i've been keeping it all the way are real. i'm not trying to be egotistical or anything like that, but who else could do this show here in la? mm—hm. no—one. that's a fact. who else could perform the half—time show other than these amazing artists that we have put together for this thing? but the spectacular is taking place in a city with rising crime and a homelessness crisis. many encampments have been cleared, leading to claims that some of the thousands living on the streets are being shoved into the shadows. this is a sense of community for them, and it may be hard for those of us that are housed to think through that, but there is a hierarchy, there are belongings. so when they're asked to move and they're forced

out of that community, even if it is on the street, it creates additional trauma. whatever the costs, and the amount of money changing hands is monumental, la and its legendary rap royalty are ready. it's super bowl showtime. sophie long, bbc news, los angeles. now it's time for a look at the weather. as far as the week ahead is concerned, it is looking rough. this is what it looks like right now. plenty of rain around. the rain will peter out this evening and tonight. but there still will be showers around. clearskies

but there still will be showers around. clear skies in scotland and called a year. maybe a touch of frost but generally speaking a relatively mild night. tomorrow, not completely dry. northerly winds and wintry across the hills in the north, showers elsewhere but generally speaking, much better tomorrow. sunny spells with temperatures between seven and 10 celsius was from mid week, we are anticipating a series of atlantic storms. keep track of those warnings. met office has already issued warnings. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... a russian invasion of ukraine is �*highly likely�*. that's the assessment of the defence secretary ben wallace — comparing some western diplomatic efforts to the appeasement of nazi germany. the us evacuates most of its embassy staff in kyiv as it expects that a russian military incusion could come �*any day'. an nhs doctor is arrested on suspicion

of child sexual assault, following complaints about examinations of two girls at a hospital in dudley. 13 people are injured after a mezzanine floor collapses at a pub in east london. and switzerland holds a referendum on whether to ban tobacco advertising anywhere young people might see it. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show with rajan datar. in the past few decades, the skyline of doha, qatar's capital city, has changed beyond recognition. the discovery of oil in the 1930s, and then natural gas in the early 1970s, marked a seismic change in the fortunes of qatar.

and at a turbocharged pace, qatar's hopes, dreams and buildings have risen high above the desert sands. since this small but mighty gulf nation won the right to host the fifa world cup back in 2010, it has spent billions on state—of—the—art stadia and infrastructure. and with the first match set to kick off this november, all eyes will be on qatar as it makes history, becoming the first ever middle eastern country to host the world cup. and i am here to meet some real players, both on and off the pitch. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless".

this is the perspective that players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. and this may be historic, but for some it is also a controversial world cup. what we sometimes suffer from as a country, that people actually would makejudgements without actually listening to the other side, or actually try to search for the truth before they make their own opinion.

it's hard to believe how far and how fast qatar has developed. but this is a place that has always relished defying expectations. roughly the same size as yorkshire in the united kingdom, qatar is a mainly desert landscape, surrounded by the gulf on three sides. it hasn't been the easiest of places to prosper. historically it was the arduous task of pearl—diving that was qatar's main economy — until, that is, the discovery of oil and gas. oil workers arriving in the 1940s brought with them a game to play in their spare time. that sport has now brought the focus of the world to qatar. and that game was the beautiful game — football. as hosts, qatar

qualified automatically for the world cup. they will make their first ever appearance at the tournament. almoez ali is a striker for the qatar national team, and he hopes to become a household name when the competition kicks off this november. he says qatar may be seen as underdogs, but thinks this is a side who should not be written off just yet.

in december 2021, qatar hosted the fifa arab cup. using the new world cup stadia, this competition acted as a warm—up for this year's big tournament. and the qatar national team actually won the third—place play—off. from a personal level, what was it like to play in the arab cup?

when qatar first won the world cup bid, critics pointed to its lack of footballing tradition. but almoez ali believes the dream of playing in a world cup is a universal dream for every footballer across the world. but what else does qatar have to offer? well, you don't have to drive far out of the city of doha for the roads to end and the sands to begin. explorers from across time talk about the arabian desert

as a place of hardship. 0h! some, like the 1930s adventurer bertram thomas, even went as far as to call it the "abode of death". qatar had a long and proud history before discovering oil and gas, and it was learning to cope with this hot and harsh environment that helped to shape the country for those who call the desert home. living here, they carved out their culture, instilled their traditions and created the nomad lifestyle. people who would come to be known as the bedouin.

temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees celsius in qatar during the summer months. in the winter, when the weather is cooler, mohammad al—ghethani and his family build traditional bedouin tents in the desert to get back to their roots. why is it important for you to do this? so, qatar today is very different to how it was when the bedouins were, like you were talking, were in the desert. how can bedouin culture connect with modern qatar?

if it's a real taste of bedouin culture you want to experience, thenjanuary hosts a month—long falcon festival called marmi. if you had to compare being a spectator at a football match and a spectator here, how similar are they?

this is more exciting than football? yes. ali al—mehsadi organises the festival and tells me that falconry is more than just a hobby here, it is a way of life, and it's recognised by unesco as living human heritage. one of the most popular events at marmi sees the falconer and falcons getting in touch with their bedouin past. over a two—kilometre distance, each falcon hunts a pigeon, replicating days gone by when falcons were

used to help hunt for food in the desert. the festival is broadcast to a national tv audience and has impressive prizes ranging from brand—new cars to huge amounts of prize money. with so much at stake, marmi is a one—stop shop for all your falconry needs, from gps trackers to remote planes, used to teach falcons their craft. and it is even a place to train the falconers themselves. bite it with my mouth? yes. wow, so i put my mouth here... close it, yes. and same one, right hand... laughs. ok, again, again. after the birds retire

from competition, they are kept by their falconer or released into the wild to breed. during their career, a top falcon can be worth up to1 million qatari riyals, which works out roughly at £200,000. bite, bite, more, more! 0k. finished. done it! i am a successful falcon handler! how do you know that the falcon is happy and healthy? this one, same as my son. this one is the same one from my family. i like this one, i give him everything, i take care about this falcon. when he is sick i take him to the emergency hospital or something, to be checked this one, what has happened. because i take care about this falcon, the same i take care about my children.

after arriving back at the city of doha, it was as if i had spent too long in the hot desert sun. i was greeted with what seemed to be a mirage. a herd of almost identical white arabian horses running around in front of me. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless". established by the ruling royal family, this world—class equestrian centre, al shaqab, is built on the site of a battle which took place in 1893 between the bedouins and the ottomans. the battle would eventually lead to qatar's independence and was won thanks to the speed and bravery of the arabian horse.

the vision of this place is simple — to breed and train arabian horses in their homeland to win a whole host of equestrian competitions across the globe. these pure—breds, like al sakr here, are essentially treated like sporting superstars. nothing but the best for them! across the water from the corniche�*s towering skyscrapers is the souq waqif. its mud—rendered buildings and labyrinthine streets act as a juxtaposition to the state—of—the—art construction projects happening around it. but this is the beating heart of doha. over the centuries, merchants would sail straight into this place where the sea lapped at its stone streets, or they crossed miles

of desert to meet others and sell their wares, and that's the role it still plays today. and even the camels have stuck around! this place is as traditional as it gets in qatar. in a conservative and somewhat male—dominated society, chef shams al-qassabi is a trailblazer. shams is the souq waqif�*s first ever businesswoman and she made her mark by opening her restaurant, shay al—shoomos, selling authentic qatari cuisine.

you can taste the lemon. mmm. mmm! spicy! mmm! wow! strong! it has a tang. oh, i like this! oh, if you're giving me some more, i will have some more! thank you. the taste is so distinctive. herfood is pretty tasty, but don'tjust take my word for it — the walls of her restaurant are a who's who not

just of qatari culture but international supermodels... just here. gisele, the supermodel. yes! ..hollywood stars... this is my qatari mother. she is saying that this is my qatari mother. wow. ..and football legends. david beckham. this is number one! very good. he very, very nice. very good, yes. and friendly. is he handsome? gentleman. you would think he's handsome? nice! his manners. yes, this is very... she is like, "why are you asking about this?" i'm very shallow! i'm like this. i just care about looks! the world cup stadia are a perfect example of where old meets new, from designs inspired by boats from qatar's pearl fishing days to a whole stadium made to look

like a giant traditional headdress. and the opening match of the competition will be played here, at the 60,000—seater al bayt stadium. this is the perspective the players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. perfect, pristine conditions. it is inspired by the bedouin tent and like in the past, i mean, like, this is, i mean, usually the people who are living in the desert, when they welcome their guest, you can see, i mean, they would host them, they would have, like, the bonfire and, you know, welcome them and for us, i mean, like, choosing it to be the opening of the world cup, it has this symbolic, because this is where the arab usually would be welcoming their guest. the stadium has almost everything a fan or player could hope for.

temperatures may be cooler when things kick off here in november, but in case it gets a bit too hot, there's air conditioning, notjust in the stands, but on the pitch itself. meaning that the temperature on the pitch will be a very comfortable 19—21 degrees. one of the first things the players will see when they arrive here is this mural. look closely and you'll see it is made up of faces of workers who helped to build this stadium. qatari nationals make up less than 15% of the country's population, so the economy relies heavily on workers from abroad. and one dark cloud hanging over the build—up to this event has been press reports about the deaths of migrant workers involved in the construction of the world cup sites. and although the qatari authorities strongly dispute the figures, they say that the world cup has been a catalyst to push through reforms. looking at a young country, and even when you want to

change policy and procedures, and even when you put the policy and procedures, the implementation of it, it's a journey and you can see like there is progress happening when it comes to their accommodation, to their wage — protection of their wages, as well as, like, i mean now, i mean with the abolishing of the kafala law, people can actually change jobs and we have introduced like a new minimum wage in the country, so there has been progress. always actually take constructive criticism on board. there is more room to actually progress, but i mean, like, i do believe this is — will be one of the biggest social legacies of the world cup. they're expecting over a million fans to attend this year's world cup, but some people ask will everybody be welcome? for us, i mean, like, everyone is welcome and what we actually ask people is to respect our culture and our tradition. i mean, public displays of affection, whether it is heterosexual or it was —

or homosexual, it's something people frown upon here in qatar, so what we will ask people going to come and enjoy the game but at the same time, actually respect the local custom and tradition of the country. last year's arab cup proved that qatar knew how to host a major sporting event, but what about the fans who like to cheer on their team with a drink in hand? first, i mean, alcohol is not a part of our culture, but hospitality is. alcohol is available in a licensed hotel and during the tournament, there will be a designated area where people can — who would want to actually consume alcohol — can actually watch a football match and have a drink. away from the news reports is a whole nation of people waiting in anticipation to see what will happen when the biggest football tournament on earth arrives on qatar's

shores later this year. and i, for one, want to know what it means to those who call this country home.

. this is an area of low pressure crossing us right now. it is very

wet out there and very unpleasant. it is exactly what we have been forecasting. not raining everywhere. in the north of scotland, generally dry and we have not seen that much rain fall so dry and we have not seen that much rainfall so far dry and we have not seen that much rain fall so far across parts of east anglia and the south—east but the rain is heading towards the south—east now. you can see this band of rain as it wraps around into the centre of this area of low pressure, which is slowly drifting out into the north sea. by the early hours of monday morning, the bulk of the rain has gone and we are left with showers and simply a spouse. it could be a little on the chilly side. here is the focus will tomorrow. from the arrows, you will notice some wintry showers across the scottish hills. the best of the weather out towards the west and the

south. tuesday, some wintry this across parts of scotland. i think through the bulk of the day, most of the rain falling across wales and southern parts of england. temperatures in double figures in the south. a little bit colder in the south. a little bit colder in the north. but behind me, this is when thejet the north. but behind me, this is when the jet stream really will start spawning nasty areas of low pressure which will come our way and we are calling it stormy because the gales really will be quite severe once they reach as from midweek onwards. the met office has already issued earlier warnings for the northern half of the uk. this is a low pressure that will sweep across the country during wednesday for topic could bring 90 miles for our winds to some areas. on friday, the next storm could potentially impact as. stating to the weather forecast this week. the weather could change dramatically from one day to

another. but having said that, it could then be really quite mild. up to 15 degrees midweek. some good news on the horizon.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a russian invasion of ukraine is highly likely. that's the assessment of the defence secretary ben wallace — comparing some western diplomatic efforts to the appeasement of nazi germany. but the ukrainian ambassador to the uk said it wasn't the best time to offend partners. you can't trust a word of russians, but at the same time, we have to work with them. there is diplomacy. so, we don't trust, but we have to find where we can actually work together to understand how the situation can be defused. the us evacuates most of its embassy staff in kyiv as it expects that a russian military incusion could come any day. war can take an unpredictable path and if russia does act in the way that we fear it will it will bring

tremendous hardship and greater insecurity into the heart of europe. thirteen people are injured after a mezzanine floor collapses