�*sean diddy combs us rapper sean diddy combs apologises after video emerges of him attacking his ex—girlfriend. and city have become the first club to win four seasons in a row. welcome row. welco m e to row. welcome to bbc news broadcasting to viewers in uk and around the world. we begin this hour in iran where the search continues the helicopter carrying iran's president and foreign minister. president and foreign minister. president ebrahim raisi has been on a trip to iran's border with azerbaijan inaugurating a new dam project. we have 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 was 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 move to taiwan next because the country is preparing to inaugurate its new president, william lai. hundreds of opposition supporters rallied to protest four more years of democratic progressive party rule ahead of taiwan inauguration president—elect william lai. it is set to begin soon

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. here's our correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes reporting from taipei. so you can see here, this is troops from the taiwan military who are just going through their last rehearsal before all their last rehearsal before all the celebrations, the inauguration ceremony begins this morning. this is where it will take place on the stage behind me here. this is where president lai will make his inaugural address. president lai will make his inauguraladdress. he's president lai will make his inaugural address. he's going to come out here at 9:00 and greet the thousands of people who are now gathering — all the invited guests who have come here to watch this morning's inauguration. he will then go back inside the presidential building behind the stage here and there will be a greeting of

all the diplomats and all the ps who have come —— vips who have come. and at 11:00am, he'll come out and make his address. so this is the handover to a new presidency, william lai will be the new president of taiwan today, replacing tsai ing—wen, who has been the president here for the last eight years. and president lai will not have an easy start. we've already seen the opposition parties here in taiwan protesting in parliament and fighting in parliament, actually, over the last few days. and, of course, there's also always the reaction from china. he's not liked by china. we don't know how china might or might not react, but certainly, president lai is not going to have any honeymoon period before he has to get down and deal with the problems he's going to have to face. so that's the view from taiwan. let's cross over to the chinese mainland now and speak to our correspondent in beijing, stephen mcdonell.

is it getting much attention in taiwan where you are in china? when you say "a lot of attention", in the government—controlled media, it will be downplayed here. so we're not seeing enormous amounts of coverage of this. also because it hasn't happened yet, i gets —— guess. it there are bits and pieces. this is from the global times. for people who don't know, the global times is like the communist party's shock—jock communist pa rty�*s shock—jock tabloid communist party's shock—jock tabloid national ills press, so it's often rabbid. "taiwan's regional leader elect and head of secessionist democratic progressive party, william lai, who won with only 40% of the vote is scheduled to formally take office on monday. many taiwan people, including members of the opposition parties, have urged lai, not to further provoke the chinese

mainland by pushing hardline and secessionist against the mainland and cause more tensions for the region." notice the word "secessionist", they managed to pop it into the first two paragraphs there. so that's how it will be portrayed here. certainly, government in beijing doesn't like the ruling party in taipei. that's putting it mildly. urged people in taiwan to vote for not the dpp. it didn't work. and so, we're in for a few more years of tension, it would seem. and do we know how — tension, it would seem. and do we know how beijing _ tension, it would seem. and do we know how beijing views - tension, it would seem. and do we know how beijing views the | we know how beijing views the leadership of william lai, who is set to be inaugurated, compared to the outgoing president, tsai ing—wen? compared to the outgoing president, tsai ing-wen? well, from the messaging _ president, tsai ing-wen? well, from the messaging we're - from the messaging we're getting from the communist party, it isjust getting from the communist party, it is just more of the same. you know, they're urging him not to do this and not to do that. the assumption — like in the articles like the one i just read out, is that it is going to be bad. and it's not

like they're counting on him doing what they want him to do. so they're kind of pre—empting his leadership, if you like, by saying that it's going to be terrible. anyone who urges reunification is going to be persecuted in taiwan — this type of thing. so yeah, look — from the messaging we're getting from the chinese government, it'sjust more getting from the chinese government, it's just more of same. now, of course, another way in which they can apply pressure or the military flyovers, thejets, the ships coming close to taiwan, increasingly close. more and more tensions with fishermen on either side of the taiwan strait. and we might expect that being ramped up even more in the coming weeks, the coming months ahead. all right, we'll leave it there, thanks very much for that view from beijing. that's our beijing correspondent. benjamin ho is assistant professor at the china programme,

rajaratnam school of international studies. thank you for speaking to me. we heard from stephen talking about china's reaction to the incoming president, william lai, saying more of the same following in the footsteps of tsai ing—wen and tensions are not set to de—escalate at least. what's your take on what we should expect under william lai's presidency? i we should expect under william lai's presidency?— lai's presidency? i think certainly _ lai's presidency? i think certainly if _ lai's presidency? i think certainly if you - lai's presidency? i think certainly if you come - lai's presidency? i think. certainly if you come from lai's presidency? i think- certainly if you come from the chinese perspective, they obviously view a dpp regime as somewhat more problematic for the chinese. i think for william lai, some of the biggest foreign policy priorities really to ensure that the relationship with beijing remains on an even keel beijing remains on an even keel. but at the same time, to ensure that just like keel. but at the same time, to ensure thatjust like his ensure that just like his predecessor, ensure thatjust like his predecessor, tsai ing—wen, he's able to project taiwan's voice on the international stage. so i think that that is going to be very difficult, because beijing for a long time has always felt that under the dpp,

it is illegitimate. so i think that that is really going to be a challenge. but i think that a lot of the biggest challenges will also be on the domestic front. i think if you come from the taiwan ease perspective, there are a lot of domestic issues he has so sort out, including the cost of living, and, of course, his own party relationship with the kmt. we'll come to the kmt and the domestic political side. but let's talk through some of the concerns that people in taiwan have. when i was there for the elections, it seemed like a bread and butter issues were concerns. young people wanted jobs. cost of living was high. these are the sort of pressures that he's going to be under pressure to address?- pressure to address? most certainly- _ pressure to address? most certainly- i _ pressure to address? most certainly. i think _ pressure to address? most certainly. i think as - pressure to address? most certainly. i think as far - pressure to address? most certainly. i think as far as i certainly. i think as far as and as much as we like to think that foreign policy a big issue, i think if you go down to the ground in taiwan, a lot of it is bread and butter issues. so i think that president lai would have to ensure that notwithstanding whatever challenges he has or problems that he might have with beijing, that he's able to

care of the domestic constituents. because those are the people who brought him into power. the people who brought him into ower. �* , , . ~' the people who brought him into ower. �* , , ., ~' ., the people who brought him into ower. ~ , , .,~ ., ., the people who brought him into ower. ~ ,, .,~ ., ., �*, power. and speaking of how he's auoin to power. and speaking of how he's going to be _ power. and speaking of how he's going to be able _ power. and speaking of how he's going to be able to _ power. and speaking of how he's going to be able to fulfil- power. and speaking of how he's going to be able to fulfil or - going to be able to fulfil or help the people of taiwan, he does have a bit of a challenge, because his party, dpp, lost their majority in parliament in their majority in parliament in the last election. what does that mean for how he's going to be able to rule under his term as president? it be able to rule under his term as president?— as president? it really means that whatever _ as president? it really means that whatever policies - as president? it really means that whatever policies he's i that whatever policies he's going to enact, he would have to ensure that there is some elements of kmt support. because to some extent, the presence of the kmt reflects a particular political presence in taiwan, which he cannot do without. so it's going to be hard to push through some of the policies with regards to defence, and even with regards to how he wants to take cross—strait relations forward. so i think that it is going to be some kind of bartter. he has to figure a way out to ensure that he has got kmt support in some ways. that he has got kmt support in some wave— some ways. lots of challenges ahead for _ some ways. lots of challenges ahead for the _ some ways. lots of challenges ahead for the incoming - ahead for the incoming president. thank you very much for coming and speaking with

me. thank you. 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 neighbour. 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 fuelling 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.

that's the ukraine. 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. 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 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. 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. 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 saw that professional help. i had to go into therapy, going to 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. 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.

let's go back to taiwan and show you live pictures where the parade square is being prepared ahead of william lai's inauguration as the next president. mr lai won the election with around 40% of the vote. election with around 4096 of the vote. �* . ., , ., vote. and when it comes to relations — vote. and when it comes to relations with _ vote. and when it comes to relations with the _ vote. and when it comes to | relations with the mainland, his administration is expected to continue the firmline of his predecessor tsai ing—wen. china has previously labelled mr lai a troublemaker. that's all for newsday. goodbye for now. 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 northeast 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, it's 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 southeast 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 southwest 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.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. taiwan will swear in new president william lai today, as tensions with china remain elevated. voters in india's financial capital head to the polls, as the fifth phase of the general election gets under way. hello and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai.

william lai will be inaugurated as taiwan's president in a few hours, replacing the outgoing tsai ing—wen. whilst much of the focus will be on the new president's approach to cross—strait relations with china, a key focus for voters in january's election was taiwan's economy. gdp expanded byjust 1.3% as exports suffered due to a drop in global demand. another major election issue, youth unemployment. the jobless rate for the young is at over 11%. i asked economist woei chen ho for her perspective on what taiwan's new president should prioritise economically. taiwan's economy has been resilient _ taiwan's economy has been resilient over— taiwan's economy has been resilient over the _ taiwan's economy has been resilient over the last - taiwan's economy has been resilient over the last for i resilient over the last for years— resilient over the last for years with _ resilient over the last for years with growth - resilient over the last for. years with growth averaged resilient over the last for - years with growth averaged over three _ years with growth averaged over three point— years with growth averaged over three point for— years with growth averaged over three point for point _ years with growth averaged over three point for point 24% - three point for point 24% between _ three point for point 24% between 21 _ three point for point 24% between 21 and - three point for point 24% between 21 and 23. - three point for point 2496 between 21 and 23. that's des - ite between 21 and 23. that's despite the _ between 21 and 23. that's despite the pandemic. . between 21 and 23. that's despite the pandemic.

taiwan's