this is bbc news. the latest headlines: at least two more people have been shot dead and more than 20 were this is bbc news. wounded in venezuela i'm duncan golestani. as opponents of president maduro tried to get humanitarian our top stories: aid into the country. some aid lorries were set on fire. opposition efforts to get aid the president has broken off diplomatic relations with colombia into venezuela turn to chaos — for helping his opponents. troops fire tear gas on protesters and at least two are dead. president maduro calls it a chicago court has set a $1 million bail bond for r&b singer r kelly an attempted invasion by the us. who's been charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. the judge asked him to surrender his it is the opposition that managed to passport and not to have any contact with anyone under push all this through the border of the age of eighteen. through president maduro defences, votes are being counted in nigeria after presidential and parliamentary elections. it will be a real challenge to his in some areas, the authorities authority. extended polling past votes are being counted in nigeria the official closing time. after millions of people cast their ballots in the biggest election in african history. a court in chicago sets a million dollar bail bond for the singer, the vote is the biggest r kelly, who's been charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. in african history. and brexit turmoil threatens to divide uk politics even further —

first—time buyers now make up three senior ministers the majority of home purchases say they could vote against the government to prevent a disorderly exit from the eu. hello and welcome to bbc news. at least two people have been killed and more than 20 injured close to venezuela's border with brazil. they were shot during protests over the government's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into the country. clashes also erupted on the border with colombia as supporters of the opposition leader, juan guaido, tried to get aid into venezuela. troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who pelted them with rocks. president maduro held his own rally for thousands of his supporters in caracas. he has broken off diplomatic relations with colombia,

accusing it of helping his opponents. our international correspondent orla guerin reports now from cucuta on the venezuela—colombia border. holding the line, president maduro's troops on the bridge between colombia and venezuela. from early morning, face to face with their own countrymen, desperate for aid to get through. this former officer in the venezuelan army addresses the young troops. "when the orders are unconstitutional," he tells them, "you don't have to obey." "i am venezuelan myself," says nicola gonzales, "think of your children." "open the doors, let venezuela be free." a short distance away, the opposition leader, juan guaido, giving the aid convoy

a personal send—off. he said it would travel peacefully to venezuela to save lives. but when his supporters converged on the bridge, they found it wasn't going to be that easy. tear gas canisters being fired as we filmed, we were engulfed in tear gas. soon, demonstrators were being hit with rubber bullets. a few tried to fight back. but as violence erupted at the border, this was the scene in the venezuelan capital, caracas. the embattled president, nicolas maduro, playing to the crowd, rallying his supporters,

but his isolation is growing, he has broken off relations with neighbouring colombia because of its support for the opposition. back at the border, guaido's aid caravan was approaching, laden with supporters and with hopes for change in venezuela. well, the convoy is on the move now, it's pushing forward towards the border. this is what the opposition has promised and it's about far more than food and medicine. if the opposition manage to push all this through the border, through president maduro's defences, it will be a real challenge to his authority. but on the bridge, the trucks ground to a halt, blocked by troops and clouds of tear gas. organisers plan to keep trying, here and at other crossing points. president maduro claims the aid convoy is just a cover for a us invasion. but some of his men

are no longer listening, like the soldier in the black cap. we watched as he abandoned his post for the embrace of the opposition. he's one of at least a dozen who have deserted today and are now, according to juan guaido, on the right side of history. but this could be just the start of a long battle. orla guerin, bbc news, at the colombia—venezuela border. earlier, i spoke to provash budden in bogota. he's regional director for the americas at the humanitarian aid organisation, mercy corps. well, for the past year also, humanitarian crisis for venezuela ns have been increasing. we see where we operate in colombia, there is an increasing flow of venezuelans coming into colombia, seeking food and shelter and medicine because they cannot find any in venezuela. it isa they cannot find any in venezuela. it is a bad crisis when you see that

people come over that have lost £24 on average children that are getting infectious diseases such as measles that they didn't have before, and oui’ that they didn't have before, and our response has been to provide medicine, cash assistance in colombia so people can access shelter and food, goods for the long—term stay in colombia, or even moving on to other countries. i think it is going to be a long haul for venezuela as well, the conditions are not getting better and people are getting desperate and wa nt to and people are getting desperate and want to move on. we have just seen want to move on. we havejust seen in want to move on. we have just seen in that report how ten cities between the two sides, the argument and the flareups of violence. how difficult is it for your organisation and other aid organisations to operate in this area? at this time, it is very sensitive and challenging to operate across the borders between colombia and venezuela, and even from brazil and venezuela, and even from brazil and venezuela, at this time as you have seen there is quite a lot of control

by maduro's government on the ability to provide aid into the country, and even if they'd get thin, you want to make sure that it's getting to the right people, those that are the most vulnerable, most hungry and sick as well, and we wa nt to most hungry and sick as well, and we want to make sure that whoever is managing aid of the other end is doing so in a transparent and accountable manner. in the meantime, we are serving populations, thousands and thousands of venezuelans who are desperately seeking support in colombia where a it is operationally easier to provide that assistance, but until there is space for us to be able to operate more effectively in venezuela, it will continue to be a challenge. votes are being counted in nigeria where millions of people have cast their ballots in delayed presidential and parliamentary elections. officials say logistical problems that forced a week's postponement have been solved, but some polling stations were kept open because of long lines. the president, muhammadu buhari, is being challenged by the main

opposition leader, atiku abubakar. there have been reports of sporadic violence in some parts of the country. our africa editor fergal keane reports from the capital abuja. many had been waiting since well before dawn, voting in the open air, each individual part of the biggest democratic exercise in african history. do you think it will change things here? hopefully. hopefully, it will. but you're not sure? i'm sure it will. with the number of people that are here, i'm sure, and in every other voting centre. i'm just... i have the feeling it will change things. gone are the days where people felt that our votes don't count. this time around us, as you can see, the people all around us all came out en masse to ensure that they exercise their civic right. and we believe in the votes and are not leaving here — we are going to stay until the vote is counted.

you can't be but heartened to see people's patience and their faith still in the democratic process here. but the big question is whoever they elect, will they bring to an end the corruption that has disfigured public life here? when several voting machines broke down, some assumed corruption was the cause. billions of naira for this thing, and you are telling me that is not corruption. there were 73 million eligible voters, 120,000 polling stations, and in some places, there was violence. this was a polling station in lagos, allegedly attacked by ruling party supporters. far to the north in maiduguri, displaced people came out to vote despite an attack on the city by islamic extremists. there are nearly 2 million displaced people in this region. the election isn't just about machine politics

and the power of two big parties. these are young civil society activists recording reports of incidents around the country. they're working to create a genuine culture of accountability. people are hopeful that with every effort that is made, the process will improve, and if it improves for young people, of course, it means that the country improves and their hope and expectations of a better future will come. by evening, the sorting of votes. the official counts each unused ballot. the voters call back. seven... they want an honest result. nobody can say they don't deserve it. fergal keane, bbc news, abuja. let's get some of the day's other news. north korea's state news agency has confirmed that kim jong—un has left the country to attend a summit with president trump in hanoi next week.

it's the first public acknowledgement that the talks are taking place. mr kim left by train on a 4,000—kilometre journey that could take three days. the issue of denuclearisation and lifting the sanctions to north korea are expected to be discussed in the summit. a roman catholic cardinal has admitted that files on priests who sexually abused children were destroyed. cardinal reinhard marx of germany told the pope's conference at the vatican on tackling paedophilia that the cover—up was undermining the church. 0pposition groups in sudan have called for more protests following the declaration of a year—long state of emergency by president 0mar al—bashir. the main organisers of the demonstrations described a tv address by the president on friday as a "miserable attempt to cling to power." a chicago court has set a $1 million bail bond for r&b star r kelly

who's been charged with ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. the singer handed himself to police on friday. he's also been asked to surrender his passport. r kelly has faced decades of claims of sexual abuse against women and teenagers below the age of consent. he has never been convicted and has previously denied other allegations. the singer's lawyer steve greenberg says the bail amount is fair and reasonable. here he is speaking earlier. right now, he's presumed innocent. we haven't seen anything, any reason to believe that these allegations are credible. i heard about them, i heard about the narrative of them for the first time today, the same time all of you did. and i can tell you that in listening to it, there certainly are problems with the cases. 0ne lady coming forward a decade—plus later claiming she had nonconsensual sex.

no outcry and nothing like that, the things we look for in these cases. earlier, i spoke to our correspondent aleem maqbool who's in chicago about the detail of the charges r kelly is facing. as was indicated there by the lawyer, this court hearing today was not just to set the terms of lawyer, this court hearing today was notjust to set the terms of r kelly's warned, it was for the first time to hear details of these ten cou nts time to hear details of these ten counts against r kelly relating to four different women, and we heard one case where a, which relates to a video in which r kelly is shown having sex with a 14—year—old girl, there were details about another case relating to another woman who was a case relating to another woman who wasa girl at case relating to another woman who was a girl at the time, she was allegedly abused by r kelly and met him actually as she was celebrating her 16th birth day, and the details

that were given suggest that r kelly knew that. another one of the victims apparently r kelly met as she asked for his autograph as he asked —— left court on a trial of child pornography charges. very disturbing charges that the judge himself described, and in the courthouse, there were relatives of the alleged victims who had to sit through and listen to those. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come, india's toxic alcohol tragedy — nearly 100 more people die from drinking illegal bootleg liquor in the north—eastern state of assam. 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 symbolising 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." welcome back. this is bbc news. the latest headlines:

at least two people have been shot dead in venezuela, as opponents of president maduro try to get trucks loaded with aid into the country. mr maduro has broken off diplomatic relations with colombia for helping his opponents. and the counting of votes is underway in nigeria, after millions of people cast their ballots in the biggest election in african history. here in the uk, three senior ministers —— the prime minister has said she will not allow the boat to leave the european union to be frustrated. in a speech in oxford, she said the government's focus on delivering a brexit withdrawal deal was most important. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports. they are part of theresa may's team, meant to be her closest colleagues, but today three cabinet ministers

went against the government line and warned brexit might have to be delayed if there is no deal. greg clark, amber rudd and david gauke wrote in the daily mail... "it would be better to seek to extend article 50 "and delay our date of departure rather than crash out "of the eu on march 29th." it's infuriated brexiteers. 0ne suggested they should quit, claiming it was a plot to force them to back a deal, rather than delay brexit. if ministers or cabinet ministers cannot support publicly government policy and vote with it, then they have to resign, and government policy is very clear. the prime minister's said on over 100 occasions that we're leaving the european union on the 29th of march, with or without a deal. most mps, though, don't want to leave without a deal. this week, they'll vote on a plan to give parliament the chance to delay brexit if there's no agreement, and some ministers have said they could resign to back that move. downing street says the prime minister is working hard to try to get the eu to change the current brexit deal so she can bring it back to parliament, in the hope of getting mps

to support it. but it's not clear when that will happen. and in the meantime, these three cabinet ministers have publicly added to the pressure she's already under from so many of her backbench mps. we've had a democratic vote. i understand the chaos it's caused... one of them, who left the tory party this week, was out campaigning for another brexit vote, still critical. itjust says the complete chaos that's now existing at the top of government, that you have three cabinet ministers who go out into the press because they can't win the argument in the deeply divided cabinet, and i'm afraid to say a prime minister who is just not listening. but here, there was a very different message from grassroots tories today. theresa may addressed their national convention, where members voted not to delay or thwart brexit. for the prime minister, protestations on every corner. alex forsyth, bbc news.

officials in india say around 100 people have died after drinking bootleg alcohol. more than 200 others are being treated in hospital. it happened at a tea plantation in assam's golagaat district — about 300 kilometres from the state's biggest city, guwahati. it follows a similar incident in northern india earlier this month. as shaun hassett reports, officials have already started an inquiry into the tragedy. most of the victims in this hospital are tea plantation workers. they'd been celebrating payday by having a drink. but the bootleg liquor they consumed turned out to be toxic. they came to hospital complaining of severe vomiting, extreme chest pain, and breathlessness. in many cases, it resulted in organ failure. translation: they bought bootleg liquor. i said "don't drink it" but they drank, and after drinking, they didn't have their dinner and they slept. in the morning, they said they had a headache.

we took them to the hospital. then we heard that they died in the hospital. police say they found a home where the alcohol was brewed and recovered 1.5 litres of liquor. one man has already been arrested for selling the illegal hooch, while two excise officials have been suspended for failing to take adequate precautions. translation: action is being taken against whoever is involved on the business of duplicate liquor. the excise department has started their operation. the police are helping them. it comes less than two weeks after tainted alcohol killed dozens of people in another two states. in those incidents, people continued to report to hospital with similar symptoms for days. drinking bootleg liquor is common in india, especially among low—paid workers. there are very high taxes on international alcohol. it's beyond the reach of a lot of people. and even domestically, brewed alcohol is also very expensive, so that is really where the bootleggers come in. while the authorities investigate

what caused this tragedy, the people here are left to mourn their dead. now a report from the bbc‘s witness series, looking at some of the biggest stories of our time, as told by the people who were there. today we're focusing on agent orange — the notorious chemical sprayed by us forces during the vietnam war. witness has been speaking to a doctor who saw the terrible impact of the chemicals on generations of vietnamese people. and a warning: you may find parts of this report upsetting. decades ago, american forces sprayed huge amounts of agent orange over vietnam. it was meant to strip trees bear, exposing any positions, but it also contained dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances ever created. in 1965, i was

most poisonous substances ever created. in 1965, iwas a most poisonous substances ever created. in 1965, i was a young medical student in saigon city. i liked very much to be an obstetrician and gynaecologist, as i took care of women's and newborn babies. i saw in the hospital, an increase of the birth defects. it was horrible for me, very horrible for me to see two, three times a week, deformed babies or deformed children. i cried, cried with the mothers of the baby, and i cannot eat for many days. the figures are startling. in this one hospital, 158 deformed babies will warn that dead la st deformed babies will warn that dead last year. statistically, that is three times what doctors here

believe should be the average.|j didn't know the cause at that time, but later, in 1976, i read about the toxic chemicals used in the defoliants and herbicides in vietnam during the wartime. agent orange is blamed, named for the orange bands with the fans. the defoliants containing deadly dioxin. the result then was a dead landscape, the result today, based on research at this saigon hospital and in america is human tragedy. minute traces of toxic chemicals are being found in the uterus of pregnant women even now, the uterus of pregnant women even i'iow, years the uterus of pregnant women even now, years after spraying stopped. we carried out many studies, up to 8 million in vietnam were exposed to toxic chemicals. dioxin can get into

the human body through the respiratory tract, through three... incidence of birth defects and miscarriages, faecal death in utero, and cancer were more than four times higher among the exposed people. —— foetal. and the american veterans are also victims of this pain. but, dioxin, it can change the dna, so that it can be transmitted into many generations later. we have already the fourth generations now affected.

but we can detect the very early the birth defects and cancers. i hope that in the future, in ten more yea rs, that in the future, in ten more yea rs , we that in the future, in ten more yea rs, we can that in the future, in ten more years, we can have a very small incidents of birth defects, like in the other countries. the bbc's witness series in vietnam there. the american film director stanley donen has died at the age of 94. donen's works included musicals such as ‘singin' in the rain', ‘funny face' and ‘seven brides for seven brothers'. the director once told vanity fair magazine that watching fred astaire when he was nine years old had changed his life. stanley donen was given an honorary lifetime achievement oscar in 1998. that is the way it is looking this sour, plenty more at the bbc news

website. i'm @duncangolestani. for now, thank you forjoining us, bye— bye. hello there. part one of the weekend was a little bit disappointing across the north and the west of the country. the best in the sunshine was across eastern england, where it was pretty warm at a top temperature of 18 celsius. the sunday, it looks like it is going to be another chilly start but i'm hopeful we will see more widespread sunshine across the country, so part two of the weekend is looking better for most of us. no more than a broken cloud first thing on sunday, st clair spells for the north and the west of us, the clear spells will be across the midlands, southern and eastern england. it will be quite chilly to start the evening. —— most of the sunny spells. the fog quite dense in places. some patches of mist and fog

across the south—east of england, but i think the main patches will be a bit further north this morning, across the midlands and in across the north and north—east of england. it could like saturday morning be problematic on course and travel issues. most of that should be away, could linger close to the east coast. if it does, it could be quite grey and cool today but for many, it isa grey and cool today but for many, it is a cool start. remould after that. with highs of 15 degrees, a few degrees down on what we've had in the last couple of days. as we head into sunday night, it looks like we're going to import cool and dry airoff the near we're going to import cool and dry air off the near continent, it means that would be quite cold as it passes into eastern wales, as conceived in the blue hue there. a widespread frost here, further north and west, not quite as cold, a little bit more wind at around. monday, again, chilly start with the mist and fog but that should tend to burn away. weather front will bring

some rain for the far north of scotland, becoming confined to the northern isles, but the rest of the country a glorious afternoon with widespread sunshine, light winds and temperatures 15 or 16 celsius, so still well above the seasonal average. high—pressure arriving on into tuesday, another weak weather front just pushing into into tuesday, another weak weather frontjust pushing into the north—west corner of the country. more cloud into the hebrides and the north and west of scotland, and elsewhere after the restart, a little bit of mist and fog, it should be another glorious afternoon with widespread sunshine, light winds and temperatures well above the seasonal average, in fact, little warmer on tuesday, up to 17 or 18 celsius. as we had deeper on into the weekend, it looks like it is going to stay fine with cool day is going to stay fine with cool day is banned summit. as we had a winter weekend, it looks like it will turn a bit more unsettled as well. —— as we head on into the weekend.