the us treasury secretary, steven mnuchin, has held private talks in riyadh with the saudi crown prince, mohammed bin salman, amid continuing international concerns over saudi involvement in the murder of the journalist jamal khashoggi. turkey says it will reveal the details of the killing later on tuesday. donald trump has threatened to boost his country's nuclear forces to compel russia to abide by an arms control treaty which he has said he plans to quit. mr trump told reporters that the united states would build up its nuclear arsenal until russia came to its senses. the longest sea bridge in the world has opened with a ceremony which the chinese president, xijinping, has attended. the $20 billion project, which combines bridges and an undersea tunnel, links hong kong and the macau peninsula to mainland china. a man has pleaded guilty to murdering samantha eastwood, a 28—year—old midwife who was found buried in a shallow grave in staffordshire in august. michael stirling, who is related to miss eastwood's ex—fiance, denied that her murder had been premeditated. here is our midlands

correspondent sima kotecha. samantha eastwood — a friend, a sister, a much—loved daughter. today this man, 32—year—old michael stirling, pleaded guilty to murdering her after a row that quickly escalated. the court was told the two were having a long—standing affair, and that stirling is the brother—in—law of her ex—fiance. samantha eastwood lived in this house in stoke—on—trent, and it was here where stirling killed her after a bout of intense rage. she was reported missing in late july. eight days passed before the police found her body. she's my best friend and partner—in—crime. at the time, her sister made an emotional plea. this afternoon, her family watched him via video link from the public gallery.

they have been through hell. he's lied to them, he's lied to the police. they haven't known what to think, who's telling the truth. it's been a roller—coaster, an emotional roller—coaster for them. i think that's why today is such a significant moment for them. samantha, on the left, was last seen leaving royal stoke hospital after a night shift on 27july. and then, days later, her body was discovered buried in a shallow grave in rural staffordshire. it was wrapped in a duvet, with tape covering her mouth and eyes. through his lawyer, stirling said he was deeply sorry. he was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in december. sima kotecha, bbc news, stoke—on—trent. now on bbc news, it's the travel show. this week: free entry into london's best buildings. some are little unusual. the vanishing language on the faroe islands.

seeing the deep south by car. and the black forest by train. and the scottish porridge wars. it's purists against hipsters in the land of milk and honey. no prizes for guessing where i am this week. london has some of europe's most recognisable architecture, even when it's covered in scaffolding. each year, many of the capital's most magnificent buildings

open their doors to the public for the annual open house. 2018 is their biggest event yet, with over 800 venues to explore, and i've come to fitzrovia to visit one of this year's most striking openings. from the top of this tower of technology, you get the best view of london there has ever been. the bt tower was opened in 1965, and for over a decade it was london's tallest building. standing at more than 600 feet, it was built to carry telecommunications all across the uk, and in true ‘60s fashion, the top doubled as a revolving restaurant. when you eat here, they give you a certificate of orbit to say you have been above and around the houses two and a half times in every hour.

doors closing. it's actually been closed since the 1980s, so the open house weekend is one of the only times that the likes of you or i are allowed in. access to the tower is in high demand. today's visitors have had to enter an online ballot to get a place. it's not that often you get this high up over london, but the view is incredible, and there are really famous landmarks you can see from here. we've got the shard, the london eye, the british museum here. it's amazing. it's a bit of a shame this isn't available all year round. this year's open house is the biggest we've ever done. it's only the second time ever we have every london borough participating. we had that last year as well for the 25th anniversary and we have managed it again, which is a real achievement. what were the origins of the idea?

the first open house was literally a bus tourfor 100 people, enthusiasts who wanted to see contemporary architecture. it was so popular and oversubscribed that the following year a number of london boroughs participated and opened their doors. and today in 2018 we expect a quarter of a million people, even despite the weather. so tell me, what are your top tips for getting the best out of an open house weekend? top tip — maybe focus on the outer boroughs. london has some amazing secrets tucked away on the fringes of the city. you don't always have to go into the centre. the other tip i would give is pick one borough and concentrate on that. there's always magic on your doorstep. all of the venues are listed on this handy app with maps, and it is notjust the big venues you can visit. you can see inside people's private homes, too! it's amazing that this house is sitting in the middle of a suburban street.

it's kind of an amazing feat of imagination made real. impressive. this project sits within a much larger debate about the value of architecture. it seems to me there is a responsibility that each new building that is built, or each new environment that is made, must be better than the preceding one, and if this can encourage people to do that, then i think that is really valuable. meanwhile, this is also on the list. i'm headed into the bowels of queen mary hospital, to the ucl pathology museum. it's a bit of a maze in here, with endless corridors.

hopefully i'm heading in the right direction. it's one of the very first chances for the public to see inside. i mean, it is fascinating, but it's not really for the faint—hearted, this. everything that you see around you here... subhadra das is the curator here, and has been captivating visitors with stories about some of the specimens. i think we should start with probably the most iconic specimen in the museum, and this is the famous sword swallower's sword and oesophagus and heart. what? can you explain the logistics of this? this is your ultimate health and safety failure at work scenario. what we can see here is this person's food pipe, and if you can see there's a little bit of plastic going down here. that shows where the sword went in and tore through the oesophagus and then hit the heart. this person's heart was beating at the time. if you can imagine the heart beating, the heart beating against the sword is

what pierces the heart itself. my goodness me. what else have we got? let's move on to this one. it is still all the fun of the fairground. these are tattoos from a man who was, unsurprisingly, a tattooed man in a circus. that is how he made his living. everything apart from the palms of his hands, the soles of his feet and everything from the neck up, the rest of him was completely covered in ink. completely covered, of which these are...? this is a selection. his skin is preserved here. absolutely. it's quite remarkably well preserved. yes, it is. you would probably expect to see that kind of tattoo on somebody‘s arm today. easily. i think that one is really attractive. whoever it was liked flying things. we have butterflies on one side, a flying fish, and a fly as well. now, this surely can't be real. this can't be to scale. no, that's exactly what it is.

it's a scale of one to one. it's not a real hand, as you've been able to guess... well done. you've learned from being in here. very good. this is a plaster cast of a hand. we can see just about what is left of the painted label on the cast, and it tells us it's the hand of a man who had a condition called acromegaly, and that he was eight foot and nine inches tall. for me this is interesting because acromegaly is the condition of one of the most famous bodies in any medical museum in the country, which is the body of a man called charles byrne, the irish giant, and that is preserved at the royal college of surgeons. so we haven't got him, but i do feel the need to point out that this gentleman was at least a foot taller. i suppose with macabre objects like this, there's the possibility that an exhibition like this could become almost a sideshow in itself, so how do you stop that from happening? people will think what they think. i'm not going to control what people's reactions or ways of thinking are. it's a gift that we have them, and i want to share it with a wider

audience, hopefully in a way that is respectful to the people involved. next, we're off to the remote faroe islands, an archipelago of 18 volcanic islands in the atlantic 0cean, where locals are doing what they can to keep their native tongue alive. still to come on the travel show... seeing the deep south by car, and the black forest by train. and the scottish porridge wars. it's purists versus hipsters in the land of milk and honey. welcome to the slice of the show that tackles your questions for getting the best out of travel.

coming up, the gift of a weekend in italy, and directions for a road trip in america's deep south. first, though, 0ctober marks the official opening of the qe2 as a floating hotel in dubai. since she first set sail nearly half a century ago, the queen elizabeth 2 has circled the globe 25 times. for the past decade, she's been languishing at port rashid in dubai after several false starts to refit her. finally, the work is done and she is welcoming guests on board once again. next, christine evans has a lovely idea to celebrate her son's 50th birthday later this year. she says he's never been to italy, and she wonders... christine, a number of airlines sell

gift vouchers, but i'm not in favour of them because they restrict the flights you can take. similarly, hotel chains sell gift cards, but again you're restricting choice. instead i suggest you find a friendly travel agent, and ask them to write a letter to your son saying, you have a weekend in the italian city of your choice. you can set a budget if you want, maybe £500, and once he's chosen the dates and the flights, the travel agent can then work out the best place to stay. peter freeman is off to new orleans, and he's keen to add on a few days of driving through the states of louisiana and mississippi. louisiana and mississippi are big states — together they're larger than the uk, so pick a few highlights. head west from new orleans along the river road that winds

beside the mississippi. go into the bayou, a native american word meaning tranquil waters. take a boat trip, keeping a close eye out for alligators. visit the quintessential greek revival plantation house of oak alley, then continue upstream. the mississippi forms the state border between louisiana and the state of mississippi, where the highlight is the town of natchez, founded in 1790 by the spanish. it claims to be the home of the friendliest folks you'll ever meet, and it also tells the story of the deep south from the perspective of slaves and native americans. in october, robert boston is heading for lake constance, which is surrounded by austria, germany and switzerland. he wants to know... what's the best way

to get there from london? where should we stay? you could fly to friedrichshafen in germany or to the largest swiss city, zurich, but i recommend the rail trip — it's far more rewarding. go via paris and strasbourg to the german town of 0ffenburg, which is where the beautiful line across the black forest to lake constance begins. i suggest you stay in the pretty town of lindau in germanyjust beside the austrian border. even in october, you should be able to dine alfresco on the elegant main boulevard. if you want to get your travel plans in order, i'm here to help. get in touch and i will do my very best to find you an answer. from me, simon calder the global guru, bye for now and see you next time. we're finishing this week in scotland, and with the very best

porridge the world has to offer. the 0scars of the oat world, the golden spurtles, have just been handed out. the main prize was won jointly by a pair of swedes, calle myrsell and per ca rlsson, but there hasn't been a local winner since 2014. so is the country losing its taste for its own national breakfast? we sent rajan to edinburgh to find out. people come to edinburgh for the history largely, the drama of the castle, or the grandeur of holyrood house, but we've come here for the food. haggis, porridge, deep—fried mars bar... all absolutely delicious in their own right, of course, but in recent years it's how you eat your porridge that has taken on an importance all of its own. purists will always tell you that the only properly scottish

way to eat porridge is with a little salt and water. the trouble is, it'sjust not that nice, is it? and these days if you ask most scots they'll tell you they like jazzing it up a bit. what do you have in it? fruit and milk, and that's all. i quite like dark sugar on it. i like it with treacle and milk. ido! honestly! you make an island... but it has to be the traditional porridge, none of this english rubbish. how do you have your porridge? with salt. i'm scottish, you see. in the age of social media, all that grey gloop just doesn't look pretty enough on instagram. but there is one place in the student area of marchmont that is looking to restore the reputation for total porridge supremacy. can i try peach melba please? no problem!

elaine opened edinburgh's first porridge cafe a few years ago. traditionalists would be appalled by this very 21st—century twist on their national dish. isn't this sacrilege? porridge should be salt, water, oats? absolutely not. this is preserving porridge for the next generation. i think there is a bit of a porridge movement. there is a porridge cafe in new york, in copenhagen, in london. i think we are the first one in scotland, i think, if not, certainly edinburgh. can i try it? yes, please! it's really nice. for the hard—core oat fan, there are plenty of opportunities to sample the very best, which led the tourist board to create bespoke porridge tours, taking you all over the country. luckily, one of the key stops

is only an hour's train ride outside edinburgh. auchtermuchty may look like a small, unassuming little scottish town, but what it has got is the king of porridge. neil robertson, the only man to hold two golden spurtle awards, runs this traditional tearoom, and it is where you come if you're after real salt and water porridge with absolutely no adornment. this is the puritan's porridge, and actually, you have to order ahead for this because it takes six hours for the oats to soak before they are ready. let's give it a go. yes, it is kind of what you expect. it's edible. it's quite bland. the texture is

definitely quite nutty. i could certainly eat a whole bowl, and it's suppsoed to be very good for you. however, i've also ordered some of neil's slightly sweeter porridge, made of toasted spices, creme fraiche and blueberry compote. this won him his second award back in 2010. i thought it would be a fun day out cooking porridge in a hall, and i was amazed it was an international competition. i won the title back from america. i thought i should commemorate the event by having a tattoo. wow, look at this! in scotland the traditional porridge is the one that everyone swears by, and it goes back a long time. but it is dying out, is that right? yes, people seem to be in such a hurry that they don't fit it into their day. they grab and go, so they eat the instant porridge or quick porridge, which is a bit of a shame,

but i can understand that. ready to taste it? icertainly am. help yourself to a spoonful. it will be hot. they go well together, really well. you might call me a bit of a softy, but i've got to be honest, this is far, far nicer. i could have this regularly. i think i will! sadly that's all we have time for on this week's show. coming up next week... carmen will travel around taiwan. she will sample the acoustics of a brand—new concert hall, learning how to pick tea, and making a wish while releasing a skylantern during a traditional festival. happy travels! dojoin us then, and in the meantime, you can keep up

with us in real time if you sign up to our social media feeds. but from me and the rest of the travel show team, goodbye. hello there. we have much colder weather by the end of the week. monday was a cooler day and with clearer skies following the sunshine we have seen temperatures not far from freezing in some rural parts across the southern part of the uk. it will warm up in the sunshine but for most places it will be dry with a brisk wind blowing. probably not quite as windy across the northern half of the uk as it was yesterday but strong wind around this area of high pressure

and those weather fronts focusing cloud and rain. mainly for the north and west of scotland, sunshine at times for the east of scotland. 40—50 mph gusts across scotland and the pennines and hazy sunshine. rest of the sunshine across other parts of england and wales. it may be warmer on tuesday with temperatures at 16, 17 degrees even in the sunshine of eastern scotland. we still have winds easing down through the course of the evening and overnight. the rain is beginning to ease off. some cloud will push further down into england and wales so not as cold overnight into wednesday morning. it will always be the sunniest across southern and eastern parts of england. perhaps eastern scotland for a while. elsewhere cloud across the north—westerly breeze. by this stage, the winds will not be as strong and the rain will ease off in the north—west of scotland. those temperatures could

hit 16, 17 degrees. quite mild for this time of year. there is still high pressure to the south—west of the uk and weather fronts running around the top of that area of high pressure. this one is the significant one because it is behind that that we will really get some cold air. not yet, however. thursday should be dry for many with sunshine around. cloud coming into england and wales. we have rain gathering in the north—west of scotland with the temperature a shade lower. that rain that is gathering is on the cold front and that is significant because behind it the wind direction changes and we draw air from the arctic, plunging down colder conditions on friday. there is the cold front, not a great deal of rain. sunny skies follow and showers coming from the north, turning wintry over the high ground in scotland where it it will feel close to freezing. briefly temperatures is may reach double figures. this weekend we are struggling to make double figures.

most places will be dry with sunshine and there will be showers around and those will be wintry over the high ground in the north. arctic wind makes it feel much colder by the end of the week. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: as turkey is preparing to reveal all about the murder of the journalist, jamal khashoggi at the saudi consulate in istanbul, the us treasury secretary holds private talks in riyadh with the saudi crown prince. president trump warns that the us will build up its nuclear arsenal to pressure russia and china as he threatens to pull out of a landmark treaty. it's a threat to whoever you want, and it includes china and it includes russia and it includes anybody else that wants to play that game. cristiano ronaldo claims the truth is coming as he speaks publicly for the first time about the rape allegation against him. spanning 55 kilometres, the world's longest sea bridge linking hong kong and macau

to mainland china is opening for business.