In the scottish premiership, the league leaders, celtic currently ten points clear taking on aberdeen. Callum mcgregor gave the away side an early lead but ash taylor equalised. Thats one of three matches today, with second placed rangers also in action. The first of the days womens fa cup matches has been called off due to storm dennis thats arsenal against lewes. But there are four more fifth round games scheduled all two oclock kick offs. Check the bbc sport website for updates. Sam skinner and Matt Fagerson have been added to the scotland squad for the rest of the six nations. Theyve both recovered from injury. Glasgow warriors back row fagerson last played a test in august, while skinner missed out on the world cup injapan after sustaining a hamstring problem in the summer test win over france. The lock forward has been impressive for exeter chiefs, helping them to the top of the premiership. After two defeats in the six nations, scotland are away to italy on saturday. Rory mcilroy takes a share of the lead into the final round of the genesis invitational event in los angeles. Hes io under par, alongside adam scott and matt kuchar, one shot clear of the field. Way down on five over par is tiger woods, the host of this tournament. He said he was feeling run down and hes skipping next weeks event in mexico as he continues to manage his workload in the build up to the defence of his masters title in april. Shaun murphy is playing kyren wilson in the final of snookers welsh open lets go live to cardiff and its murphy who has the advantage at the moment he took the first frame. Its the first to nine. You can watch the match live on bbc two in wales or via the red button, bbc sport website and app. Thats all the sport for now. Next on bbc news, its the travel show. Coming up on this weeks programme electric tuk tu ks. It is almost silent, the suspension is still the same though. Fatphobia and the woman that beat it. And, look away now if you dont like snakes. Helaughs. He laughs. Horns beeping. We are starting ourjourney in sri lankas capital city colombo, where the true kings of the road are the tuk tuks, also known as auto rickshaws or three wheelers. Horn honks. Ahh and where honking seems to be a national sport. Nothing like the great honking horn of a giant bus to put fear in you. There is actually over a million tuk tuks here in sri lanka and it definitely shows, because these things are everywhere. Thats a pretty high number for a country ofjust over 20 million people. The prospect of good money has prompted many young people to become a driver here. The number of tuk tuks hasjumped eightfold in the last 15 years, causing a little bit of congestion on colombos roads. And it is notjust the pros. Driving a rented tuk tuk is increasingly popular with tourists too. Why are you renting a tuk tuk today . What is it about a tuk tuk that made you go, i will get in one of these today . Well its because of the convenience i can stop it wherever i want and i can go wherever i want. Having that freedom is really important to you then . Yes. How excited are you on a scale of one to ten . 0h,100. They laugh tourists need a local driving licence to drive a tuk tuk here, but also some practice. Ok, this definitely is not as straightforward as i thought it would be. I think i need some assistance 0k. Thushari has been a tuk tuk driver for four years. Female drivers remain a rare sight in sri lanka, but times are slowly changing. Stay in neutral, otherwise ill jump forward, gotcha. So the horn is my friend. Friend, yes. Right, so they are your top tips . I think i am ready for the road, thank you. You really feel that lack of suspension. And there are so many potholes here, oh once you reach that level of comfort with driving, the best thing about driving a tuk tuk is that you can just take in all the gorgeous scenery. And on my left is the beautiful ocean. But the gentle ocean breeze isnt enough to disperse the emissions produced by the millions of vehicles on sri lankas roads. Air pollution in its capital city regularly exceeds the levels recommended by the world health organization. Ten years ago the government banned the import of the most polluting rickshaws, the 2 stroke engines, but several hundreds of thousands remain on the roads. The pollution definitely isnt as bad as i thought it would be, but it is definitely palpable in fact i think ijust ate some. As part of the global fight against climate change, sri lanka has pledged to reduce its Greenhouse Gas emissions by 30 by 2030. This man hopes his invention will help achieve his countrys goals. So this is what you have been working on . Yes, this is our electric tuk tuk, this didnt really look like this earlier, it was a very old chassis that i used. We basically took the engine off here and fixed the motor to the old gearbox and then we have the battery pack that is placed under the seat. Sasiranga de silva won a un award for creating a simple kit which converts petrol tuk tuk engines to electric. What inspired you to develop this electric technology, what was the inspiration behind it . As you can see, sri lanka is a beautiful country, but since recently we noticed that the emission levels are higher, so the respiratory diseases, levels of disease are going high there, so i thought, you know, as an engineer, if i do my best, to contribute to bring the emissions down in sri lanka. What do you think it is going to take to get your conversion get up and running, produced on a mass scale . Because it is quite high, and a tuk tuk is quite a low cost product, so the conversion cost has to be as low as possible for drivers to afford it. So i have been doing so Many Research so i can downside the battery so i can reduce the cost. Sasiranga hopes he can bring the cost of his conversion kit down by a quarter, to the equivalent of about 1700 or £1300. And heres another eye catching innovation an emission free electric model. Of course the litmus test will be whether electric tuk tu ks are accepted by local drivers. This is where the magic happens. So i have asked thushari tojoin me on a taster session. So this is it, yeah, a bit different to what were used to. I am going in the back though. Makes a change, to be driven around. Its so quiet, isnt it . Compared to the four stroke engine, its almost silent. She laughs. The suspensions still the same though, still getting rattled around in the back. Were pretty lucky though, were among the first people to try this electric tuk tuk. Excellent driving, excellent driving. So how was it, how did it feel . Ifeel your pain. And would you one day like to own one of these . The issue of affordability will decide whether electric tuk tu ks are ever developed on a mass scale. But here, the projects manager is bullish about the future. Whether we like it or not, the future is electrification of the transportation system. So i think in the next five years or so, it is going to come into the streets, and even bikes and even scooters, so it is going to happen in the nearfuture, yeah. Five years is ambitious, but who knows the spirit of innovation and a smattering of political will might be just enough to clear the air in colombo. Stay with us, because still to come the traveller who took on the fatphobes and won. And snakes in the rainforest how this jungle paradise is about to quadruple in size. He laughs. So dont go away. Right in the heartland of sri lanka lies kandy, a bustling historical and religious town, set around a tranquil artificial lake and surrounded by scenic hills. There are hundreds of hotels here to choose from in kandy, but there is one that beats all others for one thing eccentricity. This hotel was built in the 19305, and its current owner helga has filled it with a mishmash of art pieces adorned with antique furniture and wall to wall ceiling paintings and photographs. This quirky art was originally a form of therapy. I was going through a rather dark period myself, going through a bitter divorce. And my father said to just get out of your system, paint it out. At first it was all black and then came the gold monkeys, see no evil, speak and hear, you know. Itjust progressed from there, and i thought this was fun. This place is just completely covered in beautiful old photos. What you get is a real sense of pride in the familys history and heritage. They have had some really famous visitors here too like gandhi. You have got quite an eccentric style. How would you define your style though . Well, i dont think i am particularly eccentric. I mean, this is a minimalists nightmare. As somebody said, this place doesnt have a theme i said life doesnt have a theme. With the dark lighting and the cobwebs and the kind of dark artwork along this corridor, there is a real eerie, ghostly feel to this place. I kinda feel i am going to meet someone, or something at the end of it. There definitely was someone around. A couple freshly settled in their room for the night. I kind of like this because the room is really nice, you can see its all pink, thank god its not black. For sure im not coming out of the room in the night, thats for sure. She laughs i dont want to get killed. Art must be fun. I like art to make people smile, i like people to smile. She chuckles. Next this week, the latest part in our series about travelling differently. This time we met the woman who decided that bodyshamers would not stop her doing what she loves most. I am such an explorer, a naturally nomadic person. I want to see the world and so travel for me is my happy place. Its joy. But when i am in one place for too long, i feeljust not myself. Like, i always want to be on the go. Im kellie brown, im a youtuber, influencer and traveller. Good morning. It is our first full day in lisbon. We got here yesterday. Delirium, jetlag, checking in to the airbnb, all we did was take a walk around the neighbourhood. But today we are out and about and we will explore. So as much as travel excites me, there are things that can be intimidating. Being a plus size person, you never know what levels of fat phobia you may be exposed to. Different cultures are a little more outwardly fat phobic but its not something that would stop me from going where i want to be. Just a couple of girls on their way to barcelona. We have a long flight and were about to have a lot of fun, so come with us. Come when it comes to flights, i think it is something that i didnt realise how many larger people were really afraid of, until i would talk about travelling on my youtube channel. I want to talk to you about travelling while fat. Aka, being a plus size person who loves to travel. And, you know, i would get comments like i am terrified of flying, not because i am afraid of the plane, but i am afraid of how people perceive me or my seatmate or if i have to ask for a seatbelt extender. I had someone roll their eyes one time, i was walking past their seat and they rolled their eyes like you sitting with me . And i wasnt. I ended up being lucky in having a whole row to myself, to which i was laid out and they were all crushed. Im like thats what you get. I decided a long time ago to let go of caring or the Flight Attendant will pass it to you so discreetly, here, honey, here you go. and im like, thank you click. Just wandering down random alleys in a strange land. Whether youre travelling in europe or asia, africa, throughout the us, in australia, you know, i think there are going to be people with an opinion about your weight no matter where you go. And so how that informs the places the choices i make when it comes to travel is to not make that a thing. You know . The first thing i care about is safety and whats happening globally like are they in crisis or war . These are the things you think about when you travelling because if you worry about how every Single Person in any given country or city is going to receive your largeness, you would not go anywhere. I could go down the street to the Grocery Store and someone can have an opinion about me. But its not going to prevent me from Walking Around the city in which i live. I cant let that stop me from exploring the world. And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Your dance break. Now, sri lanka is like heaven for nature lovers. Almost half the people who come here do some sort of wildlife activity. Beyond the big beasts, like leopards and elephants, theres a trove of smaller critters many that you will find nowhere else on the planet. And thats why we have come to the wet zone on the south west of the island. Now, i know you cant see much apart from really tall trees but mother natures soundtrack is truly spectacular. Birds chirping. This is the edge of sri lankas last primary rainforest, sinharaja. Its a hotspot for biodiversity rare plants, unique bird species, amphibians and snakes all thrive here. Its so important ecologically, that there are plans to quadruple it in size. The only way to explore it is by foot. And for that youll need some serious legwear. So the forest is also home to bloodthirsty leeches, so i picked up these attractive anti leech socks in the hopes that i make it out without any of them attached to my skin. Ridma used to hike and swim in the forest as a child. Its so dense. Yeah. Just a tiny amount of sunlight coming through. He now runs tours of the jungle around the island. Its slippery. The sinharaja forest covers more than 8,000 hectares but you do not need to walk very far to spot some wildlife. Here, look. It is a kangaroo lizard. Its tiny it almost doesnt look real. Some of it is after your blood. Hes just moving until he can settle down and then he will suck blood from me. The way it moves is creeping me out at the moment and its so small. I shouldnt be scared. When he sucks the blood he will grow three times the size. And now he is getting and i can feel it. Really . What does he feel like . Just a tiny little pinch. Oh, you can see it getting bigger now he is sucking blood. In truth, every inch of this rainforest is buzzing with life. There are plenty of spiders of course, but were here for something a bit more slippery. See there. Its a green pit viper. Under the leaf. Oh, my gosh almost the same colour as the leaf. Its tiny. Its a big one. If this snake bites me what happens . Its quite painful. It gives you cramp. And like, it depends on your condition. Stay away. Ridmas expert eyes soon spotted another baby snake on our path. Whats the name of this snake . It is an ahaetulla, eye catcher, eye catch snake. Because they are used to here on the trees at your eye level and with this. See . He tried to go for you he is a little one. He has no venom but he does have teeth. He will bite you until blood comes out. Oh, my god. Wow you werentjoking, werent you, when you said it was worth it . Every time i come into here it is notjust going into the jungle. I come into a big living creature. The rainforest is alive. Is it true that there are plans to quadruple the size of the rainforest . Its on the papers now but it is a big project and it takes time. And its good because sinharaja gives us a lot of things, you know, like the rain to the whole other part of the country. This will be amazing for sri lanka. Across the country. Not only for sri lanka but for the world. Yeah. We made it there are 104 different types of snakes in sri lanka. Only six are deadly to humans. But with about 80,000 bites a year, this country has one of the worlds highest bite rates per capita. Most victims are local farmers working in paddy fields. Once they are treated in hospital they often turn to people like pieris for the after care. Pieris has been an ayuverdic doctorfor over a0 years. He says he has treated more snake bites than he can remember. So this is how you make the treatment for your patients . Oh, that looks painful what happened . This villager is lucky. A bite from a hump nosed viper can be fatal. This mixture of herbs will make the swelling disappear. So is this exactly what ayuverdic treatment is . Using herbs to treat snake bites . 0k. Im not going to touch this hand but i want to wish you all the luck with your healing process. It sounds like you are in good hands. It has been an honour to meet you. Thank you so much and good luck with everything. Im so glad i survived the crawling beasts. Well, thats all we have time for you this week, but coming up next week, mike is in rio ahead of the Biggest Party of the year and we find out just how much work goes into preparing the carnival each year. All the welding, the sewing, the machines, everybody is working on one show, your parade. Yes. Everything. For now, from me, lucy hedges and the rest of the travel team here in sri lanka, its goodbye. Hello. Whilst we have had some very strong winds, it has been the rain from storm dennis that has caused most of the major issues, and there are still some met office amber heavy rain warnings around this afternoon, over the howe green for england and wales, where we have seen england and wales, where we have seen some england and wales, where we have seen some large rainfall. That has led to scenes of flooding like this in worcestershire. There are four severe flood warnings on the main river they are, two in south wales where we have had that Major Incident declared and people evacuated because of the flood waters over 100 villages of rainfall causing that. We have over 300 flood warnings just causing that. We have over 300 flood warningsjust in causing that. We have over 300 flood warnings just in england causing that. We have over 300 flood warningsjust in england and causing that. We have over 300 flood warnings just in england and wales alone. You can see how the rain is moving from wales into the east anglia and the south east. The winds are anglia and the south east. The winds a re less of anglia and the south east. The winds are less of an issue but it is pretty windy across scotland and Northern Ireland, where we have seen some frequent and heavy showers appearing. It is turning coolerfor this afternoon after that rain clears away. Lots of showers coming in overnight, we have seen the rain clear in the south east of anger on this evening. We focus more towards the north, and that is storm dennis, the north, and that is storm dennis, the centre of it getting closer to scotland, so the winds could get squeezed here during the course of the night into the early hours. The showers continue, cooler than last night, certainly for england or wales, three or 4 degrees. A windy and blustery day for monday, not just as one day, there will be sunshine, showers, heavy winds pushing eastwards for the south of england and wales and some frequent showers coming into scotland and Northern Ireland. Snow over the highest ground in scotland, because temperatures are actually not too bad for the time of year, double figures in the east coast of scotland. That area of low pressure is all that is left of storm dennis which fades away towards norway and we are left with this showery air strea m we are left with this showery air stream from the atlantic. Again, sunshine, blustery showers, bands of heavy, perhaps under a showers, with some hail mixed in. And probably more wintry showers coming to scotla nd more wintry showers coming to scotland and Northern Ireland on tuesday as the air gets colder and those temperatures start to drop a little bit. Lots of showers on tuesday. We lose the showers overnight, it gets chilly, and then we see the next when system lining up we see the next when system lining up to come in from the atlantic. So, for many areas we start dry and it may stay dry for most of the day for east of england in scotland. Early sunshine but clouding over, rain for the west, particularly wet for Northern Ireland, the west of scotla nd Northern Ireland, the west of scotland and the north west of england, perhaps the wales getting perhaps the welsh hills as well. The weather continues to be u nsettled the weather continues to be unsettled into next week. No sign of the weather settling at all. More wind and rain unfortunately on the way. And even though the rain is clearing today, it does not mean that the river levels will drop straightaway. This is bbc news, im martine croxall. The headlines at 2 South Wales Police declare flooding caused by storm dennis a Major Incident, as heavy rain and strong winds continue to lash large parts of the uk. As you can see behind, the Emergency Services doing an incrediblejob trying to get people out of their homes, homes that have been ruined by water gushing through, destroying all their possessions. Hundreds of flood alerts are in place across the uk including a number of red warnings, meaning theres a danger to life
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