this is bbc news. the headlines: hundreds of civilians have been evacuated from baghouz, the last village still held by the islamic state group in syria. welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america at least four trucks carrying people and around the globe. left the village on saturday. my name is lewis vaughanjones. western—backed our top stories: syrian democratic forces are poised to resume their final push on the area. hundreds of civilians flee the last stronghold of the islamic state thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in venezuela group, ahead of a final assault on a day of rival demonstrations. police used pepper spray against supporters of the opposition leader, juan guaido, by western—backed forces. in the capital caracas, thousands join rival rallies while a huge number of pro—government demonstrators in venezuela in support of both also gathered in the city. the president and opposition leader as the country's crisis continues. and r kelly has been released from prison after the payment rescuers find the bodies of two of more than $160,000 climbers missing for almost in overdue child support. a fortnight on a mountain in the himalayas. the singer has previously spent three nights in jail and american singer r kelly after being charged is released from jail in chicago — in four sex abuse cases — allegations he denies. after the payment of a $160,000 owed in child support. now on bbc news,

it's time for inside out. this week, we're in the south—west of england more civilians have emerged from baghouz, the last village still held by the islamic state group in syria. at least four trucks carrying people left the village on saturday. over the past six years the is caliphate has shrunk from the size of britain to less than a square mile on syria's border with iraq. the syrian democratic forces are poised to resume theirfinal push on the area. lebo diseko reports. they had left the final stronghold of these so called islamic state, women and children evacuated out of baghouz nagl surged as they arrive in territorian held by the us backed syrian defence forces. the western

backed kurdish arab fighters are poised to launch their final assault on the tiny enclave which is all thatis on the tiny enclave which is all that is left in is control. but they have been waiting for the families to leave. thousands have done so in recent days, with more reported to have left on saturday, loaded onto at least four trucks. the same fighters waiting to begin their final assault on what's left of is land are also those trying to get civilians to safety. translation: we are now at the end of baghouz, the euphrates river is a 700 metres away from us, is one kilometre behind us, we are trying to evacuate most of the civilians after sunset. we are evacuating hundreds, hundreds of civilians. those who make it out of baghouz will be sent here to our whole, both the detention and refuge centre in northern syria. it is run by the us backed syrian to this fighters, but

aid workers have been allowed in to help. tens of thousands of people are now here, with more than 10,000 coming in recent days. the few facilities available were struggling even before the increased arrivals. now aid workers warned they are overwhelmed. so far we have 106 people. it is a very harsh winter, with cold. some of them are so weak that any complication in their health condition may result in a casualty. aid workers have been surprised by the number of civilians have left baghouz in recent days, and judging by the terrible state of those arriving in the camps, conditions in baghouz are very grim indeed. thousands of people have taken

to the streets of venezuela as part of two rival demonstrations. at his rally, president nicolas maduro thanked the army for staying loyal, saying they had defeated an opposition coup attempt. meanwhile, police clashed with supporters of opposition leader juan guaido at the other rally in caracas. electricity is gradually being restored across the country after the longest blackout in a decade. will grant reports from caracas. it is venezuela's longest power cut in living memory. whole swathes of the country, including large parts of caracas, remain in darkness more than 48 hours after the lights first went out. millions of families have been struggling without electricity, already coping with little to cook, now with nothing to cook it on. for those with serious health conditions like this woman, their lives are at risk. "without electricity, i can't use my respirator," she explained. she's growing desperate for the power to come back. in fact, power is at the heart

of the venezuelan conflict. opponents of president maduro want to see him out of it very soon and say the blackout is a result of incompetence and corruption by his government. his supporters say it was sabotage, part of a coup attempt being carried out by the opposition leader juan guaido at the behest of washington. either way, both sides are taking their grievances to the streets. these people are already furious at president maduro for a whole host of reasons, from hyperinflation through to the lack of products on the supermarket shelves. and now they have the blackout, still affecting much of the country, at the forefront of their minds. the feeling in venezuela is of a country in free fall. hunger, anger, frustration, with no electricity or many basic services, the tension is in danger of boiling over once again.

a little earlier i asked will about the significance of the military‘s support for president maduro. yes, i mean, certainly, the military are absolutely key to the future of venezuela and, obviously, to the future of president nicolas maduro. but also, the other factor that's sort of currently going on, beyond whether or not the army stay loyal, isjust the tension being ramped up by the very widespread national blackout, there's been a power cut that's gone on for over two days now in some areas, some parts of the country haven't had any electricity for more than 48 hours, and it's only because i'm staying somewhere that there is a generator that i'm even able to talk to you. most of the country is incomplete darkness again now despite the efforts that were made to bring it back online. so, that caused a lot of anger and it was very, very noticeable at the opposition march that people were furious about that situation.

so, where do you think that anger, that frustration takes us next? well, it's hard to say. eventually, it's going to need some kind of outlet. mr guaido, when he reached the supporters and spoke to them on a megaphone, announced a national tour and that he is going to be going down to the different regions, the different states, gathering people together, travelling with congressmen from his side and then bringing people back to caracas where he intends to hold another big day of demonstrations in the near future. that is all intended, i think, to just make venezuela increasingly ungovernable for president nicolas maduro, to make life so difficult for him, that eventually, something has to give. exactly what that something is and when it happens, whether or not the military will be on board with it or how it plays out is very, very difficult to say. well, nicolas maduro, of course,

has that core support, but how popular isjuan guaido amongst the rest of the country? well, there was a poll that was undertaken in venezuela by one of the more reputable polling firms here that gave him around 60% popularity rate, but that if an election was held tomorrow, that he would win by upwards of 70 to 75%, which is obviously a huge margin. i think the thing is is that nicolas maduro can count on the key support that president chavez, the late venezuelan leader, always had, which is somewhere around 20% of the electorate perhaps, but that big chunk that always supported chavez has fallen away in these six years that mr maduro has been in power, and a lot of them have clearly swung towards mr guaido in these past few weeks. let's get some of the day's other news. a plane has crashed in central

colombia killing all 12 people on board. the pilot reported technical problems before losing contact with air traffic control. the twin—propeller aircraft was located an hour later near the city of villavicencio. the authorities in colombia say three crew members and nine passengers died, including the mayor of the small town the plane departed from. north koreans go to the polls today for an election in which there can be only one winner as only one name appears on the ballot paper voting for the supreme people's assembly is mandatory and any kind of dissent is unheard of. turning up early to vote is seen as a sign of loyalty. rescuers in pakistan have found the bodies of the two missing mountaineers, briton tom ballard and daniele nardi, who was italian. contact was lost with the pair almost two weeks ago

during an ascent of one of the world's highest mountains — nunga parbut, in the himalayas. mr ballard is the son of alison hargreaves, who died on the mountain k2 in 1995 — the same year she became the first woman to conquer everest unaided. sarah campbell reports. tom ballard was among the world's best and most fearless climbers. he specialised in taking on the most dangerous ascents in winter. joining him on what would be his final challenge, italian climber daniele nardi. they'd waited weeks for a weather window before setting off to climb nanga parbat, also known as killer mountain. an international search was launched after contact was lost with the pair two—thirds of the way up, a particularly treacherous route. after after two weeks after they went missing came the news that their bodies had been spotted.

tom, as a youngster, looking for a reassuring cuddle from his mum, alison hargreaves. in 1995, she became the first woman to climb everest without oxygen or assistance. when we go climbing, we obviously minimise the risks and if we thought it was that risky, we wouldn't go climbing. i mean, anybody who went off thinking that, you know, there was a high chance they wouldn't come back, i think, it's a very unfair thing to do, especially with a young family. that same year, she died while descending from the summit of k2, the world's second—highest peak. fellow climbers, friends and family are now having to come to terms with tom's death at the age ofjust 30. he wouldn't have remembered his mum that well. he was five when she died, but he was aware of what a great lady she was and a great climber she was herself. i have to say, i'm not that

religious, but if i was, i'd like to think tom's gone to meet his mum anyway, let's say. this is just so sad. it's repeating. he was just a fine young man, really, tom. daniele nardi also knew the risks. his family released a written statement today, which included a message he'd left for his son should he not return. "don't stop," he told him. "don't give up." climbing was all tom ever wanted to do. he died doing what he loved. sarah campbell, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: from the beach to below zero. warming up ahead of the snow volleyball championship. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours then the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years hisjunior.

we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an eight—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: hundreds of civilians have left the last stronghold of the islamic state group ahead of a final assault

by western—backed forces. one of those who is now in a camp having left the islamic state enclave is the british teenager shamima begum. who joined the group when she was 15. the british government has been facing criticism over the decision to revoke her citizenship to stop her returning to the uk, after her baby son died in a syrian detention camp last week. the government insists it was acting in the national interest. 0ur political correspondent chris mason reports. babyjarrah and his mum, 19—year—old shamima begum. she gave birth in a camp used to hold people from the islamic state group and their children. at less than three weeks old, her son has died from pneumonia and is buried here. the shadow home secretary diane abbott said leaving the two of them in a syrian refugee camp was "morally reprehensible," and "a stain on the conscience of this government."

shamima begum is one of around 50,000 people, mostly women and children, living in this camp in north—eastern syria. both a refuge and detention centre, those who chose to join is are now fleeing the fighting and ending up here. charities say the government had an obligation to step in. today is a national tragedy, because this is a shared sorrow about the death of a british newborn child. so, whatever we think about the behaviour and choices of the child's mother, a baby not yet three weeks old has died of pneumonia. last month, the home secretary, sajid javid, confirmed the baby was a british citizen and said he had considered the child's interest when deciding to take away ms begum's british citizenship. but the central question now is could the life of an innocent child have been saved? as somebody who has served in the home office, i can tell you factually the home secretary

will have made a decision based on what he believes in the best interest of the security of the people of the united kingdom. the duty of a home secretary in this country is to keep british people safe, and he made a decision based on the advice he had about keeping british people safe. meanwhile, shamima begum's family are still fighting for her to be allowed back to the uk. just before it was announced his grandson had died, ms begum's dad, who lives in bangladesh, begged for his daughter to be forgiven. translation: shamima was a teenager. she has done wrong, and as her father, i apologise to everyone in britain. i'm asking the british people to forgive her and take her back. being in government often means making difficult choices. ministers could have allowed shamima begum and her son to return to the uk. but that could have proved deeply unpopular. in a statement, a spokesman said the death of any child was tragic, but said that for the last eight years the government has consistently advised against travel to syria. the case of shamima begum

and her son is but one of thousands, and a dilemma for many governments around the world. what to do about those who left home to join an enemy and now want to come back? chris mason, bbc news. r kelly has been released from prison after paying more than $160,000 in overdue child support. the singer has previously spent three nights in jail after being charged in four sex abuse cases. allegations the singer denies. i promise you we're going to straighten all this stuff out. that's all i can say right now. i promise you. i love my fans. thank you, guys. his lawyer also spoke to reporters outside cook countyjail in chicago. so, we're going to focus on the evidence. we're going to fight the case in the courtroom. the state has yet to give us one single piece evidence. we haven't seen an interview,

we haven't seen a police report, we haven't seen a videotape. when we get those things, we're going to fight this case like we fight any other case — in the courtroom, based on the evidence. a hospital in california has come under criticism for the way it informed a patient that he was dying. the granddaughter of the patient, ernesto quintana told the bbc she was shocked when a video screen was rolled into his intensive care room, a doctor then appeared on the screen to say mr quintana was likely to die from lung disease within days. he died the following day. the hospital says it "regrets falling short" of the family's expectations and it "will use this as an opportunity to review how to improve patient experience with tele—video capabilities. " earlier i spoke to steve pantilat, chief of the palliative medicine division at university of california about what the use of video technology in medicine. part of it is understanding when to use the technology and how

best to use the technology, and to ensure that doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, are well versed in how to use the technology, and frankly how to communicate clearly and compassionately and kindly, especially when they're giving very serious bad news. yes, is there a problem with expectation here — possibly a generational thing, as well? you are so vulnerable and sensitive at that time when you're receiving the worst news, you just expect a human being to be in that room with you, giving you that news. if the choice is between having the doctor and patient in the same room or being on video, i would certainly want to be in the room with my patient when i'm delivering that news. but if the choice is between video and not being there at all, or not being able to share the news in an expert way, i guess i would choose the video, and try to do that in a way that is as compassionate, kind, empathetic as possible,

knowing that even in my practice, even with many of our older patients, they really appreciate being able to have those video visits so that they don't have to travel far, especially when they are sick. yes, ijust want to pick up on that. what are some of the advantages for patients of this new use of the technology? so, for one, giving them access to expertise that may not be available locally. i can see patients and care for patients all over california, for example, from my office in san francisco. and for people who are very sick, and for whom it's hard to travel, because they have equipment or because they have trouble just getting around and getting out of the house, it really allows me to see them, and our team to see them and provide care for them. and for many of our patients, even ones who live in san francisco, it can be really hard to get out of the house, to come all the way to the medical centre. and this gives us an opportunity to care for them, to develop relationships over time,

and to be able to provide that kind of expertise. and i wonder, do you notice any difference in reaction between the generations? the only thing we find is that, for some of our older patients, just getting the technology to work, you know, loading the app, can be challenging, but that's not universal. but once they have the app loaded, it's really quite simple to use. and as long as they have a smartphone or a pad or a computer with a video camera, it works really well and is really quite easy to use, and people really appreciate the opportunity to have that kind of contact. despite the ceasefire agreement in eastern ukraine, the frontline remains an active combat zone. thousands have been killed and more than a million fled their homes since 2014. those who stayed had to learn how to survive. people remaining in the conflict zone have to deal not only with shooting and explosions but also with loneliness and depression. but it's not all that grim, there are inspiring cases of people coping with these problems. the bbc‘s abdujalil abdurasulov reports.

traditional singing in unusual circumstances. this choir performs just ten kilometres away from the front line in eastern ukraine. the conflict between russia that rebels in ukraine that started in 2014 has changed the lives of everyone living near the front line. —— russia—backed rebels. zoltare means golden in ukrainian but today this village can hardly live up to its name. many people have left the village since the start of the conflict. this woman stayed, but for her, like for many others who remained, it was the loneliness, and not shelling or shooting, that became the biggest fear. when you come to require you forget everything, everything. you just

remember only the good thing. of course it is very sad when we separate. you go home still alone in your apartment and think about all the troubles in your life. the choir had to stop rehearsing when the clashes started. yet no risks could match the depression these women faced, so the group reunited two yea rs faced, so the group reunited two years later. translation: every woman he is very lonely. their children and grandchildren live somewhere else, not here. these people need interaction so that they won't be tempted to commit suicide. the choir received a grant from the un development programme to continue performing. now they want to give

concerts in nearby villages and towns. the women hope to lift the spirit of other people and help them to ove rco m e spirit of other people and help them to overcome the hardships of the conflict. as karate, skateboarding and surfing prepare to make their debut in the summer olympics in 2020, there may be a new contender waiting in the wings for winter. snow volleyball looks a lot like its beach cousin, only colder. gail maclellan explains. warming up may be a challenge, but cooling down shouldn't be a problem. sweden's snow volleyballers in competition for a spot at the european championships to be held in blustery in april. the spectators may resort to jumping jacks to stay warm and the beverage of choice might be hot soup, but there is still enthusiastic support for this new sport. those who know their

beach volleyball will have spotted there is an extra player. three, instead of two. and playing barefoot is not really an option. to stop them from slipping and developing frostbite, the players were football boots. for some, the freezing temperatures and the mountain now an advantage. i think it is a great future, especially here in sweden, because we have months of winter. we are not because we have months of winter. we a re not really because we have months of winter. we are not really add each football country, so we should be pretty 0k. we are used to the snow and the cold. we are prepared for this. players say it is easier to jump on compacted snow than it is on beach sand, so height is less important. the game originated in austria and this year will see the second european championship. the sport's governing body hopes it will soon be included in the lineup of the winter 0lympics aims. instead of a celebrant three deep in dc, winners will warm up in the courtside hot

tub. that's it. i'm @lvaughanjones. this is bbc news. good morning. it's a pretty messy sunday story across the country. we've seen some heavy overnight rain gathering from this area of low pressure, and that's moving its way across england and wales. but as that clears out of the way over the next few hours, it's going to be replaced by this little fella, which will introduce more of a wintry flavour as it bumps into cold air that's sitting across scotland. so early birds may well start off with some rain around across northern england, a wintry flavour across the pennines, but that drifts off into the north sea, and then behind is more of a significant chance of seeing some snow across scotland. now, we will see several centimetres perhaps accumulating to higher ground, and some slushy deposits at lower levels, accompanied with gusts of winds 45—55 mph. a scattering of wintry showers, as well, through northern ireland and north—west england for a time. and after that rain moves

off into the north sea, for the rest of england and wales as we go through the day, it's a slow improvement, with some sunny spells coming through, but windy with it. gusts of winds 50—60 mph, that's going to make it feel quite cool. we keep the showers into the north and it will be a cool day with those wintry showers going 3—5 celsius at the best. highest values further south of 7—11, but you've got to factor in the strength of the wind. it's going to be a little disappointing. now, through sunday night into monday, we see this little ridge of high pressure building. that'll quieten things down for a time, but not really for long, and with some clearer skies and lighter winds, we are going to see those temperatures falling away. so it's going to be a chilly start to monday morning, with temperatures close to freezing in many places, and there'll be a scattering of showers around as well. so monday on the whole, though, will be a largely fine and quiet day compared to what we've seen over the weekend — highest values of 9—11 degrees. but don't get too used to it, because as we close out monday into tuesday, there is another area of low pressure moving in that will bring yet more wet and windy weather. just look at the isobars squeezing together. gale—force gusts of wind are quite likely, and some of that rain will be quite heavy indeed.

that slips its way through the south and east during tuesday, leaving a trail of wintry showers following in its wake behind, but also some sunny spells. but it's not going to feel particularly warm, with the strength and the direction of the wind. highest values of around 7—9 degrees. so our week ahead looks pretty unsettled, i'm afraid, so if you do have outdoor plans, it's worth bearing in mind. unsettled, with rain and gales at times, but also a little bit of sunshine for some.