisbane airport is pushing to change, with the assistance of the company travelbybit. we enable anyone to take payments in cryptocurrencies. we have built up an entire infrastructure so you can travel through queensland and pay for your journey with cryptocurrency. my flight takes me to gladstone, a small town on queensland's coast and an hour and a half's drive from our final destination, agnes water and 1770, australia's first cryptocurrency—friendly tourist town.

25 litecoin... even the taxi accepts cryptocurrency. so i just click send? yes, and i should get a tick here when it goes through. and it's done. done. when you arrive here, you can pay for your hotel stay, any of the tours you want to take in town, yourdinner, your breakfast, coffee, lunch, drinks, whatever it is. so pretty much everything that you could do on a normal travel trip, you can pay in cryptocurrency. gordon is the man pushing agnes water's digital revolution. for the merchant, nothing changes. so the australian merchant puts in $100 for a service that is provided, the customer simply chooses the digital currency they want to use, and that is converted at the point of sale into australian dollars, the same.

so the merchant gets $100. over 30 businesses in this small beach community accept crypto. so during my stay i am going to rely entirely on my digital apps. so, looking in my wallet, i've got american dollars, i've got japanese yen, and i've got australian dollars. and even more annoying is these coins. what do you do with them when you get home? travelling with crypto, ijust have a couple of apps on my phone. so, i'm going to pay by cryptocurrency today. absolutely. i am going to pay by bitcoin. i'm going to pay in litecoin. in litecoin? ok, so i slide to send here... payment is relatively straightforward. i open an app, type in my pin

number, scan in the retailer's qr code, and we are done. it is even possible to add a tip and pay for a tip in cryptocurrency. who knew? but as with any emerging technology, there is the occasional hiccup. it is taking a while. it is. it always helps to charge your ipad. maybe it is a wi—fi issue? there we go. done. all right, you got it? yes, all approved, thank you very much. thank you. amazing, that was so fast. i feel kind of weird not having signed anything. tick, done. here, almost everybody in the tourist business, from posh hotels to cafes, restaurants and tour operators, arejumping on board the crypto wagon. so, it's all well and good to be

scanning and tapping my way around agnes water and 1770, but what are the pitfalls? the main disadvantage is always going to be, particularly with really volatile and easily—traded digital currencies, that the price will fluctuate while you are on holiday. so my number one piece of advice for anybody who is planning to use cryptocurrency instead of your local currency, trading into aussie dollars, is to do the maths. do some research, ask yourself how long you are going away for and how much it will cost to be buying and selling this currency. i don't think it actually needs to be terribly different to using any kind of foreign currency, it is just that with a bit of research you may come out ahead and also have a bit of crypto fun. well, if you are thinking of heading to this part of australia any time

soon, here are some travel show tips for things to see and do around queensland, though you might have to leave your cryptocurrency at home and bring more traditional ways to pay. the great barrier reef is top of so many travellers‘ bucket lists, and you can see why. it is the longest and most famous reef system in the world. most people would choose to access it from cairns or port douglas. but there are wilder, quieter spots to pick from further south. and do try to minimise the damage your travels will cause to this fragile ecosystem. look out for tour operators accredited by the ecotourism or earthcheck schemes. it is going to be much easier to fly into brisbane from 2020. queensland's capital is getting another runway, which will give the airport a similar capacity to giants like singapore and hong kong. the city itself is often overlooked,

but it is worth a couple of nights. there is plenty going on, from craft beer tours to giant secondhand bookshops to a beach right in the city centre. the gold coast is hardly off the beaten track. it is australia's theme park capital, and where you go for quintessential aussie beach life. there are long and beautiful stretches of sand and loads of surfing opportunities. 0urtip? go during winter. you will find it quieter, cheaper, and the water is still easily warm enough to swim in. and right now is the best time of year for whale watching along the fraser coast, just a few hours north of brisbane. it runs from the beginning ofjuly until early november. head for harvey bay and take a boat out to see humpback mothers and calves playing in the sheltered waters, an experience you will never forget.

coming up, travelling after brexit. simon looks at how it might affect you and your holiday. and we head to eastern italy to explore its crumbling but beautiful ghost towns. it is a good model because you preserve the history and at the same time sustain the economy. sustainable tourism that develops the village? absolutely. don't go away. the travel show, your essential guide, wherever you are heading. the uk may be in the european union's departure lounge, but destination brexit is far from clear. this week's global guru is tackling

some of the key questions regarding post—brexit travel between the uk and the eu. we will be looking at what we know, what we think we know, and what we don't know. what we know. every current british passport carries the words european union on the front cover. they will remain valid as british travel documents until they expire. but they will cease to give automatic right of entry to eu countries. and from october 2019, the colour of the british passport will change to blue. which, coincidentally, is the same as existing croatian passports. anybody hoping that you might get the good old—fashioned hardcover passport back, i'm afraid you won't. the format is stipulated these days by the international civil aviation 0rganisation. british driving licences with the eu flag will continue to be valid

until their expiry dates but, as with passports, once the uk leaves the eu the european union power will end. this means if a uk national moves to an eu country, he or she will probably need to apply for a new licence in that country. and vice—versa. it's not clear what the rules will be for both uk and eu nationals driving in each other‘s territories. some say the international driving permit may make a comeback. i think that's a little far—fetched. three hours late? you could get cash compensation. the european union currently has very strict rules on air passenger rights. if a flight is delayed by three hours or more or cancelled, then you get cash, unless the airline can claim extraordinary circumstances.

now, the eu is actually looking at reforming those rules, but the uk government has said that existing standards of air passenger rights will remain in force. what we think we know. the european union is bringing in what i call an online border aimed at non—eu citizens who don't need a visa to visit europe. and that is almost certainly the situation that british travellers will be in. it is called the european travel information and authorisation system, and it works like this. you will go online, pay a fee of seven euros, and fill in lots of personal details, including your state of health and any criminal records. your responses will be checked against a range of databases

and if you are granted a permit, it will be valid for three years. the european health insurance card has proved extremely popular and the british government says that it wants a reciprocal health agreement to continue. that would mean that british holidaymakers who have qualified for medical treatment on the same basis of citizens of their host country. tax and duty—free shopping for journeys within the european union ended in the summer of 1999. once the uk leaves the european union, travellers entering the uk from eu countries will be allowed to bring with them strictly limited quantities of duty—free goods. and the blue channel will disappear from uk airports. what we don't know. roaming charges for phone calls, texts, and internet use on mobile phones within the eu were abolished injune 2017. once the uk leaves the european union, those benefits will no longer legally apply to british travellers.

it will then presumably be up to individual mobile phone providers to decide if they are going to bring back roaming charges for uk travellers to the eu and european visitors to britain. for over 20 years, the european union has had open skies, allowing any eu airline to fly between any two eu airports. the no—frills revolution has transformed aviation. the british government says it wants the same arrangements to continue, which will allow any uk or eu airline to fly to, from, or within the uk or the eu. the transport secretary, chris grayling, told me he is confident that an aviation deal will be sealed, even if there is a hard brexit. so planes will continue to fly.

with 165 millionjourneys between uk and eu airports last year, travellers buckling up for brexit are looking for clarity and convenience. as more becomes clear, we will bring it straight to you. and that's all for global guru for this week. and finally this week, we head to italy's abruzzo region, east of rome, and a fortified medieval village. it is best known for its ancient architecture, cheeses, and local wine. it is also home to one of italy's best—kept secrets that has been keeping the area in business. amelia went to visit. they are known as italy's ghost towns, thousands of ancient

settlements across the italian countryside that have fallen into ruin as a lack ofjobs, poverty, and natural disasters drove away the people living there. they have been left frozen in time. this village was practically deserted after the 2009 earthquake. as you can see behind me, more and more people are starting to come back. it is thanks to a bold idea that is breathing life and money into a forgotten few of these rural communities. the concept is a simple one, converting the deserted buildings into an almost invisible scattered hotel. it's called albergo diffuso. the village of santo stefano di sessanio dates back to medieval times. when an entrepreneur arrived 20 years ago, it was crumbling and almost abandoned. people have gone away, they went away because it is very poor. there was no economical chance to survive in such a place.

he wanted to find a way to bring local people and tourists back to the village while still preserving the area's ancient culture and traditions. he decided upon a sustainable tourism model. these may look like deserted buildings from the outside, but inside individual hotel rooms have been created throughout the village, restoring the design from the middle ages. they have really tried to keep things exactly as they would have been. the door is made from reclaimed wood.

the furniture has been made by local artisans. it is not super luxurious, but it really looks amazing. you can feel what it would have been like to live in this village all those years ago. even the bed is reassuringly hard. but this sustainable tourism model relies on staying hidden. when i arrived there was one hotel, now there are 21 hotels. you will never ever see these hotels. there is no sign or anything. we want to preserve the village. guests are encouraged to take part in local life and residents make money from their traditional skills, like weaving and crafts. 0r traditional cooking lessons that teach visitors how to make ancient recipes and local breads from the region. some good teamwork here. this is under his grandmother's recipe. delicious. and you can also hunt for delicacies like black truffles in the nearby mountains. that's huge. how much would that cost? 100 euros. you've done really well. it's a really big truffle. it took five years of restoration

and millions of euros of private investment to transform santo stefano di sessanio into a tourist destination. many of italy's other deserted villages could never afford this kind of investment, but in santo stefano di sessanio the albergo diffuso model is slowly helping to rebuild the community. young people who grew up in the area are starting their own businesses rather than leaving. serena's father was a shepherd but she runs her own wine bar and sells local cheeses. people had a poor life. now they have vacation and luxury and fun. the albergo diffuso is important for us because we did not have jobs before. but now tourists arrive from all over the world. for us, you know, some people choose to take their family to disneyland

and we chose to come to a real place that's right out of history. but this kind of holiday is not for everyone. rooms in santo stefano can cost up to 400 euros a night. and getting to the towns can be difficult. but the scattered hotel idea is catching on around the country. there are now a0 officially recognised alberghi diffusi in italy. it is a good model because you preserve the history and at the same time you produce economy. so sustainable tourism that develops the village? absolutely. that is all we have got time for this week. coming up next week: christa is here to look over some of the best moments

from the last few months. i'm sold. no pressure. here we go. are you ready? 0h! from lucy's look around one of south africa's most notorious skyscrapers... it is incredible to think of everything that has happened here. it is a real haunting feeling. ..to a difficult rail journey through jordan. .. for a re—enactment, it is pretty realistic. i'm actually scared. ..we have had some wild times this year. i hope you canjoin us if you can. if you want to follow us on our travels in real time you can sign up to our social media feeds. all the details should be on your screen 110w. until next time, from me, carmen roberts, and from the team in queensland, australia, it's goodbye.

hello. there's the potential for some turbulent whether in the forecast over the next few days and that is already making its presence felt across scotland, northern ireland, parts of northern england and north wales as this front works its way south and east overnight, bringing heavy rain and gusty winds. through sunday, the frontal system is running into an area of high pressure to the south of the uk. through sunday, it will weaken. the rain will tend to fizzle out and we will be left with a band of cloud and the odd spot of rain through the afternoon, stretching down through the midlands and south—west england. 0n either side, spells of sunshine. some patchy drizzle for the western isles of scotland

where it will continue to be quite windy. elsewhere, the strong winds from overnight will ease down but still quite a breezy day and fairly warm across east anglia and south—east england. temperatures up to 22 or 23dc. elsewhere, generally 17 or 20 celsius, cooler for the far north of scotland. keeping an eye on this area of low pressure, it has in it the remnants of hurricane helene, no longer a hurricane but providing tropical moisture and energy to that area of low pressure. it will strengthen the winds as we go through monday and pull some very warm and humid air across england and wales, particularly the further south and east you are. on monday, a mixture of variable cloud and a sunny spells before the rain arrives into northern ireland, parts of north—west england and western scotland. it will be heavy. some strong winds accompanying that with some very strong gusts as well. these are the average speed through monday afternoon. the gusts will be even higher. as we go from monday into tuesday, the gusts for the western isles of scotland could touch 60 or 70 mph. as we head south and east, in the warm and humid air

we could see highs of 23 on monday across east anglia and south—east england. here is our area of low pressure marching across the western side of the uk into tuesday. notice the squeeze in the isobars. this is where we will see the strongest winds — across northern ireland, scotland and northern parts of england. some very strong gusts. on tuesday, a mixture of sunny spells and heavy showers, particularly for northern ireland, scotland, western side of england and wales. again, a windy day for all of us but still holding onto some very warm and humid air across east and south—east england where we will see that which is up to 23 and 24. some sunshine here, yes, and very warm, but windy for all of us. particular gusty for northern ireland and scotland and northern parts of england. strong winds early next week, very warm in the south—east but some rain for the north and west. bye— bye. this is bbc news.

i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: at least 1a dead as typhoon mankut wreaks havoc in the philippines. it's now heading towards hong kong and southern china. warnings in the us that storm florence is "farfrom done". president trump declares a disaster in north carolina. the british prime minister defends her brexit plan — but dismisses talk of a leadership challenge. this is where i get a little bit irritated. this debate is not about my future. this debate is about the future of the people of the uk and the future of the united kingdom. and charting the polar icecaps from space. nasa's new mission launches a laser into orbit.