this is bbc news. the headlines: the national football league in the united states has reversed its stance against players speaking out. the commissioner of the nfl, roger goodell, said it had been wrong to stop players from peacefully protesting during the national anthem, as they did by taking the knee. more than 40,000 people are now known to have died in the uk from coronavirus according to latest government figures. britain is only the second country in the world to surpass the number after the us. the toll rose by 357 on friday. france says its forces in northern mali and their allies have killed the leader of the militant group al-qaeda in the islamic maghreb. the armed forces minister said abdelmalek droukdel was killed in an operation on wednesday along with several of his closest collaborators. she described it as a major success.

new figures suggest coronavirus infections in the community here in the uk are falling substantially. the office for national statistics says the number of cases in england is down to 5,600 a day, from 8,000 a day, last week. however, one study suggests that in the north west and south west of england, the rate at which the virus is reproducing, could be near one, suggesting infections may rise. with more, here's our science editor david shukman. with people out and about across the uk over the past week or so, what do we know about the virus and whether it is under control? well, despite the scale of the death toll, there are some signs that things may now be going in the right direction, at least for the moment. the latest survey shows how the percentage of the population testing positive for covid—19 has fallen in each of the last five weeks, which is of course good news.

but bear in mind that there is a very wide margin of error with this study and also that the swab tests were carried out by people themselves. because that is not easy, the results may not be that accurate. i think it is incredibly important for us not to lose sight of the fact this is a virus which is incredibly contagious, can transmit very easily and efficiently between people, and still, most of the population have not seen this virus and are susceptible which allows it to spread very rapidly if we let our guard down. the big worry is that more contact will mean more infections. so what is the latest assessment about the speed with which the virus is being spread? at the height of the outbreak, the infection rate, the r number, was running at about three, meaning anyone infected was on average passing it on to three others. the key was to get it down below one because, below that number, the disease does not escalate, and the latest estimate is that we are for

the whole uk running at about 0.7 up to 0.9. below one, but not falling rapidly. and if we break that down across the uk, the picture varies. 0ne computer model shows that in most areas of england, the rate is thought to be below one, except in the north—west and south—west, where it is estimated to be right on one. a different study suggests that scotland, wales and northern ireland are on 0.8. so, for the moment, the advice is still to keep at least two metres apart, and barriers and signs have been springing up to remind people. the lockdown has suppressed the virus, but it hasn't killed it off. david shukman, bbc news. now on bbc news — the travel show. from the top of the world's tallest trees... there's nothing else like this on the planet, and i'm getting an appreciation for that right now. ..freezing alpine ice lakes...

i'm really nervous about my body going into some kind of shock they get in the water. ..from cambodia's threatened wildlife. .. the world's largest butterfly migration. coming up this week, we're exploring some amazing ecosystems here on the travel show. hello and welcome to the travel show with me, mike corey, coming to you from my home in eastern canada because, let's face it, our epic adventures and elaborate vacations have been put on hold, at least for right now. so what better opportunity to dip our toe back into the archives?

listen, it's no secret that our collective globe—trotting has had an impact on our world for several years now — something we always think about here on the travel shows. so the plan today is to look at some of our favourite episodes that have tried to shine a light on the issue. first up, a personal highlight of mine on the california coast when i went to the stretch known as big sur to understand more about the effects of climate change. from the top of the world's tallest trees. for over a millennium, redwood trees have become an icon of this state. so these are coast redwoods. they are the tallest tree species in the world, reaching currently about 380 feet tall. as the tallest ones, they're really important ecologically. they support the habitats and provide habitat for a lot of plants and animals. so as the climate changes,

temperatures are increasing, it's drying things out as temperatures get warmer, and that's a big, big consideration for these particular trees. because they need so much water, that's affecting their water balance and their ability to transport more water to the tops of the trees. but now it's time to get to work. there we go. so first, we need a sample of the tree's core. this is the halfway mark here and then we move it to the ground. we'll be able to pull that spoon out with the core on it. earlier on, anthony showed me some of those secrets this tree had already revealed. and so, wow, these are the rings here? yeah, yeah. each one of those is an annual ring — one year's worth of growth. you can see here, you know, there could be 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 maybe years here. wow. so this section up here hasn't seen sunlight for 600, 700 years? yeah. this redwood stands at over 70 metres tall.

climbing redwoods is forbidden in most places, but in this reserve we have special permission — and what a privilege it is. 0k, a0 metres. i can't get over how beautiful this tree is. we have button for the canopy, so there are burn marks on this tree at a0 metres, which boggles my mind. it's incredible up here. anthony told me that wildfires are another threat these trees are increasingly facing in the modern world. a bird's nest. i don't think there's anybody home. with anthony already at the top collecting samples, i make my final push upwards. this view is definitely one of the wildest, most incredible views i've seen in my entire life. i can't believe i'm 71 metres off

the ground right now. this is 700 years old. it is before the colonisation of america, before taj mahal, before machu picchu, and makes me feel like a speck of sand in the sandbox. like, insignificant. yeah, it's a pretty humbling experience, isn't it? if the climate change conditions dry things out sufficiently, then they might start to feel some impacts. they might not grow as well, they might not get as tall, they might, in the future even start to die back, and that's what we're trying to figure out. do i feel this tree shaking a little bit? yep, it's waving. 0k, just a normal thing. i'm assuming. 0ne things for sure, i will never forget the view from the tops of those trees. next up, we're off to the french alps for a murkier but no less fascinating view of our changing planet. in the very bottom of a glacial

lake, lucy hits france for a swim in some pretty shocking conditions. across the world, global warming is shortening the ski season and starting to seriously affect the economy for lower resorts. the charity protect our winters has been collecting data from climate scientists around the world, all with similar predictions. by 2050, the alps could see a reduction in snow by more than a0%. i've noticed a massive difference, especially the last 25 years, that we've been doing it, of the glaciers retreating the glaciers getting smaller in the winters or winter seasons getting shorter. you know, they used to start november very comfortably and now sometimes, we're lucky if they start in december. the other thing that's quite scary right now is because of these extreme changes in the temperatures that we see, and what this does

to the snowpack, it really weakens the way that the snow bonds together, and we've seen a big rise in the amount of avalanches. the resort has been making plans to ensure its future, and one ambitious project is to open an indoor ski dome by the grandmot glacier. these artist impressions show what it will look like in the winter and also in the summer to guarantee year—round skiing, no matter the weather. hello. hello. well, i'm giving my ski legs a rest. nice to meet you, lucy, i'm done. to try something a little bit different. yes, that is a mask and regulator by this little room. i've been persuaded into ice diving. i know they said i'm not gonna feel the cold, but i'm really nervous about my body going into some kind of shock as i get in the water.

i'm sure it'll be fine but my mind is currently in overdrive. ijust want to get in now. dan will be saying above the ice helping me and another instructor go under. it's not an activity you can do as a group. rather, one person at a time with an instructor for safety reasons. into the water now. my initial worries of freezing to death quickly went away... perfect. bye—bye. ..but it didn't quite go to plan and i had to surface. so my mask started to fill with water and i started to panic. after a little reminder about what to do — namely, don't panic — i was mentally prepped for another go. 0k.

this time, my mask stayed put but we decided not to stray too far from the ice hole and my confidence returned. it's an otherworldly experience under the ice, cut off from the noise and distractions above. and it's surprisingly relaxing. 0nly towards the end did my toes and fingers start to tingle a little but otherwise the dry suit really did keep the cold out. for the really daring, it's possible to also free dive. probably not for me though! i much prefer having the oxygen tank. and that was lucy. now, i'm not sure about you but i'm feeling a bit chilly after that last piece, so let's warm up and also go back in time to 2016 when we sent henry golding to cambodia to join a special patrol that takes on poachers preying on the local wildlife deep in the jungle,

that is shocking to say the least. have a look at how many chainsaws they've actually commandeered from these illegal loggers. how many would you say there are already? it's over 500, i'll say. yeah, but these piece of demos — you see it here, look. this is the famous rosewood, which is the more expensive in china. yes, and these would just be looped around a tree? yes. waiting for something to come along? yes. so time for me to take on the criminals. music plays. it's pretty scary.

we saw — we were stopping for a little water break. in the distance, there are two guys on the motorbike literallyjust left on the bike and ran off and luckily, one of the guys actually saw that, started chasing. what's happened is they've dropped whatever they were carrying, and this was it — rosewood. the perpetrators aren't too quick to get away this time. it's clearly a tough job for these rangers. just making our way through the forest is hard enough. this is getting longer and longer. it is almost like trying to stay on a bucking bronco. this deforestation is destroying animals‘ habitats, and that's not the only man—made dangers they face.

the remains of snares can be found all around planting on the ground so on. it's a strong piece of stick. he is getting this piece of fruit. so there's a bit missing here. yes, it's missing a piece of fruit when i believe something else is missing. so a lot of these traps are designed to maim, rather than kill. so they can collect them alive? yes. having seen the indiscriminate damage that snares like these do to even much larger animals than their intended targets, it's quite shocking to see one up close, but witnessing it myself, i also come face—to—face with the brutal impact this can have. henry taking on poachers in the cambodian jungle. well, make sure to stick with us, because coming up next, we have more great memories of our favourite eco trips,

including how to stop your animal selfies putting wildlife in danger. and when i reach the end point of one of the planet's most stunning animal migrations. up next, the banks of the dead sea. this vast salty lake is one of the middle east's top tourist attractions, but it's one that's slowly disappearing, leaving behind a scarred landscape, which we sentjoe worley to explore. this is the lowest point on earth and people come here from all over the world to experience the surreal sensation of floating about in the hyper—salty waters. but in recent years, the dead sea has been shrinking back at a rate of more than a metre a year. the phenomenon‘s been caused by a sharp decrease in the amount of water flowing into it.

as the countries along the riverjordan, the dead sea's main source, harness its flow for industry and farming. 30 years ago, the dead sea came all the way up here, right to these beach umbrellas, but now the sea's receded so much, the tourists have to be bussed by tractor to the water's edge. it's a distance of more than a mile. as the waters recede, huge underground salt deposits are left behind. and when the salt dissolves, the ground above it can collapse without warning, causing sinkholes. yariv has seen the impact first—hand. two years ago, this road, which was one of the country's major highways, was closed and re—routed after the surface started to sink. everything's just collapsing into this hole? yeah, yeah.

and this is one of the — and this is power — relatively small. this is small? let's say not small, not so big, yeah, so the big. how many sinkholes are there now? around more than 6,000, 6500. let's say around 6,500. the beginning of it was the late ‘80s. it was a phenomena, nice one, interesting, very interesting phenomena, but it escalated very much and very fast. this tourist resort used to be one of the dead sea's few public beaches. two years ago, it had to be evacuated when the ground became too unstable. wow. the whole building just had to be abandoned here in a short, very short notice.

we have to just take everything — take our bags, stuff, equipment. there is a plan to reverse the fortunes of the dead sea by pumping water into it from the red sea, over 100 miles away, but that could take many years and no—one knows for sure if it will work. in the meantime, the people here are determined to rebuild, using satellite mapping to assess where new holes might open up. ellie has started taking groups out to safely view the sinkholes. he wants something positive to come out of the problem. first of all, to raise the awareness of people to the dead sea crisis and then we have also the other side, the bright side of the problem, and people are amazed by the scenery. it is beautiful. the idea is for people to be able to see the geological wonders that have appeared as the dead sea has receded.

wow! it's such a lot to take in, because it's this devastation but it's also beautiful, isn't it? it is devastation. it is beautiful. always, it's better to look in the bright side of the problem. yeah. yes. it's hoped the eerie beauty of this place is helped, can be used to attract more tourists to the area and repair some of the economic damage that's been caused by the sinkholes. if you're planning a trip to the dead sea, you don't need to worry about a sinkhole opening up under the beach. the affected areas are clearly signposted and shouldn't be entered without guidance from an expert. now to finish our look back at some of our favourite eco trips, here are the lengths that some people will go to protect their native wildlife. first, when carmen visited the charity that's urging people to think twice before taking a selfie with an animal.

i'm heading to the wildlife friends foundation, three hours drive south of thailand's capital bangkok, to find out what's being done to help animals that have been used in the tourist industry. so how big a problem are these animal selfie pictures? it's huge. example here — we have a gibbon being used as a photo—op rope animal. it's very,very common to see a baby gibbon or a slow loris being carted around by a guy and people will pair maybe one or 200 baht to have that one—second selfie. a lot of these animals are just beaten into submission so this animal here, you can't see unless i zoom, but look, he's on a very, very short chain. infant animals are particularly vulnerable to the photo prop trade. here in the wildlife hospital, babies that have been rescued or abandoned are cared for in the nursery. can you tell me a bit about langurs? why are they so popular in the photo prop industry? because then, when when when they was born,

their fur is completely full of orange and with that pinky face, they're so, so cute. they are quite popular to be appealing people to want to take a photo. removing a young animal from its parents impacts their behaviour for life. maggie was found abandoned near the rescue centre. chico grew up in the photo prop industry and was then kept as a pet. he was given to the team here when he became too big to handle. we have carers that — shawn and tor — who bring maggie and chico into the forest every day and we encourage them to climb in the trees usually by throwing fruits into the trees, wrapped in vines or something like that. we were hoping that he would copy maggie, who is more wild. chico is a little bit more fond of humans. he's coming to say hello now. 0k. hi, chico! should i be worried?

it's okay. so he does have a unnatural attachment to humans. he would have been pulled from the wild as a very young infant. he's been with humans most of his life. we're trying to erase that to a certain extent but the stark reality of a photo op animal, it's not all fun and games like we just saw then. yes, he was having fun with you, but if he was to do that to a tourist, it would get beaten with a stick and that's how they can control these animals. what people should do when they see things like this is safely try and take video footage or photographs. it then needs to be reported to the relevant authorities and ourselves here to do wff as we can also inform the department of national parks and the authorities to act here at the foundation. tourists are encouraged to roll up their sleeves get dirty and help care for the rescued animals,

and that's far more rewarding than taking a selfie to share with your friends. and finally, when i met a couple who have dedicated their lives to raising awareness of one of the world's most spectacular migrations. you wouldn't know it to look at, but these hills arejust a couple hours drive from mexico city, one of the world's biggest urban conurbations. this is the transatlantic volcanic belt, but it's not the volcanoes we've come to see. every winter, millions of butterflies fly for around two months from canada and the us to a few patches of high—altitude forests here in mexico. in recent years, the populations have dwindled, thanks to the destruction of habitats in the us and canada and deforestation here in mexico. one study says the numbers have gone

down by 84% in the last 20 years. the fear is this — one more bad winter and the entire colony could be gone. there isjust one b&b run by well and his american wife ellen, which they set up in an effort to make day—trippers stay here for a bit longer. and why do you guys love the butterflies? why are you here? well, you know, that is how i met alan. —— ellen. when we met, there was nothing here. people came on day trips, people came from far away, they paid outside operators to come here and none of the money stayed in the community. so really what we've been trying to do with starting our businesses is have more people come stay here, stay in the community, stay longer and the numbers are much lower

than they used to be in the area i mean, it's actually gotten better. the numbers have gotten slightly better in the last four seasons but it's still you know dramatically lower than what it was than it used to be. while numbers are still critically low, the signs from this year in the last is that the worrying decline appears to be stabilizing. well that's all for this week and if you need reminding what our beautiful world looked like when we're actually able to go see it, check out our social media channels. we're all here hoping we can travel again soon. until then, stay safe. keep planning those future trips. i'll see you soon. well, it's certainly not going to feel like a day injune out there on saturday, and certainly not compared to what we had last week,

when temperatures were in the mid to high 20s. saturday is going to be a blustery one with further showers and low pressure is firmly in charge of our weather. you can see the clouds circling around the area of low pressure very close to scotland and actually, through the early hours we're seeing a band of cloud and rain slipping southwards across the uk, accompanied by some pretty strong winds. it's the weather front that's linked to this low pressure, and this low pressure will hang around through most of saturday and then by sunday, it looks as though it's going to clear away. but through the early hours, we've got a band of more persistent rain stretching from the north, moving due south. it does look as though the south of the country is actually going to wake up to some sunshine but look how that cloud, that rain—bearing cloud, slips southwards through the course of the day, so i think most of us will catch at least a little bit of rain. but the chances are that during the afternoon, the skies will clear across more northern parts of the country and the sun will come out. but it's across the south, mid of the afternoon,

where we'll probably have most of the cloud and the outbreaks of rain. now, the wind arrows you can see here, those are the gusts of wind, and in places, they are in excess of a0 mph, perhaps even up to 50. 50 mph in gusts isjust about gale force, and that's a strong wind for the time of the year, certainly whipping those trees around. now, the temperatures in the sunshine in the north will probably peak at around 19 degrees, for example in the lowlands of scotland. but further south, we are talking more like the low or the mid teens, and it is going to feel nippy in those gusty winds. the showers will continue into saturday night and the early hours of sunday but there is an indication that that low pressure and this weather front will drift a little bit further towards the east during the course of sunday. so, yes, sunday on the north sea coast blustery with showers but even here, they will eventually fade a little bit later on in the day. and i think for most of us, overall, sunday is looking better, particularly the further west and the north you are. so, again, another fine day in glasgow. and the outlook actually shows that the weather will be stabilising itself as we go through next week.

perhaps not all that sunny and not all that warm, but at least those winds will die down. that's it from me. bye— bye.

good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and jon kay. 0ur headlines today: protesters are warned to avoid mass demonstrations sparked by the death of george floyd in the united states, over fears they will spread coronavirus. taking the knee. the american football league reverses its decision and allows players to protest against racial violence when the national anthem is played. royal support — prince william reveals he has been volunteering for a charity by counselling people anonymously during lockdown. chelsea have been crowned champion of the women's super league. after the season was ended early, they've been awarded the title,