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. 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. caroline hawley, bbc news. let's speak to bahman kalbasi, our bbc persian service correspondent. thanks forjoining us. quickly get us up to speed then with

what you're hearing as being the latest information we have. they still haven't reached the crash site, therefore it's literally and practically in the dark as to where this crash happened and what happened to the passengers, including the president and the foreign minister. the fog in the rain, it was already difficult to reach it during the day so even at night, likely an impossibility. so first thing in the morning, we might get a better view of how far they have gone in their search and rescue, but as the hours pass, the chances of finding any of those on board alive obviously decreases. the posture of the regime, the way they have mustered their supporters to come out and pray, are all kind of in a familiar prelude to previous deaths of the regime officials in iran. the

previous deaths of the regime officials in iran.— officials in iran. the time now is 'ust officials in iran. the time now is just past — officials in iran. the time now isjust past 2:30am _ officials in iran. the time now isjust past 2:30am in - officials in iran. the time now isjust past 2:30am in iran, i isjust past 2:30am in iran, it's understandable that such operations have stopped for now. we are seeing on our bbc live page that falls rumours have been spreading online, can you give us some information on what is happening in iran? the initial hours _ what is happening in iran? tue: initial hours were what is happening in iran? tte: initial hours were shocked by everybody across the spectrum, but as the time has passed and the government has started to set the stage for the possibility that the president is dead, there are political implications that are immediate is first minister, first deputy will take over for 50 days, is first minister, first deputy will take overfor 50 days, and there has to be an election for a new president. that will introduce a lot of turmoil into a regime that is incredibly unpopular. there very president came in power and absence of any real competition with less

than 30% of eligible voters voting for him. there is that reality and there is the reality and there is the reality of people who oppose this regime publicly celebrating, and cheering. we've seen images of firecrackers in the streets of tehran, people expressing massive relief and even good riddance on social media. so iran is not a monolith but most certainly this government is in a minority when it comes to popular support. there's the other question of what will happen to theirforeign other question of what will happen to their foreign policy. that one is likely not going to be set by this president or his foreign minister which was mostly a messenger. the real decisions are made by the supreme leaders and the iogc. thank you for providing context for us. our persian service correspondent. let's speak to mansour farhang,

former professor of international relations at benington college and former iranian ambassador to the un. thank you forjoining me, months he wasn't the most popular president in iran, can you elaborate on that? the constitution _ you elaborate on that? the constitution of _ you elaborate on that? the constitution of iran - you elaborate on that? tte constitution of iran has separation of powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, but in reality the supreme leader has the absolute power to make any decision concerning any issue in the country and members of the parliament or the president are obligated to follow it. over the past 45 years, iran has set seven presidents. received over 70% of the votes, but once he raised some questions about hostagetaking and so forth, thenit

hostagetaking and so forth, then it was dismissed by khamenei and went to france as a refugee. the second one was assassinated. the third one was up assassinated. the third one was up to khamenei who would need replacing, by khamenei and he continues to be since 1988 the supreme leader. and the other president who was very close to him, for eight years he was speaker of the parliament but as president it was dismissed but his death was under very... circumstances that his children considered to be a work of his opponents, and he passed away. so all of them have already been disqualified for run for any other office. in reality we are talking about the country that went through a revolution 45 years ago and a revolution

has been extremely influential with potential d secularising the society. art and literature will imposing very restrictive limits to what people can write or the cinemas they can produce, yet in the constitution, the ayatollah is defined as, supreme leader is defined as, supreme leader is defined as, supreme leader is defined as the viceroy of blood and earth. therefore any questioning of his behaviour or priorities is considered to be a crime against the state. raisi was absolutely power, the symbol of the presidency which existed in the constitution but had absolutely no role in the priorities of domestic or international. it was simply equalling the position of the president so —— echoing the

post of the president. his presidency didn't have a significant impact on iranian politics. significant impact on iranian olitics. ~ ., significant impact on iranian olitics. ., ., ., politics. we have to leave it there. politics. we have to leave it there- for— politics. we have to leave it there. for marine _ politics. we have to leave it i there. for marine ambassador to there. for marine ambassador to the un. -- there. for marine ambassador to the un. —— former ambassador to the un. 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. 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".

the footage, aired by cnn earlier this week, appeared to show mr combs kicking and pushing his ex—girlfriend in a hotel hallway. in a recorded message on his instagram page, the rap star said he took full responsibility for his actions in the clip. 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's 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 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. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

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 towards joining 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 hours of the attempted assassination. 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. our 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. 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 like kai havertz, - and just seeing how close we were to just knowing this year we've just goti to give our all. and i genuinely believe - that we gave it everything this year and just so happens to be that man city going toe - to toe with arguably - the best team in the world. 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 muchl opportunities to young people in the local community. it's more thanjust 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. the season starts again on the 17th of august in case you're wondering. we don't have times to bring you these pictures, but i'lljust have to say goodbye. it's time. hello there. contrasting conditions as we head through this week. now, it's a dry and a warm start, with temperatures still above the seasonal average for most. lots of sunny spells around, but it will be turning cooler and then wetter and windier as we head through the middle part of the week. with heavy, more persistent outbreaks of rain, temperatures returning back to the seasonal average. now, this is how we're starting off monday morning. a fresher feel to things.

there are some patches of mist and fog around. lots of low cloud, particularly towards these eastern coastal areas. some fret and haar have moved in from the north sea. but the strong may sunshine will get to work on that low cloud and murk. despite the grey start, there'll be some sunny spells coming through — even, perhaps, for eastern areas of scotland, down through north—east england, where it's been cloudy and cool of late. a feed of cooler, drier air. but with the onshore breeze, it's always going to feel a little colder here. a scattering of showers across northern ireland, perhaps for north wales, and a few showers for southern england. but for most of us, it's dry, its warm and there will be a lot of sunshine around as well. a few more showers, though, overnight on monday into tuesday, just pushing northwards and westwards. again, some more fret and haar towards these north sea —facing coasts. but then in clearer spells out towards the east, temperatures could possibly drop as low as four degrees celsius. it's frost—free, but it's a cold start to the day for this time of year, for some. and then into tuesday, there will be further showers. they'll be tracking their way northwards and westwards.

a few more home—grown showers almost anywhere, too, with heavier downpours of rain possibly moving into the south—east of england. more showers across wales and northern ireland. but it'll still feel warm for the time of year. there'll still be some bright and sunny spells. possibly still 23 degrees celsius in south—west scotland. further south and east, in london, it's the chelsea flower show as we head through much of the rest of the week. do be prepared for some lower temperatures and a bit of wet weather at times as well. this area of low pressure will be moving in from the near continent as we head through wednesday and into thursday, tracking further northwards and westwards. so there will be some heavy downpours of rain, but still a lot of uncertainty, so do keep tuned to the forecast. but turning wetter, windier, cooler. temperatures closer to the seasonal average as we head through wednesday and thursday. possibly turning a bit warmer again for the start of the bank holiday weekend. bye— bye.

taiwan will swear in new president today as tensions with china remain elevated. voters in india's financial capital head to the polls as the fifth day of the general election gets under way.

welcome to business today this monday and we start the programme in taiwan, where william lai is set to be inaugurated as the next president in a few hours, replacing the outgoing president. much of the focus will be on the new president's approach across trade relations with china, but a key focus on the election was taiwan's economy. gdp expanded by 1.3% as exports suffered due to a drop in global demand. another major election issue, youth unemployment, thejobless rate unemployment, the jobless rate for the unemployment, thejobless rate for the young is over 11%. i asked and economist for her perspective on what the new president should prioritise. taiwan's has been very resilient over the last few years, with growth averaging around 3.4% between 20 and 90 to 2023. despite the pandemic, and this was driven to a large extent by a taiwan's dominus of

the global semiconductor industry, where it