we start this week in austin, hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. the state capital of texas. thousands of people have taken every year, to the streets of venezuela as part it hosts south by southwest, which has grown from of two rival demonstrations. at his rally, president nicolas a one—week showcase maduro thanked the army for staying this is bbc news. loyal — saying they had defeated of the city's musical talent an opposition coup attempt. the headlines: thousands of protesters have taken meanwhile, police clashed to the streets in venezuela on a day to a massive internationalfestival. with supporters of opposition leader juan guaido at the other rally in caracas. of rival demonstrations. so in the face of electricity is gradually police used pepper spray all that global attention, being restored across the country against supporters of the opposition how do you keep a little after the longest leader, juan guaido, blackout in a decade. in the capital caracas, bit of local flavour alive? will grant reports from caracas. while a huge number we sent kate hardie—buckley of pro—government demonstrators also gathered in the city. to find out. the city of austin claims to be the live music capital of the world dozens of civilians with over an estimated 300 venues have been evacuated from baghouz, offering a song and dance the last village still held on any given night. by the islamic state group in syria. it is venezuela's longest at least four trucks carrying people power cut in living memory. left the village on saturday. austin is a phenomenal place western—backed syrian democratic forces are poised to resume their final if you play the music we play, which is what i call push on the area. texas—made honky—tonk, and it's all about the dancin‘ and having a good time. and r kelly has been released from prison after the payment every march, of more than $160,000 over 200,000 people flock here in overdue child support. for the south by southwest festival, the singer has previously spent where you can delve into a world three nights in jail after being charged in four sex of music, film, interactive media and seminars. abuse cases, allegations he denies.

the city, which also happens to be janis joplin‘s birthplace, is a liberal hub in a traditionally conservative state. internet users should have greater control over personal data there is a lot that you can get away with here to ensure their own safety online. that maybe you can't get away it's part of a proposal in other parts of the state. to change the way big tech companies are regulated. austin is home to the only nudist beach in texas, it follows a report from a house of lords committee, which says as well as over 1.5 million bats in the summertime. companies are failing to regulate themselves effectively. it has its own cathedral ofjunk, our business correspondent and in all—year—round rob young has more. christmas shop. the city's immensely proud molly russell was 1a years old of its so—called weirdness, its creative, original character. when she took her own life in 2017. in fact, there is even she had viewed graphic images about self—harm online. a motto here — keep austin weird. 20 years ago, red wassenich coined molly's father has said he believes social media was partly to blame the term on a radio chat show for her death. in an attempt to fight off there've been growing concerns any signs of gentrification. about content and behaviour online and calls for companies to do more. so they said, "well, why are you donating to this show?" i think that lots of people feel powerless in this situation, and i said, but of course we can act, "it helps keep austin weird" and i kind of clicked, we are a nation state, parliament is sovereign, as we're discovering in the brexit

process, we can and i said it to my wife legislate if we need to. and she said, it would be far better to do it "well, let's get bumper stickers." in concert with the social media so we did, i got a website up, and it slowly took off. companies, but if we think they need i can't believe to do things that they are refusing it's lasted this long. to do, then we can 20 years. yeah. austin strikes me as a city and we must legislate. the house of lords communications where everyday life has an added twist. this coffee shop committee says the industry's really is keeping it weird. responsive has been piecemeal civil goat's special offer with your coffee and inadequate, so the committee is a date with a furry friend. is calling for big tech to be reined in. there are more than a dozen uk the old story of folklore regulators covering the digital world, but no one body is that, you know, a goat herder and his goats were out has complete oversight. so, the lords recommend the creation and they found some coffee plants of a new digital authority. it also wants protections given and he saw them eating the berries to people in the real world to apply online. and so the herder ate the berries and then he felt energised, one key principle for regulation and so that's how would be respect for privacy coffee was discovered. to keep our growing volume he's a little bit feisty today, i will say. of online data safe. he is a little... there's also a call yeah, uh... he doesn't like being on tv! for a classification framework hejust bit me! similar to that for films. he doesn't — oh, my god, this is so weird. the government is currently he usually doesn't bite like that! working on its own plans to more strictly take a trip downtown regulate web companies. internet firms say they work hard and it's easy to see how much the city is expanding.

to keep their services free of some of the most serious issues it's a modern metropol now people are concerned about. with a thriving tech scene. but they say they recognise that more needs to be done the economy is booming to address potential online harms. rob young, bbc news. and properties are going up left, right and centre. now on bbc news, the joke is that the sky — the skyline is all cranes now, it's the travel show, that you can't do the skyline without cranes. um, yeah, it's everywhere. it is sometimes good, sometimes bad. with flying cars, wait for it — more housing for a growing city. sausage hotels and the campaign to keep austin, texas weird. coming up on this week's show: we're a booming city, we have to make room for people, we are getting weird we have to put them somewhere. in the lone star state. i think there's no other way doesn't like being on tv! hejust bit me! to do it but to go up. with all this development, i just wonder if the quirky character of the city why flying taxis and sausage hotels is injeopardy. anyone who says you can't change or tries to fight against the change are the future of travel. is fighting against the inevitable. and in the snow i think we are much better served and against the clock, i take on the european sauna marathon. i don't quite know just trying to find a way to grow the sauna etiquette — i think i'm just gonna myself in there. together and to make sure that no—one‘s getting left behind. but not everyone in town is as optimistic about the change. everything new that's coming in is raising the cost of living and the cost of everything else

so high that you just don't have any other people that everybody thought was so cool or, "0h, i really liked that business, it was so weird," or "i like these people, because it was so much different than here." and it's like no, it's just like every other city. but some people are determined to preserve the quirk and the individuality here. i'm about to meet someone who, for a year, pushed the boundaries of weirdness to the extreme. professor dumpster spent the year living in — well, yes, you guessed it — a dumpster. i wanted to do an experiment around seeing how little stuff you needed and how little space you needed to have a pretty happy life. part way through that experiment, a lot of things were really better about life by downsizing. and i came to the sort of awareness that, hey, we should do something totally different with housing and try to make housing more like a product than building it like a traditional house. all of that time in the dumpster inspired jeff to create the kasita,

or ‘little house', merging originality and the city's housing needs. he's keen to show me one that's just up and running. you can issue a voice command and the whole home will respond. so you can just say, "alexa, turn kasita on." or you can say, "alexa? turn kasita on." please? alexa: 0k. see, you have to say it with some polite british, like, say please. really, what the dumpster did was allow a sort of shift in how we actually thought about housing, so kasita was actually designed by a product designer. jeff thinks kasitas would be an ideal home for holidaymakers. the idea would be that wherever you travel, you're going to get a premier sort of hotel experience anywhere you go

by staying in a kasita. it seems only somewhere like here in austin could someone swing from living in a dumpster to launching a new technologically entrenched style of living. there's a lot of weird and wonderful things across the city, and some people are using their creativity to keep austin kind. these chefs have left theirjobs in gourmet restaurants and are now using their talents to feed austin's homeless. 0n tonight's menu... wow! ..pulled pork and a truffled corn grits with brussels sprouts gorgonzola salad. flavours are like music. you taste something that you haven't tasted in a long time, it will take you right back to where you were. and that's what these men experience with our food. i think that it fits in with what austin — how austin sees itself, you know? we want to be perceived as a city that is doing better. well, i am very inspired. so, uh, while you're

being inspired... how do you want these? so the guys are beginning to pour in now for their meal and it's really lovely to see the look on their faces when they see the delicious food. this food they give us here, i love it! this is a good place to, you know, come in and rest and eat and get a good meal, take a shower. everywhere you look in this city, you see examples of people pushing boundaries and embracing unusual approaches. i've been to a number of cities across the us, but i've never found anywhere as quirky as here, and the people of austin are all bursting with pride, all eager to preserve the playful, weird soul of the city. red, who coined the term "keep austin weird," has invited me to chicken poop bingo. so, how many tickets can we get you? ah, two tickets — a ticket each, please. alright, so it's gonna be $4.

may you all be chicken poop winners. the board has, i guess, 100 numbers on it in squares. 0k. and they put birdseed all over it. they put the chicken in there and the chicken wanders around and eats and then eventually, it poops, and there you go. cheering there's four, so i'm down there. and you are 26. she's hovering around yours. yeah. right now. this could be good. man: we have a winner! it's been going on here for a little on 20—plus years and it came from a local musician. a different chicken, i'm presuming. yes, there's been about 12 chickens. this is miss jenny. the noise doesn't bother them? not at all. looks happy. she looks very healthy. yeah, they are. they're very healthy, happyr and they're great babies. my time in this eccentric city is almost up, but i've got time for one more austin offering. quick, quick, quick. there you go. so, this is texan dancing? this is texan dancing.

there's gonna be a one, two and then quick, quick, quick. is austin changing? that seems inevitable. but there's no doubt in my mind austinites will forever embrace all things weird and wonderful. one, two. and if texas is on your bucket list, here are some things we think you should look out for while you're there. space center houston is one of the big family attractions. the museum has loads of interactive exhibits and the world's biggest collection of moon rocks. there's a 90—minute tram tour of the old mission control itself, which is currently being restored. it's expected to reopen in time for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in july. if you're looking for cowboy culture, fort worth is a strong choice.

it's often called the place where the west begins, and it won't take you long to find out why. there are twice—daily cattle drives at the stockyards, and it is also the home of billy bob's texas, which claims to be the world's largest honky—tonk bar. another interesting site is the cowgirl museum and hall of fame, which aims to honour the women who helped shape the american west. big bend national park is vast, around 1,200 miles of rivers, mountains and deserts on the us—mexico border. there's an incredible amount to do there, including canoeing, hiking and horse riding. during peak periods, a lot of the campsites get booked up, so try to avoid holidays like spring break in mid—march. and if you're a carnivore, the state has plenty of meaty diets. —— delights. visitors rave about texan barbecue. you'll find good eateries all over the place, but our tip is to look for a place with an outdoor pit and choose a brisket. still to come on the travel show, the electric journey that took

this man from amsterdam to australia. and i test my inner warmth in one of the world's chilliest marathons. this is really very nice. i can't imagine it will be warm when we get out. time now for trending travel. 0ur monthly look at some of the best travel—related stories, pics and videos making news online. facial recognition technology has been used on humans for the past few years. but now its use has been turned to track stolen apes and chimps. the idea came to conservationist alexandra russo, who has teamed up with non—profit conservation x labs to make chimp face, software that will search through social media and be able to track down animal stolen from the wild. wiebe wakker and his electric car,

the blue bandit, havejust completed the electric road trip of a lifetime. travelling from the netherlands all the way to australia, he has relied on the kindness of strangers who offered him a place to stay and charged his car through his website, plugmein.com. the offers determined the route and took him through 33 countries on his epicjourney over the past three years. unfortunately, the uptake of electric vehicles is going quite slow, because people assume they're not reliable or that you can't cover long distances with them. so i thought if i could do something which really spoke to the imagination, driving an electric car from amsterdam to literally the other side of the world, i would be able to create a lot of exposure, and i'm hoping to change people's opinions of electric cars, basically showing that it can be done. flights taxis have been out of the news for a while,

but now boeing has successfully tested a prototype of a pilotless air vehicle. even though the test lasted less than a minute, boeing predicts they could be flying pastures as soon as 2023. this is a hotel for meat lovers all over the world. founder claus bobel, who is unsurprisingly a butcher in germany, has recently opened what is claimed to be the world's first sausage—themed hotel. the bobel bratwurst bed and breakfast, or bb&bb, features wallpaper festooned with sausages, bratwurst—shaped cushions, and even some sausages hanging from hooks. and getting that great photo to put on instagram is all—important to a lot of us when we are away. but now, vienna is asking people to unhashtag vienna and have a digital detox. the city says it wants you to photograph less and enjoy more.

lots of you sent us your pictures this month using the hashtag #traveltuesday. here are some of our favourites. there is an infinitely italian feel to the first two. marilyn hosken sent us this reflecting photo of the waterfront in florence. and rebecca husson shared this picture of the streets in scenic siena. while fern shared this stunning picture of chefchaouen, the moroccan city that's completely painted blue. remember, keep sending in your pictures. now let's meet the travel filmmakers and vloggers who have caught our eye this month. we all know berlin is one of the great capital cities of the world, with an exciting and vibrant culture. but did you know that their public transport system is also pushing artistic boundaries? berlin's bus and metro company,

the bvg, has racked up 30 million views on youtube with some great videos that are making the german capital's public transport network go viral. well, that's your lot for now. don't forget to send us your best pictures, clips and stories, and who knows, maybe next time you could be trending in travel. we are heading to the vast forests of southern estonia, and the popular ski resort 0tepaa, enjoyed by everybody from local kids to the estonian 0lympic medallists. once a year, though, it morphs into something slightly different. this tiny town is quiet today, but that's all set to change tomorrow morning, when this place becomes the staging area for the madcap, high—energy and very, very chilly european sauna marathon.

sauna has been part of estonia's culture for 800 years, so it's no surprise the marathon is popular. several hundred people are taking part this year, but before stripping down they need to register, and i need to find my team. i've been told they are wearing t—shirts with the town name on them. i see plenty of onesies and funny costumes and wigs, but no t—shirts. the marathon‘s rules are simple. teams of four must visit a list of local saunas as quickly as possible. they get time bonuses if they also visit hot tubs and ice holes. you must be my team, i hope? hello, i'm christa. is this for me? excellent. i'll wear it with pride. many nationalities are represented in this hall, starting with estonia's big neighbour.

i love your costumes. you look very beautiful. but you will be very cold. no! we are fine with that. with so many teams, starting times have to be staggered. and keeping track of them all requires some clever technology. i've been given a microchip which i keep on my wrist and i can use it to check in and check out of each of the different saunas, hot tubs and ice holes along the route, and it times us. clock is ticking, got to go. so, we need to visit all of the saunas. they're marked in blue dots. 19 of them.

a long day ahead. yes, hot fun. first stop, a traditional smoke sauna. in here, in here. you have to register. ah, registered. i don't quite know the sauna etiquette. i think i'm just going to throw myself in there. each team must spend a minimum of three minutes in each sauna. at around 80 degrees, plus a little extra heat coming from the crowd, you get warmed up pretty quickly. so we're probably about three minutes in now. let's go, let's do it. all right, guys. you see the ice hole down there? somebody has to do it and it's not going to be me. i'll do it. yes! it takes bravery to plunge into a frozen lake, but thanks to lilia, ten minutes will be deducted from our overall time. yes!

now, everyone in? let's go. another way to win time bonuses is the hot tubs. and i'm definitely volunteering for this one. this is really very nice. we are surrounded by snowy estonian forest, and feel very toasty and warm. i can't imagine it will be warm when we get out. at our next stop, the sauna truck. we meet two brits who seem to really enjoy the estonian winter. you know you've been in the sauna long enough when nothing feels better thanjumping into an ice hole straight afterwards. it's pretty fantastic. after going through many more thermal shocks, the finish line is finally in sight. well, we haven't won,

but we did make it to the end, and i think it's not too bad for a first attempt. and if that wasn't fun enough for one day, a wild party has just kicked off. these guys really don't know when to stop. that's all we have time for this week, but coming up on next week's programme, carmen is here with a look back at some of our favourite trips over the last few months. oh, my gosh! we've been everywhere from taiwan to los angeles to the french alps. and do watch out for the hairy new friends ade made in morocco. this one's called daisy and i think we're friends now. hello, daisy! hello. so, dojoin us then, and in the meantime, don't forget, you can sign up to our social media feeds, where you can share with us your travels around the world. until next time, from me, christa, and from the rest of the travel show team here in the baltics,

it's goodbye. good morning. it's a pretty messy sunday story across the country. we've seen some heavy overnight rain gathering from this area of low pressure, and that's moving its way across england and wales. but as that clears out of the way over the next few hours, it's going to be replaced by this little fella, which will introduce more of a wintry flavour as it bumps into cold air sitting across scotland. so early birds may well start off with some rain around across northern england, a wintry flavour across the pennines. but that drifts off into the north sea, and then behind is more of a significant chance

of seeing some snow across scotland. now, we will see several centimetres perhaps accumulating to higher ground, and some slushy deposits at lower levels, accompanied with gusts of winds 115—55 mph. a scattering of wintry showers, as well, through northern ireland and north—west england for a time. and after that rain moves off into the north sea, for the rest of england and wales as we go through the day, it's a slow improvement, with some sunny spells coming through, but windy with it. gusts of winds 50—60 mph, that's going to make it feel quite cool. we keep the showers into the north and it will be a cool day with those wintry showers going 3—5 celsius at the best. highest values further south of 7—11, but you've got to factor in the strength of the wind. it's going to be a little disappointing. now, through sunday night into monday, we see this little ridge of high pressure building. that'll quieten things down for a time, but not really for long, and with some clearer skies and lighter winds, we are going to see those temperatures falling away. so it's going to be a chilly

start to monday morning, with temperatures close to freezing in many places. and there'll be a scattering of showers around as well. so monday on the whole, though, will be a largely fine and quiet day compared to what we've seen over the weekend. highest values of 9—11 degrees. but don't get too used to it, because as we close out monday into tuesday, there is another area of low pressure moving in that will bring yet more wet and windy weather. just look at the isobars squeezing together. gale—force gusts of wind are quite likely, and some of that rain will be quite heavy indeed. that slips its way through the south and east during tuesday, leaving a trail of wintry showers following in its wake behind, but also some sunny spells. but it's not going to feel particularly warm, with the strength and the direction of the wind. highest values of around 7—9 degrees. so our week ahead looks pretty unsettled, i'm afraid, so if you do have outdoor plans, it's worth bearing in mind. unsettled, with rain and gales at times, but also a little bit of sunshine for some.