this is bbc news — the headlines. sources close to the russian billionaire — roman abramovich — say he suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning at peace talks earlier this month — though ukrainian officials have urged people not to trust unverified information. mr abramovich reportedly suffered sore eyes and skin inflammation. he has now recovered. peace talks are expected to resume on tuesday in turkey. ukraine's president zelensky has made an offer to russia — he said his country could adopt the status of neutrality if that would help end the war — though it would have to be agreed in a referendum. the hollywood star — will smith — has apologised to the comedian — chris rock —

for slapping him during the oscar ceremony on sunday. writing on instagram he described his behaviour as unacceptable and inexcusable — saying he'd reacted emotionally to a joke about his wife's medical condition. a federaljudge in the united states has ruled that donald trump must hand over key documents to the committee investigating the january the sixth riots at the us capitol. mr trump's lawyer, john eastman, is accused of helping him to develop a strategy to pressure the former vice president, mike pence, into overturning joe biden�*s victory. our north america correspondent, anthony zurcher, has more. the federaljudge was looking at e—mails thatjohn eastman, who's a law professor in california, was sending to donald trump. and the january 6 investigatory committee in congress wanted to get its hands on these e—mails, to see what eastman was saying about ways to

challenge the election results. eastman said he didn't want to share them. he was citing attorney—client privilege, which usually protects communications between an attorney and his client. but that protection doesn't hold up if the discussions are in furtherance of a crime, and what the judge looked at here was at one e—mail in particular. he said that that attorney—client privilege is punctured because it was in furtherance of a crime and it was more likely than not that, in this instance, donald trump and eastman were conspiring to commit a crime, a violation of federal law in challenging the election results. so that was the specific finding here. it's not going to lead donald trump to be indicted necessarily, but it is a judge who is looking at the evidence

and saying, "you know, there's a chance that donald trump committed a crime." now on bbc news: it's time for the travel show. coming up on this week's show:. on thin ice in the alps. if we see something, it's not as we wish, then we either shorten the race or we cancel the races. the best kid for a covid—free break. admittedly, i do feel a bit silly doing this, but i know how effective uvc light is, so i'd like to think it's working. and eating our way around azerbaijan. that is so creamy. it's really delicious.

we're starting this week 1800 metres above sea level, in the shadow of an alpine valley. this is st moritz, in the swiss alps — it's the place, so they say, where the concept of the winter holiday was born. it also occupies a unique place in sporting history — it's where the bobsleigh was created. but skijoring is an even stranger sporting event than that. the race is a wild mix of horses, skiing, all done over this frozen lake. the white turf event has happened every year since 1907, pausing only for covid in 2021. it sees three days of racing on ice, with the skijoring

event as its climax. 10,000 people have turned up to see it, but this year there were question marks hanging over its comeback year. races at the first weekend had to be shortened after water came through what's normally reliably thick ice. 0rganisers say they were forced to impose limits on the weight of some of the attractions. the drilling of the holes, that's the very traditional way to check the track. because you drill through the snow to the very compact snow until you get to the ice and then you see whether there is some water somewhere. the water comes from fissures in the lake, and then some water can come up. in the morning, there's shadow, so it's really cold, sun comes up — it can change very quickly. and if we see something is not

as we wish then we either shorten the race or we cancel the races. it's always those weather changes which make the ice work. so we had some water around the winning post, so we had to take the winning post a little further back, and we only had 800m. they did some measurements to see the level when the crowd comes on sunday, and i think it's about half a metre that it all goes down. 0k. people have expectations. it's not a normal race course. on any other race course, if it's raining and it's very wet, then you can say "it's going to be wet on sunday" or "we'll cancel the races". here, it can look perfect and then on sunday morning, i have to say "i'm sorry, security goes first, we cannot do the races". horses come from germany, they come from england, they come from france.

thoroughbreds are brought here from all over europe and fitted with specially adapted race shoes made with added grooves to grip the snow and ice. i want to please the expectations of the people, which is not always easy. but safety comes first, right? safety comes first. i mean, i have my own horses, i'm very much into animal welfare. and safety of the horses and for the jockeys as well, it's just not negotiable. yes. luckily, they were able to run a full schedule, allowing the crowds to see races all afternoon in the below—freezing temperatures. before the main event, the skijoring, i caught up with valeria, who's been crowned overall winner here twice in past years. before the first race, i always said "wow, why i'm doing that", and after the race, i say "yeah, i know why".

in 2009, i was the first woman to do skijoring. it was really special, because everyone was looking on me. "can she do it?" "is she strong enough?" "is she not scared?" and everything. but it was really nice because i had directly a third place in my first race. can you control the horse with the reins, and how different is it for the horse? we definitely can control them — we have to control them, because if there is something next to you, you have to go left, or you have to go right, you have to stop the horse, if something happened. after the starting sound they normally say "ok,

where is my boss, oh, ok, it's six metres behind me" and they sometimes really looking for you and try to connect you with — with the reins. and some horses, they love to do it, they say "wow, there is nobody on it, i go". so the big race is coming up and i've placed a small bet on valeria, so watch out

for the lady in pink. she's not the favourite, but fingers crossed. (cheering). at one point, valeria was in the lead and looking good. (cheering). come on, come on! go, go! for the riders, the sheer amount of snow and ice kicked up by the horses�* grooves mean face protection is pretty important. but the final lap, you could see the horses beginning to tire, and she was desperately trying to hang on. so our rider came forth, unfortunately, but it did look like a really tough race. they came around three times and gosh, these horses were going so fast — it was really thrilling.

switzerland's some of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, especially in spring, when you can see greenery re—emerge on the alpine hillsides. the bernina express is among the steepest railways to operate without gears or aids and the stretch from thusis to tirano is on the unesco world heritage list for outstanding designs of its tunnels, viaducts, and bridges. the trummelbach falls reopen for summer this month, and they're well worth a look. they carry the mouthwaters from thejungfrau mountain down to the valley below. 20,000 litres pour over the edge every second, along with tons of boulders, the force of which causes the entire mountainside to shudder. switzerland's known for being quite pricey, but has an excellent network of youth hostels if you're on a budget.

there's around 50 dotted around the country, and there's plenty of variety — from one in castles and stately homes to something a bit more modern and urban. expect to pay an average of around 90 euros a night for a double room. and finally, your lunch could help fund dinner for someone who really needs it. the recently reopened refettorio geneva calls itself a "solidarity kitchen". go along for a 30 euro three—course lunch and they'll reinvest that money on feeding some of the poorest in geneva. the philosophy is that social good can still be delivered in a fine dining setting. still to come on this week's show, lucy's here to roadtest the kit that aims to keep you covid—free on your travels. in fact, it's not really that different to any mask i've been wearing in the past

couple of years. the difference is this is loaded with tech and connects to an app. and kate hardy buckley takes her tastebuds on a tour of azerbaijan. so juicy and tart. it's going all over the place. so don't go away. in recent years, travelling has taken on a whole new dimension. since covid emerged, we've all been forced to think about the health of us and of those around us more than ever before. some travel health paraphernalia that we've come to know during covid may be here for good and as always, tech is here with a helping hand. so let's start with this. depending on where you're travelling to, masks still might be needed — and even if not, this thing is future—proofed. the airpop active+ smartmask uses disposable filters for you to swap out once you've been using it for too long, housed in a design that

stands out from the crowd. so, after seeing many, many pictures of this thing, i am pleasantly surprised byjust how lightweight and comfortable it is, it's unobtrusive — in fact, it's not really that different to any mask that i've been wearing over the past couple of years. the only difference being that this is loaded with tech and it connects to an app. the clever tech in here will actually monitor how long you've used it for and even the number of breaths you've taken. it sends the data to an app on your phone and, using your location data, tells you just how much harmful pollution that it's been filtering out, wherever you are in the world. with covid fears lingering, something that's designed to filter out airborne nasties can provide real peace of mind. plus, i think it's really useful that something like this takes things a step further to tell you what you could be putting into your lungs, wherever it is in the world that you're travelling to.

now, one thing to be aware of, though, is that the accuracy of information depends on how close you are to an air pollution monitor — plus, it's not the cheapest of masks, if you're thinking of having something to just fling into your back pocket. but, saying that, this is far from your bog standard mask. next up, it's the cleanpod uvc sterilizer from monos. in a gadget small enough to toss in your hand luggage, this thing mightjust help to put people who are worried about what they're touching at ease. with a push of a button, a high—energy beam of ultraviolet c light comes out from the leds, which the makers say effectively sanitises surfaces without the use of chemicals. to zap the nasties, you position the wand about three centimetres above what you want sanitised. admittedly, i do feel a little bit silly doing this, but i know how effective uvc light is, so i'd like to think it's working. uvc works by scrambling bacteria's genetic code so they can no longer function. so, i guess the real burning question here is does something like this provide more peace of mind than, say, a disposable wipe that's more tangible and actually makes you feel like you're cleaning something? of course, i think it

depends on the user, but this really is a nifty way to sanitises surfaces and objects without chemicals or liquid. it's fantastic for door handles, keyboards, telephones, toilet seats — basically anything you can wave this thing over. now to world of the apps, which have come to the aid of the travellers during the pandemic who need somewhere to put their covid vaccine certificates. but with so many around now, which ones should you consider using? the problem that these apps are trying to solve is that there's no common way to upload certification to airlines. and some airlines have decided to trial the iata travel pass. you upload the certification for your tests, vaccines and so on to it and that's then transmitted to the airline. it's still basically in trial form at this stage, but it's really promising. so, having it in one centralised system, which you would hold on your phone like any other app, would be sensible. i think this will become a part of — a part of travel life, in the way that perhaps, ten or 15 years ago, it would have been completely unthinkable that we all use mobile check—in, right? and show boarding passes on our phones or watches,

and a computer in your phone that's powerful enough to do so, it's a fairly new innovation. as with so much else in aviation, covid has proven a real accelerator here. last but not least, i have i have the thermo smart temporal thermometer from withings. so, once you switch this on, it measures your temperature using your temporal artery which runs across your forehead to your temple. it's all over very quickly, in around two seconds, and it vibrates to let you know it's done. there's my temperature. i then scroll to my profile — lucy, that's me. click the button and it tells me i'm fever—free because it's green — something i'm sure my cameraman is very pleased to hear — and pressing that button also means it syncs your data to a dedicated app on your smartphone.

this is no ordinary thermometer — it uses 16 infrared sensors to take 4,000 measurements in just a couple of seconds. and maybe best of all, there's no contact involved. so what you're looking at here is a really non—invasive way to record your temperature. it's personalised and i think it's a really nice touch that you're able to keep touch of your fever over time. the fact that you can store up to eight user profiles as well makes it ideal for families or when travelling with a big group, for example. and, yes, it's pricey. it's a little costlier than traditional thermometers or non—connected thermometers, but during these covid times, being able to keep tabs on your temperature will certainly make you feel a lot better when travelling. finally, this week, we're back on the road with kate hardie—buckley as she tours the markets, farms kitchens and restaurants of some of the world's most exciting cities. this week, she's in azerbaijan. they call this country the land of fire, thanks to its huge oil

and gas reserves. but this fiery place is also known for its hospitality. people here show their love through their food. and while baku is renowned for its luxurious products, such as caviar, chef ehtiram farzalibayov has built his reputation showcasing wholesome, hearty dishes. welcome to baku. thank you. thank you so much. this is a beautiful view. what are the ingredients you would like me to get you? 0k. caviar? yes, yes! oh, my goodness!

wow. 0k. my culinary adventure begins south of baku at a sustainable caviar fish farm, located in the historical sturgeon spawning area between the karuah river and the caspian sea. there's thousands of them! the earliest chance to get the caviar is three years but, for example, beluga, it matures for 12—15 years... wow! ..before it's ready to bring the caviar. there has been a worldwide ban on wild sturgeon caviar since 2006, so the caviar you can buy comes from places like here. rufat tells me baku caviar is on a mission to replenish the fish stock in the caspian sea. for every jar that you purchase, we will release 10 fishes into the wild. they keep bobbing up and down. they are kids and

they want to play. laughs. he was particularly friendly! rufat shows me the fish they're processing today for the caviar and the fish meat. this is a blond beluga and it's very valuable caviar that they will produce. so the caviar has just been extracted from the sturgeon and here, the caviar master, they're responsible for panning it to make sure that what you're left with here is the beautiful caviar. that is so creamy! it's kind of a nutty taste. it's really delicious! i travel to the greater caucasus mountains, north of baku, to a pomegranate orchard as pickers harvest the fruit to turn into wine. we are locating between two mountains chains and the soil is super fertile, and that gives the richness and the uniqueness to the pomegranate. we start harvesting late autumn, like first week of october, and it lasts

beginning of the december. mmm. so juicy and tart. it's going all over the place. it's a delicious but a messy fruit! every delicious thing is messy. chuckles. that's very true! az—granata is a leading producer of pomegranate wine, created using a similar process as wine from grapes, with sugars, fermentation and barrelling. before returning to baku, i stop to pick up what people often call red gold — saffron. the expensive part of the saffron is this,

three stigmas. we get one kilogram saffron from 117,000 flowers. the absheron peninsula is perfect for the very best saffron, thanks to its sandy soil. it's been hand—picked here for over 1,000 years. there is 300 types of saffron, but the most beneficial and most expensive is this. in fact, absheron saffron is said to be the fourth most expensive ingredient in the world. it only flowers 25 days a year. i'm now all set for chef ehtiram. hello! laughs. so, we're are now adding two chestnuts and the saffron. piti was traditionally a worker's dish, as one serving provides enough nourishment for the day.

accompanied by our pomegranate wine. you think it's going to be very sweet but it's actually like a grape wine — it's very smooth, gentle taste. there's actually two stages to the piti — there's a lovely soup, which we'll eat with bread, and then, there's the mashed—up contents of the stew. mmm. bravo! kate hardie—buckley, getting a taste of some delicious, hearty food in azerbaijan — which i could do with right now, standing out here in the cold! anyway, that's it for this week. coming up next week — christa is looking over some of our best bits from the past few months, from her emotional trip home to australia as borders began to open. to lucy's sizzling encounter with a full english breakfast. this is a lot of food!

i'm gonna try my hardest. and you can follow more of our recent adventures on the bbc iplayer. and don't forget, we're on social media, too. you can find us on facebook and instagram. just search bbc travel show and look for that blue logo. so it's auf wiedersehen from the swiss alps, and i'll see you next time. hello. there is a change on the way, and for some, it will come as a shock to the system, especially in those parts of the uk where temperatures on monday afternoon got up to 18 degrees, especially across some western areas. up to the north, in shetland, just 6 degrees, and that colder air will be sweeping southwards

over the next few days. it will turn cold enough for some of us to see some snow. now, tuesday morning starting off with a lot of cloud, some mist and fog in places, rain for a time across southern counties of england. in fact, some showery rain will continue here through the day. rain with some sleet and snow mixing in in northern scotland. elsewhere, some brighter skies developing, a scattering of showers, although eastern counties are likely to stay quite cloudy. for most, temperatures will be between nine and 1a degrees, but in northern scotland, just four to 7 degrees, the colder air starting to make a little more progress southwards. the cold air tucking behind this band of cloud, rain, sleet and snow, which will continue to journey southwards as we go through tuesday night and into wednesday. behind that, the temperatures really dropping away, with a frost into wednesday morning. ahead of our weather front, still relatively mild to start the day. 0ur weather front will be making some more progress southwards during wednesday, some rain along it, yes, but also some sleet and some snow. now, much of the snow along the weather front will initially be falling over the hills, but we could see some getting down to low levels, say, across parts of northern england. and behind that, a mix of sunny spells and wintry showers following on behind — in fact, mainly snow showers

across northern scotland. temperatures across the north of the uk just five to 8 degrees. and that weather front ushering in the colder air continues to journey southwards during wednesday night into thursday. there could be a covering of snow, even down towards the south, especially over the hills, but possibly at low levels. we'll have to keep an eye on that. sunny spells and wintry showers into thursday, a brisk north or northeasterly wind, so it is going to feel cold. temperatures, at best, between five and ten degrees. so, the days rather chilly as we head through the rest of the week. there will be some showers of rain, sleet and snow, some sunny spells as well. but i mentioned the chilly days. there will be some cold nights as well, with a widespread frost developing in many areas from midweek onwards.

this is bbc news, i'm david eades. our top stories. was the russian billionaire roman abramovich poisoned as he attended russian—ukrainian peace talks earlier this month? as russia continues to hit targets across the country, a new round of face—to—face negotiations are due to take place on tuesday in turkey after a gap of two weeks. will smith says sorry to chris rock for slapping him at the oscars — he admits his behaviour was unacceptable and inexcusable. and lockdown shanghai—style — as the authorities there try to stamp out a worsening covid outbreak.