this is bbc news. the headlines: ukraine and russia have signed a deal which will allow the resumption of ukrainian grain exports from ports on the black sea. they had been blocked by russia, following the military invasion. russian exports will also be guaranteed safe passage. the un says the agreement could help millions avoid hunger. donald trump's former strategist, steve bannon, has been found guilty of contempt of congress. he was charged after refusing to testify to the inquiry into the january the sixth riots at the us capitol, and could face two years in prison. large swathes of east asia and north america are on their highest heatwave

alert, as record breaking temperatures spark thousands of wildfires. in europe, where spain has been badly affected, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes. now on bbc news, the travel show. coming up on the travel show... we're finding out what's at the bottom of venice's most popular canals. there's something really big on the line here. it looks really, really heavy. we meet the chef bringing a comforting taste of ukraine to london. welcome to my kitchen. thank you. and lucy checks out the latest tech designed to inject more fun into festival season. i just love the fact that i can film hands—free effortlessly, i can listen to music, i can make and receive calls on these things. cheering

we start this week in one of europe's most breathtakingly beautiful destinations — venice, in northeast italy. this city on water is made up of over 100 islets, interconnected by a labyrinth of picture—perfect canals and elegant bridges. life around here has remained the same for hundreds of years, and steadfast through that time have been the gondoliers of venice. they see themselves as custodians of the city. today there are only 400 gondoliers left,

and they're almost exclusively used by tourists. so it was in the family? si, si. 40 so it was in the family? si, si. with the local population of around 50,000 people dwarfed by 20 million visitors every year, ferruccio and his fellow gondoliers aren't short of a customer or two. and while that's good for business, the numbers swelling the main tourist areas inevitably create a huge problem. increased pollution, including discarded junk clogging up the famous waterways.

but now some of the gondoliers who ply their trade in the 276 canals are doing something about it. they hope to solve at least some of the problem with a voluntary initiative to perform regular underwater canal clean—ups. what gave you the idea to start cleaning the canals? dredging up tonnes of rubbish, ranging from shopping trolleys to car tyres, is a mammoth and potentially dangerous task, so the men are given bespoke training. they dive using specialist equipment in order to operate

safely. and early on sunday morning, long before tourists arrive, i'm joining the guys for the real deal. 0ne hardcore scuba diving suit. there's not one bit of skin showing. i've dived before... i'm not sure i'd want to go into the canals of venice, as lovely as they are! i want to find out what the newly trained canal cleaners have to contend with. stefa no! she laughs 0k. so what is all this? these are the heart. the heart of the operation? the teams have to stay in constant communication. it's crucial to help the guys underwater cope with the difficult conditions. it must be very dark and gloomy.

can you see? that's it? wow. touch, you know? 0h, 0k. you go by feel down there. so, stefano, how often do you do this? every sunday? much of today's catch is all too familiar. since the clean—up began, some 4,000 carelessly discarded bottles have been retrieved. but later, a baffling object rears its head

and has everyone mystified. there's something really big on the line here. it looks really, really heavy. there's about three of them trying to pull it out. what is that?! oh, my goodness. it's a trolley! it's probably somebody�*s luggage from about 20 years ago that went off into the canal. look, it's been down there for so long, it's covered in barnacles and slime and sludge. is that coral? no, it's a sponge. no, no, no. these are corals. wow. 0h, there's a rope. yes. what's it like down there? mud... ..mud, mud. is it dangerous down there? the equipment they use is a full protection against the pollution, because the problem is not really the water

itself, but the mud. the mud is laying in the canals years after years and is full of bacteriological and chemical pollution. but what about the gondoliers when they are working? is it difficult if there's rubbish, you know, to...? yes. when the tide is low, they feel something in the water that is not the real seafloor, you know? canals must be cleaned. to transfer this idea to the public is very important. and also for the sensibility of people, people living in venice and also tourists, that they don't have to throw things in the canals. once the rubbish has been retrieved, gondoliers hand it

over to the local council to dispose of it correctly. it's been an impressive haul today, and that's just from one trip. so with another 200 or more canals to go, something tells me they've got a lot to keep them busy for some time yet. so next time you're enjoying a leisurely ride along the waterways of venice, spare a thought for the gondoliers who donate their time to clean up the canals. even if they haven't mastered singing underwater yet! and if you're interested in a few days in venice in the nearfuture, here's a round—up of the best the city has to offer. all through the summer to november is the 59th venice biennale. as the name suggests, the contemporary art exhibition runs every two years. but due to covid, there's been a three—year gap. this year is heavily weighted towards women,

with 90% of the main exhibition given over to female artists. burano is a picturesque island in the venetian lagoon, famous for its handmade lace and colourful homes. go for a few hours in the morning or afternoon to wander around and take in the tranquillity and calm away from the hustle of central venice. whatever you do, don't forget your camera. from burano, you could then stop in to murano on your way back. this island is famous for its glass—making, which is considered a fine art. it dates back to 1291 when the venetian government ordered glass makers in venice to relocate to murano to avoid causing a huge fire. you could even find a workshop to try your hand at the craft. as we reported last month — from january 2023, you'll have to pay a daily charge to enter if you aren't spending

the night in the actual city itself. 0vernighters already pay a city tax at the hotel. but for day trippers, you'll need to pre—book your slot and pay through an app. prices will vary between three and 10 euros per person, depending on how busy it is. still to come on the travel show... rajan meets the restaurateurs bringing hope to ukrainian refugees in london. i think that food can find a wayjust in the middle of the heart. it's that time of year again where summer is in full flow in many countries around the world, which means one thing. festival season is finally upon us, and after seeing cancellations of some of the biggest festivals over the past two years due to covid, i am more than ready

to put on my boots and visit a campsite or two. to me, a music festival is the perfect place to unplug and unwind, all to the soundtrack of some banging tunes. i have spent way too much time on my sofa in recent years, so i feel a bit loathed to sacrifice my home comforts, even if it is just for the weekend! and if you feel the same way i do, help is at hand as i take a look at some of the best gadgets to chuck into your rucksack this summer season. so first up is your festival accommodation. i've got the quechua 2 seconds xl. now, if you weren't in the scouts or the girl guides, which i definitely wasn't, then camping might not be your thing. but this tent has the potential to become a firm festival favourite. that's because, as the name implies, it apparently pops up in just two seconds. so let's put that to the test. start your stopwatches!

stop watch clicks agh! so it didn't quite go up in two seconds, but i think that has more to do with the person putting up the tent than the actual tent itself! now it's up, it's pretty spacious in here, whether you want to keep it all to yourself or share it with two of your friends. and what will feel like an absolute godsend is the special lining that blocks out both heat and light, which will be more than needed after a night of partying. right, i think it's time to check out some headliners. don't you just love going to a festival nowadays and seeing your favourite act through a sea of phone screens in front of you?! but there's a new gadget designed to make the way we watch live music change forever. these new ray—ban stories are designed to keep you in the moment and keep your followers up—to—date, thanks to these nifty cameras

that happen to link up to your social media. and with a quick click or two, you have photos and videos sent to your phone, ready to upload. i just love the fact that i can film hands—free effortlessly. i can listen to music, i can make and receive calls on these things. now, of course, filming stealthily on a pair of glasses is not without its privacy issues, which is why you see a tiny little led pop up every time you hit record to let people know you're filming. although i'm not quite sure just how visible that will be in direct sunlight. and, as awesome as they are, they're let down by the limited storage, so you'll need to off—load your content onto your phone in order to free up more space. and i was told on more than one occasion that these things had overheated and therefore could not perform, which felt a little bit disappointing. but overall, i am a massive, massive fan. these are awesome.

applause but before i go, i want to test out these bad boys. guys, crank it up to ii! volume increases. so the reason i wanted the band to play something loud is because i was testing out the flare audio isolate pros. now, when you're at a festival, the last thing you want is that ringing in your ears following the third night in a row of banging beats. so what these buds do is turn down the volume without reducing the quality. when you pull them out, you realise just how loud the music is. they really do a really good job. but don't worry, festival—goers, i have one more gadget for you yet — for when the dirty beats aren't the only thing that needs a good clean. that's more like it! the foot pump builds the pressure, which allows the shower to work. 0oh, it's cold! so, clearly, it's not going to rival your shower at home, but definitely

beats baby wipes. you'll be the envy of the campsite. it's not really the kind of thing that i would want to bring along to a festival, but if one was there on the site, i would definitely use it, because after that i'm feeling a lot cleaner and a lot more refreshed. and finally this week, we're in london where a ukrainian couple are embarking on a business venture to help those affected by the conflict back in their homeland. we sent rajan to see how they're getting on. the war between russia and ukraine has been going on for over 20 weeks now. more than 5 million refugees have fled ukraine and millions more have been displaced within the country itself.

butjust here in london's earl's court, in this unassuming building, there's a ray of hope. because one ukrainian couple are creating opportunities for some of these refugees in their new restaurant, aptly named mriya, meaning "dream". the restaurant is very much a work in progress, but they're dreaming big, and every effort is being taken to evoke the spirit of ukraine. this is the bar area. this wall will look like the wall in old houses in ukraine and villages, when they didn't have proper building materials and they were using straw and clay. so it will be not even. it's a very authentic way how ukrainians used to build their houses. we arrived to london five days before the war started.

for us it was a short work visit and we had return tickets, which we never used. when the war started, we made a decision to stay here. and how did you feel at that point? because you were stranded here and you had close friends and family in ukraine. all the time, since the 24th of february, you are receiving just bad news and, um... ..it�*s very, very exhausting. since they've been in the uk, 0lga and yuri have helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for ukraine through events with celebrity chefs like jamie oliver and tom kitchin. that is part of our mission, not only to fundraise, but also to remind the world community about ukraine through the language of food. so we are giving employment to ukrainian forced migrants, and then we want to fill the space with ukrainian energy through textiles, furniture and all other beautiful things which talented

ukrainian artists are creating. undeniably, the main draw is going to be the food, something head chef yuri is very passionate about. he's even a culinary ambassadorfor ukraine. why is it so important for you that people here and around the world know about ukrainian food? i think that food can find a wayjust in the middle of the heart, because diplomacy is always about the brain. you are talking, you try to find some special ways, but the food is coming to your heart and after that in your brain. you even can change your mind after a good dinner. so here's it's five—days fermented cucumbers. and i want to give you some. 0k.

a piece for taste. today's the day when we are put it in a can. mm—hm. and so, here. that salt is in here? yeah, this salt is here. it's the most popular salt in ukraine. but now the place where they produce the salt is the battlefield. right. yeah. so the factory's closed... you just can't get it. ..and it's finished even in ukraine. so when i'm finding it here in the uk, iwas happy like a baby and i buy everything that i can find. right. yeah, yeah, just taste a little bit. let me try it. yeah, sure. mm! yuri chuckles. that's such a rich, tangy, lovely taste. joining me for my bowl of borscht is dasha. she's one of the ukrainian refugees who'll be working as a waiter here when the restaurant opens in a few weeks�* time. so, dasha, let'sjust start from the beginning, really, which is how did you find

yourself in england? what happened ? on 24th of february, the war began. we had to think about the ways to flee the war, basically, for ukraine, because unfortunately there's not a single safe place in ukraine. the city where i was in also got bombed, so my mum just insisted on me leaving. how difficult is it to do this when you know what's happening back at home? it's really hard, and i'm on the phone with my mum all the time. i'm always checking the news. i wake up with a phone in my hands, and i go to sleep with the phone in my hands. this is very... ..pressuring, i would say. just finally, why do you think it's important that there is this restaurant, specialising in ukrainian food with a top chef, why is it important to have that here? i think it's really important to show our culture because everybody knows

about russian culture, but not many people know about ukrainian one. so it's really important to show people that we have a deep, diverse culture with different traditions, different food that is really tasty and amazing, and that would be great to show that to people. i've got to say, i'm struck by the resilience of the ukrainians i've met today and the strength of their community. and hopefully, one day in the not too distant future, dasha's family will be able to visit the restaurant for themselves. well, that's it for this week. coming up next time... ade visits the greek island of evia, one year after the devastating forest fires that occurred there, to find out if the island's tourism industry is ready to bounce back. i've been sent some pictures of the place that we're on our way to right now.

it looks lovely! it's really lush, green, fertile. but i've been told since the fires have hit this whole area, it now looks very different. even looking out the window — look at that. just as far as the eye could see. all you can... all you're looking at is burnt trees. and don't forget, you can catch up on the bbc iplayer. we're also on social media too, along with a whole host of delights from across the bbc. but until next time, from all of us here in venice, it's goodbye.

hello, there. in the space of two hours on friday, nottingham recorded more rain than it had done in the previous three weeks. yes, we all know about the heat and the record—breaking temperatures we've had injuly, but look at these rainfall figures. some places have seen no measurable rainfall at all. the dry spots — southern eastern wales, the midlands, southern and eastern areas of england. however, friday did bring a few showers — as i say, nottingham recorded more rain over a two—hour spell than they did through the whole of the previous three weeks, and it would have been the same, actually, along this line of convergence with some heavy showers lining up here across parts of wales, into the bristol area, down into parts of dorset and somerset, as well. and there is prospect for a bit more rain to come over the next few days. but notice little — if anything, really — across parts of southern and eastern england, which continues to be one of the driest parts of the uk this month. and it is an exceptionally

dry month. now, looking at the weekend's weather prospects, low pressure is set to move in, bringing rain — mostly concentrated across northern and western areas. some warm air coming up on these south—westerly winds affecting eastern parts of the country. we start off with a band of rain in northern ireland. well, that will move into western scotland, western areas of england and wales seeing a little bit of rain, as well. but the further east you are, the less likely you are to see some rain. so not much at all for eastern scotland. across east anglia and those southern areas of england that have seen barely a drop of rainfall this month, it continues to be dry. and pretty warm, actually — 25, 26 degrees celsius in the best of the sunshine. now, saturday evening and overnight, we'll see further pulses of rain moving northwards. it will continue to be quite windy for some, as well. into the south, notice still not much — if anything — in the way of rain, and these are the kind of minimum temperatures — it's actually going to be quite a warm night and a mild start to the day on sunday. now, sunday, we've got more

rain in the forecast. this time there is actually better prospects of seeing some wetter weather moving into south wales, and of course that's one of the areas that's been particularly dry this month. but the heaviest rain will again be affecting parts of scotland and northern ireland. notice little — if anything — across central and eastern england. temperatures — a little bit higher on sunday, feeling a bit more humid, temperatures widely getting up to about 20 to 23 degrees. however, across parts of eastern england, it's a hot one — temperatures 26 to even 30 degrees celsius in parts of east anglia. now, for monday, the same area of low pressure continues to bring some rain. the centre of the low is starting to clear away northeastwards, so the rain's going to become a bit more patchy in nature, but still one or two useful bursts here and there. but, again, not much for those really dry parts of eastern and southern england. we're starting to get some cooler and fresher air move in to the north and west of the uk — so temperatures dropping for scotland, parts of northern england and northern ireland, as well. and then, bring you deeper into next week. what will happen is this ridge — part of the azores high — settles across the south

of the uk, keeping the weather dry for england and wales. but the northwest of the country will see low pressures running closer by, and so it will be windy at times with some rain. and for scotland and northern ireland there probably will be a spell of rain towards wednesday. more rain on the cards towards the end of the week and the weekend, whereas for most of england and wales, underneath that ridge of high pressure is dry — so sunny spells for manchester, quite warm here. but, again, temperatures picking up across parts of eastern and southern england. we could see highs into next weekend getting towards that 30—degree mark once again. that's the latest weather.

good morning. welcome to breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. 0ur headlines today: long queues are forming for a second day at the port of dover with warnings that the travel disruptions could be worse today. there have been major cues overnight. there have been ma'or cues overnightfi there have been ma'or cues overniaht. ., , . there have been ma'or cues overniaht. ., , , overnight. more tourist traffic is headin: overnight. more tourist traffic is heading to _ overnight. more tourist traffic is heading to the _ overnight. more tourist traffic is heading to the port. _ overnight. more tourist traffic is heading to the port. they - overnight. more tourist traffic is heading to the port. they have l heading to the port. they have declared yesterday's backlog. it is going to be a difficult day. wheat prices have fallen after russia and ukraine agree to resume exporting grain, easing the threat of a global food crisis.