this is bbc news. i'm gavin grey. our top stories: the australian prime minister says counter—terrorism police have foiled an attempt to blow up a plane. four people have been arrested the threat of terrorism is very real. the disruption operation, the efforts overnight, have been very effective. but there is more work to do. tensions in venezuela ahead of a vote that could lead to a new constitution. a power grab says the opposition. thousands of people are evacuated from a music festival in barcelona after a fire engulfed part of the main stage. pakistan's ousted prime minister nawaz sharif denies corruption allegations and names his brother shabaz as his ultimate successor. also in the programme, the emergency call from a woman in the us who was being attacked

by a boa constrictor. the australian prime minister has said his country has foiled a plot to bring down an aeroplane. malcolm turnbull said four people have been arrested in what he called a majorjoint counter—terrorism operation. additional security has been put in place at all australian domestic and international airports. the australian public, as andrew and mick have observed, can have great confidence in our security arrangements, and in particular our security screening

procedures at airports. however, what we have done is increased them so that there will be more bags being checked, it is really intensifying what we are already doing. and some of that will be visible, some of it will not be visible. but it will take more time. the bbc‘s phil mercer's live in sydney for us. what more do we know? well, according to the head of the australian federal police, they believe that the arrests of four men in sydney yesterday afternoon, saturday afternoon local time, was pa rt saturday afternoon local time, was part ofan saturday afternoon local time, was part of an islamic inspired plot. one was arrested in central sydney and the others were detained in the suburbs in the west of the city. investigators are saying they believe the plot was linked in some

way to an improvised device and the prime minister, malcolm turnbull, saying that investigators had foiled a conspiracy to bring down an aircraft and as mist turnbull was saying, security has been beefed up, not only at sydney's domestic and international terminals but at domestic and international airports around the country. -- mr. does that mean security will be on a par with other major countries or will it be slightly higher now? it's a sign of the times that transport hubs, public buildings as well as airports and other key facilities have had security increased in recent times and if you look at the statistics provided by the authorities, since 2014, 70 people have been charged with terrorism offences following more than 30 counterterrorism raids. malcolm turnbull is urging air

travel is however to remain calm. he believes the existing security measures and the new ones put in place in the last few hours should give travellers the confidence to go about their business without too much beer. as he said, they will notice increased security at all airports across the country —— fear. international and domestic then. is there any information about whether there any information about whether the alleged terror plot involved a domestic or international plane? the australian federal police were a bit sketchy on those details. the head of the afp said that he didn't have any specific details about the location or the time or the date of an alleged plot. he said investigators had the evidence the aviation industry was a possible target. four men detained in these raids and we understand according to

reports in australia that the raids carried out by australian and and members of australia's domestic spy agency weren't planned, they were the result of a tipoff and there are reports here that a suspicious device was found but the authorities haven't confirmed any of those details. phil mercer, live from sydney, thank you. a key vote takes place in venezuela on sunday to elect an assembly which would have broad powers to rewrite the country's constitution. critics of the country's president, nicholas maduro, say it's nothing more than a power grab. the oil rich nation is mired in a deep economic crisis and violent demonstrations, which began in april, have left more than 100 people dead. our south america correspondent, katy watson, sent this report from caracas. it's been four months of anger on the streets of venezuela and there's no sign of an end. protests began after president maduro moved to limit the opposition‘s power in congress, he reversed the decision but by then the anger was clear.

when former president hugo chavez came to power 18 years ago, many venezuelans wanted change. he won support among the poor because he promised to provide for them. it was the era of high oil prices but that's now over. chavez's successor, nicolas maduro, is accused of pushing venezuela to the economic brink and eroding democracy. the government says the vote is the only way to stabilise the economy and bring much—needed peace, but the opposition says it is a dictatorial move and is boycotting the vote. the people who want democracy, the people who want change, the public worker who is tired, bothered and angry, come out and we'll gather in all the country's roadways, that's where we'll be. the country's paralysed. there are daily queues and food shortages. normal life is a struggle. the opposition‘s campaign

of blocking streets, calling strikes and protests make life even more complicated for venezuelans but they're not giving up. with less than 24 hours to go the government is determined to push ahead with the vote, meanwhile members of the opposition are working out what to do next. katy watson, bbc news, caracas. well, as tensions rise, plans are being put in place to stop further disruption and protests ahead of the polls. will grant has been on the streets of caracas looking at the security operation. this is one of the main arterial roads in eastern caracas. normally it would be full of traffic and pedestrians. this is one of the main paths through the city. today it is just barricaded completely. the streets are deserted. every few hundred metres there is rubbish, barbed wire,

young men and women are sitting out and protecting the streets from anybody coming through, any traffic. this is the environment in which sunday's vote is due to take place, and it is happening notjust in this part of caracas but across the city. wherever there are neighbours who are opposed to the maduro administration and sunday's vote, which they see as the final imposition of a dictatorship in venezuela, people are turning out and closing the streets, and they say they will continue to do so until they can affect a change in the country. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. poland has reacted angrily after the european union began legal action against its government over a new law giving the justice minister and the government the right to fire judges. poland's foreign minister says the eu's actions seem like blackmail. two people have been killed and more than a dozen injured in a crush at a football match in south africa.

police say too many people had been trying to enter the stadium during the soweto derby between football clubs kaizer chiefs and orlando pirates injohannesburg. hundreds of turkish women have staged a march in istanbul to protest against demands that they should dress more conservatively. demonstrators say the protest was in opposition to the increasing number of public attacks on women over their choice of clothing. pakistan's ousted prime minister now i sharrouf has named his brother has his ultimate success. he was forced to resign over corruption allegations has ported a caretaker until his brother can be elected. it's a move that's been heavily criticised. —— nawaz sharif. rain lashed down as the ruling party gathered to choose a new leader. many in pakistan hoped yesterday's supreme court ruling that prime minister nawaz sharif

was unfit to hold office, would begin a cleansing of corruption within the political class. the disgraced former prime minister today denied any wrongdoing, before introducing the new leader. his brother, shahbaz. an interim prime minister will hold the fort until shahbas sharif gets a seat in parliament. you would have thought keeping the party leadership and therefore the prime ministership of pakistan within the same family, would be controversial. but the only rally anywhere near the pakistani capital today, was of supporters of the ruling party. whatever reservations pakistanis may have about power staying within the sharif family, the fact is, under mr sharif, the country has prospered.

terror attacks are down and the economy is growing steadily. justin rowlatt, bbc news, islamabad. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the emergency call from a woman in the us who was being attacked by a boa constrictor. cheering the air space agency nasa has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. the last foot patrol in south armargh, once an everyday part in the soldiers'

lot, drudgery in danger now no longer after almost four decades. if someone is in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i cannot see why people should wander in and say you are doing something wrong. six white tiger cubs are on the prowl. they have been met with a roar of approval from visitors. they are lovely and sweet. yeah, cute. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: the australian government says a counter—terrorism operation has disrupted a plot to bring down an aeroplane. four people have been arrested in sydney. venezuelans are preparing to vote for an assembly which would have powers to re—write the constitution. opposition politicians say they'll boycott the poll. let's get more now on this now. christopher sabatini is a lecturer at columbia university and executive

director of the research group global americans. thanks group global americans. very much indeed forjoin us. thanks very much indeed forjoining us. the economy is in a mess in venezuela, i think inflation at over 1000% this year. why is this being held? this is a pure piece of distraction. basically a year ago in october the government—controlled electoral commission postponed indefinitely both a referendum and local elections and basically after more than 100 days of protest by not just the opposition but by popular protests, as your previous reports indicated, this government has its back against the wall so what it's trying to do is distract and the plan is now to rewrite the constitution, but the opposition has planned a boycott which means perhaps this could be an entirely government—controlled effort that will allow it to again postpone

elections indefinitely and consolidate its own power. it's looking to strengthen its hand? surely. if this were right now maduro, the current president, if his popularity ratings are to be believed they are 10%. if it were a popular referendum or an election this government would lose so this is the only alternative. this is a huge distraction and two weeks ago by the way the opposition held an informal nonofficial referendum on the legitimacy of this referendum and more than 7.2 million venezuelans and more than 7.2 million venezuela ns voted and more than 7.2 million venezuelans voted against this referendum. it's deeply unpopular and according to surveys, only 20% of venezuelans and according to surveys, only 20% of venezuela ns support and according to surveys, only 20% of venezuelans support this constituent assembly. this is a constitution by the way that was written only 18 years ago so he's rewriting a constitution and the ink is very dry on it. it's said more

than one in ten children in venezuela are malnourished and there are severe food shortages, what do you think the international community could do to help? again, this is key. there have been several effo rts this is key. there have been several efforts to broker some sort of compromise or mediation, first under an agreement by a number of former south american presidents and then later by the vatican, but those have no real teeth. they didn't promise 01’ no real teeth. they didn't promise or threatened sanctions against the government and allow the government to continue to kick basically the whole issue down the road. now i think the government, the international community, needs to demonstrate that it will not accept this constitutional referendum, it will not accept a new constitution, and it needs to demonstrate notjust to the us, which has imposed sanctions even just this week, over 13 government officials, the international community needs to demonstrate that this is an unconstitutional act that

fundamentally violates international norms on human rights and democracy and they need to be willing to basically punish the venezuelan government should it not come to the mediation table to find some sort of consensus based solution to the polarisation that is occurring in the country. do you think president maduro would listen to what the international community says? it is anyone's guess right now. this is the government, despite its anti— americanism that cares about the international community, and cares about diplomatic legitimacy. it also depends on the more than 95% of its exports depend on oil. so there is a huge amount of leveraged, that should colombia, the european union, brazil and other countries decide to apply to the government, it could perhaps bring it to the negotiating table. but it needs to be done in a

way that promises some form of, to put it this way, pain for the venezuelan government cars it has refused to negotiate in earnest up until now. —— because it has refused to negotiate. there's been a majorfire at a music festival in spain. thousands of people were evacuated from the tomorrowland dance music festival in barcelona, after a fire engulfed part of the main stage. here are the extraordinary pictures of the huge blaze. it's not clear at this point whether anyone has been injured in the fire. thousands of brazilian troops have begun patrolling the streets of rio as part of a measure to attack organised crime in the city. violence has been on the rise since the end of the olympics nearly one year ago. red dawson reports. the end of the olympics nearly one yearago. red dawson reports. in the shadow of rio's sugarloaf mountain, a show of force. this time a year ago people here were preparing to welcome the world to

the olympic games. 12 months on, it isa the olympic games. 12 months on, it is a city on age. translation: the olympic games. 12 months on, it is a city on age. translationzlj think rio really needs this reinforcement because the violence is too much. people will feel much safer with the army in the street, walking along the shore feels safer with them here. in the first six months of 2017, an average of three people were killed each day in rio by stray bullets. many of them during shootouts between police and drug gangs. with authorities admitting much of the city is now out of their control, politicians have turned to the military as well as the army the country ‘s air force and navy are also participating in the operation. translation: the objective of the mission is to defend the integrity of the people. to preserve public order and ensure institutions are functioning. the worsening of the security situation is at the forefront of our warriors.

the renewed violence in rio has coincided with them worst recession in decades. unemployment reaching 14 million. human rights groups warned that the city ‘s poorest greatest risk of being caught up in the violence. the government says the fight against organised crime will a long one. it is committed to keeping troops here until at least the end of the year. the german chancellor, angela merkel, has offered her "deepest sympathy" to the relatives of a man who was killed in a knife attack at a supermarket in hamburg. mrs merkel promised a full investigation into the attack which was carried out by a known islamist. our berlin correspondent damian mcguinness reports. this mobile phone video shot by an eyewitness shows a group of local residents trying to stop the attacker hurting anyone else. they were in a nearby cafe when he ran past attacking people on the street with a large knife. the men grabbed chairs to bring him under control as he tried

to stab them. translation: a woman ran and shouted there's someone with a knife. people got up, there was movement and panic on the other side of the street, some 20 or 30 people fleeing before the attacker. some people stood up and armed themselves with chairs to try to stop him, surround him and chase him and at the crossing he briefly stopped. he waved the knife in the air and shouted allahu akbar, then he was cornered by other people. german officials say the attacker came to germany in 2015 as an asylum seeker. his application for asylum was rejected. he was known to be an islamist but he wasn't considered dangerous. translation: at the moment we can say that the perpetrator‘s motive was on the one hand connected to religious motives, islamist motives, on the other hand there is also mental instability. we're currently assuming it's a mix of both, its currently not clear what his primary motive was.

the attack happened on friday afternoon. the man went into this supermarket, grabbed a large kitchen knife from a shelf and stabbed a nearby 50—year—old man to death. he then attacked other people in the shop before running outside. and it was thanks to these local men now being called the heroes of hamburg that more people weren't injured or killed. damian mcguinness, bbc news, berlin. sri lanka has signed a billion dollar deal with china for the control and development of a deep sea port. the site is in the strategically important southern town hamba ntota. it's near the main shipping route between asia and europe. the agreement had been delayed because of local concerns that the port could be used by the chinese military. our south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, has more. located in southern sri lanka, hambantota port straddles the world's busiest east—west

shipping route. built with chinese financial assistance in 2010, the port was supposed to transform the poorer regions in the area. but it has been making losses. now, colombo is leasing the facility to china in a deal worth over $1 billion. china says the port will play a crucial role in its one belt, one road initiative to boost its trade with the rest of the world. this will make sure that the port will achieve a status as a gateway to spending economics of south east asia and the african region. they say the money from the deal will be used to pay part of its debt.

debt the country says it is struggling to repay. of course there was a debt trap. of course. we had to carry the burden, we still have to, as i have been showing you in some of the recent press conferences, sri lanka has to prepare. we have to pay huge amounts of foreign debts. there have been protests over the planned chinese industrial park to be set up near the port. villagers are scared they may be forced from their homes. neighbouring india is also nervous about beijing getting a foothold close to its southern tip. for now, colombo insists that the sri lankan navy will be in charge of the security and no foreign navy will be allowed to use it as a base. it is difficult to predict how china will respond, if its huge investment overseas are threatened in the future. now to a rather unusual emergency call in the us state of ohio. it was from a panicked woman who said she had a boa constrictor clamped to her face.

rachel cary has the story. in her own front yard in sheffield lake, ohio, a woman is strangled by the very snake she'd rescued just one day earlier. when firefighters arrived minutes later, they found the woman laying in her driveway with the 1.6 metre boa constrictor wrapped around her body. they used a pocket knife to cut the snake's head off. the victim was treated for nonlife threatening injuries. i'm just really pleased with the paramedics' response and to think that quick, to take a pocketknife out and do what they did, obviously they had to destroy the snake but they had no other choice. boa constrictors are native

to tropical, central and south america and while they're nonvenomous they squeeze their prey and swallow them whole. the victim kept no fewer than 11 snakes in her home. rachel cary, bbc news. time for a reminder of our top story this soured. the australian prime minister malcolm turnbull has said counterterrorism police have conducted a number of raids in syd ney over conducted a number of raids in sydney over a suspected plot to bring down an aeroplane. four homes we re bring down an aeroplane. four homes were raided as part of the investigation and four men have been arrested. additional security has now been put in place at all australian airports, both domestic and international. it is not yet clear how imminent or credible that threat was. plenty more on our website and analysis from correspondence around the world as well. this is bbc news. hello dad. with rain across the

north and south of saturday there was still some room for fine weather. for a while we had sunshine yesterday in lincolnshire but the rain did arrive and it was wet for much of the day in eastbourne in east sussex. some strong wind here as well continuing at the moment. the thickest of the cloud here has been spilling in across much of england and wales to provide outbreaks of rain but by the morning the wettest conditions are heading eastwards and out into the north sea. things are beginning to dry off but only briefly — as we head towards the north—west we still have showers continuing into the morning across northern ireland, western fringes of scotland. the rest of scotland, a dry start but it will not stay that way. it should be drier across much of northern england, lincolnshire and east anglia, rain from overnight should be gone by nine a.m. most of england and wales, bright and

sunny but the showers rattle in from the bristol channel. through the day as we head into the afternoon, possibly into the evening session for the cricket at the oval there is a chance of passing shower, it should be a much better day than it was on saturday. there will be lots of showers around on sunday, particularly towards the west. with the strong gusty winds will force showers eastwards and anywhere will catch a shower. heavy downpours with potentially hail and thunder. gusty wind as well. the south—east corner, possibly london, essex, kent, sussex missing most of the showers and seeing the best of temperature in the sunshine. still a few showers into the evening on sunday before they fade away from eastern areas and the breeze drops. the showers continue out to the west, particularly across northern ireland and western scotland. temperatures 12, 13 degrees — where they have been the last few nights. this map looks familiar as well. low pressure to the north—west of the uk for a good few days, still there

for the start of the new week. nearer that low pressure there will be showers and with the wind in scotland and northern ireland, the showers could be heavy and slow moving. stronger wind for england and wales, so passing showers again for many. southern and eastern areas, it may well be dry. that trend continues with few and light showers, a bit more sunshine on tuesday. it should feel warmer. again, southern and eastern areas may well be dry. as we lose the showers from one area of low pressure we get another one coming in from the atlantic, keeping the unsettled weather going with wind and rain on the way in the middle of the week. this is bbc news, the headlines: the australian prime minister has said his country has foiled a plot to bring down an aeroplane. malcolm turnbull said four people have been arrested in what he called a majorjoint counter—terrorism operation. additional security has been put in place at all australian domestic and international airports. a key vote takes place in venezuela on sunday to elect an assembly which would have broad powers to rewrite the country's constitution.

critics of the country's president, nicholas maduro, say it's nothing more than a power grab and say they'll boycott the vote. there's been a majorfire at a music festival in spain. thousands of people were evacuated from the tomorrowland dance music event in barcelona when flames engulfed part of the main stage. it's not clear at this point whether anyone has been injured in the fire or how the fire started. the main pension scheme for british universities has a deficit of more than £17 billion, the largest on record for any retirement fund in the uk.