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 spain after a fire engulfed part of the main stage. a legacy of world war i— how unexploded shells are still being recovered from the fields of belgium a century after the conflict. in australia, security has been tightened at all airports

after authorities said they had disrupted a plot to blow up a plane. australian prime minister malcolm turnbull said his country foiled the plot and four people have been arrested in what he called "a major joint counter—terrorism operation". the authorities say they have seized material that could be used to make an improvised bomb. from sydney, phil mercer reports. investigators in australia said the information of the plot to blow up an aircraft involved the use of an improvised device. for madmen have been detained following raids across syd ney were been detained following raids across sydney were heavily armed police and members of australia's domestic spy agency. its report to the progression was not planned at a rapid response to a tipoff. the

prime minister malcolm turnbull says the authorities have foiled what appeared to be an elaborate conspiracy. i can report last night that there has been a majorjoint counterterrorism operation to disrupt a terrorist plot to bring down an aeroplane. the operation is continuing. at this stage, four people have been arrested and a considerable amount of material has been seized by police. upon receipt of advice from our security and intelligence agencies, the government moved swiftly in order to protect the public while operations we re protect the public while operations were under way. and additional security measures were put in place at sydney airport on thursday. woman who said her son and husband we re woman who said her son and husband were among those arrested in sydney has denied they had any links to extremism. but senior police commanders said the raids were part ofan

commanders said the raids were part of an alleged islamic inspired plot. additional security measures have been put in place at domestic and international airports around the country. what people can expect to see is an increased police and security agency presents. you can expect longer delays to make sure that more screening is being done on baggage, both hold luggage as well as hand luggage. and i think as the prime minister said the public need to be aware to get about their business, go to the airport as they normally would give themselves more time. the prime minister is urging travellers to stay calm as they should go about their with confidence. australia's national terror threat level remains at probable which means the intelligence agencies believe that groups or individuals have the intent and capability to carry out an attack. since 2014, 70 people have been charged as a result of more than 30 counterterrorism raids across the country. phil mercer, bbc

news, sydney. 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, nicolas 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 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.

moises naim is a distinguished fellow at the carnegie endowment for international peace and columnist. he was minister of trade and industry in venezuela in the 1990s and was also director of venezuela's central bank. he's in washington. thinking indeed forjoining us today. how big a hole is venezuelan in? it's a deep on a deep hole u nfortu nately, in? it's a deep on a deep hole unfortunately, tragically, it is a man—made hole that it's challenging all kinds of institutions inside the country and internationally. with regard to this vote, many are calling for it to be called off but it looks like it is all going to go ahead. what a your fears for the next few days? well of course i fear violence, but more people will be killed, and the country in

paralysis. this is a country that has suffered deep shortages of all kinds of basic staples and basic necessities and it can get worse, this is a country that is suffering from hunger, lack of medicine, the colla pse from hunger, lack of medicine, the collapse of the health system, of public safety, and public institutions not working. and it is becoming increasingly isolated on the international stage. that's correct. seven governments have already announced that they will not recognise the new constitution and assembly that is going to be voted in tomorrow. so what will happen if all that goes ahead and they don't recognise it? will maduro care was to mark he will have to care. he has limited powers. he has to recognise increasingly that the possibilities,

the range of actions that he hires is becoming quite limited. what could the international community do to try and ease some of the suffering of venezuelan‘s population? the most important thing is to force maduro to recognise that the reason opposition but has a right to have a voice, but has the right to have a voice, but has the right to have a voice, but has the right to have a space in the political life of the country, but has voted in the national assembly that exist, and has to be recognised. maduro has disrespected the will of the people that voted in a national assembly. and so, the international community has to force maduro to recognise that he has two deal and recognise and respect and include the opposition. and we were talking to one journalist a little earlier, are plenty of things about this vote that odd or exceptional but journalist is being this vote that odd or exceptional butjournalist is being kept more than 500 metres away from various

polling stations. they fear that people will conduct multiple votes, go to different polling stations. is that something you think could happen? i am certain it will happen. they have not allowed international observers. the result kinds of reasons to believe that the vote is not going to be fair. and transparent and free. public employees are being forced to vote and they are being controlled on the threat of being fired if they don't vote. people that depend on the government forfood vote. people that depend on the government for food and the basic incomes and subsidies are being told that they can lose all that if they don't vote. so there is a very strong effort on the part of the government to get the people they can control, they can scare, they can control, they can scare, they can pressure, into voting to get out and vote. but no one internally or

outside the country believes that this is a fair and free elections. former trade and industry minister in venezuela and a distinguished fellow of the carnegie endowment for international peace, moises naim, thank you. in spain, more than 20,000 people had to be evacuated from a dance music festival when the stage caught fire. it happened at the tomorrowland unite event in barcelona. there are no reports that anyone was injured. the bbc‘s tim allman has more. this was not the sort of spectacle that the thousands who had come here had expected. the stage at this dance music festival in barcelona lit up by a giant fire. initially, some took photos — perhaps they thought this was part of the show. but if these were pyrotechnics, they appear to have gone badly wrong. very soon, the audience was cleared, thousands quickly moved to safety. there are no reports anyone was injured. people have run towards the exit. there is no panic, but as many

people were inside the festival at this hour, then the firefighters took half an hour more or less to put out the fire, and the police also took time to get people off the stage. tomorrowland unite is a multi—venue festival held in eight different countries, including spain. the location there was barcelona, the concert taking place in can zam park in the north of the city. its website describes the festival as a way to bring the people of tomorrow together to enjoy unity and experience a massive show. but explore any further and all you will find now is a message saying that the stage caught fire due to a technical malfunction and the authorities will continue their investigation. so an unfortunate end to what should have been a great night. but with no apparent deaths or injuries — things could have been so much worse. 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 no one should be stood down after the court disqualified him from holding public office. he said his brother would take over the post eventually. 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 dejaneiro as part 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 shoot—outs

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 14 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 — recovering world war i shells in belgium, 100 years after the conflict. 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 rare white lion 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. 0pposition politicians say they'll boycott the poll. later today the belgian city of ypres will pause to remember one of the most costly campaigns of the first world war. ceremonies will marking the start of the battle to capture the village of paschendaele.

during the three month struggle, half a million men, were killed, injured, or missing, in the mud of no mans land. a century later, that landscape is still yielding deadly reminders of the fighting, as robert hall reports. drie, twee, een. this is a corner of europe where first world war shells explode every working day. the burgeoning bomb disposal team is based in poelkapelle and they deal with at least 200 tons of unexploded munitions each year. you may think that after 100 years this iron harvest would be reducing. it's simply not true. during the first world war, along the western front,

1.5 billion shells were fired and of those, one in three failed to explode. that left 500 million still on the ground. a few miles from poelkapelle, another call. a farmer has left several unidentified shells for the squad to collect. this is a 4.5 inch british. another 4.5 inch. if we look at the length and the fuse, this is an explosive. this as well. we have no chemical shells here. one third of the munitions that the team recover contain chemicals such as mustard gas. the firstjob is to clean them up, and not always that gently, for a rough idea of how dangerous they might be. here we look for characteristics and then for an exterior marking. they do that with a hammer or a copper brush and, it sounds old —fashioned,

but it is still much safer than using a sandblaster or high—pressure water. the next step is an x—ray. you can see now the bottom. this is chloride and cyanide or arsenic. around is explosive. even after 100 years, lives are at risk here. the chemical shells are eventually destroyed in a sealed chamber. conventional explosives follow a separate path. shells, bombs, grenades and bullets forced to the surface of local farmland by frost action and ploughing. how much explosive is in one crate, do you think? always around 50 kilos of explosives. more than 50 kilos, even deeply buried, would risk damage to buildings.

and still this meticulous operation rolls on. the legacy of a distant war that will provide these lethal reminders well into another century. robert hall, bbc news, flanders. we will cover those ceremonies later, being attended by the duke and duchess of cambridge and the king of belgium. 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. when i read i read really close up. 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's been your biggest struggle? all my life i've grown up being told that i cannot and must not and should not and would not, and i had to go against the grain. i've got a first—class law degree from cambridge university. that should set me up for life. but when you're 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 even more

impressive given that only seven students in the whole of the university have refugee status, that's 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. hannah gelbart, bbc news, cambridge. 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, 0hio, 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 non—life 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. a reminder of our top stories this hour and from australia the 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 were raided as part of an investigation and four men were arrested. additional security has been put in place at all australian airports. malcolm turnbull saying domestic and international airports and passengers are being warned to allow a little extra time at the airports. this is bbc news. hello there.

with rain across the north and south of the uk 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 winds 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, probably 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 9am. most of england and wales, starting 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 lighter 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, nicolas maduro, say it's nothing more than a power grab. they are also urging their supporters to 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. 0rganisers say a technical malfunction caused the blaze. let's