this is bbc news. the headlines: president biden has confirmed that the united states will provide ukraine with more advanced rocket systems and munitions, something the ukrainians have long been requesting. meanwhile, a russian air strike has hit a chemical plant in the embattled city of severodonetsk in the east, releasing a cloud of dangerous gas. the prosecutor of the international criminal court karim khan, has described ukraine as a crime scene, and said the tribunal was carrying out its largest ever investigation there. he warned against sacrificing the rule of law, saying defending it was essential for peace and security throughout the world. the first funeral has taken place in the traumatised texas town of uvalde, a week after a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers

at an elementary school. the coffin of ten—year—old ameriejo garza was borne into the sacred heart catholic church, across the road from her school. a new study suggests there are stark differences in the number of qualified gps in different areas of england, with some having almost twice as many doctors per head as others. the government target was to increase the number of gps by 6,000 by 2024, as demand for their services rises, but data shows the number of gps is actually falling. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, has been to devon, one of england's best—served areas, and to hull, where the story is rather different. thank you. oh, you're welcome, you're welcome. it was just a bit of moral support, wasn't it, really? this is gp care as we don't often see it. when you used to ring, ijust felt i wasn't abandoned. 0h, bless you, bless you.

it is really hard to fit everything in. lorna supports her elderly patients as best she can, but devon has some of the longest waits for planned operations in england. so lovely to see you, since your surgery! nice to see you! joyce had to wait nearly three years for her hip replacement, and she was put on antidepressants and morphine. i couldn't speak to anybody without crying. yeah, it was really tough, wasn't it? it was a tough time, yeah. sorry! you got through it. as a gp, you feel a little bit helpless in a way, because all you can do is keep checking in, but you know the thing that they really need to get better is the surgery that they're waiting for. for lorna, watching her patients slowly deteriorate is difficult. i've seen you before about this tremor. social ca re�*s under pressure.

she tries to help the elderly who want to stay independent. very disabling at the moment. tom, who is now 90, has to do all the cooking. bye, pauline. i'll see myself out, all right? how do you manage to fit in home visits with all the other patients you need to see? yeah, it can be a challenge. there aren't enough hours in the day. i think they need to clone us. devon has one of the better patient—to—gp ratios, but there's still a heavy workload. we're all managing it in different ways. a lot of us are working part—time. a lot are retiring early. from devon to hull, it's a different story. patient continuity is harder to achieve. the number of gps relative to the population in hull is one of the lowest in england. i don't think that's anything to worry about... here they see as many patients as they can. that still leaves a lot of phone calls for matthew

and the other gps. i've had four cases come in the last four minutes. the list is still building. hi, there, it's dr fortnum again at the surgery... an area like hull has higher levels of socioeconomic need. you have this sort of perfect storm where we've got the most need but yet seem to have the least capacity to deal with it, so it creates inequity and it actually perpetuates it. but we're here to try and change that. around here? for lorna and matthew, devon and hull, local challenges may be different, but they and all gps face a rising workload and a struggle to meet the needs of their patients. hugh pym, bbc news. now on bbc news, it's the travel show. this week on the travel show, a resurrection in bavaria. i found the role of playing jesus to be very exhausting. you play it five times a week. i play half of the plays.

every day after the play, you are really exhausted because it is a very demanding day. 50 years of interrail. very relevant today in terms of the greenness and sustainability, and also that wonderful thing — slow travel. and, a night in the best house in belfast. not only am i staying in the same house, i'm actually going to be sleeping in the very room that he had as a child. this week, i'm in the capital city, belfast, recently the subject of a big feature film about the childhood of the actor, director kenneth branagh, but i am

here to find out more about another of the city's famous designs. you may guess who that is if you look at the statue behind me. first though, we're in germany to see an incredible, once—in—a—decade performance of a play staged by a whole village. in 163a, the people of 0berammergau recreated the suffering, death and resurrection of christ, in thanks for being spared from the plague. it is repeated every ten years, and did so until coronavirus forced its abandonment in 2020. well, it's back and we went to bavaria to see it on its opening weekend. everyone in the village comes together. the youngest will be on stage and the oldest at 96 years old.

everyone comes to the theatre, you get to know each other, the children grow into this tradition. it's a tradition that we have had almost 400 years, and that is something very special because it brings people together. if you are born here, or you stay here for years, you have a right to be a member of the play. i bring together. we're really all different groups. in the village, all people are together — a member of a church, even muslims, poor people, rich people, i bring together all people. 2500 costumes made and designed, all of the 2500| costumes are made here .

in our costume department, work two years on it. the fabrics are from all over the world. i we have lots of images to show from the old testament, - and so there is a lot _ of transformation of backstage we have to build. singing. our team of technicians are 40 people. - the passion play are very important for 0berammergau. we have about 5500 people living here, and about 1300 people are playing with working here, and make everything around the theatre. we play 110 days, and we have about a half—million people visiting 0berammergau

around this time. i play a singer in the choir for 40 days from this 110 days. it's hard for me as the mayor, because i have to really work much. my name is ursula burkart, i'm playing the part of claudia, the wife of pilate. i was three times mary, once mary magdalene. this is my home, i grew up with the passion play and it's important. it's a social meeting, it's important to be part of this. you are very early affected to this. i mean, which child has the possibility to be part of it this year on a huge stage? of course, the role ofjesus is really exhausting.

so we have over 100 plays, we play five times a week, and i play half of the plays. and every day after the play, you're really exhausted because it's a very demanding day. it's like a five—and—a—half hour play. you're 20 minutes on the cross, and you have a lot of text in the first part of the play. in the second part, it's more physically and it's, you know, it's very tough. my first remembrance to the passion play is when i was two years old. my father was a roman soldier at this time and he was riding on a horse, and i with my grandfather out in the passion play theatre. in 2000, i wasjudas. in 2010 i was caiaphas, and now this time i am pontius pilate.

for such a small village, it's a big effort to put such a big play on the stage, and everybody is working together and it's a very special experience for everybody who takes part in the play. you could not do this every year, but every ten, it's ok. i work in the hotel, so the advantage is if people in the theatre no about it in the hotel, so, i can go to the stage. what i like about the play because it's not something old, it's important in our world today. the message ofjesus is universal. to be good to the others, to help those who are outside of the community, or he talks about poverty, he talks about diseases, it talks about war. it points to the problems that we have today. i don't know if the role has changed me. i always try to be nice

to others, but i don't know if i'm a better person, but i try. you can catch the passion play all the way through to october. and, if bavaria is on for the coming months, bear some of these things in mind. oktoberfest is back after a two—year hiatus. the wiesn, as it's known locally, started as a simple wedding celebration for bavarian royalty in 1810. it's now a major folk festival, attracting millions of visitors from across the world, and sees over a million gallons of beer drunk each year. fancy putting on your lederhosen or dirndl? then make your way to munich any time between september 17 and october 3rd, later this year.

til the cows come home as an annual festival that promises to keep the party going...until the cows come home, literally. each september in the bavarian alps, cattle are brought down to the villages from their mountain meadows. this traditional event is called viehscheid. the cows are treated like celebrities on the way back home to their owners. the locals dress up in traditional costumes and celebrate the event with oom—pah music, beer and traditionalfood. some of the best views are the fairytale—esque neuschwanstein castle can be seen from the marienbrucke bridge, however, the bridge has been closed for over a year due to structural problems. but, good news is on the horizon as, this month, renovation works began and tourists can expect to check out the views again from this summer.

still to come on the travel show: simon's here celebrating 50 years of the european interrail pass. there was the added attraction of night trains, which provided somewhere for you to rest your head, if not necessarily sleep as the train clattered across europe. commentator: waiting i to receive was mighty best! and they say, "never meet your heroes," but what about sleeping in their bed? i am in belfast for a trip that ten—year—old mejust wouldn't have believed. i wonder what he would have made of this? so, don't go away. from the arctic to the mediterranean, from the far

west of ireland to the far east of turkey, for half a century, interrail has unlocked europe for millions of rail travellers. in 1972, widespread international travel was beyond the reach of the average european. the budget airlines were decades away. then, the international union of railways decided to celebrate its 50th anniversary by coming up with a special travel ticket for under 21s. pay £32 and you could wander almost anywhere you wanted on the railways of europe for a month! interrail proved an instant success, opening up the countryside, the cities, the coasts of a continent for barely more than a return airfare between london and paris. for low—budget travellers,

there was the added attraction of night trains, which provided somewhere for you to rest your head, if not necessarily sleep as the train clattered across europe. and perhaps because of spending endless days and nights on trains, not every interrailer was renowned for their impeccable personal hygiene. in 1972, when interrail began, steam trains weren't museum pieces as they are here at the bluebell railway in sussex. they were actually running scheduled services in parts of eastern europe, and even france. since then, of course, europe has had a revolution on the railways, with some expresses travelling at over 300 kilometres an hour. and, interrail has been transformed as well, now open to anyone of any age. and, forget the old paper pass,

interrail now comes as a smart phone app. but, before you jump on—board, here are some things to look out for. the fastest trains in italy, spain and france require you to pre—book a seat, and pay a supplement of 10 euros 01’ more. yes, even though you have already got a interrail pass. and, since brexit, the 3—1 pass could push the british traveller slightly over than multi—day limit for the so—called schengen area. using as much as you legally could would mean no visit to those countries for 90 days, before or afterwards. depending on where you're going, interrail could prove a false country. in eastern europe, portugal, and on the classic trains of europe, ordinary tickets are very cheap. and, in luxembourg, all public transport is free. so, how to make the most

often interrail pass? i'm going to meet the railway historian and writer, christian wolmar. christian, i give you a interrail pass valid for one month — the traditional, original interrail. where are you going to go? oh, i am going to the farther reaches of eastern europe, you know, into kind of deep forest, you would probably see some bears. you'll go to the back end of romania, the odd places in bulgaria — all those places which, you know, were closed to us until the fall of the berlin wall, and are still somewhat mysterious. we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of interrail, but isn't itjust a bit of railway nostalgia? very relevant today in terms of the greenness, the sustainability, and also that wonderful thing — slow travel. you know, we don't want to kind of have to rush everywhere, go to some ghastly airport.

whereas, on the train, you go there slowly, and the scenery changes gradually, the weather changes gradually, and you get there feeling good. for me, the greatest virtue of interrail is serendipity — making things up as you go along, changing your plans on a whim or a whispered recommendation from a fellow train traveller. i'll be back on the rails of europe this summer and i hope to see you on board. to end this week, i'm in belfast, the capital of northern ireland, on a pilgrimage to visit the childhood home of a bit of a hero of mine. he was among the �*60s�* biggest sporting stars, so influential that one of the city's airports is actually named after him. it's wet and it's gloomy but this is where one

of the world's greatest ever footballers, george best, honed his skills. here in northern ireland, the saying goes, "maradona good, pele better, george best." waiting to receive was mighty best. he simply walked the ball into the net! cheering and applause what a goal! united in the lead! he was a key part of the iconic manchester united team that in 1968 became the first english side to win the european cup. ..president of the european union football association handed it over. and off the pitch, he wasjust as famous for his glamorous, hard—partying lifestyle which led to the nickname the fifth beatle. george best had changed sides. and it all began here, in belfast�*s cregagh estate,

where fans now have the chance to stay at his childhood home. hello, you must be peter. i am. welcome to george best's house. come on on in. thank you very much. wow! so, this is the main room. uh—huh. the bests would have lived in this house from 1948, so we've recently put the house back to as it would've been in 1961, when george first went over to manchester as a 15—year—old in search of fame and fortune. so, that's his mother. yes, the photograph, then, shows george with his mother, annie, and this photograph was taken on his parents�* 25th silver wedding anniversary, so they would've been stood in this very room. i mean, this is a 20th—century legend, icon and he would've been here and this picture was there. wow. how easy was it to source this kind of furniture?

just came from a number of sources, local charity shops, antique dealers, etc. the bests were the only family to live in this house. george's motherm ann, died in 1978 but his father, dickie, lived here for 60 years, until his death in 2008. so, this is the kitchen. this is the kitchen, yes. again, done as it would've been in 1961. it's very much retro—fied, so we have the belfast sink here and even the modern units like the fridge—freezer have got a retro feel about them. wow! this isn't from 1961, though, is it? no, you can eat those and be safe. the house was bought by a local non—profit group called eastside partnership and, in its new retro—furnished state, is now available as a holiday rental. so, all of the proceeds that we get from the use of this house are used to support other community projects in east belfast.

tourists have come here and tell me what their reaction has been like. oh, the reaction�*s been fantastic. a lot of manchester united fans would stay here, but also just local people who just want the opportunity to see the house and stay in the house as well. so, peter's gone and here i am. this retro stuff is incredible. i mean, this was a guy who i'd pretty well worshipped as a child so to be in his house — this shrine, really — it's throwing me, to be honest with you. this year, the partnership has introduced an audio tour, featuring memories from george's sister, barbara. when mum and dad first moved in, it was much smaller... but peter has gone one better for my stay and organised a visit from barbara herself...

there's a picture there. ..together with george's childhood friend, robin. that's me. yeah? yeah. and there is you—know—who. what do you think, barbara, of the idea that people can come here and stay the night? mmm. in his later years, george suffered a very public battle with alcoholism. but up until his death in 2005, this house was always a refuge. 16 burren way here in the cregagh estate was where he was brought up and this was where he felt safe. we tried to protect him, and george knew that when he came here, he wasn't open to the media scrutiny

that he would have been across the water — isn't that right, barbara? yes, yes, yes, yes. he felt safe, yeah. yes. light globe buzzes right, well, it's night—time and it feels a bit intrusive but, anyway, this is obviously one of the bedrooms that the family lived in. but not only am i staying in the same house, i'm actually going to be sleeping in the very room that he had as a child. it's a kind of medium—sized room, the kind of room that any 12—year—old, 13—year—old boy would have, i guess. i wonder what he would've made of this. hopefully, he would've found it quite funny.

right, it's time for me to get some sleep, although i'm not completely tired yet. i need some reading material. and i think this should do the trick. goodnight. well, i've got to be honest, that was a peculiar experience and waking up this morning was like being in a time warp. very strange. but looking ahead, it looks like we've got another great programme coming up next week. as queen elizabeth celebrates 70 years on the throne, i'm at scotland's balmoral castle. 1853, queen victoria laid the foundation stone, and this is when they started the build of the balmoral castle that we have today. i think someone described it as a piece of bavaria plunked into the middle of the scottish forestland?

exactly! so please do try and join us for that. and don't forget, you can follow our travel show social media accounts on facebook and twitter, and catch up with past episodes on the iplayer. right now, i'm tempted to see if any of that bestie magic has worn off on me and have a little kick about in the garden. but until next week, from me and everyone else here in belfast, it's goodbye. hello. a chilly start to wednesday morning, low single figures in the clearest spots. and whilst many will be dry first thing, there's an area of cloud,

rain, parts of wales, the midlands, just turning into another batch of showers as it runs down into south—east england. elsewhere, although you may start dry, cloud builds, showers break out, some heavy and thundery ones from parts of southern scotland, northern, central and eastern england in particular into the afternoon. not many showers for northern scotland, northern ireland. wales, the southwest seeing the showers fade. and with sunny spells in between any showers, it'll feel a bit warmer. and in fact, most places will end the day dry and sunny. 0vernight and into thursday, a few fog patches around and an area of cloud and outbreaks of rain just pushing in towards northern ireland as we go into thursday morning, a day that gets off to another rather chilly start. increasing cloud with uncertain progress, some outbreaks of rain pushing slowly into northern ireland. ahead of that on thursday, a few showers for scotland and northern england. the showers, though, aren't as widespread as they've been. more places stay dry and are warmer.

welcome to bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: the us says it's sending more advanced rocket systems and munitions to ukraine to fight against russian forces. it comes as russia pounds the key city of severodonetsk in the east and as an air strike on a chemical plant releases dangerous gases. one week after the mass school shooting in texas, we hearfrom parents grieving the loss of their daughter and paying tribute to her talents. and bts, the k—pop supergroup, visits the white house to speak about anti—asian hate crimes in america.

it is a great honour to be welcome to the white house