this is bbc news. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: the venezuelan government says there has been an attack on the president during a military parade. lebron james gets the backing of the first lady hours after the us president makes insulting remarks about him. brazil's former president in jail for corruption is chosen by his party to make another run for the presidency. and more than 1000 firefighters tackle blazes in portugal and spain where temperatures hit 46 degrees and records are broken across europe. hello and welcome to bbc news. in the past hour, venezuela's communications minister has appeared on television to say there was an attack on president nicolas maduro

while he attended a military event. 0ur americas editor leonardo rocha is here in the studio with us. what happened, because we have seen some pictures of them scattering off? it came or less towards the end off? it came or less towards the end of the ceremony of the israeli —— the venezuelan army in caracas. the television was shown that showing this event live on at a certain stage, the president sees something above, he looks up, startled andy stops his speech abruptly and the cameras then go to show all the soldiers and matters and we saw all

the soldiers moments later moving away. in panic. you imagine that something happened about. there were reports of two explosions. it might be the first one that stopped the president's speech in the second one, perhaps a short —— a shot coming from behind. these are the pictures we are seeing of the soldiers dispersing presumably when they heard one of those explosions. gone was certain of what happened. there were reports of explosions in the area. untilthe there were reports of explosions in the area. until the ministerjorge rodriguez came out and said there had been an attempt of lives, several soldiers were injured, there we re several soldiers were injured, there were two drones loaded with explosives in they blew off near where the president's stand was and he was unharmed, he went straight to a meeting, an emergency meeting with

his ministers and the military command. that's what we know. and nicolas maduro has talked about, this comes with a backdrop of immense civil unrest of the past year, in fact. exactly. dozens of people were killed in the past year 01’ years people were killed in the past year or years and president maduro was re—elected in very controversial elections, condemned by the united states, european as antidemocratic. the president has been in —— in power for the president has been in —— in powerfor six the president has been in —— in power for six years but there has never been an attempt that we know of on his life. there is a big political divide. there is also open criticism from the united states not only with president trump and president 0bama, there was a lot of intention and internal tension. many

people say he is only in power with the economy melting down, highest inflation in the world, because he has the support of the army. did this attack come from the army? particularly, we don't know but i find it very hard that the opposition that is so weak and could have organised an attack on the president's life with the participation of the army. hasler iglesias is youth leader of the voluntad popular party or the people's will party and he is in caracas. they key summit are joining us. what do you make of the events so far? —— thank you so much forjoining us. the situation as you have explained todayis the situation as you have explained today is the national guard in venice whaler, they were making a ceremony in the main avenue of caracas. at the moment, we didn't

know what was happening. we saw in the screens that maduro and the first lady were scared and soldiers we re first lady were scared and soldiers were running but there is no official information. they were being transmitted in the national channel and the transmission was stopped at that moment. after we listened to the information, saying what you have just explained, he listened to the information, saying what you havejust explained, he is blaming the opposition that it's ha rd to blaming the opposition that it's hard to believe the opposition at this moment is going to make an attempt when they have never made an attempt when they have never made an attempt in this way in 20 years. when he says the opposition, that would include people like you who have opposed the maduro presidency vehemently over the past few years. yes, yes. when he says opposition, everybody made an accusation, also,

we can be aware that the situation is going to be used to persecute and imprison and the queues and repress more against us. all these days in these moments, there have been demonstrations in the streets. not big ones but very focused, small demonstrations of the people in the health system, people who don't have domestic gas or people who don't have food or water in their houses. there have been a lot of mobilisation of people in small groups. yesterday, there were ten demonstrations in caracas. they have not repressed any of these demonstrations but once this has happened, they could use more

violence against people. but given the circumstances, you could forgive president maduro for thinking that there are people who are trying to get rid of him and don't want him to be in power. the last year, in venice whaler, there have been a lot of calls to the military to reorganise and defend the constitution, and that means getting rid of nicolas maduro. nobody has called to assess in venezuelan. we are making lots of efforts to generate democratic transition by peaceful ways in our country. we're never to use violence, we never had to use weapons and we are not going to use weapons and we are not going to do it and we hope that the change we need in venezuelan is going to be ina we need in venezuelan is going to be in a peaceful way, in a democratic

way, not getting rid of one dictated to have another one. we need democratic relations being made in a country with an electoral committee thatis country with an electoral committee that is fair and inside rules of the constitution. we are expecting the present to speak soon at some point. as soon as we get those, we will bring those to our viewers. thank you thejoining us bring those to our viewers. thank you the joining us from bring those to our viewers. thank you thejoining us from caracas. the former brazilian president, luiz inacio lula da silva, has been nominated by the workers party to run in 0ctober‘s presidential elections. he's leading in opinion polls, but there's a bit of a snag: he's currently serving a jail sentence for corruption. the bbc‘s gail maclellan reports. some 2000 members of the workers party gathered in sao paulo and declared lula their presidential candidate, cheering as a message from the man was read out. the zeal

needs to restore its democracy, he said. the former president is leading most opinion polls and is appealing his conviction for corruption but it is uncertain whether the electoral court will allow him to stand. he has denied taking bribes from a construction company and said his conviction was pa rt company and said his conviction was part of a right—wing plot to prevent him from returning to power. if he loses the appeal, his party will be able to nominate another candidate. meanwhile, the establishment heavyweight secured his nomination from the centre right after a number of influential conservative parties. they object to all that lula and his workers party stand. 0fficial campaigning starts in two weeks' time. nearly two months after the historic summit between donald trump and kimjong un, little is clear about what the two countries actually agree on. at a second singapore summit on saturday it was their foreign

ministers who exchanged friendly smiles and handshakes — as us secretary of state mike pompeo met his north korean counterpart. ri yong ho criticised the us for urging other countries to maintain sanctions against pyongyang. earlier, mike pompeo, told the summit that he was hopeful denuclearisation would happen — but only if pressure was maintained on pyongyang. i've also emphasised the importance of maintaining diplomatic and economic pressure on north korea to achieve the fully verified dyoo nuclearisation of the dprk as agreed to by chairman kim. it's worth agreeing this is notjust an american security goal. it is clear our partners and allies within asean know how important denuclearisation in north korea is for their own security. let's get some of the day's other news: a new outbreak of the ebola virus in the east of the democratic republic of congo is thought to have killed more than 30 people.

the area — near the ugandan border — includes a trading hub and crowded refugee camps, making the outbreak difficult to control if it takes hold. sporadic protests have continued for the fifth successive day in several iranian cities despite heavy security measures and riot police presence. videos of the protests have been shared on social media. according to fars news agency, one protester was shot dead and at least 20 have been detained. soaring temperatures in portugal and southern spain have led to a series of major wildfires. more than 1,000 firefighters are trying to bring the flames under control. temperatures reached 46 degrees celsius in some areas. sima kotecha reports from cordoba in spain. there's hot and then there's really hot and it is across across the iberian peninsula. in southern portugal, the intensity of the heat led to wildfires. more than 1,000 firefighters tackled the blaze in a popular tourist destination.

here in cordoba in southern spain, by mid—morning, temperatures had already reached 30 degrees celsius and then it got hotter. we arrived here yesterday afternoon when it was about 43 degrees. peter stayed in the hotel. i said, "i'm going out for a walk", and i came back pretty quickly. as this torrid weather continues, the government is frequently reminding people here how to stay cool and doctors have told us they are particularly concerned about those who are visiting from colder climates. it is so much warmer here, so much warmer but we have come to see cordoba and that is what we will do. i didn't listen to the health warnings. ijust wasn't going to cook my head. there's no sign of this extreme heat subsiding soon. forecasters say it is expected to be like this for at least a few days yet but determination often prevails and for some, no heatwave is going to get in the way of having a good time. sima kotecha, bbc news, cordoba.

18 people have died in a helicopter crash in north—western siberia, russia. the russian transport ministry say they are investigating allegations of negligence and whether safety guidelines had been violated. the incident took place shortly after take off, near the town of igarka. sarah rainsford reports from moscow. the helicopter was 100 metres off the ground when its propellers hit the external cargo of another helicopter. it lost control, crashed and burst into flames, killing all 18 passengers and crew on board. the helicopter it hit was able to carry out an emergency landing. translation: that there were 15 passengers and 3 crew members on board. we discovered that at 9:48 local time, the helicopter crashed 180km

north of the city of igarka. 0ne probably cause of the fault is that the aircraft hit the cargo suspended from a mi—6 helicopter. those who died were workers heading for the start of a shift on a remote siberian oil field run by a subsidiary of the state oil giant rosneft. the company has called the actions of the crew inexplicable, adding that they had been warned the other helicopter was dangerously close. russia's investigative committee says all causes for the accident are being examined including pilot error and added that the crew's training and flight history would be checked. the bbc‘s sarah rainsford in moscow. thousands of student protesters in bangladesh have blocked traffic in the capital dhaka for a seventh day running, calling for stricter traffic laws. the protests have continued since a boy and a girl were killed by a speeding bus. jill mcgivering has more. chanting. they're young and they're angry. bangladesh hasn't seen anything

quite like this before. school children in uniform took control of the roads for a seventh day on saturday, causing chaos. they want the government to make the roads safer. the trigger came last sunday when a boy and girl were knocked down and killed by a bus. "we have been protesting for days", said this boy, "we wantjustice for the students who were killed by a bus. we want safe roads". some transport companies have responded by staging their own strike. these buses are off the road and the drivers are angry, saying the students are the ones causing trouble. "we stopped running our buses because students attacked and damaged our vehicles", said this driver, "we can't go on the roads, students hit our drivers, so no vehicles can move". but the students are getting support from many teachers and parents. they all want the government to take action, to stop corruption, improve standards and

enforce regulations. several thousand people are killed in accidents every year, giving bangladesh one of the world's worst road safety records. jill mcgivering, bbc news. the first lady of the united states, melania trump, has come out in support of basketball star lebronjames, just a day after president trump questioned the nba player's intelligence on twitter. during an interview about his latest project, opening a school for at—risk children, lebron james criticised the president calling him ‘divisive'. chris buckler reports from washington. stay with us here on bbc news, still to come — dissident chinese artist, ai weiwei claims that

authorities in beijing have buldozed the studio containing a large amount, of his award winning work. the question was whether we want to save our people, and japanese as well, and win the war and taking a chance to win the war by killing our young men. the invasion began at 2am. mr bush, like most other people, was clearly caught by surprise. we call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all the iraqi forces. 100 years old and still full of vigor, vitality and enjoyment of life. no other king or queen in british history has lived so long, and the queen mother is said to be quietly very pleased indeed that she's achieved this landmark anniversary. this is a pivotal moment for the church as an international movement. the question now is whether the american vote will lead to a split in the anglican community. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines — the venezuelan government says there's been an unsuccessful attack on president maduro, by drones, dropping explosives at a military parade. the president is said to be unhurt. there were smiles in singapore but frank exchanges away from the cameras as the us and north korea remain at loggerheads over sanctions and nuclear weapons. the dissident chinese artist ai weiwei says the authorities in beijing have demolished his studio there. in a series of clips on instagram showing the former factory being torn down, ai says he was given no notice of the decision. the 66—year—old has lived in germany since leaving china in 2015. he is a strong critic of china's government. lebo diseko reports. as the walls of his studio were torn down, ai weiwei said farewell. a post on is to —— social media

explaining the space he had created and kept some of his most iconic work was being destroyed. workers blocked up what they could but it just wasn't possible to move everything before the demolition started —— boxed up. they had known they had to leave by the 15th of this month, police have come to an end. but they didn't expect weather recce machines. —— was the wrecking the machines. translation: that some had called and said we needed to move out of the building within three days. of course, i don't have the ability to move everything out in three days. 0utside, remnants of works left where it had been standing in a place ai weiwei had used for 12 yea rs. place ai weiwei had used for 12 years. it is not the first time this had happened. another one of his shoe dios in shanghai was destroyed in 2011. -- shoe dios in shanghai was destroyed in 2011. —— studios. that time he also claimed he had had no warning.

ai weiwei has become an outspoken critic of the chinese government and some has said he has paid the price. he was detained but 81 days on charges he says were politically motivated. he has since moved to berlin. it is not clear at the destruction was directly targeting ai weiwei. authorities have been clearing large parts of beijing for redevelopment and demolitions have been taking place in this complex by the past three months but given the relations between the man who would be china's most famous artist and the authorities, many will be asking why this studio and why now. almost all households in the uk can recycle their rubbish. but while those services, operated by local governments, can usually recycle glass and cans, two thirds of the plastic food containers they pick up, end up being burned or buried. matt cole reports. plastic isn't meant to end up here, choking the seas and the life in it. but, despite a growing public

awareness of the need to recycle, councils say their efforts are being undermined by manufacturers. it is at sites like these across the country that the recycling process begins. mountains of rubbish needing separating into what can and can't be reused. now, when it comes to plastic, well, there are bottles like this, fairly easy to separate and recycle. but what about these? plastic fruit punnets containing mixed materials. that is not so easy. and then there are these. black plastic microwave trays. the sensors in recycling sorting machines cannot detect the black and, as a consequence, problems with things like this that means two thirds of plastics end up just being thrown away. most ends up in landfill or is incinerated, but that is more expensive for councils and taxpayers. it's very confusing. i washed up black things for ages because i did not want them hanging around smelling before i went and put them into recycling and then

heard that black, you know, you can't do it. to be honest, ijust look at it and go plastics going in there. i think that's what a lot of people do. the choice of packaging to present their product is seen as crucial by some manufacturers. but now there are calls for change. black plastic cannot be recycled currently and so we are saying actually black plastic should be banned completely and manufacturers should be made to use plastics that can be recycled. another solution could be to vary the current flat rate paid by manufacturers to help recycling costs, charging extra for more difficult materials. i think what we need to do is drive designers and manufacturers and brand retailers to go towards those types of packs that are more easily recycled. because these ones yield secondary material that can be used again. the government acknowledges more work is needed,

but says it is working with manufacturers to improve recycling rates. matt cole, bbc news. following their two week ordeal trapped in a flooded thai cave, 11 boys and their football coach have completed nine days living as buddist monks. this period of quiet reflection is a tradition in thailand for males who suffer adversity. tom donkin reports. heads shaved and draped in orange robes, thailand's famous to while bores and potential as a football tea m bores and potential as a football team and ended —— exited as a squad of spiritual enlightenment. 11 of these boys have been ordained as honest monks and during their short stay, they reflected on their recent ordeal in prayer and meditation will stop part of a tradition here are young males who survive adversity. under the care of temple monks, this has been an opportunity to retreat

from the at times frenzied international attention. the past nine days have been an important period for honouring those responsible for their rescue. especially the former navy diver who died during the complex operation. nine isa nine is a lucky number here in thailand and this period has been very different to the nine days this —— these children and their coach spent trapped in darkness. it wasn't until two british divers downed them, it would take another nine days to complete the risky operation to ta ke days to complete the risky operation to take them out. this temple state is the latest in a series of spiritual rights and activities the boys have taken part in. recently, the team were blessed in a traditional ceremony in a process of religious cleansing taking place at the mouth of the cave. thailand is a deeply spiritual country and the extraordinary escape of this team has captivated people deeply. many

people think this process will bring in and to their suffering and allow them to embark on a new beginning. a reminder of our breaking news story this all. the venezuela and government says there has been an attack on nicolas maduro during a ceremony in the capital caracas. he is unharmed. the event was broadcast live on television and president maduro were seen television and president maduro were seen stopping his speech midsentence. he and officials can be seen midsentence. he and officials can be seen looking upwards, looking a bit startled. dozens of soldiers on parade can be seen running away before transmission was cut off. afterwards, the communication minister said drones have been flown towards the parade. they exploded and injured seven soldiers. those of the latest news and stories on bbc four stop banks were watching. —— on bbc. thanks for watching.

hello. if you had the sunshine on saturday, there is more to come on sunday. like saturday, there will be more cloud across northern ireland and scotland and at times that could bring some showery rain, but for most, it is mainly dry and a good deal of sunshine, as this area of high pressure continues to develop from the south—west. clear skies overnight for much of england and wales. they will give way to sunshine by day. always more cloud for scotland and northern ireland though. this front in the north—west should bring some more rain later in the day. more on that in a moment. patchy rain in the north of scotland. some brighter spells for northern ireland, even though there is a lot of cloud. but the lion's share of sunshine once againacross england and wales. 15 to 19 degrees celsius for scotland. 21 for northern ireland. mid to high 20s for much of england and wales, getting close to 30 celsius through east anglia and south—east england. for many, it is a fine, calm sunday. late spells of sunshine overnight. you can see the cloud increasing, outbreaks of rain coming into scotland, northern england. 14 to 17 celsius the overnight low on sunday morning. this is how we start the new working week, holding onto high pressure. that front really starting to make inroads, increasing the cloud and bringing further rain through monday morning across northern ireland and into scotland.

behind that, you can see there is some fresher air trying to sink it way south—eastwards. it is going to take its time to get across much of england and wales, probably not until wednesday or thursday will we start to see a noticeable dip in temperature. for monday morning in a little bit more detail, further cloud and rain for northern ireland and scotland. some of that rain just perhaps getting into the far north of england through monday morning. but elsewhere, further south, it's going to stay dry and again, there will be plenty of sunshine. in fact, temperatures higher again on monday, parts of east anglia and south—east england exceeding 30 celsius. notice the contrast as you head further north and west, the high teens to earl 20 celsius. so quite some contrast. that theme continues for scotland, northern ireland, and the far north of england. it will be cooler here. there will be some showery rain through tuesday.

many places largely dry, particularly northern england. yes, we are hanging onto the sunshine but slowly we will start to see those temperatures dropping away. it stays dry but it will be turning cooler. bye— bye. this is bbc news, the headlines: venezuela's communications minister has appeared live on television to say that explosive drones have been flown towards a military event attended by president maduro. the minister said there were explosions and that they were regarding this as an attempt on the president's life. the president is said to be unharmed. lebronjames gets the backing

of the first lady — hours after the president makes insulting remarks about the us basktball star. the former brazilian president lula da silver has been nominated his party despite serving a jail sentence. he is leaving most opinion polls in brazil. detectives investigating the disappearance of the midwife samantha eastwood, who's been missing for more than a week,