this is bbc news. the headlines: houthi rebels in yemen say they have begun to withdraw from the key strategic port of hodeidah. the move is in line with a united nations backed ceasefire, aimed at delivering urgently needed food aid. the houthis control most districts of the city. the uk government has insisted it's working ‘very effectively‘ with france, to tackle an increase in the number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. more than 200 people have arrived since the start of november. local politicians have called for more coastguard boat patrols. fellow entertainers have been paying tribute to damejune whitfield — who's died at the age of 93. the actress was best known for her roles in the british sitcoms terry and june and absolutely fabulous. her career spanned seven decades, and included radio, television, stage and film performances. now on bbc news — it's time to take a trip through 2018 — a year full

of adventure for the team from the travel show. hello, and welcome to the travel show with me, ade adepitan. this week, we've decided to put away our boarding passes, stow our suitcases, and take a look back at some of our favourite places, faces and stories of 2018. it's been a really hectic year as we've brought you our adventures from over 60 countries. here's a taste of what's coming up. yeah! their footwork is impressive. we are going through the most fashionable part of tokyo and i'm dressed as a fat plumber. let's kick off our look back with some stories that helped to show what a cultured bunch we are here at the travel show. in a moment, i head to beirut

to see how they're trying to reclaim their 1960s title as the paris of the middle east. then lucy visits cape town to see how ballroom dancing is helping to break down barriers. but first, back in april, christa headed to norway to try her hand at playing musical instruments made out of ice. she's so cool! i start my trip at norway's ice music festival in finse. you're really feeling, you can see it in the air — it is cold here. word is it's going to reach a low of —24 tonight. so i'd better rug up. what makes this festival extra—special is that the instruments are actually made on the day from nearby ice. i really like it cos it's kind

of the sound of nature. it doesn't sound like anything else you have ever heard. we don't get to practise, so the music gets made on the stage in front of the audience and that's really special. i think people are like, "what, is this possible?" it is almost not possible so it's pretty cool that we can do it. i guess there's a lot of folk music in it, it's very nordic, with the ice and snow and cold winters. just in the nick of time, all is ready and we gather

for an evening of ice music. singing. applause. in the 1960s, beirut was the height of glamour, dubbed the paris of the middle east. and few spots epitomised this

ideal better than one of the city's five—star destinations. this commemorative book was produced a few years ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the hotel, and when you look through it, it really gives you an idea of the calibre of celebrity who have stayed here. they've got marlon brando. there's brigitte bardot. even the great muhammad ali. i was coming to the phoenicia since the beginning. we used to do fashion shows here, and this is a very special hotel. mona ross is an international model who was based in beirut before the war. wow. mona ross, take a seat.

now she is a permanent resident of the hotel. it's part of my life. i consider i'm a part of the columns of the phoenicia. you are part of the furniture. part of the furniture! part of the fabric of the whole hotel! when the war came, the hotel became a battle ground, a key strategic point because of its size and downtown location. i was passing by next to the phoenicia when it was destroyed. and i saw a little hibiscus plant with little red flowers on it, and i was so touched by this. i couldn't believe my eyes, why this plant was alive in front of this hotel that was dead. today, a generation of young lebanese are determined to shake the dust and debris from the city's reputation.

and it's the nightlife that's really putting beirut back on the map. the music hall is one of the capital's most famous venues, hosting a cabaret packed with an eclectic mix of musicalforms. i said i'm going to create a place where you have extremes, it can be classical music and then something that is totally punk or very kitsch. i try to work on cultural entertainment. usually those two words do not meet because entertainment is nightlife and alcohol, and culture is museums and theatres. with its bill celebrating both

the city's prewar golden age and contemporary music trends, the music hall offers a vision of beirut comfortable with its past and living in the moment. this beautiful, grand and iconic building is city hall and it's from that balcony that mandela gave his first speech after being released from prison. back then, this entire area was completely jam—packed with people, eager to catch a glimpse of him and hear what he had to say.

but almost a quarter of a century after the end of apartheid “119911, i wanted to see how far these hopes for the rainbow nation have come. we are on our way to mitchells plain, a township in the suburbs of the city. in the past, people from areas like this just would not get many opportunities but things are slowly changing, giving the next generation the chance for their talents to be recognised. at the neighbourhood dance studio, children aged as young as four are having their final rehearsals ahead of a prestigious ballroom competition. their footwork is impressive. dancing is one of the most popular sports in townships — up there with football and boxing, and perhaps more importantly, it's bringing young south africans from all backgrounds together. it's a new day and it's showtime — a dazzling parade of sequins,

lycra and colour. we're here at the super series national championship and people have come from all over the country to compete on this dance floor. there is so much excitement in the air. the guys are looking suave, the ladies are looking fabulous. but who's going to take home those trophies? although events like this are now a regular part of the calendar across south africa, it is sobering to remember that not so long ago, under apartheid, it was socially taboo for black and white couples to dance together, so competitions like this would be unthinkable. i remember when we did ourfirst competition in johannesburg and we were the only black children dancing in the competition, and we were in the corner. i remember being invisible. i remember being a champion, knowing what it means to be a champion but also not

really being recognised. i remember them not knowing my name. the amazing thing about seeing the born—free generation which is they don't really know what it feels like to see or feel segregation. you actually see couples who are dancing from two different... a white boy and a black girl dancing together, and i think that's amazing. no—one would deny the country still has some way to go before fulfilling mandela's dream, but in their own small way, step by step, the young hopefuls here in cape town are doing their bit to carry his legacy into the future. there you go. the born—free generation foxtrotting their way into the future in cape town, back in september. up next we have a different type of dancing from the same month, but this was when rajan agreed to go to japan to take part in a festival that required fancy footwork and a fair amount of stamina. i'm looking forward to this. hi.

konnichiwa. tell me, what makes this festival unique? everything, every dancer has this. 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. the nerves have all gone. who cares how good you are? this is about community and festival. i'm getting it now. yes, it's exciting. music plays. rajan there, reporting from japan back in september. something tells me they won't be inviting him back tojoin in again next year. nice try, mate! 0k, stick with us because still to come on our special look back

at 2018, mike takes on the sand dunes of kazakhstan with a snowboard and we'll also be saying goodbye to one of my travel show buddies who has now become a hollywood star, and it all began right here on the travel show. being a presenter here means you have to be pretty comfortable taking on all sorts of challenges. over the years i've taken lions for a walk... ..head banged... ..and tried my hand at shakespeare, all in the name of the programme. but soft, what light through yonder window breaks? it is the east and juliet is the sun. up next, some of our favourite clips from 2018 when some

of my travel show buddies also faced up to their fears. myjourney takes me to the wondrous allure of a seemingly limitless desert, abu dhabi's defining feature. at this annual sports festival there are camel and horse races but basically this is party time for petrol heads. boy racers and supposedly respectable grown—ups too bring their four—wheel drives and buggies for a romp on the dunes, and you don't get much bigger than the tal moreeb. 300 metres high at an incline of 50 degrees. i have been looking at one of the world's highest and steepest sand dunes for a while now and i really want to reach the top. luckily i've got myself a lift. whoa!

we are going for it. we are reaching the top. video game simulation with some sightseeing thrown in. konnichiwa. welcome. they have been running these go—kart tours, taking in many of the tourist attractions of central tokyo, for several years now. this brings back memories from my childhood. yoshi, luigi and mario.

it has got to be mario. where is the key? john, where is the key? this is ridiculous. even though it is a sunday morning and the traffic is lighter, it takes a while to get used to driving a vehicle that feels so low and exposed. 0h! slightly vulnerable, but i think i'm getting the hang of driving this car now. oh, my gosh. did you see how close i came to a taxi? 0h! oh, my gosh, i can't believe we are going through shibuya crossing. we are going through the most fashionable part of tokyo and i'm dressed as a fat plumber!

i wanted to see how kazakhstan‘s relationship with nature is changing so i'm meeting up with a mountain guide in almaty. my guide wanted to show me how some people are mixing old kazakhstan with the new. sand boarding on the most famous singing sand dune in kazakhstan, famous because under the right conditions the dune makes a humming sound, almost like an organ. along for the ride was a friend and olympic kazakhstan snowboard trainer. the dune stretches for 3km and reaches a height of 150 metres and, let me tell you, it might look placid from a distance but it is an entirely other story once you're up there.

it is a little bit windy today but we are on the singing sands and that's always how it is here, i guess. i've gone snowboarding before, what are the differences with sand boarding? 0k. lean back? 0h! he laughs. this is a lot of fun. but before long... ..we are starting to get the hang of it. and with that, my trip

to kazakhstan is at an end, and what a ride it was. yeah! to end this look back at 2018, we couldn't finish without remembering that this year we said goodbye to a familiar travel show face. he has now swapped being on the tv for playing a leading man in hollywood. ever since i can remember, my family has been my whole life. rachel! henry has been with us since the start, back in 2014. we've had plenty of adventures

together, clocked up countless miles, and hollywood success could not have happened to a nicer bloke, so good luck, henry, and as a parting gift from everyone here on the travel show, here are your best bits. a baby. what's the baby's name? mina. wow, so small. they're determined to make me sweat even more. i've got a fair way to go yet.

straight, straight. i don't want to rip my pants. you're much stronger than i am. this ride is getting bumpier and bumpier. it's almost like trying to stay on a bucking bronco. 0h! i'm done, i'm finished. i'm going to go home and rest my sore bum, i think. it's been a long day. so that's it for our look back on 2018. i hope you've enjoyed following us on our travels this year

and willjoin us in 2019 as we hit the road to bring you some of the best stories from around the world and, you never know, maybe even provide you with inspiration for your next trip. until then, from me, ade adepitan, and all the travel show presenters and the crew on the programme, we'd like to wish you, wherever you are, a happy and healthy new year. see you in 2019. hello. we've had some fairly quiet weather over recent days, with high pressure mostly in charge. has been a little bit wet and windy across some northern parts

of the uk, but this picture was taken on saturday afternoon by one of our weather watchers in sterling. and i think as we head through the next couple of days, the last few days of 2018, that mostly dry theme will continue. fairly cloudy, certainly mild. there will be a bit of rain, mostly across the northern half of the uk, particularly for parts of scotland over the next few days. we've got a weather front which is just pushing its way west to east across parts of scotland and england at the moment, but it's high pressure that is largely dominating the weather. a fairly chilly start to sunday morning, especially across some southern and eastern parts where we have the clearer skies for longest overnight. so we start with a lot of cloud, some drizzly outbreaks of rain, particularly in the north and the east. now, most of that rain will clear. it'll linger longest for the northern isles. best of the sunshine, then, will be for eastern scotland and eastern england too. further west, thicker cloud is likely to bring a little bit of drizzle, perhaps some low cloud and mist over the hills

in the west, too. but temperatures 10—12 degrees — still relatively mild for this time of year. and then we keep with that reasonably mild and largely dry theme through the course of sunday evening, and overnight too. still a bit of light rain and patchy drizzle for some northern and western parts. clearer skies for a time towards the east. so i think monday morning, this is the dawn on new year's eve, we should see largely frost—free conditions, but perhaps some fairly chilly weather first thing across some eastern areas with those clearer spells. now, looking through the day on new year's eve, monday, high pressure well and truly in the driving seat. we have got weather fronts to the far north—west and tighter isobars here. so breezier conditions, certainly, for northern and western scotland, with a bit of patchy rain too. but for much of the uk, new year's eve monday is looking pretty much the same as the last few days — largely dry, fair amount of cloud, and the best of any sunny spells will be for eastern counties of england and eastern scotland.

temperatures around ten or 11 degrees for new year's eve on monday. if you've got plans to see in the new year overnight, most of us should stay dry. fairly cloudy conditions, but there could be a spot or two of rain, particularly across part of scotland, perhaps northern ireland too. so that's all courtesy of this fairly weak weather front slowly slipping south as we head into new year's day but for most of us, high pressure still in charge of the weather. so a largely dry, still mild picture on new year's day, but then things are turning colder, a little more wintry, as we look ahead into the first week of 2019. bye— bye. hello, and welcome to bbc news. france's so—called gilets jaunes movement is blaming the festive season for a drop in protestors on the street. across the country roads

were blocked, barricades and vehicles were set alight as some marches became violent. in paris demonstrators camped outside media outlets as they vowed to continue fighting for better living standards into the new year. georgina smyth has the story. the seventh saturday of yellow vest protest, and the streets of france are still burning.