epic railjourney across the southern united states. this is the mighty mississippi. the economic backbone of early america, running north to south for more than 2000 miles, carrying the people and cargo that helped to turn this country from a fledgling upstart into a powerhouse. for much of the 19th century, steamboats like this ruled the river. but in 1879, construction began on a transcontinental train line, that would link the newfound prosperity with the isolated far west. connecting the gulf of mexico with the pacific ocean. on this journey i ll be following the railroad that pushed the american dream along the mexican border all the way to california. every trip is unique. it s a moving city. and i will be meeting some of the people who help define this unique, diverse and fascinating part of the country. horn blares. new orleans, my first port of call. right now in the middle of one of its annual street parties, the french quarter festival. jazz music plays. the area g
on covid test providers who ve been accused of taking advantage of holidaymakers travelling abroad. more than 80 companies listed on the government website are to be warned over misleading prices. a further 57 firms are being removed from the website because they either don t provide the relevant tests or they no longer even exist. 0ur transport correspondent caroline davies has the details. if you travel, you test. and you pay for those tests. the government s own website has a list of providers, but booking through them isn t to guarantee things will go smoothly as barbara lowe found out coming from her holiday in portugal injune. we didn t get any test results at all. you couldn t get through to them on the phone, you couldn t contact them via the website. well, to be honest, i think it s quite farcical. i m annoyed, and i m upset that i ve lost my money and i haven t got what i paid for, basically. the government lists companies with the cheapest at the top, but some
rules on the importation of dogs to the uk, in response to a rise in puppy smuggling. the proposals include raising the minimum age for imported dogs from 15 weeks to 6 months, and banning heavily pregnant animals. lebu diseko has more. hundreds of puppies brought into the country illegally are intercepted each year. the numberfound not to have met the uk s pet import rules more than doubling between 2019 and 2020 alone. many have health problems and had not been checked by certified vets. an increase too in the number with docked tails and cropped ears, more than 600% in the last five years. the government is proposing new rules for puppy welfare standards, including raising the minimum age at which they can be imported from 15 weeks to six months, a ban on importing heavily pregnant dogs, and an end to importing dogs with cropped ears or docked tails. when it comes to ear cropping, unfortunately we have seen is an increase in demand for dogs with cropped ears, a completely
hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the military alliance nato says at least 20 people have died this week in chaotic scenes at kabul airport as thousands try to flee afghanistan. former world leaders have criticised the us withdrawal from afghanistan, with former uk prime minister tony blair calling it unnecessary and tragic. the west has to understand that when we do something like this, the signal it sends out is one of inconstancy. it s one that says, look, if the going gets tough, we re out. as thousands of afghans try to escape the taliban, europe is preparing for a potential new wave of refugees. a state of emergency is declared in parts of new york state ahead of the forecast arrival of hurricane henri. and don everly, one half of the everly brothers duo with his late brother phil, has died at the age of 8a. now on bbc news, another chance to enjoy rajan datar s epic rail journey across the southern united states in the travel show. this is the mighty mississippi.