you're watching bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the battle to claim the last piece of territory held by islamic state fighters stalls, because thousands of civilians remain trapped inside. us military planes carrying humanitarian aid for venezuela begin arriving at the border. president maduro calls it a coverfor a us invasion. the battle to claim the last pocket of territory from the so—called islamic state group has slowed, because thousands of civilians remain trapped inside the area. us backed kurdish forces launched an attack on is's last remaining stronghold last week. the american vice—president, mike pence says is in iraq and syria has been decimated. he was speaking after a commander

with kurdish forces fighting is claimed that within a few days they'd be able to announce the end of the group's existence. just four years ago is controlled vast areas of syria and northern iraq. it had taken control of raqqa and mosul. but the group's so—called caliphate has continued to shrink since then, and is now less than one small square kilometre on the euphrates river. the last militants there are reportedly retreating and hiding among the local population. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, has this report. the caliphate has crumbled.

its last piece in this small syrian town of baghuz. and this, their last stand. these pictures are said to be filmed by islamic state fighters, but they are under fire on all sides, from kurdish forces, backed by american firepower. translation: the area that is is still in is around 700 metres and they are surrounded. the delay to us storming the neighbourhood is due to the presence of civilians, who the terrorists use as human shields. as local forces advanced, frightened families flee. amongst them are believed to be is fighters on the run. a far cry from when they ran their cruel caliphate. here in munich, us vice president mike pence tried to reassure allies. us troops are coming home, but america isn't leaving. the united states will continue to work with all our allies to hunt down the remnants of isis wherever and whenever they rear their ugly head. the end of the caliphate matters, but it's not the end of is. thousands of its fighters have already slipped back into syrian and iraqi society. they're again feeding on local grievances and already conducting attacks and assassinations.

america's allies here, and in the region, worry about what's coming next. the caliphate has been a magnet for foreign fighters. that's over. but is‘s extremist ideas still pose a powerful threat far beyond the region. lyse doucet, bbc news, munich. us airforce transport planes carrying humanitarian aid for venezuela have landed in the colombian border where food and medicine is being stock—piled for distribution. president maduro has refused to allow the aid in, accusing the us of trying to organise a coup. us officials said the aid had been requested by the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, who declared himself interim president last month. jon ironmonger has the latest. the us aid arrives in the colombian

border. three military cargo planes carrying food, medicine, clothes and toiletries for the people of venezuela. this is not the first shipment in all will it be the last shipment in all will it be the last shipment not only from the united states but we know many other countries arejoining states but we know many other countries are joining as well. aid has been dog but at the opposition leaderjuan guaido with further collection points opening up in brazil and the caribbean. the self—proclaimed interim president appealed to volunteers to carry supplies across the border and restated his ultimatum to the armed forces. translation: once again, the message to the venezuelan armed forces, seven days for humanitarian aid to enter, a week you to do the

right thing and put yourself to put yourself on the side of the constitution. we are authorising the entrance of humanitarian aid but also humanity. us aid administrators said venezuela is in the grip of economic crisis leaving children hungry and hospitals without basic medicines. while migrants have been trekking to neighbouring countries in large numbers. the latest airdrops will intensify the stand—off with nicolas maduro who is called the operation a us orchestrated so and continued this week to stoke up resistance from armed forces are saying yankee, go home. yankee, go home. juan guaido said he would announce further details on monday about how we plan to get aid into the country that it isa to get aid into the country that it is a promise he will fight hard to keep. nicolas maduro's military show

no signs of giving way. let's get some of the day's other news: the former catholic cardinal, theodore mccarrick, has been dismissed from the priesthood, over allegations of sexual abuse. mccarrick, who's a former archbishop of washington dc, resigned last year and has been living in seclusion. he'd said he could not remember the alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16—year—old boy, which took place more than 50 years ago. the bodies of policemen killed in a car bomb attack in kashmir have reached their homes in small towns across india. mourners held flowers as they walked behind funeral processions. prime minister narenda modi has warned pakistan of a strong response to the suicide attack, which killed 44 on thursday. vandals in london have painted graffiti on the grave of the german revolutionary philosopher, karl marx, the second attack on his memorial this month. slogans including "architect of genocide", and "terror and oppression" were daubed in red paint on the four—metre

high monument. eight illegal miners have been rescued from two flooded mines in central zimbabwe. at least 22 bodies have also been retrieved from the mines to the west of the capital harare. authorities believe up to 70 people were trapped underground near the town of kadoma, when heavy rains flooded mine shafts on tuesday night. the bbc‘s zimbabwe correspondent shingai nyoka has the story. no—one expected there would be survivors. families, mostly wives with young children, had camped on site for days, watching, waiting, hoping. an unusually risky operation unfolded here. illegal miners working shoulder to shoulder with mining companies, police and soldiers. in the background, the constant buzz of pumps draining the shafts of water. as the days wore on, hope was fading.

translation: we have never experienced such floods in this area and it is so painful to lose our friends in such a way. but then this — one by one some miners were pulled out off the shafts. muddy, exhausted but, thankfully, alive. their stories are harrowing. the lucky ones had found air pockets underground, but were neck—deep in water. the grim task of retrieving the dead continues. many bodies remain a0 metres below the ground, trapped in a vast labyrinth of tunnels the illegal miners had dug in their search for gold. many of the dead are young men. the tragedy highlights the dangerous conditions under which small—scale miners here operate. the backbone of the gold economy, they produced more than 40% of the country's gold with little to no assistance. for now the rescue operations

continue and the celebrations are intermixed with grief. the families hope the events of the last few days will force authorities to act to prevent future tragedies. shingai nyoka, bbc news. the uk government says its main priority has to be the safety of the public, when considering the case of a british teenager who who left the country to join the islamic state group in 2015. the family of shamima begum, who's now 19 and pregnant, say they'd welcome a police investigation into her actions but want the government to help bring her home. sophie long reports. this is the al—hawl camp in northern syria where the 19—year—old from east london is living as she awaits the birth of her third child. shamima begum says both her son and daughter died, and she wants to come back to britain so her unborn baby does not suffer the same fate.

herfamily, who had feared they would never see her again, have asked the government to help them get her home. but the justice secretary says there are risks to allowing people like shamima begum to return to britain, and they would look at her case very closely. what has to be the priority of the british government is ensuring the protection of the british people as a whole. we do have a number of powers in this area. we have to act within those powers. but we need to make sure that the british people are not put unnecessarily at risk. in a statement, shamima begum's family says... shamima begum's case is not unique. some 850 people left the uk to join so—called islamic state. around half have already come back. some working against extremism

say there needs to be more focus on what caused her to go, to prevent others from doing the same. i realise that she is a bit of a poster girl of that phenomenon of those young girls going off tojoin daesh. but if we take stock of what's happened, we need to see how she got there and we can stop other people from going down that route. the home secretary has said that he won't hesitate to prevent supporters of terrorist organisations from returning to britain. and, if they do make it back, they will be questioned and potentially prosecuted. it is unclear what that will mean for shamima begum, who was just 15 when she left the uk for syria. but, if she is allowed to return home, she will have to answer for her actions. sophie long, bbc news, at the home office. the british based flybmi airline has announced that it has ceased operations and is filing for administration.

all flights have been cancelled with effect from saturday. the airline operates 17 regionaljet aircraft and covers routes to 25 european cities. the carrier had seen a dip in profits in recent months. our business correspondent rob young reports. flybmi no longer flying. it's cancelled all flights with immediate effect. the company is also filing for administration. the carrier flew more than half a million passengers last year. its smalljets operated on routes from aberdeen, bristol, newcastle, east midlands, sta nsted and others, to 25 european cities. passengers who've been affected are anxious. i'm in belgium at the moment and ijust got the bbc alert that flybmi have gone into administration. all the flights for me to return home are really expensive and flybmi have said they won't return the £134 that i initially spent, so i don't know how i'm going to get back. flybmi, based here at east midlands airport, says its collapse was unavoidable.

it's blamed a spike in the price of fuel and changes in the cost of carbon permits. it said these had undermined efforts to turn a profit. the company statement said: today's news was a surprise to passengers and staff, but the airline is just the latest carrier to get into difficulties. we are now most of the way through what's been a miserable winterfor a large number of airlines. we've seen failures, including germania, small planet, cobalt of cyprus, primera air of iceland, all these small airlines have been collapsing and i'm afraid that flybmi has flown for the last time. passengers booked to travel with flybmi are being told not to go to the airport unless they have booked an alternative flight, but with school holidays at the moment, the airline's collapse comes at an inconvenient time for many families. rob young, bbc news.

with me is sally gethin. she's an aviation analyst and publisher of gethin‘s inflight news thank you for your time. what happened? thank you for your time. what happened 7 basically we thank you for your time. what happened? basically we have got a very small point to point carrier thatis very small point to point carrier that is probably operating too much on the margins of profitability. it was starting to falter and many of these airlines, especially smaller regional carriers, which flybmi was, operating right at the end of those margins and it is not sustainable going forward when you have a lot of turbulence, for example with brexit, downturn, europe and the middle east are slowing down. 0verall, globally there is and in plain going upwards

in passenger traffic according to the international air transport association which represents airlines. although it is worrying, the larger picture globally is still strong. the company has partially blamed brexit. is it the blame or is it that the company was week to begin with? it is a place. in a normal environment, without brexit, they may have overcome their wea kness to they may have overcome their weakness to some extent. all your prices have not helped. any airline on the edge is going to find it difficult. the markets themselves are subject to volatility. if there isa are subject to volatility. if there is a tremor, if the recent worry. the fear factor around brexit has played a part. it is this

uncertainty. airlines cannot calculate the impact of brexit, they wa nt to calculate the impact of brexit, they want to plan, they are not sure where they want to put their bases. they have been assured by the government business will continue as normal but they have to look at their resources, build up more bases in continental europe, issues about parts. these are larger decisions and movement and they have to plan ahead and, basically, they cannot, and they are frustrated. a lot of customers affected. what people to do if they are stuck somewhere and their plight is no longer valid? u nfortu nately, their plight is no longer valid? unfortunately, in this instance they are not covered unless they have their own insurance. perhaps when they put with their credit card. there is legal cover in the uk if you have paid by credit card but the normal rules not apply because it is not a viable airline and is not able

to refund, not even able to reebok passengers. they literally are stranded. i am shocked a lot of people will be seeking advice on what to do. thank you very much. this is bbc news. the headlines: the us vice president says america will remain in the middle east to help hunt down the remnants of so—called islamic state even after the militants' territory has been reclaimed. us military planes carrying aid for venezuela begin arriving at a colombian border city where food and medicine are being stockpiled. donald trump's choice to be the new us ambassador to the united nations, heather nauert, has withdrawn her nomination. in a statement, ms nauert said that she believes the decision is in the best interest for her family after what she describes as a gruelling two months. ms nauert was due to replace

nikky haley, who resigned from the position in october. just to recap that breaking news, heather nauert has withdrawn her interest in becoming the next us ambassador to the un, citing a being in the best interest of her family. we will get more on that is the story develops. —— as the story develops. international observers have jointly appealed to nigerians to back the democratic process after the electoral commission made a last—minute decision to postpone elections there. the group, which includes the african union and the commonwealth, has called for calm, while the electoral commission says politics played no part in its decision to delay the election, blaming logistical problems. 0ur correspondent tomi 0ladipo is in the capital, abuja. the electoral commission has blamed

operational reasons, logistic — logistic problems for them changing their minds and putting off or postponing the vote. they said they had problems with bad weather when it came to flying a lot of the voting material across the country, and so they had to resort to long—haul road transport, which was part of the problem. they also pointed at issues of sabotage, where some of the offices around the country were attacked and set on fire. but, you know, all the time they had been saying that all was fine and they were going to go ahead with the election, and that none of these problems were grave enough to affect the vote. and then, with a few hours to go, they changed their minds. a lot of people are saying there must be something else. but the head of the electoral commission, mahmood yakubu, insists that these were the main problems. the one—week adjustment was a painful one for inec, but necessary in the overall

interest of our democracy. 0ur decision is entirely taken by the commission. it has nothing to do with security, nothing to do with political influence, nothing to do with availability of resources. a memorial service has taken place in argentina for the football player emiliano sala, who died in a plane crash last month. the 28—year—old was killed two days after signing for cardiff city when his plane came down in the english channel. from progreso, natalio cosoy reports. applause. emiliano sala's body leaves the grounds of his childhood football club, san martin de progreso, in central argentina. his relatives, friends and neighbours came to say goodbye to the local hero at a private funeral. translation: he never forgot his roots, and that means people have a very fond memory of the kid, of emiliano.

sala spent his early years developing his football skills here. he left, aged 14, to pursue bigger opportunities. he was flying from france to cardiff when his plane disappeared over the english channel on 21 january. the bluebirds had paid a club record of £15 million for the player's transfer from ligue i nantes. two weeks later, the wreckage was found, and shortly afterwards, sala's body was recovered. the pilot, david ibbotson, is still missing. representatives from his new club travelled to argentina for today's service. people say, well, he's never played for you or — but he was my player, you know? and the feelings i had, i chased him, iwanted him. and he said to me, i will get you the goals that keep you up in the premier league,

and i said, i know you will. the whole club feels very sad, and cardiff, in general, feels very sad after the incident. and today, i think it's good for the family to have some closure. no cameras were allowed inside the building where the funeral took place. the mourners sat in front of emiliano sala's coffin. they were silent. some of them were praying. the coffin was surrounded by wreaths, and there was a banner that read, "your legacy will be eternal." ahead of today's service, sala's boyhoood club, san martin de progreso, posted a message on social media saying: "we are waiting for you, like the first day you left, but this time to stay with us forever, eternally in our hearts." natalio cosoy, bbc news, de progreso. the disgraced former catholic cardinal theodore mccarrick has been dismissed from the priesthood over charges of sexual abuse. mccarrick, who is a former archbishop of washington, dc, resigned last year and has been living in seclusion. he had said he could not remember

an alleged case of sexual abuse of a 16—year—old boy which took place more than 50 years ago. bruno ganz, the swiss actor most famous for playing hitler in the film downfall, has died at the age of 77. it is believed he had been suffering from cancer. he collaborated with some of the world's leading film—makers, including germany's wim wenders and the american directorjonathan demme. the bbc‘s tim allman looks back at his life and career. hitler's, the dying days of world war ii, and the performance that showcased the power and talent of bruno ganz. this scene would go on to inspire

thousands of internet parodies, but that shouldn't detract from what was a raw depiction of fury, delusion and impending doom. despite winning numerous awards, ganz himself later admitted he was haunted by the role, portraying a madman, but a madman who was still human. i can't see you, but i know you are here. he was nothing if not versatile, though, here playing an angel who chooses to become mortal in wim wenders's happy cat wings of desire. this time, he was displaying sensitivity, vulnerability and compassion. tributes were soon paid to the swiss actor. germany's foreign minister tweeted. .. actor. germany's foreign minister tweeted... american actor. germany's foreign minister tweeted. .. american filmmaker actor. germany's foreign minister tweeted... american filmmaker kevin smith said... and the organisers of the berlin

film festival tweeted... and the organisers of the berlin film festival tweeted. .. bruno and the organisers of the berlin film festival tweeted... bruno ganz was born in 1941 and grew up in subic. he decided to become an actor when a friendly lighting technician showed him around the local theatre -- zurich. showed him around the local theatre —— zurich. he worked both on the stage of the silver screen, in hollywood and in europe. an actor of nuance, of warmth and humanity. and at germany's most vestiges awards ceremony, a standing ovation for bruno ganz, who as the host but it is once more in the sky above berlin. bruno ganz, who has died at the age of 77. stay with us on bbc news, let's get the weather now. hello. after hitting a high of 17 degrees on friday,

saturday could only manage 14. of course, it didn't help, it certainly felt cooler if your skies looked like this. but there's still some springlike sunshine to be found here and there, and in fact, parts of eastern england could be as high as 16 degrees during sunday, because we're all going to see a bit of sunday sunshine, either side though of an area of cloud, with the chance of rain spreading east across the uk. got low pressure to the west of us, see the swirl in the satellite picture here. so it's this cloud which is going to move on through, but it is a weakening system, and some of us willjust about stay dry throughout. so this is how we're starting the day, nowhere particularly cold and actually, for many of us, it will be a sunny start, but that's away from this area of cloud and some rain to the west. notice how narrow it is, though, as it moves into south—west england, into wales, knocking on the door of north—west england. most of its rain is now done from northern ireland at this stage, it's 9:00am in the morning. there's still some heavier bursts affecting parts of western scotland. there is a stiff, southerly wind out of this, as well.

it is going to be a windier day compared with saturday. so what we have, then, is a fairly thin area of cloud, and the chance of seeing some rain, that's gradually going to push its way further east. so gone from northern ireland, we'll soon have the sunshine back into western scotland, wales, and western england as well, and it'll be drierfor much of the rest of the day, bar the odd shower. so cloud reaches into eastern scotland and into eastern england. it's really hard to pick out any rain, because most of it has just fizzled out. it's essentially dry. it is a windier day. these are average speeds, western scotland could be gusting up to around 50 mph or so going into the evening. it's a touch milder, though, through parts of eastern england, helped by some sunshine here. 16 celsius could well be seen. now, we could well hold on to a bit of cloud for east anglia and the south—east of england on through sunday night and into monday, delivering a bit of rain at times. still quite breezy, quite windy going into monday, so no frost, and further showers moving in towards the north—west. this line of showers just pushing its way further south as well into parts of northern

england and wales as monday starts. monday, many of us will get to see some sunshine, away from east anglia and the south—east of england, with thicker cloud at times and the chance of rain. plenty of showers on the brisk wind coming into the north—west. hail, thunder possible coming out of this as well, and may merge in western scotland to give some longer spells of rain, and temperatures are just taking a small step backwards, and another weather system coming in into tuesday could welljust keep that cooler feel going for a time, before it could well become very mild again later in the week. this is bbc news, the headlines: us vice president, mike pence, says the united states will stay in the middle east to help hunt down the remnants of the so—called islamic state. the battle for the last pocket of is territory is being held up because civilians remain trapped there. us military aircraft have begun delivering humanitarian aid for venezuela, to the colombian border. president maduro has warned that aid could be a us pretext for a military intervention. 0pposition leader, juan guaido, called for demonstrations to persuade the military to allow the aid in. eight illegal gold miners have been

pulled alive from flooded mines in zimbabwe but officials fear dozens more are still trapped underground. more than 20 bodies have been recovered since the incident happened on tuesday night. the government has declared it a national disaster. thousands of criminals in england and wales will be tagged with gps trackers, to allow authorities to constantly monitor their wherabouts.