hello there. it's been a very warm day for most of us today. it will get hotter, though, over the week ahead. through tonight, it's going to be dryjust about everywhere with clearer skies. the patchy light rain that was seen in western scotland clearing away. and later in the night we'll see a little rain arriving in the far north west of the country. ahead of that temperatures could be as low as 11—12 celsius tonight. there are some much warmer nights to come over the week ahead. this is how we start the new week, with some rain and cloud and stronger breeze, this time again in the northwest of scotland, highlands and islands. away from here, just some fair weather cloud, lots of sunshine, light winds, a little bit cooler, perhaps around coastal areas, thanks to some sea breezes. but inland temperatures are continuing to climb, getting close to 30 celsius already on monday in the london area. and across england and wales in particular, temperatures are set to soar over the week ahead with heatwave conditions on the way. and by friday in southern england, temperatures could be reaching 36 celsius.

hello, this is bbc news, i'm chris rogers. the headlines... the conflict between israel and palestinian militants continues, despite reports that the two sides have agreed to a ceasefire. at least a0 people, including several children, have been killed in the violence since friday.

the two conservative party leadership contenders vying to be the next prime minister outline how they plan to help people cope with the rising cost of living. but former prime minister gordon brown says much more action is needed. a bbc news investigation reveals dozens of english councils have cut back on holiday food vouchers for children on free school meals. archie battersbee's family call for an inquiry into his care — a day after he died following the withdrawal of life support. and 72 artefacts forcibly removed from benin city during a british military incursion in 1897 will be returned to nigeria by a london museum. 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. 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 in the desert to get back to their roots. 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 to1 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 not just 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. ijust 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—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.

more people will be heading to the beach over the weekend in order to cool down a bit. it'll be heating up over the weekend — still no sign of any rain. what rain will fall — and it won't be much — will be in the northwest corner of scotland once again. 0therwise, it'll stay fine and dry. 0vernight tonight, we'll have clear skies across many parts of the country. there is a weather front approaching that far northwest of scotland by the end of the night — and ahead of that, temperatures will fall away to around 11—12 celsius. there are some much warmer nights to come over the week ahead. this is how we start the week, though, with some rain again for the highlands and islands. but otherwise, it'll be dry. nothing more than fairweather cloud, lots of sunshine around, the winds will be light. we may find some cooling sea breezes around coastal areas, but inland, temperatures continuing to climb close to 30 celsius perhaps in the afternoon in london. and those temperatures will continue to rise through the week ahead — particularly across england and wales, where we'll find heatwave conditions developing.

by friday, temperatures could be reaching 36 celsius across southern parts of england. it's been a story of the summer — high pressure keeping it fine and dry. those temperatures rising underneath the area of high pressure. occasionally, we've got weather fronts bringing some rain to the northwest of scotland, but even on tuesday, those should get pushed away. so we've got more sunshine across scotland, it'll be a sunny day in northern ireland, and across england and wales. and again, with light winds, it'll feel very warm or hot — could be reaching close to 30 celsius this time in birmingham and cardiff, in the mid—20s in eastern scotland. so it's warming up, it's heating up — even across scotland and northern ireland, temperatures will be lifting to the mid—20s, perhaps a little bit higher than that. but it'll always be across england and wales that we see the highest temperatures, in many places getting above 30 celsius, i think, by wednesday and thursday. and by the end of the week, we still have high pressure sitting over the uk, keeping it dry. noticeable change in the south, perhaps, a stronger breeze, more isobars on the chart.

that breeze, though, is coming in from the near continent, and it's bringing in all the heat still. so a dry day, lots of strong, hot sunshine on friday — and hot, as well, temperatures 26 celsius in the central belt of scotland. we're looking at the low—30s across many parts of england and wales.

this is bbc news. the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world... the palestinian militant group, islamichhad, says it has now agreed to a ceasefire with israel following three days of fighting. be vice president votes in the affirmative and the bill, as amended, is past. cheering and applause the us senate has just passed joe biden�*s climate plan, channelling billions toward ambitious clean energy goals. four more ships set off from ukraine as part of the grain deal to try to ease the food supply crisis around the world. china says it's extending military exercises into the yellow sea near korea, after days of drills around taiwan. and righting a historical wrong — a london museum says it will hand over looted artefacts to the nigerian government.