better for the planet. this is synthetic latex. made from petroleum, it biodegrades in about 100 years. this is natural latex from rubber trees, still hangs around for a couple of years. this is the new kind of rubber latex they're developing in this lab, and they say it could biodegrade in a matter of weeks. it's a version of natural latex, but without the allergens so people won't be allergic to them. they'll also be much quicker to make, but the biggest benefit could be to our carbon footprint. there is a fantastic opportunity, richard. if we go into natural latex, which is produced by rubber trees, from carbon dioxide, water and sun energy, we will be able to have a real impact on the environment. approximately 50% of the excessive carbon, atmospheric carbon,

could be turned into rubber gloves. that's staggering, that's a staggering figure. half of the excess carbon potentially taken out of the atmosphere if we just swapped over to these gloves? yes, but we would have to turn it into natural rubber gloves, and that means quite a lot of latex to produce and deliver from the plantations. the project is funded by a big medical company about to start producing the new gloves in malaysia. it had hoped to open a uk factory next year. a baby elephant has been rescued after it fell down a well in india. the female calf had to be sedated and lifted out by a crane — which took more than 12 hours — and is now said to be "healthy and active". officials said the well — in the tamil nadu state, in the south of the country —

was covered with bushes and had no perimeter wall. hello. we're looking at a much brighter day for most parts of the uk with sunny spells in the forecast, but it will feel a little bit cooler for most areas with temperatures about 3—4 lower, and there are a few showers around as well, notably for northern ireland and scotland with the westerly winds pushing those showers through the central belt. you might even find a few in edinburgh from time to time. clear spells and light winds allowing a touch of frost to develop, particularly in the countryside, so it will be quite a cold start

to the day on monday. a cold but bright start on monday morning with some spells of sunshine, but we'll see some further changes as the day goes by. it turns cloudier in western areas areas with outbreaks of rain getting hello, this is bbc news. a tougher three—tiered system of local restrictions will come into force in england when the lockdown ends in ten days‘ time — but there'll be a relaxation over christmas. and pubs and restaurants in england could be allowed to stay open longer — with an easing of the 10pm curfew. the nhs in england is to get an extra three billion pounds, but the chancellor warns of tough times ahead for the economy, as the country deals with the consequences of the pandemic. the economy is experiencing significant stress. we've seen that particularly in the labour market and with people's jobs. we know that 750,000 people have tragically already lost their jobs with forecasts of more to come.

a usjudge has dismissed president trump's latest challenge to his election defeat asa "frankenstein's monster" of a case. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on this week's show: ade pumps some iron. rajan hits the floor. and iforget the rules. there you go, run, run. let go of the bat! theme music plays.

hello and welcome to the travel show with me, lucy hedges, coming to you this week from the heart of a very low—key locked—down london. now, this year has seen a whole host of events cancelled or postponed all across the world — from the tokyo olympics to the annual wimbledon championships, so we thought what better reason to take a look back at some of our favourite sporting adventures from the travel show archive, where, although we may not have championship potential, we certainly make up we will keep sunny spells across eastern areas whereas in the west cloud increases. there will be some outbreaks of rain pushing into northern ireland, prickly western scotla nd northern ireland, prickly western scotland looking very wet year. first up, back in 2017, ade headed to washington to take part in the working wounded games, which sees adaptive athletes compete against each other in a series of weightlifting and body—building challenges. and being the only person on the travel show who has actually won an olympic medal,

ade certainly had a reputation to keep up. so let's see how he got on. most para sports categorise by ability, but the working wounded games are different. by modifying the rules for each individual athlete, they encourage people with a range of capabilities to compete together. it is called the working wounded games. who is allowed to compete in these games? anybody that has some sort of permanent adaptive need that effects them physically. so you are really inclusive and open to everybody? yes, we actually really get excited when we have first—time athletes, first—time competitors. this is the calm before the storm. everyone is all chilled out but then the madness begins when they start competing. music playing.

come on! come on, you are a beast! music playing. you did some extra reps there. i did do extra reps. are you just trying to show off? i am always trying to show off. he's saying it's too easy now. since sports people of all abilities take part, wesley challenges me to a light work—out. i've got to use that skiing machines, burn up calories, then i've got to toe this sled and then i have a kettle bell i've got to lift up and down. i've got to keep doing that for 12 minutes. it is going to be sheer hell. wesley, you know what time it is, brother. i am going to give you a travel show whooping. music playing.

that is hard, really hard. i see that sweat, bro. it is what you need, right on. have they unstrapped me? right, it is your turn. do some work. i think you will agree that was a pretty impressive effort from ade and he did us proud at that truly amazing event which usually happens every year but what with 2020 definitely not being a year like any other, let's find out what happened by talking to sara 0lsen. nice to meet you, even though it's virtually. so you are not in the united states, you are in afghanistan — why is that? so i am a reservist in the us military, and i get called up to support the needs of special operations component command.

with everything that's been going on, what happened this year? it's been — like everybody else — trying to juggle and figure out what it means to support our community and support people with disabilities virtually, as much as possible. all of our training seminars were in person, all of our competitions were in person, a lot of the support we provided to communities were in person and so really, it was a bit of a reset and rebuild year. this event must be a real focus for a lot of the athletes. when we were back there filming in 2017, we kept hearing about this real sense of community among athletes taking part in the championships. what stories have you heard from them about the event not going ahead this year? obviously a lot of disappointment. with people with disabilities been really impacted by covid, to a higher degree, we were not going to risk the health

and safety of our athletes by trying to do it in person, no matter what the demand was. so the fact that we are starting to do seminars online and we're starting to come up with our own platforms to do these competitions online has really been very positive. the other thing we have done is there is a fitness app, called burnalong, that enables people to... let's say you and i wanted to do a work—out together, but obviously i am in afghanistan and you are in the uk — this app would allow us to pick the same work—out, log on at the same time and be able to essentially facetime and do the work—out together. so we have adapted yoga, we have adapted weightlifting, we have how to as well as more functional fitness, and so that has been sort of our stopgap, if you will, between actually developing our platform and not providing the face—to—face interactions. let's talk next year,

is it going to be back bigger and better than ever? so i think we're still going to do virtual next year. i think we're going to play it safe and just plan for a virtual competition and then come back in 2022 which would be year 10, from 2012, and make that the big event. hopefully vaccines will allow us to do face—to—face. right now the plan is virtual in ‘21 and bigger and better than ever in ‘22. thanks, sara. fingers crossed the event is back again in 2022. following on from ade's pretty impressive performance in washington, here's rajan who did not covering himself in quite as much glory when he took on a traditional wrestler during a travel show trip to mongolia in 2015. i wonder if you can guess who won? and now down to the nitty—gritty —

the art of combat, mongolian style, where there are no weight divisions so the biggest are often the best. before that you have to faster... my translator helps me to get to grips with the strategy. pushing that down. get this one down and do this one second. am i swinging him? use you elbows... like that? this goes down, this goes up and i go for which leg? this leg? after several hours of quite intensive training, it feels like i am suddenly getting it. but i am still under no illusion it is going to be easy. after all that, how do you feel about tomorrow? my main worry is that i fall really awkwardly and injure myself, if i am being absolutely honest,

because i am not going to get anywhere near average, even basic standard. so his last advice was very important — relax your body today, have a really good relax, then your body will be loosened up. so here we go. naadam is an annual festival which takes place every year right across mongolia. participants compete in the three manly sports — horse racing, archery and wrestling. the biggest and most popular with tourists is, of course, in the capital but this is the real deal and to begin the pomp of the opening ceremony. i spot my mentor.

how are you? good luck. he is one of the first to compete. the match is won when someone falls to the ground or anything but the souls of the feet or hands touch the floor. that could be you. i'm just about to go on. i was ok untiljust now but the guy before dislocated his arm which freaked me out a little bit. minutes to go before my bout and this is my opponent. the one tactic i was taught does not really work. and from that moment on, i am in a bit of trouble.

good luck. thank you. rajan obviously itching for a rematch there in mongolia, back in 2015. stay with us, because still to come on this week's look—back: christa braves the waves as she goes wild—swimming off the scottish coast. and i have trouble picking up the rules when i try my hand at a traditional street game over in new york. let go of the bat! laughs. now, one of the best things about working on the travel show is that you sometimes get to do some of the craziest things in the most unexpected places. that's one of the things i really, really miss at the moment, and this next one is definitely filed under that category.

in 2018 mike travelled to kazakhstan to get cleansed by local shaman, as you do, before trying a spot of snowboarding on sand. i was so jealous he got to do that one. the dune stretches for 3km and reaches a height of 150 metres and, let me tell you, it might look placid from a distance, but it is an entirely other story once you're up there. it's a little bit windy today, but we're on the singing sands. and i guess that's always how it is here. for myself, i have gone snowboarding before. what are some differences with sandboarding ? 0k. lean back, yes?

that being said, it was comforting knowing that i would be going slower than on snow. and also the cool thing about a sand dune is there's no trees! so i mean, i guess it's safer, right? no doubt though this is definitely the definition of an extreme sport. there are i am strapped in. i think i'm ready. this way, yeah? 0oh — and then the board comes... music playing. whoo! this is a lot of fun. karla is about to come down, she's standing up. she looks excited but a little bit nervous. you got it karla, yeah! but before long, we're starting to get the hang of it. music playing.

this is a lot of work. what's incredible, though, is when you come down, as the sand starts to avalanche, you can feel it shaking and reverberating underneath the board. it's very cool. it sings as you come down. we've got our final round from the very, very top, if i can — if i can make it. let's stay here and take a break for a sec. and with that, my trip to kazakhstan is at an end. and what a ride it was. yeah!

amazing. mike on kazakhstan‘s singing sandunes back in 2018. next up, wild swimming has become pretty fashionable over the last few years and last september we sent krista to dip her toes in the water off the scottish coast to give it a try. right, are you ready for this? what's the best way, straight in, or...? a bit of acclimatisation, hands in first, a little bit of water on the back of the neck and then we can just do a wee bit of floating, get in the water in the wet suit and then we cam get on with it. you're the expert, let's go. laughs. oh, it's lovely. 0h, lovely, you say! do you know what, it's actually not... i mean, no, i'm lying, it's really cold. i was trying to be polite but it's cold.

but i think the longer you're in you just get used to it. absolutely. 0k. i can do this. you're doing it! after a few minutes, thanks to my wet suit, my body did start to warm up and, if you keep moving, it's fine. it is not advisable to come wild swimming unless you're really familiar with the area, and norma is constantly checking in with me and guiding me to shallow areas where we can take a break. because we are now coming up to a low tide now we have passed slack water so it is a bit of a stronger... it is the tide really, so we were at the stronger middle of the tide so we're going to go with it, the deeper we getjust now you can feel it again. we're going that way so you really need to be familiar with the area. due to the sea conditions we weren't able to go to any of the iron age ruins on the islets,

but we did manage to reach this place. we have just come into this absolutely beautiful little cave, and it is so different, isn't it? we have just came around the head land which is quite choppy and a really strong current, quite dramatic, and here it is so peaceful and calm. i know it is really dark, but if i look down, i can see my feet really clearly because the water is so clean. this is a relatively unexplored corner of the uk and it certainly is a unique way to explore it. if it weren't for the cold and the jellyfish, i feel like i could just float here all day. enjoying the solitude of a wild swim in scotland. me, i'm much more of a team sportswoman which is why i was slightly worried about letting my side down when i went to new york last year and got roped into playing a sport i had never even heard of.

see how you think i got on. and cringe alert — i kind of had a few problems remembering the rules. if you come to the bronx in the spring or summer there is a street called stickball boulevard, where most sundays the emperors stickball league keep this tradition alive. ok, so as far as i can tell, each player has three attempts to serve the ball, one attempt to hit it. if they miss the ball they are out. if they hit it, it's about getting to first base, second base, etc. to keep the game going the street is closed off to traffic. you'rea bum! you are! there is a lot of smack talk as well, a lot of smack talk. in fact i've been told smack talk

accounts for 90% of the game. but there is also a lot of camaraderie, everyone is just having fun. it is just about a bunch of friends getting together, hanging out. how did you get into it? we all are washed up baseball players. laughter. that is part of it but the other thing is it is a tradition, stickball is a tradition that has always happened in new york city and a lot of our parents kind of put us into the game. my family has been playing, wow, over 50 years. i remember a young kid going to see my uncles play downtown. what about you, little man, what got you into it? nope! all of you have customised your bats, what are they made from? wood, most of them. they are closet poles from the home depot. they are closet rods, poles, whatever you want. new york emperor stickball league was established in the mid—19 80s. we have approximately 100

members playing stickball. one of the league's founders was called steve mercado. he was a fireman in engine company a0 who died in the 9/11 attacks. it was his vision to just try to push this and advance this league — he always wanted it to be an 0lympian event. so on memorial day weekend, we have teams from california come, we have teams from florida, 0rlando, miami, tampa. we constantly try and uphold the vision, for him. his two sons, as a matter of fact, play in the league now. it is just a legacy we just want to continue for him. the power of some of these swings, you can hear it. i don't know if i'm going to be able to hit it that hard but i'm going to give it my best shot. all right, let's go. let's grab a stick right here for you — there one right there. 0k, all right. let it bounce once,

step into the ball. 0k! i feel like the ball clipped the bat. i'm going for a clean hit this time. this time you got to run to first base. all right. now they're going to talk trash, though. keep the eye on the ball. laughs. don't say it! 0k. there you go, run it out! let go of the bat! laughs. i think i'm going to leave it to the professionals. i need a bit more practice. laughs. i did warn you. i cannot believe ijust ran off with the bat like that. honestly those guys gave me so much stick for doing that.

but you've got to admit though, i kind of had them worried. well, that's it for this week, but do join us next week if you can, when... one year on from their devastating summer bushfires, we visit australia's kangaroo island to see how life is beginning to bounce back. catch that if you can, but in the meantime remember to follow us on social media using the hashtag bbc travel, where hopefully we will give you even more inspiration there for the time when we can all start travelling again. until next week though, from me, lucy hedges, and everyone else here on the travel show team, it's goodbye.

we have got a few showers to come today across the north of the uk, but for the vast majority of the uk, it is going to be a brighter kind of day with more in the way of sunshine. the early morning sunrise holding promise in northamptonshire. compared with yesterday, although it is sunnier, it is going to be quite a bit cooler. temperatures in hawarden, in north—east wales, reached 1a degrees yesterday, the warmest place in the country. today, it will be about 10 celsius, and that three or four celsius drop in temperatures is going to be pretty widespread. but still, it is cheery weather for most of us, with spells of sunshine quite widespread. showers around. well, particularly for northern ireland and scotland, and with the winds blowing in a westerly direction, those showers are able to push

through the central belt, so you might see one or two arriving in edinburgh, for example. temperatures, for most of us this afternoon, eight to 10 celsius. looking at the weather charts overnight, the winds change direction. the showers mainly become confined to the scottish highlands and islands, but elsewhere, the skies are going to stay largely clear. we will have some light winds and low temperatures with some frost patches developing in the countryside, particularly for east scotland, east england, and may be parts of eastern wales and county down in northern ireland as well. further changes, then, for monday. this area of low pressure is going to ultimately bring rain back into the north west of the uk, but it should be a bright start for many of us, with some morning sunshine, but quite cold with a little bit of morning frost around. as the milder air works in, it turns cloudier from the west. maybe a bit of mist and hillfog over the higher ground in wales and the pennines. more general rain setting in for scotland and northern ireland. still quite chilly in the east, but milder air pushing into the south west, with highs lifting to 12 celsius, and that milder air will continue to push in as we head through tuesday. but at the same time, we are going to have this slow—moving weather front with us, and that is going to be bringing quite a lot of rain for most of the day on tuesday

across northern ireland, parts of western scotland and maybe cumbria, too. in fact, there will be some areas that could see some fairly heavy prolonged outbreaks of rain, particularly west scotland, maybe dumfries and galloway, perhaps into cumbria. and the rain is enough to cause some localised surface water flooding. so, that needs watching on tuesday. away from that, bright or sunny spells, highs of 13 degrees celsius, so a milder kind of day. as we head into the middle part of the week, though, higher pressure builds in. some morning mist and fog patches, some frost patches around as well, but a fair amount of dry weather too. still quite chilly in the east, but milder air pushing

hello, good afternoon. the government is finalising plans for a new, tougher tiered system of coronavirus restrictions when england emerges from lockdown on december the 2nd. the prime minister and the cabinet are meeting this afternoon and it is thought there could be tighter rules around household mixing, which is seen as a major cause of transmission. but the government is still hoping to be able to ease restrictions in time for christmas. here's our political correspondent, helen catt.