the plant is currently in the hands of the occupying russians. this is bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories...

2a palestinians die in israeli air strikes on the gaza strip. israel says it's targetting the militant group islamichhad. rising concerns over the safety of europe's largest nuclear power plant held by russian forces in ukraine. hundreds are taking part in a desperate rescue the two contenders for the leadership of the conservative party and to become prime minister have clashed again on how best to tackle the cost of living crisis. in the week when the bank of england sounded dire warnings on the economy, liz truss reiterated she would immediately cut taxes, and wouldn't be giving handouts. but her rival, rishi sunak, insisted it was wrong to rule out direct support to some households. here's our political correspondent, damian grammaticas. applause. thank you. liz truss in the sunshine in the west midlands, chasing the votes of tory party members. the looming economic crisis is now weighing on this race. ms truss today said if she was prime minister, she would not be giving more hand—outs to those struggling to pay their bills. she would cut taxes instead. well, what i will do from day

one is reduce taxes, so reverse the national insurance rise, and also have a temporary moratorium on the green energy levy, so people are spending less of their money on fuel bills. but what i am about as a conservative is people keeping more of their own money, growing the economy, so we avoid a recession. rishi sunak on the south coast said her tax cuts would amount to less than £200 for many average households, and he would look at doing more. we need to get real about this situation. it is simply wrong to rule out further direct support at this time as liz truss has done, and what is more, her tax proposals are not going to help very significantly people like pensioners or those on low incomes, who are exactly the kind of families who are going to need help. mr sunak�*s message to his party is that inflation is what matters. average annual energy bills could go up another £2000 in the coming months, and it is thought 40% of people are already struggling to pay.

ms truss says her approach is about optimism, stimulating the economy, and not talking the country into a recession. damian grammaticas, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel show. in the past few decades, the skyline of doha, qatar's capital city, has changed beyond recognition. the discovery of oil in the 1930s, and then natural gas in the early 1970s, marked a seismic change in the fortunes of qatar. the discovery of oil in the 1930s, and then natural gas in the early 1970s, marked a seismic change in the fortunes of qatar. and at a turbocharged pace, qatar's hopes, dreams and buildings have risen high above the desert sands.

since this small, but mighty gulf nation won the right to host the fifa world cup back in 2010, it has spent billions on state—of—the—art stadia and infrastructure. and with the first match set to kick off this november, all eyes will be on qatar as it makes history, becoming the first ever middle eastern country to host the world cup. and i am here to meet some real players, both on and off the pitch. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless". this is the perspective that players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament

here at the al bayt stadium. and this may be historic, but for some it is also a controversial world cup. what we sometimes suffer from as a country, that people actually would makejudgements without actually listening to the other side, or actually try to search for the truth before they make their own opinion. it's hard to believe

how far and how fast qatar has developed. but this is a place that has always relished defying expectations. roughly the same size as yorkshire in the united kingdom, qatar is a mainly desert landscape, surrounded by the gulf on three sides. it hasn't been the easiest of places to prosper. historically it was the arduous task of pearl—diving that was qatar's main economy — until, that is, the discovery of oil and gas. oil workers arriving in the 1940s brought with them a game to play in their spare time. that sport has now brought the focus of the world to qatar. and that game was the beautiful game — football. as hosts, qatar qualified automatically for the world cup. they will make their first ever appearance at the tournament.

almoez ali is a striker for the qatar national team, and he hopes to become a household name when the competition kicks off this november. he says qatar may be seen as underdogs, but thinks this is a side who should not be written off just yet. in december 2021, qatar hosted the fifa arab cup.

using the new world cup stadia, this competition acted as a warm—up for this year's big tournament. and the qatar national team actually won the third—place play—off. from a personal level, what was it like to play in the arab cup? when qatar first won the world cup bid, critics pointed to its lack of footballing tradition. but almoez ali believes the dream of playing in a world cup is a universal dream for every footballer across the world.

but what else does qatar have to offer? well, you don't have to drive far out of the city of doha for the roads to end and the sands to begin. explorers from across time talk about the arabian desert as a place of hardship. 0h! some, like the 1930s adventurer bertram thomas, even went as far as to call it

the "abode of death". qatar had a long and proud history before discovering oil and gas, and it was learning to cope with this hot and harsh environment that helped to shape the country for those who call the desert home. living here, they carved out their culture, instilled their traditions and created the nomad lifestyle. people who would come to be known as the bedouin. temperatures can reach as high as 50 degrees celsius in qatar

during the summer months. in the winter, when the weather is cooler, mohammad al—ghethani and his family build traditional bedouin tents why is it important for you to do this? so, qatar today is very different to how it was when the bedouins were, like you were talking, were in the desert. how can bedouin culture connect with modern qatar?

if it's a real taste of bedouin culture you want to experience, thenjanuary hosts a month—long falcon festival called marmi. if you had to compare being a spectator at a football match and a spectator here, how similar are they?

this is more exciting than football? yes. ali al—mehsadi organises the festival and tells me that falconry is more than just a hobby here, it is a way of life, and it's recognised by unesco as living human heritage. one of the most popular events at marmi sees the falconer and falcons getting in touch with their bedouin past. over a two—kilometre distance, each falcon hunts a pigeon, replicating days gone by when falcons were used to help hunt for food in the desert. the festival is broadcast to a national tv audience and has impressive prizes ranging from brand—new cars

to huge amounts of prize money. with so much at stake, marmi is a one—stop shop for all your falconry needs, from gps trackers to remote planes, used to teach falcons their craft. and it is even a place to train the falconers themselves. bite it with my mouth? yes. wow, so i put my mouth here... close it, yes. and same one, right hand... laughs. 0k, again, again. after the birds retire from competition, they are kept by their falconer or released into the wild to breed. during their career, a top falcon can be worth up toi million qatari riyals, which works out roughly at £200,000.

bite, bite, more, more! 0k. finished. done it! i am a successful falcon handler! how do you know that the falcon is happy and healthy? this one, same as my son. this one is the same one from my family. i like this one, i give him everything, i take care about this falcon. when he is sick i take him to the emergency hospital or something, to be checked this one, what has happened. because i take care about this falcon, the same i take care about my children. after arriving back at the city of doha, it was as if i had spent too

long in the hot desert sun. i was greeted with what seemed to be a mirage. a herd of almost identical white arabian horses running around in front of me. i asked someone here how much each of these were worth, and his answer was "priceless". established by the ruling royal family, this world—class equestrian centre, al shaqab, is built on the site of a battle which took place in 1893 between the bedouins and the ottomans. the battle would eventually lead to qatar's independence and was won thanks to the speed and bravery of the arabian horse. the vision of this place is simple — to breed

and train arabian horses in their homeland to win a whole host of equestrian competitions across the globe. these purebreds, like al sakr here, are essentially treated like sporting superstars. nothing but the best for them! across the water from the corniche's towering skyscrapers is the souq waqif. its mud—rendered buildings and labyrinthine streets act as a juxtaposition to the state—of—the—art construction projects happening around it. but this is the beating heart of doha. over the centuries, merchants would sail straight into this place where the sea lapped at its stone streets, or they crossed miles of desert to meet others and sell their wares, and that's the role it still plays today. and even the camels have stuck around! this place is as traditional as it gets in qatar.

in a conservative and somewhat male—dominated society, chef shams al-qassabi is a trailblazer. shams is the souq waqif�*s first ever businesswoman and she made her mark by opening her restaurant, shay al—shoomos, selling authentic qatari cuisine.

0h! you can taste the lemon. mmm. mmm! spicy! mmm! wow! strong! it has a tang. oh, i like this! oh, if you're giving me some more, i will have some more! thank you. the taste is so distinctive. her food's pretty tasty, but don'tjust take my word for it — the walls of her restaurant are a who's who notjust of qatari culture, but international supermodels... gisele. ah, gisele, the supermodel? yes! ..hollywood stars... she is saying that this

is my qatari mother. wow. ..and football legends. david beckham. this is number one! very good. he very, very nice. very good, yes. and friendly. is he handsome? gentleman. is he handsome? you would think he's handsome? nice! his manners. yes, this is very... she is like, "why are you asking about this?" i'm very shallow! i'm like this. i just care about looks! the world cup stadia are a perfect example of where old meets new, from designs inspired by boats from qatar's pearl fishing days to a whole stadium made to look like a giant traditional headdress. and the opening match of the competition will be played here, at the 60,000—seater al bayt stadium.

this is the perspective the players will have as they walk out onto the game for the first match of the tournament here at the al bayt stadium. perfect, pristine conditions. it is inspired by the bedouin tent, and, like in the past, i mean, like, this is, i mean, usually people who are living in the desert, when they welcome their guest, you can see, i mean, they would host them, they would have, like, the bonfire and, you know, welcome them, and for us, i mean, like, choosing it to be the opening of the world cup, it has this symbolic, because this is where the arab usually would be welcoming their guest. the stadium has almost everything a fan or player could hope for. temperatures may be cooler when things kick off here in november, but in case it gets a bit too hot, there's air conditioning, notjust in the stands, but on the pitch itself.

meaning that the temperature on the pitch will be a very comfortable 19 to 21 degrees. one of the first things the players will see when they arrive here is this mural. look closely and you'll see it's made up of faces of workers who helped to build this stadium. qatari nationals make up less than 15% of the country's population, so the economy relies heavily on workers from abroad. and one dark cloud hanging over the build—up to this event has been press reports about the deaths of migrant workers involved in the construction of the world cup sites. and although the qatari authorities strongly dispute the figures, they say that the world cup has been a catalyst to push through reforms. looking at a young country, and even when you want to change policy and procedures, and even when you put the policy and procedures, the implementation of it, it's a journey and you can see like there is progress happening when it comes to their accommodation, to their wage — protection of their wages, as well as,

like, i mean now, i mean with the abolishing of the kafala law, people can actually change jobs and we have introduced like a new minimum wage in the country, so there has been progress. always actually take constructive criticism on board. there is more room to actually progress, but i mean, like, i do believe this is — will be one of the biggest social legacies of the world cup. they're expecting over a million fans to attend this year's world cup, but some people ask — will everybody be welcome? for us, i mean, like, everyone is welcome and what we actually ask people is to respect our culture and our tradition. i mean, public displays of affection, whether it's heterosexual or it was — or homosexual, it's something people frown upon here in qatar, so what we will ask people going to come and enjoy the game, and at the same time, actually respect the local custom and tradition of the country.

last year's arab cup proved that qatar knew how to host a major sporting event. but what about the fans who like to cheer on their team with a drink in hand? first, i mean, alcohol is not a part of our culture, but hospitality is. alcohol is available in a licensed hotel and during the tournament, there will be a designated area where people can — who would want to actually consume alcohol — can actually watch a football match and have a drink. away from the news reports is a whole nation of people waiting in anticipation to see what will happen when the biggest football tournament on earth arrives on qatar's shores later this year. and i, for one, want to know what it means to those who call this country home.

hello there. it'll be turning sunnier and warmer as we move through the weekend and into next week — we're expecting heatwave conditions certainly for england and wales. nights and days will become warmer. if it's rain you're looking for, most of that will be reserved for the north of the uk, as you can see here, particularly western scotland — barely any across england and wales here. it's expected to stay dry throughout. now for part two of the weekend, england and wales seeing the lion's share of the sunshine. more cloud for scotland and northern ireland,

probably eastern scotland not faring to badly with the sunshine. but there'll be some splashes of rain around, particularly western scotland where it'll stay quite breezy. high teens here, low—20s in eastern scotland, and up to around 28 celsius across the southeast of england. little change as we head through sunday night — it stays rather cloudy, quite breezy across the northwest of the country, some splashes of rain in towards the western isles. further south, lengthy, clearskies, light winds, temperatures falling down to around 10—15 celsius, so even the night—time temperatures are beginning to creep up, as well. monday, then, we start the new working week off with a lot of sunshine across the board, more for southern and eastern scotland and northern ireland with the windier, cloudy, wet conditions reserved for the northwest of scotland. so again, mid—to—high teens here, low—20s where it's sunnier in scotland and northern ireland, up to around 29 celsius in the warmest spots across southeast england, but generally the mid—to—high—20s for england and wales. tuesday it's warmer still again, quite windy across the northwest of scotland with gusts up to 40mph here with some splashes of rain.

best of the sunshine, southern and eastern scotland, northern ireland, and england and wales — as you can see, temperatures widely in the low—20s, up to 29—30 celsius in the southeast. and then, by around midweek, it looks like we'll see heat wave conditions for england and wales — that's because we'll see temperatures well above average for more than three days. and we could be up to the mid—30s in celsius as we move towards the end of the week. the reason for it is our area of high pressure will start to migrate towards the east of the uk, and that will draw up this very warm air from the near content across the country on a fairly light and moderate southeasterly wind. so temperatures will be building day—by—day — and by midweek onwards, you can see those values into the mid—30s across parts of england and wales. always a little bit fresher with a bit more cloud in the north.

welcome to bbc news, i'm rich preston. our top stories... 2a palestinians die in israeli air strikes on the gaza strip. israel says it's targetting the militant group islamichhad. rising concerns over the safety of europe's largest nuclear power plant held by russian forces in ukraine. cuba calls for help, including from the us, to tackle a major industrialfire. 0ne body's been recovered so far. hundreds are taking part in a desperate rescue effort — as ten miners remain trapped underground in mexico. and a glimpse of life before the volcano — archaeologists shed new light on the lives people led in ancient pompeii.