this is bbc news. the headlines: sudan is to normalise relations with israel — the third arab state to do so in two months. the announcement was made by president trump, whose government brokered the deal. palestinians have reacted angrily, describing it as another stab in the back. protests are spreading across poland after a court ruling banning virtually all abortions with exceptions only for cases of rape, incest, or where the mother's health is at risk. poland already has some of the eu's strictest abortion laws. several countries in europe have reported coronavirus infection rates higher than during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring. in france, the government has imposed an overnight curfew on two—thirds of the country which will operate for the next six weeks. the test and trace system

in england came underfire this week over longer waits for test results. in an effort to track of the spread of the virus, the government has rolled out a new scheme. after a successful trial, 90 waste water treatment sites in england, wales and scotland are to start testing sewage for traces of the virus — to try to detect local outbreaks before they spread. here's our health editor hugh pym. it's a new approach to tracking down coronavirus — monitoring sewage in local communities. this is an early warning system, as fragments of genetic material from the virus can be detected in waste water. scientists say its real value is in areas where there might be people who are infected but showing no symptoms. the beauty of this technique is that we can detect people who are in that situation and don't know they've got the virus but they are still shedding it, and we can still find it in the waste water and we can find it

in advance of there being any positive tests in a catchment. samples from sewage plants reach labs for testing the next day. the results are passed on to local health leaders. in plymouth, an outbreak was detected despite relatively low numbers of people going for tests. data is also shared with national experts at thejoint biosecurity centre. the aim is to support the work done by test and trace staff. but in england, the testing and tracing system has come under intense strain. performance figures for times to get results back and tracing of contacts have fallen to their lowest levels since the launch in may — though it has had to deal with rapidly rising case numbers. perhaps we wouldn't have seen ourselves in the situation we are in now if that had been a bit more optimal. some experts argue that the national system could have been better planned and prepared. i think the intention behind setting up test and trace was well—intended and well—meaning and actually, was there to meet a desperate need that we had at the time. but perhaps it wasn't as familiar with the challenge that it faced and perhaps

therefore does not have the capacity set up to deal with it adequately. while the national set—up can be struggling, local public health teams like here in hertfordshire are taking on more of the tracing work to try to ensure infections don't spread and get out of control. we have a call centre. if we don't get through, we can go and knock on doors. that of course is reassuring for people when they see someone and hear someone, and also then to collect the information that we need that helps us identify locally perhaps the sort of clusters and where the infection might be spreading that the national information may not be getting. sewage monitoring will add to the range of techniques health officials can use at this critical stage in the bid to seek out and control the virus. hugh pym, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel

show team takes a look back at some of its most memorable trips to africa, including the time ben zand took part in one of sudan's popular friday wrestling contests. for a once dystopian landmark... it is something that was built for the few and it is being repurposed now and finding its feet as something for the many. to the pyramids of egypt. that is awesome, seeing them in real life is so cool. from a wrestling ring in sedan... these guys are going pretty ha rd. sedan... these guys are going pretty hard. two gorillas in the clouds. my mind is absolutely blown. they are so beautiful. coming up this week, look back at some of our favourite african adventures.

hello and welcome to the travel show. while most of the world is still inaccessible to travellers, we have been curating a list of our favourite trips. this week it is africa's turn. i have been lucky enough to go on a few occasions and i have loved it every time. how about we kick things off with a really jawdropping makeover in the south african city of johannesburg? johannesburg is south africa's largest city, growing after a gold rush in 1886. scores came to south africa to sink back fortune. but what many white prospectors got rich the black workers suffered in poverty. in the late 1940s inequality

became law under the notorious apartheid regime which lasted for nearly 50 years until nelson mandela was elected president. by that time, decades of industrial design and international sanctions had damaged johannesburg public economy and crime was widespread. —— johannesburg's economy. it became known as one of the most dangerous places on earth. previous abandoned neighbourhoods like this one are now on the tourist trail. perhaps the most visible symbol ofjohannesburg? regeneration, though, is in berea, a few miles away. —— johannesburg's regeneration, though, is in berea, 80 miles away. towering over the skyline is the continent's largest residential skyscraper, ponte city. at more than 500 feet tall with an iconic circular design, ponte offers stunning views overjohannesburg. now tourists can visit a converted apartment on the 52nd floor.

all right, morning, everyone. dlala nje, the social enterprise that operates the tour, is run by a former resident. i moved here in 2012 after doing a story on what is this infamous landmark on the johannesburg skyline? ponte opened its doors in 1975. and you know, it was built for the top 1% of society. there were saunas, there was wine cellars. where this building finds itself, it has always been very cosmopolitan. during apartheid, the government didn't want black people to partake in certain sectors of the economy and imported a lot of skills. so what you had was a lot of like german engineers mixing with portuguese artisans, anybody like immigrants, expats, coming here and just making a life for themselves. it was very, very diverse. also what it resulted in was a lot of racial mixing as well.

the foreign residents brought with them more liberal values and less regard for the apartheid laws. according to nicholas, the government reacted by cutting off services to the building. as many white residents left for the suburbs, ponte's fortunes declined. no running water, no electricity. and this is when you hear the really crazy stories that we — we were brought up on injohannesburg in the ‘80s and ‘90s, about this building being the place where angels fear to tread, you know? so this place that you guys are standing on now, if these walls could speak they will tell you some of the creepiest things on the planet, 0k? when this was a vertical slum you have 14 storeys of rubbish. so the building is 54 storeys. and the rubbish pile went as far as just two floors above that criss—cross there.

it is just unbelievable to think of everything that's happened here. it is a real haunting feeling down here. it wasn't until the late 2000s that the building was cleared and renovated. now it is home to a diverse range of people, including migrants from all over africa. this building has been through hell and back. and to me, ponte signifies, in many ways, the story of a democratic south africa, in terms of trying to find your identity since 1994. it is something that was built for the few.

and it has been repurposed now and is finding its feet as something for the many. the spectacular ponte city. next we travel to egypt where in cairo they prepared to open the doors to one of the biggest archaeological museums in the world. the ancient egyptians built these pyramids as elaborate tombs for their rulers, or pharaohs, some 11,500 years ago. they've become the calling card of egypt's tourism. wow, that is awesome. seeing them in real life is so cool. tourism is one of egypt's biggest moneymakers, and in 2010 it reached an all—time high up with more than 1a million coming here on holiday. but the following year, everything changed. change, change, change!

anti—government demonstrations in cairo's tahrir square kicked off a wave of protests across the country. standing on the corner of the square is egypt's national museum. built in 1902, it houses perhaps the world's greatest collection of ancient artefacts, including the magnificent treasures of the boy king tutankhamen. during the turmoil, looters and vandals took advantage of the chaos and broke in. suddenly, thousands of years of the country's history were at risk. what were your emotions, what did you feel? thieves damaged the building and stole more than 50 priceless a rtefa cts. following the looting, a number of stolen antiquities ended up for sale online or at auction. the egyptian authorities managed to track them down, and now most of the stolen treasures, like this limestone statue, have been recovered.

but the break—in exposed its outdated and weak security, and highlighted what was already known — the need to better safeguard the nation's unique treasures. here in the shadow of the pyramids, a new ambitious project is entering the final stages of construction. the grand egyptian museum will be equipped to take the country's ancient treasures way into the future. it will be the biggest archaeological museum in the world. this place is absolutely enormous. the footprint is 500,000 square metres. there are over 3,000 labourers working here 21w, and it cost over us$1 billion to construct. now, for the first time, over 5000 objects discovered in the boy king's tomb will be on display to the public. this is one of my favourite pieces. it's one of the chariots of king tutankhamen. so we are pretty much looking

at a 3500—year—old artefact, but in perfect condition, intact, as it was? if we consider the 3,500 years, it is in a perfect condition. restorers in these specially built labs are using the most advanced technology in the world to prepare the artefacts were display. more than two thirds of the objects from tutankhamen‘s tomb have been hidden away in boxes since their discovery by howard carter almost 100 years ago. with assurances of increased security, it is hoped that this new centre dedicated to egypt's unique history will finally help encourage tourists to come back.

ade in cairo where the museum has had to postpone its opening until next year due to delays caused by the pandemic. fingers crossed they can stay on track. stay with us because coming up we have more memorable trips from the african continent, including: when ade explored ghana prospect colonial past as it celebrated 60 years of independence. you just cannot stop at all of their faces. they all have individual expressions of pain. —— ghana's colonial. and when i met the poachers responsible for protecting rwanda's majestic primates. this week we are revisiting some of our most memorable trips to africa from the last few years did it next, we had

to sue down and the popular friday wrestling about in khartoum. sudan. every friday at 4.00pm, in haj yusef, khartoum, this ancient sport, originally thought up by nubian pharaohs, is still being practiced. for thousands of years, wrestling has been a fixture amongst the nubian tribes, in sudan, but it's not just a game. the nuba are originally from the nubian mountains in southern sudan but now, as unrest pushes them away from their homeland, the sport has found another home in the capital, and for the locals it's a huge event. these guys go in pretty hard. i probably should try it out, but i'm not going to. i was happy i was only a spectator, but quickly i realised the organisers had other plans. i'm usually up for doing a lot of things, but wrestling a guy,

in front of 2,000 people, is a bit further than what i usually go. so, i'm a bit nervous, the guy is kind of scary. then it was time to head out into the arena. oh, god. wish me luck, wish me luck! ah, no, they actually think this is like britain against sudan. i am very scared. i shake his hand. i don't even know what the rules are. i actually don't know what the rules are. this is going to end so badly. it actually started quite well, that's until my opponent took off his shirt in a display of ultimate warrior in this man on man death match. what's going on? how did this happen? i spent the duration of the match running away from the opponent. i learnt later that you're not really meant to move backwards, only forwards, but they let me off as i was new to it and they probably knew i was going to lose. as things heated up, i used my premium agility skills, dodged my opponent's attempts to bring me down.

with the crowd on my side, i decided to go in for the kill. but i failed massively, and i lost. as it was all over, i was happy i could now retreat to the changing room and think about what i'd just attempted, but in a celebration of british—sudanese relations, my opponent decided a parade around the arena would be more suitable. oh, my god, i lead a strange life! whilst in the arms of my new sudanese comrade, i had time to reflect on what i was seeing. sudan is a very divided country when it comes to things like religion and ethnicity, but here, in the wrestling arena, it doesn't matter where you're from. even a young lad from liverpool can earn respect. this could be a bit of a daunting place to walk into, but, after that experience, and the love everyone showed me, all i can

say is that was unbelievable. and a cheering crowd as well, i'm being carried around. i can get used to that, honestly. what a day, what a day. better luck next time. next, we visited one of africa's most disturbing sites. in the wake of the 60th year of independence 41' of the 60th year of independence 41 ' 60 years ago in1957, independence 41 ' 60 years ago in 1957, the british gold coast broke away from centuries of colonial rule. it became the republic of ghana. it was a peaceful transition and gha na's independence, the first declared in sub—saharan africa, inspired other states to do the same thing. look carefully around acra and you will see signs of this anniversary year everywhere. this is a powerful piece of work. this is called

for 0'riordan. it stands at the mausoleum of gha na's independence leader and argues that ghana is still not properly free of slavery and colonialisation. itjust exists ina colonialisation. itjust exists in a different form, these days. they have all got individual expressions of pain and it is quite sobering, really. g ha na and it is quite sobering, really. ghana was right at the centre of the slave trade. its most powerful remnants life you hours east of here in the old colonial than, cape coast, which is where i am going next two to it is estimated that in total, around 11 million people we re

total, around 11 million people were taken from africa, bound for the americas. all along this coastline were forts where men, women and children were held in miserable conditions before their dangerous journey. this was the largest of those for. these days, it is a museum. this was a male dungeon. the men were separated from the women and this dungeon was designed for 1000 people. few years ago, during restoration works, archaeologists took up and examined some of the materials on the floor. we left a small portion of it here to tell the rest of the story. it is made up rest of the story. it is made up of faeces, blood, decomposed bodies, clothes... so this is, this is the product of human despair. yes. and toil. pain,

suffering, cruelty. and if they survive their stay in the dungeons here, then it was through the door of no return, ready for loading onto the ships. one of the ships might have decided not to go so they would jump into the ocean. pulling the rest with him. because they were all trained together? they were all trained and they would all drown. so you would escape just to commit suicide. and this is after being held live? after being held in the dungeons for months. it was non-stop hell. non—stop hell. months. it was non-stop hell. non-stop hell. this is a special year for non-stop hell. this is a special yearfor ghana. non-stop hell. this is a special year for ghana. it is the 60th anniversary of independence and things have moved on, thankfully. we struggled for 400 years under slavery and colonialism and we have come out of the nation

stronger than before so we see and experience are worth sharing with others. so people can be encouraged in what they do, whatever level they are, that they will rise up through their actions, use the ashes as fertiliser to grow and become prosperous. words of hope from the man whose job prosperous. words of hope from the man whosejob brings him face—to—face with unimaginable horror on a daily basis. if he can be domestic, there is inspiration for us all. —— optimistic. now i want to end the show with a trip i will never forget when i visited rwanda to meet the people monitoring the country's growing gorilla population. the

walk is pretty tough, i will not lie. the higher you get, the higher the altitude, my breath is getting shorter. three hours and 4000 metres above sea level and i was beginning to fear i might not ever find beginning to fear i might not everfind a gorilla. 0h, beginning to fear i might not everfind a gorilla. oh, my god. they look scared that they are so big. we really lucked out here. we have a mother and her

baby. they have black backs and we have the mother of all gorillas, the silverback over there. he isjust watching us watching him. i can't believe we are this close. my mind is absolutely blown. they are so beautiful. rwanda has achieved remarkable success in not only protect, but growing the mountain gorilla population. in fa ct, mountain gorilla population. in fact, there are now 1000 mountain gorillas here, up from 200 just 20 years ago, when they were on the brink of extinction. this is primarily down to the decrease in poaching when the gorillas were hunted for meat. but in an effort to protect the gorillas, poachers were trained to become mountain guides and porters here, further supporting tourism. so tell me about the poaching. there is no problem.

because we are now involved with the communities. you cannot say it is done, however, so we keep on. in fact, tourists pay $1500 to spend one hourup tourists pay $1500 to spend one hour up here with these great apes. you can hear little gru nts apes. you can hear little grunts in the distance. it is ha rd to grunts in the distance. it is hard to tell if they are aggressive or playful grunts. how did you feel when the gorilla came out and jumped out? scared. just being able to watch them eating, interact king and even communicating with us in their natural habitat is, hands down, one of the best experiences that i have ever had the pleasure of having while on my travels. i recommend it.

i still get butterflies just thinking about how incredible that experience was. sadly, that experience was. sadly, thatis that experience was. sadly, that is all we have time for this week butjoin us next week when... they are big, they are hungry and incredibly grumpy. christer is in germany to find out why these creatures have been causing havoc for some holidaymakers this summer. you think you track animals and it will be tiny paw prints or footprints. no... it isjust chaos. and remember, follow us in all the usual places by looking for bbc travel. from me and the rest of the travel show tea m and the rest of the travel show team here in london it is goodbye.

hello. if you're hoping to get out and about this weekend, the weather may have an impact on your plans. it is looking decidedly unsettled. it'll be windy, there will be heavy rain at times but not all the time, there will be some drier, brighter moments as well. low pressure in charge of the weather at the moment, quite a big low, quite a deep low as well, lots of white lines, lots of isobars crossing together, that shows we will have some strong winds and the strongest of the winds will be in association with this band of rain. so the wettest, windy is whether to start saturday across the western side of the uk, this rain band will push its way eastwards through the day. you can see the bright green and yellow colours showing up, a short, sharp burst of really intense rainfall accompanied by really squally winds pushing eastwards as we go through the day. towards the far south—east it's

likely to stay dry for a good part of the day, sunshine and showers following on from the west. windy here with the strongest winds along the line of our rain band, and temperatures 17 degrees across the south—east corner and perhaps cooling from the north as the rain band clears its way through. the rain will persist across east anglia and the south—east for a good part saturday night. clear spells and showers following on from the west, and don't forget the clocks go back an hour through the early hours of sunday. the end of british summer time, but as far as the weather goes, summer has long since left us. it's an autumnal weather chart for sunday. low pressure up to the north—west of the uk, some pretty brisk winds on sunday, perhaps not quite as windy as it would have been on saturday, there will be some spells of sunshine but some showers, too. the showers most frequent, most plentiful across western areas, and i think we we'll also see quite a few running and across english channel coasts.

it will be windy, strongest winds across the west of scotland, these are the average wind speeds, just be stronger than that. temperatures between 11 and 14 degrees. as we head into the new working week, low pressure still with us. this low will lose some of its intensity as we go on into monday, so the winds will ease a little bit but there was to be some showers and spells of rain around, and it is looking like a very unsettled week ahead. that is all from me for now. enjoy your weekend.

good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today: people in wales wake up to the first full day back in lockdown. south yorkshire enters the highest level of covid restrictions. so frustrating that we are just left in the lodge and nobody knows what's going to happen, it'sjust like, bam, you've got to close, that's it. more than 7 million people in england are now living under tier three regulations. dozens of restaurants and community groups offer to give food during the holidays to children on free school meals. england footballer marcus rashford says they're the superstars of the nation. it's a hat—trick for patrick at villa park. leeds stop aston villa going top of the premier league,