of this, and clearly rattled by all of this, was to change his whole budget plan and announce a big loosening of his budget plans with 70 billion euros in hand—outs and tax cuts for the less well—off. they may not see it asa less well—off. they may not see it as a big change but economists and a lot of the rest of the country regarded as a major concession by a government forced into this position by the yellow vest movement. plus the whole listening exercise, tactically and brilliant move. he went out and arrange the debates gci’oss went out and arrange the debates across the country which were widely joined in by people and that took a lot of the pressure. it was like a valve. it took a lot of pressure out of the cooking pot we felt we were living in at the start of the year. rank you very much. the bbc‘s children in need has raised almost £48 million this year.

celebrities from the world of tv, music and sport all took part in the annual telethon, to raise money for disadvantaged young people. 0ur our thanks to all of you who supported it last night. now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. more dry weather developing. some will stay dry this afternoon in the southern england and away pr the channel coasts. and across mainland scotla nd channel coasts. and across mainland scotland and northern ireland. a few showers in northern scotland and northern ireland. some showers into parts of wales. a cool day, temperatures in single figures. where you fin wish cloud, it will —— finish with cloud and rain it will continue through the night. not as cold. in the south and east of scotla nd cold. in the south and east of scotland and east anglia there could be some frost to start sunday. the same areas should be dry and sunny for much of the day. showers in the west of scotland and northern

ireland will fade. some will continue in 0rkney and shetland. cloudy in northern and parts of wales and the south west. further rain and some heavier bursts in northern england. to the south of it, some sunshine and another chilly day. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time, about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says it was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house and admits he let "the side down". i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my... tendency to be too honourable, but that's just the way it is. prince andrew also said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts —

who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. he denies any inappropriate conduct. in other news, scotland yard is investigating claims of electoral fraud, after the brexit party said its candidates had been offered inducements by conservatives to stand down. out on the general election campaign trail, the conservatives and the liberal democrats make promises to plant millions more trees to tackle climate change. two people have been hurt in a large fire at a student accommodation building in bolton. more than 200 firefighters were brought in to tackle the blaze now it's time for the travel show.

hello, and welcome to this look back at some of our recent adventures here on the travel show. it's been a busy few months, so here's a taste of what's coming up. it's so hot! i'm melting. totally worth it. look at this atmosphere! 0h, here we go again. this is beautiful. yes. there is all that and more to come, so, let's kick off with carmen's recent trip to osaka, japan. she went to get a bird's—eye view of the anicent burial mounds constructed thousands of years ago, but now located in a very modern city.

we start this week in osaka, a modern city, totally rebuilt after the devastation of the second world war. but among these street crossings and skyscrapers, you can still find artefacts from its past. you might not be able to spot them from the ground. oh, i made it to the top. it's a little bit of a view, it's not bad. a lot of trees here. not really that much to see. but to get the best view of these historical wonders, you really have to take to the sky. oh, my gosh. we are taking off. so exciting. dotted across the city there are nearly 50 grassy hills, some of them built in a distinctive keyhole—shape.

the japanese call them kofun, burial mounds built over 1,500 years ago. these man—made structures hold the remains of some of ancient 0sa ka's most powerful figures. and this summer, these memorials will were recognised as the city's first unesco world heritage site. yoshizawa—san has been studying the tombs for decades and was involved in the successful unesco bid.

the size and shape of the burial mounds depends on the person's status. the sites were decorated with haniwa, clay figurines that were used in the funeral ceremony. carmen exploring japan's past. now, rembrandt has to be one of the most famous painters in the world, and this year marks the 350th anniversary of his death. a while back, adi added back to amsterdam — where rembrandt worked and lived for most of his life — to discover a project that is restoring one

of his most famous paintings. in 1631, he made this city his home. and it's here that he painted his most famous masterpieces. and you can see many of them on display at the rijksmuseum. but what i've come here to see is very special. and involves a painting that rembrandt is best known for, one of the most famous works of art in the world, the night watch. the painting is almost four centuries old, and over the years there have been various restoration attempts. but now the museum is undertaking the most sophisticated one ever. using high—tech methods to carry out a forensic examination of how rembrandt actually painted the picture before restoration can begin. and it's all been carried out in one of their galleries in full view

of the public and live streamed online. the machine you see there is an x—ray fluorescence scanner. and this way we get an idea of the elements present in this painting. but this is a painting which is for us to admire. why is it so important for you to know about the elements? we need to figure out — we want to know how rembrandt painted it, what his ideas were when he was painting it, how did he make this nice composition. was it all ok on the canvas or did he change his mind and change more things, or did he change the composition? those things we would like to know. see you're getting a real idea of what it was like to be a painter in rembrandt‘s time? yeah, we're basically on rembrandt‘s shoulder and watching him while he's painting his paintings. so, we're going to photograph the painting in daylight,

but we're not going to do it like one snapshot, but we're going to do a lot of photos next to each other. i think, from the top of my head, it's 11,000 photos. wow. so then we get a really high resolution. it's like you're looking through a microscope. 0ne pixel in that photo is like a blood cell, or basically it's smaller than a human hair. all of this scrutiny in all of this work for one artist — what do you think rembrandt would make of it if he was around today? i would personally think that he would think we are crazy. yeah, yeah. adi there in amsterdam. now it's time for a slice of living history.

the fete des vignerons is a huge wine festival that's been taking place in switzerland since 1797. usually it's once every 25 years, and this year lucy went along as well as being home to unesco—protected lavaux vineyards, vevey is known for its living tradition — the fete des vignerons. a three—week long celebration of wine that transforms the town. and while switzerland might not spring to mind when you think of wine, they actually produce 100 million litres of wine per year, only exporting 2% of it. it's said that during the fete des vignerons visitors unsuspectingly work their way through — are you ready? over half a million bottles of wine. and the festival itself began as a one—day fee is hosted as a one—day feast hosted

by an ancient brotherhood as a way to reward the best winemaker in the region. and it clearly takes the locals a while to recover as the festival only takes place once every 20 to 25 years. the fete des vignerons began in 1797 as a small parade through the streets of vevey. but, because of unrest in the region over the next couple of decades, the next event wasn't organised for another 22 years. a cycle that has remained ever since. today the climax of the celebration is a daily show that takes place in a specially—booked stadium and features over 5,000 volunteers. and this year, the show‘s been created by the man behind cirque du soleil. i'm loving the vibe back here, themed costumes, props everywhere. so, with 5,000 people in your show, do you think you got room for one more? do this with your hands, dance with your hands. laughter.

i mean, talk me through what i'm going to be doing? you are going to be a dancer, a starling dancer. the idea is that your upper body is completely separated from your lower body, and your arms feel like wings that you can fly with. you made it look really easy. so, i've got my moves, now it's time to get my costume. these are huge. how do i look? i like it. you're amazing. laughter. then, the three—hour extravaganza began. the sun is blazing, it's so hot! i'm melting. totally worth it. look at this atmosphere! applause

the choreography wasn't so important in the end, there is always freestyling. it looked really good. what an honour to take part in something that only happens once every 20 years. iain‘t going i ain't going to be this limber in 20 years, i tell you now. lucy and about 30,000 other people in the stadium in switzerland back in august. stay with us. coming up: every year groups of very lucky people get to go aboard and actually blow like ancient athenians did. we get a break. "caution: a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point." they weren'tjoking.

well, we're always for a challenge here on the travel show, but mike raised the bar recently when he went to malaysia and tackled a climb that was a real of endurance. but the reward was spectacular views. i'm in gunung mulu national park in malaysia's biggest state, sarawak. it's home to some of the world's largest caves, formed from limestone and shaped by millions of years of ground and rainwater. this process also created a bizarre collection of stone spires above the ground. and almost 50 metres tall, the pinnacles are an imposing spectacle. but to get there, sightseers face a long, brutal track through the rainforest. "caution. "a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point.

"eight hours' round trip." lead the way! you weren'tjoking. steep! we've onlyjust started and i'm already pretty exhausted. it's another kilometre before i reach the most treacherous stage. this is the first ladder. 0k. right, helmets on? all right. and who's first? after me.

0k, one down, 17 more to go. beautiful limestone cliffs are sharp, but at least with lots of places to grab onto. looks like it is raining down there. you think it's going to rain? yeah, it will be heavy rains. 500 metres to go. 100 metres to go. hope we get there before rain. what ladder‘s this? last ladder. the last ladder? this looks like the summit. is it? yeah, the summit is here. we are here, guys.

oh, wow! yeah! and there's so many of them. this is beautiful. yup. just daggersjutting out of the forest canopy. yeah, it really is spectacular, right? mike taking on the pinnacles there in malaysia. now, rwanda might be one of africa's smallest nations, but it is becoming increasingly well known for its wildlife, especially its gorillas.

recently, lucy headed there hoping to meet some of these magnificent creatures. the walk is pretty tough, i'm not going to lie. the higher we get, the higher the altitude. my breath is getting shorter. three hours and 4,000 metres above sea level, and i was beginning to fear i might not everfind a gorilla. i look scared, but they are so big!

i grabbed francis like my life depended on it. we have really lucked out here. you have got a mother cradling her baby. and we've got the mother of all gorillas, the silverback there. he's just watching us. watching him. i can't believe we are this close. my mind is just absolutely blown, they are so beautiful. and when you think we share 98% of our dna with these great apes, you understand why they too are curious about us. rwanda, in collaboration with international conservation partners, has achieved remarkable success in not only protecting, but growing the mountain gorilla population. in fact, there is now 1,000 mountain gorillas here in the wild, up from 200 just two decades ago, when they were on the brink

of extension. this is primarily down to the decrease in poaching gorillas were hunted for meat. but in an effort to protect the gorillas, poachers were trained to become mountain guides and porters here, further supporting tourism. so, talk to me about the poaching here? no problem, but there is no problem because we keep avoiding it happening by involving them in the community. we keep on. but of course, more gorillas means they need more space. the government has now pledged to expand the forest by 23%, adding almost 4,000 hectares to its current 16,000. you just hear little grunts, just in the distance. at the moment, i think it is quite hard to tell if it is aggressive or playful grunts.

how did you feel when the gorilla came out of nowhere and jumped at you? scared! just being able to watch them eating, interacting and even communicating with us in their natural habitat is hands down one of the best experiences that i've ever had the pleasure of having while being on my travels. i highly recommend it. lucy there in rwanda in what must have been an incredible trip. and as for me, well, the powers that be at the travel show decided i had a different kind of experience in store — a boat trip up the coast of greece. sounds dreamy and relaxing, but as i discovered, not so much. i have come a short distance outside of the athens city centre

to what has become known as the athens riviera. there are plenty of cool cafes, ritzy new hotels and, of course, plenty of luxury yachts. moored close to the modern yachts, a different kind of ship is ready to go out to sea. the trireme 0lympias, the only life—size replica in the world of the athenian battleships, which dominated naval wars from the fifth century bc until early christian times. this amazing looking galley belongs to the greek navy, and every year, groups of lucky people get to go aboard and actually rowjust like ancient athenians did. this year i'm one of those lucky people, so i'd better get ready. i think it is going to be quite hard work. well, my fellow rowers are starting to arrive now, so i've picked a plum spot right in the middle of the action.

ready for ramming speed. reaching speeds of about nine knots, or 17km/h, this boat was considered pretty quick in its time. coxswain speaks in greek. and its manoeuvrability won athens some decisive victories at sea. the bronze ram served as the main weapon to puncture the holes of enemy ships and to sink them. coxswain speaks in greek. we get a break every so often.

here we go again! looking around, it is almost impossible to imagine what this must have been like for the people who originally rowed these kinds of boats. i mean, to be in battle, three layers of different people all sweating and trying to ram another boat in the open sea, i mean, it is unimaginable, given how pleasant and lovely this is today. fortunately, this trireme is now being used for less ferocious purposes. for now, the 0lympias is going back to the port for some pampering.

it will spend the winter there before being spruced up for a new set of visitors in 2020. well, that's all we have time for on this week's programme, but don't forget to sign up to our social media feeds. you can see what we're up to and share your travel stories with us and the rest of the world. for now, from me, christa larwood, and the rest of the travel show team, it's goodbye. hello, for many a welcome window of dry weather on the way for the start of next week. we need it when you

consider scenes like this in england and wales. this was the river teem yesterday. although broken its banks. the heavy rain has drifted south wards towards france. we have a weather front decaying across england and wales. some showers towards cornwall and in eastern scotla nd towards cornwall and in eastern scotland and some showers edging into the west of scotland and northern ireland after where we had afine, northern ireland after where we had a fine, bright, but frosty start. much of central and southern england, a welcome dry window, some sunny spells. around english channel counties still some rain as in northern england. a few heavier bursts for north—east england. some showers in northern ireland and the western isles of scotland, but much of scotla nd western isles of scotland, but much of scotland and northern ireland will stay dry through this afternoon. but chilly with temperatures in single figures.

tonight, with showers and cloud in western scotland and northern ireland, not as cold as last night, we will see the cloud continue to keep the frost at bay in northern england and the north—west midlands and wales. south midlands towards the south east a touch of frost. but bright to start sunday. the showers in western scotland and northern ireland will break up. some sunshine continuing in the midlands, a east anglia and the south, although channel showers through parts of wales and south west england and northern england, staying cloudy and some of the showers could be heavier in north—east england. temperatures in single figures. the showers fade away on sunday night. this is your window of dry weather. high pressure on monday. some frost and fog around. maybe a few showers with the breeze in the eastern districts of england. particularly close to the coast. for most it is a dry and sunny day and that will be the case

for many on tuesday. again after a frosty and foggy start. the second half of the week sees rain head our way, but temperatures start to raise.

this is bbc news. i'm a shaun ley. the headlines at 11am... prince andrew speaks publicly for the first time, about his friendship with the convicted sex offender, jeffrey epstein. in an exclusive interview with bbc newsnight, the duke says it was wrong to stay at epstein‘s house — and admits he let "the side down". iadmit i admit fully that myjudgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that isjust the way it is. prince andrew also said he had "no recollection" of meeting virginia roberts —— who claims she was forced to have sex with him when she was 17 after being groomed by epstein. the prince denies any inappropriate conduct. in other news, scotland yard says it will look