this is bbc news, the headlines: r'nb singer, r kelly who has been charged rival music concerts — with ten counts of aggravated, for and against the venezuelan president have taken place criminal, sexual—abuse in illinois — at the border with colombia. has handed himself in at a police president maduro has station in chicago. ordered its closure to prevent prosecutors say the charges relate international aid from coming in. 00:00:08,900 --> 2147483051:36:49,165 earlier at the border with brazil, 2147483051:36:49,165 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 two people were killed in clashes to the alleged abuse of four victims. the singer denies the allegations. welcome to bbc news — with less than five weeks broadcasting to viewers in north america until britain is due to leave the eu and around the globe. — three cabinet ministers have made i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: it clear they are prepared to vote rising tensions as rival music concerts against theresa may's government, for and against the venezuelan to avoid a no—deal brexit. president take place mrs may says mps should at the border with colombia. back her deal or risk seeing brexit delayed. and at the border with brazil, at least two people are killed as troops and protesters clash over the delivery of foreign aid. r'n‘b star r kelly hands himself in at a chicago police station — after being charged with multiple sexual—abuse offences. with less than 5 weeks to go until britain is set to leave the eu — three cabinet ministers tell theresa may they would vote against her to avoid a no—deal brexit. razed to the ground — colombian authorities demolish the home of notorious

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 so many 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. well, if you speak to nicolas maduro, he says that it won't be coming in. he's told his armed forces to be on high alert and not to let any unautharized vehicles cross the border. he has also closed the border with brazil, he closed that late on thursday night. and said he will evaluate what he does with the colombian border. if you speak tojuan guaido and his supporters, they say no matter what, this aid will come through. that there are informal routes, there are smaller routes,

it's a porous border and it's a really big border, that they will get their aid in no matter what. so i think the question will be, on saturday morning, when the trucks start moving, how the relationship with the armed forces will be. juan guaido has been calling on the armed forces to let this aid in, saying that the most important thing is to look at your family, look at the fact that they need medicines, that they need food, everybody in venezuela needs these things, they need to come into the country. that is what they are calling on, it's pulling on the hearts and minds of the officers but nicolas maduro remains firm so it will be interesting to see exactly what happens on saturday. 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'n‘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. let's get some of the day's other news. sudan's president 0mar al—bashir has declared a state of emergency — sacking the federal government. he also dismissed all state governors, replacing them with members of the security forces.

he's faced popular protests calling on him to step down since december. us democrats have tabled a resolution, aimed at stopping donald trump's declaration of a national emergency. the president issued the declaration last week when congress refused to approve 5.7 billion dollars for a border wall with mexico. mr trump says he'll veto the measure if it passes both houses. meanwhile, president trump has nominated kelly craft, chelsea has been banned from breaching rules of the youth players. chelsea said to the decision. 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 spokesmwoman 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, whenever 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. 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. and now publicly for the first time they are saying that brexit would have to be delayed if parliament does not back a deal. 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 the 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 on that deal, to bring it back as early as next week and 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 it is very clear that 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. 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 world 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 protesters 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. 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 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 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.

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 0akavango 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 the government can introduce hunting of elephants again bgs killing them so maybe they will the 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. 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 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 folds was eight years old when he saw a b—17 bomber crash in his local park. since then, he has dedicated himself to a memorialfor the men. 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, itjust 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. david sillito, bbc news, sheffield. the 91st academy awards are being held on sunday, honouring the best films of the last 12 months. the ceremony comes ahead of the opening, later this year in los angeles, of the academy museum of motion pictures. designed by the celebrated architect renzo piano, it's already being talked about as the best movie museum in the world. here's our arts editor will gompertz. hollywood's dream is coming true at last. nearly 100 years after it was first conceived, the academy museum of motion pictures will open later this year, with this statement giant concrete orb designed by the man behind the pompidou in paris and the shard in london.

welcome to the £300 million academy museum designed by renzo piano. above me is out 1000 seat stadium and then here are the galleries. the 50,000 square feet of exhibition space will be used to present films, screenplays, and the special collections of movie legends, from hepburn to hitchcock. this is the crowning glory of renzo piano's vision for this new museum, a rooftop terrace where people can come and meet in the new public place for los angeles, where you can have a drink and take in the view of the hollywood hills. along with the old films and temporary exhibitions, there will be displays of famous artefacts, like ruby slippers from the wizard of oz and this furry beast. this is a werewolf head from american werewolf in london, john landis‘ 1981 film. they created animatronic heads that they called chango—heads,

so that with the levers, the internal mechanisms, they were able to make the snouts grow and change. it was the first time anything quite like this had been done. the museum has the backing of major hollywood players, like actor tom hanks and the director ava duvernay. the museum allows us to look back at the things that we missed. the things that hollywood and the various power structures did not allow us to see. that is one of the things that is very exciting to me, people making films, across the generations, since the invention of the camera and yet the ones that we see are very limited, because the gatekeepers are limiting our access. we want to make sure that a lot of the stories, that have not been told, say about women film—makers or african—american film—makers, that actually played a major role in hollywood or outside of hollywood as independents, that those stories get told here. the 0scars this sunday mark another tricky year for the academy of motion pictures, following previous accusations of being too white and too out of touch. you sense then that this new museum, with a mission to be open,

inclusive, and diverse is as much about its future as it is about its past. will gompertz, bbc news, los angeles. the 0scars on sunday. we have all the coverage you could possibly want and need on bbc news. construction workers doing dredging work on a dam in estonia saved what they believed was a dog trapped on the ice. they pulled the animal, stiff from the cold, and with ice in its fur, out of the water, wrapped it in a towel and took it to warm up in their car. it was only when they were driving to an animal rescue centre that they began to think the creature they saved was not a dog, but a wolf. a local hunter confirmed it was a young male wolf, about a year old. estonia is home to hundreds of wolves more on that story on the website as

well. do stay with us. 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.