welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. to find more bodies my name is mike embley. after back—to—back tornadoes caused our top stories: a trail of devastation on sunday. something like a war zone — so far 23 people are officials say more bodies are likely confirmed dead in lee county to be found following where the winds left a swathe deadly tornadoes in the deep south. of damaged buildings and roads in their wake. the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, has announced a new protest march on saturday to increase the pressure venezuela's opposition leader makes on president nicolas maduro a triumphant return to the capital — to leave office. and calls for more protests he received a rapturous welcome against president maduro. when he returned to venezuela at china's national on monday from a tour people's congress, the country's biggest of regional allies aimed political event of the year, new targets for the at gathering more support. economy are announced. and, tributes are paid to the actor luke perry, the american actor, luke perry, has died at the age of 52 — just days after suffering a massive stroke. he'll be best remembered for his role as dylan mckay in the ‘90s television programme — beverly hills 90210. he'd also featured in the netlfix show riverdale. a british man who insists he went to syria to volunteer as an aid worker, has been stripped

of his citizenship. the home office told tauqir sharif that he'd be a risk to national security if he returned to the uk. mr sharif who is in syria with his british wife and children claims he has been delivering aid supplies, but admits using weapons there. he's appealing against the government's decision. our special correspondent, lucy manning, has been talking to him. tauqir sharif left britain for syria nearly seven years ago, he says, to volunteer, set up a charity and help those injured in the fighting. his aid work has been featured by the bbc and other broadcasters, but the government doesn't want him to return. in syria, i've been in a war zone for six years. from syria, he told the bbc he's been stripped of his citizenship, seen as a threat to national security. i've got the home office's letter here. it says, "you're aligned with an al-qaeda aligned group." no, of course not. i mean, i came out here to help the innocent people that were being massacred by the bashar regime. there's many expats like myself,

doctors, engineers, educated people, that have come here legitimately and sincerely to help the syrian people. because mr sharif‘s father is pakistani, the home office says he wouldn't be stateless. it's racist, the british government, if they believe that i'm pakistani by birthright, to a country that i've never lived in. if i was a white aid worker, that worked for oxfam, i don't think you'd be asking me the same questions. but you don't deny that you've picked up a weapon and you have fought in syria? i've defended myself and i've defended the syrian people. i don't deny that, no. and i don't think there's anything wrong with that. you're going to take me to secret courts and the evidence is so secret that i can't defend myself, i — is this the british justice that we believe in? mr sharif admits he's used an ak—47, claiming it was to protect his aid convoys, and he still carries a handgun. he lives with his british wife and five children in idlib, but says the children don't have uk

passports because when he applied for his eldest daughter, he claims he was told wrongly there was an administrative error. although his family don't want to return to britain at the moment, he is appealing against losing his citizenship. he's been driving ambulances, delivering aid. he's done nothing to warrant the deprivation of his citizenship. the government obviously has information to suggest otherwise. well, tell us what it is, give us some indication of what it is so that we can defend it, because mr sharif doesn't accept that. the home office has said revoking citizenship is to protect the public and is based on all available evidence and not taken lightly. some also questioned mr sharif‘s claim to be only an aid worker. a lot of people went to syria to fight, orjoin terrorist groups, under the pretext of doing charity work. so just because someone says they're an aid worker doesn't mean that they are an aid worker, and certainly all the aid workers i know have never picked up guns in conflict. he is now one of around

150 britons who have had their citizenship removed. lucy manning, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week... i mean this is pretty embarrassing. we'll wait for this. christa scores points with the locals in riga, as she delves into latvia's soviet past. rajan travels to a remote spot in wales to find out about a unique painting project. did you work out how long it would take you? no. and ifinish my breakneckjourney around the great cities of japan, this time in fukuoka. delicious.

but first, we send christa to the eastern part of europe, in one of the three baltic countries, latvia, and yes, it's the one in the middle. winter in latvia's capital city, riga, is nojoke, but snow and freezing temperatures don't deter tourists from visiting its old town, and there's a good reason for this. looking around, it's no wonder that riga was awarded world heritage status by unesco. you can read europe's past on its walls. latvians have just marked the centenary of the first latvian republic. it's such a key part of their history that the celebrations will last over five years,

and it all revolves around the city's landmark, the freedom monument. this monument stands in the centre of riga and it's become a symbol of this country's fight for liberty. inscribed on the front, "homeland" and "freedom", and these are notjust empty words, in this place, freedom is well guarded. that's probably because latvia's first independence was fragile and short lived. like its baltic neighbours, latvia was annexed by the soviet union after world war ii. it remained occupied for another 50 years, until 1991. hello, you must be ulris. yes, nice to meet you. good to meet you. ulris organises tours with a focus on latvia's soviet heritage. this is actually the most famous soviet era... we meet at the bottom of the country's first skyscraper,

built in the 19505. well, we've got stalin's cake, by later nickname, actually at the present moment the academy of sciences, and one of the most controversial and most significant buildings from the soviet era in riga. i'll be happy to get inside. there's quite a view here. oh yes, beautiful. almost the entire riga, it is possible to see from here. when it's not snowing quite so much? yes. of course. i made those tours for the last 20 years. those tours became more and more popular with the westerners, because you can see unique things from the soviet era. so what was it like for you to grow up under the soviet regime here? it was a hard time. so you had to queue? yeah, even to buy meat or butter. it was a hard time. so in the early 90s, independence was just around

the corner, what were you doing? i was a student then, of course, i was on the barricades. we wanted not to be under control. we believed that we will live better without this huge big brother. yes. the russian bear still projects its shadow over the tiny country, but it's also part of its dna. about one in four latvians are ethnic russian. and this man is one of them. a few years ago, he opened a bar for those nostalgic for their youth under the soviet regime. and it had to include one of latvia's most popular games, the novuss. will you show me? yeah, da. i must hit that one and hit those into the pockets? yeah. i mean this is pretty embarrassing, wait for this. yes! i will leave it to the

russians now, i think. so we have got all sorts of soviet goodies here, they used to be served up during that era, we have got salami, cheese, herring and sprat with egg, all served on bread. you would order 100 mils of vodka and one of the snacks would come as standard, just to make sure

you did not get too drunk. in 1991, the soviet union collapsed and latvia regained its independence. finally enjoying the freedom to travel and settle abroad, many young latvians chose to leave. riga has lost almost a third of its population since independence. a consequence of this exodus is that it has left an extraordinary number of buildings across the city empty, like this one, a former ambulance depot, but one group of activists is trying to change this. i was one of the founders of this initiative in 2013. working with owners in the municipality, free riga derelict buildings into social and cultural venues. so what do we have here now?

so this is a street food place, and over there is a bar with a concert venue, and then there is a co—working space, and the artists‘s residences. you have everything here, what don't you have here? hotel. no hotel yet, ok. so tell me about some of the events that you hold here, mostly during the summer, i guess, it's a bit cold now. all kind of activities, starting from concerts, exhibitions, workshops, yeah. the buildings look a little bit rough, so the atmosphere is not rough, but it is easy—going. more informal. and more informal. yeah, exactly. maybe this will become a new bar or something. —— maybe this will become a new berlin or something. going into the bar next door,

there is definitely a berliner vibe in the air, only the drinks are local. i think that will warming up. it is actually not too bad. and if you are interested to see what else latvia has to offer, here's what we thinkg you should do while you're there. the latvian coast might not be at the top of your list when you're planning a beach holiday, but it has plenty going for it. there is mile after mile of long sandy beach and loads to do, with museums, galleries, concert halls and plenty of events and festivals in the summer.

it gets busy in peak periods but it is well worth checking out. for outdoor sports, the biggest and oldest national park in the country. you can go hiking, bungeejumping, kayaking, or you can simply try to reconnect with the elements. and it is soon birch water season, come spring, the park's millions of birches are tapped to extract their very sweet drink. the locals think it is a very healthy drink. and finally, a bunker which has in its time been used by both the soviet and nazi regimes. you can choose the traditional guided tour during the day, which will tell you plenty about its disturbing history, or opt for the terrifying overnight experience, complete with guards, the sounds of gunfire, and verbal abuse.

a warning though, it is pretty intense and you'll be asked to sign a waiver before taking part. still to come on this week's travel show... rajan meets the artist who has taken up the challenge of painting every single person in his city. the initial project was painting say 100 portraits, doing 100, doing 1000. and i am against the clock to see three of fukuoka's biggest attractions. will i do it in time? so do not go away. this week, i am exploring fukuoka and while i'm here, i just wanted to quickly show you this. these are basically like food trucks and it is what fukuoka has become famous for. check it out, it is like

a little restaurant inside. they serve traditional japanese dishes, but away from the main huddle by the banks of the river, is what we think is the only french yatai in the whole of japan. so what is your speciality here? what is your most popular dish? escargot, sales, yes please. thank you. he has been here for 18 years, and just recently, his little yatai, has been making a name for itself. it is such a good atmosphere here. merci. it's a good place to meet people. more from fukuoka coming up shortly. it's delicious. oyshi. now, if i were to tell you that i was going to paint every person

in one city, you'd say i was mad. not if you go to saint david's, in the southern part of wales, as rajan has been finding out. the pembrokeshire coast national park — as remote and rural as it gets. this is st david's peninsula, on the south—west tip of wales. it is a rugged and picturesque part of the world, even in midwinter. but i'm not actually here for scenic beauty. i'm here to find inner beauty. the streets of st david's are a bit quieter in the welsh winter, with relatively few tourists, or "grockles", as they're called around here. it's such a small community, there's pretty well only one of everything. one high street, one butcher, one bank, one bookshop, one town hall, one delicatessen. and there's one of these.

st david's cathedral, built in the 12th century, sits on the site of the old monastery, led by david 600 01’ so years ago. and this is why st david's is a city. yep, this tiny community of 1,800 people is officially a city. britain's smallest, and supposedly the second—tiniest in the world, although in the 19th century, there was a bit of a setback. about 150—odd years ago, the victorians decided this didn't make sense for very small places, and quite a number of cities were no longer cities. 25 years ago, the current queen rode to the rescue and gave st david's its city status back. and this man, who first chanced upon st david's 37 years ago, has been marking its quirky status with a very special pledge.

well, basically, what i started doing with portraits from my firm is just i do a very brief outline of the head. because grahame hurd—wood has vowed to paint portraits of every single one of the city's1,800 residents, plus a few outsiders for the hell of it. focus on the eyes, which are of course a very important part of one's psyche, i think, one's soul. and then that's the focal point, and thatjust comes through. originally a landscape artist, he started doing portraits 1a years ago, but it was only five years ago he undertook the mammoth task to do the whole population, and then some. he has done 600 so far. well, the initial project was painting, say, 100 portraits, and having them as one big image. and so it would be like a big painting. and then ijust thought, if i'm doing 100, i can do 1,000. and then i thought, well, the population of st david's is not far off that.

so ijust thought, the idea of a city of portraits, it sounded quite nice. i thought, i'lljust try to do it. did you work out how long it would take you? no. laughter. there are probably more art galleries than anything else in saint david's, although in the case of grahame's place, it is also a studio, and his living quarters too. it's a real one man and his dog operation at new street gallery. his models, however, see it all as a therapeutic exercise as much as anything else. well, i've quite enjoyed it, really, because i'm a very busy mum, studying, working in a cafe, doing myjewellery. so for me, just to sit down is a bit of time out, really, a bit of time for reflection. it's a mammoth task for graham, and the plan is to exhibit the first 800-1,000 portraits in the cathedral. what are you actually achieving by doing this? a bit of social history, i think. somebody has described it as it's — for me personally, it's inspiring for the community. do people ever complain about the way you have depicted them?

i think people have been slightly shocked. it doesn't matter what age you depict somebody, you still see an inner beauty. oh, and guess what? a few days later i got this through email. i am now an honorary citizen of st david's. but i don't look like that, do i? for the first time ever, the rugby world cup heads to asia this year. 400,000 sports fans will go and see their teams at ten host cities around japan, in what's also a dry run for the olympic games in tokyo in 2020. some, though, will be worried about japan's reputation as a place that's tricky to get around if you don't speak the language. and it's a myth that i think

is not always deserved, and to show you why, i'll be exploring six of the host cities against the clock. fukuoka is the fifth—biggest city injapan and the largest on kyushu, its southern island. it will host three matches in the first round of the world cup. so i've got 90 minutes, the length of time it takes to play a game of rugby, plus ten minutes of half—time, to see three of fukuoka's highlights. i have lined up a breakfast date with my friend, ryuzo, who has been busy making a plan for me. tell me about fukuoka. it's a port town with a rich history, but also it's known for its vibrant food culture, which is part of the challenge today. sounds good. so how easy is it to get around fukuoka? it's easy enough. there's trains and buses running around the city. i've got to get a bus in this challenge? it could all go very wrong. it can, if you take the wrong one. so be sure to get on the one that says 99. 99, ok. so i've got 90 minutes on the clock.

three, two, one, go! the kushida shrine was built in 757 ad, and people come here to pray for longevity. every winter, people can pass through the gate of a plump woman, which will bring good luck. so this little machine here will give you your fortune. there's lots of fortunes and different languages, japanese, korean, english. ooh, this is good. what does it say under travel? good, if you act with modesty. lastly i have to try to move this stone, which traditionally, sumo wrestlers used to do to test their strength. it's really heavy! 0k. i'm going to call it a day. listen, this is the start of the challenge. i don't want to throw my back out. got to find the number 99 bus.

ok, i think this is the road. oh, i think wejust missed it, so now we've got to wait for 18 minutes past. so this system might seem a bit old—fashioned, but it's actually quite user—friendly. i've got a number on my ticket, which is 15, and then there's a grid just up above the driver, and it'll tell me, 15, and it will tell me the price underneath it, at each stop, how much i need to pay. it's pretty helpful. arigato! 3a minutes on the clock. oh dear, that wasn't time efficient. now i've got to look around for an oyster hut. you can really smell fish around here. i see an oyster. in the winter, oyster huts spring up on the seafront. you can barbecue them yourself and try them with sudachi, or citrus vinegar. but i'm in a bit of a dilemma. do i eat this now and burn my mouth,

or do i wait another minute and risk not completing my challenge in time? delicious. 42 minutes in. let's go. that was good timing. konichiwa! so thank goodness we're in a taxi. it's quite a long way away, i think. this does not look good. we're stuck on local traffic. the time is one hour and 19 minutes. we're four minutes behind schedule. felt like the longest taxi ride ever. arigato. konichiwa. look at this place, what am i doing? perfect, let's do it. riki is a long established family—owned business where you can make your own artificial food. plastic food art is something you see everywhere injapan. they are displayed outside many restaurants,

and are particularly helpful for non—japanese speakers to figure out what they want to eat. so i'm going to have to choose some toppings. got to have a cherry. oh, look, i like these strawberries. i only have three minutes left, i'd better be fast. ah, so i have to sit here. let's go for chocolate. i used to work in an ice cream shop, i'll have you know. so this is the plastic cream. looks quite good, 0k. so now i have to decorate. ok, great. stop the clock. one hour and 32 minutes. two minutes overtime. i think that's pretty good though. we did cover a lot of ground, and my ice cream looks delicious. well, that's it for this week.

coming up next time: kate is in austin, the capital of texas, to explore all things weird — like this cafe which provides a furry addition to your cappuccino. hejust bit me! and don't forget we're also on social media, too. you can find us on facebook twitter and instagram. details for those are on our website. but until next time, from me, carmen roberts, and the rest of the travel show team here in southern japan, it's goodbye. hello there.

think back to tuesday last week and you will remember some went to war. tuesday this week, a different prospect. a chilly start in prospect certainly, and it remains unsettled. we'll see some rain, we'll see some snow over some high ground in the north. quite messy satellite image, one of cloutier moving across europe, another one to the north—west of the uk, another one in the atlantic. all of these areas of low pressure. this is one approaching from the south—west will eventually bring some rain later the area of low pressure to the north—west feeding some showery rain across northern ireland, western scotla nd across northern ireland, western scotland and north—west england. certainly a chilly start to the date across eastern areas. a touch of frost for some full stops as we go through the day we will have these showers across the northern half of half of the uk. maybe some northern spells of rain, wintry over high ground in scotland. to the north of scotland, well, here we are likely to stay dry with some sunshine into the afternoon. the wind is relatively light temperature is not especially higher. some showers across southern scotland, some into

ireland and northern england but generally we will have a zone of dry and sunny weather from north wales into the north midlands, east anglia and the south—east. however, here is oui’ and the south—east. however, here is our next area of wet weather moving across the south—west of england in the south wales, the south—west midlands will be turning quite windy here as well. mild in the south and as we go through tuesday we take this wet weather, we drive it northwards. some snow over high ground in scotland. it will be windy pitifully across the far north—west, gusts of 50 or 60 mph, mild here and much chillier across northern parts of scotland. so it is low pressure with us as we go through wednesday. various frontal systems, bands of rain or showers spiralling around the low. this area of wet weather drifting northwards across scotland, bumping into cold air, increasingly turning to snow over higher ground. lots of showers through northern ireland, wales and england. some sunny spells as well. quite mild in the south, quite chilly across north—west. and actually, on tuesday that cold air will dig its way further southwards and we will see showers turning increasingly wintry to quite low levels at this stage

across some parts of scotland. six degrees atop the bridge in aberdeen, 11 there in cardiff. it may turn dry briefly on friday but as we had was the weekend it looks unsettled. some showers at times, some of those wintry over high ground in the north, and it will deal a bit chilly. —— feel a bit chilly.