this is bbc news. the headlines at 9am. president trump has threatened to release hundreds of is fighters — if britain and other nations refuse to put them on trial president trump demands that europe takes back more than eight hundred islamic state fighters captured in syria to put them on trial. hundreds of passengers are left with worthless plane tickets after flybmi cancels all of its flights and files for administration. almost 400 jobs are at risk. a bbc investigation exposes films and photographs promoting animal cruelty and illegal blood—sports on social media websites. some content has been taken down, but why not all? theresa may writes to all 317 tory mps urging them to put aside their personal differences over brexit — and come together in the national interest. workers on auto—enrolment pensions will have to contribute 5% of their salary in april. the increase means take—home pay may fall for millions of people. good morning and welcome

to bbc news... president trump has said britain and other european allies should "take back" more than 800 islamic state fighters captured in syria and put them on trial. mr trump said the united states would be forced to release the alleged jihadists unless they are taken into custody. the comments come as islamic state is facing the loss of its last stronghold in syria. 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 north america correspondent peter bowes reports. in a series of tweets, president trump said the caliphate was ready to fall and that american forces were pulling back after a 100% victory. but he warned that the united states will be forced to release islamic state fighters and that he didn't want to watch as they permeated europe. he said britain, france, germany and other european allies should take back over 800 is fighters and put them on trial. it is time, the president said, for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing. captured is fighters are currently being held by us—backed kurdish—led forces. responding to the case of shamima begum, the british teenager who went to join is but now wants to go home, the uk government had said it will evaluate each case individually. peter bowes, bbc news. donald trump's choice to be

the new us ambassador to the united nations has withdrawn her nomination. in a statement heather nauert said that she believes the decision is in the best interest for her family after what she describes as a "gruelling two months." she was due to replace nikky haley, who resigned from the position in october. stranded passengers are trying to find alternative travel arrangements, after the airline, flybmi, collapsed. in a statement, the company blamed rising fuel costs, as well as challenges created by brexit. the airline, based near east midlands airport, has told customers it will not be able to reschedule any flights. colin campbell has the details. with all flybmi flights cancelled, hundreds of passengers including families on their half term breaks have had their travel plans disrupted. others have been left stranded abroad. all the flights on the return home have been cancelled. they said they would not give me a refund.

we are now off into austria for our skiing trip but there is a real concern as to how we are going to get home now the company has gone into administration. based in the east midlands, flybmi operated i7 jets, flying to 25 european cities. the airline, which has 376 employees, blames its collapse on a spike in the price of fuel and changes in the cost of carbon permits. in a statement, the company said current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the brexit process which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in europe. it's a horrible time to be any small airline at the moment. in europe, you have far too many seats, but too few customers and just looking at the numbers for flybmi, the average flight had only 18 people on it. passengers booked to travel with flybmi are being told not to go

to the airport unless they have booked an alternative flight. the civil aviation authority say those affected should contact their travel agent, credit card or insurance provider to see if they can get a refund. i'm joined now via webcam by peter morris. clearly the massive uncertainty that exists around the aviation environment, built up over a0 years, it looks like it could unravel in a short space of time. it hits them harder than anyone. we heard in the report, too many seats, too few customers, on average 18 seats per

flight customers, on average 18 seats per flight field for flybmi. you could look at different times of year, obviously this is the worst time of yearfor obviously this is the worst time of year for airlines obviously this is the worst time of yearfor airlines and obviously this is the worst time of year for airlines and the time they tend to go past when you've got to get through the winter for summer bookings but it's the uncertainty all the way across that i think affects it and particularly if you haveissues affects it and particularly if you have issues around freedom of movement for european citizens, clearly the demand has impacted as well. are fuel costs being claimed particularly, as well as uncertainty over brexit? well, i think fuel costs have gone up and down but i think one of the important things was the mention flybmi made of european contracts, clearly people do not want to give european —based contracts when the regulatory status of the airline might be in question. another ancillary factor is that if you actually look at the devaluation of the pound that has taken place since 2016, the british people have

less money to spend on travel and if that carries on, that devaluation, there is going to be even less money to spend. are other smaller airlines vulnerable at the moment? 7 to spend. are other smaller airlines vulnerable at the moment? ? i think definitely, yes and to some extent, this even extends to aig, where the status in terms of share ownership and the flying rights the carrier has are starting to look slightly uncertain. so, even the big boys might have some problem with the aviation environment. why? thank you very much for being with us. peter morris, chief economist at the aviation consultancy, come at the aviation consultancy, assent. theresa may has called on conservative mps to put ‘personal preferences' aside over brexit to get her deal through the house of commons. in a letter to all 317 tory members of parliament, the prime minister said ‘history would judge us all‘ over the handling of brexit.

she also set out what the government would be doing in the coming days to secure a withdrawal agreement that will get the backing of parliament. tomorrow the brexit secretary, stephen barclay is due to be back in brussels for a meeting with his eu counterpart, michel barnier. later this week, the attorney general, geoffrey cox is expected to make a rare speech in which he will outline how the government will eliminate any legal risk to stop the irish backstop becoming indefinite. and the prime minister is scheduled to have another meeting with the president of the european commission, jean claude—juncker. with me is our political correspondent, pete saul. yellow is it likely to make a lot of difference? there was an uneasy

truce within the conservative party. richard harrington called on brexit your colleagues to leave the conservative party and join nigel farage's new party. theresa may has just trying to put a little bit of a dampener on things to calm things down. she knows the conservative party need to unite if they are going to get behind her deal. let's look at some of the quotes from this letter she sent out this morning. she says... we must move beyond what divides us and come together behind what unites us and sacrifice our personal preferences in the higher service of the national interest. just a reminder that the weight of history is on them at the moment.

she says, we must rise in a way that restores the faith of the british people in our political process. there is an acknowledgement they are from the premise that a lot of people in the country have been watching events in parliament frankly with dismay. watching events in parliament frankly with dismaylj watching events in parliament frankly with dismay. i suppose many people say it all comes to the backstop in the end within the conservative party, in parliament as well. what is happening in the next few days in terms of her and her government trying to address that and geta government trying to address that and get a deal that can get through parliament? she is trying with her language to bring the party together but there is no change in her approach. she believes the only way to get a deal through parliament and keep a party together is to secure changes to the backstop. the safety net to avoid a heart border on the island of ireland if that cannot be sorted out for a future trading relationship. she will go to brussels for talks with jean—claude juncker and she plans to have a conversation with every single one of the leaders of the remaining 27

eu countries. a lot on her plate still they are but remember, the european union is holding extremely firm on their site has no plans whatsoever, as far as we can see, to reopen that withdrawal agreement. as ofa reopen that withdrawal agreement. as of a pennetta has her work cut out. the allegation continues that she is running down the clock. that it is time running out. she hopes this will concentrate the minds of mps and get them to back her deal? that may well be her trump card when it comes to it because the majority of mps want to avoid a no—deal scenario, most think it will be a catastrophe for the economy and other aspects of british life. if it comes to a choice between theresa maymight be under no—deal, i think mps will plump for the deal. what might happen between then and now is mps doing what they have been threatening for some time, wrestling control of the process. we will look

towards the next crunch point, 27th february, a series of amendments to be voted on then antifeminist are concerned that the yvette cooper amendments, if you rememberfrom the last time, the effort to delay the process , last time, the effort to delay the process, that may gain traction the next thing that comes before the house. thank you. millions of workers could see their take—home pay fall from april when the amount they have to put into their pension pot increases. a bbc analysis of earnings suggests higher contribution rates for those in auto—enrolment pensions will hit pay packets, despite an imminent tax cut. rob young reports. building a pension pot, sacrificing part of our wages today to pay for a more comfortable retirement. since 2012, ten million eligible workers have been automatically enrolled in a workplace pension. from april, many of those employees will have to pay a bigger proportion of their pay into their auto

enrolment pension pot. according to an analysis of earnings carried out for the bbc, the annual take—home pay of someone earning £15,000 a year will be £a9 lower, someone on £30,000 will take home £253 less. in a few weeks, many workers currently contributing 3% of their pay will have to put 5% in. this is a significant increase relative to what they have been paying to date and this will affect up to ten million people auto enrolled in the last few years. the hit to net pay could have beem bigger, a tax cut for most earners due in april will soften the blow. some of the industry worry the hit to pay could lead people to opt out of saving for a pension. speaking on a recent visit to this factory, the minister in charge said she hoped that would not happen. we need to encourage people to save more and employers to take more of a role. i think that's exactly

what we are seeing and we are going to increase it slightly this year. the government has regarded auto enrolment as a huge success and will monitor what happens in a few weeks' time. some in the industry say worker contributions may have to rise even further if they want a decent retirement income. rob young, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... president trump has threatened to release hundreds of is fighters — if britain and other nations refuse to put them on trial president trump demands that europe takes back more than eight hundred islamic state fighters captured in syria to put them on trial. hundreds of passengers are left with worthless plane tickets after flybmi cancels all of its flights and files for administration. almost a00 jobs are at risk. theresa may writes to all 317 tory mps urging them to put aside their personal differences over brexit — and come together in the national interest.

videos and photographs promoting animal cruelty and illegal blood sports are being shared on social media, according to a bbc countryfile investigation. in response, facebook and youtube have taken down some of the content, but material celebrating illegal hunting and cockfighting is still accessible, as tom heap reports. from hare coursing to cockfighting, these are the cruelest of so—called sports with gambling at their heart. you may have thought these blood sports lived only in the past but today the power of the web has given them a new audience. we found evidence that some of the world's most popular internet sites like facebook and youtube are being used by illicit gambling rings to organise animal fights and also share disturbing and cruel images online with huge numbers of followers. it's about the money.

it is purely about the betting. it is significant amounts of money made in this. we have intelligence suggesting that dogs can be bought for 25,000—30,000 pounds for hare coursing dog with good bloodline. they are making six figures annually. purely from hare coursing. and they can live stream to their friend the pub. we have infiltrated a number of closed groups on facebook, groups believed to be sharing illegal blood sport material. they may not be publicly accessible but they have huge numbers of followers. and it's notjust facebook. we also found videos being uploaded and shared on youtube. we showed them our evidence and facebook did take down one profile that had been up for several years but others remain.

facebook told us that their content must respect local laws and that they rely on reports from appropriate authorities so they can take appropriate action. youtube also removed some material and said it had clear policies that bannedd graphic content and animal abuse. more on countryfile at this evening at 7pm. 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. nine illegal gold miners have been pulled alive from flooded mines in zimbabwe but officials fear dozens more are still trapped. the men were rescued after becoming trapped on tuesday when heavy rains flooded mine shafts. more than 20 bodies have been recovered so far. the government has declared it a national disaster. 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 in operation both humanitarian

and highly political. arriving on the colombian border, three us cargo planes carrying food, medicine and clothes for the people of venezuela. this is not the first shipment, nor will it be the last, not only from the united states but we know many other countries are joining as well. aid packages are being stockpiled 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 supplies over crossings next saturday. he restated an ultimatum for the armed forces to back down. translation: once again, the message

to the venezuelan armed forces, seven days for humanitarian aid, a week for you to do the right thing and put yourselves in the sight of the constitution. we are authorising the constitution. we are authorising the entrance of not only humanitarian aid but also humanity. us officials say venezuela is in the grip ofan us officials say venezuela is in the grip of an economic crisis, leading to widespread hunger and a critical shortage of basic medicines. according to the united nations, 3 million venezuelan migrants fled the country since 2015. usa 80 drops are intensifying the stand—off with nicholas majuro, who has called the operation a disguise for an invasion. he continued this week to stoke up hostility among the armed forces, saying, yankee, go home! juan guaido said he would announce

further details on monday about his plan to get eight into the country, but it is a promise he could struggle to keep. president maduro's still loyal military have barricaded bridge crossings and showed no signs of giving way. it was the worst nuclear accident in history. the chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in soviet ukraine but the exact cause, and who was to blame, is still a matter of debate. since the disaster, an area of more than a000 square kilometres has been abandoned. our science correspondent victoria gill spent a week there with scientists who are studying the radiation—contaminated environment, and met one of the very small number of people who still live within the exclusion zone. after the 1986 explosion at the chernobyl nuclear power plant, more than a,000 square kilometres spanning ukraine and belarus was evacuated. where people moved out of towns and villages, wildlife moved in.

but not every village was left for nature to reclaim. we are deep in the chernobyl exclusion zone, and some people still live here. victoria. nice to meet you. today is maria's 78th birthday, and she has made us breakfast. oh, wow. thank you. up until the day of the accident, this had been the only home she knew. her family simply walked back across the then—patchily—enforced boundary. they refused to abandon the place. maria and her neighbours make up

a remote community ofjust 15, a tiny village reclaimed after the disaster. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, much more sunshine across the west after what has been a damp start to sunday. a chance of rain pushing eastwards through the day. all of us are seeing some sunday sunshine. this cold front is pushing its way off the atlantic and working its way off the atlantic and working its way off the atlantic and working its way through scotland and into western areas of england and wales.

the weather front is weakening. more sunshine developing to the west. more cloud in the middle of the afternoon, in the channel islands, spreading into the south east, through east yorkshire and lincolnshire, and we could see light rain. for northern wales, northern ireland, some sunshine. scotland seeing more sunshine this afternoon but through lewis and into words caithness and orkney, outbreaks of rain and that will be spreading towards shetland later. wind strengths across the north—west of scotla nd strengths across the north—west of scotland tonight, gale—force expected, showers frequent here. by the end of the night, this will push into northern ireland, western wales and the south—west. many parts of the east staying dry. it should be frost—free and a cool start to

monday. quite a blustery day. you may need to grab an umbrella in northern ireland or scotland. some showers for western england and wales, drifting into the midlands in the afternoon. sunshine in between. east anglia and the south—east, cloudy, so you may start dry but likely to see rain. temperatures down on recent days but still above where they should be. a cool start to tuesday. sunshine to begin and then cloud increases and turning white for northern ireland, north—west wales and west in scotland. temperatures staying similar. into wednesday, southerly winds, yellow colour on the chart indicates milder air coming back, with temperatures into the upper teens by the end of the week. our latest headlines. president

trump once the united kingdom and idolise it needs to take risk responsibility that might hundreds of passengers are left with worthless plane tickets after flight bmi cancelled all flights and files for administration. almost a00 jobs at risk. bbc investigation exposes films and photographs promoting animal cruelty and a legal blood sports on social media websites. theresa may writes two conservative mps urging them to put aside their personal differences over brexit and come together in the national interest. workers on auto—enrolment pensions will have to contribute 5% of their salary in april. the increase means take home pay may fall for millions of people. before the papers — sport and for a full round up,

from the bbc sport centre, here's holly hamilton. newport county's fa cup dream came to an end as they were beaten a—1 by premier league champions manchester city. newport managed to hold them off until the 51st minute though when leroy sane gave city the lead — then phil foden doubled their advantage with this effort. padraig amond managed to pull one back in the last few minutes, but city hadn't quite finished. anotherfrom foden — the goal of the game — before riyad mahrez made it four. we start thinking what could have been but they are exceptional. they are exceptional. i can't speak highly enough of them. the class they have shown since they have been here. pep guardiola, all the players. you know, i think that is such a classy manager and football club. brighton are also in the last eight after beating derby county 2—1.

anthony knockaert scored their opener with this excellent finish. they were two up by the break when yves bissouma's shot was followed up byjurgen locadia. former england defender ashley cole pulled one back — it was the 38—year—old's first fa cup goal. it's a year when of course a lot of the premier league teams are out of the competition and probably the likes of ourselves and others that are still in there, you know, had that opportunity to progress one step further and i think ultimately it's generally a premier league top six team that wins it but it opens the door a little bit more this season. we have had a nice run and two really good games against southampton, difficult but

interesting against accrington, and i'iow interesting against accrington, and now today where we have shown ourselves in the second half. it sets us up quite nicely for the league, clarity and the fact the cups are done and have had a decent run, we have to keep reproducing good form in the league to try and push for promotion. this goal from murray wallace was enough for millwall to beat fellow south london club wimbledon 1—0 and secure a spot in the last eight. it means the 200a finalists are now one win away from a semifinal spot at wembley. i thought today my boys showed great