this is bbc news. the headlines — central banks in europe and north america have welcomed a government—backed deal in switzerland for the country's biggest bank, ubs, to take over its rival, credit suisse. the $3 billion deal was announced after emergency talks. there's been a subdued start to the week's trading on financial markets. environmental scientists from around the world, who have spent the last eight years analysing evidence about climate change, are due to unveil their work at the un. their report is expected to become the benchmark for discussions by governments on how to respond to the threat. president putin's visit to the devastated city of mariupol has been condemned by ukraine. an aide to president zelensky

called the russian president a criminal returning to the crime scene. it was the first time mr putin had been to a newly—occupied ukranian territory. now on bbc news, 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 2.5 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 1,000th 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! 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—timejobs 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. its 30 stages, taking the big attractions at the jules 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 important just 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 horns honk. woo! it's a symphony in the harbour. that means we're not playing violins. we're not playing basses 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 easily jumped 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. horns 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. weu. 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 deviljoey 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 has joeys 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!

the weather this march has been very wet across a good part of the country, many areas have seen over a months worth of rainfall although we are not near the end of march, that winters place have had one and a half times as much rainfall in an average march and a lot more to come as we look at the weather forecast over the next five days, the largest rainfall totals across western and north—western areas of the country. by the end of month summaries will see double the amount of march rain. sunday we had some spells of sunshine initially, things clouded over from the west as the day went by with rain arriving across

western areas as the weather front started to push its way in. this weather front will be with us as we head into monday pushing its northwards, followed by further weather fronts over the next few days, it is looking like a bit with a pattern with outbreaks of rain and brisk wind around as well. monday some of the heaviest rain working across from northern ireland into scotland, further southwards the odd patch of light rain or drizzle but potentially heavier rain for wales and western england late in the day, eastern england not seem too much in the way of rain, one of the driest parts of the country, given a few bright spells coming through the cloud, temperatures reaching as high as 16 degrees. monday night will continue with the theme of further outbreaks of rain, quite extensively, some rain quite extensively, some rain quite heavy as well, temperatures with all the cloud and rain around not falling lower than nine or 10 celsius, looking at a mild start to tuesday morning. tuesday or

heavy rain to come across scotland, a wet day here, elsewhere generally there should be a bit brighter, wind is a bit stronger but there will be showers around, some heavy and hungry, through the afternoon the next weather system quickly working through the west will bring outbreaks of rain back into northern ireland. temperatures, foremost between 12 and another mild day, for the middle part of the week still unsettled this time closely packed isobars working in across the uk the wind will be picking up on strength, we could see gusts of wind reaching 40, 50 60 miles an hour across the north—west of the country and a day on wednesday of sunshine and frequent heavy thundery showers, some with hail, some showers, some with hail, some showers across western areas might come together to give some lengthier outbreaks of heavy rain. temperatures 12 or 13. forthursday heavy rain. temperatures 12 or 13. for thursday are similar with a picture, very showery some showers heavy with rail and thunder, most across

western parts very windy across the north—west, gusts of 40 even 50 miles an hour, still gale force gusts across exposed north—western areas. temperatures in double figures but into friday again plenty of showers around, signs the winds are starting to ease down on orbit, like i said, still a windy kind of day, sunshine and passing showers, temperatures ten — 13 degrees for many, starting to get cool in scotland who might see snow in the highest scottish mountains. through friday the weekend and next week, we will continue with the milder and unsettled weather pattern with wind often coming from the west or south—westerly direction. rainfall totals will really mount up through the west of the month.

this is bbc news. i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories — switzerland's biggest bank, ubs, takes over its rival, credit suisse, to help restore global financial stability. environmental scientists prepare to unveil eight years' of work, showing the scale of the climate crisis, and the threat from global temperature rises. it's already increased by two celsius and is having a devastating impact on the snow and ice up here. ukraine condemns president putin's surprise visit to the russian—occupied city of mariupol, devastated in the early months of the war. translation: like all - ukrainians, like all mariupol residents, ifeel that today a war criminal, whose name is vladimir putin,

visited the scene of a crime he committed for several months.