you're watching bbc news. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the battle to claim the last pocket of territory from the so—called islamic state group has stalled, because thousands of civilians remain trapped inside the area. as we enter this new phase, 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. us military planes carrying humanitarian aid for venezuela begin arriving at the border. president maduro calls it a cover for a us invasion. mourners have been paying their respects to footballer emiliano sala in his home town in argentina. the striker died in a plane crash last month. hello and welcome.

the american vice president mike pence says the islamic state group 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. our chief international correspondent lyse doucet is at the security conference in munich, where the us vice president was speaking. the caliphate has crumbled. its last piece in this small syrian town of baghuz. and this, their last stand. gunfire 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 at 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 say the aid had been requested by the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido, who declared himself interim president last month. jon ironmonger has the latest. it is an operation that is both humanitarian and highly political. arriving on the colombian border, three us airforce planes, carrying clothes, medicine and food for the people of venezuela. this is not the

first shipment, nor will it be the last shipment, not only from the united states that we know that many other countries as well. eight packages are being stopped piled at the request of the venezuelan opposition leader, juan guaido. in colombia, brazil and the caribbean. speaking at a rally in caracas, the self—proclaimed interim president appealed to new volunteers to help carry the supplies over crossings next saturday, and he restated an ultimatum for the armed forces to back down. once again, the message for the venezuelan armed forces, seven days for humanitarian aid to enter, we treated the right thing and put yourselves on the right side of the constitution. we authorising the entrance of not only humanitarian aid, but also humanity stop right us officials said

venezuela is in the grip of an economic crisis. -- us officials said. reading the hunger and a shortage of basic critical medicines. nearly 3 million venezuelan migrants fled the country since 2015. us aid drops are intensifying the stand—off with nicolas maduro, who is called the operation the skies for an invasion. he continued this week to stoke up hostility among the armed forces, saying y, go home. juan guaido said he would announce further details on monday about his plan to get aid into the country, but it is a promise he could struggle to keep. —— yankee. nicolas maduro's still loyal military had barricaded bridge crossings and showing no signs of giving way. —— show no. 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'd be survivors. families, mostly wives with young children, had camped on site for days, watching, waiting, hoping. an unusually risky operation unfolded here. —— an unusual, 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 of 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 produce 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 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 doesn't 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 said: 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 the poster girl of, you know, 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 did she get there and how can we stop other people from going down that route? the home secretary has said that he won't hesitate to prevent people in terrorist organisations from returning to britain. and if they do make it back home, they may be 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. the battle to claim the last pocket of territory from the islamic state group is being held up because thousands of civilians remain trapped there. us—backed kurdish forces launched an attack on is‘s last remaining stronghold last week and now say victory is imminent. cbs correspondent charlie d'agata was there to send this reports from the front line in syria. the final battle

is in its final days, with isis pinned down to an area of around a quarter of a square mile. that's the update we got today from the commander of the us—backed syrian democratic forces, jia furat. he said the final isis village had not yet fallen, but his ground forces were holding fire and moving forward cautiously because so many civilians remain trapped as human shields. military officials here say they severely underestimated the number of civilians inside that village, when they launched the offensive to crush the last remnants of this so—called caliphate one week ago. first estimated to be around 1500 people, more than twice that many have since flooded out this week, including many isis families. hundreds of isis fighters reportedly surrendered this week, of the a50 or so militants who were thought to be making a last stand. but there's no fighting in here... and when we last visited the front line on thursday,

we found sdf fighters on a more relaxed footing since the final offensive began. apart from sporadic gunfire, a relative calm suggested that the brutal last battle might be coming to end. —— an end. today, commander furat vowed to broadcast to the world in the coming days the military end of isis. now, we stressed military end because even us—led coalition officials have said isis will remain a threat as an underground insurgency, which raises an important question about exactly when america's 2000 troops will withdraw. charlie d'agata, cbs for bbc news. 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 nuaert was due to replace nikky haley, who resigned from the position in october.

do stay with us on bbc news, still to come: his portrayal of adolf hitler in the film downfall earned him international acclaim. we look back at the life of actor bruno ganz. nine years and 15,000 deaths after going into afghanistan, the last soviet troops were finally coming home. the withdrawal completed in good order, but the army defeated in the task it had been sent to perform. malcolm has been murdered. that has a terrible effect on the morale of the people, i'm terrified of the repercussions in the streets. one wonders who is next. as the airlift got under way,

there was no letup in the eruption itself. lava streams from a vent low in the crater flowed down to the sea on the east of the island, away from the town for the time being, but it could start flowing again at any time. the russians heralded their new generation space station with a spectacular night launch. they've called it mir, the russian for peace. this is bbc news, the latest 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 miltants's 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. let's get more on that story now.

the situation in venezuela. is the aid on the border being used for political purposes, or is this a genuine desire to help those who need food and medicine in venezuela? i think first and foremost it is a political game, with a political goal, which is to show the world that present the bureau doesn't care about the venezuelan people, and also to show that the outside world ca res more also to show that the outside world cares more about the venezuelan people. —— president maduro. also, i would like to stress that this decision to bring the aid through colombia, is a signal to the

venezuelan army about whether they will keep supporting president maduro or stand aside and leave the way open for a political transition. is there a problem, as more and more aid arrives, that president maduro will have to save face and he will just begin his eels —— dig in his eels —— heels even more, as will the army? yes, it is a complicated issue. in venezuela, we do have volu nteers issue. in venezuela, we do have volunteers who will go to columbia and bring the aid onto venezuelan soil. ——: b. —— colombia. president maduro now is under... it is very

unclear how all these actors will behave in the following days. unclear how all these actors will behave in the following daysm pa rt behave in the following daysm part of the problem that this aid is from the us government rather than it ewing a charity, a nonpolitical charity that is organising it? president maduro has denied a crisis in venezuela but in the past few yea rs. in venezuela but in the past few years. it is a factor that will affect his decision to accept the aid, that it comes from the us. but president maduro does not concede venezuela has a humanitarian crisis. he does not even proceeds that there isa he does not even proceeds that there is a political crisis. and dmitri, think if your time. 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 longerflying. it has 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 updated on routes from aberdeen, newcastle, the east midlands and stansted and others, to 25 european cities. passengers who have been affected are anxious. i am in belgium at the moment and i just are anxious. i am in belgium at the moment and ijust got are anxious. i am in belgium at the moment and i just got the alert that flybmi went into administration. all the flights for me to return home are the flights for me to return home a re really the flights for me to return home are really expensive and flybmi will not return the £134 i initially spend, so i don't know how i am going to get back. flybmi, based

here it east midlands airport, says its collapse was unavoidable. it has blamed a spike in the price of fuel and changes in the cost of carbon permits. it said this had undermined effo rts permits. it said this had undermined efforts to turn a profit. the company statement said: today's news was a surprise to passengers and staff, but the outline is just the latest carrier to get into difficulties. we are now most of the way through what has been a miserable winter for a large number of airlines. we have seen many failures, all these small airlines have been collapsing and i'm afraid 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. with school holidays at the moment, the airline's collapse comes at an

inconvenient time for many families. let's get some of the day's other news. the deactivation of a second world war bomb recently discovered in paris could cause major disruption to eurostar services on sunday. five trains between london and the french capital have been cancelled, one will be diverted and others are expected to be delayed. travellers are encouraged to change their plans. the unexploded bomb was discovered during engineering work at the railway station served by eurostar. 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. 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 cossoi 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 ligue1 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. bruno ganz — the swiss actor most famous for playing hitler in the film downfall — has died at the age of 77. it's believed he'd been suffering from cancer. he collaborated with some of the world's leading film—makers, including germany's wim wenders and the american director, jonathan demme. the bbc‘s tim allman looks back at his life and career. hitler's bunker, 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're here. he was nothing if not versatile, though, here playing an angel who chooses to become mortal in wim wenders's wings of desire. this time, he was displaying sensitivity, vulnerability and compassion. tributes were soon paid to the swiss actor. germany's foreign minister, heiko maas, tweeted. .. american filmmaker kevin smith said... and the organisers of the berlin film festival tweeted... bruno ganz was born in 1941 and grew up in zurich. he decided to become an actor when a friendly lighting technician showed him around the local theatre. he worked both on the stage and the silver screen, in hollywood and in europe,

an actor of nuance, of warmth and humanity. and, at germany's most prestigious awards ceremony, a standing ovation for bruno ganz who, as the host put it, is once more in the sky above berlin. the actor bruno ganz, who's died at the age of 77. stay with us on bbc news. 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, you 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 could welljust 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 dry for 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 out of these, as well, 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 leaderjuan 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. now on bbc news, inside out. hello, and welcome to inside out.