the un has warned of a countdown to catastrophe in afghanistan, with millions facing starvation. hospitals are already seeing increased levels of malnutrition. aid agencies say the situation has deteriorated sharply, since the taliban seized power in august. some families have become so desparate for money, they've sold their children. the united states has suspended a seven $700 million aid package to sudan after a military coup. at least seven people have been killed and dozens were injured when soldiers opened fire on crowds protesting against the takeover, and demanding the restoration of civilian rule. the united states has confirmed its new requirements forforeign nationals travelling to the us by air. the rules, effective from november 8th, require travellers to show proof of a full covid vaccination, as well as a negative test. the public sector pay

freeze in england is coming to an end, with the chancellor announcing that more than five million people are in line for a pay rise next year. rishi sunak said it was right that public sector workers should see their wages go up, with better than expected economic conditions. he'll give further details in wednesday's budget. here's our political correspondent, alex forsyth. behind the treasury's closed doors, the budget plans are being drawn up. but, while the official announcement�*s still days away, details of spending plans have started to emerge. today, news of a wage rise for some of the lowest—paid. the cost of living is a really important issue. the key thing is that today's announcement, an extra £1,000 a year for people on the national living wage, is a really important protection against those pressures, and it helps to make sure that every family in the country where people are in work can really see that this is a government that's on their side. people working in retail or hospitality, care

or maintenance, are among those who will likely benefit. those aged 23 and over will see wages rise to £9.50 an hour from april, with increases for younger workers, too, welcomed by some in birmingham today. it's good news for everyone, really,especially people that work in care work and cleaning jobs and things like that. it's a shame it's not more, but it is going to help, yeah. i think it's good, to be _ honest, because with that money adding up, it's going to do a lot for a lot of people. . minimum wage has to always increase, to be honest. - but for hetty, who runs a brownie business in gloucester that we visited at the start of the pandemic, it's an extra challenge after a tough time and could mean costs are passed on to customers. it will mean we will have to increase our product prices. and it does make it difficult for when i want to reward my team for their hard work by giving them pay rises, and it still feels like a pay rise for something great they've done rather than because the government's told me i have to.

with the economy moving again after covid, there has been pressure on the government to help those struggling with rising bills and rising prices. part of its answer is pay going up. the government says it wants to move to a high—wage economy, where people earn more to help with household budgets. as well as today's announcement, the chancellor's hinted that public sector workers could be in line for a pay rise, too. but critics say it isn't enough, given that some support put in place through the pandemic has ended and people are facing tax rises, too. what the government have announced today is going to be swallowed up by the tax rises they've already announced, by that big cut to universal credit and because people are already seeing big increases in the cost of living, so it'sjust more smoke and mirrors for the government. there will be more to come from the treasury on wednesday, when the chancellor will set out notjust who might benefit from this budget, but how he plans to keep the books balanced.

now on bbc news, it's the travel show, with christa larwood. this week on the show... having a blast in iceland. someone asked me if it was sped up. it's not. it was just like a steep slope. that was crazy. chewing the fat in southern spain. offering a helping hand to lost seal pups in ireland. when she came in, she didn't look too great, but now she looks beautiful, one of the prettiest seals i've seen! terrified, but this is what it's all about, so let's give it our best shot. and the 26—mile slog to shake off the post—lockdown blues in paris.

hello, and welcome to iceland, the little island that did very well against covid, fighting very aggressively from early on, and now is welcoming visitors back to its shores. and in that effort, it's had a little help from a rather unexpected and very volatile source. volcanoes are the rock stars in iceland. # what makes you feel good... or at least a cool place where rock stars can shoot their music videos, which is exactly what icelandic rockers kaleo did during this year's eruption. and like all good rock gods, this volcano was fiery, unpredictable and, above all, knows how to put on a good show. ladies and gentlemen, it's time to introduce you to iceland's newest volcano,

fagradalsfjall. 0r �*bob�* as some people online like to call it. but what's in a name? it's so new, it hasn't even received an official title yet. it's windy and it's raining, but it's beautiful! since march this year, this hell—raiser has been burning up social media and news outlets across the world. since travel restrictions lifted, over 300,000 people have flocked to iceland to see the longest volcanic eruption in the country for over 50 years. i wanted to see this natural phenomenon for myself. oh, look at this! wow! so, i headed up to the site with guide and self—confessed volcano chaser marco di marco. i was so excited.

it was like...i was waiting for an eruption in iceland for basically...| mean, i don't want to exaggerate, but basically all my life. even though there were no rivers of fire, the lava fields are out of this world. look at this place. it looks like the surface of an alien planet. all i want to do is clamber up there and explore. but apparently the rock can be actually quite thin and brittle and there can be pockets of lava underneath, so if you walk on it and you fall through, you're in real trouble, so it's not a good idea, unfortunately. what a brilliant place. marco grew up in the shadow of mount etna on sicily, which is where he found his passion for volcanoes. he's spent most of the year guiding tourists around iceland's latest volcano, and has been documenting the eruption for himself. these people are just coming to watch the lava flow. to watch the eruption, yeah, to basicallyjust

attend a festival. that was the thing. like, all these people arejust sitting, like they're watching a performance or they're at the theatre or something, but its nature on show. taking pictures, basically, when the lava is approaching. so when the lava is too hot, they start, like, backing up. like, 0k, just wait a sec. but we think of a volcanic eruption as being kind of a disaster. but here, it's almost entertainment. it's totally entertainment. the footage marco shot looks incredible. someone asked me if it was sped up. it's not. it was just like a steep slope. that was crazy. yeah, look how fast it's moving! is it less windy on the american continent? no, i think it's the same wind!

i'm at a bridge between two continents where i'm meeting holda, one of the first guides to take tourists to this year's volcanic eruption. holda is coming over from the north american side to meet me on the eurasian side. she tells me it's these two tectonic plates which are slowly moving away from each other which causes iceland's abundance of volcanic activity, which is nowhere near as fun as what the ancient icelanders believed. often, when — in the earlier days, we were having volcanic activities, we connected that to evil trolls that were having tantrum episodes. heavy rock music plays who could forget 2010 when many of our travel plans were grounded by an ash cloud caused by an icelandic volcano?

but holda says the timing was perfect. the attention generated turned into a wave of tourism at a time when iceland needed it most, after the impact of the economic crash. holda also believes the new eruption is a case of history repeating itself. we think also that iceland is living with us and the nature is often answering back to some of our prayers, if you want to say. now we were having a little bit of problem with the pandemic and everything shutting down and no tourists, and then we have this eruption. it is absolutely necessary for us to create some ways of income, and this...this is the means of iceland actually helping us! as we've seen recently on the canary island of la palma, it's mother nature who holds the cards in this game, and holda says if you do want to visit a volcano,

the best way is to see it with a guide. in the beginning, there was a lot of mistakes being done, people were getting in trouble. the routes were, like, difficult and the weather was treacherous, and i think that everyone here in iceland just got caught up in making this more safe and more accessible for people, and in that way, to have guided tours up to the volcano. from wedding films like this to live streams and music videos, in a year where travel has been extremely limited, the artistry and creativity this volcano has sparked has given us all a chance to enjoy this eruption from afar. and it really goes to show why iceland has earned the nickname of �*the land of fire and ice�*. we all love a good chat —

a chance to while away the hours catching up, gossiping, orjust having a good old chin wag. at first glance, chatting might seem a strange thing to add to unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage, but it's on a list that already includes neapolitan pizza—making, finnish sauna culture and a grass—mowing competition in bosnia and herzegovina. here's why charla alfresco — roughly translated as �*outdoor chatting' — might stand a chance of making the cut.

still to come on the travel show — we meet galaxy, the seal pup who's embarking on her biggest adventure yet. this is it. it's actually in half an hour. you've gotta go put yourself in the right mindset. and we are at the paris marathon as one competitor takes part to clear up his post—lockdown blues. so don't go away. right, we are off to ireland next to meet some of its cutest residents.

but seal pups that live around the coastline have been having an increasingly difficult time. more frequent storms are causing larger numbers of baby seals to be separated from their mothers before they've learnt to fend for themselves. we've been to meet a team of mostly volunteers who have devoted their lives to the rescuing and rehabilitation of lost seal pups. meet galaxy. she has become a bit of a social media star for seal rescue ireland, and we arejoining her on her biggest adventure yet. so in this pool, we've got galaxy, who isjust about ready to be released — we're gonna be releasing her tomorrow — and she is a very special seal because this is her second time in rehab. and she was one of the smallest... laughs. i just got soaked! galaxy the seal battled through the centre's icu

and is the only seal they've ever rescued twice. but why is it that seals like galaxy even need to be rescued? seals come to us for many reasons. they get trapped in netting, then we also have orphaning. two seals, a baby and mum, could be out swimming in the ocean, a storm rolls in unexpectedly, they get separated, and then that baby will come up onto the beach lost, looking for his mum, and that's when we will come in and we'll monitor it for a couple of hours as well, just to see if she does come back and find him, but often, they don't, so we will take that pup into care. many of the pups are fighting life—threatening injuries and illness. most are just too small to survive on their own. she feels really warm to the touch. i know. we can put some water on her flipper.

seal cries out. seal rescue ireland's income relies heavily on its visitor centre. so when lockdowns hit, it was a real blow. but now, they can once again welcome visitors in small groups with social distancing in place. galaxy! three, two, go! galaxy! she knows the drill. the time has finally come for galaxy to return to the sea. when she came in, she did not look too great but now, she looks beautiful — one of the prettiest seals i've seen!

and she's happy and she's ready to go. you know, working with wildlife, you don't want to get attached to them. they are wild animals, they do bite, so you've got to be very careful with them. but, you know, you've seen them go through this whole rehabilitation journey with them, you experience all of their ups and downs and then, just seeing them finally go back is — it'sjust really rewarding to watch. woman: is it a boy or a girl? it's a girl. it's a girl? yes. lovely. so we're gonna be opening the cage in a few minutes here and once that happens, she'll just slowly make her way to the sea. we just ask that everyone keep a safe distance from her and just lets her go at her own pace. 0k!

this is kind of what we need to keep going. you know, the climate and biodiversity crisis can feel so overwhelming, it can feel like we are just, you know, we're doomed. but having little wins like this, i think inspires people to pull together and, you know, and change things. now you may recall last month, we caught up with freddie pearson, a graduate from london. he's had struggles with mental health in the past and says a lack of travel during these last 18 months has had an impact on him and his friends. but he's got a plan to take on the post—lockdown

blues, and it involves a lot of running. i think young people have really missed being able to travel and go to new places. for a lot of people, they have been looking at four walls for a lot of their days or in the same space and every day has kind of merged into one, which has made things difficult. to go and run around paris, i'll be honest, i will feel like i am in a movie. it is so beautiful, there is so much going on, there's such an amazing atmosphere. last one in the bag before the marathon. so i start up by the champs—elysses, go past the eiffel tower, go along the seine and all the amazing landmarks in paris. ijust feel so, so lucky to be here, given everything that's been going on over the last year, so a big night's sleep ahead of me and raring to go.

one thing about these things that i love is that — lots of freebies. they've stopped. there was — i was the last one! a stamp and not a signature? signature and, like, both. what time does this close? what time is everything open till? until 6:00. thank you. right, sojust turned up to collect my race number and it turns out in france, when you run a race you have to have a medical certificate from your doctor, saying that you're fit and able to run. so i've got to do that now in a very short space of time to make sure that i can get signed off to run this marathon tomorrow. i'd better get going. uh, asap. argh! proving to be a bit of a nightmare. it is a saturday, no—one�*s going to be in her gp office, butjust trying to get it sorted.

thank you so, so much. i really appreciate it. bye— bye. got a doctorfrom home who's gonna check it. we got it! now i'm going to go get my number and then we can race. right, let's go! so it is the morning of the marathon. the nerves are starting to set injust a little bit, but they're good nerves. let's go hit the road. as you start seeing all the people coming out and all the signs for the marathon, it does make you realise this is it. you can see the finish line. good luck. — so we go in about two minutes.

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't absolutely mortified at the prospect of this, but let's get busy living after a year of a life of standing still. but, i mean, look at this. we're in paris. laughs. so, first couple of kilometres in the bag. calves feeling nice and loose. just getting started. amazing atmosphere. time to put my head down. ready to give it a good chance.

everything about that was absolutely brutal. it was a real battle of the mind. over the last, you know, 18 months, i think we've all had — we've all had our mental challenges and we've all had to really, really battle against ourselves at times and everything that's been going on. amazing, amazing feeling today. i could not recommend it more to anyone. that is not pretty! finishing time — three hours, two minutes. let's go get a beer! what a great achievement,

and what a great way to see paris too! best of luck to freddie in the future. that's all we've time for this week. but coming up next time — nnew and improved. we're visiting the recently reopened iconic parisian department store, la samaritaine. a velvet beret! as they say, when in paris! you can find more of our recent adventures on bbc iplayer. we're on social media, too — just search "bbc travel show" on the major platforms and you'll find us there. until next time, wherever you're planning to go to, stay safe, have fun, and we'll see you soon.

hello there. after a day of sunshine and showers on monday, the weather on tuesday's going to look very different, and here's why. this cloud here in the atlantic is pushing in from the west, and that's bringing with it some outbreaks of rain. ahead of that, though, with some clearer skies, it will be a bit cooler across eastern scotland and eastern parts of england. but out to the west, it's milder to start the day with this rain around, some quite heavy rain, too. that rain shouldn't last long. in northern ireland, we'll see a spell of rain pushing eastwards through the morning across scotland and northern england, but the rain further south tends to become light and patchy. most of that rain will have cleared in the afternoon, leaving some drizzle around some western hills, but to the east of high ground, perhaps some sunshine, many places becoming dry in the afternoon. strong south—westerly winds, very mild day — temperatures 16—17 celsius, quite a bit warmer than it was on monday for the northern half of the uk. but there's still rain in the far northwest. that's on that weather front

there, and that is going to move its way southwards overnight and into wednesday. it's going to hang around across some different parts of the uk during the day. all the while, though, we're pulling in air from a long way south, which is why it's so mild for late october. but there's some rain around, which is going to be quite heavy over some of the hills. that rain mainly affecting north wales, northwest england, could push back into parts of northern ireland, more especially into southern scotland. to the northwest, there will be some sunshine for a while and some showers, and to the south of our rain band, it should be brightening up. a little sun coming through, still windy, but very mild. temperatures up to 18 celsius. now, looking at the rain fall accumulation during wednesday and thursday, i want to highlight the areas that will see the heaviest of the rain. these are these bright colours here. it looks like it's going to be particularly wet in the southern uplands, but also into cumbria, and that could lead to some flooding. because that rain is still around on thursday, it may turn a bit drier across some northwestern parts of scotland and also

northern ireland, as the rain just pivots into more of england and wales. through the midlands and much of eastern england, it's likely to still be dry, and with a bit of sunshine, those temperatures again reaching 18 celsius. so, a lot going on over the next few days or so. it's going to be quite windy. the winds, though, are going to be in from the south—west, which is why it'll be so mild, but as we've seen, there will be some rain around, mainly for the western side of the uk, and that will be heavy in the hills.

this is bbc news our top stories. afghanistan is on a �*countdown to catastrophe,�* says the un, with millions facing starvation and despair. some are even selling their babies to buy food. even while we�*ve been here, another person came up to one of our team, and asked if we would like to buy their child. the desperation and the urgency of this situation is hard to put in words. one of the world�*s most criticised polluters — australia — promises to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. in sudan — at least seven people have been killed and dozens are injured — as soldiers open fire on crowds protesting against the military coup. and, the priceless mayan artefacts handed back to guatemala by a private collecter — instead of being sold at auction.