this is bbc news. the headlines: tens of thousands of military personnel have been deployed in the sri lankan capital colombo as the government struggles to contain protests against the spiralling cost of living. security forces have been given the right to shoot anyone suspected of looting or posing a risk to life. china has been urged to change its zero—covid strategy by the world health organization. the head of the un agency said efforts to eliminate the virus were unsustainable. many cities in china have faced lockdown restrictions as the country suffers its worst covid outbreak since the pandemic began. russia has targeted the black sea port of odesa, using what the ukrainians say were hypersonic missiles. one person is reported

to have died. it comes as the un has estimated the number of civilians killed in the conflict far exceeds the officialfigure of around 3000. tuesday's state opening of parliament marked the first time since 1963 that the queen didn't attend. her majesty had authorised the prince of wales and the duke of cambridge to open the new parliamentary session. prince charles delivered the speech on the queen's behalf after buckingham palace explained that her majesty was suffering from episodic mobility problems. 0ur royal correspondent nicholas witchell examines the significance of the events. he's been waiting for his destiny for longer than any other heir to the british throne. and, while no—one is suggesting that a major change is imminent, the inescapable fact is that a transition is under way. and this, today, was the most

tangible sign of it. as prince charles took his place on the consort�*s throne, the imperial state crown, the symbol of the monarch's authority, was placed on a table beside him. the prince studied it closely, and then, with lords and commons assembled, a prince who has never been short of his own opinions took on the discipline required of a monarch. reading out the words written by the government. the continued success and integrity of the whole of the united kingdom is of paramount importance to her majesty's government. it was this, the regency act of 1937, that the palace used to delegate the power to open parliament. yet nobody is suggesting a permanent transfer of the monarch's powers. the queen is still busy with her paper work and virtual audiences. changes are happening, but they are gradual. for the queen, it has always been very important to carry out all her public duties in public whenever she can. she's famously said "to be seen is to be believed,"

and she believes the monarchy must be seen, but in future it is likely what we will see is other members of the royal family carrying out royal duties on her behalf. for seven decades, britain has had a highly visible head of state. those days are over, realities are having to be faced, the burden is shifting. nicholas witchell, bbc news. now on bbc news — the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show... making ancient greece more accessible. i mean, this is an extra part of the trip. this is a part that only we get. we meet the woman who helped the famous stray cats of athens survive through the pandemic. ps—ps—ps. she's so cute. and we're off to spain for a taste of the sun.

oh, my god. that crushing sound. and back. wow! look at that. history and accessibility can sometimes feel like they're at odds with each other. i love a historical site as much as the next person, but with narrow walkways, flights of stone steps and worn—away surfaces, a visit can feel like a herculean task.

it's a bit of a mission. i'm making my way up to the acropolis — which in greek means high city — which doesn't look nor sound very wheelchair—friendly. so before covid, it was a proper mission to get up to the acropolis if you had any sort of mobility issues. basically, you had a 15—minute hike up a load of steep stairs and loads of steep ramps before you came to any sort of accessible pathway. but since then, things have changed. the acropolis is greece's number—one tourist attraction and, pre—pandemic, over3.5 million people climbed to the top each year. one good thing to come out of the lockdowns was there was finally the time and the space to make the site more accessible to those with mobility issues.

just seen a sign for a disabled entrance, i think. yeah. know what? it's still a mission to get up here. i can see why the ancient greeks were so fit. you have to be a god to get up this ramp. let's do it! which way am i going? this way? thank you. remember when i said it was a is—minute hike up some stairs to get to the acropolis? those are the stairs i'm talking about. wow! i'd never make it up there. hello. but help is at hand. all i have to do is catch my breath and admire the scenery as i wait for the brand—new lift, built to comfortably accommodate two wheelchairs at a time. but not everyone sees it as an improvement — with some critics calling it a modernist eyesore. well, i think it beats climbing flights of steps any day

of the week. this is all right. look at this view. this isjust... i mean, this is an extra part of the trip. this is a part that only we get. all the other good old—fashioned two—leggers have to go up the stairs! and this is what i'm talking about. after just a0 seconds in the lift, and using the acropolis�* new accessible paths, i get to experience all of this. the acropolis has a long history, and over its time it's been used as a fortress, a mosque, and it's even been blown up. but its headliner has got to be the parthenon — a temple dedicated to the ancient greek goddess athena, who gave the city of athens its name.

wow! i have never been so happy to see concrete. that is amazing. i've actually been here before, and the last time i was here this was all rough and gravelly and really hard to push along. but now i get to experience the acropolis, and i get this wonderful view of the parthenon. this is brilliant. i want to take these concrete slabs home! but improvement is not a word some would use when describing the work carried out at the site. not everyone is happy with the renovations that have gone on here at the acropolis. now, some people have complained about the concrete slabs being laid down, saying that it's hiding the original features of the acropolis, and even wounding the stone here. but i've been told that these slabs can be raised, and you'll still have the original features, and actually, look — this is some of the original stone, and it's smooth anyway.

rival historians claim the work carried out is a means to get more tourists to visit, and is disrespectful to the site's diverse past. i'm heading down to the acropolis museum to meet a man who knows a thing or two about ancient history, and he believes the ancient greeks themselves would have been ok with this upgrade. ancient greek civilisation, culture is an anthropocentric culture. that means they created their gods in the image of themselves. zeus, hera, aphrodite, and so on. and between them they had hephaestus, a very hard—working metal smith, and very powerful god. and he was lame.

wow! that's incredible. disabled gods, or gods with disabilities. i'm learning so many new things. this is amazing. and i'm also told that accessibility at the acropolis is not a new thing. even in the archaic period — that means 6th century bc — there were ramps leading up to the temple of athena. not the parthenon, because the parthenon didn't exist until the 5th century. but even earlier, there is evidence for this ramp, as well. and many times it has been interpreted that it was for the animals to be sacrificed. but it is not only that — it is also for all the people, helping disabled people and older people or pregnant women and so on, so that they

have a good and easy accessibility towards the temple of the goddess. and the conversation has got quite heated. you know, people have said that it's the disneyfication of the monuments here. it's wounding the rock. it's barbaric. yeah. what are your thoughts on that? come on. these are politics, and politics... it is actually, democratically speaking, different options of different people. you cannot look with my eyes and i cannot look with yours. there are plans in place to make the site even more accessible, with the installation of further paths. i, for one, think this attraction is setting a good example to historic monuments

throughout the world. and i'm really happy that i get to experience the acropolis now. well, if you're planning on visiting athens any time soon, here's a rundown of things to maybe look out for. you might find yourself paying through the nose to get onto one of athens�* many beaches. entry fees can push up into the hundreds of euros at somewhere like astir beach during peak season. vouliagmeni lake is a good alternative. it has sunbeds, hot springs and limestone caves for about 15 euros each. athens�* open—air amphitheatres are a really special place to go and see a concert or play. patti smith and diana krall are both appearing this summer at the 0deon herodes atticus

at the foot of the acropolis. if you�*re a fan of the classics, plays by aeschylus, sophocles and euripides are on at the ancient theatre of epidaurus, with full english subtitles. i think i�*ll need �*em! many visitors pass through the vast and ancient piraeus port on their way to the greek islands. while you�*re there, check out the old workshops and warehouses in surrounding streets. in recent times, the buildings have become a hub for contemporary art galleries. a brand—new metro line can whisk you there from central athens in around 50 minutes. and athens is known for its open—air cinemas. throughoutjune, july and august, you can catch classic films and new releases in some beautiful outdoor spots. the screenings take place under starry skies in the city�*s squares, museums and parks, and some are totally

free of charge. right, stay with us, because still to come on the programme... ps—ps—ps. she�*s so cute! i meet the woman who helped hundreds of her four—legged friends survive the pandemic here in athens. and kate is off to malaga in spain, to take on another culinary challenge. and take another one. the olive oil is going to be totally different. they look identical to me. yeah, but, you know, i promise, it�*s going to be a totally different taste. so don�*t go away. these are just some of the cats of athens. if you�*ve ever visited greece, then there�*s a good chance

a feline friend has made a cameo appearance in your trip outside a taverna or at an ancient ruin. these guys are everywhere. ps—ps—ps. she�*s so cute! i�*m meeting sam beaker, a volunteer at athens—based cat charity nine lives. we are a team, nine lives, and we feed every day here in acropolis and in many other places around the centre of athens. wow. i mean, that�*s a big job. there are many, many cats in athens. yes. we feed around over 500 cats around the centre. the team at nine lives definitely have their work cut out. so i�*ve decided to help sam beaker with the dinner—time shift and get some grub out to these furry athenians. they are always together. these two? yes. best friends.

how did the pandemic affect the work that you were doing, and also the welfare of the cats? well, suddenly, because the town was empty, you could see... ..so many, many cats, revealed a lot of cats we didn�*t know that there were around and we had to feed more because probably some of them were eating around tavernas who were not any more open. hello, diego. this is diego. you recognised because of the eye? yeah, he lost his eye... ..er, recently. hello, baby. baby, come here. this isn�*tjust about keeping these cats�* bellies full. feeding them breeds trust and allows nine lives volunteers to carry out important health checks. it�*s not so, so much

food for them. town is not the physical environment for the animals. they don�*t have enough food and they wouldn�*t be so healthy. they would be a little bit skinny, sick, and if we didn�*t sterilise them, there would be thousands. yeah. so they would die. yeah. they wouldn�*t survive. no tourists meant no tavernas. and if it wasn�*t for volunteers, these guys would have gone hungry. mewing. but as athens opens up again, should we all be sharing our meals with the local cats? 0k, they can give them a treat, as, er, as far is not problem for the owner.

i do it also when i eat in a tavern! she chuckles. animals mustn�*t eat, actually, ourfood. and sometimes it can be dangerous for them because usually they give the bones of the fish. i always carry now with me cat food so i don�*t have to take from my plate and give to the animals if i am outside. i have something always. right, next time i�*m in athens, i�*ll be packing cat biscuits for sure! well, to finish up this week, we�*re leaving the cat food behind and heading off to spain, where kate hardy buckley is on the lookout for something far more enticing to add to her menu. i�*m in malaga, a sun—kissed port city in southern spain.

now, every summer, i normally pass straight through here to another town further along the costa del sol. but this time i�*m sticking around. with its fertile soil, the sea air, and over 300 days of sunshine a year, this region is perfect forfinding the best produce. jose carlos garcia is one of malaga�*s finest ambassadors of gastronomy. he suggested we meet at the mercado central to explore some local produce that inspired his michelin—starred restaurant. what are we going to cook together?

before i leave the market, i pick up the almonds for our ajo blanco soup. first up, i visit finca la torre — producers of one of the world�*s most premium extra virgin olive oils. these are like 100—year—old trees. ja, ja. wow. even more. wow. victor perez tends to his 3a,000 olive trees with such care, his olive oil receives the perfect score at competitions. we take, you know, one olive, and take another one. the olive oil is going to be totally different. they look identical! yeah, but, you know, i promise it�*s going to be total different taste. in a few weeks, they will

become a little bit yellow and they will be more tender. it�*s the signal that the olive oil content, it is full now. that means harvest time, and victor prioritises quality, not quantity. from this tree, we will get around 30, a0 kilos. so that�*s only three or four bottles. it is, yeah, three or four bottles. from the moment the olive leaves the tree to the bottle, how long does that take? the whole process, it takes around two hours. two hours?! since we have to be really, really, really, really fast. there�*s no other way. this estate dates back to roman times, and today we�*re pressing the olives the old—fashioned way. oh, my god. that crushing sound! and back? yeah. wow. look at that! unlike wine, which often improves with age, olive oil is best fresh. it�*s delicious. i�*m going to go back to london now and start drinking olive oil in a wine glass! they chuckle.

i�*ve also got to bring chef jose carlos something from the sea. and i�*m just in time for the fishermen coming in from their night trawl. i�*ve seen sardines, i�*ve seen anchovies, boquerones. it doesn�*t get much fresher than this. this is absolutely amazing. the noise, the pace, all the chatter. literally, yourfish is off the boat, into auction, and in a matter of hours onto a plate. i pick up some sardines — a fish synonymous with this city. last on my list is the pitaya — the dragonfruit. it�*s beautiful. this cactus fruit, often associated with southeast asia, originates from southern mexico. its production in spain has grown exponentially in the last few years.

and now tojose carlos garcia�*s michelin—starred restaurant at the marina. the easy stuff for me, the difficult stuff for you. 0k! we grind the almonds to create the base of ajo blanco soup. it�*s totally changed colour. it�*s a magnificent, creamy white. jose carlos takes the freshest ingredients and turns them into something beautiful.

wow. she sighs dreamily. oh, my god! it�*s beautiful. mm! so fresh. the crunch of the fruit and then the sweet sliminess of the sardine — absolutely fenomenal! well, that�*s your lot for this week. just before we go, a quick word about next week. wow! there�*s so many mummies here, vivian. carmen�*s back in chile —

where this time she comes face—to—face with the ancient civilisation that�*s been given new unesco recognition for humanity�*s oldest examples of mummification. oh, wow! it�*s quite small. what can you tell me about this mummy? so make sure you catch that if you can, and also check us out on social media. but for now, from me, ade adepitan, and the rest of the travel show team here in athens — where it�*s so good to finally be out on the road again together with you guys — it�*s goodbye, and see you next time.

hello there. tuesday was a day of sunshine and showers — most of those showers were across scotland and northern ireland. and there was quite a lot of rainfall across parts of western scotland at times — some of these showers quite heavy, even some rumbles of thunder, too. for the next few days, it�*s going to remain breezy, rather unsettled, low pressure nearby, and we�*ll see showers or even longer spells of rain. now for wednesday, this feature could bring some significant rainfall to parts of england and wales throughout the day. now some of that rain really will be quite heavy across parts of wales, south—west england through wednesday morning. and then, that rain will push in towards the midlands, parts of eastern england into the afternoon — i think the northern extent of it being around the greater manchester area, not further north than that. but as this rain band begins to move south—eastwards into east anglia in the southeast, it will begin to fragment. again another windy day to come, particularly

across southern britain with that rain band. quite gusty as well across the northwest of scotland, where we�*ll see sunshine and showers. and temperatures will range from around 14—17 celsius. pollen levels on wednesday, again, will be rather high, but maybe not quite as high across england and wales as we�*ll have that rain band. now, that rain will clear away from the south—east as we move through wednesday night, then skies will clear. winds will turn a little bit lighter, as well, but there�*ll be further showers across the north and the west of scotland in particular. now, with the clearer skies, a slightly cooler air mass — it�*ll be a fresher night to come for wednesday night, with temperatures down into single figures for most. the pressure chart for thursday, then, shows more weatherfronts affecting northern parts of the uk — so again, it�*ll be quite breezy and showery here, a little bit drierfurther south. so, best of the sunshine for england and wales throughout thursday. after that fairly fresh start, temperatures will begin to rise. more cloud, though, for northern england, northern ireland, and scotland — there�*s the north—west of scotland, which will see most of the showers and also the strongest of the winds. after that cool start,

temperatures will reach highs of 14—18 or 19 degrees across the south. for friday, again, weather fronts bring more showers and blustery conditions across the north of the uk, but as we head into the weekend, this area of high pressure begins to build in. it turns sunnier and warmer, but we could see potential of some thundery showers across southern areas, especially on sunday. so, those temperatures will be building as we head on into the weekend, as that area of high pressure starts to establish itself. and there�*ll be increasing amounts of sunshine but also some heavy showers in the south.

welcome to bbc news. i�*m david eades. our top stories: "shoot on sight" — the orders for security forces in sri lanka amid violent protests calling for the president to step down. a warning for china — the world health organization says beijing must change course on covid. when we talk about a zero—covid strategy, we don�*t see it as sustainable, considering the behaviour of the virus now and what we anticipate in the future. we are in the city of 0desa as ukraine�*s strategic port struggles under the barrage of russian missile strikes. last night when we were here, it was difficult to see the full extent of the damage.

but this morning, you can —