operation in rafah if a deal is reached over the hostages still held by hamas. the us secretary of state antony blinken is flying to the region to discuss the situation. police in the united states have moved in on a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. it's one of a growing number of protests at universities in america over the war in gaza. british conservative mp dr dan poulter quits the party to join the opposition labour party. speaking to the bbc, he said the conservatives were no longerfocused on public services and a general election was needed as soon as possible. ukraine says russia has carried out another air attack — narrowly missing a hospital. the us says it will "rush" patriot air defence missiles and ammunition to ukraine. president zelensky says they are "urgently" needed. now on bbc news — the travel show: cabo verde: beyond the beaches.

there are still places that surprise me, even after travelling for nearly 20 years — countries that appear to be one thing but, when you dig a little deeper, turn out to be something completely different. this is pretty spectacular. it is, it is. and i'm loving all the colours. the cabo verde archipelago, located just over 600km from senegal�*s coast, is one of them. tourism has really picked up pace here in recent decades, and it's easy to see why — crystal—clear waters, golden beaches, year—round sun, all the ingredients for an amazing holiday. but i feel there's so much more to this place just waiting to be discovered by travellers like us. and all you have to do is head beyond the beaches.

i've been lucky enough to explore a lot of africa, but what i've heard about cabo verde is that you get this real sense of worlds and cultures colliding. so, if you take a look at the shops and some of the market stalls, they're selling african—style arts and crafts. the churches look like they've been lifted straight from a street in europe. and with a shared ancestry and heritage, you really get this south american feel

through the people and the music. cabo verde consists of ten islands and was a portuguese colony till 1975. atjust 30 kilometres long and 12 kilometres wide, sal is one of the archipelago�*s smallest islands but the most popular for tourists. many visitors stay in santa maria, in the south of sal, and it caters for their every need. but i want to get a real taste of life here. and to do that, i need to head to the beach and get myself a guide. he speaks creole. oh, sorry! english. 0h! i only talk english! you look local. it's not the first time someone has told me i look like i'm from here. yeah, yeah. i'm sure it won't be the last. so... but i'll take that as a compliment. thank you. yes! so, my name is elvis.

i'm lucy. pleased to meet you, lucy. good to meet you. so here, we are local tour guides... mm—hm. ..in sal island, who do the tours. i want to see the real sal. i want to get away from the touristy bits. i want to get a real flavour for what this place is about. it pleased me to take you out from that touristic atmosphere. yeah, i want to hang with a local, i want to meet some locals, i want to get a real vibe of this place. and it sounds like — i think you sold me — it sounds like you're the guy. good! all right! thank you. so i can show you the car. all right, let's do it. you can choose to sit in the cab... yeah. ..and you can sit in the back. come on! you know what i'm going to say — the back, obviously! let's do it! this is a really nice way to travel around the island — sun in yourface, wind in your hair. definitely beats sitting in a cab. in the town of palmeira, you can experience a slice of authentic cabo verdean life,

just 19 kilometres away from the ever—changing santa maria. palmeira is an important port where everything that comes and goes from sal passes through. it's vibrant, colourful and an ideal first stop on my tour of the island. this is so different to anywhere i've been so far. it's so colourful! that's it. that's why you have to get out from that touristic atmosphere... mmm! ..come down, see the local people, try the local foods. yes! once you try a local food, yeah, you'll say, "oh, should i go back or should i stay here?" oh, you will feel at home. yeah, yeah! you will feel the vibe of the cape verdean people. different flavour of cabo verde. yeah. yeah! cristina is the matriarch of the candida family. every day, they prepare cachupa, cabo verde�*s national dish. it's made for local people and to be

served at a nearby restaurant. the smell of the wood smoke and the bubbling stew is something else. so what have we got here? that's. . . pork. that's pork? yes. all the different ingredients represent different cultures. cos that's quite important to this dish, right? we have the beans and the corn from brazil... yeah. ..banana, sweet potatoes from west africa... mm—hm. ..the meat came from the portuguese... yeah. ..and then the fusion. and now it's not from portugal, it's not from brazil, it's not from africa, it's for cape verde and the cape verdeans. yeah, yeah. to see all these nationalities that have shaped cabo verde come together in the national dish is a perfect metaphor for cabo verdean culture. but the question is, does it taste any good? thank you. obrigada! this looks good!

i've been waiting for this. i've spent a lot of time watching it be made. i need to try it now. i've waited long enough. you definitely will like it. all right! let's do it! mmm! you know, as i'm eating it, it's really reminding me ofjust a bean stew that my mum makes. and she still makes to this day, actually. yeah! it's kind of bringing me home a little bit. well, good. they laugh. so, traditionally, who ate cachupa? when the portuguese was trading slaves to sell, they had to give them something, and then it starts the cachupa. when the portuguese came back from brazil with the corn, growing corn, and then putting everything together, anything you have at home, so... so there you have it... yeah, yeah. ..our national dish, cachupa. yeah! it's brilliant. it's great to get a real taste of cape verdean food.

the island of sal was first named llana back in 1460, which means "flat". but beneath this arid landscape, there was something to be found, something that would change the destiny of this place forever. it's definitely worth taking a tour to the salinas, because when you get here, you are completely surrounded by sal, which just happens to be the portuguese word for salt. and as you probably guessed, it's how the island got its name. the word salinas roughly translates to "salt mines". in this age—old technique, sea water is allowed to stand in ponds, and as the water evaporates, it leaves behind solid salt crystals. here is like a rock now. yeah, it is. yeah. and it's still giving me impressions that i'm standing on ice. i know it's not ice.

yes. no, no, you are. here is the unique place where we can stand, walk, lay down...on the snow. you don't need gloves. you don't need nothing. you canjust come on a picnic... laughs: yeah, my kind of snow, my kind of snow! salt mining was the main industry in sal for many years. elvis is taking me to what was once the heart of the operation within a volcanic crater. and what he showed me was like something from another world. it feels like i should be shooting some kind of sci—fi flick set on another planet, or maybe a spaghetti western, playing some kind of gunslinger. she laughs. elvis, what is this place? so this place is a salt refinery... uh-huh. ..where the industry of salt... it was here where they used to refine the salt, and that's connecting to the salt lake by this cable... ..one kilometre and 100m

down to the salt lake, and that was able to transport 25 tonnes of salt per hour. it looks like it was once a very impressive bit of infrastructure. that structure and the cable cars, it took two years to be built... yeah? ..from 1919 to 1921. wow! so it really changed the game when this was built? big, big change. yeah. big change. i don't know if it's just me, but there's something a little bit eerie about looking at this. it's a bit, you know, it's broken down, it's decay and damage and... yeah, unfortunately. ..the machineryjust left untouched and rusty. it's almost making me a bit sad. unfortunately, it is like this. those boats was used taking the salt out to the big ship to brazil. yeah, yeah. so, what happened? to encourage the brazilians to produce them own salt, they put a really high tax on our salt that made

it very expensive. so, that's the way they killed our business of salt. yeah, a pretty underhanded way to kill the competition. so, when things started to decline and, you know, the operation started to close down, what was it like for the people living here? quite a few businesses collapsed but luckiest was when the airport had the international certification, so many people had the opportunity to find a job at the airport so, the airport did solve a problem of many people. here probably will have the best view, the best picture of the island. yeah? so, that's the famous salt lake. here we are! that's unique around the world, inside on an extinct volcanic crater. yep, yep. it is one of the seven wonders of cape verde. you see, it makes, like, 900m long and it's around 2m under sea level. yeah, and i'm just checking — you did say extinct, right?

extinct volcanic crater. yeah, yeah. well, i've got to say, as far as views go, this is pretty spectacular. it is, it is. i'm loving all the colours. you've got the pinky, kind of purple hues at the bottom. the white ice! yeah... still looking like ice to me! yeah, the rusty mountains, the blue sky, the greenery. it's just such a beautiful mix of colours. so, it was this lake inside this crater where the salt was mined and then began its journey up the cable cars that elvis told me about. and now, it's evolved into quite a fun tourist attraction, where getting in the water here is said to be like taking a dip in the dead sea, so you don't really swim but you can float and bob around and as i'm here, it'd be rude not to give it a go, right? who needs inflatables when you've got this?

i'm heading back to the beach here on sal, but there's no cocktails or sun loungers on this particular one and it's rather ominously named shark bay. ok, so there's lots of tourists here, plenty of souvenir stalls and no—one�*s running from the water screaming, so it can't be that bad, right? lemon sharks may be closely related to great whites but, luckily for me, they're not considered a threat to humans... you see? oh, yes! 0k. it camouflages well but we've seen a shark. ..which gives tourists a chance to have — yep, you guessed it — real—life sharks swimming around their legs. i'm joining berta from the conservation group

project biodiversity, who are always looking for tourists to volunteer with them to help study sal's wildlife. and then, we will turn it to check. as demonstrated on this cuddly toy, we'll be tagging and measuring baby lemon sharks who live in the shallow waters here. with the sharks spotted and the team briefed, it was time to prepare the sharks�* supper before wading out to sea. all we had to do then was wait. the water's not too cold. no, it's not cold at all, actually. so, is there an optimum time for this, where you get more sharks than other times? here, they really come at 9 o'clock when the first bus is coming... yeah, yeah. ..and they leave at 5.00 with the last tourists. 0n the 9:00—5:00! yeah, exactly. this is not for the impatient. so, what's the purpose of the microchipping, the measurements and taking skin

samples? what's the purpose? so, in this particular case, we are doing that because this area, it's believed to be a nursery for the lemon shark, but there's no proof of that. we see baby sharks all the time, all year round, year after year, but we need to prove that. yeah. so, tagging helps us to show that they are not only born here but that they spend some important stages of their life, and that is something that happens continuously. and also to say whether we are seeing only one shark, the same one 20 times, or 20 different sharks and, like, estimating the population. and off it goes! it's been tagged, it's been checked and now, it's back off into the wild.

with so many other islands to explore, it was time to leave sal behind. and if you think cabo verde is all about golden beaches and blue seas, think again. this is the island of santo antao, the westernmost point of africa. it may be the archipelago�*s second—largest island but without an airport of its own, the only way there is on a ferry from the neighbouring island of sao vicente. this island is perfect for those who love the great outdoors, so i'm meeting shekinah, who takes tourists hiking across santo antao. hello! good morning! how are you? hi! hello! hi. loving the sign. the whole of cabo verde was completely uninhabited

when it was discovered by the portuguese in the 1a00s. and in santo antao, not much has changed, what with this unspoiled landscape. en route, shekinah wanted to show me this gem of a village sitting in a valley atop of a rock. this is fontainhas and has some of the best views on the island. i can't believe people live here. how many people live here? nowadays, in fontainhas, there's, like, less than 200 people living here, you know? wow. what do you think are the main reasons for them leaving? is it mainly work? work, and they are looking for better living conditions. we call cape verde as well the "terra sodade," which is "the land of missing". yeah. you know, we really love the loved ones, so we tend to come back, for sure, for them one day. talk me about what it is that makes you stay here.

i could start speaking about the morabeza, which is the word that we use mostly for people here that are very friendly, like, the hospitality. they open their hearts and they help you. they don't have much but they give it to you if you need it. i will give you an example in real life... yes, please! ..so, you're going to see how it works here. so, maybe let's have a grogue... 0h! i've heard so much about this. i'm ready. our local drink! this is nice. speaks creole. oh, it's a shot! it's a shot! all right. 0k, what is this drink? well, this is our rum. we call it "grogue" in creole. yeah. "grogue". grogue, yes. it'sa mix... it's a sugar cane. we make it from the sugar cane. can i put it full? yeah, why not? why not, right? it's been a long hike.

after the long hike! well, here, in creole, we say "txin—txin!" or we say, "salud". which one should we go for? it's like, "cheers!" salud! txin—txin! salud! hold on. it is strong. that is super strong. oh, yeah... it actually took my breath away. that was nice. 0oh! another one? did you like it? oh, it leaves a bit of a fiery taste in your throat. mm—hm. strained: yeah! after spending the day on santo antao, it was time to get back on the ferry to spend the night on the island of sao vicente. travelling around cabo verde, it soon becomes apparent each island is its own unique world with much

of its character derived from its geography. but the more time i spend in sao vicente, it's clear that this island isn't defined by mountains or deserts, but by its people. so, every february, they hold carnival here. but even in the fallow months, carnival groups still get together and rehearse. and, i mean, how can you not love this carnival vibe? edson is the vice president of the carnival group cruzeiros do norte. so, african countries, the rhythm, it's in our blood and the people, when they come, automatically, they start to shake and dance. just born with the vibe, born with the carnival spirit! the port of mindelo is sao vicente�*s city of culture and its flourishing art scene is mainly the direct influence of one woman. so, mindelo was made famous by the late, great, grammy award—winning cesaria evora and it doesn't take long

for you to discover that she is quite the national treasure here, and that's because she is everywhere, from murals to t—shirts — and she's even on the money. sings. fame found cesaria later in life. born in 1941 in mindelo, for her first 50 years, she was weighed down in poverty and sang in obscurity. but for the following 20 years, before her death in 2011, she waved the flag for cabo verde, spreading its style of music across the globe and earning herself the nickname of the �*barefoot diva'. sings. sings same song as cesaria. her legacy is inspiring a brand—new generation of musicians. nadia is a professional singer and says cesaria has taught her dreams can come true,

no matter what your background is. i think cape verde�*s music, you see, and we cannot escape from music. yeah! it's a poor country but you can see the face of the people. they are happy, yeah, because of this evolving with culture. culture, dancing, singing makes the people feel different despite of the problems but because of the culture... yeah. ..it make them feel happy. cabo verde may be one of the smallest nations in africa but it is without a doubt one of the most colourful. and when you're wandering around mindelo, you can't help but take in the hundreds of years of cultures just echoing through the streets — whether that's through the music

or from the warm and welcoming nature of the people here. and, yes, you could come here and never step foot out of your resort, but why would you do that when there is so much to see here? that's why i'm so happy that i've taken the time to get out, taste the food, meet the people, walk the landscapes, and now i can go home knowing the true identity of this wonderful and beautiful nation. woman sings

hello there. it certainly has been a saturday of contrasts across the country. we started off grey and wet across southern england. the rain petered out to a blanket of cloud and drizzle. a lot of cloud across wales, the midlands, for much of the day. further north it was a different story. sunny spells and scattered showers but escape those showers, a beautiful afternoon in fife, as you can see. we have more heavy rain though arriving through the night tonight. it is across the south. that rain — some of it really quite intense — will gradually drift its way steadily north and east as we go through sunday. once again a day of contrasts because the rain will continue to move its way out of the midlands, up into the north—east of england and eastern scotland. west will certainly stay drier and brightest for longest. into the afternoon we should see an improving picture across much of england and wales. sunny spells, a few scattered showers, and temperatures peaking at around 13 degrees.

it will be windy on those exposed east coasts. sheltered western areas clinging onto some glimpses of sunshine. a little more cloud generally and the rain still quite heavy and persistent, with gusts of wind across the east coast of 40—50 miles an hour. that makes the eight degrees in aberdeen feel pretty disappointing. that low eases away. the isobars squeeze together. it stays blustery into monday. on the whole a relatively quiet start to the working week. temperatures to greet us first thing — we are looking at around 2—6. it will be dry, there will be some sunshine coming through early on. breezy but a southerly wind will make it start to feel just that little bit milder, particular in the sunnier moments. here is the low moving into northern ireland and perhaps clouding over across western coastal fringes as we go through the day. temperatures in the sunshine should peak at 16 degrees. starting to feel a little better. tuesday, final day of april, could actually see a little more warmth. we have still got this low pressure

out to the south—west. because the winds are circulating around that low we are tapping in to a milder south—easterly. that is driving in some warmth from the near continent and you really will start to notice the difference. for our final day of april, yes, it is likely that we could see temperatures peaking in one or two spots into the high teens. there will be some showers around but a little bit quieter and a little bit warmer than of late.

live from london, this is bbc news. israel's foreign minister

says his country's military could defer its planned incursion into rafah if there is a deal on the hostages. a conservative mp defects to labour. dan poulter says his former party is no longer focused on public services. as a russian missile narrowly misses a kharkiv hospital, president zelensky again calls on ukraine's allies to provide more air defences. and police have moved in to break up a pro—palestinian protest at northeastern university in boston. officials say 100 people were detained. we'll have the latest. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. we start in the middle east, where israel's foreign minister has said that his country's planned military incursion into rafah in gaza could be suspended if there is a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages held by hamas. this comes after egyptian mediators arrived in israel with local media reporting there's been notable

progress in finding common ground. in the last few hours, it's also been announced that