israel's prime—minister warns the houthis in yemen of a �*heavy price', after a ballistic missile managed to enter israeli airspace. the missile launched from yemen and fell in an open area. the houthis said their attack was only the beginning and showed israel was completely exposed. now on bbc news, the travel show — italy: puglia. could this be italy's hidden gem? i'm going off the beaten track, deep into the south. i can feel the music. it's such a good vibe. for generations, it's where italians have been holidaying. but is the secret out? this is in a place that's steeped in tradition, and at the same time, it's rapidly modernising. known as the land of two seas, you are never far from the coast. ah, so refreshing.

for the longest time, many of its ancient stone towns have been rapidly declining. but now the call�*s going out around the world for people to live, buy and invest here. this is unbelievable. look at these views. this is totally unique, and a rooftop pool, forfree, from the government. come on. but how will it keep that balance between staying authentic and affordable... buongiorno! buongiorno, buongiorno! ..whilst opening up to the world? this week, i'm in puglia. now i've travelled a lot through italy. i love this place. there's great food, there's great wine. but this is my first trip

into the heel of the country. in recent years, the area has become more popular with tourists, but also with the government, that's been trying to entice people back to live in the south. so i'm in a town called presicce—acquarica, and here, they're offering people 30,000 euros to buy a home. sounds like a total bargain. so far, 20 people have applied for the grant. but there may be one more. hi, you must bejesse. buongiorno! i brought you an espresso. oh, my gosh. not sure how long our day will be today. thank you. you're a life—saver. so, are you looking to move here, jesse? so my parents have roots from bari, and they are looking for a lovely summer home. so i'm here on behalf of them, to kind of virtually give them an idea of some properties that might interest them. well, i've got a surprise for you. 0h! come on, let's go.

0k, great. so i've arranged a tour for us. how exciting. so we have got a local tour guide, so you can get to know the area, and me too. hi, francesco. we're ready for our tour. perfect. the town spreads out from the baroque church, interspersed with lovely piazzas, historic homes and, importantly, gelaterias. though its population is rapidly declining, last year, the town saw only 60 births, compared to 150 deaths. francesco, what do you think about all these incentives? living in our small town probably could be an opportunity for the youngest people that... generally, they don't have a lot of money. so it could be important for this kind of person to live. and you need young people here, right? yeah. well, my parents are young at heart. would they be welcome? absolutely. now we arrived to the surprise i had for you, the underground oil mills.

0h! gosh, it's so much cooler down here. natural air—con. in this place was made lamp oil. in all the salento region, we can find a lot of these structures. they are in small numbers in every single town. for exception in procedure, we have these 23 underground mills, because... 23? 23, yes. the olive oil is probably the main product we have here in puglia. now let's see what the homes on sale have to offer. ciao, fabrizio. ciao, ciao. this is my friend, carmen.

yes, so nice to meet you. so i'm going to get my parents on the phone real quick so i can call them, so they can be a part of this. prego. this is my friend, carmen. hi, mom. hi, dad. she's showing us round. i'll tell you more about it later. this is fabrizio. ciao, ciao. it's a bit of a fixer—upper. the church! there's a church? and this is the toilet. we're modern now. do we have to live in presicce, as a permanent resident? - or can a foreigner purchase this? i

the town hall has already launched other funds, including tax benefits for new businesses and baby bonuses for young families. that's the view, too. that's what we want to see. this is lovely. so, jesse, what a surprise. what are you thinking now? i got to be honest, i cannot believe this property, and i really can't wait to talk to my parents and see what they think. this is unbelievable. look at these views. this is totally unique. everything that we're going for, going for culture and tradition and beautiful architecture that you wouldn't find in america, this is it. and a rooftop pool, forfree, from the government — come on. i'm so pleasantly surprised. who needs plumbing? we can get there.

well, i've left the rosati family to continue with their house—hunting in presicce—acquarica. before i head to the next town, further north, i want to take a little diversion. i can understand why people would want to move here, because you're never that far from the sea. think swimming holes, caves, grottoes and places like this. i've lived in asia for the last 11 years and i'm used to wide, sandy beaches. there is nothing like this. check it out. look at the rock formations. so dramatic. it's stunning. 0oh! oh, it's so refreshing. it's such a lovely respite from the heat of the car. bell tolls

here in the rural south, foreign pensioners and retirees are eligible for a 7% flat tax rate. it may not help with its ageing population, but it seems to be bringing in much needed money back into these communities, like here in carovigno, where i'm catching up with another couple. hi, brandie. hi, greg. i'm in your hood. welcome. well, we're sorry we can't be there with you in person. it would be amazing for you to show me around. what made you want to buy here in the first place? you know, wejust started looking about ten years ago, and we started just looking at the country as a whole. puglia's the least — has the least seismic activity of the regions in italy, and so we started looking there. we did everything virtually, their zoom tours, and all of that. and how much work have

you had to do to it so far? when we first got there, you're flushing the toilet with a bucket of water... oh, my gosh! ..and you're cooking on a camp stove with a head lamp at the bottom of the stairs, because there's no real workable kitchen. yeah, there's still plenty to be done. we hope you get to go see the house yourself. please do. i would love to see the house. well, after a little help from the locals, i think i finally found their place. is that the bell? 0h, hello. ah! hi, samantha. hi, carmen! nice to meet you. welcome. come on in. thank you. samantha helped the stuckys find, buy and renovate their puglian home. oh, it's beautiful and light and airy. i like the blue and white scheme. we help people find and restore old ancient homes anywhere in italy, and puglia, it's a really popular place

because you can get a lot for not a lot of money. yeah. so there's lots of room for improvement. you got to be careful, watch your head there. that's ok, because look what you get. how good a deal did they get, and how much do you think greg and brandie have had to spend so far? they got a steal. you know, i think this property was something like just over 30,000 euros to buy, and then just maybe 20,000 to take it to this point. i can't imagine the bureaucracy. no, i can't even, and i do it every day. italy is a forced inheritance country, which means that if you're italian and when you die, you have to pass your assets onto your family down to six generations removed. so the older the house, the more hand—me—downs this house has become, and therefore, there could be many, many owners on the property, back taxes that haven't been paid. sometimes these sixth removed cousins might not realise that they own it. so this is another thing,

another piece you have to be very careful of, that somebody doesn't knock on your door ten years down the road and say, you know, "i am an heir of the old owner. "i get my house back," and it's possible. so you have to be very careful and do your due diligence. and the best advice i can give people is that don't fear for losing a property. you have to be patient and do your due diligence in order for it to be safe. incentivising people from abroad to invest may seem confusing, but the money being brought in is allowing younger italians to move back with their families as opportunities open up — like marco. he started his business here two years ago. salute. salute, cheers. cheers. what are we drinking? we are drinking rose wine. it's lovely. ..because puglia is a land of rose. so, marco, how has it changed? how has carovigno changed? when i was a child, a lot of houses in the historical

centre were abandoned. some of them were burned. right now, it's a really nice historical centre, is clean... it's beautiful. it's beautiful, yeah. because a lot of people invest in rebuild, restyling. so you also wanted to invest. you saw this and... yeah. absolutely. i invest in this place even to collaborate with my community, to bring up the name of carovigno. before i open the bar, there was just the one shop. now there are three different business, and probably they're going to open some new business up in a few months. what do other locals feel about more foreigners coming in? how do they feel about it? they are a little, little scared, but basically, i know that this movement is appreciated by the local people, because of course, tourist people bring more finance, and everything is better for every single business.

to me, it feels like the key here is attracting enough overseas investment to help rejuvenate, without pricing younger italians out. let's hope they can get the mix right. for many, bari is the gateway to puglia, with an international airport and a major seaport on the adriatic. it's usually the first stop, and whilst you might be tempted to whizz straight through, it's worth checking out the old town. not far from the harbour, through some narrow lanes, you'll find the famous pasta—making street. locals chatter

so, on my travels here in puglia, i've been hearing all about this contagious dance fever that dates back centuries here in the south. it's called "pizzica" or "taranta", or "dance of the tarantula". and legend has it that it was a type of music and movement that was meant to be some sort of emergency cure for spider bite victims. now, i grew up in australia and i know all about these creepy crawlies, but i've never heard about a dance about them. i'm starting in the town of manduria. it's within the salento peninsula, basically, the southern end of puglia, where it's still practised, taught and performed.

so we're here at the dance studio. i'm going to learn some steps, but we're a bit late, it's already started. bit nervous. i'm going tojump in. euphoric music plays i'm going to die if she chooses me. carmen chuckles oh, my goodness. she's chosen me! i've no idea what i'm doing! the kids are just

choosing their outfits for the performance. so everyone�*s got a different coloured, brightly—coloured skirt. this archive footage shows a woman experiencing tarantism. it was especially prevalent from the 15th to the 17th century, but as we can see here, it continued well into the 20th century. she looks like she's in a lot of pain. in a way, she is.

it's pretty clear, though, this has nothing to do with the spider bite. what was the real cause, do you think, of tarantism, and why did it only affect women? the whole peasant society was oppressed, and the women were the oppressed part of an oppressed class. but nevertheless, in the salento tradition, the women also had a sort of matriarchal power, that they could express in particular situations. like the dance — including the dance. uh-huh. so it was like a release, like a cathartic release for them, like a form of therapy, maybe? the literal part of tarantism was absolutely a form of therapy. the spider bite wasjust a symbol? yes, just a symbol, because it comes from inside. right. from the inner realm of desire and of frustration.

well, in stark contrast, every august, for the past 25 years, thousands of people gather in the small town of melpignano, to celebrate la notte della taranta — night of the tarantula. cheering it's heavily modernised, and special guest performers also take part on a stage built on the grounds of an old convent. music and i've managed to catch the cast offstage at their headquarters. now, this is such a big event that these guys are practising and touring globally all—year—round. music it's so impressive. i'm amazed at the range of instruments here. there's even a didgeridoo,

can you believe? and the dancers... just beautiful. i can feel the music. it's such a good vibe and it's so lively. bravo! well, back in manduria, the sun has started to set, which means it's time. and that's my pizzica teacherfrom earlier on. rhythmic music so there's been a slight change of plan. we're now doing a flashmob in the middle of the piazza... ..and i'm taking part! oh, my goodness. slightly nervous. 0k.

rhythmic music i'm out of breath. what a rush! i think for me, this is certainly a once—in—a—lifetime experience, and i love how the whole community has turned out, and this has become something of a party. and you know what? i really think this tarantula dance, it's a bit like puglia itself. you know, it's a place that's steeped in tradition yet, at the same time, rapidly modernising. and they're trying to find that balance between keeping authentic and also conveying their charm to the people who are now coming to visit, and also people who are coming to live here. and from what i've experienced so far, i really think they're doing a greatjob.

hello there. over the last few days we've had quite a cold spell of weather, even with some frosts dotted around. now the weather on saturday started to get a little bit milder across england and wales. plenty of sunshine, we saw temperatures reach 20 in the sunshine, both east anglia and south east england. but it was a different story for the north west of the uk, where this cloud was associated with a weather front, and we also had some quite strong winds working across the hebrides, some rough seas here in tiree. now the same area of low pressure is still with us for sunday, but the weather front has moved into more central portions of the uk and is a lot weaker as well. and so we're looking at some patches of rain coming and going across northern england, north wales probably

not amounting to too much. another band of rain will swing its way eastwards across scotland through the day — some of that could be quite heavy. in the south we start off on a quite a chilly note, with temperatures starting off the day into low single figures, but in the sunshine again it will soon warm up and those temperatures are expected to hit about 20 in east anglia and south east england once again. now through sunday night, that weather front starts to gradually trickle its way southwards. it continues to weaken as it runs into an area of high pressure, so very little, if any, rain left on it by the time it reaches the far south of england. maybe just a few spots of drizzle. mild underneath that band of cloud, but otherwise we've got some slightly colder air moving back in across scotland, northern ireland and northern england. so a chilly night, sunday night and a cold start to monday. but monday is a day that will see high pressure establish itself across the uk. and although you might well start off with some cloud and a bit of drizzle across the far south. 0therwise we're looking at a dry day with some decent lengthy spells of sunshine

across the vast majority of the country. and in the september sunshine, it's going to feel quite pleasant really, with temperatures again reaching the high teens to low 20s widely. a little bit cooler than that across the very far north of scotland. however, as our area of high pressure stays with us on tuesday and tends to re—orientate, we'll start to see some of the warmer weather work into scotland and that will tend to boost those temperatures. so we're looking at another largely dry day, the exception the very far north of scotland. a weak weather front could bring a few patches of rain here to some of the scottish islands, otherwise it's dry. and then the sunshine, i think the warmest spots in scotland should climb to about 22 celsius, which is above average for the time of year. quite widely, though, we're looking at highs of 18 to 2! elsewhere. into wednesday, probably slightly more of a breeze coming in off the north sea affecting east anglia and south east england, perhaps keeping some coastal fringes just a little bit fresher. but essentially it's another fine and dry day

with more of that sunshine to look forward to. temperatures climbing a little bit towards south east england, could see highs of around 23 in western portions of greater london. 0therwise little overall change in the temperatures. heading into thursday, again, a few mist and fog patches possible in the morning, perhaps more especially across the northern half of the uk. more of a breeze for parts of eastern and central england, and i can't rule out an odd passing light shower building into the afternoon, although most places will stay fine. slightly fresher air moving into scotland, slightly higher temperatures towards the southeast. we could see highs hit 2a celsius, but from friday and into the following weekend there is quite a bit of uncertainty. we might see some showers or even some longer spells of rain move into parts of the south of the uk, but it looks like the northwest will hold on to the driest and sunniest weather longest. bye for now.

live from london, this is bbc news. a boat carrying migrants from france to britain has sunk, killing at least eight people. israel's prime minister warns of retaliation against yemen's houthis, after they fired a missile that travelled deep into israeli territory. deadly floods continue to prompt evacuations and power cuts across central and eastern europe. at least four people have died in romania. sir keir starmer is accused of breaking parliamentary rules in failing to declare clothes bought for his wife by a labour donor. it's mission accomplished — the crew of the spacex polaris dawn returns to earth

after five days in orbit. hello, i'm martine croxall. french police say eight people died overnight trying to cross the channel to england. their rubber boat was overloaded, with more than 50 people on board. it got into difficulty north of boulogne, at ambleteuse, shortly after setting off. so far this year, 45 people have died trying to make the journey. that's the highest number since 2021. leigh milner has the latest. it's here on this beach, near the town of ambleteuse, where eight people were declared dead last night after a small boat started to sink not long after leaving the coast of france.

translation: the vessel - departed from the slack sector