in football, manchester city have become the first club to win the english premier league four seasons in a row. welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. we begin in iran, where a major search operation is under way after a helicopter carrying iran's president and its foreign minister crashed in the north—west of the country in thick fog. president ibrahim raisi had been on a trip to iran's border with azerbaijan. inaugurating a new dam project, right here. we've got an image of him on the ground at the site

of the dam and the helicopter he was travelling in. a convoy of three helicopters is believed to have then travelled across iranian territory. two returned back safely, but the one carrying the president and foreign minister crashed in mountainous territory in heavy fog. all contact with it was then lost. our correspondent caroline hawley reports. you can see how bad conditions were in the area, as the rescue operation was under way. a fleet of ambulances on standby. the army is reported to have ordered all resources needed to be thrown at the search. members of iran's red crescent scoured the rugged landscape on foot for any sign of the missing helicopter, but poor visibility made it difficult for the rescue teams to reach the scene of the crash — even to locate it. translation: there are currently three drone teams in the area - but due to the thick fog and low visibility, the drones were not able to successfully operate.

there are also three teams with rescue dogs in the area. we are searching and we hope we'll be able to reach positive results very soon. the first indication that something had gone wrong came on state—run television. translation: there are unconfirmed reports of an incident _ involving the helicopter carrying the president. initial reports cite a hard landing for the helicopter carrying the president. president raisi, seen here earlier with his counterpart from azerbaijan, is a hardliner. number two to the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei, who is the ultimate authority in iran. also missing is iran's foreign minister, a familiarfigure on the international stage. he'd been involved in many negotiations, including over the country's nuclear programme. regime supporters came out to pray for the president. these images broadcast on state—run tv. though not everyone in iran is praying for his survival.

the regime is not popular with many iranians, who would like to see an end to the islamic republic. but from its most senior leader, a message of calm, of continuity. hope that god will return the president and fellow travellers to the people. the iranian nation must not he worried and rest assured, there will be no disruption to the running of the country. late at night, there's no news of the fate of the president and his foreign minister. several arab countries have offered assistance. turkey has sent a mountain rescue team and the eu will help with the satellite mapping service at the request of tehran. the world is watching closely to what happens next in iran. let's speak to mehran kamrava who is professor of government at georgetown university in qatar unit at the arab centre

for research and policy studies. thanks forjoining me today. let's thanks for “oining me today. let's aet u- to thanks forjoining me today. let's get up to speed — thanks forjoining me today. let's get up to speed then _ thanks forjoining me today. let's get up to speed then and help out our viewers that may not be so familiar with iran, what should we know about the president of the foreign minister? —— foreign minister? he foreign minister? -- foreign minister?— minister? he is a traditional conservative, _ minister? he is a traditional conservative, a _ minister? he is a traditional conservative, a hardliner, . minister? he is a traditional conservative, a hardliner, a| minister? he is a traditional - conservative, a hardliner, a figure that has come through the ranks of the judiciary. that has come through the ranks of thejudiciary. he is the that has come through the ranks of the judiciary. he is the ultimate insider and close confidant of the supreme leader, khamenei. he has had some successes in instituting the good neighbour policy, relations with saudi arabia have improved, relations with russia and china have improved. but raisi on the whole has not been necessarily terribly popular president.— not been necessarily terribly popular president. could you

elaborate — popular president. could you elaborate on _ popular president. could you elaborate on that? _ popular president. could you elaborate on that? how- popular president. could you - elaborate on that? how president raisi is seen by the public in iran? well, president raisi ordered a clamp down on people wearing improper hejob a couple of clamp down on people wearing improper he job a couple of weeks ago, —— hijab a couple improper he job a couple of weeks 390, -- hijab a couple of improper he job a couple of weeks ago, —— hijab a couple of weeks ago. particularly with the upper middle classes and upper classes, the less conservative segments of iranian society and given the fact that raisi, he likes charisma, he has been tremendously conservative and didn't really come to power as a result of electoral search and through massive electoral mandate, he's never really been terribly popular with the population. find

popular with the population. and the resident popular with the population. and the president was _ popular with the population. and the president was returning _ popular with the population. and the president was returning from - popular with the population. and the president was returning from the - president was returning from the iran azerbaijan border, where he had been opening to dams with azerbaijan's president. it been opening to dams with azerbaijan's president. it was an incredibly significant _ azerbaijan's president. it was an incredibly significant trip - azerbaijan's president. it was an | incredibly significant trip because iran and azerbaijan have had significant tensions in recent years, so this was supposed to be a major breakthrough in diplomatic relations, demonstration of fraternal ties between the two states. and so the fact that the president has now suffered this major accident and probably he might have perished, is a major setback for the iranian state. have perished, is a ma'or setback for the iranian state._ have perished, is a ma'or setback for the iranian state. now, we saw sureme for the iranian state. now, we saw supreme leader _ for the iranian state. now, we saw supreme leader khamenei - for the iranian state. now, we saw supreme leader khamenei calling l supreme leader khamenei calling for calm, what does this particularly mean, as far as the particles for running the country now? iran has a

number of — running the country now? iran has a number of constitutional _ running the country now? iran has a number of constitutional means - running the country now? iran has a number of constitutional means in l number of constitutional means in place for continuity in case the president or the supreme leader vacates the office for some reason. and so what khamenei was doing, he was trying to reassure the public that the government's business is running as usual, very interestingly he said the borders are safe, the country is safe, there is security across the country, and so what he is trying to do by the answer of coming to national television and reassuring the public, he is trying to make sure that the people are calm, and that there is no panic. there is, i have to say, inside iran, a sense of anxiety, knowing that both the president and the foreign minister might have died in this accident.—

this accident. we'll leave it there for now, thank _ this accident. we'll leave it there for now, thank you _ this accident. we'll leave it there for now, thank you so _ this accident. we'll leave it there for now, thank you so much - this accident. we'll leave it there for now, thank you so much for l for now, thank you so much for your insight today. professor of government at georgetown university in qatar. . ~ government at georgetown university in qatar. ., ,, , ., hundreds of opposition supporters rallied in taipei to protest four more years of democratic progressive party rule ahead of taiwan inauguration president—elect william lai. it is set to take place in the next few hours and we will be following the latest developments. lai will take the helm as taiwan faces increasing diplomatic and military pressures from neighbouring china, which claims the self—ruled island as part of its territory. but his administration will also have to work with a fractious parliament after voters in january revoked his party's majority. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

sean "diddy" combs has said that cctv footage showing him attacking

singer cassie in a hotel in 2016 is "inexcusable" and that he is "disgusted". speaking in a video posted to his instagram page, the rap star said he took full responsibility for his actions in the clip. the footage, aired by cnn earlier this week, appeared to show mr combs kicking and pushing his ex—girlfriend in a hotel hallway. cassie's legal team told the bbc�*s us partner cbs news that his new statement is "more about himself than the many people he has hurt". here is his statement. i mean, i hit rock bottom, but i make no excuses. my behaviour on that video is inexcusable. i take full responsibility for my actions in that video. disgusted, i was disgusted then when i did it. i'm disgusted now. i went and i saw that

professional help. i went and i sought out professional help. i had to go into therapy, go into rehab. i had asked god for his mercy and grace. i'm so sorry. but i'm committed to be a better man each and every day. i'm not asking for forgiveness. i'm truly sorry. thousands of people continue to take to the streets of the georgian capital tbilisi, protesting about a new law that they say will stifle free speech. european political leaders have expressed concern about the legislation, saying georgia is abandoning its path towards eu membership and moving closer to its neighbour russia. although the law was vetoed yesterday by georgia's president, it's likely to come into force soon. andrew harding reports from tbilisi.

it's not easy being russia's neighbor. and right now, the tiny nation of georgia is in trouble. on the streets of the capital, tbilisi, the young are protesting in huge numbers, angry that their government seems to be moving closer to russia and wrecking georgia's path towardsjoining the european union. russia tries very, very hard to pull us back to them because russia has this mentality to have this big empire like it was in ussr and they have this big dream which they never left. you don't want that? of course we don't want that. at issue, a new law that looks like a kremlin—style measure to limit freedoms. i want a better future for my children. i cannot see a better future in the country which will get the laws like this. you don't have to travel far from tbilisi to understand

georgia's fears about russia. an hour away lies one of two big chunks of territory occupied by russian troops. i can see a big russian military base, army trucks, barbed wire. this view says so much about georgia today, its fears of more russian aggression and the widespread belief that the kremlin is always meddling here, stirring up trouble, trying to weaken georgia's independence. but how should georgia respond? older people here seem more wary of provoking the kremlin. we don't want war, says zhuzhana. we're just a small country. georgian government officials go further, accusing the west of bullying them, of fueling instability here.

translation: the main thing we want is peace. l maintaining peace. we will not let our country share the same destiny as ukraine and what's happening there. but is this peace? security footage of an opposition mp being attacked by masked thugs. activists here are being targeted by the security forces and badly beaten, kremlin—style. my nose is broken. this bone is broken. the bone which holds an eye. we all know that in russia does not more exist any free society, there is no free ngos. do you worry that that's going to come and happen here as well? yeah. so we are on the way. which explains why these street

protests are continuing. a russian flag set on fire. young georgians have made their choice. they are determined to have a future inside europe. but with an ever more aggressive, authoritarian russia right next door, it's going to be a long struggle. we are georgia, they shout. but this country's future, its very identity, hang in the balance. andrew harding, bbc news, tbilisi. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines... slovakia's interior minister has said the man who shot and critically wounded the prime minister, robert fico, may not have been acting alone. a special team is investigating the possibility of collusion because the suspect�*s facebook and communication history was deleted within several hours of the attempted assassination.

neither the suspect nor his wife deleted the material, suggesting help from at least one other person. earlier, medicalstaff said mr fico's life was no longer in danger. spain is recalling its ambassador to argentina following comments by the argentine president, javier milei, apparently referring to the spanish prime minister and his wife. speaking at a far—right conference in madrid, mr milei appeared to accuse pedro sanchez�*s wife of corruption, without naming the couple. pakistan says it's repatriating more than 500 students from kyrgyzstan after mob violence broke out in the capital, bishkek, targeting foreigners and migrant workers. the foreign minister said three specially—chartered flights had been arranged. in the uk — people affected by the contaminated blood scandal have held a vigil in westminster this evening, on the eve of the publication of the independent inquiry�*s final report.

there's speculation that the government is setting aside £10 billion for a compensation package. more than 30,000 people were given infected blood products by the nhs decades ago — about 3,000 died as a result, most from hepatitis c or hiv. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. remembering loved ones, victims of the infected blood scandal. campaigners gathered at westminster ahead of the public inquiry report out tomorrow as politicians agreed it should be above party politics with failings over decades by successive governments. and the idea it's taken all of this time to get to the truth, i think is heartbreaking. i haven't seen the report yet. the government has already said that it will want to respond quickly to it. it looks like the government is going to do the right thing and they will have our wholehearted support in that. and we will make sure that victims have the certainty of knowing that if there's a change of government later this year, a labour government will honour that commitment.

the chancellor, jeremy hunt, told the sunday times that families had every right to be incredibly angry, that politicians hadn't acted fast enough. it's reported he's preparing a compensation package of around £10 billion. the inquiry report will examine why blood for transfusions and products for other conditions were given to patients even after warnings they were infected with hiv and hepatitis c. home testing kits for hep c are available, but bbc news analysis found that more than 1,700 patients have the virus because of treatment decades ago and still don't know it. demand for test kits has soared. dame anita roddick, founder of the body shop, was one of the uk's best known entrepreneurs. she had hep c because of a blood transfusion, which wasn't detected for many years. she died in 2007. my mum had a kind of very dangerous birth with me in 1971 that led her to having

a haemorrhage. her daughter sam says she feels solidarity with all those affected. my mum was a champion of all people'sjustice, but this has made her a part of a collective. and so i'm hoping all of the people who have been hurt and damaged as we have been hurt and damaged by such a heinous act, i hope there is some collective comfort. another key issue for the inquiry was the use of infected blood products for haemophiliacs obtained from paid foreign donors. part of what's been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the nhs. for these campaigners and many others, tomorrow will be a momentous day. for years, they feel their voices weren't heard and they were ignored by those in authority. while other leading health care systems tackled the blood scandal some time ago with compensation and in some cases, criminal convictions.

they're clear what they want from the report, truth and justice. hugh pym, bbc news. a 14—year—old boy has died after getting into difficulty in the river tyne yesterday afternoon. a 13—year—old boy remains in a critical condition in hospital after being pulled from the water. 0ur correspondent andy gill reports from 0vingham in northumberland. there was a police presence here today at the point where the boys went swimming, a rope swing here is popular with young people. after a major search and rescue operation, a 14—year—old boy was declared dead at the scene, and a 13 year taken to hospital where he is said to be critical. 0ne resident told us the river has been a magnet for young people for decades. this happens all the time, it is seen as a rite of passage for the young ones to go

on the water and go swimming, when i was that age i used to do it, it is just something we all do at that age. 0n hot days like that, the only way you can think of cooling down is going for a swim in the river. two years ago, another 13—year—old boy drowned in this stretch of the river, and last year, northumberland fire service criticised a group of youths who ignored requests to get out of the water, which is full of strong currents and hidden dangers such as rocks beneath the surface. after the fatality two years ago, a local councillor, who herself nearly drowned in the river tyne as a teenager, started campaigning for better education in schools about the dangers of the river. we need to get the message out that this river is not safe to swim in, we need to do more about how to make people aware, maybe some training in local schools.

police have described the incident is absolutely tragic. the boys' families are being supported by specialist officers. andy gill, bbc news, northumberland. there are celebrations in manchester tonight, after man city won the english premier league for a record breaking fourth consecutive time. they beat west ham 3—1 at the etihad stadium — and our sports editor dan roan has more. city's domination of the english game goes to an entirely new level. never before has a team won four consecutive top division titles, six in seven as well. still, the fa cup final to come next week. it's testament to the quality of these players, the manager, the recruitment as well. and yet despite all that brilliance, the standards that this club has set for the english game, there are questions too — some have concerns about whether or not they're making it too predictable, whether the competitiveness of the premier league is being distorted. of course, the sovereign wealth of the abu dhabi owners of this club has helped in some part to achieve that. now city would say other clubs have

lots of money and they haven't spent it as well and also have enjoyed eras of dominance in the past too. but then of course, this is the second title, city of one, since they were hit with an unprecedented catalogue of more than 100 charges of alleged financial rule breaches by the premier league last year relating to a series of seasons up to 2018. now, city deny wrongdoing. but until that case is resolved and we don't understand there's a hearing until the autumn, there will be doubts over the fairness of how the foundations for this current success were achieved, alongside undoubted admiration for a very special team and its next manager. manchester city fan james edney said he never got tired of his team winning. it's an amazing feeling, every single time we do it is like the first time. i think that is the sole focus of absolutely every single thing we do well is the manager. i think you know, we've seen absolutely amazing teams across history winning league titles and may be winning again and you know, it all comes down to,

do you have a set up in place and a manager who is going to keep pushing these players on every single time? and he doesn't let up. he is relentless and we're absolutely blessed to have someone like him managing ourteam. whilejeremiah asiamah, a presenter and dj, says he's disappointed but he's still inspired by arsenal's performance this season. the character in the changing rooms, the players we put in _ i like kai havertz, and just seeing. how close we were to just knowing this year we've just got to give our all. | and i genuinely believe that we gave it everything this year _ and just so happens to be that man cityi going toe to toe with arguably the best team in the world. i i mean, you've got to give yourself a pat on the back for that. - even seeing how they move in terms of their community aspect, - like offering so much- opportunities to young people in the local community. it's more than just a football club. it's a community. so the moment you put i

on a shirt like this, it's not just being an arsenal fan. you become the arsenal family. so it's down to everyone. let's bring you these live pictures from jolfa, an iranian town next to the azerbaijan border, where rescue operation continues. iranian state news agency irna reports that although the site of the presumed crash has not yet been found, the search area is narrowing and now has a 2km radius. good evening. it really has been a weekend of contrast. once again, we've had a few storms develop through the afternoon, fewer than we had yesterday, but 2a in the warm sunshine. and it should stay warm and dry to start for many of us. but it will turn cooler through the week, as wetter and windy conditions arrive. and of course, it hasn't been warm sunshine for all. we've had stubborn sea fog around the north sea coast,

some of the irish sea coast as well. so just a cool 12 today. and then that sea fog mist and low cloud will return back inland as we go through the night. so some fog again around tomorrow morning, particularly across eastern areas. cooler, slightly fresher than it was last night. could be some fog further west as well. so all in all, i think quite a grey and misty start for many of us on our monday morning once again. the fog and that low cloud retreats back to the coast and we should see less of it through monday than we've seen during the weekend. and the same goes for the irish sea coasts. but we could still have one or two showers, slow—moving thunderstorms as we go through the afternoon, because once again, in that sunshine, temperatures will leap up to the high teens and low 20s. they're a little bit lower temperatures than they've been today, just because it'll be a chillier start for some of us. and then through monday evening and overnight, we'll probably pick up more mist and low cloud once again and perhaps a few more showers will come into eastern areas. and we've got this weather system approaching to the west. so a slightly chillier night.

again, fours and fives actually as we start tuesday morning. not really a frost—level worry, but certainly chillier than it has been now. tuesday looks like a slightly more unsettled day, more showers around, if you like, particularly for the west, northern ireland. as that weather front comes in, those showers turn thundery and also central and northern areas or, sorry, eastern and northern areas. that means that with a bit more cloud around, there might well be temperatures a little bit lower and one or two potentially around for the chelsea flower show. of course, that's coming up through this week, a little bit drier towards the end of the week. the reason for the unsettled weather tuesday night into wednesday is this area of low pressure approaching for the east as well as weather fronts approaching from the west. all in all, it looks like it'll turn wetter and windier for the midweek period. so a rather unsettled looking picture by that stage. perhaps fewer showers friday and saturday, but still a rather unsettled looking picture, with temperatures closer to average.

this is bbc news. we will have the headlines at the top of the hour as newsday continue straight after hardtalk. welcome to hardtalk from helsinki. i'm stephen sackur. from this vantage point, looking out at the gulf of finland, and with the russian borderjust two

hours' drive away, it's easy to understand the strategic significance of finland joining nato. much to moscow's dismay, the baltic sea is now very much nato's back yard, and that long russia—finland border is a zone of rising tension. my guest today is the president of finland, alexander stubb. hasjoining nato really boosted finland's security? president alexander stubb, welcome to hardtalk. thank you. let me begin with something you said just last month. europe, you said, has just a few years to change its thinking from the la—la land of post—cold war complacency.