this is bbc news. we'll have the news and all the main headlines for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. this week on the travel show, we're taking a look back at some of our favourite recent adventures. in mexico, we're hands—on with a salamander... oh, my god. it's so smooth, it's so lovely! ..face—to—face with italy's stolen art... wow, it's beautiful. ..and up to my neck in it in rural estonia.

hello and welcome to switzerland. i'm in the town of chateau—d'oex. it's known for its gruyere cheese, which is delicious, and the international balloon festival, held in the valley behind me every winter. but let's start somewhere a little warmer. mexico city's ancient canal network was first built by the aztecs. it stretches 180 kilometres and these days the whole district, and these days, the whole district of xochimilco is a unesco world heritage site, but one that could do with a bit of a clean—up. we sent eva zu beck there to find out why.

check out all these amazing boats, they're so colourful. these are called trajineras. i was honestly expecting to go on a quiet little boat ride, but this place is a realfiesta. we're stuck in a trafficjam of like ten different boats, tourist boats, shop boats. 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. oh, my god, it's so smooth! i'm a i'm a box —— about to hold it! 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 pollutions is threatening its very survival. 0k, put him back. thankfully, the conservation project armando runs here has been 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. eva zu beck there in mexico city. and next up, we're back in europe, in the italian capital of rome, and if if you have ever visited the city, you'll know that seemingly around every corner, there's a priceless work of art, right there on display.

right there on public display. that might be a total delight for tourists and art lovers, but it also makes them vulnerable to theft, as ade recently found out. # la donna e�* mobile... there are just over 100 known works by the artist caravaggio. this is one that tourists can come and see and you can understand why he is able to make a name for himself. this one is just so explicit. but what's really cool is that you can also see his masterpieces in everyday spaces all around italy, like in churches, for example. but sadly, making artworks more readily accessible also leaves them vulnerable to theft and one of the most famous,

examples in history is the disappearance of a massive caravaggio from a sicilian church. it's estimated that around $6 billion worth of plundered art is being traded on the global black market every year. the carabinieri's cultural protection heritage squad have retrieved more than 11.5 million stolen artefacts and relics over the past 50 years. and i've come to their hq because i've been given special access to the vaults where they keep all the stolen treasures that they have managed to recover. could you take me on a tour? i'd love to see more. it feels a bit like an aladdin's cave in here, with lots of strange and wonderful things to look at and the paintings, rows and rows of them.

and what's the story behind this artwork? it looks incredible. so, they'lljust take a little section of the artwork and make money from that? yeah. but there are some success stories. i'm heading an hour north of rome to cerveteri and the town's museum. this 2,500 year—old pot, euphronios krater, being its most famous artefact — looted, trafficked, traded and found — it was eventually negotiated back. who knows? maybe, just maybe, a certain caravaggio painting

will make its way back home as well, one day. ade there on the case of italy's stolen art, and let's hope that caravaggio makes its way back to where it belongs very, very soon. and speaking of priceless finds, did you know that last year the centenary of one of the world's most famous discoveries? in 1922, king tutankhamen�*s burial chamber was uncovered under the dust and sand of the egyptian desert outside luxor. it caused a sensation and to this day, his burial masks is one it caused a sensation, and to this day, his burial mask is one of the most instantly recognised symbols of ancient egypt. credit for this find is usually given to british archaeologist howard carter, but we sent rajid to discover how 100 years on, the egyptian side of the story is finally being heard. the abdul—rassoul family run a cafe

these days but generations these days, but generations of them have farmed along the banks of the nile, and as such, have an intimate knowledge about what lies so, this is the 12—year—old boy that they said really discovered the tomb. dubi claims it was actually his father who first found the tomb of tutankhamen, ahmed abdul—rassoul was just the tomb of tutankhamen. ahmed abdul—rassoul was just a child at the time.

now, egyptian perspectives like these are being acknowledged more widely, and one of the ways that's happening is by huge landmark public projects... landmark public projects. ..like the brand—new grand egyptian museum due to open in 2023, and it'll be the largest archaeological museum complex in the world. and this too, the avenue of the sphinx, buried under sand for hundreds of years and last year opened to the public for the first time. it runs from luxor temple to here — the magnificent complex of karnak. this was an exclusive area.

it's only for the priests, only for the members of the royal court, only for the selective few. the ordinary people like ourselves would have never had any glimpse of the inside of the temple. heba is an amazing storyteller, but ask her about the story of the abdul—rasouls and who really discovered the tomb, and she believes there's a wider issue. i think to focus on this is to miss the point. the whole point is the contribution the whole whole contribution the whole abdul—rassoul family and the many egyptian families who were involved in archaeological excavations, without whom howard and many of the foreign estimators would not have managed to make any of these discoveries all together. and this is connected to how egyptians are portrayed in this world of archaeology? we're not even portrayed, we're totally written out. we're written out from the whole process of knowledge production. whenever it's an egyptian, he would have stumbled on a step, as you said, or stumbling riding a donkey, etc.

it could could never be out of real knowledge. it has to be a mistake. while the egyptian clearly played a huge part in the discovery, the persistence of howard carter and the money of his wealthy aristocratic backer were also vitally important for success. now the desire is for both parts of that story to be recognised. for the rest of his life, ahmed abdel—rassou told visitors to luxor about his adventures with howard carter, an account like so many others rarely told in the west. fascinating stuff there from raj, exploring luxor, ancient egypt's historical capital. do stick with us because. do stick with us because still to come... we're about to go out on stage. let me just check my levels. and - 11.7.

..managing diabetes when parties are part of yourjob. it looks like someone�*s just spilt some berries on the ground. and the hidden treasures of estonia's boggy paradise. laughter. bit sour! not that sour. we've come now to interlaken, a beautiful town that draws adventure sport enthusiasts fro across the world. but not everyone wants adrenaline on their holidays. some are just after music and dancing and fun, and that's what we re heading to do next. and that's what we're heading to do next. the spanish party island of ibiza hosts countless big—name djs every summer. for many, it's the perfect place to gig with a merry and receptive crowd. but when bbc radio 1xtra dj reece parkinson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, he wondered how he would manage he wondered how he'd manage it on his travels, so we went with him to find out. reece: i'm heading to

the location of my gig, the ibiza rocks hotel. but after a good old catch—up the night before and having more alcohol than normal, i'm feeling a little worse for wear. after the lack of sleep, i'm riding on adrenaline. this 45—minute dj set sees me supporting some of the biggest names in the european dance music scene, so i have to be on top of my game. so, we're about to go out on stage, we've literally got five minutes until the start of the set. i'll check my levels and... just checked my levels and... ..11.7. ..which is pretty high. but the risk is if you inject yourself now there's a high yourself now, there's a high chance it could go too low during the set, i'd have to down all of thatjuice. it isn't the end of the world, i'm not going to die, but, yeah, just in the

perspective of always being in control of it, this is one of those moments where it's got control of me. my name is reece parkinson, bbc radio 1xtra. the gig begins and i am loving it. dance music. but my levels are slowly beginning to climb. dance music builds. 0h! he exhales. mate. done!

and, 13.1. all right, it's climbing. i am going inject myself now, so let me give myself... let's say three. three in. an extra one for luck. over 9 million people have type 1 diabetes globally. i'm still learning to live and travel with this condition. but what this trip has taught me is, wherever i go in the world, type 1 will always be there with me. it's a case of knowing not everything will be perfect all the time, but if i treat myself with kindness, then there's nothing that will stop me seeing or doing anywhere i decide to visit. all the very best to reece there as he stays on top of his diabetes. now to one of my recent personal highlights —

and trust me on this — we're off to the bogs of estonia. believe it or not, this swampy environment is the perfect adventure playground, offering hiking, foraging, skating, and even swimming. around 7% of estonia is made up of this — bogland. and it's fair to say in the past, not everyone was a huge fan. in fact, people would regard a landscape like this with horror because folklore said that this is exactly the kind of place where you might be waylaid by evil spirits. times have changed, though, and it's now becoming apparent just how useful these bogs are. it's so effective at storing carbon, that in recent years, the estonian government has started re—bogging vast areas of land in an effort to help tackle climate change. hello, i'm christa, good to meet you. nice to meet you. it looks like mud, but is this peat? yes, it's peat.

actually, if you look it's almost decayed, but not totally actually, if you look, it's almost decayed, but not totally decomposed material. oh, you can still see the fibres. why is it important to restore these peatlands? it is important for carbon emissions. we want to stop carbon emissions here, we want that this peatland would store carbon, not emitting it. but people here are also finding out what a stunning playground this environment is. glad to meet you. good to meet you, too. i've got my gumboots ready. very good. ready to hit the bogs? let's go. ivor is a guide who lives, works and plays in soomaa national park. he floats through the bogs in his canoe, skates and sledges on them in the winter, and stomps through them in these. any tips? it's not that difficult, actually. you just walk, and one important thing, when you want to turn back, you always come with a u—turn, you don't step

like this because of this, but the u—turn works well. 0k, these are one—way bog shoes. yes, only forward. 0k! laughter. quirky music. 0h! bogshoes are a bit like snowshoes, and our crew soon the importance of wearing them. it's ok, too. there's a lot. yeah, there's a lot. jordan has just emptied about a litre of water out of his boot. and that is why you wear bog shoes. so, what's all of this made up of? because it feels like we're walking on a big sponge. yeah, it's mostly made of the moss.

more specifically, sphagnum moss. so, this is the plant here. ah, 0k. and if you take some of it there, like... so, you can see. oh, it's really like a sponge, isn't it? it's like... it is growing up, so it is rottening down there, becoming peat. but in the top, it is growing. it's a vine, yeah? you know, like a... yes! so, you can see, it's living. it's sort of... and it's full of water. boesn�*t look like water, but if you squeeze, it you can see. oh, wow, look at that! it may look like a barren landscape, but there s plenty landscape, but there's plenty here to forage. it looks like someone has just spilled some berries on the ground.

you want to taste? i do! i've had cranberryjuice before, but i've never had a cranberry. are they sweet? 0h! laughter. they're very sour! not that sour. 0h, hang on. laughter. they're very sour! not that sour. and there's just one final, chilly treat that avyar�*s keen to show me. are you sure about this? not really. is this a good idea? splashing. 0h! oh, god. i can already feel how cold it is. actually, quite cold. laughter. this water makes you feel like your skin is soft and makes you feel a bit younger. well, it would want to, cos it's really cold. 0h! she yelps. it's really cold! 0h! oh, it's really, really cold! i can see how after working up a bit of a sweat bogshoeing, this would be a nice shock to the system. laughter. so, how far does this go down? a few metres. so, if you... there is no bottom, yeah? i think the verdict

for the bog swimming is absolutely freezing cold. but i mean, wow — i mean, what a setting. and if you want a tip from me — go when it's warm. it took a real stiff drink to warm me up after that one. ok, that's for the programme this week. coming up next time... cheering. ..i'm in another chilly part of the world, part of the world, the shetland islands, to take in the famous viking festival, up helly aa. cheering. ..and to find out why, after 200 years, it's only now that women are welcome to take part. fire crackles. this is an incredible experience. and it does make you kind of feel like maybe this

is something the vikings would've done all those years ago. in the meantime, you can find lots of our recent adventures on bbc iplayer and you can check out our social media to find lots of great travel content from around the bbc. that's it for now. see you next time. hello. wednesday was a much cooler day of weather across the country with temperatures dropping by around 5—6 celsius. for example, in aberdeen, we went from 13 on tuesday down to 7 on wednesday. but actually, that drop in temperatures represents something of a return to normal. you see, so far this month, it has been a very mild month indeed, particularly across the north of the country, where temperatures

have been running 3 celsius above average so far this month. now, looking at the charts for thursday, high pressure brings sunny skies to start the day across scotland, northern ireland, northern england with a frost first thing. cloudy weather across the south with a few patches of rain easing away. it will turn brighter here through the afternoon. we will see changes across the north where northern scotland thicker clouds on the way. outbreaks of rain and the winds strengthen through thursday afternoon with gusts of around 115—55 mph or so, so we are talking about gales developing here through the course of the afternoon. temperatures, broadly speaking, similar to those that we had on wednesday, 7—9 celsius. now, through thursday nights, this band of rain will continue its journey southwards with the rain moving into parts of northern england by the end of the night. this time the clearest skies will actually be across southern areas.

this is where we're likely to see some patches of frost to start the day heading into friday. probably those temperatures are about —2 or so. now, from thursday into friday, these weather fronts then continue to push their way southwards across the country. they'll introduce some fairly gusty winds across scotland and around the north sea coast, bringing with it a lot of cloud. and this band of rain you can see here, well, that's where our weather front is as it drifts its way southwards across northern ireland, moving southwards across england and wales. now, behind that, for northern england and across scotland and increasingly northern ireland through the afternoon, the clouds will break and we'll see some sunshine. and we'll see some sunshine returning. temperatures around 8—10 celsius. what about the weekend weather prospects? well, that's going to be dominated by this area of high pressure, that said, the position of the high is important for how much cloud and where the best of the sunshine is going to be. certainly it looks like the best of the sunny spells b across western

it's a similar story, really, into sunday — probably more in the way of sunshine across parts of scotland, northern ireland, wales and western england not doing too badly. but again, some of the eastern coasts of england might struggle with quite a lot of cloud hanging around for much of the day. temperatures through the next few days aren't really going to change that much. now, what happens into next week? well, here's our area of high pressure. and what's interesting about that is it starts now, depending on how far west it gets, where we could start to draw some much colder air coming down from the north. well, we continue with the largely dry theme with some sunny spells, perhaps a tendency for the weather to a bit cloudier as that

high pressure pushes off towards the west a little bit more. so that's the latest weather. we'll be keeping a close eye on any colder weather over the next few days.

hello, i'm christian fraser. you're watching the context on bbc news. we will defend every inch of nato territory, sastoe biden, as he reaffirms the us commitment to europe's security. in moscow, the top chinese diplomat, says relations with russia are rock solid, and will not be influenced by "coercion or pressure" from washington. tonight the us energy secretary, gives us her thoughts on the support for ukraine, further sanctions, and the direction of global energy prices, in 2023. and still we wait for the fruits of rishi sunak�*s negotiations with the eu. is there any deal that can satisfy all parties in respect of the northern ireland protocol. welcome to the programme.

there was a time, before the war in ukraine, when europe thought