richard wescott, bbc news, norwich. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. hello. there's a bit of brightness around in places today but for the most part, it is going to stay cloudy and where hello, this is bbc news that cloud is at its thickest, with me, ben brown. the headlines... it will produce some spots of light the mayor of greater manchester rain here and there. will speak to the government today this is how the forecast looks to try and find a solution for the rest of the day. to the standoff over financial you can see extensive cloud across the map, support for the region — if new restrictions are imposed. one or two spots of rain but equally there will be some breaks anywhere could end in the cloud and some brighter up spells, even a bit of sunshine. in tier three this the wind will be winter. in fact, i would say places are likely light to end up in tier three. but it is going to be therefore, it is cool, particularly across northern areas, everyone‘s concern to protect the seven or eight degrees in northern scotland, 13—15 across southern england and south wales. lowest through this evening and tonight, paid in thicker cloud will bring outbreaks of rain across northern ireland our community. and up into scotland, north—west england as well. the earlier we have further south and east, the restrictions, in those areas where there is high staying predominantly dry with some instance, the better for the economy of those areas, because we stop the infection clear spells. spreading in a way which will do further damage to the economy. lowest temperatures across the far thousands of people are expected

east and the far north. to gather across france today further west, pretty mild to remember the teacher and it is going to turn very who was killed outside his school, unsettled for the start near paris, on friday. a convicted murderer of the new working week. we will see some outbreaks who confronted an armed man of heavy rain, particularly 00:01:08,276 --> 429496610:20:22,391 towards 429496610:20:22,391 --> 858993220:39:36,507 the 858993220:39:36,507 --> 1288489830:58:50,622 north—west 1288489830:58:50,622 --> 1717986441:18:04,737 and 1717986441:18:04,737 --> 2147483051:37:18,853 it 2147483051:37:18,854 --> 2684353814:31:21,498 will 2684353814:31:21,498 --> 3221224577:25:24,143 turn 3221224577:25:24,143 --> 3758095340:19:26,787 increasingly 3758095340:19:26,787 --> 4294966103:13:29,432 windy. on london bridge last year — while on day release — will be considered for parole 10 months early. steven gallant intervened to stop the attack which left two dead. those are our latest headlines. now on bbc news, it's the travel show. this week on the travel show... rajan‘s looking for a knees—up in rome. wow. face—to—face with the neanderthals in gibraltar. and i'm braving the elements in japan. this is great! lively theme music welcome to the land of the

trees. this is wakayama, in central japan, a short train ride south of osaka. and this is where many of japan's urban population have been coming to escape the congested cities during the pandemic. and i've come to try a style of rafting that you can only do right here. before that, we're off to europe and italy's eternal city. rajan: rome. a city that plays to its own tune. trumpets play. with iconic ancient history punctuating the landscape of this modern metropolis. italy itself, though, is a relatively young country.

for its nation builders, there was only one city that could be the capital, and this year is a special anniversary. because over the next year, rome is supposed to be celebrating its 150th anniversary as the capital city of italy. but looking around me now, i get the feeling there is not going to be quite the fanfare they were hoping for. since its initial big outbreak here, italy has suppressed the spread of the coronavirus better than many other countries. but cases are on the rise and international tourism is still way down. tour guide desiree has said she has seen demand from international travellers drop by as much as 90%. now we are in front of the coliseum.

this is the colosseum and it is still incredible. so who are the tourists you have been showing around 7 where are they from? only italian tourists. so, there's good and bad? good and bad? good and bad. what i see here looks like ancient rome, ancient history. yeah. do you want to take a look? shall we have a look? yeah. fantastic. the forum was once a place where romans gathered togetherfor big processions, speeches and markets. rain pattering to understand how rome was, you have to come here in this place. with this weather, too. laughter but what is the connection between this, thousands of years ago, and you and your friends today? what is the connection? i feel the connection today as well. i'm roman. when i am

here and when i walk around the ruins i can feel the people that were here. and 150 years ago, it was that historical connection that made rome an obvious choice to be capital. back then, the country that we now know as italy was a separated collection of states with rome at the heart of the pope—governed papal state. but italy was in the process of becoming unified and all roads in this effort led to rome. why was it so important, do you think, that rome had to be the capital of this newly—formed italy?

for italy to become a unified country, it was decided that rome had to be taken from the pope by force, starting right here at the city walls next to the porta pia monument which now holds a museum for the military unit called the bersaglieri who broke through the city walls first. so this is the document that marks the creation of the bersaglieri. hard to believe i'm actually touching the document. and allowed to touch a document that was so essential to italian history. bersaglieri means ‘sharpshooters' in english, and they were famed for their mobility. this is fascinating. that's porta pia, where we are right now, and just

along the city wall there is the actual invasion opening where they actually went through. this is proper history. history of this country. today, many hold them with deep affection here, and not just for their military accomplishments. at national events, the bersaglieri have long been known for a unique style of parade, displaying their historic speed and agility. and i've been granted a private performance by the distinctive marching band. and here they come. trumpets play wow. bravissimo! that's fantastic!

tell me, how easy is it to run and play? it must be really difficult? what is it like when you are out there in the streets under normal conditions and people are watching you? how does it feel? so can i have the honour then of giving that command before you start your march? si, prego. thank you. posto fa nfa re bersaglieri, attenti!

di corso, march! this year there was due to be a large street parade for the 150th anniversary with the bersaglieri taking a starring role. the event became significantly low—key thanks to coronavirus, but fingers crossed — look out in 2021 for heartier celebrations. trumpets play rajan reporting from rome. now, over to america where we are meeting the woman in alabama putting the sparkle into mardi gras. the culture of mardi gras is so much fun. we have a good time. i mean, it's fun, fun, fun. mardi gras here was the first.

it's done before ash wednesday. everything ceases at 12 o'clock, tuesday midnight. and then they go into lent. in mobile, we're more family—orientated. people here come home for mardi gras, rather than come home for christmas, just to party and have a good time and reunite a lot. i grew up in mobile so i've grown up with mardi gras in my blood and i am a mardi gras designer for royalty. emcee: ladies and gentlemen, royalty, definitely in the house tonight. the queen and king are selected as the royal ambassador for the city. now, there are a lot of different organisations, but there are two that rules the city, and that is mamga — the mobile area mardi gras association, is predominately an african—american association and the mobile

carnival association is caucasian, mostly of european descent, but overall we blend and we enjoy each other and just have a good time. i would not want there to be one big mardi gras association. i think the cultural differences and the beauty of the difference in the cultures make it so nice. i started sewing when i was 12. my mother was a seamstress, she loved sewing and i would watch her. she would make all of my clothes, all kinds of pretty dresses. when i was 12 i said, "i need some new clothes." and she said, "you have to make them." i started to make trains for the ladies of the court. my niece was in the court and i made hertrain. and from there, i started making other people trains. a train is around 18 feet long and about nine feet wide so they are very large and they weigh up to 75 pounds depending on the amount

ofjewels on the train. and we will get a chance to see this tonight. mamca, which is the african—american version of it all, they had their first coronation back in 1940. the queen and king's coronation is where the queen is crowned. the king is already king, but he has now selected his queen, but she is not queen until she is crowned so the coronation is the crowning of the king's new queen. ladies and gentlemen. her gracious majesty queen rosemary elaine dunning. we look at them as role models and you have to kind of have a

leader mentality and strength to make the right decisions in life. and what we are doing, when we showcase in the trains in their coronation, we are showing how that person grew in their life to be a role model. still to come on the travel show: christa is back in gibraltar to find out why the rock was home to the biggest concentration of some of our distant ancestors anywhere in the world. wow. and i am injapan to try out a distinctive style of rafting that dates back over 600 years. i am totally soaked from my waist down. so don't go away. now over to gibraltar,

where christa has been to find out what its hidden secrets have been revealing about some of our closest human relatives. 0n the southern tip of the iberian peninsula lies gibraltar, a small british 0verseas territory tucked between europe and africa. thousands of years ago, this was home to the highest concentration of neanderthals anywhere in the world. clive finlayson has been excavating these caves for many yea rs now, slowly uncovering its secrets. a friend of mine calls them neanderthal city. they really are unique in the world and the two main ones are, on the left you have gorham's cave — next to those steps, and on the right vanguard cave. also evidence suggests they lived here till about 24,000-33,000 years ago, making it one of the last known places they

occupied before extinction. this wasn't open water when the neanderthals lived here. in fact, the beach and the water was miles that way. this was an open plain, like a mediterranean serengeti where you had wild creatures roaming, ready for the hunt. taking a boat trip here is the easiest way to view the caves but occasionally you can apply for special access to go into them as it is a unesco world heritage site and also an active dig area. wow. it was here that the first fully adult neanderthal skull was discovered back in 1848 and then later on, the bones of seven other individuals. big, aren't they? incredible. it is amazing to think that these people were standing exactly where we are now and they would look out

at this fantastic view and instead of the sea that would have had the plains out there, herds of animals roaming right across and they would plan exactly where they wanted to go and do the hunt from here but of course they could also come back, retreat here, into the safety of the cave afterwards. come and have a look. what you have here a re different events. for example, a limpet shell there. we'd have to excavate here but there may be a place where they were living and eating and then moving along. each of these layers is an event. there are hundreds of stories still waiting to be told just in this one cave. most of the discoveries from the caves can be seen at the gibraltar national museum. while neanderthals are a different human species, researchers have identified a combined total of 20% neanderthal dna on modern humans today. a result of interbreeding thousands of years ago. clive himself has 2.5% neanderthal dna. is this an artist interpretation?

no, this is a forensic reconstruction and it's using as much detailed information on neanderthal metrics and so on that we have at our disposal today. this is as close as you're going to get to seeing a neanderthal or what he or she would look like. there a twinkle in the eye. i think that is what makes her human. the female is called nana and it was her skull that was first discovered in 1848. the little one, called flint, was found some years later. extracted dna from both has meant that we know what their hair and eye colour would have been. come into one of our laboratories. what is it you are doing here? i am painting with silk. did you start with this and end up with this? i spent five months... five months! that is incredible, it's so detailed. do you mind if

i touch it? you can press. it is like skin. exactly like skin. this model is based on a male skull found in a cave in france but they now have the skills to forensically reconstruct him here in the museum. so what is the benefit for us to be able to see the flesh of it, rather than just the skull? i think it helps to understand and for us to empathise with these people. you put flesh, you give them names and suddenly you're looking at people and that is what makes the difference. part of the hard science that we have done over the years has missed the fact that we have not seen them as people. it will be awhile before this one is finished but ijust could not leave without knowing one thing... what is the hairstyle going to be? i think rockstar style. flowing locks,

it was all the rage! to finish up this week, i am in thejapanese prefecture of wakayama — they call it the land of the trees. domestic tourism has risen here recently, with the government subsidising japanese getaways, making escapes to remote wildernesses like wa kayama popular. for centuries, the wood here was so sought after that it was used in buildings all around the country but transporting it was no easy task. they came up with a novel solution and today travellers can experience the old journey downstream. it really does look quite strange by today's standards. i do not know what i was expecting but it really is just a bunch of logs strung together. it must float 0k, it has been around long enough.

so what is it like to drive and steer such a long raft like this? in the past, once the trees had been felled and strung together, the rafters would ride them down the river to their

destination. today, with travellers on board, the rafts are safer — there are lifejackets, handrails and a bench, plus additional measures now for coronavirus, like masks and reduced capacities. but it is still very open to the elements. we are approaching the first rapid and it is meant to be the steepest and the most exciting. hang on. this is great! i am totally soaked from my waist down. this is the

slower part of the ride, so to speak, but it is just fascinating to think this is what they would have been doing 600 years ago to transport all the logs down to the city to make the temples and the shrines. and these skills certainly come in handy these days when the temptation for getting away from big city life and all the new restrictions is greater than ever. not that it is all tranquil relaxation. we are approaching a rapid now and we stand up so we do not get too wet. here we

go! so that was our last rapid. so interesting to watch these four guys navigate this seven ton log raft down the river. just like they would have 600 years ago. it's amazing. that is all we have time for this week. coming up next week: we will be looking back at some of our most memorable trips to africa, like when lucy met the former poachers now responsible for protecting some of rwanda's majestic primates. it's very rare that i'm lost for words but these beautiful creatures have just completely taken my breath away. and don't forget to follow us in all the usual places on twitter and facebook

and instagram. in the meantime, from me carmen roberts and the rest of the team here in wakayama, it is goodbye. hello. there are some big changes on the way through the week ahead. it is going to turn much more unsettled. with wind and rain at times. today, the wind is relatively light so nothing is moving quickly. it will stay mostly cloudy with cloud struggling to break up. when it is at is thickest it will produce the odd spot of rain and drizzle. some brighter spells. you can see the cloud breaking up across the map from time to time. temperatures will

struggle this afternoon. 6—7 in shetland. the south—west of england seeing 15. as we go through this evening and tonight, thicker cloud will bring some outbreaks of rain into northern ireland. that will then splash its way into parts of scotland, the far north—west of england. 0ver high ground, we could see some pretty heavy rain. further south and east, predominantly dry with some clear spells developing. the lowest temperatures across the east and also in the far north. milder further west, because of the cloud and the outbreaks of rain, and strengthening breeze. the string of frontal systems heading in our direction is set to bring a very soggy day for some on monday. heavy rain across northern ireland and a good part of scotland, particularly across high ground in western scotland. some of that rain grazing through cornwall, up to west wales and parts of north—west england. further south and east, predominantly dry. any early sunshine will be replaced by increasing amounts of cloud.

a blustery day tomorrow, but that wind coming up from the south, so that will bring some milder air and a different feel to the weather. 12—15 the temperatures. by tuesday, low pressure will be firmly in charge. this low passing to the west of the british isles with a lot of isobars. that shows that it will be a windy day on tuesday. some outbreaks of heavy rain, again mostly for northern ireland and particularly northern and north—western parts of scotland. not as much rain further south and east. a windier day on tuesday, particularly gusty for irish sea coasts. but a milder day. 11! in glasgow. 18 in london. and as we look further ahead, it stays pretty unsettled through the middle of the week. maybe a little drier for thursday and friday and turning cooler again by then.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. the mayor of greater manchester accuses boris johnson of exaggerating the spread of coronavirus in the area in a bid to persuade local leaders to accept

tougher restrictions, as he calls for increased financial support. anywhere could end up in tier three this winter. in fact, i would say places are likely to end up in tier three. therefore, it is everyone's concern to protect the lowest paid in our community. the earlier we have the restrictions, in those areas where there is high incidence, the better for the economy of those areas, because we stop the infection spreading in a way which will do further damage to the economy. vigils and rallies are being held across france in a show of solidarity with the teaching profession, following the killing of a teacher on friday.