on the first day of the pope's historic visit to iraq, the pontiff urged different religious communities to join together in a journey towards peace. meanwhile, later today, francis is due to meet one of the most powerful figures in shia islam, grand ayatollah al—sistani. the un's special envoy on myanmar has told the security council that democracy must be restored to the country. christine schraner said anti—coup demonstrators were beginning to lose faith in the united nations. protests against last month's military takeover have been met by an increasingly violent response by the military and security forces. the head of the world health organization says there must be no let—up in the fight against covid—19 — he warns there could be further waves of the disease ahead. dr tedros ghebreyesus said it was a mistake to think that falling death rates in some countries meant the worst was over.

green spaces are known to improve health and wellbeing, and for many people gardens have been a real help during the pandemic. and it seems the uk is getting greener. the royal horticultural society says a0 square miles of new trees, flowers and grass has been created across the uk over the last five years. tim muffett reports. that garden has got me through what has been a really challenging three years. when camilla added plants to herfront garden in sheffield, the effects were far—reaching. four years ago, my front garden was in really bad shape, so had been used pretty much as a builder's yard. and at the same time, my mum was diagnosed with cancer so we had a pretty rough time as a family. being able to go outside and just make everything a little bit better, i think was one of the few things i could do at that time. the uk's front gardens are getting greener, according to the royal horticultural society. its research suggests that plant cover has increased

by almost a0 square miles over the past five years. what's been really lovely is seeing how people respond to the garden. �*cause it's, you know, we're a little street so you see people walking up and down, and if someone stops and smiles, then that's yeah, that's very much the reward. in woking, another front garden with plants instead of paving. when i come home i feel good about arriving at my own door. and because it changes every day, you get involved, you get interested, what's going on. neighbours stop to talk, so i know more people in my road. compared to 2015, it's thought more thani million more front gardens in the uk now contain only greenery. so, why the big change? well, in 2008, paving or concreting over a front garden did become more difficult. since then, you've needed planning permission to do that

for an area over five square metres. gardens max your physical, mental and social well—being. with the covid—i9 impact, i think people are recognising the health benefits. the royal horticultural society's garden in wisley. it's notjust home to thousands of beautiful plants, a lot of research goes on here. there's a new science centre being built. we've just recently done a study where we put two tiny planters and a tree in a salford street and we measured cortisol, which a stress hormone. we found a 6% decrease in stress, which is equivalent to eight mindfulness sessions. a new season is approaching and for many, a new sense of optimism. there's a growing appreciation, it seems, for the power of nature. now on bbc news:

the travel show. this week: a look back at some of our favourite european adventures. we test drive the consonant�*s adventures. we test drive the consona nt�*s fastest adventures. we test drive the consonant�*s fastest and highest ride. —— continent. visit the netherlands, and take a trip backin netherlands, and take a trip back in time in greece. theme music

hello, and welcome to the travel show. i'm coming from outside the station. normally this place would be bustling with people going back and forth from the uk to the consonant on the eurostar. —— continent. pre—pandemic it was carrying around 11 million passengers every year between britain and mainland europe. but that number has dropped by 95% since last march, and today i can only see two outbound trains on the board. unfortunately, i'm not catching a train today, as we are still under lockdown. but that isn't going to stop us from looking back at some of our favourite european trips. we begin with christer�*s trip to france in 2018, marking the 70th anniversary of one of the country's most iconic cars — the citron to cv. —— 2cv. the

2cv was born in 19118, in the immediate aftermath of world war ii. the very first prototypes as well as the very last model and all of the others in between are kept here at the citroen heritage centre in the north of paris. well, they really have character. round, this one, you can probably see from the bullet holes. it must have been a bond film. foryour holes. it must have been a bond film. for your eyes only. the 2cv, short for two horses, quickly came to fame. and not only in movies. within two decades it became a common site on france's roads and countryside. the design principles of this car were four wheels under an umbrella, the idea of a like car with good suspension so you could drive over a field with four

passengers and a basket of eggs on your lap, and by the end of yourjourney, none of the eggs would have broken. they are also a fine addition to any weekend in the capital. bonjour! it's good to meet you, vincent. this must be it. excellent. this one takes guided tours around paris. i am definitely going to need a lesson, vincent. you will even that you drive, if you ask nicely. —— he will even let you drive. nicely. -- he will even let you drive. ., drive. you can feel the engine under your— drive. you can feel the engine under your feet, _ drive. you can feel the engine under your feet, you - drive. you can feel the engine under your feet, you know? i drive. you can feel the engine i under your feet, you know? you under yourfeet, you know? you can feel the car and it's very physical. it's not a car that goes very fast, but it is good. it's a very active experience.

yeah! there is no sitting back and letting the car do its work. . . . , and letting the car do its work. . w , , work. yeah! exactly. here is the louvre _ work. yeah! exactly. here is the louvre museum. - work. yeah! exactly. here is the louvre museum. there l work. yeah! exactly. here is. the louvre museum. there are work. yeah! exactly. here is- the louvre museum. there are no airbaas, the louvre museum. there are no airbags. the _ the louvre museum. there are no airbags, the windows _ the louvre museum. there are no airbags, the windows are - the louvre museum. there are no airbags, the windows are not - airbags, the windows are not electric, and as the air conditioning, let's say it's pretty rudimentary. but for some reason, the french really seem to love the 2cv, as long as that remains the case, the car they called the teens now will keep ploughing its own furrow on slow lanes everywhere. krista there in paris. next, wejoin mike in bulgaria to visit a piece of bold —— alien architecture. it's been there since the fall of the iron curtain. this

structure looks across the bulk and mountains to be completed in 1981, it was completed as a monument to glorify the national communist party. gear was the birthplace of bulgaria's socialist movement. —— here was. this is powerful. following the collapse of the regime, the building was abandoned, and later shut off to the public as it fell into disrepair. —— the buzludzha monument. 0h, disrepair. —— the buzludzha monument. oh, wow. here it is. you first? welcome. it monument. oh, wow. here it is. you first? welcome.— you first? welcome. it has seen better days. _ you first? welcome. it has seen better days, hasn't _ you first? welcome. it has seen better days, hasn't it? - better days, hasn't it? definitely. it cost the equivalent of $35 million in

today's money to build buzludzha. since it was abandoned, the years, they haven't been kind. dora, it's... it's incredible. there's some work to do, obviously, but it's still very impressive. look at this. 50 square metres of mosaics right on top. there is the symbol of communism, actually, the hammer and sickle, and you can read in cyrillic, "workers of the world, unite!" so there is a mosaic on the ceiling, but the entire perimeter is also covered in a mosaic. we have actually more than a thousand square metres of mosaic inside buzludzha. out of all of these, which one is your favourite? 0ver there, the people defeating a dragon. and the dragon represents capitalism, the monarchy, and fascism, all the enemies of communism, and it's defeated by the communist people. when the monument opened,

thousands came from all over the country to marvel at its beauty. there were sound and light shows and talks from well—known communist artists and poets. time could be running out for buzludzha. if the roof collapses, the walls will go too, and the building will be lost. there's now an urgent debate about what exactly to do with the monument. those who remember the repressions and the hardships of the communist era would like to see it destroyed. others want it restored to its former glory. but dora is working on a proposal to preserve it as a museum and a place where bulgarians can discuss the past. it was built to represent and glorify the communist idea. we do not want to do that nowadays. we just want to know the history and to understand why it was built. but, if we keep it intact and leave the symbols in their present condition, i think this will be much more powerful and meaningful for the next generation

to understand. mike there in bulgaria, back in 2018. since we film that, dora's mission to save the building has had some success. in 2020, with the support of the getty foundation, she led an international team of experts on a project to protect those extraordinary mosaics in the interior, and this year, they are hoping to publish a conservation management plan outlining the steps required to open this iconic but controversial building to the public. to keep track of their progress, you can visit their website. we are going to speed things up now with a trip to porcher adventurer amusement park in spain. this ferrari rollercoaster sounds ominous, doesn't it? it is europe's

oldest and fastest ever ride, going from zero to 180 kilometres an hour in just five seconds. we managed to persuade rajan to test it out before it opened to the public in 2017. how much testing goes on before it is open to the public? around 6000.— it is open to the public? around 6000. ., around 6000. times? x thousand cles? around 6000. times? x thousand cycles? 0k- _ around 6000. times? x thousand cycles? 0k. thankfully _ around 6000. times? x thousand cycles? 0k. thankfully i _ around 6000. times? x thousand cycles? 0k. thankfully i have - cycles? 0k. thankfully i have this veteran of nearly 1300 different rollercoasters in 21 different rollercoasters in 21 different countries as company. what i love now, it's the thrill of the chase. i go off to rollercoasters an executive places like china to find something different that you haven't done before and other people haven't gone to. i went to dubai recently and i did 25 the impact in six days. this is

more than — the impact in six days. this is more than your— the impact in six days. this is more than your average - the impact in six days. this is l more than your average hobby, marcus spends up to two months a year in theme parks on the chase of the reels. —— in the chase of the reels. —— in the chase of the reels. —— in the chase of the reels of. and advises how to maximise rollercoaster excitement. let's go for it, let's go!— go for it, let's go! you get the best — go for it, let's go! you get the best view _ go for it, let's go! you get the best view at _ go for it, let's go! you get the best view at the - go for it, let's go! you get the best view at the front. go for it, let's go! you get - the best view at the front. you feel the force when it takes off. there is a loose belt there. is off. there is a loose belt there. , off. there is a loose belt there.- hands l off. there is a loose belt i there.- hands up. off. there is a loose belt - there.- hands up. eyes there. is there? hands up. eyes wide epen- _ there. is there? hands up. eyes wide open. you _ there. is there? hands up. eyes wide open. you don't _ there. is there? hands up. eyes wide open. you don't want - there. is there? hands up. eyes wide open. you don't want to i wide open. you don't want to miss it. i wide open. you don't want to miss it. ., wide open. you don't want to miss it. . ., ., ., ,, miss it. i am not going to miss it. see miss it. i am not going to miss it- see if— miss it. i am not going to miss it- see if you — miss it. i am not going to miss it. see if you can _ miss it. i am not going to miss it. see if you can tell _ miss it. i am not going to miss it. see if you can tell the - it. see if you can tell the difference. tween the season and coaster and the rookie tv presenter... now, i knew you wouldn't be able to.

incredible. what the hell! but was rajan becoming the first of the public to try the red force roller—coaster. good on you. time now for a bit of high culture in amsterdam. i went there in 2019, 300 years on from the death of one of its most famous artist, rembrandt. in 1631, he made this city his home. and it's here that he painted his most famous masterpieces.

and you can see many of them on display at the rijksmuseum. but what i've come here to see is very special and involves a painting that rembrandt is best known for, one of the most famous works of art in the world, the night watch. the painting is almost four centuries old and over the years, there have been various restoration attempts. but now, the museum is undertaking the most sophisticated one ever, using high—tech methods to carry out a forensic examination of how rembrandt actually painted the picture before restoration can begin. and it's all being carried out in one of their galleries in full view of the public and live—streamed online. 0h, oh, man, so that is it. the

night watch. it looks incredible. and what are they doing there? the machine you see there is an x—ray fluorescence scanner and this way, we get an idea of the elements present in this painting. but this is a painting which is for us to admire. why is it so important for you to know about the elements? because we need to figure out — yeah, we want to know how rembrandt painted it, what his ideas were when he was painting it, how did he make this nice composition? was it first all ok on the canvas, or did he change his mind and change more things, or did he change the composition? those things we would like to know. yeah, we're basically on rembrandt�*s shoulder and watching him while he's painting these paintings. so we're going to photograph the painting in daylight but we're not going to do it, like, one snapshot, but we're going to do a lot of photos next to each other —

i think, from the top of my head, its 11,000 photos. wow. so then we get a really high resolution. it's like you're looking through a microscope. 0ne pixel in that photo is like a blood cell or, basically, its smaller than a hair — a human hair. all of this scrutiny and all of this work for one artist — what do you think rembrandt would i would personally think that he would think we are crazy! yeah, yeah. but feels like such a long time ago. let's hope we can all go and see the restored night watch very soon. we're off denmark now where somebody had the crazy idea of putting a dry ski slope on top of a renewable power station. cat went to

check it out. fuelled by waste and builder one of the most environmentally friendly plants of its kind, it spans more than 40,000 square metres. it works its way from the bottom all the way up the side of the building and it is open for hikers, sightseers and even skiers. the ski slope is made from a slippery synthetic material which is coloured green to stop the slope from discolouring. so they are still doing a little bit of work up here but look, right over there, that sweden, which is very cool, and on the other side we have this amazing view of copenhagen. and how did you guys come up with putting a ski slope up here? fine

you guys come up with putting a ski slope up here?— ski slope up here? one of the thins ski slope up here? one of the things we _ ski slope up here? one of the things we realised _ ski slope up here? one of the things we realised quite - things we realised quite quickly is that if you take a section of the building, it actually stepped down from low to high, in the area where the trucks drive into the furnace, the boilers, the flue gas treatment area, all the way up to 90 metres. 0n the other thing about denmark is that danish people love to ski but denmark is completely flat so they will drive for three hours to sweden to ski on a slope thatis to sweden to ski on a slope that is about 80 metres high so we quickly realised since we have mountains of trash apparently, we could turn it into mountains of recreation and skiing that could become a public amenity in the very centre of the city of copenhagen. sustainability tends to be this thing that is seen as a protestant act. sustainability is something that you do which means that you have to do less of something and you somehow have to have less life experience. but what we really wanted to do with this project is to express that somehow sustainability can be something that is positive

and fun and actually gives us more back to people and to the city. i more back to people and to the ci . ., �* . , more back to people and to the ci. . more back to people and to the city. i don't really know how this is going _ city. i don't really know how this is going to _ city. i don't really know how this is going to go. - city. i don't really know how this is going to go. whetherj this is going to go. whether i'm going to wipe out. ijust want to make it down without falling over! whoa! after the initial model i was soon feeling confident. maybe a bit too confident! that went really well! cat there in copenhagen. the last time we saw kristie, she was driving in a citroen two cv around the roads of

paris. —— crista. the bosses of the travel show obviously think you have things far too easy because we will end on the outskirts of athens, where she has to help power are far older form of transport. moored close to the modern yachts, a different kind of ship is ready to go out to sea. the trireme 0lympias — the only life—sized replica in the world of the athenian battleships which dominated the naval wars from the fifth century bc until early christian times. this amazing—looking galley belongs to the greek navy and every year, groups of very lucky people get to go aboard and actually row, just like ancient athenians did. this year, i'm one of those lucky people. so, i better get ready. i think it's going to be quite hard work. the ship carries two small sales butjust in ancient times, the ship is propelled by the oarsman on the deck. my

fellow rowers are starting to arrive now so i've picked a plum spot, right in the middle of the action. i'm ready for ramming speed. woman over loudspeaker. reaching speeds of about nine knots, or 17km/h, this boat was considered pretty quick in its time. woman over loudspeaker. ..and its manoeuvrability won athens some decisive victories at sea.

the bronze ram served as the main weapon to puncture the hulls of enemy ships and to sink them. looking around, it is most impossible to imagine what it was like for the people who originally wrote these kind of boats and to be in battle, three layers of different people all trying to ram another boat in the open sea. i mean, it's unimaginable, given how pleasant and lovely this is today! woman speaks greek over loudspeaker. here we go again! woman speaks greek over loudspeaker.

that's the end of a european look—back. but don't worry, there's lots more great stuff coming up next week. carmen is in fukushima, ten years after a tsunami sparked a nuclear disaster there. to meet the surfers out to reassure travellers that a decade on, it's safe to return. no change. yes. still safe!— yes. still safe! don't forget, ou can yes. still safe! don't forget, you can watch _ yes. still safe! don't forget, you can watch this _ yes. still safe! don't forget, you can watch this episode | yes. still safe! don't forget, i you can watch this episode and many others again on the bbc iplayer and you can also follow us on social media. but for now, from me and the travel show team here in london, it's

goodbye. last weekend was a mainly dry weekend across the uk with high pressure in control, and this weekend will be the same. but there is a significant difference between weekends — that word there, cold. a very different feel to things. spring in the air last weekend — 15 celsius in the sunshine. this weekend, with only a few sunny spells around, well, it's closer to 7 degrees. and it feels like winter's still got a bit of life left in it. but it is high pressure across us, so it is going to be mainly dry. just this one weak weather front will deliver a bit of rain into parts of scotland, especially the further north you are. there is milder air

out in the atlantic. it will come our way in the week ahead — but that's not the only change coming, as i'll show you in a moment. this is how saturday begins. temperatures well below freezing. in the coldest parts, a widespread frost to start the day. some mist and fog patches around. there's the chance of catching a shower along the north sea coast, maybe around the thames estuary early on. they'll fade, showers come into the western isles, far north of mainland scotland and one or two into the northern isles. elsewhere, variable cloud, some sunny spells and temperatures only around that 7 celsius mark. on into saturday night, then, we'll keep a few areas of cloud but also some clear spells. the rain becoming a little bit more widespread across northern scotland with some heavier bursts around here keeping the temperature up, whereas elsewhere, if you're clear for any period of time, your temperature will drop below freezing and there will be another frost on sunday morning. still in scotland on sunday, towards the north and north—west, some outbreaks of rain. elsewhere, well, again, it's the sort of day where if you start sunny, you're likely to cloud over.

if you start with cloud, you'll eventually see a few sunny spells. a little less cold in scotland and northern ireland. and then on monday, it is again scotland most likely to see a few outbreaks of rain, but the odd spot in parts of northern england and northern ireland can't be ruled out. to the south, after a frosty start, still a fair amount of cloud around, maybe a few early mist and fog patches, but significant weather changes on the way into midweek. goodbye, high pressure. hello, low pressure. and that does mean a change to, yes, slightly milder weather coming our way, but some potentially disruptive wet and windy weather once more.

good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. our headlines today: two health unions say they're prepared to strike, as pressure grows on the government over its pay offer to nhs staff. a warning of unnecassary self—isolation for school children, because of inaccurate coronavirus test results. nasa's perseverance rover takes its first drive on the surface of mars, as it begins to explore the red planet. britain strikes gold at the european indoor athleticsm with amy—eloise markoff winning the 3000 metres in poland, with her team—mate verity ockenden taking bronze.