this is bbc news. the headlines... president vladimir putin visits mariupol — the ukrainian city which was captured by invading russian forces last year. it is his first trip to the russian—occupied territories of eastern ukraine's donbas region since the start of the war. in march 2022. switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, is in advanced talks to buy

all or part of its troubled rival credit suisse. regulators are trying to facilitate a deal before markets reopen on monday. former us president donald trump says he suspects there are plans to arrest him on tuesday — he's called on his supporters to protest. prosecutors and the manhattan district attorney's office are looking at a possible indictment of the former president. kosovo and serbia have tentatively agreed on how to implement a european union—sponsored plan to normalise their ties. the deal on saturday came after 12—hour talks between kosovo�*s prime minister, serbia's president and eu officials. a doctor working in ukraine says bandages made at a factory in the southwest of the uk are helping to save hundreds of lives. the dressings, which are coated with an extract that comes from shrimp, can stop intense bleeding. thousands have already been sent out

in military first aid kits to help those on the frontline. matthew hill explains. dr irnya rybinkina puts her life in danger every day in ukraine, helping the victims of the war. at times she has to treat very traumatic injuries. the first thing you do is put a tourniquet on, and then you try and stop the bleed by packing the wound. this production line in bridgwater has been playing a vital role in helping medics like dr rybinkina save lives. the bandages, made by the firm nonwovenn, are then incorporated into first—aid kits by another british company. we manufacture millions of these, our customer—made trade have sent tens of thousands, that we know of, out to the ukraine already. the secret of their success is down to this tiny shellfish, the shrimp. mariners have known for hundreds of years that shrimp shells are good at stopping bleeding, and the extract from them, known as chitosan, is woven into the company's bandages.

i can demonstrate. if ijust dip it into water, it's infused with shrimp extract from shells, and that gradually becomes very sticky to the touch. ultimately, that forms an artificial clot. the ukrainian military rang nonwovenn shortly after the invasion and began asking for as many bandages as they could make, and the demand continues. so it has been saving lives, you think? it has been saving a lot of lives, thousands of them. we get a lot of feedback from the people who are using them. they send a message saying, "you know what? "yourfirst—aid kit, it did save lives. "someone got there and we used the tourniquet and the celox "and the gauze and everything, and the person actually arrived "alive at the evacuation point." since i interviewed dr rybinkina, she was involved in a serious road traffic accident on her way back from duties, and is now being treated for a broken arm.

but she remains undaunted, and hopes to be back on the front line treating more casualties with these bandages as soon as possible. a lot of friends have been lost in this war, and the human toll is horrendous. matthew hill, bbc news. more news at the top of the hour. now it's time for the travel show. this week on the travel show... ..mont saint—michel marks its millennium. that view is pretty amazing. there's the shadow of mont saint—michel on the sand. the parps and toots that make this port one of a kind. horns blaring one, two, three, four, five. and saving these bundles of fluff from extinction. twittering and squawking yeah, he's thinking about it. all right. we'll give him some time.

there he comes. i'm beginning this week in northern france on a journey that two and a half million people take each year. you're kind of getting an idea of how popular this place must be because it's off season, it's super cold, but this bus is packed. you can see it. i've just got a glimpse of the abbey. it does look pretty special. this is mont saint—michel, one of france's most visited sites. it's an island off the coast of brittany in normandy,

connected to the mainland by a half a mile—long bridge that opened back in 2014. and this year, the island celebrates a very special anniversary. it is the 1,000 anniversary of the construction of the church. how on earth did they construct something like this 1,000 years ago? mm—hm. yeah. this is the best of medieval engineering. and it started off as a sanctuary dedicated to saint michel — saint michael — in the year 708. then it took off. you know, the pilgrims started to come. they had to come across the bay, so walk through the sands, and then it developed in the 11th century with the construction of the church. the abbey sits at the top of the cliff, surrounded by the village below. even nowadays, there are quicksands out there. there are a lot of strong currents. so it must have been a really

important site for people to want to make that kind ofjourney to see this place. yeah. it was the journey of a lifetime. it's just quite funny to come in here and the contrast with the medieval look and then you've got shops. people are often surprised, but, don't forget, there were pilgrims coming her. yeah. and they needed to be housed for one or two nights. so there's been inns and souvenir shops, even, for hundreds of years. yeah. of course, they were a religious kind of souvenirs — medals, you know, rosaries, these kinds of things. so what's it like taking tourists around here, then? well, it depends on the time of the of the year, really. it can be a very nice, peaceful time, you know? but i tend to like less and less working here in the middle of summer. because? why's that? because there's too many people. but it's beautiful, of course. a new governing body recently took over the running of mont saint—michel with plans

to improve the tourist experience. viking helmets, crossbows, the eiffel tower. you see? they're encouraging people to visit off season and steering them away from the souvenir stores towards more of the surrounding area. but accessibility is still a bit of a problem. it's so steep and so slippery that even this electric attachment is struggling to get up there. so my strategy is to get as much speed as possible up that hill, and as soon as i start slowing down a bit, i'll be like, "solwenn, save me!" 0n yva? she replies in french excusez—moi. attention. attention. attention! attention! coming through. solwenn! 0ui. we got it. come on! she pants

the islands governing body told us that making any changes to this protected historic site is difficult. but they they're hoping to find a solution within the next few years. 0nly around 30 people live here on mont saint—michel. bonjour! bonjour, ade. ca va? ines and jean are two of them. their home has been injean�*s family since before the 17th century and is full of trinkets and antiques. tell me about this. this is your house? 0ui. and what is it like to live in this place day to day?

up in the abbey, the bell is rung for evening prayer. the abbey is home to a small number of monks and nuns. members of the monastic fraternities ofjerusalem. some of them spend their mornings down in the village tending to their guesthouse or working part—time jobs to help cover the order�*s expenses. yes. it's really a unique place. and, you know, also, we are here to say that this place has been made first for god and for worship.

would you just like it just to be purely holy? no, that's... you know, that's the way it is. you cannot change the reality. when we come here in mont saint—michel, we know that there is going to be a lot of noise during the services, that some groups are going to walk during the mass or whatever, but we are here for them also. back outside, i've taken to my crutches. these are the last steps, ade. are you sure? yes. they are the last steps. is there champagne up here for me? and now we have to go down?! and now we have to go down. ha! oh, my days. that view is pretty amazing. and look at this. wow. look at the... there's the shadow of mont saint—michel on the sand. oh, yeah.

that's the best time of the day. when i come to this place, in particular, the north tower, as we call it, for me, it sums it all up. i often compare the mont saint—michel as being the jewel and the bay, the box. so that's the jewel in the box. you've got it all. nice. and that image has been there for 1,000 years. yeah. and if you're thinking of coming to france this year, here's some things to look out for. the loire valley is among the best places to see classic france — vineyards, medieval towns and more than 300 chateau. the city of blois is the best jumping off point for the wider region and is itself home to two of the most popular castles, including the chateau de chambord, a 16th century masterpiece that many think leonardo da vinci had

a hand in designing. in the summer months, you can head for nantes in brittany, which every year, hosts a huge citywide art trail. it's 30 stages, taking the big attractions at thejules verne—inspired machines de l'ile theme park. you have to pay to ride the great elephant — or sea world carousel. but many other sites on the route are free. the beach town of boulogne is home to europe's biggest aquarium. and it's vast. there are about 1,600 species at nausicaa and the main tank's so big it takes about six weeks to fill. there are rotating exhibitions. right now, augmented reality allows you to experience what life is like for creatures in the open seas.

still to come on today's show — the canadian port that likes to blow its own horn. horns honking and the big bear hugs that could help save a famous marsupial from extinction. that's quite the noise! well, that noise is — you're close enough. so stick with us for that. i'm in mont saint—michel, in northern france, where an unlikely dish has become something of a tourist attraction. i'm getting into the beat here! the mere de poulard omelette has been served here since the 19th century, when the owners were in need of a quick and easy recipe to serve to the island's many visitors. since then, it's become a strange staple of the french election cycle. if a presidential candidate

visits mont saint—michel and doesn't eat the omelette, superstition says they're doomed to failure. and some people might say that you have to be pretty importantjust to afford it because prices start at 32 euro just for an omelette! you do get entertained, though. whisk taps beat the moment of truth. time to see if this lives up to all the hype. i like it. really light and fluffy. i'm feeling presidential already. to canada next, and a gem from our archives. 0n the country's east coast lies the seaport town of stjohn�*s, capital of the province of newfoundland and labrador. its little harbour may look like many others around the world,

but listen a bit harder and you'll soon spot what sets it apart. honking woo! woo! woo! it's a symphony in the harbour. that means we're not playing violins. we're not playing bases or banjos or guitars. # yo—yo—yo—yo—yo! # meep, meep, meep, meep! we're playing wind instruments and the ships' whistles. # meep! # meep, meep, meep! # meep, meep, meep! # beep, beep, beep! # or something like this, you know? i go from ship to ship and ask the officers if we could use their horn for the day or for that particular time. and most of them are happy to participate because it's something different from the mundane tootling the horns. bells ring this is a time score. and the way this works — the coastguard will give the countdown over channel 11.

that's the ship—to—shore radio here. and there's two people. you have a time—taker who reads out the time, the seconds, loud, and the other person follows the score. i am very keen on experimental and weird music. and so, when asked to compose a piece of music for five to ten freighters, i easilyjumped at the chance. i had no idea what it was going to sound like. basically, we're given a graphic score where we can kind of basically like, fill in dots, so to speak, that indicate when somebody is supposed to honk their horn. 41, 42, 43... quite often, you can hear a harmony which is actually not intended butjust happens to come out like this sometimes. it's absolutely beautiful. one, two, three, four... horn blares ..five, six, seven.

honking continues sheila — was doing the horn today. herfirst time. and she started out, "ok, i got to get this right, - "i got to do this right." and after a while, she got into it and got into the ad—lib, - improvised spirit of the thing. and you could almost see her... her body language was going to the music. - and i thought, "ok, this is fantastic." i 59, 60! yes! laughter good job. whoa! i didn't get quite the melodic structure i was hoping to get. but it was a beautiful... beautiful to hear anyway. well, it's interesting, i guess. it puts a little bit of a twist. in your lunch hour, for sure. so, other than that, -

i think it's pretty interesting and comical, i guess. i don't know what else more to make of it, really. - he laughs horns honk people think we're crazy. of course we're crazy! well, actually, no, that's what art is all about. if beethoven had been in stjohn�*s or if he'd been here today, he probably... certainly would've written our symphony. right, we're off to australia next, and to a sanctuary that might well end up saving a whole species from extinction, and not just any species. we're talking tasmanian devils, a creature made famous by popular culture but which faces a really bleak future if we're not careful. we sent jacqui wakefield to see some of their work a few hours north of sydney.

jacqui: this is a whole other world from the arid plains many people think of as rural australia. barrington tops national park, about five hours' drive north of sydney, is all about greenery, lush rainforests and wildlife everywhere. the bush here is full of animals like koalas, wallabies and kangaroos. but there's one animal that's been newly introduced, and it could help save the species from extinction. devil growls it's hoped these hills will provide a safe haven for the tasmanian devil, whose populations are being ravaged over on their home island, tasmania. 90% have been wiped out by a highly infectious disease that causes facial tumours and eventually death. but this sanctuary is at the centre

of efforts to save it. hey, guys, thanks for coming out. welcome to aussie ark. now, we have a couple of special little animals for you guys to have a look at today. we've got sandra dee here, and we also have pickles. so far, aussie ark has had seven breeding seasons with a total of around 300 baby devils, orjoeys. i think shejust likes moving around. she'sjust investigating. so, devils have a very, very good sense of smell. so you can see her nostrils going. she's sniffing around because we all smell all new. it's all new people, all new smells. look at all her whiskers! they admit here that inviting visitors in was something of an afterthought. but kel reckons it's now an important part of the conservation effort. to have a sweet devil joey that you can cuddle and interact with absolutely changes people's perception. because they're sweet and they have personalities and they're inquisitive, and that's really important.

no—one is going to want to protect and look after something that they're scared of or don't understand or see asjust really aggressive. and why save the tassie devil? so, australia actually has the highest rate of extinction of mammals compared to the rest of the world. one of the more recent animals to go extinct was the tasmanian tiger, leaving the tassie devil the biggest marsupial predator in australia. the joeys aren't set loose into the wild of the sanctuary until they've done some growing. each animal considered for release is selected for its genes. they're making sure the population's genetically diverse enough to be self—sustaining. and before this one, called wedge, goes, there's a thorough health check. people would expect this devil now to bejumping out and grabbing onto your throat. yeah. look at it. we just get a little grumble. devil growls she laughs

that's quite the noise. well, that noise is "you're close enough". she laughs that's enough, folks. come on, mate. 0k. he's in. watch your legs. please grab it and twist. can you give a reading, please? of course. 11.15. woo! is that a big boy? that's about as big as you would expect a male to get. yeah. wow, what a boy! 0ut he comes. 0k, and he's heavy for kel. all right. so come in... even while he's wiggling. just down low here. watch for him to swing, 0k? sure. tim gives him the once—over while i administer the anti—tick medication. that's it. just going to swing. ok, i'm already having a look over and around. so fingers and toes — all good this side. he's a big boy, so he's been dominating the yard where he is. yeah. and we've got a tiny little discharge in the eyes. 0nly got about a kilometre. nah! no, much shorter. she laughs oh, thank you very much.

ok, so we're going to drive into the middle of a fenced sanctuary, which essentially for these devils now is being released to the wild. people, particularly those that don't live in australia, can't understand the concept of our invasive species and predators. like, we've had introduced to australia — fox, cat and buffalo and pig, and rats and mice. we didn't have any of these things. so what we have to do is create islands of habitat that are invasive pest free — invasive species free. this is us. we're taking two devils out with us. miss figg, a female, and wedge, the big strapping male at the health check. they'll have an area of about 4.5 square kilometres to call their home. effectively for them, that feels like living in the wild. we've got a great vista. they'll take off, probably follow the road. long—term...

yeah. ..what�*s the hope? the long—term hope is that devils in tasmania survive in the wild, and that they function in their ecological role. and secondarily, that we have devils back in eastern australia, on mainland. so he'lljust kind of think about it for now? well, sometimes they're not even facing the right way. he is. yeah, he's thinking about it. all right, we'll give him some time. here he comes. come on, mate. 0h! see how quiet he is? yeah! look, really shy, really timid. hello. ah—ah! good boy! how goods that? he's kind of having a bit of a think. yeah, amazing! it's great, right? for now, let's just hope these two are warm tonight and that this one hasjoeys in three months and the male has represented his genetics. so, you know... ? and that's the nature of conservation. it's really complex. yeah. but we can at leastjust have some simple fun knowing that,

after a decade, we've got to a point that we can let some devils go into this island of habitat. amazing. ade: jacqui wakefield, miss figg, and wedge in barrington tops national park. right, that's it for this week. coming up next time... ..carmen�*s in the philippines, diving into life on the island of siargao and seeing for herself the recovery one year after super typhoon 0dette swept through the tropical paradise. so, were you here during odette? typhoon odette? i was here during 0dette. er, probably the worst experience of my life. wind blasts and don't forget, you can catch up with all our adventures on social media. but for now, i'm off to get warm. because it's freezing! bye— bye!

hello there. for many of us, it has been a fine start to mothering sunday, some blue skies and sunshine. this was the scene earlier on in hampshire, but a scene replicated across many parts of the uk in the sunshine, we will start to see the cloud thickening a little bit, though, towards western areas of the uk and you can see that on the satellite image from this morning. this is a weather front and a weather system bringing some outbreaks of rain as well, but ahead of that many of us, dry with sunny spells. we'll keep the sunny spells for many, one or two showers perhaps possible in central and south—eastern areas as we go into the afternoon. the rain, though, moving its way into northern ireland by the afternoon, pushing into western areas of scotland,

maximum temperatures down a little bit on yesterday, but 11—14 or 15 degrees, but that will still feel quite pleasant in those sunny spells. but the rain will continue to spread north and eastward through this evening. it could be quite heavy for a time, actually, across north wales, north—western parts of england. cloud for many of us tonight and it means it is going to be relatively mild going into monday morning. temperatures to start off in the morning 7—11 there in belfast, but a wet start to the day in northern ireland. that rain will spread north and eastward, pushing into scotland into the afternoon, rain across northern parts of england will gradually ease, further showery rain spreading into the south—west. for most, though, it is going to be dry. again, some sunny spells, and temperatures up a little bit and it could reach 16 celsius across eastern areas of england. into tuesday, we are between weather systems, one will move into the north—east fairly early on in the morning and another weather system pushing in from the west as we go into wednesday. so, yes, some rain around

northern and eastern areas on tuesday morning. it will clear away, though, sunny spells then developing, but also some heavy showers and we could even see the odd rumble of thunder into the afternoon in central and eastern areas. temperatures up a little bit, though, maybe 15, 16 celsius for many. by the end of the week, we are continuing to see low pressure situated to the west, a further weather system spreading in from the atlantic, giving further showers or longer spells of rain. you may notice maybe a little bit of snow around the north—east of scotland by the end of the week, some slightly colder air will slowly move its way in here, but really for most of us it is looking dry, sorry, showery for the end of the week with temperatures about 11—15 or 16 celsius with some sunny spells. that is all from me, bye—bye.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories president vladimir putin visits mariupol — the ukrainian city which was captured by invading russian forces last year. switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, is in advanced talks to buy all or part of its troubled rival credit suisse. former prime minister borisjohnson will publish evidence in his defence ahead of a grilling by mps over whether he misled parliament about covid rule—breaking parties. donald trump says he suspects there are plans to arrest him on tuesday — he's called on his supporters to protest.