Me. This Weakening Band of rain will introduce a lot of low cloud. It will become more the norm by morning. Nine and ten, higher than oui morning. Nine and ten, higher than our Daytime Temperatures at this time of the year. But it will be quite blustery if you are travelling in Northern England tomorrow and gcioss in Northern England tomorrow and across the eastern side of the grampians. 11 and 12 in Northern Ireland and england, but in the south we could see 16 or 17 tomorrow. Really mild for this time of the year. It stays mild in the south, but the potential is there for some very wet and windy weather on tuesday and wednesday. This is bbc news, the headlines iraqi forces have taken several villages to the south of mosul, hours after launching a major offensive to retake the western half of the city from so called Islamic State militants. The American Company kraft heinz withdraws its proposed takeover of marmite maker unilever. The deal would have been one of the biggest in corporate history. Thousands of Prison Officers in london and the South East Of England are to get an instant pay increase of between £3,000 and £5,000. There have been concerns the service is understaffed. It takes time to recruit people, it takes time to bring those people on, but im absolutely determined to deal with that. And two people are arrested after a criminal investigation was launched into activities at a forensics laboratory. Now on bbc news, The Travel Show. This week we are in sudan to explore the vast, ancient ruins that tourists rarely visit. There are about 220 pyramids here, which is a lot more than the entire country of egypt. You canjust see them for kind of miles. We go behind the scenes at one of havanas hidden restaurants. And im in peru getting to grips with this acrobatic and very noisy dance. First up this week, we are taking a road trip through sudan. It is a country thats been marked by conflict in recent years and some regions are still off limits to tourists, but it is possible with careful planning to go and explore some of the countrys amazing archaeological sites, pyramids and temples that date Back Thousands of years. We sent Benjamin Zan In Search Of The remains of an ancient kingdom 200 kilometres north of the capital, khartoum. Hey, guys, high fives. Hows it going . Nice to see you. Im going to give you a hug. Hows it going . Thank you for coming. No problem, sure. So, where are we going . We are going to see the pyramids . How long does it take . About four or five hours. We probably should go. Do you have any sudanese card games we could play . You can put on your headphones and listen to your own music. Thats not a game, thats just being anti social. And so we were off on a very long and very hot road trip. Soon it was time for our first stop, coffee. The sudanese love their coffee and for good reason. Does it annoy you that not many people know about these pyramids . It actually does because sudan has a very rich history. As a country so diverse its huge, it was one of the biggest countries in africa, so that brings a lot of diversity because we were influenced by arabs, african countries and everything. But people dont know about all of that. People only know about what the media usually shows, the wars, the starvation, blah, blah, blah. Exactly, it doesnt Show Anything thats rich and anything that would impress people into coming here. They believe pyramids, egypt, nile, in egypt. Sudan has a very rich culture, its very diverse, but still people dont actually know about it. Sometimes that kind of makes you sad because this country has like a lot of history. Exactly. As we set off again, we soon came across the ancient city of naqa. I can only imagine the civilisation that was here, that did this. It is like walking in history. Its the middle of nowhere. Its like this wire, that bit, i can go through easily. It is protected by a 12 year old kid its beautiful. Look at the engravings. This is a ruined, ancient city, one of the largest ruined sites in the country. Back in the day it was an important part of the Kushiti Kingdom Of Meroe due to its proximity to the nile and it served as a bridge between the mediterranean world and africa. But now it lies pretty much unprotected. The only real protection here comes from a group of villagers who periodically visit the well to get water. This is the closest thing to security of these temples. These are the local villagers who have come here to get water. That is pretty much it, there is no one else around. As we explored further, we found some bones on the other side of the ruins. There are bones in here. I know. That is actually crazy, though. It is. It is like thigh bones. It looks so untouched, no one has been inside. As it was getting late we journeyed on. The roads here are long and the sun sets fast and soon we realised the pyramids would have to wait until the following day. We stopped at a Roadside Restaurant to eat. We have a sort of a barbecue but not your own idea of what barbecue is. There is food which is the local, traditional food of sudan. After the meal as we had nowhere to stay we asked around and found a man willing to accommodate us. The only catch was that we were going to be sleeping outside. We are actually sleeping outside which, to my surprise, is not that uncommon here in sudan. So do people actually sleep outside in sudan . Basically in towns most people sleep outside because the sun works as an natural alarm. They mostly need to wake up early, like the first break of light, to go out, like farmers and stuff. Me and my new friends drifted off. The next morning it was finally time to see what we came here for. We got up early. And made a quick stop at a coffee shop miles away from the pyramids. Despite being so close, the owner told me neither he nor any of his friends or family had been taught the history of the pyramids. Growing up, did you tell each other stories about what the pyramids were . Did people used to be scared of the pyramids . Then we journeyed on to see them for ourselves. On arrival, it was more impressive than i had imagined. We had the entire place to ourselves. Woah. How do you feel . We made it. My legs, i cant feel them. All right, so we are actually in the middle of the desert, kind of. We have got history for ourselves. Look at it, its just crazy. And theyjust sit here, completely unguarded. Look at it, this isjust like the actual desert. These Nubian Pyramids are over 4000 years old and are a unesco World Heritage site. Despite that, though, they are completely deserted. Visitor numbers are tiny, about 15,000 a year compared to the millions who go to the pyramids in egypt. And due to being completely unprotected, the pyramids and the history here have been damaged and vandalised. Clearly not many have respected it. Still, it was like nothing i had ever seen. The door is even unlocked to one of the pyramids. Mazin gave me a bit of a History Lesson on what i was seeing. There are more pyramids in this section alone than in egypt. There are about 200 pyramids. You can notice that most of the heads of the pyramids are chopped off. That is an italian explorer. He came here in the 1830s and he chopped off like 1a pyramids searching for gold and we still dont know what he found. Do you know what they were used for . Yes, they were actually tombs for the black pharaohs and queens back in the days. They buried them here with their belongings, and clothing and everything. Its a sort of respect for the kings of course. What is the difference between these pyramids and those in egypt . It is mosatly the size. The pyramids in egypt are a lot bigger. These would go up to a0 metres, but then again the numbers of the pyramids themselves makes the difference. There are about 220 pyramids here which is a lot more than the entire country of egypt, like the pyramids there. Just in this desert . Just in this desert alone. You can just see them for kind of miles, cant you . Exactly. It was coming to the end of an unexpected and surprising trip. I had seen a side of sudan that i never thought i would. The history and stories sudan holds are things you dont hear about too often. But when you see them for yourself it is something you will remember for ever. Next up on The Travel Show, we are in cubas capital havana, meeting the chef who has set up a restaurant in his flat at the top of a tower block. Still to come on this weeks travel show ijoin a dance off with a difference in perus capital, lima. So, dont go away. The travel show, your essential guide wherever you are heading. Hello, im michelle chan, your global guide with top tips on the worlds best events in the coming months. Starting in england, hull is the Uk City Of Culture this year. A 365 day event which kicks off with fireworks and light projections downtown. There will be Art Installations across the city, as well as poetry readings, rock gigs and photography exhibitions. The city will be hosting the turner prize, the renowned annual arts award, as well as concerts and performances throughout the year. The social festival, usually a very british affair, is taking its house and techno to mexico and colombia this year, playing on march 17th and 18th in both nations capitals. It might be even noisier in gadmen, switzerland, over the weekend of February 25th and 26th at the International Dog sledding race. There will be more than 100 teams, and at a slower pace there will be dog sled rides for kids while spectators wait for the winning team to arrive. Staying in the snow in the austrian tyrol lifts are closed to ordinary skiers to make way for the Cult Ski Race White Thrill which takes place in saint anton am arlberg. On April The 22nd over 500 skiers, and snowboarders gather on the beluga ridge for a mass start, perhaps the most intimidating challenge of the well named payne mountain. The record is eight minutes and 1a seconds. The cypriot port of paphos becomes the European City Of Culture this year. There will be Street Theatre and outdoor Art Installations, a mix of arab and eastern music, and later in the year the Berlin Philharmonic is performing. Venues, all outdoors, open air concerts, Cinema Screenings are on beaches and there are outdoor exhibitions. In the Czech Republic the shockproof Film Festival plays on February 28th until march the 5th. From the capital prague to brno this Alternative Festival touts itself as lowbrow and in bad taste, from the ludicrous and bizarre to camp and controversial. Back in Colombia The Vallenato Festival Place from april 6th to the 30th. From april 26th to the 30th. Coming together will be the best composers of this genre of music. Judges are on the hunt for the best drummers, lyricists and singers, but it is really the Accordion Players who steal the show. The winner is crowned rey vallenato and every ten years, and this year is one of those, a decade of winners play to be anointed the king of kings. The disposable Film Festival plays in San Francisco on april 7th. Here is a selection of some of the most innovative films shot with the help of a 3 d printer or entirely on a smartphone. There will be workshops, Panel Discussions and competitions showing quirky, online shorts and of course after parties. Finally, it is time to dig out that feathered headdress. Carnival is fast approaching. Some of my favourite places include the City Of Salvador in brazil, which are arguably more authentic destinations than rio. The party kicks off on February 23rd and in cooler climes, cologne in january begins its feasting and dancing at precisely 11 11am on February 23rd. That is my global guide this month. Let me know what is happening in the place where you live or where you love. We are on e mail and across social media. Until next time, happy travelling. And finally this week here in lima i am off to the outskirts of the city to find out about a 500 year old tradition that was once driven underground and is now enjoying something of a revival. Some people even say it could be the inspiration for break dancing. It is called scissor dancing, and i am going to see if i can make the cut. The origin of the Peruvian Scissor Dance is shrouded in mystery. But many believe the tradition began in the highlands of the andes as an act of worship to the mountain gods. In the 1500s, the dance was performed to show resistance to spanish rule. The movements display the performers dexterity. And the scissors represented their resistance to pain. But the conquistadors thought it was inspired by the devil and it was banned. Despite the ban, the traditions survived and the twisting, Turning Dance Moves were passed down from generation to generation. Now its importance in perus history has been recognised by unesco. And its backbreaking moves would put many break dancers to shame. For example most popular is acrobatics and it looks similar to break dance. Although the scissors are not sharp, learning to control them while dancing and leaping can take years. Almost all of them start when they are a child. Today teams from two different towns are having a scissor dance duel. These battles can last for up to ten hours as the performers move and spin to the music. It seems like anything goes, but the one rule is that you absolutely cannot drop the scissors. And im going to get a lesson to see how its done. Dont shake hands with those. So the top ones stay still and the bottom one. 0h. Its all in the thumb, the thumb and the wrist. First, ive got to get to grips with the scissors. The aim is to hit the handles together in time to the music. The blunt blades are not connected, so holding them in position is really tricky. There is no way i am going to be able to do this and coordinate my feet. And it is Notjust Mastering the scissors. This is the one that makes your knees bleed. Learning the dance moves takes some serious commitment. Does it hurt to do the jumps and land on your back . Does it hurt your head and your knees . Do you have injuries . Is that blood on your trousers . Wow, thats dedication. Oh, and im getting a hat. Gosh, as if its not hard enough after a few minutes, im exhausted. I cant even imagine how hard it would be to do these moves up in the andes where the thin air makes everything so much harder. These guys are true athletes. Its hard work. That was so much harder than i expected. Ive got new found respect for these guys. But sadly thats all we have got time for in this weeks show. Coming up next week somebody at the pub told me tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the year. So im glad im going into an unheated church to sleep. Krista is braving the english weather to find out why more and more people are camping out in old churches. Dojoin us for that if you can and dont forget if you want to follow the rest of The Travel Show team on theirjourneys in real time, you can sign up to our social media feeds. All the details are on your screen 110w. In the meantime, from me, carmen roberts, and the rest of The Travel Show team here in lima, its goodbye, but let me leave you with some more scissor dancing. Good evening, quite mesmerising really. Here in the uk it is cloud all the way, but it has felt more like spring rather than winter this weekend and it is all because of the Wind Direction. It blew in a lot of cloud, this was lowestoft earlier in the day. The Wind Direction will determine our weather this week, as it always does. This Cold Air Meanders into the north on tuesday and wednesday and bennett moves out again. There will be Seesaw Temperatures this week. There is a daisy chain of whether france in the atla Ntic Daisy Chain of whether france in the atlantic heading our way. Not especially heavy rain as it makes its way south across england and wales, but there will be heavier rain in the north West Of Scotland later, and an awful lot of cloud. That cloud will sit on the hills, giving us fog. We have got fog along the coasts as well. Nine and ten, those are the daytime averages for february. But it is definitely a murky start. Not only hill fog, but gusty winds east of the pennines. So for high sided vehicles some blustery conditions. Similar in the north east of scotland, although we have got rain to content with here as well. But that will move away from scotland as we move into the afternoon. It moves into Northern England instead, leaving brighter and fresher weather in scotland. The rain eventually reaches north wales and the midlands as well. Hopefully that reason will blow a few holes in the cloud. We have seen 1a today, we could see 16 or 17 tomorrow. But it is slightly colder in northern scotland. That mild air slowly sinks away. That next little meander of the jet stream pulls the cold into scotland, but back to mild and windy weather by the end of the day. A lot of cloud as well. That rain and wind in the north bringing less mild conditions across the uk by the end of the week. Between now and then there could be a couple of spells of really wet and windy weather. We will keep you posted and there is plenty more information on the website. This is bbc world news today, broadcasting in the uk and around the world. Im chris rogers. The headlines. Phase two of the operation to retake the city of mosul gets under way. Its the last stronghold of so called Islamic State in iraq. Iraqi forces say theyve captured several villages as thousands of troops advance on the western half of the city. The bbc is embedded. Im now above the village and they are about to do smarter it strikes. You look at what happened last night in sweden. Sweden . Sweden asks for clarification after the us president refers to an apparent Terror Attack there, which never happened. Also coming up the American Company, kraft heinz, withdraws its Proposed Takeover Of Anglo dutch rival unilever
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