a $380 million settlement has been agreed for the victims of the former us national gymnastics team doctor larry nassar. it's one of the largest ever for a sexual abuse case. nassar was jailed for life for sexually abusing hundreds of young female gymnasts over three decades. hundreds of us national guard troops have joined the search for survivors of the devastating tornadoes. kentucky's governor says a hundred people are missing in his state alone. president biden will head to kentucky on wednesday to see the impact of the disaster. one of the most senior members of donald trump's inner circle is being referred for criminal contempt of congress charges over the us capitol riots. mark meadows has ignored a subpoena to testify in the house investigation into the attack. the committee's recommendation will now go to a full vote of the house.

if you've watched any big international tv dramas of the past few years, chances are the uk could well have played a role in bringing the story to the screen. the industry here is enjoying something of a golden age. a record £4 billion was spent making tv shows in the uk in the past year, almost double the figure before the pandemic. here's our media correspondent david sillito. i do suppose if i were forced to take a wife, you would be the least objectionable option. is that meant to be a complement? bridgerton. outlander... thank you for returning lady bolton safely. ..game of thrones all made in the uk. this is bad wolf in cardiff, just one of a number of new studios to have opened up in south wales. the tv industry is absolutely booming at the moment. there has been a fourfold increase in drama production in the uk over the last seven or eight years, which means that if you tot it all up, spending has gone from around £400 million in 2013

to 4 billion — a tenfold increase. tv drama now employs more people than the steel and coal industry. this is a story about across the whole of the uk. so, you've gotjobs being generated by productions which are now taking place in cardiff at bad wolf studios where you have his dark materials. you've got productions taking place in scotland, where you've got investment in edinburgh, new studios there and 0utlander about to enter its sixth series. you've got investment taking place in new studios opening in liverpool, yorkshire and across the uk. driving this are the new streaming services, the government's tax break and a reputation for success, which the boss here at bad wolf feels owes much to northern ireland and game of thrones. i think that the success of game of thrones and the success of what that show gave to belfast and the region was probably very influential.

she's a fine woman, your sister. netflix, amazon, disney — a multibillion—dollar global tv battle, and the uk is reaping the benefits. david sillito, bbc news, cardiff. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. this week on the travel show: heading back for the first time in over two years. let's go to gate! squeals this aussie girl is finally going home. laying on a special treat as a thankyou to thailand's monkeys. and how the aftermath of the second world war helped to create one of berlin's most famous takeaway snacks.

but first, with the christmas holiday season beginning, many will be crossing their fingers for a return to something more like normality when compared to this time last year. particularly those expats heading home to family. and for australians who have been abroad during the pandemic, which includes myself, reuniting with family back home this year will be especially significant. there are a few things you have to do to go to australia. first of all, you need to be eligible to go to australia, it's not completely open, you have to be

double vaccinated and be able to prove it, and then you get proof of that, you get an australia travel declaration, very similar to the arrival document you have to do the most places across the world now, and you have to do... one of these lovely pcr tests. so i will be dealing with that soon, you're not recording it! laughs i don't mind it at all, this is like an extra bit of my passport at the moment as far as i'm concerned. so it went from a situation where you could easily travel around the world at the drop of a hat to... ..you need to have a long—term plan and a lot of money to get

into your own home country as an australian. i think the first reaction was shock, like everyone around the world when the pandemic hit, and also feeling quite grateful when australia did shut its borders initially, because it felt like, well, everything is being done to keep my family and friends safe, and surely this is a sensible precaution. but it was this low—lying kind of stress because it meant if something happened to someone at home, instead of being 2a hours away, 36 hours away maximum, now you just couldn't get home. it wasn't possible unless you had very deep pockets. i'm originally from the uk, but i've lived in australia now for a number of years, and i'm married to an australian, we're all australian citizens, we've got four kids. we came on holiday initially in early march for a three—week holiday to visit family in the uk, and we've been trapped here ever since, stranded.

the main challenge is that we have a small house and there are six of us, so we are filming this, where we actually sleep. this is my dad's study in the shed in the garden. and the uncertainty of not knowing when that would stop has been particularly difficult. when the australians decided to put limitations on the number of people arriving because it put pressures on quarantine, the airlines have actually been forced to discriminate against the economy passengers, and so we've actually been removed from a couple of flights. we've done everything in our financial means to get home, but we're just not able to. well, we did actually get back home eventually, to here in tasmania. we had a three—week holiday to the uk, which actually became a 6—month extended stay. we feel so blessed to be home, even here, a year on, to be back here in hobart after such a time. we had instances in australia where some passenger planes

were carrying maybe two, four or five passengers into australia. that's how bad it got. surprisingly, it was hugely supported, and for a long, long time, there is polling that shows consistently around two—thirds or three—quarters of the australian public actually did support these very, very strict international border bans, even when it meant locking out their compatriots. thankfully, after a late start, australia really did a fantasticjob in terms of getting vaccinated. a bit of a heart... kind of. i won't be working as a barista any time soon! victoria, my home state, has already reached 90% vaccination, which... yeah, it's quite emotional

for me because... it's meant i can go home. so... there's going to be a lot of tears in the next few days! this is very exciting, very exciting. although i've completely lost the knack of how to pack. i used to be like pow, pow, i could be packed in 15 minutes, and now it is like, what is the weather going to be like? hot is the answer to that. i have to wait while my test gets checked, but i'm, like, ijust want to go! so there's been a bit of a curveball

in the last few hours. concern mounts as countries around the world ban flights from southern africa... a third case of the new omicron variant... the omicron case, _ a confirmed case in the uk... i have received notification that the quarantine has been reimposed to some extent, so it was quarantine—free travel, now it is 72 hours of quarantine upon arrival, and having to be isolated from my family, so the joyous reunion is maybe off the cards. i don't really know what's going to happen, how i'm going to be isolated within my family home, if that's possible, do i need to get a hotel. i also need to get a permit to enter the state of victoria, which, despite my research, i've just found out about. so it's getting a bit complicated. i guess the joys of travelling during covid. well, let's go to gate. squeals oh, man, i'm so excited!

i don't even care if i have to quarantine, i don't care. that's me, of course. i've just checked in, and i'vejust seen the melbourne on the sign. welcome aboard qantas flight 10 down to darwin and onwards to melbourne. we're just about to head off, and i'm so excited. jackpot! on a long—haul flight, three seats to myself! yes! to date, the overall death toll in australia from coronavirus is just above 2,000.

so they have done extraordinarily well in protecting life. technically, the issue of stranded australians, or �*stranded aussies' as it became known colloquially, that should have abated by now. although there are still government repatriation flights being put on by the australian government, because there are some places in the world where people didn't get vaccines that will be authorised or recognised by australia. it makes it very challenging for them to get on commercialflights. i haven't left russia in two years coming up to february. i've given up hope on christmas, i'm thinking i'll be lucky to get back by february next year if things go well for me. i've just been living this limbo existence where i don't know what next month is gonna bring. i've been living with

a constant dagger over my head of the russian government just saying, "your visa is up," and i don't know what the hell i will do them. where do i go if that is the situation? because what country wants me at the current moment with everyone having covid, i'm not properly vaccinated, and at a status where i don't know when my own government will let me back into my country. about 15 minutes away from landing now. after a very long flight. and a quick stop in darwin. we hope you have enjoyed your service on board today. we do look forward to seeing you on board our aircraft again very soon.

laughs guess who's out of quarantine! yay! i'm out! i'm free! i'm out of quarantine at long last, and it's given me a bit of a chance to reflect on what it's meant to come home. i missed you guys! my word, we are lucky

to live in a time where, in usual circumstances, you canjump on a plane, and 2a hours later be on the other side of the world, in my case, i can be home. and i think the pandemic has sort of shown me that in past years, i've really taken that for granted. it feels normal to be able to do that. and it's not necessarily something to be taken for granted, and i think going forward, i'll feel fortunate every time i get on that plane. aunty christa! still to come on the show. we are on the hunt for berlin's best currywurst. eaten by everyone from homeless people to the chancellor. and we are in thailand to see a monkey festival that has been helping bring back tourists to the region. what can i say? it is great to be home.

but now we're turning around and heading straight back to europe where sausages and curry sauce may not seem the most natural flavour combination but in berlin, currywurst, as it is known, has become a street food favourite. so we headed to the german capital to find out more about this dish and its surprising origins. in the �*50s and the �*60s, currywurst was one of the fast foods easily available and everyone grew up with currywurst. napoli has a pizza of spanish descent, paella, it's literally part of the culture of the city. voila. hello, my name is laszlo and welcome to curry 36, the most famous currywurst stall in berlin. it is easy. you just get a sausage, cut it in six or eight pieces. and then you add tomato sauce on top. and top it with curry powder

and spices and that is it. you also need a fork. it is that simple. grazie mille. bon appetito, ciao. we have customers from all over europe from asia, from the states, basically from everywhere. thank you for your patience and sorry for the inconvenience. enjoy it, have a nice day, you're welcome. l'una e l�*autre is con carne. i am actually only able to sell currywurst in a lot of different languages. i'm not fluent in italian or spanish or whatever. every region claims to have invented currywurst. the only true story is how it happened in berlin. after the second world war herta heuwer had a small food store and she always

saw the gis eating out, having steak and ketchup. she wanted to replicate that but it was not possible to have a steak. it was really expensive after the war. and so she just tried it with local ingredients and one day she mixed up curry and ketchup by accident and tried to refine it with more spices, she put on a sausage, customers tried it, they loved it and that was the birth of currywurst. there is currywurst with casing. it is a smoked sausage, a bit more salty, a bit more on the savoury side. and the local thing is currywurst without casing. it is a boiled sausage that is fried afterwards and just a little more softer and tender. currywurst without casing, it was born out of necessity because after the second world war, berlin was isolated, it was in eastern germany, so we did not have enough casing for sausages. there was no way to get the casing into berlin. it was just too expensive.

one of the things that stands out is the purity of the ingredients, the tomato sauce is as important as the sausages. basically, it is what we are famous for. this is only about 200 litres of it and on a regular day we go through a ton of it in all three restaurants. it is 87% tomato, some salt, sugar, spices, that is it. some curry sauces have less than 50% tomato. that is not a standard that we try to achieve. currywurst in berlin is eaten by everyone from homeless people to the chancellor. i think it is important. i think it is pretty important, it transcends social classes. everyone eats cu rrywu rst. and that is a taste of berlin. i would say it is down—to—earth and easy—going. but have a try yourself.

next up we are in thailand where tourists have gradually been returning after the government launched a quarantine—free travel scheme in november. and it isjust in time for the lopburi monkey festival. once a year the resident macaques get to dine like kings. on the most elaborate displays of fruits and vegetables lovingly crafted by locals behind—the—scenes. we prepare the fruits. we have many, many kinds of fruits.

tropical food, mostly. banana, papaya, grape, mangosteen, longan, mango and all kinds of vegetables. and we learn every year what they like most. we just know that they like durian the most. the feast costs over 100,000 baht — that's over £2000 — and is mainly sponsored by the lopburi inn, a local hotel. the owner started it 33 years ago, offering a fruit buffet to the monkeys as a thank you for bringing in customers. and it has grown in size, taking on different themes each year. the monkey is an important symbol in buddhist tradition and as such they are revered and treated very well. the monkey is an important symbol in buddhist tradition and as such they are revered

and treated very well. but a word of caution. you will be bargaining for more than just a selfie. these longtailed monkeys are very comfortable around people. that was the first time. it was a bit afraid but it was ok because it was worse for other people than for me so it was ok. and here we are.

the moment they have all been waiting for. because of covid—i9 there has been an two—year gap since the last festival and in general the pandemic has been hard on locals and these guys. the city is home to thousands of monkeys and during the lockdown a lack of tourists and locals out on the streets resulted in frequent monkey battles over scraps of food but things are looking up. they like the traditional dessert this is made from egg and he likes durian the most. more than 100,000 travellers

took advantage of the thailand pass in november. it means not seem like a lot but that is as high as the number of arrivals from january to october combined. i can see that tourists are having fun, there are a lot of thai tourists here. families and little kids. they're having fun, but less people because of covid—19 but i think the event brings joy to lots of people. well, now their bellies are full and locals are free to take the wheelchairs. 2000 kilos of food were prepared for the weekend festivities but nothing is going to waste. the leftovers are ta ken to monkeys living in the mountain temples outside the city.

well, that is all we have time for on the programme this week. join us next week when rajan will be spreading some christmas cheer and revisiting some of our favourite stories from a year that, well, let's face it, has not been the best for travel. i have to be honest with you, that was a little bit frightening. we're in an all—electric revamp of an iconic british motor. did you see that?! this is wild. 11 lions. this is wild. until next time, from me, christa larwood at home finally here in australia and the rest of the travel show team it is goodbye and we

will see you next time. well, tuesday is going to be generally quite cloudy, perhaps damp in a few places, nothing spectacular. it is december after all. you can see a lot of cloud on the satellite picture, but this little gap in the cloud that's over us right now has actually led to some clear spells across parts of northern england and northern ireland, too, perhaps the north of wales. so, i think these are the most likely areas for fog to form early in the morning. the very far north—west of the uk, wet and windy first thing. the south of the country, really quite mild. look at these starting temperatures — 10 degrees along the channel coast. so, this is the weather map for tuesday. we have high pressure to the south, which will continue to build through the course of the week,

but weather fronts are grazing the north—west of the uk. so, for ourfriends in the western isles, it's going to be wet and windy at times. we are expecting some rain or so in orkney and shetland. perhaps a little bit of rain around the lowlands and south—western areas of scotland, but i think eastern areas, in fact all along the east of the country, i think there will be some brightness around. and temperatures typically around 7—9 degrees, but southern areas, london, cardiff, plymouth with the cloud and the murk hanging around, that mild air from the south, it will be around 12 degrees in one or two spots. here's the weather map for wednesday. so, again, high pressure in the south, weather fronts grazing the north, but increasingly these weather fronts will bring less rain as we go through the course of the week. so, more than anything, it's just an area of cloud with some dampness here across parts of scotland and northern ireland. it's because it's high pressure starting to build in from the south. and look at these temperatures — double figures right across the board midweek. now, this high pressure is going to anchor itself across the uk thursday and friday, and i wouldn't be surprised if it stays here, well, right up till christmas quite possibly. this means generally settled

conditions across the uk, light winds, with some fog in the morning. still mild on thursday, but i think gradually what we'll find is these temperatures, even though we'll have high pressure, gradually these temperatures will ease so down into single figures by the time we get to the weekend. but i think it's going to stay mostly settled for the rest of the week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. our top stories: a $380 million settlement is agreed for the victims of the former us national gymnastics team doctor larry nassar. hundreds of us national guard troopsjoin the search for survivors of the devastating tornadoes with 100 people missing in kentucky alone. residents here are used to tornadoes. they get bad weather alerts. but nothing prepared them for this. one of the most senior members of donald trump's inner circle is being referred for criminal contempt of congress charges over the us capitol riots. new evidence from south africa appears to show the omicron coronavirus variant causes less serious illness than in previous waves of the virus.