this is bbc news. the headlines. fighting appears to be intensifying around the ukrainian city of lysychansk as russian forces try to take the only remaining city in the luhansk region not under their control. it's come under intense shelling but a ukrainian spokesman denied claims that russian—backed fighters had now encircled the city. two more britons captured by russian forces in ukraine have been charged with being mercenaries, according to state media. dylan healy and andrew hill are being held in the east. two other british men, along with a moroccan man, were sentenced to death last month. a three—day meeting of religious and tribal leaders in afghanistan has ended with a call on the international community to recognise the taliban government and lift all sanctions on the country. the male—only meeting also declared that any

armed resistance against the militants would be considered a rebellion. hundreds of people took part on saturday in a silent vigilfor zara aleena, who was murdered in east london while walking home. the 35—year—old was minutes from her front door when she was attacked in ilford last week. 29—year—old jordan mcsweeney has been charged with her murder. ayshea buks was there. has been an extraordinary day here, very emotionalfor has been an extraordinary day here, very emotional for the family, but they wanted to invite people here. in their words, to walk back one home. hundredsjoined them and words, to walk back one home. hundreds joined them and walked through the streets —— walk zara home. there are women and men and also very young

children. i spoke to one mother who said she wanted to bring herfour who said she wanted to bring her four sons because she wanted them to be educated and remember that it is not acceptable to ignore the issue of violence against women and girls. also to show respect for women. there are also here local politicians and national leaders who have come to stow their respects. the family said that zara was a brave and fearless independent young woman. she was 35 years old and had just secured a job at the royal courts ofjustice and was an aspiring lawyer. herfriend told me that she would have been fully in favour of what has happened here today, that people are walking to demonstrate their demand for change and solution for this very, very pertinent and important issue in their words. yesterday, jordan mcsweeney,

29—year—old, appeared in court, and he is charged with her murder. also burglary and attempted rape. the family said they did not want zara's life to be defined by her death, and you can see the air the civil gertie of so many other groups. they said they want zara to be remembered as the brave and independent woman that she was. you can find much more on that story on the bbc news website. it's half one on the morning. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the show... ..i'm in mexico to discover how a river clean—up is getting on, and meet this little local. this is so incredible! simon's here with tips on how to carry on travelling despite the cost of living crisis. i'm travelling by train through germany, on what i regard as the best rail deal ever. and a day trip to a thai prison anyone?

this week, i'm in the ancient wetlands of xochimilco in the south of mexico city, a unesco world heritage site and one of the country's must see destinations. this sprawling network of canals was first built by the aztecs and stretches over 180 kilometres. not surprisingly, the area now attracts masses of tourists every year. check out all of these amazing boats. they're so colourful.

these are called trajineras. i'm here to meet carlos diaz, one of the best tour guides in town. but this isn't your typical sedate trip along the river. i was honestly expecting to go on a quiet little boat ride, but this place is a real fiesta. we're stuck in a trafficjam of like ten different boats. tourist boats, shop boats... singing. floating band boats. there's a mariachi! mariachi music plays. sings in spanish. this is unreal.

sings in spanish. woohoo! applause. away from the joyful chaos, i want to talk to carlos about life on the canals. that's if i can keep us dry, of course! how important is tourism to xochimilco?

how has the area changed in that time? i mean, having grown up here in this area, how do you feel when you notice all these changes? but the problem is much bigger thanjust tourism. these wetlands are the lungs of mexico city, and provide the capital with around a third

of its drinking water and a huge amount of food. professor rodriguez—vasquez has been monitoring this pollution, and it's pretty plain to see why this situation is getting worse. this isn't the most beautiful spot in mexico city, is it? yeah. can you tell me exactly just how badly the water is contaminated here? it's very highly contaminated with pathogens, chemicals, pesticides, hormones and human waste also. wow. yeah. and here, we have a lot of places like this. so, this is not the only drain like this in mexico city. no, no, no, we have a lot. wow. not only does this pollution contaminate the water, but the dangerous pathogens can also evaporate into the air and be absorbed into the crops that are grown in the wetlands.

you know, the moment you leave behind the super busy embarcaderos of xochimilco, it feels like you enter a completely different world. there's so much wildlife here, so much greenery, it's just so serene. but even out here in the more remote areas of the wetlands, the pollution is endangering one of mexico's most iconic animals. the strange—looking but much loved axolotl. what's so special about these little creatures?

i can't believe this is happening. i'm about to hold an axolotl! oh my god, it's so smooth, it's so lovely, it's like holding a baby! the axolotl is not only endemic to mexico, its population is limited to these wetlands. and the worsening pollution is threatening its very survival. this is the most incredible thing i've ever done in my life. 0k, put him back! thankfully, the conservation project armando runs here has been a great success, and as a result, axolotl numbers are now increasing across the wetlands.

armando�*s work is brilliant, but to fully restore the area to its former glory, ultimately the pollution needs to be tackled. luckily, my friend professor rodriguez—vasquez mayjust have identified a simple but effective solution. in a rather basic—looking lab in the wetlands, her team have invented a system that produces tiny bubbles called nano—bubbles, which can be pumped into the polluted water. how does the science behind this actually work? we create the nano—bubbles with solar energy, so these nano—bubbles can attack or can destroy the contaminants. as well as tackling the pollution, these nano—bubbles also help to

oxygenate the water, breathing life again into the waterways. honestly, your lab looks, everything here looks pretty simple. yeah, it's very simple. it's very cheap, and also very easy to manage. that's the best kind of technology, right? when it's simple, straightforward, accessible and sustainable. exactly, sustainable. and what's even more encouraging is that this simple but effective technology can be used on trajineras, so the tourist boats can be a part of the solution in the fight against pollution. that's the button that starts it all? all right, let's do it! ready? yeah. you can see the nano—bubbles. oh, it's working! that's so cool! it's amazing to think that this piece of tech is actually cleaning the canals as we speak. amazing, hey?

what these projects across the wetlands hopefully show is that with a bit of creativity and collaboration, tourists can play a key role in helping to maintain stunning places like this. and that's got to be good news. and if you're planning a trip here any time soon, here's a few things to think about. in western mexico, the world's largest gathering of mariachi bands will come together on 30 august

to kick off a two—week festival dedicated to the country's most traditional folk music. the celebrations will begin with a huge parade through the city of guadalajara where mariachi bands from as far away as japan will all play together. you can expect workshops, lectures and plenty of inescapable impromptu performances throughout the city for the duration of the festival. if you prefer the calm of the ocean, why not explore the second largest barrier reef in the world? the meso—america barrier reef runs along the caribbean coastline of the yucatan peninsula and is home to 66 species of coral, several hundred species of fish, as well as sea turtles, dolphins and whale sharks. rememberthough, reef environments are fragile to human impact, so be sure to dive with a responsible provider. for six days from 14 october, some of the world's finest classic cars will be covering over 3,000 kilometres

on a route from 0axaca to durango for la carrera panamericana. celebrating its 35th year, the pan—american race is one of the most important and longest road rally type races in the world. it used to be dubbed the most dangerous, but safety standards have come a long way in recent years. and of course if you're in mexico on 1—2 november, then you won't be able to avoid one of the country's guest event. more commonly known as the day of the dead, or dia de los muertos, the national holiday honours the deceased and many believe that on this day, the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolves, and so relatives often spend the night by the graves of their loved ones. stay with us, because still to come: simon has some cost—saving travel tips.

if you are flying, then try to travel with cabin baggage only. and thailand opens its prison doors to tourists. so don't go away. hello and welcome to this month's guide. well, summer is here and many of us are desperate to get away. but with rising costs and tricky travelling, the prospect can be off—putting. after some scenes of airport chaos, airlines have trimmed millions of seats from their planned summer schedules, causing fares on some popular routes to soar. so, consider going by sea. britain has excellent ferry links to france, spain, the netherlands and ireland. there's loads of capacity this summer and you can get some really good rail sale

deals, such as about £40 one—way from many british stations to ireland — and you get a generous baggage allowance. if you are flying, then try to travel with cabin baggage only. i managejust with this, and it meets all known airline rules. you won't need to queue up to check—in, there's no chance of your bag being sent to the far side of the earth, and no need to wait around at the carousel at the far end when you should be beginning your adventure. best of all, you'll save cash. and choose your day of travel carefully. for holiday flights, saturday and sunday are in strongest demand with friday and monday also busy. tuesday and wednesday are likely to see the lowest fares and the thinnest crowds. many viewers have been in touch about car rental rates. yes, they are higher than ever this summer.

during the pandemic, many car rental firms sold off their fleets and now, they cannot get enough vehicles to match demand. so, choose somewhere with excellent public transport to stretch your holiday budget. along spain's costa blanca and costa del sol, as well as the portuguese algarve, there are excellent coastal railways with frequent trains and subsidised fares making them excellent value. almost anywhere in asia, from eastern turkey to singapore, public transport is cheaper, more reliable and safer than self—drive. choose the train when you can, such as the amazing line through uzbekistan, paralleling the silk road from bukhara to samarkand and on to the capital tashkent. if you are on the road, simply choose the highest category of coach you can afford.

america is in love with the highway, but increasingly, the cities have reliable public transport connections such as the brightline link from miami via fort lauderdale and soon opening all the way to orlando. and long—distance buses are making a comeback with one firm promising a privatejet experience on the four—hour run from washington to new york city. this summer, i'm travelling by train through germany on what i regard as the best rail deal ever. in the entire month ofjuly or august, you payjust nine euros for a ticket, taking you anywhere in the country on all but the fastest trains. the ticket is also valid on city transport, meaning you can experience the amazing dangling tram of wuppertal — the closest public transport gets to a theme park ride. to stretch your holiday funds

the furthest, though, swap the med for the baltic beaches of eastern europe. a trip to the coast of poland, lithuania, latvia or estonia is surprisingly affordable. and the black sea coastline of romania and bulgaria also offer outstanding value. going west, canada is significantly cheaper than the us, though in both nations, remember, you are now expected to tip 20%. for further fun adventures, wait until later in the year for tropical sun at affordable prices. two favourites of mine are the beaches and heritage of kerala in southern india and the long—time backpacker favourite vietnam. airfares in november in the uk are barely half what they are in peak summer. well, i hope some of those ideas have stimulated your travel appetite, whether you are hoping to warm up or cool off this summer.

where there's a will, there's a way. good luck. thanks, simon! 0k, next up, we're off to thailand where the government is slowly turning some of its prisons into tourist attractions. rayong central prison, close to the capital bangkok, one of the first to open and we've been given special permission to go along and film there to check out what tourists can expect to see.

thailand has traditionally treated prisons as no—go areas. they're not terrible sanitary, they're usually overcrowded. i think that the department of corrections wants to be seen as, you know, joining a wider coalition of government agencies encouraging tourism, encouraging people to come back to thailand. they're certainly going to have to somehow improve conditions in some ways — at least on the surface — but the question is whether anything really changes.

well, that's it for this week, but coming up next time — we're in sydney as its most iconic landmark celebrates its 90th birthday. never gets old. this is amazing. and we hear about its role in bridging the gap between australia's different communities. more australians are supporting that the aboriginal flag sits atop of the sydney harbour bridge. if you can't wait for that, check us out on social media. search bbc travel show on facebook and instagram and look for

the little blue logo. until then, from the chaos of xochimilco, safe travels and i'll see you very soon. bye— bye! hello there. part two of the weekend is looking fairly unsettled as well. we'll have more showers around, some of them could turn out to be quite heavy in places, maybe some rumbles of thunder. the winds light in the south, quite breezy across northern areas, and it's because we've got low pressure to the north of the uk, high pressure towards the south and a couple of weak weather fronts crossing the country. these will enhance the shower activity. now, one such front will be lying across central parts of the uk through the morning, so it'll be rather cloudy here with some showery rain, some sunshine across

the south, showers. quite breezy across scotland and northern ireland. but into the afternoon, all areas will see sunshine and showers — some of them could be heavy across some central and eastern areas. it could turn a bit drier towards western areas later in the day. top temperatures 21—22 degrees in the south and east, generally the mid—teens further north. there could be a passing shower at wimbledon, but i think the emphasis will be on drier and sunnier weather with light winds and a top temperature of around 22 degrees. now, through sunday night, it looks like the showers will fade away. lengthy clear skies again across england and wales. scotland and northern ireland will stay breezy with showers or longer spells of rain, and temperatures will range from around 9—12 celsius across the uk. so, monday, we start off with some sunshine across southern and eastern areas — a few showers developing here into the afternoon. most of the showers will be across the north and west of the country, leaving some longer spells of rain at times, for the north and west of scotland. temperatures again, the mid—teens in the north. we could see 22 or even

23 degrees across southeast england. this area of high pressure want to continue to build into the southwest, but around the top of it, it will feed and a lot of cloud to northern and western parts of the country. some cloud getting down into the south and east as well — maybe just one or two showers here, and top temperatures around 17—22 celsius. as we move deeper into the week, it looks like this area of high pressure will continue to influence our weather, pushing these weather fronts away, but it'll always be cloudier with the chance of some showers and stronger breeze across the north and the west of the uk for the rest of the week. you can see the cloudier skies across scotland and northern ireland. further south you are, a better chance of staying dry and it should start to turn warmer, perhaps reaching 26 degrees on friday.

welcome to bbc news — i'm rich preston. our top stories. in eastern ukraine — further fighting for control of lysycha nsk. the ukrainian army rejects russia's claims they've encircled the city. the un calls for calm in libya — as anti—government protests continue — but demostrators say they won't give up. warnings of further disruption this summer at heathrow, for travellers passing through the uk's busiest airport. the biggest ever london pride — more than a million people take to the streets as it marks its 50th anniversary. and — getting fiery under the lights at wimbledon — the match one player described as a circus.