this is bbc news. the headlines. amy coney barrett has been sworn in as a justice on the us supreme court, cementing a conservative majority on the nation's top court. as expected, the republican—controlled senate confirmed president trump's nominee by 52 votes to 48. it is his third appointment, and it is a lifetime appointment — amy coney barratt is 48. belgian officials are warning that the country risks going into a second lockdown due to a worrying increase in the number of coronavirus patients in hospital intensive care beds. ten hospitals have asked medics who've tested positive for covid 19 — but shown no symptoms — scientists at us space agency nasa say there's probably more water on the moon this is bbc news. than previously thought. lunar researchers think there are many small welcome if you're watching here patches of pristine ice — in the uk or around the globe. hidden in nooks and crannies i'm mike embley. on the moon's surface — our top stories: that haven't been exposed to direct sunlight in a major victory for donald trump,

amy coney barrett for billions of years. is confirmed as a justice on the us supreme court. it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. more now on that it would be a dereliction of abortion ban in poland. and demonstrations against the ruling took place duty for her to give into them. in 50 polish cities, despite coronavirus restrictions that ban gatherings of more than five tracking the trump wall — people. the constitutional court we report from arizona ruling outlawed abortion on the role immigration on the grounds of severe foetal is playing in the presidential campaign. defects, which accounted for 98 percent of all legal pregnancy a call for europe terminations last year. adam easton followed to step up its battle against coronavirus — one warsaw protest. as some hospitals in belgium ask infected staff without it is the first day in a row symptoms to carry on working. and why patches of hidden water could boost plans against a court ruling that to build a permanent base induces an almost total ban on on the moon. abortion. on sunday they disrupted church services and today they are disrupting the traffic, blockading junctions and cities across the country. these protests a re and cities across the country. these protests are spreading. they started off in big cities and now they have spread to small towns. thousands of people are taking part in street demonstrations across the country every day. there is

considerable anger here about the way this ban was introduced. without a public or parliamentary debate and also during the pandemic. they thought we could do it behind their backs and we are worried about the covid situation go behind their backs and introduce strict laws like this and itjust introduce strict laws like this and it just keeps introduce strict laws like this and itjust keeps on getting worse. every woman should have a choice when it comes to our body. i don't want to be decided by anyone, especially the government or church and i feel that the time is up. poland already had one of the strictest abortion laws in europe. and opinion polls say that there is a clear majority of people here who oppose making the law any stricter. now on bbc news, the travel show. from 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 sudan... these guys are going pretty ha rd. ..to gorillas in the clouds. my mind is absolutely blown. they are so beautiful. coming up this week, a 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 busy 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 absolutely loved it every time. how about we kick things off with a reallyjawdropping makeover in the south african city ofjohannesburg? johannesburg is south africa's largest city, growing at a startling rate after the discovery of gold in 1886. scores came from across africa and beyond to seek theirfortune. but while 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 mandela was elected president. by that time, decades of industrial decline and international sanctions had damaged johannesburg's economy and crime was widespread. the city came to be known as one of the most dangerous places on earth.

now, there is a drive to change all that and previously abandoned neighbourhoods like this one are now on the tourist trail. perhaps the most visible symbol ofjohannesburg's regeneration, though, is in berea, a few 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 i% 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, ok? 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. and dlala nje operate a community centre on the ground floor. the money made from the tour goes towards the organisation's social outreach programs. 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 cross the entire length of the continent to egypt where ade went behind the scenes in cairo as 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 4,500 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, with more than 14 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 a rtefa cts .

during the turmoil, looters and vandals took advantage of the chaos and broke in. thieves damaged the building and stole more than 50 priceless a rtefa cts. the museum holds a special place in the nation's heart. 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 24/7, 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 for 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, sadly, 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's dark colonial past as it celebrated 60 years of independence. you just cannot stop looking at all of theirfaces. they all have got individual expressions of pain. and when i met the former poachers responsible for protecting rwanda's majestic primates. whispers: i spy a gorilla. so don't go away. this week we are revisiting some of our most memorable trips to africa from the last few years. next, we head to sudan and the popular friday wrestling bout in khartoum, when ben zand got much closer to the action than he had intended. 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 nuba tribes, in sudan. 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, ben. next up, when ade visited one of africa's most disturbing sites in the wake of ghana's

60th year of independence. ade: 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 ghana's independence, the first to be declared in sub—saharan africa, inspired other states to do the same thing. look carefully around accra and you will see signs of this anniversary year everywhere. this is a really powerful piece of work. it stands at the mausoleum of ghana's independence leader kwame nkrumah and argues that ghana is still not properly free of slavery and colonialisation.

itjust exists in a different form these days. they have all got individual expressions of pain and it is quite sobering, actually. ghana was right at the centre of the slave trade. its most powerful remnants lie a few hours east of here in the old colonial capital, cape coast, which is where i am going next. it is estimated that in 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 forts. 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. a few years ago, during restoration works, archaeologists took up and examined some of the materials on the floor. so they left a small portion of it here to tell the 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 survived their stay in the dungeons here, then it was through the door of no return, ready for loading onto the ships. one of them might have decided not to go so he would just

jump into the ocean, pulling the rest with him. because they were all chained together? they were all chained and they would all drown. so they wanted to escape orjust to commit suicide. and this is after being held captive? after being held in the dungeons for two or three months. so it was non—stop hell. non—stop hell. this is a special yearforghana. 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 as a nation stronger than before so we see that as an experience worth sharing with others. so people can get courage in what they do, whatever level they are, that they will rise up through the ashes, use the ashes as fertiliser to grow and become prosperous.

words of hope from a man whose job brings him face—to—face with unimaginable horror on a daily basis. if he can be optimistic, there is inspiration for us all. ade there in ghana. 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 a gorilla. whispers: oh, my god. he's just there. there's no need to be scared but they are so big. we really lucked out here. we have a mother cradling her baby. they have black backs and we have the mother of all gorillas, the silverback over there. he's just watching us watching him. i can't believe we're this close.

my mind is absolutely blown. they are so beautiful. rwanda has achieved remarkable success in not only protecting, but growing the 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 talk to me about the poaching. i consider there is no problem. because we avoid trapping by involving the communities. you cannot say it is done, however, so we keep on. in fact, tourists pay $1500 to spend one hour up here with these great apes.

you can hear little 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 of nowhere and jumped out at you? scared. just being able to watch them eating, interacting 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 highly recommend it. i still get butterflies just thinking about how incredible 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. christa is in germany to find out why these creatures have been causing havoc for some holidaymakers this summer. you think you go tracking animals and it will be tiny paw prints or footprints. no... it is just chaos. and remember, follow us in all the usual places by looking for bbc travel. from me and the rest of the travel show team here in london, it is goodbye. hello there. a pretty powerful jet stream will be racing across the atlantic for much of this week, generated by some big temperature contrasts

across the united states. so that's going to bring areas of low pressure to our shores, bringing rain and gales and huge waves crashing up against some western coastlines. but it will be turning milder towards the end of the week, particularly across the south. this very deep area of low pressure contains the remnants of what was hurricane epsilon, extending a weather front out in our direction. some fairly strong winds as well. to start the day, tuesday, for northern ireland, wales, the south—west of england, this band of rain will continue to journey its way eastwards. a bright and chilly start across northern and eastern areas before the cloud and the rain arrives, though not reaching the far north—east of scotland and the northern isles until after dark. behind it, skies will brighten, sunshine, some heavy showers, but it will be blustery with winds 35, 40 miles an hour across the south. 14 degrees or so here, chilly across the north and east after that cool start. as we head through tuesday night, it's going to be a blustery one, strong winds in the west and lots of showers, some of these

will tend to be heavier. but central and eastern areas again turning drier with clear skies. those temperatures range from 5 to around 8 or 9 celsius. this area of low pressure will continue to dominate the central north atlantic. got a long stretch of strong winds across the north atlantic and that's going to bring some very big waves to western areas, in excess of 10 metres across the west of ireland. so some dangerous coastlines to be walking on across the west through the course of wednesday. so, take care for that. the day will be another one of sunshine and showers, blustery, heavy showers at that, may be some hail and thunder mixed in, probably the best of any brightness will be towards the east. those temperatures on the cool side, 10 to 13 celsius. another low pressure system races up from the south—west to our shores on thursday, that's going to bring another round of pretty heavy rain this time, i think heavier rain for northern and western areas. some strong winds, perhaps touching gale force. the rainfall totals really will be mounting up across parts of south—west scotland and north—west england, northern and western wales. we could see some minor

flooding here by the time we reach thursday and indeed friday. but some sunshine in the south and signs of things getting milder, in the mid teens celsius there. turns milder still on friday across the south, but it will 00:28:10,237 --> 2147483051:50:49,834 stay quite wet across northern 2147483051:50:49,834 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 and western areas.