bernie sanders and the billionaire, michael bloomberg, both coming under attack. the debate comes just days before the south carolina primary and a week before super tuesday. scotland is a step closer to becoming the first country in the world to make sanitary products freely available. politicians at holyrood have endorsed the general principles of the legislation although concerns have been raised about the cost. the scottish government has estimated the annual bill would be more than £24 million. our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon reports. it has become another everyday part of life in scottish schools — free sanitary products available to anyone who needs them. at this school in glasgow, the students have led the way in making the changes. when people were on their periods, they kind of backed down from doing some things, because they felt uncomfortable, don't they? like what?

pe, for example, or doing a class presentation. when i started my period in school, i would just go home. i wouldn't even consider going into the office because i was just too embarrassed. what message is being sent today with this vote in the scottish parliament? i think it's about time. this should have been done ages ago, obviously, ‘cause girls can't afford that, and people struggle. even if you can't afford it, it should be accessible, because it's a normal thing. it's a natural thing that happens to most women. free sanitary products are already available in schools, colleges and universities in scotland, and in schools in england and wales, too. the vote at holyrood goes further, and will mean that tampons, sanitary pads and some reusable products will be available to anyone in scotland. menstruation is normal. free universal access to tampons, pads and reusable options should be normal too. period dignity for all isn't radical or extreme. it's simply the right thing to do.

the scottish government previously opposed the proposals because of concerns over deliverability and cost. its u—turn means all parties at holyrood now support the plans. in pursuit of good legislation, parliament will now need to pull out all the stops and work hard collectively, collaboratively, on this bill for it to achieve everything that i think we across the chamber want it to, and help promote and enable our country to emerge through this, to continue to set an example that the world wants to learn to follow. what do we want? end period poverty! when do we want it? now! campaigners welcomed today's vote, saying one in five women in the uk will face a struggle accessing period products at some point in their life. they hope that in scotland, that will soon be a thing of the past. lorna gordon, bbc news. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the travel show: carmen's chilling in northern japan, despite a lack of snow.

wooo! i'm in brazilfor the countdown to carnival. i don't know what i'm doing! and we hit the road in america, with one man and his very devoted dog. this week we're kicking off onjapan‘s northern island, hokkaido. it's the country's winter playground, hosting skiers and snowboarders from everywhere. it's also home to one of the world's famous winter events — the sapporo snow festival.

but, sadly, milder temperatures and drier conditions have led to problems for organisers this year. so carmen has pulled on her snow boots and headed north to see how they're coping. the wide open spaces of hokkaido. at any time of year people come here to be outdoors, but especially injanuary and february — the height of the ski season. the resorts on hokkaido are globally renowned, partly because of the quality of the snow. but also there's a real diversity in the landscape which provides fast black runs, gentle nursery slopes and loads of backcountry off—piste skiing. but this year, there's been a problem. it's the lowest snowfall on record injapan since 1961. and at this resort here they had to delay their opening by one month because there just

wasn't enough snow. so do you think skiing as a pastime, a winter pastime, might be in danger? all of this is difficult to hear if this is the highlight of your sporting year. but the weather's had an even bigger impact at the bottom of the hill. this is the sapporo snow festival,

held every february right in the heart of hokkaido's capital. laughter wooo! up-tempo music plays it's a big deal and famous internationally. about 2 million visitors come every year. most people come for the incredible snow sculptures. it started in 1950 as a way for high school students to publicly display their sculptures, but now it's grown into something quite different. teams come from all over the world to compete and, for me, watching them sweat is just as much fun as seeing the final result. gosh, this is serious business.

look at this man here, he's even got a sculpture, a mini version. hi. what's it going to be? it's going to be the legend of pele the fire... pele? 0h. ..the fire goddess on the big island, the volcano killer whale. they say that when the flames would go to the heavens she would do a hula to the gods. wow! her spirit would be inside the fire. so this is the australian entry, and it's going to be, eventually, a waratah, is an indigenous bush flower. because we've had the bushfires over the summer and the flower is like a beacon in the australian bush and it's got to regenerate after the fire. so we're going do this beautiful flower with a beautiful flower head and it's going to regenerate and it's an ode to the bushfires from summerand our country, australia. great. this is our team up on the top.

hi, guys. hello! hi! konnichiwa from japan. so how long have you got? tell me the logistics of the snow festival competition. there's 11 international teams. but we're all, equally, given the same amount of tools and we've got four days. so we work from nine o'clock in the morning until nine at night. we can have breaks whenever we want. basically today we're marking out and each day we'll progressively remove the snow and then start to put the detail and then finish off the beautiful flower of the waratah. so what are conditions like this year compared to last year? there's a lack of snow this year. it's been reported that the snowfall is 40 days late, they said. wow. so there should be a lot more snow. and in past years, we've been standing against the sign and the snow's been up to the bottom of that sign. so we're actually standing... wow. ..so we're really low. with the good quality snow, it's really easy to cut and carve. the snow quality is a bit less than what we would we have, but it is snowing now, which is great. as this year's festival opens, the hills around the city

were measuring snowfall of about 60cm. normally it's close to a metre. so, where did all the materials come from? well, a massive logistics operation sprung into action. thousands of lorries scooped up snow from around the island and brought it into sapporo.

let's hope next year doesn't show a further decline. and, by the way, if you're interested in how the australian entry turned out — here it is. the waratah flower — symbol of the country's resilience following those forest fires. and the winners? well, for the third year in a row, first place went to thailand for this mother and baby sea turtle. well, if you're still keen to hit the slopes, here's the travel show guide to some places other thanjapan you might want to think about. two of scandinavia's biggest resorts are now much easier to get to. scandinavian mountains airport opened in december and serves norway's biggest resort, trysil and salen in sweden. salen‘s only a io—minute drive, but you can also book a transfer by dog sled. the airport's served by london, copenhagen and aalborg.

if you're in europe and would rather not fly, there are plenty of seasonal train options running to the resorts in austria. there's another month left on the alpine express, for instance, the sleeper train which runs all the way from the netherlands, through germany, to a number of stations that serve about 100 different resorts. it's one way to shave a substantial amount of the carbon footprint of your trip. and if you can't get your act together before the end of the season in the northern hemisphere, there's always copenhill in the danish capital — open all year round. it's an artificial slope built onto the side of what they say is the cleanest waste energy power plant in the world. once you're done with skiing, you can try tobogganing, climbing, or hiking. and if want, you can book ahead you have a peek of the incinerator inside. still to come on the travel show:

i'm getting ready for this year's carnival here in rio. and we meet and easy—riding duo taking on an incrediblejourney across the usa together. so don't go away. this week we're in rio dejaneiro, a city certainly not lacking in colour. there's graffiti, there's music, but nothing quite prepared me for this. this is the selaron staircase, first created 30 years ago by chilean artistjorge selaron as a way to brighten up his local neighbourhood. there are more than 200 of these kaleidoscopic steps. it's a bit like a giant i spy. there's photos, little mosaic tiles of princess diana, bob marley, kazakhstan, right in the middle.

as its fame grew, people from all over the world contributed tiles to the project. for selaron, it was a cumulation of his life's work. he died in 2013. his body found at the foot of the stairs. but his creation lives on. today it's a big tourist attraction in a largely safe section of the city. get here after 10am in the morning and you'll probably be jostling for space. this isjorge selaron's legacy. tiles were sent here from all of the world to create it, now tourists come here from all over the world to enjoy it. it really is a special spot here in rio dejaneiro, brazil. up next, it's time for another of our incredible journeys. michael fiala and his best buddy, a siberian husky called sox, are part way through a truly amazing road trip across america. their aim is to take on all 50 states and 61 national parks and, as you can imagine, they're turning

quite a few heads as they do it. we caught up with them as they arrived in florida. my name's michael fiala and this is my dog, sox, and we are currently travelling all over the country. we're trying to visit every single state and every single national park in the country all on a motorcycle. this all started when i actually went on a trip abroad and i wasn't able to bring sox with me, and when i got back the greeting that he gave me, it was really heart—warming, but it also made me feel kind of bad because i knew that he was really upset that i was gone for so long.

so i kind of rearranged my bucket list to do all the things i could do with sox. his safety is my absolute most important thing. i know that my eyes are on the road at all times, that i am fully attentive to what's going on. at this point in time, he's now got almost 3,000 hours on a motorcycle. and so i'm not concerned with sox falling off, because he knows how to shift his weight, he knows how to hold onto me. every national park has blown me away, just the cosmetic beauty of it, looking across a landscape that you've seen nothing that looks like that in your life. it's really impressive. and then of course the fact that every single time i'm there and i'm enjoying some sort of view i look

down and my dog is doing the exact same thing, he's taking in the experience just as much as i am. my best memories with him was when we were actually in big bend national park in texas and we were driving on a highway and a deer actually ran across the road. i saw the deer run across and then run into the woods. but when i actually looked back on his go—pro you could see that he watched the deer run into view and then traced it as it was running off in the woods. i'm enjoying all these moments, but when i look at film like that and see that he was seeing the same thing i was, to me that's really special. i get a lot of people who say, well, you should strap him down so that he's secured to the bike. but it's a common misconception. truly, the safest thing for a motorcyclist is to be able to get away from the bike, so god forbid if anything ever did

happen, the best case scenario is for us to be away from the motorcycle, away from the accident. don't go in there! buddy, you are going to be cold tonight. i'm doing this because there's too many people that say, "i wish i did" in their life. and i don't want to be one of those people. i want to say i did the things i wanted to do and i don't want to wait until i'm much older to say, ok, now i can life. to me, you don't know how long your life is going to be so you should just live it, and i have to include him, because he's living it too.

sox! this weekend, millions of people across brazil are preparing for the world's biggest party — carnival. the main celebration in rio de janeiro lasts five days, but the action does not stop there. over 500 parties line the streets of rio during carnival season, and this year you're in luck, because the mayor has more than doubled the celebration, from 23 days to 50.

so in 2020, there's plenty of time to join the fun. carnival began here almost 300 years ago as a ball for the portuguese elite. but since then, it's opened up to everyone. local groups called samba schools prepare all year round for the events, designing floats and costumes and planning epic dance routines. these schools are often located in poor neighbourhoods, which beyond carnival preparations also provide havens for local children, teaching them vital skills to help them later in life. this is you in the photo? yes! it's got to be, right? wait, ah, this one! yes, that's me. the smile‘s the same. king benefited first time from the social outreach provided by her samba school. you know, when you grow up in a favela you don't have of opportunities, so when you get

the chance to have an opportunity, you just grab it. so i started at the social project when i was about nine. and then i got a chance to learn english, that's why i'm communicating with you, because i got a course for free through the social project. so this is the part that most people don't know, the way that people can be part of the samba school. so the party is good, the social idea, it's much more important. patchy public funding means the samba schools have to find clever ways to support themselves. king's school, grande rio, has turned to tourism. they've opened the doors of their workshop to those who want to catch a glimpse of the monumental effort that goes into carnival‘s centrepiece parade.

along with other ex—samba school students, king is now one of the tour guides here. wow. this is the backstage of the carnival. this is the most fun i've ever seen in a warehouse. i think so. we have six floats in here. only six floats?! only six. inside of this warehouse, only six. i guess i assumed this was a float, this was a float, that was another float, but they're the size of city blocks, almost? yes. they'll be massive. yes, yes. you can really see the scale of the operation. the parade is a serious business. the samba schools all compete against each other for a big cash prize. each school keeps their plans and designs top—secret. so much of rio grande‘s workshop is strictly off—limits to tourists. but i've been allowed a rare behind—the—scenes look. i'm having a hard time understanding this. this is all for your parade? it is, this is only for our samba school. all this warehouse, all the costumes are ours. all the welding, the

sewing, the machines? everybody‘s working on one show, your parade? yes, everything. we can have about 3000 costumes, easily. so this is one show out of thousands, because it looks as though these headdresses have five, six, eight, maybe, per headdress. there's be a hundred headdresses. you know, the last time i did arts and crafts i was probably in grade five. i have not worked with sparkles in a long time. this is the part i'm good at. ready? laughter. 0k. 0k! not bad for a first one, eh? you think so? he said it's amazing. it's amazing! somehow i don't believe him. grande rio has been running for more than 30 years. the school's current leader, camilla, has grown up with it. we have an educational programme called the schools carnival

and we have many courses, all through year, for free. when you meet the families and the kids and you understand the passion that they have, why not to get this and transform it for education? especially in brazil, a place that needs a lot of effort to make people's lives better. 0k, of course, the parade is amazing in itself and all the kids love it, but all year long, you need something more for these kids. camilla's school of carnival gives these kids hope and three times a week they all come together to rehearse for the highlight of the year — the carnival parade. moments like these are why i travel. i don't exactly know what is going on, but it's a rehearsal? ah, yes, this is the place where we actually do the rehearsal. so as you can see,

it's an enormous place. we can get involved, apparently! i don't know what i'm doing! but maybe that's half the fun. behind me in this building a whole new generation is finding their best life through drums, dance, and a whole lot of fun. i think if we've learned something today, it's that carnival is much more than a party in brazil. it's part of its soul. well, that's all for this week. but coming up next week:

i'm continuing myjourney through south america by heading across the border into argentina to find out how one of the continent's most fearsome predators mightjust hold the key to saving some of its most stunning scenery. oh, my... guys, this is... when you make eye contact with a beast of this size, your heartjust goes... so make sure not to miss it. but for now, from me, mike corey, and the rest of the travel show team here in beautiful brazil, it's goodbye.

hello there. we're stuck in this colder air stream through wednesday and thursday, and that means more showers, more wintry showers as well, and we've already seen snow falling to quite low levels. now, as those showers ease off across central and eastern parts of the uk, we'll see temperatures dropping away. many areas having a touch of frost. particularly cold though, again, in the north—east of scotland, and given those showers, some icy conditions, especially for northern and western parts of the uk, where those showers keep going into the morning. in general, fewer showers, perhaps, on wednesday. a few will get across to the midlands, eastern england, and eastern scotland, but most of them, certainly during the afternoon, towards northern ireland and western scotland. snow mainly over the hills. some heavier showers, mind you, and temperatures of 5—9 degrees once again. chilly in the breeze, but it won't be as windy in the south—west of england. here, during the evening though, cloud is thickening up. we've got some rain moving in. that's moving into the colder air. so there's the threat

of some snow overnight in the brecon beacons, perhaps a centimetre or two of wet snow over the cotswolds, and later into the chilterns as well. it is mostly rain. further north, the air is colder, of course. wintry showers keep going, and there'll be some icy patches around as well. now, it's this area of low pressure that brings the threat of some wet show across more southern parts of england and wales. that then moves away into continental europe on thursday. but it could take much of the morning before that wetter weather to clear the south—east of england. once it does, we're all into that cold north—westerly airflow. sunnier skies, showers mainly for northern ireland, northern and western scotland, and the north—west of england. but many places in the afternoon, away from here, i think will be dry. still, temperatures struggling to 5—7 degrees. another frost, actually, on thursday night. and then we look in to the atlantic to see more weather systems moving further north across the uk. it'll be a cold start, cloud will increase. we'll see outbreaks of rain moving in from the south—west. you can see how the wind direction changes. we pick up more of a south—westerly wind.

we may well find some snow over the tops of the pennines, southern uplands, towards the latter part of the day. temperatures 6—7 degrees for most, but milder, perhaps double figures, for southern parts of england and wales. but that rain may well get steadier and heavier, actually, on friday night, saturday morning, before pushing away. then a few more isobars on the chart as well, and we're back into that colder, showery airstream as saturday goes on. so remaining very unsettled over the weekend. a spell of rain and some showers, wintry over the hills, more rain on sunday, and feeling chilly in the wind.

this is bbc news. a very warm welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: the coronavirus spreads across the globe, as countries from iran to italy try to contain the cases, and american officials are braced for the impact. global markets have tumbled for the second day in a row as fears of the economic fall out from covid—i9 grows. it's been a heated show down for the democratic presidential candidates as they went head to head in a live television debate. more than a dozen people are killed in the indian capital — it's the worst rioting between hindus and muslims for decades. and why shutting down the internet is the new weapon of choice for governments wanting to crack down on protest and rebellion