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 tensions in venezuela ahead of a vote that could lead to a new constitution. a power grab says the opposition. 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. earlier our correspondent phil mercer in sydney told me more about the police investigation. 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 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 mr 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. 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 fear. as he said, they will notice increased security at all airports across the country. international and domestic then. is 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 police 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. 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. 0ur 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's a dictatorial move and is boycotting the vote. translation: 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 2a 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 the avenida francisco de miranda, 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. pakistan's ousted prime minister nawaz sharif has named his brother

has his ultimate success. he was forced to resign over corruption allegations and has appointed a caretaker until his brother can be elected. it's a move that's been heavily criticised. 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. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. 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.

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. thousands of brazilian troops have begun patrolling the streets of rio

as parts of measures to tackle organised crime in the city. violence has been on the rise in rio since the end of the olympics nearly a year ago. greg 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 is a city on edge. translation: i 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 worries. the renewed violence in rio has coincided with the worst recession in brazil in decades. unemployment reaching 1a million. human rights groups warned that the city's poorest are at greatest risk of being caught up in the violence. the government says the fight against organised crime will be a long one. it is committed to keeping troops here until at least the end of the year. greg dawson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: how a blind muslim immigrant from iraq fought the odds to get a first class law degree from cambridge university. the family of rash and charles, who

died in hackney in east london, after police apprehended him last weekend, have appeared for calm after a night of violence —— appealed —— rashan. the independent police complaint commission is investigating his death, who was 20 yea rs investigating his death, who was 20 years old. richard lister reports. chanting: what do we want? justice. when do we want it? now! the tension had been building all week, but yesterday afternoon, a peaceful protest about the death of a black man in police custody began to turn into something else. the police were out in force trying to maintain calm, but it didn't last. by 10:00pm, a fleet of police vans was facing a burning barricade and an angry crowd. fireworks and bottles were thrown. hundreds of officers trying to keep people back. move away, the dogs are coming out. police in full riot gear repeatedly tried to clear the street. mounted officers

were brought in too. it took at least another hour for some kind of order to be established, debris still smouldering on the streets. this confrontation was sparked by the way rashan charles died. he was chased into a shop by police a week ago. officers say he tried to swallow something. there was a struggle and he became ill. just over an hour later, rashan charles was declared dead. he was 20. it has stirred up deep grievances here. rashan was the third black man to die during a police operation in a month. we understand your frustration and your anger, don't fee that the family doesn't feel that anger and frustration too. all the family knows is taking to the streets doesn't give you justice. the council today has been trying to clean up and move on, but it says there is more work to do to address this community's anger. one of the things we did after monday night was ensure that the independent police complaints commission came down

and held a meeting with young people and started to listen to their concerns, listen to what they had seen on video, listen to what people were talking about and i think that process have to continue. the independent police complaints commission says it will seek to answer the questions from rashan charles‘ family about his death and will follow the evidence wherever it leads. richard lister, bbc news. our main headlines: the australian government says a counter—terrorism operation has disrupted a plot to bring down an airplane. four people have been arrested in sydney. venezuelans are preparing to vote for an assembly which would have powers to rewrite the constitution. opposition politicians say they'll boycott the poll. let's get more now on this now. on the line is stefano pozzebon, a journalist living in caracas. thank you forjoining us. do you

believe this will go ahead? there has been lots of international pressure to either delay or not hold this particular vote. yes, lots of international pressure, but it seems the elections will go ahead tomorrow this right to be threats from the white house which has threatened swift economic action if the new assembly is installed down here in caritas. nevertheless, this morning, be former spanish prime minister, released a statement asking for the vote tomorrow to be respected and can “— vote tomorrow to be respected and can —— conducted peacefully. he asked for peace and quiet in caracas. the whole of venezuela has

been suffering from months of social unrest. nevertheless, the vote will go ahead, and probably on monday morning we will have a new national assembly hearing caracas. and from what you hear, are people still so angry that you fear there could be further violence during the vote and immediately after the announcement? there could well be. there is definitely anger, there is frustration from opposition supporters, who see their leadership is not really being able to... there is not really being able to... there is of course celebration among the government ‘s supporters, who genuinely believe that these reforms will bring peace to a divided country. and most of all the main feeling hearing caracas —— here in

caracas is about the economic crisis. venezuela is going to the most matic economic and social crisis in history. —— a dramatic. the main reason that people are taking to the streets is notjust a clash between two different ideologies, but because of empty supermarkets and pharmacies. stefa no, supermarkets and pharmacies. stefano, thank you. as we reported earlier 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. on the line from barcelona is adrian munoz, who was at the festival when the fire began. could you begin by telling us, first of all, what did you see? (inaudible). | of all, what did you see? (inaudible). i think we might have lost that line with our eyewitness.

can you hear me, adrian? what did you see? yeah, the main stage has begun to burn. people have been taking selfies for a while now, other will have run towards the exit. —— other people. the firefighters took half an hour, more 01’ firefighters took half an hour, more or less, to patel to the fire. the police took some time to get all the people off the stage. adrian, it looks like the fire was in some sort of scaffolding, or some kind of tall structure to one side of the stage. what was that? well, i think it was in the forward part of the festival. right. obviously there were a lot of people at this festival. it must

have been quite difficult getting everybody out. how quickly did the emergency services respond? well, they spend more or less half an hour to stay there and take out all of the people. right. ithink this is some of yourfootage the people. right. ithink this is some of your footage that we are showing here, of people leaving the area, the evacuation. it looks to be fairly orderly, but it must have been quite worrying. now, i don't think there were any injuries. well, we must leave it there. adrian munoz, who was at that festival in barcelona, thank you. a first—class degree from cambridge is an achievement for anyone, but for a refugee who was born blind and came here to escape the war in iraq, it's all the more impressive. allan hennessy received one of the top marks in his year and he says he refuses to let any of his circumstances keep him in his lane. hannah gelbart has been

to cambridge to meet him. when people ask me about my life. certainly people in cambridge, they think, god, he has had a difficult life. the reason i am able to be getting on with it, is i look back at my family in iraq and ourfriends, and i think i am very privileged. allan is a long way from the war—torn streets of baghdad where he was born totally blind. at six months old, allan came to the uk for an eye operation. his vision was partially restored in one eye. growing up on a london council estate and going to the local state school, i neverfelt different to any of the other kids. my disability didn't get in the way of how i went about things. i was always defiant in the face of my disability. i always wanted to be like the other kids. when i was younger i would get on the bumper cars at the fairground and i would want to drive it.

i was goalkeeper for arsenal's visually impaired team. a self—described troublemaker at school, allan did most of his a—levels at home and he got a place at fitzwilliam college to study law. i remember on my first day, i was sitting in the library and i had my book up to my face. someone said to me, "are you smelling that book?" i turned around sarcastically and said, "no, i'm just reading it with my nose." what has been your biggest struggle? i have been told all my life, ishould not, cannot, would not, and i have had to go against the grain. i have got a first—class law degree from cambridge university. that should set me up for life. but when you are a disabled, blind, muslim immigrant living in britain today, there is so much more

to do and the journey has only just begun. allan's achievement is more impressive, given that only seven students in the whole of the university have refugee status, according to the latest figures from march. only four students last year who were blind or partially sighted were offered a place. ijust really hope the next time i come back to cambridge it is full of people who have come from different walks of life. because i want people from unorthodox backgrounds to feel like they can overcome and they don't have to stay in their lane. you really don't have to subscribe to the life that has been written for you. allan has been offered a scholarship to a law school in london in september. now to a rather unusual emergency call in the us state of ohio. the metropolitan police has issued a

warning that criminals are increasingly using the bank accounts of young children and students to launder stolen or illegally acquired money. they say parents need to be aware of what is going on. according to fraud prevention service cifas, the number of frauds involving people under 21 has almost doubled in the last year. 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. the most extraordinary story. coming up in a few minutes, dateline london. first, the weather. hello there. with rain across the north and south for 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. now on bbc news it's dateline london.