hello and welcome to bbc news. the first trucks carrying us humanitarian aid for venezuela have arrived at the colombian border, which remains blocked by venezuelan troops. president nicolas maduro says he won't allow what he's called the "cheap show" of false humanitarian aid. but opposition leaderjuan guaido, who's declared himself interim president, is warning that many venezuelans are in danger of dying without aid. our correspondent, orla guerin, reports. a convoy that could save lives. lorries full of desperately needed humanitarian aid headed for venezuela at the request of the opposition. they didn't get far, thanks to these containers on the venezuelan side of the border. president maduro insists there's no humanitarian crisis and no need for foreign help, so the spectacle of venezuelan troops blocking

the aid, even as some of their countrymen gathered nearby, begging for help. translation: i'm not hoping for food or anything else for me. i want this aid to get in because people are dying. mr president, we are dying. families are dying. despite the roadblock at the border, the us is promising a great flood of aid. this is a down payment. this isjust a beginning. it's important, it's significant. it will be distributed to venezuelans in venezuela. but it is an effort to respond to 20 years of mismanagement, of corruption. but among president maduro's supporters, no changing the tune. the refrain here is about hugo chavez and the great socialist past. they queued up to sign a petition, refusing aid from the hated us. and from their president,

no hint of compromise. "these are historic days," he says, "that could decide between war and peace. we demand the end of us aggression and threats of military intervention". for him, the greatest threat may be hunger among his people. the political landscape could change fast if the opposition manages to get aid into the sprawling slums of caracas. for years now, in areas like this, the poorest have been relying on the government for their survival. they depend on monthly rations. president maduro is putting food on the table and that ensures a certain loyalty, and the distribution of aid is very tightly controlled.

we saw the system in action. it's in the hands of colectivos — local committees loyal to the president. we've been told that maduro supporters are guaranteed basic supplies, but opponents can go empty—handed. nelson diaz stands by the president and is grateful for his government aid. this proud nationalist wants no help from washington. "i don't think we should take it," he says, "because it comes with bad intentions. if they really wanted to help us, they wouldn't interfere with our economy. they want a silent invasion." aid is much needed here, but it has become a weapon between the government and the opposition, between president maduro

and president trump, who is keen to remove him. orla guerin, bbc news, caracas. let's get some of the day's other news. a collision between 2 trains in spain has left a train—driver dead and more than 90 passengers injured, three of them seriously. the two commuter trains collided north of barcelona in the early evening. an investigation is underway. a mass murderer has been given a life sentence for murdering and sexually mutilating eight gay men in toronto. bruce mcarthur pleaded guilty to the killings committed over a seven year period from 2010. in greece, parliament has formally approved the country's northern neighbour joining nato under the name, north macedonia. it marks the end of a twenty—seven year dispute between athens and the former yugoslav republic. the use of confidentiality, or non disclosure agreements, is in the spotlight again, after sir philip green's legal action against the daily telegraph newspaper, was formally ended by a high courtjudge. the owner of topshop, who denies claims of unlawful sexual and racist behaviour, and allegations of gross misconduct, has condemned the telegraph's reporting, accusing it

of a ‘vendetta' against him. but his alleged victims, are still prevented from speaking out, because they signed non disclosure agreements. here's our special correspondent, lucy manning. sir philip green has the yacht, the business empire, and the knighthood, but his reputation has been damaged by allegations from former employees. he tried to block the telegraph publishing them, but today dropped his injunction against the paper. but the five ex—staff members alleging sexual harassment and racial abuse are still gagged and the paper failed to get their non—disclosure agreements, ndas, overturned. this woman was not prevented from speaking out. she worked for sir philip in his las vegas store and claimed he sexually harassed her on numerous occasions. i do not genuinely think he thought he could get into this lawsuit with the telegraph and win and kind of buy and push his way through silencing people and it

didn't work out in his favour. i absolutely think that the former or current employees that have been restrained by uk ndas should be able to speak out. the editor of the telegraph have been warned by sir philip that the paper might end up bankrupt ever printed the allegations about him. sir philip described the allegations as no more than banter and if that's so, then he could very easily lift those ndas and allow them to speak freely and that is what we urge him to do. what do you want the government to do? i would like parliament, the government, to take up this issue and i would like mrs may to act. she has spoken about being uneasy about the use of ndas after we have identified how they have been misused but so far she has only spoken about reviews and i would like to see action. the topshop owner has denied allegations of unlawful sexual

or racist behaviour but his lawyers conceded he was hot—headed, made comments about the clothes and weight of people and put his arms around them in a non—sexual way. sir philip green in the statement accused the telegraph of pursuing a vendetta against him, his company, and of harassing staff. he called on the paper to do the decent thing and ndas, otherwise he warned of potential legal and financial consequences for his ex—employers. his statement added... sir philip's view of the confidentiality agreements, that those who signed them did willingly after getting legal advice, but some mps think change is overdue. sir philip's view of the confidentiality agreements, that those who signed them did willingly after getting legal advice, but some mps think change is overdue. it cannot be right that wealthy, powerful businesses can use the law to silence victims. we have to make sure that we have got better protections in place and i think that the court ruling today has shown that parliament

needs to look at this and look at it quickly. the businessman decided to drop his court case against the telegraph, calling it pointless, after his identity was revealed in the house of lords by peter hain. the fact that sir philip green withdrew his injunction and refused to proceed with it is a vindication of what i did. some of sir philip's former workers are still silenced, but the telegraph no longer is, so the businessmen will be back on the front page tomorrow. lucy manning, bbc news. the family of the cardiff city footballer, emiliano sala, say they can now begin to mourn his death, after police confirmed his body was found in the wreckage of a plane in the english channel. the 28—year—old argentinian striker was flying to cardiff last month when his aircraft disappeared in the english channel. the pilot, david ibbotson, is still missing. theresa may has been

in dublin, to hold talks with the irish prime minister leo varadkar. it's her latest attempt to resolve issues over the so called irish ‘backstop‘, the mechanism to prevent a hard border between northern ireland, and the republic after brexit. mr varadkar was himself in belfast earlier on friday, urging political leaders at stormont to restore the power—sharing executive, which collapsed more than two years ago. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, has this report. the neighbours, coming over for dinner. two countries, in the most difficult of times, trying to stay friends. at ireland's official state guest house, theresa may and the irish taoiseach, leo varadkar, discussed brexit over a private meal. earlier today, mr varadkar called in on his neighbours, too. northern ireland has been without a government since the parties fell out two years ago, but the tussle over the most controversial part of the brexit deal took centre stage. the decision that we have

made as a european union is that the withdrawal agreement and the backstop are not up for negotiation. but we can talk about the joint political declaration and what changes might be made to that. theresa may's partners in government are demanding more than ireland is willing to give. the important thing is that the backstop is the problem in the withdrawal agreement for most people in the house of commons, who voted against it by an overwhelming majority, and it is that that has got to be addressed. so no sign of any quick resolution here. ticket to dublin, please. next stop for leo varadkar was on down to dublin. the shuttle diplomacy continues. announcement: this train calls at dublin connolly. you'd hardly know you're crossing what will become the new eu frontier. the backstop‘s a last—ditch measure to ensure no return to border checks in ireland. but both sides today showed they are still far from reaching a new compromise. i would congratulate

varadkar on his stance. he's just standing up for irish interests, both north and south. who do you think should give way? i think london should, really, because we want peace to continue. with theresa may in dublin, over dinner, the two prime ministers once again tried to find common ground, knowing it could affect so many livelihoods if they don't. we rely heavily on the uk. an awful lot of products from around the world, especially in this business, come through the uk into ireland. we're quite a small market, so we rely on our larger neighbour. how do you think people in ireland will view theresa may's visit here? diplomacy. is there anything that can come of it? probably not. both sides have agreed to keep on talking, but hope for the concessions theresa may needs is in danger of being snuffed out. emma vardy reporting. moves to hold a vote of no

confidence in a labour mp, who's criticised the party's approach to anti—semitism, have been withdrawn. luciana berger faced the challenge, in her liverpool wavertree constituency. but there's been considerable pressure throughout the day for the local party to abandon the vote. the deputy leader, tom watson, has now written to labour's general secretary, asking her to suspend the constituency party, for what he's described as "bullying." at least ten people have been killed after a fire swept through one of brazil's largest football clubs, flamengo, engulfing one of the player dormitories. the blaze happened at the club's youth team training centre in rio dejaneiro. julia carneiro reports. a fire that put an end to young athletes‘ dreams while they slept. firefighters were summoned to the flamengo training ground in riojust after 5:00 in the morning. translation: the place was completely overtaken by flames. we tried as much as possible to locate victims, but will be found were dead bodies. this is what's left

of the dormitory. corrugated iron roofs were twisted by the blaze that charred walls and even nearby trees. this was a home for members of the youth team that had come from faraway states or neighbourhoods. families prayed outside the training ground around the black and red flamengo flag. fans left flowers and messages for their golden boys. some could hardly bare the weight, desperate venues of the victims. —— desperate for news on the victims. translation: for rio, the world, for everybody that supports flamengo, the parents of victims, it's so sad. we'll struggle to get over this. translation: flamengo is not just football. it's a passion that involves a whole range of feelings — for the club, its history, and mainly for the kids that have trained here since childhood to become great players.

one by one, the ten young men killed were identified, aged 14—16. these young athletes were at the beginning of promising careers, having faced fierce competition to make this far, into flamengo and its famous ninho do urubu training ground, or vulture's nest — a reference to the mascot of brazil's most popular football club. most of the club's facilities had recently been modernised, but the youth dormitory was still being renovated, and the young athletes were sleeping in an older lodging that burst into flames. police are investigating what caused the fire, and whether an air—conditioning unit triggered the blaze. rio city hall said the area hit had not been licensed as a dormitory, but rather as a car park. flamengo has not yet responded to this, and has declared itself in mourning. football clubs and players from across the world have expressed their shock and solidarity under the hashtag #forcaflamengo, including some of the country's biggest stars, like pele, neymar, and zico, whose career started in flamengo.

translation: these were boys with dreams and goals, many of them playing to help their families, and then, a tragedy like this. i pray to god that he can give some comfort to the families of these boys. brazil's passion for football has turned into mourning for those gone too soon. julia carneiro, bbc news, rio de janeiro. this is bbc news. the headlines: president maduro is refusing to allow aid into venezuela. he says the country doesn't need foreign handouts. still searching for a brexit breakthrough — the british prime minister meets with her irish counterpart in dublin. thailand's king has denounced his sister's unprecedented bid to run for prime minister in the upcoming elections. in a statement, he described princess ubolrata na mahidol‘s nomination as "inappropriate".

the election is scheduled for march, and is seen as the first chance for thailand to return to democracy after five years under military rule. celia hatton‘s report contains flash photography. the thai king is an all—powerful figure in his country. his pronouncements are rarely ignored. and what he has had to say is unequivocal. a palace statement said the thai princess's embassy was unconstitutional. hours earlier, the king's sister, ubolratana mahidol, had been announced as the prime ministerial candidate for a party allied to the former government. a government which was overthrown in a military coup five years ago. but her name was unveiled, it seemed as if the party of the ousted thai leader

thaksin shinawatra had come back into favour. it seemed to set the stage for a dramatic election contest. a popular member of thai royalty, facing off against the army leader who led the 2014 coup. he has also been named as the candidate for prime minister. on social media, the princess said it was her right at a citizen to accept the nomination. ubolratana mahidol gave up her royal status when she married an american man in the 1970s, but is still treated as a venerated member of the thai royal family. but the princess asserted her desire to enter politics before her brother, the king, said it was utterly inappropriate. a rare display of discord from behind the walls of the palace, where it seems, the princess will remain for now. celia hatton, bbc news. white house advisor kellyanne conway

says a woman assaulted her in front of her daughter last year. ms conway says mary elizabeth inabinett was "screaming her head off" when she grabbed herfrom behind and shook her in october. she denies charges of second—degree assault and disorderly conduct. she is due to stand trial in march. earlier i spoke to our north america correspondent peter bowes who has been following the story. well, the details have really onlyjust emerged, kelly and conway has been talking to us media outlets, explaining what has happened back in october of last year when she was in this washington, dc area restaurant, she had her teenage daughter with her, when she says that she was approached by someone from behind. who grabbed her, the woman she says was screaming her head off, according to kellyanne conway. she says her teenage daughter managed to capture some of this on video. the police were called, although she said the woman had actually left the restaurant

by the time the police arrived. they clearly meant to catch up with her later. she was arrested and has been charged, and will go on trial next month. she denies the allegations are in fact her lawyer has said that she did not assault ms conway and she was exercising her first amendment right to express her personal opinions. peter bowes there. grimal horses have the equine virus. —— grimal horses. you are sports editor dan roan. it's a sport at a standstill. this is the scene at yards up and down the country, as racing tries to get a grip of a worsening crisis. stockton hall farm in cheshire. the a0 horses here are being tested for symptoms of the equine flu that has forced this and many other stables into lockdown, and the trainer faces a nervous wait. if they come out positive, then that is, makes it even more of a nightmare, just

logistically, here. we have to obviously clear the whole yard out, all the bedding, all the equipment. would that be the end of your season, in effect? it could be, because the problem with the virus is containing it. it is probably, in the time we have found out it's got it, it's probably spread to another horse. yesterday, we learned that three horses at trainer donald mccain's yard had the highly contagious virus. one of those ran in this race, the 3:35pm at ayr on wednesday, which also featured one of two horses in the meeting trained by greenall. these two horses are the ones from these stables that ran at ayr on wednesday. as a result, they are being kept in isolation, well away from the rest of the yard. because the problem is that this virus appears to be spreading. just this afternoon, the british horse racing authority have confirmed a further three positive tests, all at the original stables where this outbreak began, just six miles away from here.

a suspicious but as yet unconfirmed case has also been identified with another trainer. every horse here was today vaccinated. at the moment, it can go one of two ways. what we hope is that all the movement restrictions we have done will stop it like this, and keep it to small numbers. if it doesn't, then there is definitely the potential for it to really explode outwards from here. five of these horses were meant to be racing at nearby bangor today. instead, they had to stay here, as the sport reels from the outbreak. well, it's affecting us quite badly, really, because obviously, we need... i know we do it for the love of the sport, but obviously, it pays the bills as well. and with it being the main season, it's... a lot of rides are getting missed. with all meetings called off until wednesday at the earliest, it is estimated the racing industry is losing millions of pounds each day. and with cheltenham only just over a month away, containing this disease is a race against time. but with a total of 174

stables now in lockdown, the crisis is escalating. dan roan, bbc news, stockton hall farm in cheshire. an endangered sumatran tiger has been killed by her potential mate, at london zoo. the tiger in this video had been brought in from a danish safari park, as a potential mate for the zoo's ten—year—old resident female melati. but when the animals were put together, the male quickly became aggressive and killed melati in a fight. he's been described as ‘one of our greatest actors‘. albert finney has died after a short illness. he was 82. he began his career at the royal shakespeare company, before forging a reputation as one of britain's leading screen stars, in films such as saturday night and sunday morning, tom jones, and erin brockovich. will gompertz looks back at his life. don't let them bastards grind you down — that's one thing i've learned. albert finney was one of the original angry young men, appearing in a raft of kitchen—sink

dramas depicting the everyday realities and frustrations of working—class life. i could get through in half the time if i went like a bull, but they'd only slash my wages — so they can get stuffed. he helped redefine british film and theatre in the early 1960s and leaves a lasting legacy. he's the godfather of us all. he's the person who made me believe i could do it because he was from salford, my parents knew his family. my dad told me, you know, his dad was a bookie in salford, my dad probably had a bet. by 1963, he was being talked about as the next laurence olivier, to whom he would allude when playing the role of a fading actor manager in the dresser and parody when among friends. we were all walking around as sir lawrence walked around in the film, with a limp and a hump, and a kind of deformed strange left hand. and we used to be pressing the elevator button to get to your class, saying, as olivier/richard iii: i must

take the lift... to fencing! i feel awake for the first time, madam. he turned down the opportunity to play the lead in the film lawrence of arabia, choosing instead the title role in tom jones, an 18th—century romantic adventure. albert finney had arrived. an international star of stage and screen with an eye for the ladies and the talent to take on a wide range of roles. don't be so daft, lottie. from directing and starring in charlie bubbles, to playing agatha christie's hercule poirot. we now come to my own reconstruction of the night of the murder. when people look back at the gallery of his roles in the movies, people will always celebrate the versatility, the power, the humour, the humanity. a0 years after his film career began, a new generation of film directors discovered his remarkable screen charisma, casting him as a gruff lawyer in erin brockovich... and you and me are going to make them pay for it. ..and an even gruffer churchill in the gathering storm.

at 35, i was home secretary. at 37, first lord of the admiralty, and at 50, chancellor of the exchequer. doing pretty well. not bad. now look at me. albert finney never forgot his roots. he refused a knighthood because he considered it "snobby". above all though, he was a serious actor. a rare performer, such that, if he was in something, you would pay attention. albert finney — who's died at the age of 82. i'll be back with the headlines in a moment. first, the weather with stav danaos. hello there. storm erik still not done with us yet. there is more wind to come. in fact, we could see some very gusty conditions during the early pa rt very gusty conditions during the early part of this morning. storm erik passes to the north of the uk with a swathe of us. that is the thing on saturday. gradually those winds will turn light into the

afternoon. this swathe of potentially damaging and disruptive winds will affect the northern half of the country for a while this morning. some heavy rain, snow on the tops of the pennines and the scottish hills. further south, blustery showers. we start the day with temperatures are cloudy in degrees. they very windy start this morning, though the heavy pulses of rain. eventually the rate becomes confined to the north—east of scotla nd confined to the north—east of scotland and the northern isles where it continues to pull away into the north sea. further south, plenty of sunshine around. a few showers across western areas. a good deal of dry weather across eastern areas. they gusty day, but the winds gradually easing down into the afternoon. temperature wise, england and wales sing double—figure values again. ten or ii selfies, closer to 7- again. ten or ii selfies, closer to 7— nine across scotland and northern ireland. something fresher there. there could be disruption from the winter early today. pitching to the latest weather forecast and bbc local radio for the latest updates.

storm erik pushes off in towards scandinavia. we look to the south. this next feature could bring a speu this next feature could bring a spell a very wet weather through saturday night, early sunday, may be strong winds. the strong list of the winds will be across the channel into the new continent. could see a little bit of snow on the high ground of wales for a while. so this treadmill is away through sunday, could hang back for east anglia and the south—east. cold air will be pouring south—east was behind it. so the showers across northern areas will be turning increasingly wintry and temperatures back into single figures for all of us. we will have some showery bursts of rain through saturday. through sunday night. then with the a ridge of high pressure building. that will settle things down but it will feel colder. we start monday off on a fairly cold note with some frost around. 0n the plus side, because of this ridge of high pressure, we should see a good deal of dry and bright weather, crisp winter sunshine. the winds much lighter than we have had for the past few days. temperatures 5—

eight or nine degrees. it will feel d ista ntly eight or nine degrees. it will feel distantly chilly to how it has felt the start of the weekend. into next week, high pressure building in. things will come down considerably. dry weather, but a return chilly nights. —— calm down. this is bbc news, the headlines: the venezuelan opposition leader and self—proclaimed president juan guaido has called on the military to let us humanitarian aid enter the country. trucks carrying food and medicines donated by the us have arrived in a colombian border town but have been blocked from entering venezuela by soldiers. the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, has spoken of his determination to get a brexit agreement over the line. he's stressed a meeting with his british counterpart theresa may, taking place in dublin, was not for negotiations, as those must only be conducted with the european union. the king of thailand has denounced his sister's candidacy for prime minister,

saying that such a move is inappropriate and unconstitutional. he said his elder sister would not be allowed to run for office because it was against tradition, even if she'd given up her official royal title. now on bbc news, click. this week, extreme weather predictions. 0n the mend with vr. and...