the israeli military has destroyed a tower block in gaza, where some foreign news operations were based. president biden expressed "grave concern" about mounting civilian casualties, in phone calls to the israeli and palestinian leaders. meanwhile, israeli police say one man died in fresh hamas rocket attacks on southern israel. the uk's doctors�* union has voiced concern that easing coronavirus restrictions in england is going ahead on monday, whilst the indian variant is spreading rapidly and many people are still waiting for a vaccine. ministers insist there's no evidence the new strain poses a greater health risk. and leicester city have beaten chelsea 1—0 to win the fa cup for the first time in the club's history. it was the biggest attendance at a match in the uk since the start of the pandemic. the teams will play again on tuesday, in a crucial premier league match.

wreaths have been laid to mark the centenary of the royal british legion. in a message marking the occasion, prince charles said the charity ensured the sacrifices of veterans would never be forgotten. our correspondent, jon donnison, reports from the cenotaph in central london. in whitehall this morning, a lone bugler and the last post. to remember those who have been lost, but also to mark 100 yea rs of the royal british legion. representatives of the army, the royal navy and royal air force were among those who laid wreaths at the cenotaph, after earlier prince charles had offered his thanks. i wanted, above all, to offer my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all those who have helped build this wonderful organisation we know today,

and all those who will be part of its future. the british legion was set up in 1921, in the aftermath of the first world war. its mission — to support military veterans and their families. so, 100 years after it was founded on this very spot, the royal british legion has marked its centenary. and for its more than 200,000 members, the organisation is as relevant today as it was a century ago. whilst it's a different era now, the names of the wounds have changed, but the specialist skills that we can offer are just as relevant. at this afternoon's fa cup final at wembley, between chelsea and leicester city, a special commemorative 50p was used for the coin toss before kick—off. and today's events celebrate an organisation that's been supporting those prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice

now for 100 years. jon donnison, bbc news, in whitehall. now on bbc news, this week's travel show comes from tokyo, where carmen roberts looks back at some of her favourite recent stories from japan. coming up on this week's show... we're approaching the first rapid, and it's meant to be the deepest and most exciting. whoa! and, that's it? i do kind of feel ninja—like here. laughter

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 although the postponed games are due to go ahead at the end ofjuly, rising infection rate injapan, coupled with the recent extension of the state of emergency here in tokyo means that everyone is closely watching the news, waiting for a definitive answer. in the meantime, why not join 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 to miss out, i headed around 5,000 kilometres south—west of tokyo on the main island of honshu, to the countryside surrounding

akeyama to try a rafting adventure with a different. for centuries the wood here was so sought—after that it was used in buildings all around the country, but 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's it like to drive and steer such a long raft like this?

in the past, once the trees had been felled in strung together, the rafters would ride 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. so, we're approaching the first rapid and it's meant to be the steepest and most exciting. hang on! woo! whoa! this is great!

laughter i'm totally soaked from my waist down. laughter whoa! this is the slower part of the ride, so to speak, but it's 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're approaching a rapid now and we stand up so we don't get too wet. here we go! woo! laughter whoa!

0n the side! so, that was our last rapid. it so interesting to watch these four guys navigate this seven—tonne log raft down a riverjust like they would have 600 years ago. it's amazing! definitely a unique way to travel, if you don't mind getting your feet wet. well, 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. and back in 2015, rajan headed there to get in on the journey.

0saka is japan's mecca of comedy. these guys are really famous here. this theatre claims to be the busiest and most popular comedy venue in all ofjapan. the demand is phenomenal, so it's open 365 days a year to full houses of up to four shows a day, that's around 1 million people a 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 manzai, a double act with a straight guy and a funnyguy 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.

hello! konnichiwa! nice to meet you! katsura kaishi practices the traditional story telling, rakugo, and he says that the style of comedy evolved from its trading history. 0ther other company —— a go to your

show tomorrow, we'll see, i'll find out. rakugo comedy was invented by buddhist monks to make their teachings more entertaining. there was a car accident, mother, father and children were all hospitalised, but a monkey was the only one left, with the police. the police said i wish this monkey could talk... it's a storytelling tradition that obviously resembles stand—up comedy, but this is some 200 years older. what would the father do? he was drinking, maybe he was drinking and driving. what were you doing, monkey?

after the show, i wanted to get some tips from the expert. hold the pen? "monkey, what was the father doing?" "hang on a minute, what were you doing, and that's it? they laugh you should maybe move to japan and should be a professional rakugo performer. really? laughter packing a punchline, japanese—style, in osaka back in 2015. well, 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 i visit a ninja training camp in nagoya.

it's dance moves upon dance moves upon dance moves, it's very complicated! and we set out to wow the crowds in a traditional festival in hokkaido. so don't go away. when you think ofjapan, things like cherry blossoms, tea ceremonies, temples and karaoke will spring to mind. but if you're a film or comic book fan, then ninjas will also be high on your list. back in 2016, i 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. the ninja, 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,

salary around 1600 us dollars per month. hundreds of people applied and auditioned for the jobs, including many from overseas. this is the nagoya castle, and these are some of the chosen few. the new ninjas. every kid dreams about becoming a ninja at some point in their life. 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, but 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. yes, because it's exciting. �*soran bushi' plays. not a bad effort there from rajan back in 2018. well, that's all we've

got time for this week. 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. hello there. if you're trying to make

outdoor plans, you can't really rely upon the weather at the moment. it's the kind of weather where one minute, you'll have sunshine overhead, the next, a drenching downpour. some of the showers on sunday will be really very heavy indeed with hail and thunder, but always with some of those sunny spells in between. this is how the first half of the weekend panned out, with showers and longer spells of rain for many, and sunday is set to bring those showers back with a vengeance as this area of low pressure drifts slowly eastwards across the uk. under the influence of that low, the air will be very unstable. big shower clouds will develop quickly and readily. in fact, we'll have showers from the world go across the southwest of england and wales. band of cloud and patchy rain for some areas of northeast england and southern scotland, and through the day forjust about all of us, it turns into a sunshine and showers day, but some of the showers really heavy with hail and thunder and some quite squally winds. and it will be generally quite windy for southern coasts of england and the channel islands. now, there will always be some places that avoid the showers and stay dry, and in any sunshine, it won't feel too bad with highs of 15 or 16 degrees,

although these temperatures are below par for this time of year. many of the showers will fade during sunday night into the early hours of monday, but some will continue. there'll be some patches of cloud, some clear spells as well. temperatures could get down to around 4, 5 or 6 degrees. i think we should just about avoid a frost monday morning. for monday, low pressure will still be in charge. not quite centred on top of us by this stage, but still close enough to bring further showers and thunderstorms. many places will be off to a dry start with some sunny spells, but there showers will become increasingly widespread through the morning and into the afternoon. again, some will be heavy with the potential for hail and thunder. it may well be that some western areas start to dry out a little bit with fewer showers by the end of the afternoon. temperatures again between 13 and 16 degrees. and as we head deeper into the week, the weather remains very fickle, very changeable. there will be spells

of sunshine, but more of these heavy, thundery downpours and temperatures will remain below where they should be at this time of year.

hello, this is bbc news, i'm ben boulos. these are our top stories: israeli warplanes destroy a tower in gaza housing international media. president biden calls leaders on both sides, expressing grave concern about the escalating violence. across the world, tens of thousands have been marching in solidarity with the palestinian people. extra testing across the uk for the variant of the coronavirus first detected in india — as doctors raise concerns about the easing of restrictions. the first case of covid—19 is confirmed before next week's eurovision song contest.