this is bbc news. the headlines: at least two more people have been shot dead in venezuela as troops opened fire on opponents of president maduro this is bbc news. who were trying i'm reged ahmad. to get aid into the country. our top stories: two aid trucks were set on fire. clashes on the venezuelan border colombia said more than 60 members as the opposition tries to move aid of the venezuelan security forces into the country. had deserted. troops open fire on protesters a chicago court has set a $1 million and at least two are dead. bail bond for r&b singer r kelly who's been charged with ten counts if the opposition manage to push of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. all this through the border, the judge asked him to surrender his through president maduro‘s defences, passport and not to have any contact it will be a real challenge with anyone under the age of 18. to his authority. votes are being counted in nigeria after millions of people votes are being counted cast their ballots in the in nigeria after presidential and parliamentary elections. biggest election in african history. a court in chicago sets in some areas, the authorities extended polling past a million—dollar bail bond the official closing time. for the singer, r kelly, the vote is the biggest who's been charged with ten counts in african history. of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. hitting the right note — india's first and only professional orchestra makes its uk debut this week.

hello and welcome. at least two people have been shot dead in venezuela as opponents of president nicolas maduro have tried to get aid supplies into the country. pro—government militias are reported to have opened fire on demonstrators near the brazilian border as the president described the aid as an attempted us invasion. on the other side of the country, two lorries carrying food and medicine from colombia were set on fire. 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... chanting ..they found it wasn't going to be that easy. 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. from caracas, we can now speak to dimitris pa ntoulas who's a venezuela political analyst. hejoins us now. thank you he joins us now. thank you very much for your time. this was his big plan, he was going to get opposition supporters to try and get all of this aid across the border and hopefully in the sheer numbers it would work. has it worked? good evening. it hasn't worked, and i think it was a big mistake in his strategy to put the 23rd of february as theirfinal day for the strategy to put the 23rd of february as their final day for the venezuela regime. it is a very simple plan and he managed to go through, he was

expecting a massive defection from the army, the venezuelan army, so it wasn't realised. we could say that guaido‘s plan didn't succeed, but at the same time, we can say that the venezuelan government suffered a defeat as well. they are at a com plete defeat as well. they are at a complete stalemate. the government suffered a defeat, the government will not hesitate to fire against civilians. as you say, some defected, but not the high—level military defections that guaido wanted. does this mean the opposition attempts to both president maduro have failed?

i think the opposition of the big expat patient, that this will be over a very, very expat patient, that this will be over a very, very soon. expat patient, that this will be over a very, very soon. it is just one month after the 23rd of january when guaido, he say he is the president of venezuela. it is very early. i don't know why the emotional feeling, early. i don't know why the emotionalfeeling, before early. i don't know why the emotional feeling, before any strategy. it is very early. maduro is controlling the army, it is a government regime that has been built over the 20 years. the whole state is controlled, so the best thing for the opposition is to wait and see. it is a small signal. it can be much more tomorrow. does it

also suggest that perhaps the support for president maduro has been underestimated ? support for president maduro has been underestimated? it has been underestimated with the previous president, he had the popular vote up president, he had the popular vote up 10%. it is always very short term plan is that the opposition has in mind, which normally, as you can see, don't bring any result. but to be honest, 80% of the population is against president maduro. people suffer at, then —— benefit is under a crisis. it is a key day for events in venezuela. thank you very much.

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. 0ur 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, as you can see, the people 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 here 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. we count together, please. 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 sanctions are expected to be discussed at the summit. this is bbc news. in other news, the head of the roman catholic church in germany has admitted that files on priests accused of sexually abusing children were destroyed or never even drawn up. cardinal reinhard marx was speaking on the third day of a vatican summit, convened by pope francis to tackle the crisis over

paedophilia within the clergy. 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 pay day 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 guwahati 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 the states of uttar pradesh and uttar rakend. 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 lots of people. and even domestically, brewed alcohol is also very expensive, so that's really where the bootleggers come in. while the authorities investigate what caused this tragedy, the people are left to mourn their dead. shaun hassett, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, calls for a delay to brexit — three british cabinet ministers say it should be postponed if parliament fails to approve a withdrawal deal in the coming days. 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: 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.

the counting of votes is under way in nigeria — after millions of people cast their ballots in the biggest election in african history. a court in chicago has set a $1 million bail bond for the 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 — and was asked to surrender his passport. he's faced decades of claims of sexual abuse against women and teenagers below the age of consent, but has always denied the allegations. his lawyer, steve greenberg, says the bail amount is fair and reasonable. this is what he had to say 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 sort of 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. one lady coming forward a decade—plus later claiming she had nonconsensual sex. no outcry, nothing like that, the things we look for in these cases. earlier we spoke to our correspondent aleem maqbool, who's in chicago, about the details 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 r kelly's bond, it was to, for the first time, hear details of these ten counts against r kelly relating to four different women, and we heard one case, 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 girl at the time, she was allegedly abused by r kelly and met him actually as she was celebrating her 16th birthday, 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 left court during a 2008 trial of child pornography charges. very disturbing details as the judge himself described, and in the courthouse were actually relatives of the alleged victims who had to sit through and listen to those. three senior cabinet ministers have threatened to defy the prime minister and vote for a delay to brexit — unless a withdrawal deal can win the support of the commons in the coming days. they've warned a no—deal exit would be a "disaster". downing street said theresa may was working hard to get a deal. our 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's no deal. greg clark, amber rudd and david gauke wrote in the daily mail... it's infuriated brexiteers. one 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.

emily thornberry has accused mps who left labour this week of betraying voters, claiming that the party would crush them if they had the guts to call by—elections. speaking ata guts to call by—elections. speaking at a rally in nottinghamshire, miss thornbury described her eight former colleagues, who have formed a new independent group, as splitters who are cuddling up to conservatives. the american film director stanley donen has died at the age of 94. his works included musicals such as singin‘ in the rain, funny face and seven brides for seven brothers. donan once told vanity fair magazine that watching fred astaire when he was nine years old had changed his life. he was given an honorary lifetime achievement oscar in 1998.

india's first and only professional symphony orchestra is making its uk debut this week. it started its tour at the symphony hall in birmingham — and our reporter satnam rana was there. orchestral music plays. the symphony orchestra of india in rehearsal at the symphony hall in birmingham. it is one of six concerts they will be performing in theirfirst uk tour. this, the berlioz roman carnival overture, part of the regular western repertoire. personally and the orchestra after the sound check, because they haven't been here before, haven't. .. they have not played in a russelljohnson artek building like this before. and it is going to knock their socks off so to do the concert here and start of the tour in this house is a great moment of excitement for us. accompanying the 90 piece orchestra grammy award—winning musician zakir

hussain. he has performed in the city since the 70s. this time, though, the specially commissioned concerto called pushkar. i take the rhythm, i put a melodic element onto it so instead of da da da, you're hearing melodic notes. but they are doing exactly what the tabla is doing but now in four different layers. so the violin is doing one layer, the viola is doing different and so on. so a harmonic element is established but the basic repertoire is a tabla repertoire. the orchestra was founded in 2006 in mumbai. since its inception 13 years ago, it's performed 25 seasons and four international tours. but its remit reaches beyond performance. based at the national centre for the performing arts it is training up the next

generation of classical musicians. applause. when many people think of india and music, bollywood comes to mind, the indian film industry, equally famous for its soundtracks but this orchestra is a response to the growing appetite for western classical music in india and, of course, with the long and strong connection between the uk and india this tour is a musical milestone. it's always exciting to hear any orchestra and finally the uk gets its chance with the symphony orchestra of india. lovely sound. this one is for the royal watchers out there. the duke and duchess of sussex have arrived in casablanca. it's the start of a three—day visit and the couple were greeted at the airport by the british ambassador to morocco and his wife. harry and meghan will meet girls at a school house in the atlas mountains which aims to reduce school drop—out rates.

they will also attend an equestrian event in the capital ra—baht which offers horse therapy for children with special needs. you can reach me on twitter — i'm @regedahmadbbc. hello there. part one of the weekend was a little bit disappointing with regards to the cloud amounts for the north and the west of the uk. the best of the sunshine was across eastern england, where it was pretty warm, a top temperature of 18 celsius. now, for sunday, it looks like it's going to be another chilly start, but i'm hopeful we should see more widespread sunshine across the country, so i think part two of the weekend is looking better for most of us. now, this is saturday's weather front. no more than a bit of broken cloud first thing on sunday, with some clear spells for the north and the west of it. most of the clear spells though will be across the midlands, southern, and eastern england. it will be quite chilly here to start this morning. same across the north—east of scotland, with again some mist and fog patches. some of which, again,

could be quite dense in places. now, there will be off mist and fog patch across the south and south—east of england, but i think the main risk will be a bit further north for this morning, across the midlands and in towards the east and north—east of england. not to mention some of the fog could, like saturday morning, be problematic and cause some travel issues. now, most of it should clear away, it could linger though close to the east coast. if it does, it will quite grey and cool through the day, but for many, it's a fine one with widespread sunshine, again, turning very mild after that cool start, with hghs 01:14 or 15 degrees, so that's a few degrees down from what we've had the last couple of days. as we head on into sunday night, it looks like we'll import something a bit cooler and drier off the near continent, so it means it could be quite cold for a portion of england and perhaps into eastern wales, as can you see from the blue hue there. so don't be surprised early monday, if you see a bit more of a widespread frost here. further north and west, not quite as cold, so a little bit more breeze and cloud around. so for monday, again, it's a chilly start with some mist and fog, but that chilly start should tend to burn away.

a weather front will bring some rain to the far north of scotland, becoming confined to the northern isles. 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 still in the driving seat as we head on into tuesday, another weak weather front just pushing into the north—west corner of the country may introduce more cloud into the hebrides and the north and west mainland of scotland. but elsewhere, after a chhilly start with 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, a bit warmer on tuesday, could see 17 or 18 celsius. now, as we head deeper on into the week, it looks like it's going to stay fine with cool nights and sunny days. but there are signs of it cooling down as we end the week and head on into the weekend, it will turn a bit more unsettled as well.