this is bbc news, the headlines: rival music concerts for and against the venezuelan president are taking place at the border with colombia. president maduro has ordered its closure to prevent welcome to bbc news, international aid from coming in. broadcasting to viewers in north america earlier at the border with brazil, and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. two people were killed in clashes our top stories: between troops and protesters. r'n‘b singer r kelly rising tensions as rival music concerts who has been charged for and against the venezuelan with 10 counts of aggravated president take place criminal sexual abuse in illinois at the border with colombia. has handed himself in at a police station in chicago. prosecutors say the charges relate and at the border with brazil, to the alleged abuse at least two people are killed, of four victims. the singer denies the allegations. as troops and protesters clash over the delivery of foreign aid. r&b star, r kelly, hands himself with less than five weeks in at a chicago police until britain is due to leave station after being charged with the eu, three cabinet ministers have made it multiple, sexual—abuse offences. clear they are prepared to vote against theresa may's government, with less than five weeks to go to avoid a no—deal brexit. mrs may says mps should until britain is set to leave the eu, back her deal or risk seeing three cabinet ministers tell brexit delayed. theresa may they would vote against her to avoid a no—deal brexit. razed to the ground — colombian authorities demolish the home of notorious

it's 3:30am. drug lord pablo escobar. as tensions intensify in venezuela at least two people have been shot dead by security forces near the country's border with brazil. the soldiers there are attempting to prevent the arrival of foreign aid on the orders of president nicholas maduro, who denies a humanitarian crisis. meanwhile an anti—maduro music concert has been taking place on the border with colombia. venezuela aid live is backed by the british tycoon richard branson. the bbc‘s orla guerin is there. live aid for venezuela. under the south american sun, a benefit concert in colombia for a nation in need.

all taking place within sight and sound of the border crossing. and among the crowds, we found venezuelans forced to flee the crisis in their country. "i've been here in colombia for ten months," this man says, "and i'm hoping that today will be the start of a new chapter for venezuela. we can do it." "there are some a difficulties," margarita tells me. "our brothers and sisters are dying at hospital doors because there's no medicine. they die at home because there's no food. they search for scraps in the bins outside restaurants." venezuela's embattled leader, nicolas maduro, hopes to drown out his critics with a concert of his own nearby. but for now at least, spirits have been lifted.

well, the aim here is to raise money for aid and to raise hopes of change. and all of this will focus attention on the needs in venezuela. the real issue is whether or not the opposition will be able to bring convoys of aid through the border. and that will be put to the test very soon. backstage, richard branson told me this is the most important concert he's ever arranged. he's hoping the venezuelan soldiers nearby are listening. we are hopeful that they will lay down their arms and accept white roses, which they will be handed, and allow the supplies across. but if that doesn't work, we will continue with more concerts, and we'll keep the pressure on until finally humanitarian aid is let into venezuela. but this was the scene at the border with brazil today. venezuela's military out in force

to block any aid getting through. at least one protester was killed. the stage is set for confrontation here tomorrow. up ahead, the bridge is blocked. president maduro says his troops must keep the aid out. the opposition says they will be bringing it through. orla guerin, bbc news, on the venezuela—colombian border. our correspondent katy watson is in caracas. she explained what might happen next to the humanitarian aid that is stockpiled near venezuela's border. nicolas maduro has closed the border and said he will evaluate what he does. if you speak tojuan guaido

supporters, it doesn't matter how but they will get their aid in no matter what. the question is, when the trucks start moving on saturday morning, how the relationship with the armed forces will be. juan guaido has been calling on the armed forces to let this aid in, to look at yourfamily, forces to let this aid in, to look at your family, the fact that they need medicine and food, everybody in venezuela needs of these things. they are pulling on the hearts and minds of the officers but nicolas maduro remains firm and so it is interesting to see what happens on saturday. in the last hour, the us singer r kelly has surrended to police, after being charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse, some of which involve underage victims. the 52 year—old r&b star is due before a court

in chicago later. his name has been linked to various allegations for a number of years but prosecutors now believe they have enough evidence to go to trial. he denies all the accusations, as aleem maqbool reports. # i believe i can fly...# r kelly was at one point, quite simply, the biggest name in r&b, and he had massive crossover hits globally. through it all, though, allegations and rumours of sexual abuse against underage girls were never far away, and in 2008 he went to trial on charges of child pornography, after a tape surfaced, allegedly showing him having sex with a 13—year—old girl. but he was acquitted, when the jury decided the tape was not clear enough. some women were paid not to talk, but others started to come forward to say what had gone on. i did realise that he had a problem and i couldn't fix it. now prosecutors feel they have enough evidence to press charges relating to four victims. earlier today, robert kelly was indicted before a cook county grand jury on ten counts

of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. it appears a recent tv series speaking to alleged victims gave others the confidence to come forward, too. to try to getjustice against one of the biggest selling us stars for abuse allegations going back more than two decades. after those ten counts relating to offences between 1998 and 2010 were listed, a judge he did issue an arrest warrant for r kelly. and while there are those who feel much more should have been done years ago, he is due to appear inside this very courthouse in the next 2a hours to finally face those charges of sexual abuse against underage girls. president donald trump has nominated kelly craft, currently ambassador to canada, to become us ambassador to the united nations. the nomination comes one week after his previous nomination,

former fox news presenter and state department spokeswoman, heather nauert withdrew. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler told us a bit more about the president's pick. kelly craft is someone who has been serving, as you mentioned, as the ambassador for the us in canada and has been involved in these negotiations to try and set up a new trade agreement between the countries and mexico. and she is somebody who does have a bit of experience when it comes to the un as well. she was under president george w bush, a member of the delegation at the un general assembly for a time, and she is also in big backer of the republicans. her husband is a very successful businessman and they are big donors to the party and there has been increasing speculation that she would get this job because she had the support of mitch mcconnell, who is the republican leader in the senate, and also some of president trump's inner circle inside the administration. it is worth noting, of course, that the us has not actually had a representative as an ambassador to the un since the end of last year,

when nikki healy quit. she was somebody who was very highly regarded. her quitting came as something of a surprise. and it has left a bit of a vacuum, whenever there is a period with a lot of foreign policy concerns, not least, of course, the clashes and that battle for power that's taking place in venezuela, and indeed president trump's announcedment that he was removing us troops from the middle east, so it is a role that is very important. it is about working with allies and it needs to be filled. as you mentioned though, there has been this real concern about filling it because, up until a week ago, we did think it was going to be heather nauert, who was the us state department spokesperson for a time, someone who was very close to mike pompeo, but she decided not to go ahead with her nomination after a number of tabloid stories and also concerns about gravitas and experience and whether she had that to fulfil the role. it's interesting, i'vejust had a statement from the us secretary of state mike pompeo in which he talks about kelly craft and one of the things that he points out in this statement

is that she is extremely well qualified to do the job at the united nations. i think that is an indication that probably the administration wants to fill this role as quickly as possible. sudan's president 0mar al—bashir has dismissed the federal government and says he'll replace it with a government of technocrats. he also sacked all state governors and declared a state of emergency for one year. popular protests calling on him to step down have been taking place since december. officials in colombia have demolished pablo escobar‘s former apartment complex in medellin, after the site became a tourist hotspot. the infamous drug trafficker lived there in the 1980s. the city now plans to build a memorial park to replace the abandoned building. stefan levy reports. the building raised to the ground in seconds, his legacy much harder to demolish.

this 8—storey building was where the colombian drug lord, pablo escobar, called home for many years, where he planned some of his most brazen attacks. escobar eventually met his fate in a police shootout in 1993. in the 44 years up until that moment, he was responsible for killing thousands of people as he built his cocaine empire. translation: i think today is not simply the demolition of a building, today is the resurgence of history, built from the memory of the victims. the white—concrete building in medellin‘s upmarket poblado neighbourhood was gutted by a car bomb in 1988, and has remained empty ever since. in recent years, the netflix series, narcos, which chronicals the rise and fall of the druglord, shone a light on medellin‘s chequered past. fans of the show came to take tours around sites related to the history

of drug trafficking. but the building's demolition aim to put a stop to that. but the building's demolition aims to put a stop to that. translation: it is going to be a memorial to the victims, it is not going to be a tourist pilgrimage, with the monaco building place there in the middle, with the monaco building placed there in the middle, to fulfill the curiosity of the tourists. translation: on that corner, over there, the bodyguard of the wife of pablo escobar shot me a long time ago, but that was not so important — many people died here. the city now plans to build a park and museum to replace the abandoned building, a symbol of the city reborn, parting ways with its troubled past. stefan levy, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: why botswana might lift its ban on elephant hunting, to allow limited culling and even, canning of the meat

for pet food. prince charles has chosen his bride. the prince proposed to lady diana spencer three weeks ago. she accepted, she says, without hesitation. as revolutions go, this had its fair share of bullets. a climax in the night outside the gates of mr marcos‘s sanctuary, malacanang — the name itself symbolizing one of the cruellest regimes of modern asia. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly using a cell from another sheep. citizens are trying to come to grips with their new freedom. though there is joy and relief today, the scars are everywhere. not for 20 years have locusts been seen in such numbers in this part of africa. some of the swarms have been ten miles long. this is the last time the public will see this pope. very soon, for the sake of the credibilty and authority of the next pope, benedict xvi will, in his own words, "be hidden from the world

for the rest of his life." this is bbc news, the latest headlines: rising tensions in venezuela as music concerts for and against the president take place on either side of the border with colombia. earlier police and protesteters clashed over access to humanitarian aid. r&b star r kelly hands himself in at a chicago police station after being charged with multiple sexual—abuse offences. three british cabinet ministers have defied government policy to warn that brexit should be delayed if parliament fails to approve a withdrawal deal in the coming days. the ministers made the remarks in a newspaper article. they said unless there was a breakthrough soon, they would be prepared to vote against the prime minister, theresa may, to extend the negotiation process.

0ur chief political correspondent, vicki young has more. time and time again theresa may has said the uk is leaving the eu on the 29th of march, in just five weeks time. a very different message from these three, david gauke, amber rudd and greg clark, who have all made it clear that they would not accept a no—deal scenario. but now publicly for the first time they are saying that brexit would have to be delayed if parliament does not back a deal next week. in the daily mail, they have a stark warning for their colleagues. "it is time," they said, "that many of our conservative parliamentary colleagues recognise that parliament will stop a disastrous no—deal brexit. if that happens they will have no—one to blame but themselves for delaying brexit." this is happening because on wednesday there will be an attempt by mps to seize control of that brexit process. these three suggesting they will be prepared to resign in order to back that move. this is piling the pressure on theresa may to get the changes to that deal, to bring it back

as early as next week but also piling pressure on their colleagues to get behind the deal. they are saying to the brexiteers, you wanted brexit, you have to vote for it, and don't be in any doubt — what they are saying tonight is not government policy. and — you can keep up to date with the latest brexit developments on our website — you'll also find a simple guide to brexitjargon — that's all at bbc.com/news. meanwhile, the uk's opposition labour party has suffered its ninth resignation of the week. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has rejected suggestions of widespread bullying after the mp ian austin resigned over what he called a culture of extremism, intolerance and anti—semitism. here's vicki young again — a warning her report does contain some flashing images. jeremy corbyn‘s under pressure — struggling to keep his party together after a week of turmoil. eight of his mps walked out, accusing him of allowing a culture

of bullying, anti—semitism, and intimidation to take hold. now, ian austin has quit too, saying mr corbyn isn't fit to be prime minister. i think underjeremy corbyn‘s leadership there's been a culture of extremism and intolerance that's been allowed to develop, and anti—semitism that's been allowed to develop and has flourished. and i thinkjeremy corbyn has not taken it nearly seriously enough, and i think he's incapable, if i'm honest, of dealing with it properly, and i think he's refused to get to grips with it. mr austin says he's notjoining the new independent group set up this week by other disgruntled colleagues. he doesn't agree with them about the need for another brexit referendum. mr corbyn is in spain today, holding meetings about brexit. this was his response to the latest defection. i'm sorry that he's decided to take that course of action. he was elected, like me, in 2017 at the general election under a manifesto that pledged to deal with poverty, injustice, and inequality in britain. that's how he was elected, that's how i was elected, and i think we should be

campaigning on those issues. when other labour mps, including luciana berger, resigned on monday, they partly blamed mr corbyn‘s failure to deal with anti—semitism. their message struck a chord with ian austin, whose jewish adoptive father was forced to flee the nazis. you must have had a bit of a morning... he told his former colleague jess phillips that leaving labour had been a painful decision. on phone: i've been thinking that i should have been doing this for months, for a long time. but i watched luciana on monday, and i thought in the end you have got to stand with her. yeah, and do you think more will go now as well? i don't know, i mean, i haven't talked to other people about this. and in a sign of growing anger in the party, another labour mp, siobhain mcdonagh, criticised members for a wave of abuse directed at her after rumours she might quit. mr corbyn‘s allies say the mps who've defected never accepted his leadership and have

been trying to undermine the labour party's prospects. the expectation, though, is that ian austin won't be the last to resign. now to syria where civilians have been evacuated from the final is stronghold of baghouz. the village is near the border with iraq, and is currently surrounded by the us—backed syrian democratic forces, the sdf. convoys of trucks were seen transporting civilians — mainly women and children — away from the village on friday morning ahead of a final assault. according to the sdf there are thousands of civilians and jihadists still inside the village's borders. these are the very latest pictures from baghouz. you can see is fighters standing around, there's no fighting happening at the moment. 0ur correspondent mark lowen is in erbil in northern iraq. he says the sdf are working to evacuate all remaining civilians. the stf are not going to launch this final assault on baghouz until they

have cleared the civilians from inside. the fear of a massacre, they are managing to get people out, about 30 truckloads left today but i think that the whole thing is taking longer than was expected. we were told a few days ago it might be 24-48 told a few days ago it might be 24—48 hours, it is dragging on now it could take another 3— four days, and along with civilians you have diehard islamic state fighters who are refusing to surrender and vowing to fight to the death. they are less ofa to fight to the death. they are less of a concern frankly for the sdf, if they stay in there with kurdish led forces on the ground and us air power they do not stand much of a chance in assaults. a government panel in botswana has recommended lifting a four—year—old ban on elephant hunting. it would allow regular, but limited, culling and the canning of the meat for pet food. botswana is home to thousands of the animals — which are a big draw for tourists from around the world. the bbc‘s alistair leithead reports from botswana's 0kavango delta. botswana has more elephants than anywhere else — 130,000 of them,

a third of the elephants left in africa. but some think it has too many. this is the destruction they can cause when they come into conflict with rural communities. elephants are just moving here around the rooms, just breaking our ploughing fields, killing our cattle, just breaking all the trees. two people have been killed in the village in five years since the big game hunting ban came into force. since the government stopped the hunting, so the elephants became more and more and more. i think government can introduce hunting of elephants again, killing them so maybe they will be reduced. that's what they're planning to do. the cabinet delivered a report proposing to lift the hunting ban and to allow the regular but limited culling of elephants and the canning of their meat for pet food.

high—end tourists provide botswana's second income after diamond mining. this lodge charges up to $7,000 a night per couple. some conservationists believe hunting would drive many away. as soon as we stopped the hunting, brand botswana grew around the world and botswana became the most sought after tourist destination in africa. the tourism arrivals, the revenues paid, they all shot through the roof. my worry is it is going to knock the big picture and will have a negative impact on jobs, occupancies, government revenues etc. some wilderness areas are not suited to tourists. well—regulated hunting can be used as a conservation tool. and in an election year, hunting appeals to rural voters. well, this is the remains of a cow that was killed by predators, right on this join between the conservancy area over that side of the fence and the community area over here. the real cost of living

next door to elephants, which knock down fences. the human—wildlife conflict is big, but so is the tourism money that comes with having so many elephants. botswana now has to decide whether culling and hunting is better or worse for the country's conservation. here in the uk, a pensioner has been granted his lifelong dream of a special flypast to mark the 75th anniversary of a crash which claimed the lives of ten world war ii american airmen. tony foulds was eight years old when, on this day in 19114, he saw a b—17 bomber crash in his local park. since then, he has dedicated himself to a memorial to the men. 0ur correspondent david sillito reports. normally tony foulds‘ daily visit to the war memorial in this sheffield park is a moment of quiet and solitary reflection. but today he was not alone. from first light, thousands had begun to arrive

to share a very special moment. unbelievable, unbelievable. it's breathtaking, this. and then from a cloudless sky the planes began to arrive. his dream of a fly—past had come true. a commemoration that had begun with a chance encounter in the park with dan walker of bbc breakfast. the first thing i do, of course, is i always kiss them first. tony explained how as an eight—year—old he watched a us bomber crash into a nearby woodland. he felt the crew might have survived if he hadn't been in the way. and so there were some complex emotions as he once again waved at the plane, just as he had done as a child in 19114. exactly 75 years on from that terrible day, here's tony in the exact same place,

and who could have imagined what he's seeing today. does this help things for you? no, no. it never will. but surrounding him were thousands who had been touched by his story, including a relative of one of the plane crew. to know that today everyone is remembering him and the other nine and the service they gave, it just means more than words could ever convey. so many feelings. what a day for tony foulds. it started off as more or less nothing. to see how many people have actually taken note, it's for these lads. they are family to me. stay with us on bbc news, and you can reach us on twitter.

hello there. we saw a top temperature on friday of 18 celsius across western wales with lots of sunshine for much of the country. however where we held on to low cloud mist and fog it was quite chilly, temperatures no higher than 8 degrees on the south coast. for this weekend much of the same. mostly sunny days, mild as well, but mornings will start quite chilly at times with a bit of frost and some mist and fog around. we see a return to mist and fog and low cloud across central, southern and eastern parts of england early on saturday. the weather front slowly encroaching into western parts of northern ireland, bringing outbreaks of rain. but elsewhere largely dry. let's zoom into central southern eastern england for this morning, as we will have some fog patches around, maybe not so much around southern counties like we saw on friday morning, but most will be

further north, east anglia around the wash, into lincolnshire and as far north as east yorkshire. it will melt away through the morning and we should see some sunshine becoming a bit more widespread, this weather front across the west will bring rain to northern ireland and spread across scotland into western wales and the south—west of england. the skies brightening behind it but ahead of it in the sunshine is where we will see the highest temperatures, again 16, maybe 17 celsius, so exceptionally mild for the time of year. through saturday night, we will see some cloud, a bit more mist and fog developing elsewhere, notice this green blue hue across south—eastern scotland, reporting cooler off the near continent. light winds, it will be actually start to sunday with a touch of frost around. we could have some mist and fog further north which had turned in the way and the part two of the weekend it should be another nice one with sunshine around. after that cold start temperatures won't be quite as high. i think at best around 1a or 15 degrees. high pressure with us

into the start of next week. light winds and cooler air, so don't be surprised if we start monday morning with a bit of frost in there, again some mist and fog. that will tend to burn away quickly through the day and monday looks like being another fine one, with light winds and plenty of sunshine. the wind a little more of a feature across the far north—west of the country where we could see a little bit of rain. into the afternoon off that cold start the temperatures rising to around 15 or 16 celsius. it stays very pleasant as we reach the middle part of the week, but notice temperatures beginning to fall away into the latter part of the week, as we lose the warm southerlies and they are replaced with a cool westerly from the atlantic.