this is bbc news. the headlines: the united nations says nearly 250,000 people have been forced from their homes this month because of fierce fighting in idlib province in syria. the town of maarat al—numan is reported to be all but deserted and the main highway heading north has been packed with vehicles. russia says it has put into service the first batch of new strategic missiles that — it claims — can penetrate any existing or future missile shields. the avangard is what's known as a hypersonic glide vehicle which can steer an unpredictable course, making detection much harder. australia is bracing itself for another heatwave that could escalate conditions for bushfires across the country. temperatures of over a0 degrees celsius are expected in several states. there are more than 100 fires burning, with the largest to the west of sydney.

household names from the worlds of showbiz, sport and politics have been recognised in the new year honours list. the singer olivia newton—john, has been made a dame. four members of england's world cup winning cricket team — including ben stokes — have been recognised, as has sir eltonjohn. lizo mzimba reports. # you're the one i want! olivia newton—john says she's honoured and grateful to be made a dame for services to charity, cancer research and entertainment. a damehood, too, for floella benjamin for her life—long work with children's charities. absolutely amazing to be recognised this way, for doing charity work. i realised that a childhood lasts a lifetime, and i had to give back to children. because when i did play school, 43 years ago, i realised children didn't have a voice. there are knighthoods for two british film—makers — steve mcqueen, who directed the oscar—winning 12 years a slave, and sam mendes, who directed bond films skyfall and spectre. in the world of sport, eoin morgan, who captained england to victory

in the cricket world cup, becomes a cbe, ben stokes an 0be, jos buttler and joe root become mbes. an mbe, too, for england star jill scott, for services to women's football. yeah, just feels really surreal. i think obviously it's been a great journey for women's football, from the time that i started playing to now. and to see the recognition that women's football's now getting, it's very pleasing. # love is like a butterfly... in the world of entertainment, butterflies star wendy craig becomes a cbe. and singer billy ocean, an mbe. # when the going gets tough, the tough get going... of course, the vast majority of those who will come here to buckingham palace or the other royal residences to receive their honours aren't those in the public eye —

they're individuals who have done something special for their community or for their country. thank you, darling. people like d—day veteran harry billinge, who becomes an mbe in recognition of his charity fundraising work. and yewande akinola, an engineer who works to encourage girls to enter the world of engineering. it's a big deal to me. it really feels great to be recognised for, i guess, my passion in encouraging young girls to see engineering as a career option. just a few of many honoured for trying to change the lives of those around them. lizo mzimba, bbc news. coming up at six o'clock, breakfast with charlie stayt and nina warhurst. but now on bbc news: the travel show. this week on the travel show, i am in the jungles of borneo exploring malaysia's biggest state, sarawak. in the western corner

of malaysia and borneo, sarawak has some of the most spectacular and diverse ecosystems. but it can be overlooked by tourists drawn to the bright lights of kl and the resorts of its neighbour state sabah. so i'm going to discover for myself the sights and inhabitants of this remarkable state. along the way i will be hanging out with these guys... climbing jagged peaks... easily one of the most beautiful and most difficult hikes i have done. and getting a taste of one of the world's most remote food festivals. sucking. laughs. i have to work on my snail sucking technique. yes, i love sarawak so much. everything very unique in sarawak.

we have 26 ethnic groups in sarawak. sarawak mean "surrender to you" in malay. my trip starts here in sarawak‘s biggest city, kuching. and does the word kuching mean, it means something special, right? yes, kuching is mean cat, in english, called cat. like the city of cats? yes, cat city. we're starting here in the state capital, kuching, and we're travelling all the way up here to the kelabit highlands. it's going to be a journey. on my first stop, i'm going to meet one of the state's most iconic residents. and here he is. the orangutan. so much soul in their eyes. 97% of their dna is

shared with humans. that where they get the name — orangutan means "man of the forest." 0rangutans are native to only two islands in south—east asia. some live on sumatra, but the vast majority live here in borneo. i have come to the semenggoh nature reserve where the rangers are preparing for the morning feed. it looks like they eat quite well because there is a whole buffet here, and it seems like every day there is a different meal plan. so today is saturday, so they will have 21 kg bananas, and then sweet potatoes, chicken eggs and pineapples. oh, it's heavy. maybe 15 kilos. ooh, 0k. so, where are we at? almost 20. we are ready, 21 kg. so emel, tell me what is special

about semenggoh nature reserve? ok, so semenggoh wildlife centre actually started off as a rehabitation centre, so we were established back in 1975, so it's more than a0 years ago. the reserve took orangutans that had been rescued from captivity or suffered from habitat loss, and taught them how to live wild in the surrounding forest. since then, the rehabilitation programme has been moved elsewhere, but the forest is still home to 33 orangutans, and tourists have a chance to glimpse those tempted back by a free meal. it's very different to a zoo, then, there's no orangutans in cages here. yeah, totally different to a zoo. two 7 in the basket. yes. 0ur ranger, he will... ok, so thank you very much. yeah. enjoy.

he will bring the food to the main feeding area. when the tourists arrive, a ranger heads to the feeding platform to call the apes. calling. so, welcome to our centre. coming here is no guarantee you must see the orangutan. if you happen to see one, consider yourself very lucky already. in the rainy season between november and march there is an abundance of food in the forest, so the orangutans often don't need this extra food. but lucky for us, we don't have to wait long for a sighting. this is edwin, one of the biggest males in the park. and like the ranger said, this is not a zoo. the orangutans can come from any direction at any time, so you have to be careful, especially around the big males like edwin here. while these orangutans

are used to people, they‘ re still unpredictable, so tourists are kept at a safe distance. edwin is 23 years old, born in 1996, and he was the first male offspring born in semenggoh. now fully grown, edwin is competing to become the reserve‘s sole dominant male. only one orangutan dares to approach him on the platform. seduku, rescued from captivity in the 1970s, and one of the first to be rehabilitated here. are they a thing? yeah, in a way. we call her the great old lady, because she's the oldest female,

age 48 years old. and she is doing still very well. she is a8, he is 23. that is quite a big age difference there, right? yes, but love doesn't see age as a problem. well, feeding time is over, and there's edwin. i'm a bit nervous to see him so close. he's massive, so much hair. if you saw that from behind you wouldn't know what it was. sadly, despite conservation efforts, orangutans face an uncertain future. over a 16—year period, the numbers in borneo fell by more than 100,000. a decline blamed on hunting and deforestation. it is now estimated that there are just over 100,000 orangutans left on the island. and so the facility here, how does it help? by having a centre like semenggoh,

people get a sense of seeing the wild orangutan, and not disturb the orangutan in their natural habitat. and i guess the more people come here, the more they learn, and that also helps as well? definitely, the feeling, the excitement of seeing wild orangutan, bring you closer to conservation efforts, and to be able to share it with people out there, it really means something. next up i am crossing the state to reach gunung mulu national park, sarawa k‘s largest piece of protected rainforest. this place is teeming with wildlife

— over 4,000 species of plants, 20,000 species of invertebrates, that means thousands of different kinds of spiders, beetles and butterflies, but no orangutans, though, not here. mulu is also home to groups of penan, one of the last remaining hunter and gatherer tribes in southeast asia. a lot of their traditional tribal land has been lost to deforestation, so the vast majority now stay in settlements like this one. plucks instrument laughs i didn't expect you to do that. plucks instrument laughs ok, with the nose... laughs so these are flutes, right? whistles blowpipe? you make these? can you show me? ah, i see, so you drill it by hand, so many times...

speaks own language. that would be countless hours. like that? oh, yes, there we go. mike corey, blowpipe maker. blowpipes are the penan's traditional hunting weapon. they are loaded with darts, tipped with strong poison extracted from the bark of the local tajem tree. and you'd use one of these big ones? wow, it's, look, i'm about six feet tall, that would be 1.8 metres. ok, so we're here like this...

and that one goes in the back. armed and dangerous. you first. safety off. sharp shooter! laughs i guarantee i will not... like this? like this. and then... 0k. he we go. hopefully there's some beginner's luck. i hit the target?! laughs further inside the park there is a truly unique landscape. below ground there are 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. they're called the pinnacles, and i have come all the way up river to base camp 5 to see them. but to get there, sightseers face a three day round trip and a long, brutal trek through the rainforest. so the guides have some rules in place to make sure tourists are up to it. the first 60 minutes, so this is considered as a check—in point. if you make it more than 60 minutes, you are considered a slow climber. we you are sorry, we have to say you are not qualified. so if i don't make the first checkpoint in 60 minutes, you turn me around and say sorry, you are going back home?

yeah, this is the rule here. 0k, we are just about to head to bed for the big hike tomorrow, this is bed tonight actually, underneath this mosquito net, this is a bee, by the way, that just flew away. this is coming with me tomorrow... person: shh. there are some people sleeping, ijust got shushed. i am a little bit nervous for the hike tomorrow, it is supposed to be quite hard, a lot of very, very steep inclines, so i am going to get a full eight hours tonight, i will see you in the morning and we will see if we can make it to the top. "caution, a high degree of physical fitness is required past this point." eight hours round—trip. lead the way. let's go.

i havejust 60 minutes to make it to the mini pinnacles, the first checkpoint. you weren'tjoking. how is it? steep. the checkpoint is less than a kilometre up the slope but the humidity makes it feel a lot further. we've only just started and i'm already exhausted. and we're here, the pinnacles! not quite, right? mini pinnacles. that is...not a joke. having reached the checkpoint within the time limit, it's another kilometre before i reach the most treacherous stage.

this is the first ladder, mike. helmets on, right? who's first? after you. after me? 0k, one down, 70 more to go. beautiful limestone cliffs are sharp but at least lots of places to grab onto. it looks like it's rained down there. think it's going to rain? yeah, heavy rain. 500 metres to go, 100 metres to go.

hope we get there before the rain. what ladder‘s this? last ladder. this looks like the summit. isn't it? the summit, yes. we are here, guys. wow, yeah. and there are so many of them. this is beautiful. just daggersjutting out of the forest canopy. really is spectacular, right? the final stop in myjourney across sarawak is bario, in the kelapit highlands, home to one of the world's most remote food festivals. it is not exactly a smooth road, it's like being a greased up piece of popcorn in the back seat, but it's a lot of fun. i'm quite an adventurous eater, i will try everything. at least once, it is not good, only once. but often when you come to these places will find some pretty far out food and i'm hoping we'll find some very interesting stuff.

the final stop in myjourney across sarawak is bario, in the kelapit highlands, home to one of the world's most remote food festivals. it is not exactly a smooth road, it's like being a greased up piece of popcorn in the back seat, but it's a lot of fun. i'm quite an adventurous eater, i will try everything. at least once, it is not good, only once.

but often when you come to these places will find some pretty far out food and i'm hoping we'll find some very interesting stuff. bumped around and a little bruised from the journey, i get there to find the festival in full swing. we're catching the eye of a lot of locals, because there's not that many foreigners, surprise surprise, in this part of the world. i don't know half of the foods here today and that's quite exciting for me. a local farmer called dayang offers to show me around. would you like to try our dure... i don't know what dure is... one of the local exotic vegetable found here in bario. it is a plant that lives in the jungle? yes. i can eat that all day.

that is delicious. but it's got, like, i was thinking it would taste like spinach, but it doesn't taste like spinach at all. it has like a heartier than spinach would. would you like to try the akep? yeah, we can try akep. this looks to be boiled snails. yeah, found in the paddy field here. it smells like boiled snails too. this is how we do it. this lives in the jungle, you suck it out? sucking. just like that. you bit it first? it's stuck on my teeth. and you suck it? sucking. there we go. how do you find... the taste must be fantastic? i wouldn't use that word,

but it's not bad, it's very chewy. this is classic traditional kelabit food, sourced from the surrounding area. welcome to bario. dayang takes me to herfarm, where she grows one very important ingredient. it's cool, cause each plant has one pineapple? yes, but it will take about one year to ripen. but this looks ripe. look at the colour, its golden yellow. how do we... how do we pick one? you can pluck it. i'm going to have puncture wounds after this but it's ok. that was easy. yes, because its golden ripe pineapple, is very sweet. look at this, my first pineapple. back at the festival, locally grown pineapples have been made into jams, juices and even pineapple cider. down the hatch. a little chunky, how many do you have to drink to have a really good day? i'm not sure. shall we find out? since it started in 2006 the festival has celebrated both the cuisine and the culture of the highlands.

down the hatch. a little chunky, how many do you have to drink to have a really good day? i'm not sure. shall we find out? since it started in 2006 the festival has celebrated both the cuisine and the culture of the highlands. up top there are some bags with soda pop, cookies, the point is to climb up to the top, grab your prize and climb down. it's my turn. so... slowly from the bottom. freestyle ? as the games continue, my form doesn't really improve. it was by a feather that we lost. applause.

a game that i'm not bad at, i think it's my height advantage. let's watch. that's way farther than mine. a game that i'm not bad at, i think it's my height advantage. let's watch. that's way farther than mine. i guess you might think that coming so far away you wouldn't be able to make friends, or that it might be a strange tourist experience. but i always find it's

some of the best ones, when you come to these places, there's not many foreign tourists, so people are so accepting and grateful that you are here, and will share everything with you. hello there. saturday morning is getting off to a mild but rather cloudy and murky start in many parts of the uk. it's going to stay mild throughout the weekend. in fact, by sunday, some spots could get up to 1a or 15 degrees. it should slowly turn a little brighter as well but there will always be some rain at times towards the north—west. this is the earlier

satellite picture. and what we've had is a moist south—westerly flow across the british isles bringing a lot of cloud, some mist, some murk, some drizzle, and the thicker cloud up to the north—west associated with this waving frontal system here, which will continue to feed rain into parts of northern ireland and scotland through the day ahead. so this is how saturday's weather shapes up. across england and wales, yes, a lot of cloud, mist and murk to start. the odd spot of drizzle, but it should be basically a dry day. and i'm hopeful that cloud will break up to some extent — particularly across parts of north wales, and merseyside and parts of north—east england as well. rain will feed into parts of northern ireland. some particularly heavy rain across western scotland. but for the north—east of scotland, with some shelter from the mountains, well, here, a fighting chance of seeing some brightness. and for the moray coast, we could see temperatures up to 13 degrees. but generally speaking, 10, 11 or 12 — that is above where we should be at this time of year. now, during saturday night, it stays wet — at least for a time — across the west and the north of scotland. further south, northern ireland, england and wales, predominantly cloudy, but an increasing chance

of seeing some breaks in that cloud by the end of the night. it is going to be another mild night as well — temperatures typically between 7 and 10 degrees. and some really mild air is heading our way for sunday. this plume of orange here on the chart is particularly heading towards the north—west of the country, and that is where we will see the highest of the temperatures. but at the same time, i'm hopeful we will start to tap into this drier air to the south, which should allow us to break the cloud up a little bit and give us a bit more brightness. sunday, still lots of cloud around but you can see some holes appearing in that cloud. there is a chance of some spells of sunshine across england and wales, also northern ireland and southern and eastern scotland. a bit of rain to the far north—west, where it also stays breezy. but look at the temperatures. the north coast of northern ireland, the north—east coast of scotland, 1a or 15 degrees. it will turn a little bit cooler as we head into the start of next week and, indeed, the final couple of days of 2019, particularly in northern areas. those temperatures back down into single digits, closer to where they should be at this time of year.

and further south, after a very mild monday, it will turn a little bit cooler as we get on into tuesday. and then during tuesday night, if you are out celebrating on new year's eve, it should stay mostly dry. it will be fairly chilly and there could be some patchy fog.

good morning, welcome to breakfast, with nina warhurst and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today: a new year honourfor world war ii veteran, harry billinge, who won the hearts of millions for his fund raising efforts around the summer's d—day commemoratons. iam no i am no hero, iam no hero, i i am no hero, i was lucky. i am here. all the heroes are dead and i will never forget them as long as i live. singer and actor, 0livia newton—john, is made a dame for services to cancer research and entertainment. recognition also for members of the england's world—cup winning cricket team. the woman whose husband and two children drowned at a hotel in spain