this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at six. clashes in venezuela between soliders and protesters, as opposition activists attempt to bring humanitarian aid into the country. 3 cabinet ministers face a call to resign, after going public with a warning they're prepared to delay brexit, rather than leave the eu without a deal. if ministers or cabinet ministers cannot support the government's position, then they have to resign. votes are being counted in nigeria, after the biggest presidential and parliamentary elections in african history. the singer, r kelly, is due to appear in court in chicago, on a series of sexual abuse charges. tom curry scores for england, who are leading against wales in the six nations.

and a bad day for spurs, as they lose to burnley, we'll hear more about that in sportsday at 6:30. clashes have erupted on venezuela's border with colombia, as supporters of the opposition leader, juan guaido, prepare to move aid across the frontier. troops have fired tear gas at protestors after venezuela's president, nicolas maduro ordered the border to be closed. the opposition leaderjuan guaido says that humanitarian is on it's way which he says the country needs to battle food shortages and hyper inflation. this is the bridge between colombia and venezuela,

where the humanitarian aid convoy is expected to arrive. you can see the oils tankers, used by president maduro to blockade the road. our correspondent katy watson is in the venezuelan capital caracas — and sent us this. on the border, tensions are rising. tear gas has been fired. there have also been a number of soldiers who have defected and decided to side withjuan guaido. three or four people have already said they are going to back the interim presidentjuan guaido. at the moment, the lorries are still waiting on the brazilian side and colombian side of the border. waiting for this aid to be allowed through. nicolas maduro has remained firm, he says this aid will not pass, that it is a us orchestrated show and he told the armed forces to remain loyal to him.

this will be a test today, to see exactly how many people are still remaining loyal to the nicolas maduro and how many feel they actually want to change a venezuela. (tx sot) let's go now to bogota in colombia where we can speak to provash budden, he's regional director for the americas at mercy corps a global non—governmental humanitarian aid organisation that helps people to recover from crisis. very tense situation happening right now, what's your organisation making at that. well, we have been working colombian since 2005, and for the past year we've been assisting venezuelan migrants and refugees who have entered into columbia, and clea n have entered into columbia, and clean the back of food and medical

storages that are happening right now, and right now we are concerned that the agent that's on the border is being seen as a political tool to insert other actors into venezuela, but at the same time it aid goes and you want to ensure it's getting in the right hands at the most vulnerable people. so what convoys, what are you standing there are hoping will arrive in venezuela and where is it going, what are you targeting?- this time we are not part of this particular aid convoy that it is in bogota or in brazil, what's in the container is food, medicine, clothing, household items, this is for the venezuelans clothing, household items, this is for the venezuela ns and clothing, household items, this is for the venezuelans and at this time we are not part of this convoy in particular, we do continue our working columbia at this time, and provisions of and that assistance have venezuelans provisions of and that assistance have venezuela ns can provisions of and that assistance have venezuelans can purchase food,

medicine, shelter and household items forfamilies medicine, shelter and household items for families while residing in columbia. for humanitarian aid organisation like yourself, viewing what is taking place at the border crossings, on friday we had to adapt, and i thinkis crossings, on friday we had to adapt, and i think 15 people injured, so there is heavy military presence at these three border crossings, and —— what's your reflection on actually attempting to enter a country where the risk of escalation of violence is so high? it's extreme —— extremely risky and we are concerned that if any people families are put in the way of harm and the delivery of aid, it does not bode well for any government for any family or community, what we want to be able to see is a diplomatic resolution to the stalemate at this point, and eventually aided getting in and aided by gaps in ma transparent and accountable when,

that that's yesterday are u nfortu nately we have that that's yesterday are unfortunately we have this number escalation that results in violence, throughout today and the days to come. however, because the madeira government has dug his heels in, it could be a standoff that we will see for a while. obviously there is a standup going on right now, juan guaido says he's going to personally guaranteed that the aide gets in, we heard our correspondent described it asa heard our correspondent described it as a real test of resolve against mr maduro, do you get the impression or are you hearing reports that the aided tracks are managing to put through the border and move into venezuela? i think what will we will see his little by little there'll be at times mist a little bit more in a little bit more as days progressed. however, there is concern that if that happens that tensions will rise, and the military will dig his heels in and clashes will occur, that the same time, there's a lot of

solidarity throughout the world for the plight of the venezuelan people, people want to get the aid and help venezuelans who are assisted with proper food venezuelans who are assisted with properfood and venezuelans who are assisted with proper food and medicine, venezuelans who are assisted with properfood and medicine, but it's venezuelans who are assisted with proper food and medicine, but it's a very sensitive matter right now about how it gets in, and until there is a clear solution i'm afraid that there's lots of risk for moving the aide in this particular moment if there is a possibility of violence that will take place. in bogota columbia thank you so much. three cabinet ministers have said brexit should be delayed if mps don't approve the prime minster‘s deal in the coming days. in a newspaper article , the work and pensions secretary, amber rudd, thejustice secretary, david gauke, and the business secretary, greg clark , say time is running out and that more leaving the european union, without a deal, would be ‘disastrous'. downing street said theresa may is working hard to get a deal, adding, "that is where the cabinet‘s energy should be focused." 0ur political correspondent, susana mendonca has more.

no comment from the business secretary as he left his home earlier but greg clark's views on a no—deal brexit are now loud and clear. along with amber rudd and david gauke, he is one of three cabinet members to come out publicly against the government line. in an interview with the daily mail, they warned it would be better to seek to extend article 50 and delay our date of departure rather than crash out of the european union on march 29th. their comments have angered some conservative brexiteers. if ministers or cabinet ministers can't support the government's position, then they have to resign. the government's position is very clear, we are leaving on the 29th of march, something the prime minister has said i think 108 times in the chamber of the house of commons, 29th march. he also raised suspicions that teresa's could be behind the move. as an attempt to pressurise brexiteers into backing her withdrawal agreement into the european union. downing street hasn't responded

to the accusation and said the prime minister is working hard to get a deal. the liberal democrat leader said the comments from members at the heart of cabinet made leaving with no deal less likely. we knew that the attempt to take no deal off the table would be the big issue in parliament in the coming week and i think this tips the balance towards stopping the folly that the prime minister is trying to inflict on us. with time running out, the government has another tough week ahead. it hasn't confirmed yet whether there will be a new deal to vote on and backbench mps are putting forward their own plans to take control of the process, including one amendment to delay brexit if a deal isn't done by mid—march. but we've had a democratic vote. i understand the chaos it caused. that can't make you feel good. it doesn't. at the end of a week of defections, one mp who resigned from the conservative party has faced voters in nottingham. the question will be how far cabinet members unhappy at the prospect of a no—deal brexit may be willing

to go to stop it. anna soubry, i of 3 mps who left the conservative party this week, to join the new independent group, said the warning from the cabinet ministers was a sign of the continuing division within the government. i like to think that what we have done will actually be a message and give them courage and strength, actually. because obviously as you can imagine amber rudd will always be and is a huge friend, big respect for david gill and of course greg clark. i think the amazing thing is itjust says the complete chaos that is existing at the top of government that you have three cabinet ministers who go out into the press because they cannot winds the argument in a deeply divided cabinet and i'm afraid to say a prime minister who is just not listening. what a mess at their says. that is what people are really cheesed off about.

that it is such a bloody mess. i've been speaking to our political correspondent, susana mendonca, about the significance of this challenge to the prime minister's authority. we've heard about divisions within cabinet about the direction of the brexit process, and this seems to suggest that those cabinet members who want there to be no chance of there being a no—deal brexit, you know, making it very clear that they are willing to take action. the key question is what action are they willing to take? we've got various amendments coming up this week. would they be willing to vote with some of those amendments to block a no—deal brexit, to delay the article 50 process? that remains to be seen. if they did do that, realistically speaking you'd expect cabinet members to resign from their positions if they were to vote against the government but we don't know at this stage whether that's what they'll be doing. it's a very busy few days, things haven't stopped this weekend for theresa may.

she is off to a summit in eu, a middle east security summit, so there'll be chats there with donald tusk. but in this article, these three mps talking about this upcoming week. yes, exactly. theresa may, she's trying to get this deal and what we get from downing street when we ask them is always, you know, she's working towards getting tweaks to the deal so that she can put something back to parliament, unclear as to whether we'll actually get that in this coming week. there's a lot of talk about whether or not there would be another meaningful vote. it is looking as though that will probably be kicked further down the road some time in march. but what we are expecting this week is for mps to again take the opportunity to try and seize control of the process. for example, there is an amendment which is about basically delaying the article 50 process if there is no deal done by mid—march, and that is something that last time around they didn't get enough support for that type of amendment. this time around, they might get that support. we understand that a lot of conservatives are very concerned and are thinking about voting with that amendment. there is another amendment which is talking about potentially mps backing theresa may's deal on the proviso that then

there is a confirmatory vote. so effectively another referendum, though they are not calling it that, but where people would be able to vote on whether to accept theresa may's deal or to stick with the status quo, so presumably stay in the eu. all of these various manoeuvrings going on with mps trying to find alternative ways out. of course, if any of those amendments get through, that creates more problems for theresa may at a time that is already extremely difficult for her as she is trying to get mps to back her deal and she constantly says, it's my deal or it's no deal or it's no brexit. i think she is hoping that will sway the brexiteers on one side, remainers on the other. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has said that anti—semitism within his party and in society is unacceptable. 9 labour mps quit the party this week, with some complaining of a culture of anti—semitism within the party. mr corbyn was speaking at a rally in broxtowe in nottinghamshire, the contituency of the former conservative mp anna soubry.

a little earlier i spoke bbc nottingham's political reporter, hugh casswell, who was at the rally and heard mr corbyn speak. certainly wasn't earlier on. i am sure it is no coincidence that mr corbyn was campaigning in this very marginal seat, no coincidence it is the seat of the recent tory defector, no coincidence that he had three members of the labour front bench with him. of course, there was a pretty huge elephant in the room, in the shape of nine labour defections in the course of this week. mr corbyn said he was very sad at what he seems keen to emphasise as a very small number of mps leaving the party. so, a definite attempt at a show of strength, a show of solidarity, a shoring of his leadership. he seemed particularly keen to emphasise addressing the comments of the dudley north mp, ian austen, the most recent of those defectors who yesterday was citing what he calls the leadership's

complete failure to tackle anti—semitism within the party. when people are racist towards each other, then we oppose it in any way whatsoever. if anyone is racist towards anyone else and our party, wronged, out of order, totally and absolutely and except a book, anti—semitism is not acceptable in any form any way whatsoever, anywhere within our society. —— unacceptable. i'm proud to lead a party that was the first ever to introduce race relation legislation and also to pass the equality act and human rights act into the statute book and we are going to take all these issues and further forward. well, believe it or not, there was a second elephant in the room here today.

there were several eu flags, several labour against a brexit ban is here to create mr corbyn during the speeches. there were a few shouts of what about people have my vote? at one point, it even seemed like people in the crowd were arguing between each other about it. a bit of a sign about some people's frustration withjeremy corbyn not until now having backed the people's campaign for a second referendum. where was anna soubry during all this? she was across town campaigning for the people's vote. the headlines on bbc news... clashes in venezuela, as opposition activists attempt to bring humanitarian aid into the country from neighbouring colombia. 3 senior cabinet ministers threaten to defy the prime minister and vote for a delay to brexit, if a deal is not voted through the commons in the coming days. counting begins in the biggest election in african history, as millions of people in nigeria

vote in presidential and parliamentary elections. a senior roman catholic cardinal has said that files documenting child sexual abuse were destroyed, allowing offences to continue. cardinal marx made the comments during an unprecedented four—day summit at the vatican, which has brought together bishops from across the world. he told the conference on paedophilia in the church, that procedures to prosecute offender's were "deliberately not complied", and that ‘the rights of victims were effectively trampled underfoot.‘ polls have closed in nigeria,in the biggest election in african history. more than 70 million people registered to vote, to choose a new president and parliament. the main presidential candidates are, the current president, muhammadu buhari, and the former vice president, atiku abubakar.

0ur nigeria correspondent, mayenijones reports, looks back on the day. keen to get on with it, many voters started voting from first light. the main presidential candidates also got in early. the incumbent president, muhammadu buhari, voted in his hometown in the north—west and shortly after, his main opponent, former vice president, atiku abubakar, cast his vote in the north—east. both candidates are seasoned politicians in their 70s but 50% of the electorate here is under the age of 35. i believe that i want to see more young people coming out to stand for election. many were concerned that a postponement has affected the turnout. if we had cast the vote last week, on the 16th of february, there would have been many more voters. whoever wins this election will have to face a number of challenges, chief of which is in security. just this morning, there were reports of attacks

on the north—east of the country. the authorities say they were just trials but the timing on voting day has been questioned. nigerians will be hoping for someone who can handle these issues. i spoke to our africa correspondent, tomi 0ladipo, a little earlier. here's his report from abuja. millions of nigerians have come out. we're not sure of the numbers, we have not been given official figures as to how many people did show up. but as you mentioned there, people who arrived before two o'clock — theoretically, those who arrived before two o'clock would be allowed to vote. but in many places, there have been delays and voting started much later. in some cases, hours after it was meant to begin. so i suppose in some places we will be hearing the voting going on well into the night. and today the country has been more or less under a state of curfew because you're not really allowed

to move around whilst voting is going on, what's the atmosphere like? well, i think for a lot of nigerians they have braved the conditions — here in abuja, for example, the heat has been pretty harsh. but people are still spending hours coming out to vote, but in some other parts of the country, there have been disruptions, political tensions and thugs employed in certain parts to disrupt the vote going on there. so it depends on which part of the country you are looking at. in the north—east of the country, in the states where jihadist groups are linked, boko haram and jihadist militants and their offshoots have been disrupting the flow of the voting there. we have had people flee from certain towns, some are not able to vote there. nigerian politics is notoriously fluid. there are very blurred lines when it comes to allegiances and ideological

differences but the challenges that the next leader faces are very clear. just what can they expect, whoever comes to power? you are right, this is more about the individuals so everybody goes after the personality that can rally then together and whoever also has the money to spend to rally people around them. but the issues still remain the same, it is the economic problems at the country has had over the last few years, the economy has been struggling, providing jobs for the masses here, we are talking, as the report earlier said, a huge population of young people who have come through a poor educational system and have gone into thejob market and there are no jobs or very few jobs available for the whole lot. also, problems with security, as i mentioned. infrastructure as well.

for example, electricity is still a major problem. these problems have been in nigeria for decades even, so people are rallying around who they think will be able to deliver. at least 84 people have died, and 200 others have been taken to hospital after drinking bootleg alcohol in north east india. 12 people have been arrested in connection with making the drink in assam state. the deaths come less than a fortnight after more than 100 people died elsewhere in the country from drinking lethal spirits. the luxury apartment block, which belonged to colombia's infamous drug lord, pablo escobar, at the height of his power and fame, has been demolished. the building in the colombian city of medellin had become a popular tourist attraction, which many local residents found offensive. a ceremony was held outside the building to honour the victims of the criminal organisation

led by escobar. the musician r kelly, has surrendered himself to police, and been charged with a series of abuse and assault allegations. the singer, whose real name is robert sylvester kelly, denies all of the charges and is due to appear in court in chicago today. at one point he was the biggest name in r&b, but here r kelly is being is escorted by security as he handed himself into chicago police. # i believe i can fly... he has had massive crossover hits globally, through it all 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 showed him having sex with a 13—year—old. but he was acquitted when the jury decided the tape wasn't clear enough. some women were paid not to talk

and 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 and getjustice against one of the biggest selling us stars — for abuse allegations going back more than two decades. monika plaha, bbc news. the documentary maker ben zand made a film for the bbc called "r kelly: sex, girls, and video tapes". he explained the background to the allegations against the singer. it's been decades of claims, to be honest. it started, really, with aliyah.

he was thought to have married the singer aliyah when she was 15 and he was 27. there have been numerous allegations around him. he's only ever been charged once before and this is really the significance of what has happened. he has been charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, all based around four alleged victims, three of which are thought to be between 13 to 16. the significance is really that there have been a lot of rumours, a lot of allegations for a long time, and this is the second time it has been taken to court and he could actually face jail time so it is quite a big moment. for years and years, he is one of the most famous r&b singers of all time, but he has never been able to shake these allegations and over the last three years, more and more women have been coming out saying very similar things, saying he has been mistreating them, he has been locking them in rooms, there was allegations around sex

cults, like a haram of women that he lived with. beyond that, allegations of sexual interactions with underage women. the allegation is based on a sex video that allegedly showed r kelly having sex with a woman who was claimed to have been 1a years old. he was acquitted of that because they couldn't identify who was in the video. it is thought now there may be another sex video that is even clearer that people in the video are saying specifically the ages of the people involved which could change everything, really. but he denies all of this as he always has, but it will be a long court case. some other stories on bbc news... a man and woman in their 70s have died, after a car they were in was hit by a van, being pursued by police in south—east london. officers say the van was being "driven erratically at speed."

the driver of the van has been arrested. the incident has been referred to the independent 0ffice for police conduct. a 16—year—old boy stabbed to death in a park in birmingham has been named. abdullah muhammad was found in sara park, in the small heath area on wednesday evening. he's the second teenager to be stabbed to death in the city, in a week. about four thousand people joined former english defence league leader tommy robinson in a protest in salford against the bbc. mr robinson, whose real name is stephen yaxley—lennon, criticised a forthcoming panorama programme about him. the bbc said it rejected any suggestion itsjournalism was faked or biased, and the episode would follow its "strict editorial guidelines". first—time buyers now make up the majority of home purchases bought with a mortgage in the uk, according to new figures.

the last time that happened was 1995. according to the halifax, pendle in lancashire and copeland in cumbria are the most affordable areas for first time buyers. here's colin campbell. the number of first—time buyers has nearly doubled over the past decade, but with surging property prices it remains an uphill struggle for those trying to get on the property ladder. according to the halifax, the average price paid for a typical first home hasjumped by 39%, from £153,000 in 2008 to more than £212,000 in 2018. first—time buyers are putting down an average deposit of more than £32,000, rising to more than £110,000 in london. the figures show a london first—time buyer's deposit could almost buy a home outright in the north—east of england or northern ireland. but it is in wales where first—time buyers are paying the lowest average deposit ofjust over £16,000.

while there has been an increase in first—time buyers year on year across the uk, in scotland and wales numbers have fallen. terraced houses closely followed by semidetached properties continue to be the first time buyers' home of choice. despite a shortage of homes and challenges of raising a deposit, the halifax say the figures show healthy movement in the first buyer property market. colin campbell, bbc news. the american film director, stanley donen has died at the age of 94. his work included the 1952 musical singing in the rain, starring cyd charisse, and the film seven brides for seven brothers. he also worked as a dancer and choreographer , and told vanity fair that watching fred astaire when he was nine had changed his life. now it's time for a look at the weather with nick miller.

hello, england and wales see sunshine today we have the weather front through northern ireland and westi n front through northern ireland and westin scotland bringing rain and places it's moved further east, any rain tonight will die away, you can see an area of low cloud nest and fog lingering for the irish see, parts of northern england southern scotla nd parts of northern england southern scotland and northern ireland, practise and fog develop elsewhere as well, could be dancing places in the morning, least in the northern scotla nd the morning, least in the northern scotland seeing clear skies frost and cold spots and temperatures drop below freezing, might win tomorrow while for the low cloud mist and fog to clear price at yorkshire may see it in the afternoon holding temperature down compared without slab but for most of us, coming out of the great start and sunshine will be out there, the western isles with a chance a few showers and spots of rain but most places light wind and sunny spells into the afternoon temperatures well above normal for the afternoon temperatures well above normal for that time of year.