That is why the who stated it was a variant of interest. As far as whether it causes any more severe disease, the evidence so far is it probably isnt. Although we are seeing more cases of infection, although there are more infections are occurring in england than a year ago, we are actually seeing substantially fewer hospitalisations, so the balance of evidence as at his not going to be causing a large amount of hospitalisations unless Infection Rates go very high. Paul hunter. Now on bbc news it is The Travel Show, Winter Wonderland adventures. Hello, and welcome to a Special Edition of The Travel Show covered in ice, snow, and that special kind of magic, as much of the world prepares to celebrate christmas, and also the end of another year. We spent most of 2023 on the road, so its a great opportunity to be at home to recharge and look back at some of our favourite Winter Adventures here on the programme. So without further ado, lets jump straight in and remember the time when ade headed to Finnish Lapland not to meet santa claus, but a rapper whos keeping his language alive with music. Huskies howl. Ade Finnish Lapland is as close as it gets to a Winter Wonderland. More than one million tourists come here each year in search of the northern lights, santa, and his reindeer. The sami are the Indigenous People who live in this part of the world from northern norway, sweden, finland, and the far north part of russia. Theres around 6,000 samis left in this part of finland, and here, theyre known as the inari sami because most of them live around lake inari, which is 250km north of the arctic circle. Ive never been so far north. Im here after landing in the town of ivalo, just an hour and a half flight from helsinki, i meet my first inari friend. Hello hey welcome to finland and ivalo. Thank you im ade. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, im johanna. Nice to meet you look at your outfit oh, thank you you look amazing. Thank you. Is this our transport . Yeah, its going to be our transport for this trip. And weve got so many things planned for you here. Im looking forward to it. Im loving that hat, thats the way forward. Thank you, its really warm, its really warm. Life here must be really tough. Theres snow on the ground for seven months of the year, and the most practical way to move around is by snowmobile. So, this is the best way to get there . Yeah no, theres no other way to get there. They laugh. Ok, so this is how im rolling. And youre going to teach me, are you . Yeah. Antti, nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, ade. So, tell me about this machine, my friend. Well, these are the things that revolutioned the life here, in one way, because in well, we got them about 50 60 years ago to finland. And this, well, made things much more easier, actually, in here. So, what did you use before these . Skis. Skis . And reindeer. Skis and reindeer. Old school. They laugh. Normally, when youre driving on a track, if you have your feet in here. And your hands on the bar. And if you want to go right, you pull from the right one, and, of course, left, to the left. Well, brake, we have on the left side. Yep. This is the panic button. So, if you lose control or something happens, then you just hit that one. So, i hit that button, and then, i go, antti engine starts. Then were good to go. Oh, its so hard to believe that im on this snowmobile going across lake inari, in finland, and beneath me is thousands and thousands of gallons of water. Its just crazy this place is so beautiful. Whoo i wasnt expecting that. Inari sami culture has been under pressure for decades. In the past, this community was marginalised, and their Mother Tongue was banned from schools. With only 400 inari sami speakers, the language is still threatened. But one man is coming to the rescue, using an unconventional method. Rapping in inari. Amoc, you are a Hip Hop Artist, and you rap in your native language, inari. Yes, inari sami language, yeah. I mean, tell me about it, because i love hip hop, but the last place that i would expect to find a Hip Hop Artist is in lapland. Yeah, the middle of nowhere, yeah . Rapping continues. Many people think its quite weird, doing hip hop, gangster rap in the inari sami language, spoken by 400 people. So, thats the kind of way that im telling about this little minority in a minority. Mm. I like the sound that, its like a mystic, mystical thing that people dont know, really. Theres only 400 inari sami speakers in the world. Yeah. Then, i mean, in that case, how old are they . Whats the average age, are you. . Well, of course, the most people who speak inari sami in their Mother Tongue, they are mostly more than 50 years old. A little bit old, older people. And those older people, are they into hip hop and your rapping style . I dont think so. But there are this new generation also, because theres a lot of revitalising programmes. Rapping continues. Ok, amoc, spit some bars for us and i am pretty sure this will be the premiere on bbc, of Anyone Hearing someone rap in inari sami. So, were looking forward to this. Ok, so. Brap, brap, brap Inari Sami In Da House they laugh. Thats wicked thats wicked, i loved it. I felt it, i felt it you were there. Christa ade getting some lessons in sami hip hop, in Finnish Lapland there. Well, growing up in australia wasnt perhaps the best training for me to brave the Winter Elements but that didnt stop me from getting to grips with some unusual instruments made from ice at a unique Music Festival in norway. Stand by for a virtuoso performance, music lovers. Ooh, youre really feeling. See it in the air it is cold here. And its this cold, the icy conditions and the elevation that drew polar explorers like shackleton to train here before they went on their expeditions. And people still come here for that purpose today. Word is, itll reach a low of 24 degrees celsius tonight. So, id better rug up. But what makes this festival extra special is that the instruments are actually made on the day from nearby ice. Among the line up this year is everything from ice horns to ice drums and ice didgeridoos. The concert� s only hours away, and here you are, making the instruments. This has got to be an unusual thing for a musician. For me, its not. No she laughs but for most musicians, it is. Good sounding ice is the most difficult part. You cannotjust go to your freezer, you cannot go to the nearest lake. Its with ice, as wine there are good years and bad years. Percussive tones. Imitates wind blowing. So, why ice . What inspired this festival . Well, its nearly 20 years since the first time i tried ice, and i found the sound so fantastic, beautiful. With this water, we can drink it after a concert. Or we canjust give it back to nature, where it belongs. And also, the ice reminds me that we have, you know, you have to treat ice so gentle to not break it. And its like we have should treat nature. Whats this instrument over here . This is an ice ophone. An ice ophone . Yes. Percussive tones. Sound is lovely, isnt it . You like it . Yeah. Oh, its lovely. Any chance i could have a go . Mm, very careful. Very careful i promise to be careful i also promise to show no ability whatsoever. They laugh. You may as well give it to a kid. Exactly. It works. This is great so, as evening approaches, the finishing touches are fast being made around the site. I really like it, cos its kind of the sound of nature. So, it doesnt sound like anything else youve ever heard. So, people are really surprised when they hear it for the first time. We dont get to practise. So, the music, it gets made onstage in front of the audience, and thats really special. And i think people are like, what . Is this possible . And, like, its almost not possible, so its pretty cool that we can do it. I guess theres a lot of folk music in it. Its very nordic, with the ice and the snow, and the cold winters. Just in the nick of time, all is ready and we gather for an evening of ice music. Ethereal vocalising. Rhythmic vocalising. Cheering. Well, that was amazing it was such a bonkers soundscape, and incredible to think that all of those strange sounds that were building into this big crescendo were made from ice. I think its also a really interesting way to experience the landscape of norway, Freezing Cold with a full moon overhead. Having said that, it is Freezing Cold. Im frozen through. Its time to head in. Well, over the years, weve followed intrepid explorer Karolis Mieliauskas on several of his adventures around the globe from the canals of sri lanka, to frozen lake baikal, in russia. But lets now remember the first time we met him, as he prepared to take on a treacherous i,000km motorbike ride across siberia to what claims to be the coldest town on earth. Rather him than me. Between yakutsk and oymyakon is i,000km. So, itravel 200km per day. So remote, nothing around. Just mountains, forest, taiga, and cold. This is the permafrost land. When i started on the first day, the Yakutian Siberian people who live there said, please, dont do that. Karolis, you will lose your face on the first day. The frostbite will eat you. Even though i had helmet and, you know, some protections, motorcycling in winter On The Road Of Bones doesnt promise a safe ride. Normally, i travel alone. In this situation, i had two vehicles with me. One was for my support team, and another one served as a garage. I didnt want to have coffee in the middle of the day. I was driving for hours alone. What is happening inside my head, i call it sometimes as an act of meditation. Riding in such harsh conditions, so cold, i have to be only now and here, because if i give a chance to myself to think, ok, there will be warmer, im hungry, ill get food, and so on then it becomes so cold, it is impossible to ride. I have to accept all this cold and completely relax. Otherwise, it doesnt work. On the first day of my ride, i really had the feeling of, oh, im home. There is no hotel at night. I received a simple tent with a little stove inside. That night was 48 degrees below. And inside the tent, we measured 13. Bleep cold, you know inside the tent, you want to relax. But then, we said, ok, guys, lets get out to see to the night. Most of us were like, i have never seen sky like this. Actually feeling like you are in space somewhere. Last 30km, it was so mentally tough for me. In one moment, i opened the throttle more, you know, 100 120kph, steering started to freeze. So, it means i see i cannot move it. I started to look for the straight lines, not to use it too much. And then, i arrived and i saw the sign oymyakon, you know . And no thoughts emptiness. Ok, im here. Dog barks. When its 55, the town looks pretty empty. And then, maybe one hour later, ah, its done. Ahh the last thing left is to have a swim in the river. Ah ok, to finish off our festive special, lets have a bit of theatrical fun. Here in the uk, panto short for pantomime is always the big draw at this time of year. But there is a tiny village in the middle of Rural Norfolk with a population of around only 200 people thats been put on the map, thanks to its annual Christmas Show with not a Pantomime Dame or villain in sight. And a few years ago, i went along to join the cast for one night only. Well see you again in 2024. But in the meantime, its curtain up, strike up the band, and a very Merry Christmas and happy new year from all of us here at The Travel Show. Lets roll out. Let the trumpets call. All the people shout. Hurray and strike up the band. Hear the cymbals ring. With 2,000 pom poms and one and a half million rhinestones, this is a show to remember for the 110,000 people who come here during the festive season. Now in its 43rd year, this family run production was started as one mans vision. Its a journey to Christmas Eve, basically, in music, song and dance. But through its popularity, through the years, its had to come forward. So, its now starting november the 6th. Its basically a nonstop extravaganza of music, dance, and song. Song crescendos. This year, over 3,000 west end and broadway artists auditioned to be part of the company of over 120 performers. And today, ill bejoining them for the big finale. But first, a crash course in learning my steps. Clap to the front. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, four, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Hands, hands, bow, stand left foot. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight whoo and then, make your way back out. 0k. Cool thank you so much for teaching me, i hope i dont cause you any disruption later. You were great no worries, youll be great. So, tell me, whats it like for you guys to perform in a show like this . Cos its a little bit different, isnt it . Yeah, its very different. Its not like any other show. Im one of the singers in the show, and i did the show last year and fell in love with it, so back this year. Itsjust such a variety, isnt it . Like, even as a singer, i do lots of Musical Theatre stuff, but this has got lots of classical i in there, as well, so its reallyl nice to get that kind of mixture. One thing thats incredible here is that were celebrating christmas for two months every day. Yeah youd think itd get a little tedious, but it doesnt, because every show, weve got 1,400 people watching, and theyre all there to celebrate christmas. And its just amazing to do shows every day, twice a day. Cheering. Ive been dreaming of christmas time. Every day through the year. Trees shine in every window. Children all dream of reindeer hoofprints in the snow. Ive been longing for christmas time. When hearts are warm. And filled with joy. Theres love for all to share. As gifts. This is susie. Its my secret changing room. Shes going to help me get into my costume. Ahh the best time of the year. Whispering i have to go onstage now. Lets hope i remember my steps. Applause. She laughs excitedly. Ah ok, so. I didnt fall over, i didnt forget the steps, and i didnt cause any kind of incident. So, as far as im concerned, job done. But i must say, being up there, looking out at the audience, all standing, clapping, enjoying themselves, everyone singing, it really was something a bit special. And i didnt fall over yes hello there. At its peak on wednesday, storm gerrit brought gusts of winds just shy of 90 miles an hour. And despite the storm pulling away, its still pretty windy out there with gusts of winds generally ranging from 50 to 70 miles an hour across the country. So a blustery afternoon in store and still some showers. Heres gerrit now off into scandinavia where the warnings here remain in force. But for us, its a case of sunny spells and scattered showers. Some of the showers heavy with rumbles of thunder and lightning across wales and north west england once again will see that line of persistent showery Rain Drifting its way slowly, south and east, never really getting into the london area. A fairly narrow but intense line of showers from lincolnshire into south west england. Elsewhere, a windy afternoon with further sunny spells and scattered showers to come. A cooler story in the far north of scotland. Once again, top temperatures generally between four and seven degrees. But elsewhere, were looking at 9 to 13 degrees the high. Now, as we go through the night, that line of rain will push its way down through the south east. Showers continue into the north and with the wind swinging round to a northerly direction, therell be a wintry component to Higher Ground in scotland here, low single figures. But elsewhere well see overnight lows between five and eight celsius. So into friday, wintry showers continue to Higher Ground in the north. A line of showery rain through Northern Ireland into Northern England, sunny spells and scattered showers for the rest of england and wales. Still blustery, but the winds slowly easing down. Top temperatures generally between five and 11 celsius. Now, if youre heading off for the weekend, travel plans for new years eve, please keep abreast of the forecast. Is another area of low pressure, perhaps not quite as intense as storm gerrit, but nevertheless, another spell of wet and very windy weather, widespread gales likely and yes, a combination of rain, sleet and snow, potentially even at lower levels across Northern England and parts of scotland. So as we move into sunday, new years eve, that area of low pressure will continue to drift its way steadily eastwards, will see spiralling around that low, a rash of showers. Itll be windy across england and wales, slightly lighter winds in scotland, slightly quieter story, but it will start to get just that little bit cooler. And as we move into new years day, the rain will continue, but those temperatures will gradually ease away. Live from london, this is bbc news. As Israeli Forces advance towards central gaza, Tens Of Thousands of palestinians are forced to flee Refugee Camps there. The Israeli Military shows journalists what it says is the largest hamas tunnel it has discovered so far in gaza. And police in Greater Manchester declare a Major Incident after a tornado sweeps off roofs and leaves thousands without power. We start with the latest on the israel gaza war. Tens of thousands of palestinians are moving out of sprawling urban Refugee Camps in central gaza strip, as israeli tanks and troops advance. Israeli forces have told them to head south and west into hastily built and already overcrowded tent camps. The israeli army has released this new footage which is says shows the 55th brigade on military operations in the khan younis area of gaza. The idf said it has deployed Additional Forces to the Southern City the hometown of the hamas leader yahya sinwar. Theres also been an intensification of fighting across the Israel Lebanon Border in recent days, sparking fears of a wider conflict. A member of israels war cabinet has warned that the military will take matters into its own hands if Cross Border Attacks by the Hezbollah Group dont stop. Meanwhile, the Israel Defense forces says it regrets harm to civilians during Christmas Eve air strikes. An Israeli Military official says the use of the wrong munition led to extensive Collateral Damage in strikes targeting the maghazi