don't forget you can see the front pages of the papers online on the bbc news website. it's all there for you — seven days a week at bbc.co.uk/papers — and if you miss the programme any evening you can watch it later on bbc iplayer. next on bbc news it's the travel show. we are starting off in iceland this week. it is one of the best places in the world to see whales in their natural habitat. but it's also now providing a home for a pair of these amazing mammals who spent their lives in captivity but are now looking forward to their retirement in an environment that is closer to their natural home. and cat has been to meet them.

here, just off the coast of iceland, we are searching. because, apparently, there is something in the water. notjust one of them, either — there are 23 species of them. so every now and then, someone points in a direction and the whole boatjust rushes over, trying to see what is going on. and then someone points in another direction, so we rush over there. so it is like playing whack—a—mole. you never know when things are going to pop up. we are watching boats cast off to sea each day in iceland in the hope of catching a glimpse of these mammals. you've a great spot up here! it's the best one on the boat! minke whale, two o'clock. alright, and it is a minke whale that we have at our two o'clock!

how do you even try to find a whale in such a vast area? what are the tell—tale signs? tell—tale signs. the easiest one is the body — so when their black body comes up and you see the triangle—shaped dorsal fin. but also the blows. so just when you see their breath, you know what species you have. really? just from their breath, you can tell the species? yes. that's incredible. how often do you see whales on these tours? we basically see them almost every trip that we go out. in the end, it's the food. both laugh. we have nutrient—rich waters because it is cold. the colder the water, the more oxygen. and with that, the more life that you have. elsewhere in the world,

travellers‘ contact with whales is often in captivity, where they are kept for public entertainment. globally, hundreds of whales are thought to live this way. but public appetite for holding these intelligent and social animals appears to be shifting. just last year, greenpeace drew attention to dozens of beluga whales and orcas that had been caught and kept in poor conditions in russia, destined for entertainment parks in china. but in recent weeks, they were released after a public outcry. fortunately, these whales had only been captive for a short time, so could cope with life back out at sea. but what happens when theme park owners agree to release their whales who are unable to defend for themselves out in the open ocean? so the next morning,

i travel to the south of the island and out to the westman islands, a short ferry ride off the mainland. i'd heard that here in iceland, a new kind of sanctuary was being created. audrey, there are so many beautiful coves and little inlets around iceland. why this particular place? it is a beautiful surrounding for them. with the cliffs kind of protecting them from the wind and the icelandic weather, and then also having the water temperature more like the arctic and subarctic, where they would be found in the wild. two beluga whales, called little white and little grey, will soon be the first to be released into the bay. they had until recently been performing at an entertainment park in china, but after the operators decided to end the practice, they tried to find new homes for the animals where they could live out their lives.

what is the plan for tourists, so that they are not too overwhelmed? yeah, so the plan with tourists is to manage boat trips. we have a partner who will be bringing visitors out. they will not get out on these pontoons, but they will be able to see them from a distance — sort of like a whale—watching trip — and hear about the project and learn why little white and little grey are here. little white and little grey were carefully flown on the long journey from china to iceland, but they could not be released straight into the bay. they have, for the last few months, been acclimatising in the nearby sea life centre to the waters here, and working with handlers to learn how to take the final journey into the bay. oh, my goodness! wow! these are incredible. yeah, hi. can i come down? yeah, of course. hello! they are so graceful

in the water, aren't they? what do you love about them? you know, beluga whales are a kind of friendly animal. they will not hurt you and you can work with them peacefully, and so it is great fun to work with them. they're beautiful, gentle giants. yeah. so which is the naughty one? this one? yeah. look at theirfaces! this country's relationship with whales is complex, being one ofjust a few places in the world that still legally allows some hunting of the animals. but projects like this, and the various whale—watching experiences on offer, are ways to encourage understanding and protection. laughs. would you like some more fish? yum!

iwillgive you... burps. 0h, was that a burp? she keeps wanting more. oh, if you insist. if you insist. there we go. burps. oh, there is another little burp! chuckles. up next, we meet two women who are part of the unique team that took on an incredible journey across america. so, race across america is 3,070 miles from the west coast of america to the east coast of america. it was a different kind of cycling

to anything i'd ever done before. so from california to maryland, and had to be completed in nine days. it was an idea that i'd had in the back of my mind, that i wanted to put a team together. i'd seen two teams of wounded warriors guys do it, and seeing that there had been no females in that team, and wondered why not. there was eight riders, all who have had our different health challenges — be that physical or psychological or both. half the team were civilian and half them were military. i met sally through some invictus training camps. the one main concern i had was the fact that i'm visually impaired. i had a brain injury when i was injured in the army, quite some time ago now — 1996 —

so for me to be cycling on the other side of the road when i am completely blind to the left was always going to be something i'd never done and, quite frankly, didn't really know how that was going to go. we all went over the start line together. what then had to happen was as a non—stop race, we — the team of eight riders broke down into two pods, so there were four people in each pod, and the support crew. the first team carried on cycling for a nine—hour period. so within that nine hours, every 20 minutes, we would change riders. the other pod, in that time, had moved forward and they were having to get their rest in — which is quite difficult when you have just had the adrenaline at the start and then suddenly go, "right, you need to go to sleep". i can remember seeing a lot of road. to be honest, when you're cycling, you're concentrating on covering as much as you can.

looking up is not something you necessarily do. and i looked up, and i'm so glad i did. we were the pod that was very, very fortunate to cycle through monument valley. a lot of colour, a lot of red rock formations thatjust stand in this vast array of countryside. i — it's almost indescribable. didn't realise you'd put a camera in my face. do you want to take that? well done. good stuff. there had been a lot of doubts on everybody‘s mind. there is often times when you wonder if you can carry on because things are hurting, and for me, i look back and reflect on the time when my depression was at its worst, when i didn't think there was any reason to live. i look back on that time and think, "this isn't as difficult as that, to try to overcome." the race finished in annapolis, maryland.

eight of us cycled down the road. and everybody's cheering, driving past. i'm incredibly proud to have been able to have had an opportunity to take part in such an extreme event. it has forced me to sort of go out of my comfort zone, i suppose. cheering and applause. we were able to achieve something really quite incredible, and hopefully, others will be able to look back on what we have achieved and inspire them to go and take on their own race across america. hello there. we are only a couple of minutes away from the start of meteorological winter. the first day of december. it is going to be a

cold day as well. some parts of the country today struggle to get above freezing and has a mist and fog around. we're stuck this cold air underan area of around. we're stuck this cold air under an area of high pressure. the far south—west has been milder. the channel islands, too. near that weather front there is still some cloud maybe rain and drizzle still to come. that gets pushed away by the breeze. further north, fog forming across the midlands, parts of wales. although we do have showers heading in towards east anglia. maybe some fog in the clear skies across the vale of york, solway fourth, the central belt of scotland. a few showers draped around the coasts of northern ireland and scotland. it is the northern half of the country that will have frosts. temperatures will deploy further. patchy frost further south we have a breeze, cloud, and the fog gets lifted rather more quickly because of the breeze on sunday. some fog patches further north. a little more stubborn. it is generally turning sunny. some showers in the breeze across

northern scotland, the only thing coast of england, but moving away from northern ireland. temperatures for the first day of the new month similarto for the first day of the new month similar to what we had today. they probably won't feel as cold in the midlands because we have more sunshine and also should be dry with more sunshine in the south—west of england. then an area of high pressure in the cold air, still around on sunday and for most of us into monday. we're coming somalia around that area of high pressure for scotland and northern ireland. early monday, while there will be a patchy frost it will not be as cold. whereas it is more widely frosty for england and wales. that means sunny weather at least to start the day on monday. we have a breeze coming into northern ireland, bringing more cloud. in particular, across scotla nd cloud. in particular, across scotland where we will see patchy rain mainly in the north of the country. temperatures here could be reaching double figures on monday. foremost in the sunshine, 678 degrees sums it up. an area of high pressure dominating for the moment

—— six pressure dominating for the moment -- six - pressure dominating for the moment —— six — eight degrees. milder atla ntica re —— six — eight degrees. milder atlanticare coming —— six — eight degrees. milder atla ntica re coming our way. —— six — eight degrees. milder atlanticare coming our way. closer to the high pressure for longer. —— atla ntic to the high pressure for longer. —— atlantic air. patches of fog. that will keep the temperatures down. later in the week you can see the significant change. it turns milder, it gets windier, and there will be patchy rain mainly in the west and the north.

this is bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: the first victim of the london bridge terror attack to be named is jack merritt — killed while running a prisoner rehabilitation conference to which his assailant was invited. the attacker — usman khan — was jailed seven years ago for terrorism offences but freed last year. a prominent maltese businessman is charged with complicity in the murder of the investigative journalist daphne caruana galizia. hundreds of climate campaigners in eastern germany occupy open—cast coal mines to demand their immediate closure.