16/07/2017 World News Today

As polls close in Venezuela's constitutional referendum,

Nicholas Maduro calls the unofficial vote "meaningless", but it adds more

A scandal over horsemeat - police in Spain accuse an organised

crime group of trading meat that's unfit for humans across Europe.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer makes history by taking a record 8th

And for all you Time Lord fans, the new Doctor Who is a woman

Hello and welcome to World News Today.

Polls have closed for Venezuelans voting in an unofficial

referendum on government plans for a new assembly that

Millions of people took part in the symbolic consultation,

which follows months of political violence.

Improvised polling stations have been set up in more

Earlier, our correspondent explained what was behind the vote.

He can see opposition to the president and has plans to create a

caused additional Assembly. This ballot was used to show the

Government and the world that most people in this country want a

change. There are already thousands of people floating not only in

Caracas, the capital, but around the country and the world. In Colombia,

Spain, the US and the UK as well. The opposition wants to send a

message in the middle of an economic crisis and in the middle of three

months of protests where 100 people were killed. The Government is

carrying out voting for the cause additional Assembly election in two

weeks. -- the constitutional. You can see the signs of how Venezuela

is so divided right now. Thousands of opposition

demonstrators in Poland have been protesting outside parliament

in Warsaw against judicial reforms which one of their leaders has

called a coup d'etat. The new legislation gives control

over the body that nominates I spoke to our correspondent

Adam Easton a short There has been a considerable crowd

that has turned up outside the Polish parliament to voice their

protest against these very controversial reforms, which, as you

say, essentially, the people have come to protest say it allows the

parliament which is dominated -- the parliament to appoint their own

people as judges. This legislation. People protesting here have been

protesting against the Government for the last 18 months. They see

this as the latest attempt by the Government to a road democracy by

demolishing the rule of law and destroying Democratic checks and

balances. What has been a Government response? The Government is

basically saying that this is the same as the courts. The Government

says that these are a few thousand people in Warsaw who are the elites

of the country, if you like. We have popular support and we are doing

very well in opinion polls, trouncing the opposition parties.

And in fact we have support from the many people here in changing the way

courts are run. They say that the courts are corrupt and inefficient,

not democratic, do not serve the interests of the public. Many people

here in Poland would agree with that. Even some of the people

protesting in Warsaw outside Parliament would agree that the

process is not perfect. But they would say that this is no way to

improve the current system, by essentially handing power to the

Government to take control of the body that appoint judges. Briefly,

how likely is it that the legislation would change as a result

of the protests? Extremely unlikely in my opinion. Parliament has

approved it now and it only goes to the President for signing. The

president as a lawyer. He is a former member of the Law and Justice

party and is given no indication he sees anything wrong with this.

Adam Easton was seeking to me earlier. -- speaking.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news...

Israel has reopened the extremely sensitive holy site in Jerusalem

known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as

But many Muslim worshippers have refused to enter the area on account

of new security measures that the Israelis have put in place.

It was closed for the first time in decades on Friday after two Israeli

policemen were shot dead by Israeli Arab gunmen.

Police in Bangladesh say four suspected Islamist

after a tense stand-off lasting several hours.

The militants had barricaded themselves in a house

on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka.

They reportedly threw bombs at security personnel

after they tried to storm the building.

Spanish police say they have dismantled an organised crime group

that was trading horsemeat across Europe that

65 people were arrested in Spain and charged with various crimes,

including money laundering and animal abuse.

The investigation carried out in coordination with Europol dates

back to the detection of horsemeat in beefburgers four

A short time ago, I spoke to journalist Guy Hedgecoe in Madrid.

It is a very large scale investigation. The Spanish civil

guard and Europol believe this criminal gang have made around 20

million euros out of this scam. It has been very complex and it has a

European dimension to it. That the meat was being repurposed here in

Spain and the animals were from the north of Spain and Portugal. They

were going to facilities in Spain to be slaughtered and then the meat was

being exported. Most of the meat was going abroad. It is a very

international dimension to this. As you said, it is all linked back to

this case in Ireland four years ago. The investigation has been going on

for some time. Said it went outside of Spain and Portugal. Do you know

how far this has gone across Europe, or maybe father? So far, Europol in

the Spanish civil guard have said it went to a number of European

countries. Most of the meat seemed to be going to Belgium and Belgium

as the European Union's biggest horse meat exporter. From there, it

was going to other countries such as France, Italy, Romania, all

countries within the E. That is what we know so far but obviously there

could be more details to come. -- within the European Union. The main

gist is that animal is not meant to be fit for human consumption where

having documentation tampered with and then slaughtered as if they were

animals that could be eating as regular horse meat. This

investigation included a lot of money laundering as well. It is

quite... It includes so many aspects of crime. The 65 people, do we know

they be charged and there will be some success at the end of this? It

is a little bit early to know for sure at the moment. What we do know

is that the people who have been arrested include farmers, Bethany

Haines, slaughterhouse owners. Anna Lee of people involved in the

sector. -- veterinarians and slaughterhouse owners.

One man they believe was overseeing a lot of these activities from the

town he resided in the Spanish East Coast seems to be a key figure in

all this. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu has been in Paris to commemorate the 75th anniversary

of the biggest mass arrest of Jews in Nazi-occupied France

during the second world war. During the visit, Mr Netanyahu also

held his first direct talks with the French President,

Emmanuel Macron. With a new president, France's

finding a new role in the world. But there are moments in history that

sense of national guilt. Frist of facing up to what was done here 75

years ago and taking its responsibility, despite the Nazi

occupation. TRANSLATION:

It was indeed France which organised the round-up, the deportation which

led to almost all the deaths of the 13,000 people of the Jewish faith

who were taken from their homes on the 16th and 17th of July 1942.

These are some of the men, women and children who were arrested by French

police and packed onto trains, simply because of their religion.

13,152 of them. Most are taken to a Schlitz -- Auschwitz. Fewer than 100

lives. This is the first time an Israeli Prime Minister has been in

his commemorations. Some feel he is using what happened here to

strengthen his own position. I have come here to go my head in memory of

her slain brothers and sisters, slaughtered slowly because they were

dues. -- solely because they were Jewish. There was politics as well.

In their first direct talks, President Macron prestige early

leader for new peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Reflecting on

history can be tough but both men are shaping the future and that will

be a real challenge as well. Stay with us on BBC

World News, still to come... For fans of the sci-fi series,

it's a big moment - the new Doctor Who has been

unveiled and she's a woman. We'll find out more

about the actress who is Jani bus urge has been shot dead in

Florida. The multimillionaire was gunned down outside his home in

Miami. Emergency services across Central Europe are stepping up

efforts to contain the worst floods this century. Nearly 100 people have

been killed. Broadway is traditionally known as the great

White Way but it is now wiped out. It is a reminder of the problems to

Americans that the energy crisis has brought. 200 years ago today, huge

Parisian crowd stormed the Bastille prison in the first act of the

revolution which was to topple the French monarchy. Today, hundreds of

thousands were on the shone so easy for the traditional military parade.

Penguins have been staggering Shoreham collapsing after gorging

themselves on their favourite food, pilchards. Some had eaten so much,

they could barely stand. -- staggering on shore.

Polls are closing in an unofficial constitutional

President Nicholas Maduro has called the vote "meaningless",

but it adds more pressure on the embattled leader.

Police in Spain have accused an organised crime group of trading

meat that's unfit for humans across Europe.

Let's find out... Let's get all the sporting News. He is Mark Edwards.

He's the man who just can't stop winning.

Roger Federer breaking records once again, the Swiss picking

up his eighth men's singles title at Wimbledon.

Surely the youngest 35-year-old in sport, beating Marin Cilic

John Watson was there to witness the Fed in full flow.

A 19th Grand Slam tide of Roger Federer, competing in his 19th

Wimbledon. This final will not go down as a classic. Marin Cilic, as

we witnessed on Centre Court today, have some problems. He had a foot

problem and that led to a straight sets victory for Roger Federer.

Cilic himself feel disappointed with the way that that match played out.

We have seen him beat Roger Federer. He pushed close last year and of

course the team on the way to winning his one and only Grand Slam

title. But up against Roger Federer today, he released at the Chans. --

he released it no chance. A straight sets defeat. Roger Federer, the

records keep someone. He is the oldest male singles winner here at

Wimbledon and the second oldest grand champion in the open era. He

came through this tournament playing exceptional tennis and had not

dropped a set on his way to winning the title. Nobody has done that

since the great Bjorn Borg back in the 1970s. What now for Roger

Federer? Of course, it is interesting as he has managed and

shaped his career in the latter stages... 35 years old, days short

of his 36th birthday. We saw him miss the French Open and he came

back after the absence of the end of last year when he went on to win the

trillion open. Who would ever have predicted that here we would be this

year, Roger Federer, 35, winning the two Grand Slams he has competed in.

Interesting detail the thoughts of Boris Becker earlier on, saying he

believes Roger Federer will go on and win more titles. I guess he will

pick and choose what one he competes in. But there can be no doubt about

it. This success, the eighth Wimbledon title for the great Roger

Federer, once again underlining his staters is one of the greatest male

canisters of all time, if not the greatest. -- one of the greatest

male tennis players. Britain's Lewis hamilton powered

to a dominant victory at silverston to tie the all-time record of five

career wins in the The Mercedes man led from start

to finish as he closed the gap on Championship leader,

Sebastian Vettel, to just one point. The German Ferrari driver suffering

a puncture approaching the penultimate lap to drop

from 3rd to 7th. Kimi Raikkonen also suffered

a puncture while on course Promoting Hamilton's

team-mate Valtteri Bottas It's the opening day of the women's

Euro 2017 competition currently And a good day for the hosts,

who kicked off the 12th edition It was Liverpool forward Shanice van

de Sanden who gave the 2009 semifinalists all 3 points with the

only goal of the game. Heading in Lieke Martens'

pin-point cross from close Denmark or 1-0 up against Belgium.

About 15 minutes left to play on that one. -- Denmark are 1-0 up.

And it's pretty much mission impossible for England after day

3 of the second Test against South Africa.

The Proteas declared on 343 for 9

If you're being an optimist, the hosts will have 2 days to chase

down what would be their highest fourth-innings total to win a Test.

So South Africa very much on course to level the series at one apiece.

Well, we are into the final week of the Tour De France

and Britain's Chris Froome has retained the yellow jersey

Sunday's 190-kilometre mountain stage

was won by Trek Segafredo's flying Dutchman - Bauke Mollema.

It's being called New York's "Summer of Hell" -

the delays for tens of thousands of commuters as urgent repairs

are carried out at Penn Station, the busiest transportation

Donald Trump has promised to be an "infrastructure president",

but New Yorkers are complaining he's not doing enough for them,

It's a city of shimmering skyscrapers and evermore

Where commuter trains move in slow motion,

where some of the overhead lines that power them are more

The country's busiest rail route in the Northeast corridor relies

on bridges based on designs popularised in Britain

And this is America's fastest train, which slows to an embarrassing five

miles per hour on the approach to New York.

Routinely, they come to a complete halt because track closures reduce

this overloaded network to a single usable line.

It is horribly embarrassing, especially when I have

It is almost a third world country when it comes to infrastructure.

The rail tunnels into New York are in such a bad state of repair

that it is feared they may be forced to close before new ones are built.

We got a rare glimpse inside the nerve centre of the rail

network underneath Penn Station and it felt like

The tunnel was opened to service when the Wright Brothers switched

from their model A flyer to the model B flyer.

It is definitely time to build a new tunnel.

New York's Penn Station has been hit by a series of derailments,

earning it the nickname Pain Station, and that has prompted

the urgent repair programme of the so-called summer of hell.

There's absolutely a crisis of infrastructure here.

Everything behind me relies on tunnels that

They flooded during Superstorm Sandy and they are starting to go

There is really a possibility that we are going to lose

the connection under the Hudson river for the Northeast corridor,

and then see what happens when almost 100,000 people every day

have to find a new way to get to and from work.

Donald Trump has promised to be the infrastructure president,

but the recent spending bill that he pushed through Congress

actually withdrew funding for two major transportation projects -

the tunnels and improvements to the subway system -

More than 55,000 bridges across the country are

Making America great again requires modernising

It's been a momentous day for fans of the global hit

In an historic first, the lead character, who has

become a British icon, will be played by a woman.

The BBC has announced that Jodie Whittaker

She replaces the very popular Peter Capaldi.

Our entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba has more.

Time travel show Doctor Who making history.

Jodie Whittaker says she is overwhelmed, as a feminist,

as a woman and as an actor to be cast as the drama's

in the six months since Peter Capaldi announced he was stepping

down from the role, there has been a huge amount of speculation about who

his replacement will be. When he regenerates and this year's

Christmas Becchio. -- in this year's Christmas Becchio. Regeneration was

introduced in the 1960s on Doctor Who. An ingenious solution to

replace an actor leading the lead role. Since it has returned, it has

consistently been one of the BBC's biggest hits. A successful

combination of a province I fight format and the charismatic lead

actor. Expectation for the new Doctor is certain to be high.

Do you think all fans will welcome a female Doctor?

Some won't be sure but they should remember that Doctor Who is all

about change and this is potentially a really big, really

With the BBC having committed itself to greater diversity,

it will be hoping that today's announcement will not

only excite viewers, but clearly demonstrate

that the time travel show has moved firmly into the 21st century.

An international robotics competition for young people starts

It's called the First Global Challenge and aims to help

young people excel in Stem subjects - science, technology,

High schools from all over the world will compete for over six weeks

One of the teams had a trickier route to the finals than most.

Rejected for visas after two rounds of interviews and banned from

entering the United States, these young women never give up the fight

to achieve their dream. After running is Austin flight, the team

of six Afghan girls landed in Washington on Saturday to represent

the country in a global high school robotics competition. On Monday,

they compete against more than 160 countries to build robots that can

hit balls into goals, hang on bars and balance on balance beams. They

had been denied entry to the country due to district entry policies

introduced by US President Donald Trump. The cases become a flash

point in the debate about Mr Trumpefforts to tighten entrance

into the US. Critics said the row was emblematic of a broader effort

to stop Muslims entering the country. An extraordinary

last-minute reversal was announced on Wednesday when it was reported

the president personally intervene. A Homeland Security Department

spokesperson said that the request for the entry along with a chaperone

had been approved. A banker Trump, advocate and supporter of women in

science, treated her congratulations. The girls were

thrilled to be taking part. The President of the United States and

the people of America supported us in this case, which shows they have

not forgotten us. Nothing is impossible and everything is

possible. We have opportunities... For the people of Afghanistan, the

inclusion of these girls represents far more than entry to a science

competition. In a country where girls face significant limitations

in education as well as in personal lives, there is no hope for the

future. -- there is now hope. The Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau has met the son of Syrian refugees named

after the politician as a thank The two-month-old boy, whose full

name is Justin Trudeau Adam Bilan, seemed happy to fall asleep

as the Prime Minister briefly Can he do wrong? Babies falsely been

his arms. -- do no wrong? Don't forget, you can get

in touch with me and some Good evening. After a mostly cloudy

Saturday, things brightened up