those communities that to live in those communities that surround gaza, so there's a lot of public pressure to take decisive action. there is also public pressure on hamas. it told the pala needy and people that it is reacting to the tensions that have been seen. it's trying to position itself for the palestinian people, particularly at this moment of weakness for the palestinian authority after it cancelled the first general election that was due to take place in 15 years. it's trying to look like it can control the political agenda and that it can control the political agenda and thatitis can control the political agenda and that it is sending a strong nationalist message to palestinians.

mass is threatening it has huge stockpiles of metal is that it could continue to launch attacks on israel for months to come. that is why israel is particularly, going after rocket launch sites and after places where missiles would be stored as well as some of the commanders that are crucial to the rocket programme. thank you very much indeed. now we will get a look at the weather forecast for you. good afternoon. well, it is one of those weekends where you've got sunglasses on one minute and you are umbrella—ing up for the next minute, and we are going to continue with that theme for the rest of the weekend. so some heavy downpours around, some sunshine in between the showers and things are staying pretty cool for the middle of may. so the most frequent heavy showers for the rest of today will be for south—west england, the midlands and wales also seeing some hail and storms next.

then, as those showers head gradually northwards, easing for most of us overnight, largely clear skies for scotland, [i or 5 degrees here, the rest of the uk 7—9. but heavy downpours already towards the south—west first thing tomorrow morning and this area of low pressure will be dominating our weather tomorrow, bringing us more torrential showers, initially heaviest in the south—west, but they will pop up elsewhere through the course of the day. by the afternoon you could catch a shower or even a thunderstorm almost anywhere across england, wales and northern ireland. a bit drier in scotland, but temperatures only 11—16 . hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: an israeli airstrike has destroyed a building housing the offices of international media outlets in gaza. the israeli military said the building housed military assets belonging to hamas. here in the uk, crowds of pro—palestinian protesters have gathered in london and marched

to the gates of the israeli embassy. people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading are urged to get a covid vaccination. wreath laying services have been held across the uk and around the world — to mark the centenary of the royal british legion. china makes space history — becoming only the second country to land a rover on mars. now on bbc news... the travel show coming up on this week's show, we are approaching the first rapid and it's meant to be this deepest and most exciting. and that's it? i do feel ninja—like here.

hello and welcome to the travel show. coming to you this week from tokyo, a city that has been my home for a little over seven years, and where the big talking point is whether this summer's olympic games will definitely go ahead, and if they do, what form will they take? it was back at the end of march last year that the ioc and the japanese authorities decided to postpone the tokyo olympic and paralympic games, which were due to kick off with a spectacular opening

ceremony in the capital's new national stadium on the 23rd ofjuly 2020. since then, japan and the rest of the world have been through a series of lockdowns, and most countries still have international travel restrictions in place. and other the postponed games due to go ahead at the end ofjuly, rising infection rate injapan coupled the recent extinction of the state of emergency here in tokyo means that everyone is closely watching the news, waiting for a definitive answer. in the meantime, when ijoined me as we take a look back at some of our favourite travel show stories from here. last year there was a big campaign here injapan for people to holiday at home, with lots of discounts and incentives on offer, and not wanting this out, i headed around 5000 kilometres south—west of tokyo on the main island of honshu, to the countryside surrounding were akiyama to try a rafting adventure with a different. for centuries that would he was so sought

after that it was used in buildings all around the country, by transporting it was no easy task. they came up with a novel solution, and today travellers can experience the old journey downstream. it does look quite strange by today's standards. i don't know what i was expecting but it really is just a bunch of logs strung together. it must float ok, it's 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 fouled in strung together, the rafters would write them down the river to the destination. today, with travellers on board, the rafts are safer. there are lifejackets, handrails, and a bench, plus additional measures for coronavirus, like masks and reduced capacity. but it's still very open to the elements. we are approaching the first

rapid and it's meant to be the steepest and most exciting. hang on! this is great! i'm totally soaked from my waist down. this is the slower part of the ride, so to speak, but 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. so we are approaching a rapid now and we stand up so we don't get too wet. here we go! laughter. that was our last rapid. it so interesting to watch these four guys navigate this seven ton log raft down a river just like there would have 600 years ago. it's amazing! definitely a unique way to travel, if you don't mind getting your feet wet. each big japanese city has its own particular

and distinctive feel and if you are looking for a laugh, then you better head to osaka, which over the generations has earned itself a reputation of being the comedy capital of japan. back in 2015, we headed there to get in on the journey. 0saka is japan's mecca of comedy. these guys are really famous air. this theatre claims to be the busiest and most popular comedy venue in all ofjapan. demand is phenomenal, it's open 365 days of year to full houses of up to four shows a day, that's around people each year. fans travel from all over the country to see the stars live on stage.

the show includes many types of comedy, but one of the most common and popular is mansai, double acted with a straight guy and a funnyman trading jokes, and it's this style that in 0sa ka. i wanted to find out more about the roots of comedy in the city. nice to meet you! katsura kaishi practices the traditional story telling, and he says that the style of comedy evolved from its trading history.

rakugo comedy was invented by buddhist monks to make their teachings more entertaining. there was a car accident, mother, father and children all lost lives, but a monkey was the only one left. �*s of the police said i wish this monkey could talk. it's a storytelling tradition that obviously resemble stand—up comedy, but this

is some 200 years older. what would the father do? he was drinking, he was drinking and driving. what were you doing monkey? after the show i wanted to get some tips from the expert. monkey, what was the father doing? hang on a minute, what were you doing monkey? and that's it?

you should maybe move to japan and should be a professional rakugo performer. packing a punchline japanese style in osaka back in 2015. stay with us, because still to come on the travel show... this wall is as tall as me! i get put through my paces as a visit a ninja training camp. it stars move up and dance move upon dance move, it's so complicated! and we set out to wow the crowds in a traditional festival in hokkaido. when you think ofjapan, things like cherry blossoms, tea ceremonies, temples and karaoke will spring to mind. but if you are a film or comic book fan, the ninjas will also be high on your list. back in 2016! travelled to nagoya to meet some martial arts fans to become modern ninjas, and i even gave it a go myself. needless to say i did not get hired. then injure, a mysterious, undercover agent in feudal japan, skilled in espionage

and assassination, living in the shadows, and now, you can apply to be one. farfrom hiding in the dark, the next generation of ninjas answered a job ad. full—time, centraljapan, around 1600 us dollars per month in salary. hundreds of people applied an audition for thejobs, including many from overseas. this is the nagoya castle and these are some of the chosen few. the mui ninjas. every kid dreams about becoming a ninja at some point in their life. just for me i held onto the dream a bit longer

than most people. i know you have just started but what's it like to be the only foreign ninja. it's a challenge! i thought that i could come tojapan, find a ninja clan, become a ninja, and then that would be it, but it is a constant progression of learning, studying, and struggling with japanese, but i love it, i'm never been happier. it's not just physical. there is also history to be learned. it will be an intensive month ahead of this modern day ninja team's debut. it's only a training session, there is already a lot of media interest, and for me it feels like there's a reality tv or talent show element to this project. but not everyone is buying into the hype. some purists are worried that this sort of campaign is sending a distorted image

of the japanese icon to the rest of the world. two hours from nagoya, i've been told this is the heart of ninja country. so, hundreds of years ago, real—life ninjas trained in the very mountains here, in akamedaki. so, i've come to this ninja training camp to try and get an authentic ninja experience. �*ninja no mori', or �*ninja forest', has been set up to cater to tourists in a natural setting. i might look the part, but can a cut it as a real—life ninja? to my relief, we started the day with some prayers and meditation.

then it was time to leave the safe surrounds of the temple and head to the training corps. first, it was onto the wire. what would this be used for? speaks japanese. so, if there was a castle and a moat? yes, yes. speaks japanese. oh, so, the rope would help you get over the water? yes, yes.

i — i do kind of feel ninja—like here. laughter. this is the ? it's quite difficult! laughter. 0h! 0k. i don't think ninjas are meant to giggle. 0k. oh, my goodness! and then, the skill of scaling walls undetected. you don't expect me to do that, do you? speaks japanese. ganbatte? hai, ganbatte, yarimashou. ah! this wall�*s as tall as me! i wouldn't say it was easy, and i definitely didn't say it was pretty. but i managed it. so, they upped the ante. time to let go of any dreams i have of becoming a true ninja. i still defy anyone my size without superhuman powers to get over that wall. well, to finish off this week's look back at some of our favourite japanese adventures, we head to the far north of the country, to the island of hokkaido, where in 2018, rajan headed there to take part in an annual local festival based on the island's seafaring history.

and he even managed to pick up a few dance moves along the way. yosakoi soran is one of the region's biggest international dancing competitions. teams dance to music which is all inspired by the hokkaido folk song soran. traditionally, this folk song was about hokkaido fishermen. it's come a long, long way since then! i'd arranged to meet someone who'd taken part in this festival many, many times since she was a child. but finding one dancer on long 13,000 others was proving a little trickier than i expected. hi! konnichiwa! so, you are a veteran of this — of soran, of this dance festival? yeah. excellent. you're going to teach me about all of this?

0k. fantastic. so, tell me. what makes this festival unique? this yosakoi soran festival in hokkaido has two rules, yes, yes, just one — every team, every dancer as this — �*naruko'. do you know soran music? yeah. so, even though the music might sound different, and there's this — they have the same melody? yes, yes, yes. how does the melody go? sings �*yosakoi soran'. and while it is something that clearly takes a lot of practice, i'm told in my case one hour should do it. this is what i have to wear? yes! wearing happi. ah. 0k.

# choi! a very public training session for newbies like me before taking part in the main festival parade around the streets of the city. tell me about the first time you entered the festival, tell me about how it felt for you and what you did? hah! yeah! that's what you need, attitude. just, ok, from top. 0h, from the top?

it's just dance move upon dance move upon dance moves, it's so complicated! many of these moves are based on the tasks old fisherman performed, like dragging nets, pulling ropes and lifting luggage over their shoulders. can't you tell? 0k! that looks difficult. that's only the practice! and we haven't even started the real thing yet. thunderclap. so, i'vejust had a rigourous workout and lesson and i supposedly know my moves. and now, to cap it all off, we're going to do the whole dance around the square in front of the crowds. help! thanks to your wonderful teaching, ifeel quite confident now. 0h, we're sprinting? ok, let's start! yeah!

fantastic. the nerves have all gone. who cares how good you are? this is about community, the festival. i'm getting in there. are you tired? i'm not! yes, because it's exciting.

not a bad effort there from rajan back in 2018. well, that's all we've got time for this week. coming up next week: mike heads to the maasai mara in kenya to find out how the coronavirus pandemic forced lodges to lower their prices, meaning that more kenyans got the chance to go on safari for the very first time. we are excited and now we can afford the rates, that's why we're here. well, join us for that, if you can. but in the meantime, let me leave you with some pictures of the climax of that festival in hokkaido in 2018. sadly, it was cancelled in 2020, but fingers crossed the festival can go ahead again later this year. in the meantime, from all of us here from the travel show team here injapan, it's goodbye,

and see you next time. good afternoon. if you have got outdoor plants through because of the weekend, you probably do not need me to tell you that things are remaining unsettled. plenty more showers in the forecast. this was the picture saturday afternoon in devon, so quite a lot of cloud around. may be a bit more blue sky developing late this afternoon into this evening across the south—west, but really through the course of the weekend, more downpours in the forecast and and staying rather cool through the middle of may. through the remainder of today, parts of south—west england, midlands, will see the heaviest of the showers, thunderstorms, hail, but equally blue sky between the showers. into the evening, most state very cloudy and stamp. the heaviest of the downpours ease away overnight as

college remains largely dry. it is here at temperatures will fall lowest. —— scotland remains largely dry. already further heavy downpours pushing to the south—west of england down to this area of low pressure which is going to be driving our weather through the day, shifting eastwards. heavy showers and thunderstorms from the word go the south—west of england and parts of wales. they will be drifting northwards and eastward through the day, so into the afternoon showers are more widely in the south. here and there, hit and miss showers parts of northern england, northern ireland, wales, scotland i think seeing fewer showers, so some blue skies and sunshine,. 11 to 16 degrees or so and with light winds for much of the uk, if you do catch a shower or thunderstorm it can be really slow moving. breezier in the south, southern england, through the english channel, show is moving quicker.

they tend to ease away a little bit overnight for a time, but low pressure not far away as we head on into monday. especially a way was the east. i think monday will bring us another day of sunshine and showers. many places are starting the day on a dry note with some blue sky bet showers popping up through the afternoon. most frequent and heaviest in the east. hail, thunderstorms, lightning mixed in. a little dry out further west during the day on the date for the likes of belfast, 30 degrees here. perhaps 15 or 16 in the warmest spots. —— 13 degrees here. the outlook is further sunshine and showers to continue and perhaps more persistent rain by the time we get to thursday. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines at six: a tower block in gaza, housing the offices of the associated press and aljazeera news outlets, has collapsed after being hit by an israeli airstrike. the israeli military said the building housed military assets belonging to hamas. meanwhile in london, thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have marched to the gates of the israeli embassy. people in areas where the indian variant of coronavirus is spreading are urged to get a covid vaccination. testing and vaccination are really important measures that we have, i suppose, in the tool box for controlling outbreaks. wreath laying services have been held across the uk and around the world to mark the centenary of the royal british legion.

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