‘ six ‘six rounds ‘ six rounds of was fourth after six rounds of sprinting in this event. you can watch this right now on the bbc sport website and by pressing the red button. that's all the sport for now. thank you very much, have a good afternoon. let's see how good an afternoon. let's see how good an afternoon we will have. is it march the 1st the first day of spring? absolutely, we are celebrating the arrival of spring even though the weather is not necessarilyjoining in. it is feeling chilly in the gusty wind and there is rain, sleet and snow in the north of scotland and snow in the north of scotland and the central belt. showers around with hail and thunder on the gusty winds pushing east across the uk but some eastern spots will avoid them altogether and stay dry. overnight

some rain, sleet and snow affecting parts of southern england so do not be surprised if you see something wintry first thing tomorrow. further showers elsewhere. i see in places as we start the day tomorrow. a few more wintry showers as we start the day and the early rain clearing in the far south—east and a lot of fine weather on sunday a few showers around. it is not going to be as windy and probably will not feel as cold and we have few more fairly quiet days during the first week of march.

hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: an infant school in berkshire is the latest place to close, after one of its staff tests positive for coronavirus — bringing the number of confirmed cases in the uk to 23. the government insists it's prepared to do all it can to contain the virus. we don't take anything off

the table at this stage, because you've got to make sure that you have all of the tools available, if that is what is necessary. labour calls for home secretary priti patel to attend the commons tomorrow — to explain allegations from her departing civil service chief that she bullied staff. in the us, democrat presidential candidate joe biden wins his first primary in south carolina — boosting his chances of being his party's candidate to take on donald trump in november's election. thank you for your company. we will have the latest news and 2pm. time now for the travel show. this week on the travel show: face—to—face with an iconic predator. you make eye contact with a beast this size, your heart goes... and exploring the wetlands.

here, left hand here. right hand behind, grab the tail... and we're away! the best north american road trips, and storytelling in scotland. you can decide if this really happened. we begin this week in north—east argentina, and the second largest wetland in the whole

of south america, ibera. for centuries it's been home to the paisano. these gauchos are famous for navigating the treacherous marshlands on horseback. omar leads tour groups through the wetlands. the ibera wetlands have changed a lot in omar‘s time. a generation ago, this environment was under threat. hunting as well as rapid coastal development caused much of the area's wildlife to disappear,

but now the outlook is a lot sunnier. ibera has become a national park under the protection of the ngo called the conservation land trust. today, lots of native species are thriving, including wild pampas deer and these giant guinea pigs — capybara. but there's still lots more work to be done. now one of the continent's most

feared and revered predators is returning to ibera. i'm on my way to find out how that's going to happen. welcome to estancia, san alonso, the island home of rewilding argentina — a project aiming to re—introduce this beautiful, terrifying animal to the wild. oh, my... guys, this is... when you make eye contact with a beast this size, your heartjust goes... she's isa, she's a brazilian panther, orjaguar. she's about six years old. yeah, she's quite young.

and how will the wetlands benefit from introducing this beautiful animal? these animals were part of this ecosystem. they have been here for hundreds and thousands of years. they disappeared from the wetlands, and now this ecosystem is lacking from this top predator. and, of course, we need to maintain the prey populations in natural numbers, and not making them increase so much. this whole ecosystem evolved with that keystone apex predator. take that out and everything starts to crumble, right? exactly, yes. it's estimated there are only 250 wild jaguars left across the whole of argentina, but for many locals they still have a special, mystical significance. it's common that here in corrientes, jaguars are related with bravery and masculinity, and it's kind of related with the gaucho.

back on the island and under the supervision of magali, the co—ordinator, i'm allowed into the enclosure to prepare isa's meal. ok, we've got one hanging fish, we've got one piece of mystery meat. ready to go? she looks a little bit... little annoyed. normally i don't think food arrives this late. if we look here, there's two

trapdoors, and i'vejust been granted permission to open them. wait... which one do we open? both of them? i don't want to open the wrong one. no, the blue one. the blue one? we open that door. ok, so, i'm... when she makes the whistle, then you can open. 0k. whistles. wow, ok, here she comes, entering into the feed enclosure. we've hung the fish up, let's see if she can find it. 0h! that's a predator, ladies and gentlemen. wow! and breakfast is served.

so, talia, this jaguar is not going to be put back in the wild? no, she was donated to our project as a breeder. these animals that come from captivity, they cannot be released. as you saw, they relate humans with food, so if they live free and saw a human, they would go directly to ask for food, and that's not what we want. talia hopes isa will breed with their other captive jaguar, a reclusive male called nahuel. nearby, two cubs born to another female are being prepared for release. i'm going to ask a question i'm sure everyone at home, including myself, wants to know the answer to. can we see a babyjaguar? i'm sorry to tell you we won't see one. but there are some here? yes, right behind us, but they're in another special enclosure where you will see some black meshes, so they can't see people and they don't relate people to food. but we can see them

with the cameras. this is a female and she's in her swimming pool. is this... this is one right here? yeah, there, you can see. you have a good eye. thank you. and when they are released, what do you hope will happen? well, we are all very anxious to get to that moment. we expect them to stay close to this place, to the protected area, to find their food here and their home here. we expect them to reproduce and have more cubs, and it will be successful if that happens. i think it will be time to say that the ibera ecosystem is complete again, as it used to be in the past.

including the cubs, a total of five jaguars are set for release, signalling the return of the wetlands‘ most iconic beast. and if you want to keep track of the process, rewilding argentina posts regular updates on its social media pages. still to come on the travel show: from death valley to the canadian seaside, simon's here with his picks for the best road trips in north america. we meet scottish storytellers spinning yarns at a yearly festival. and i try to avoid getting eaten on a gaucho tour through the wetlands. omar, there's a crocodile there, should we be worried? don't worry about it! so don't go away.

hello again. this week, i'm looking at a form of travel that you tell us you absolutely adore — the great north american road trip. i'll be prescribing the best time to travel around the south—west usa, and recommending an itinerary to explore ca nada's maritime provinces. first, in response to the alarming spread of the coronavirus known as covid—i9, the world health organization is advising travellers, wherever they're heading, to take a very basic precaution — wash your hands frequently with soap and water. some airlines have already suspended or cut back on flights, and many viewers have asked whether they can cancel planned trips to asia without a penalty. there's no international agreement on which locations

are regarded as high—risk, and the basic principle is you can expect a refund from your travel provider or insurance company only if your government has warned against visiting your intended destination. time to hit the road in north america, and karen storey writes in on behalf of her daughter, who's planning to spend three months in the south—west usa. she wants to visit arizona, monument valley, drive some of route 66. and then travel via death valley to san francisco bay. what's the best time of year — october to january, or march to may? to help you out with this, i've sought someone with specialist knowledge. hey, karen. first off, that sounds like an awesome trip, the american southwest is one of my favourite places to explore. in terms of your question, i would probably recommend going in march, april. as this is the kind of october, november weather we have right here, it's a little bit cloudy, it's a little bit rainy and dreary. not the best time to travel. if you go in march, though,

march or april like you said, it's definitely a lot nicer. it's still cool in the desert, plus, children are still in school so it's much easier to get around the touristy areas and not have a lot of people there. next, many people have been in touch about insurance for rental cars in north america, including john turner. when renting a car in the usa, should i take out all the protection policies offered by the rental company? i rent cars a lot in north america, and, fortunately, i've never had a problem with insurance. maybe that's the way that i organise it, which is booking through a travel agent in the uk, getting my flight and rental car in the same transaction. and insisting on comprehensive insurance so that, when i turn up at the desk, i decline all the kind offers to buy all kinds of insurances i simply don't need. next, let's go north of the border, to canada and the maritime provinces, which is the destination of val staplehurst and her husband.

we are planning a two—week trip starting and ending in halifax, in nova scotia, for our summer holiday. are there any ideas or tips you can offer? fly into the fine city of halifax and spend a couple of days there. the titanic exhibit in the maritime museum is particularly interesting. and you'll also not need a car in the city, which means you will be able to save money, paticularly on the airport pick—up. head along to digby for the ferry to saintjohn, new brunswick — an appealing city and good for one night. charlottetown is a lovely place to stay before making for the ferry to pictou. next, though, begin what i think is the highlight of the route — cape breton. do keep sending in your questions — i'll do my very best to supply the answers. bye for now, and see you next time.

this week, i'm exploring argentina's ibera wetlands. my guide, omar, has offered to show me how paisanos navigate the waterways. woo, ok! a different experience to having a saddle on, let me tell you that right now. woo! omar, there's a crocodile right there, should we be worried? un cocodrilo, una caiman... no importa, eh? "don't worry about it." "don't worry about it, that's what we do." as the river deepens, and the horse can't reach the bottom, the trick is to slip off and hold on for the ride. now? ok, so, right hand, no, left hand here? right hand behind, grab the tail... oh, and we're away!

this is one of the craziest things i've done in my entire life. the water doesn't taste very good. and there's miscellaneous things — some slimy, some spiky — rubbing against most of my body. almost having my arm attached like a moving train! they're strong animals, even in the water. woo! omar, we made it! good job! that was hard work for me, must be extra work for you! we made it, omar. omar runs his extraordinary expeditions for tourists. and if you want my tip — just don't think too much about what's brushing against you underwater!

and to end this week, we go from wetlands to islands. orkney is ten miles north of mainland scotland. every winter, islanders and tourists come together for the annual storytelling festival, celebrating the area's folklore traditions. this story takes place on the island of stronsay, one of the north isles in orkney. it involves a young lady... you don't see so many fairies around the west mainland any more, there is a reason for that... she could make her own choices about who she married, and she owned everything... stories have been around as long as language has been around, and these stories are very much part of our cultural identity, part of what makes orcadians ocadians.

orkney is quite a unique place, you know, we have 5000 year old villages still standing. you know, stone circles. just standing on a shore, watching huge breakers rolling in from the atlantic ocean is really quite hypnotic. violent, but peaceful at the same time. it was always the ever—present risk and danger from the sea, that has a strong influence on the folktales. orkney has a very, very rich heritage of folklore. about the strange creatures, about the selkie folk — who are half seal and half human. every mound in a field has its little goblins and fairies and brownies. you know, every age that humans go through, there is this search

for some spiritual meaning. those connections with the land, or the sea, or the sky... i think folklore is a way of exploring those things. the orkney storytelling festival is in its tenth year in its present form. we have wonderful invited storytellers who come from all over the world. sometimes the stories are very similar. you know, a lot of places have creation myths, about how an island was formed, how a mountain came to be. there is a a lot of similarities. it's wonderful if people come and hear a story from africa, or norway, or north america, or orkney, and they think, "i wonder if there are any stories about the place that i come from?" now, we're going to hearfrom a lot of different people today, friends from near and far... you can decide at the end if this really happened... the waves were coming up over the harbour,

the wind was blowing... every single time she broke a lump of beet, a mouse fell out... the next day, hare showed up at otter‘s place, and otter had prepared a beautiful feast for him... we also have an event — in the old school, ouoyloo — which brings together people who play ancient musical instruments, who are going to explore all their connections between song and folklore and history. escapism is a huge part of the storytelling tradition, i mean, it was entertainment, as well. in the evenings, you got together and you told stories. it was the kind of glue that held the fabric of society together.

tonight is the last night of the orkney storytelling festival, and it's the grand finale so it's the absolute best of the best. this is when the storytellers are really, you know, their biggest and best stories. we sit, we have a little drink, and we reallyjust enjoy all the very best that the festival has to offer. so it's a lovely finish to the whole festival. she had no money left... spit on the coals of the fire, the coals flame up... i think stories really unite people, and if you have this shared experience and cultural heritage, it does make you stronger, especially if there are values in the stories that you really identify with and that are really important to you, and say, "yes, i belong to the culture that owns these stories." for storytelling and

the folklore to survive, it has to have a framework, it has to be an organised thing. that's one of the reasons we do what we do, it's one of the reasons why we have the festival. i think the orkney storytelling festival really has brought something back to the culture again. people are coming from all over the world just to hear stories, here in orkney. it doesn't matter if you're a lord or as poor as a church master. well, that's all for this week. but coming up next week: rajan's in jerusalem, uncovering an ancient pilgrimage route that's been buried underground. we are now walking on original 2000 year old limestone streets that were the centre of alljerusalem.

this is the original limestone? the original. you're not going to want to miss it. but for now — from me, mike corey, and the rest of the team here in argentina — it's goodbye. hello, the latest update with news of something quieterfor a hello, the latest update with news of something quieter for a time hello, the latest update with news of something quieterfor a time in the week ahead. less windy and less wet but we are not there yet. it is still very blustery this afternoon with skills in places. the storm still closer to northern scotland

and the closer you are to that the wet of the weather. for most some sunshine and the chance of a shower. not a huge amount of wet weather coming down on the worst affected flooded areas the rest of this afternoon. a few more centimetres of snow for the higher hills. showers mainly in the west have hail and thunder and winds of a0 to 50 mph pushing some of the showers further east but much of the eastern side of the uk is staying mainly dry but it feels chilly in the strong wind even though it eases down into the day. this evening rain affecting parts of south—west england and that runs further west across southern england towards east anglia overnight and we could see sleet and snow particularly towards the hills into tomorrow morning. that keeps the temperature up a couple of degrees. elsewhere, the chance of ice and you continue to see some showers coming in across north—western parts of the

uk going into tomorrow morning where there will be a few more of these sellers arriving during the day tomorrow and they gang up to give a longer bill of rain into western scotland. elsewhere there is a chance of catching a shower but there will also be a decent amount of dry and at times sunny weather and temperatures for the most part in single figures. quieter for the time this week with sunshine and showers, not as windy or wet, temperatures at or below average and there will be some icy patches, so a selection of locations and most of the showers will be in the north and west of the uk. the channel islands will still see a bit of rain at times. towards the end of the week it looks like low pressure is on the way back i am afraid, so friday a band of rain moving south looks like low pressure coming in for next weekend as well with more windy and at times wet weather. although things are quieting a bit we know there are still lots of flood

warnings out there, still significant problems, keep up—to—date on the website. i will be backin up—to—date on the website. i will be back in half an hour.

this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at two... 12 new people test positive coronavirus in the uk — bringing the total number of cases in the country to 35. the government insists it's prepared to do all it can to contain the virus. we don't take anything off the table at this stage because you got to make sure you have all the tools available if that is what is necessary. it comes as an infant school in berkshire is the latest place to close, after one of its staff tests positive for coronavirus. labour calls for home secretary priti patel to attend the commons tomorrow to explain allegations from her departing civil service chief that she bullied staff.