this is bbc news, the headlines: venezuela's president has closed part of the border with colombia, after claiming his sovereignty is under threat. opposition leaders say they are still preparing to move with this is bbc world news, international aid across the frontier. i'm reged ahmad. earlier at the border with brazil, our top stories: two people were killed in clashes between troops and protesters. venezuela's president shuts part of the border with colombia, claiming his sovereignty is under threat — as at least two people are killed in clashes r&b singer r kelly, who has been on the brazilian side. charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in illinois, has handed himself in at a police meanwhile rival music concerts station in chicago. for and against president maduro prosecutors say the charges relate take place in venezuela and to the alleged abuse colombia. of four victims. r&b star r kelly hands himself the singer denies the allegations. in at a chicago police station after being charged with multiple sexual—abuse offences. with less than five 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. and razed to the ground — colombian authorities demolish the home of notorious drug lord pablo escobar.

hello and welcome to bbc news. president nicolas maduro‘s government in venezuela has shut part of the border with colombia, complaining of "serious and illegal threats against its sovereignty." it comes as two people were shot dead by security forces near the country's border with brazil. the soldiers there were attempting to prevent the arrival of foreign aid. 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. unauthorized 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 ten 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. let's get some of the day's other news. sudan's president omar 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. meanwhile, president trump has nominated kelly craft, who's currently ambassador to canada, as the next us ambassador

to the united nations. it comes a week after the withdrawal of his previous nomination — former fox news presenter and state department spokesmwoman heather nauert. 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 for a border wall with mexico. mr trump says he'll veto the measure if it passes both houses. the english football club chelsea has been banned from signing players in the next two transfer windows for breaching rules on youth players. fifa strictly regulates the transfer of under—18s to different countries. chelsea says it will appeal. three cabinet ministers have said that brexit should be delayed if parliament fails to approve a deal in the coming days. amber rudd, greg clark and david gauke have written an article in the daily mail newspaper, ahead of what are expected to be crucial votes

in parliament next week.the ministers warned that time was running out in the negotiations and they hoped for a breakthrough soon. nick eardley reports. three ministers who have long had concerns about leaving without a deal, but their latest intervention is significant, upping the stakes ahead of the latest big week in parliament. and the ride, david gauke and greg clark right in the daily mail: —— amber rudd. the government has even confirmed that will be a new deal to vote in next week. theresa may still needs to secure changes to her original plan. but this up the pressure. it is also a warning to brexiteers in parliament, foe to deal through or brexit might be delayed, and that,

these ministers say, would be their fault. downing street says the cabinet should be focused on getting a deal delivered but this latest intervention sets the scene for a massive you days at westminster. and it suggests cabinet ministers may be prepared to walk to prevent no deal. 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 our chief political correspondent vicki young — 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. 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. 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: venezuela's president shuts part of the border with colombia, claiming his sovereignty is under threat as at least two people are killed in clashes on the brazilian side. r&b star r kelly hands himself in at a chicago police station after being charged with multiple sexual abuse offences. a government panel in botswana has recommended lifting a 11—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 — 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. high—end tourists provide botswana's second largest 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. 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 razed 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 shoot—out 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 chronicles the rise and fall of the drug lord, 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 fulfil 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. the 91st academy awards are being held on sunday and for the first time, a film produced by streaming giant netflix is up for best picture. the success of the film roma has

left many in the movie industry asking if netflix‘s dominance is having a major effect on the box office. our reality check team have been analysing the impact of the streaming service. netflix has revolutionised the way we watch tv but some fear that netflix could be closing the curtains on the big screen. so is there any evidence to suggest that streaming movies at home could spell the end of cinema question like us —based company netflix has had more than a few reasons to celebrate. it has added a record—breaking number of lead users to its online streaming service in 2018. now topping 139 million odd wide. that is three times the number of accou nts is three times the number of accounts just five years ago, keep in mind that more than one person could be using an account. set its reach is even bigger. the usa's netflix top market globally with over 40% of all paid users based there. the company has also invested

heavily into producing original content including big movie blockbusters. analysts estimate the company spent $13 billion on titles like bird box and not rose in 2018, and up to make titanic one of the most expensive films ever made 65 times, its efforts seem to be paying off, this year its critically acclaimed film at rubber and has earned the streaming service is first test picture oscar nomination with ten in total. you might think that can only benefit the box office but netflix has been criticised for showing films in a relatively small number of movie users and for a limited time before streaming them on its own site. so are there any signs that cinema is suffering? not really. while analysts said the 2017 was a tough year the movie makers, last year saw a boost in the box office. worldwide cinema has made over 41.5 billion dollars, that is

2.6% more than 2017. the top three markets are usa, and the uk and also increases in revenues. in the movie gave in america generated nearly $12 billion for the industry. there are other reasons to be sceptical of the suggestions that the rising popularity of netflix is to blame. the perceived decline of cinema. comparing the trends in cinema revenue and training services, tells us revenue and training services, tells us little about how one in packs the other. just like the consumption of mozzarella cheese can't really explain the rise in the number of civil engineering to read is awarded, even though they are both going up. there are a number of other factors at play which are likely to contribute to the possible success 01’ likely to contribute to the possible success or failure of cinema's and scanning services. but is there any evidence to suggest that netflix and movie theatres are competing for

audiences? that is a tricky one too. one us study by nato, that is the national association of theatre owners in the states, not the north atla ntic treaty owners in the states, not the north atlantic treaty organisation, survey to just atlantic treaty organisation, survey tojust under 2000 atlantic treaty organisation, survey to just under 2000 people atlantic treaty organisation, survey tojust under 2000 people in atlantic treaty organisation, survey to just under 2000 people in the atlantic treaty organisation, survey tojust under 2000 people in the us who both streamed content and saw at least one film in this and other over the last year. they found that people who watch a lot of streamed programmes also go to the cinema frequently. while those who don't subscribe rarely visit the movie theatre either. but even that does not tell us conclusively about how the use of one platform actually affects people's cinema habits. remember it was thought that bringing television into homes in the 1950s could kill off hollywood too. and like tv and cinema, streaming services such as netflix face a few challenges of their own. netflix uses debts to finance its spending on content and that will raise prices in the usa and in latin

america as it needs to make more cash. the cheapest plan will not be a dollars 99 months, about the same price as seeing a movie the cinema with a ticket costing $8.97 in the us. could that make streamers switch off? the company will also see stiff competition, not just from off? the company will also see stiff competition, notjust from the likes of amazon which has picked up a few awards of its own but also disney plus, disney's's streaming service is due to launch in late 2019, that will strip netflix of several popular disney own shows on its platform. either way, popular disney own shows on its platform. eitherway, cinema lovers need not panic. for now. the battle for viewers of the eyeballs and cash is just heating up. for viewers of the eyeballs and cash isjust heating up. of for viewers of the eyeballs and cash is just heating up. of course for viewers of the eyeballs and cash isjust heating up. of course people have all of the coverage of the oscars on sunday she on bbc news. —— on sunday here 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 a reminder of our top story — president nicolas maduro's government in venezuela has shut part of the border with colombia, complaining of serious and illegal threats against its sovereignty. the closure was announced as mr maduro's opponents made final preparations to move aid, much of it from the united states, across the frontier. on friday, the opposition leader, juan guaido, appeared at a concert in a colombian border city, despite being barred from leaving venezuela. he said he had crossed the border with the help of venezuela's armed forces. president maduro has ordered the army to stop the delivery

of aid, which he regards as part of a us—backed attempt to topple him. we have also been hearing about two people killed on the brazilian side of the border as well. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @regedahmadbbc. 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 — we will be actually start sunday with a touch of frost around. we could have some mist and fog further north which had turned in the way and for 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 14 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. 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.