hello, i'm helena humphrey. glad you could join us. a major search operation is taking place in the mountains of north—west iran, where a helicopter carrying its president and foreign minister has gone missing. here are the two men believed to have been on board. president ebrahim raisi on the left, and the country's foreign minister, hossein amir—abdollahian on the right. russia and turkey have joined the search for the helicopter. these are the latest pictures from a turkish surveillance drone which has identified a source of heat suspected to be the wreckage. turkey has shared the co—ordinates with iran. and this is footage from russia showing a rescue helicopter being loaded onto a plane, which is headed to the mountainous terrain as bad weather is hampering the search. borzou daragahi is a senior fellow at the atlantic

council and an iranian journalist. he explains who ebraham raisi is and how he came to power. raisi was a mid— ranking cleric who is in the inner circle of the supreme leader and one of his close allies and, you know, he became president after all of the reformist and moderate candidates were pretty much disqualified in an election that was considered illegitimate and many voters stayed away from. —— in an election that was considered engineered and many voters stayed away from. for more on this, i spooke to our persian correspondent khashayarjoneidi. what is the latest we are hearing from authorities in tehran? one news that came out a few moments ago is that turkey's drone that was dispatched has identified a source of heat which they say may be related to the crash site.

it has been a long day and night for rescue workers in iran. this is treacherous terrain, mountainous area with thick forest, it has been raining with heavy fog through the day. sub zero temperatures tonight there and it is difficult and messy. there have been contradictory reports coming out of the area regarding finding the possible crash site so the latest news that we have is that the turkish drone has identified a location which they see as a heat source and it may be where the plane has crashed. can you give us some context here? how do iranians feel about their president? if you want iranian tv tonight what you will have seen are scenes of people gathering in main squares in cities and towns like tehran and praying for raisi. on the contrary when you go

to social media you see hundreds and hundreds of people making jokes and posting pictures and making fun of what has happened. iran is highly polarised society and the government has its own base of support which has been shrinking because of economic problems, because of corruption, because of the recent brutal crackdown of anti—government protests. however, on the opposite side you have people who are not happy with the situation and i have to mention that history will notjudge president raisi is one the most popular presidents of the republic. he was not popular before becoming president. his name is somehow associated with the death committee is responsible for the execution of thousands of leftist prisoners in the 1980s in iran this and i would say that it is a mixed feeling but mostly the opposition are showing

their happiness and there have been pictures and videos coming out of different houses in iran where people have been setting firecrackers. and if, stressing if here because we do not have a full picture of the situation but if the president does not make it, how is power transferred in iran? first of all the title as president but you have to take consider this, that the president is not the highest office in iran. it is the supreme leader who is the final arbiter. he is the person with the final say in local politics, in local decisions and also foreign policy. he is the commander—in—chief. the president is simply

the chief executive branch and oversees the operations of the government. the constitution is clear here. in case a president is deceased or missing or unable to function it is his first deputy president who will take over the responsibility and together with the heads of parliament and the judiciary system are supposed to hold an election within 50 days to choose the next president. joining me to discuss is trita parsi, co—founder and executive vice president of the quincy institute for responsible statecraft. welcome to you and thank you for being with us. i want to begin by getting your thoughts on what we have seen today and also the level of information coming out of iran right now and what we can expect to hear from the regime in the coming hours and days here? i

from the regime in the coming hours and days here?- hours and days here? i think the expectation _ hours and days here? i think the expectation at _ hours and days here? i think the expectation at this - hours and days here? i think the expectation at this point| the expectation at this point is that in a few hours, morning time in tehran there will be an announcement that even if they may have found the helicopter it looks extremely unlikely that there will be any survivors. they may have survived the crash but surviving the night in the cold is a different story, particularly if they are already injured. very likely we will go towards some sort of a process of notjust the vice president taking over but there will announce elections in 50 days which will be a difficult thing for them, mindful of how apathetic public is right now since they have lost faith in the chance of actually bringing about any change through the ballot box. i about any change through the ballot box— about any change through the ballot box. i want to ask more about that- — ballot box. i want to ask more about that. as _ ballot box. i want to ask more about that. as you _ ballot box. i want to ask more about that. as you say - ballot box. i want to ask more about that. as you say the - about that. as you say the regime appears to be unpopular and participation has been low. in recent parliamentary

elections. so what do you anticipate happening if that is the case? if people are called on to go to the ballot box here? ~ , ._ , on to go to the ballot box here? ~ , , ., ., here? well, they may try to do a safe bet _ here? well, they may try to do a safe bet which _ here? well, they may try to do a safe bet which is _ here? well, they may try to do a safe bet which is to - here? well, they may try to do a safe bet which is to just - a safe bet which is to just have a few variations of the same type of conservative candidate and people will not participate and they will say it is because of the short period of preparation time or they may try to drum up some degree of enthusiasm by ensuring that there actually are some real choices on the ballot. in the last few elections they have essentially eliminated any real candidates who could be a threat to the conservatives which is part of the reason why people are apathetic and have given up on the idea of change through the ballot box. even the very sensitive issue of the secession of the supreme leader that makes succession of the supreme leader is likely to pass on the next few years it

is not seem likely that they will take the opportunity to actually bring in some different candidates. they will most likely play it safe, i would suspect. fin most likely play it safe, i would suspect.— most likely play it safe, i would suspect. on that point for those _ would suspect. on that point for those iranians, _ would suspect. on that point for those iranians, those - would suspect. on that point| for those iranians, those very many iranians who have been out on the streets and have been protesting and putting themselves at risk here. you do not essentially think they will bring a sigh of relief and think that there will be any kind of real change here? in policies?— kind of real change here? in olicies? ., �* ., policies? no. at the end of the da raisi policies? no. at the end of the day raisi was _ policies? no. at the end of the day raisi was not _ policies? no. at the end of the day raisi was not an _ policies? no. at the end of the day raisi was not an important| day raisi was not an important or impactful president, he was not a driving force behind any of the policies pursued under his presidency. in his absence from the scene it is not likely to impact any particular aspect of the policy. it is the consequences of his absence, however, in terms of the potential crisis within the

regime as well as further infighting, et cetera that may bring about the idea that he was a driving force of any particular policy is quite a stretch. ., ,., stretch. on that point president _ stretch. on that point president raisi - stretch. on that point i president raisi thought potentially to have been groomed to become the next supreme leader of iran. of that succession does not then unfold do you think that could cause some more domestic turmoil and instability? it some more domestic turmoil and instabili ? . ., , instability? it can certainly create turmoil _ instability? it can certainly create turmoil within - instability? it can certainly create turmoil within the l create turmoil within the structures of the regime itself. the competition for this role is very intense and they are trying to keep a lid on it, speculation about raisi being a front runner at this point is reallyjust it is not entirely clear and i don't think the regime wants its hand to be known on this matter. there is a suspicion of

power—play here and that could really intensify tensions in regard to the succession process. from a us perspective what is potentially problematic is that if the iranian regime ends up with a debilitating crisis at this point you may end up seeing a less control of tehran over some of their militia in iraq and syria that it has been supporting who actually want to be more aggressive towards the united states ante run has rained them in. if that is seem to happen and you actually start seeing militia starting to attack us troops again that will obviously be a problematic situation.— situation. very interesting anal sis situation. very interesting analysis there. _ situation. very interesting analysis there. thank - situation. very interesting j analysis there. thank you. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

let's look at another story making news. police have confirmed a 14—year—old boy who got into difficulties, along with another teenager, in the river tyne has died. the spot at ovvingham in northumberland is notorious, and known as a dangerous part of the river. andy gill has been speaking to locals. it is a rite of passage for young ones to go in the water and go swimming. when i was their age i used to do it. it is something we all do up there on a hot day like that the only way to cool down is to go 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 despite being warned about strong currents and hidden dangers such as rocks beneath the surface. local councillor, angie scott, who got into difficulty swimming further up the river as a teenager, said the community was

"devastated" at another death. she has been calling for more nearby safety equipment. you're live with bbc news. us national security advisorjake sullivian met with israeli prime minister benjamin netayahu on sunday. the visit comes as israel's military continue operations in rafah. mr sullivian is expected to push the prime minister to avoid a full scale assault but an israeli official told reuters that mr netanyahu and his aides would try to reach an agreement with mr sullivan to push into rafah. israel previously rejected a proposed �*permanent�* ceasfire and realease of hostages calling it unacceptable. the us stated earlier they will stop supplying some weapons if israel launched a major ground offensive. for more on the situation on the ground, i spoke with hamish young a senior emergency coordinator for unicef in gaza. i understand that you are there in rafah. bring us up—to—date with the situation on the ground. the situation on the ground here in rafah and right

across the gaza strip is catastrophic. as you know on may 6 the rafah incursion started and we had tanks and troops move in from the east. in anticipation of that, people have been moving out of rafah for some time and the movement of the idf into rafah rapidly accelerated that and i think it is important to remember that the people who are moving out are the people who have the means to move out and somewhere to go so the people left behind in rafah are acutely vulnerable. they are the people unable to move. we think over 800,000 people have now left rafah and also important to remember that they have gone to extremely difficult areas, places like khan younis which have already been subject to intense fighting. there is no infrastructure there for them, no health facilities, no freshwater and virtually no food. in addition to that there has been fighting on the north for the last week in and around jabalia and around

100,000 or so people have moved out of there. when you put that together it is well over one third, nearly half the population of the gaza strip have been displaced again in the last two weeks. this is a population that has already been displaced multiple times in the seven months of this war. the impact on children in particular is devastating. the idf has said the operation on the ground there in rafah is not a full—scale one, the one that you were describing that has been under way since may 6. nonetheless you just described it as catastrophic. were it to be a full—scale operation on the ground there in rafah with so many vulnerable people trying to take some kind of shelter there, what could we see? i don't know how to describe what would be so far beyond catastrophic. there is already dire lack of health services because the rafah crossing has been closed and because we cannot bring any food

from the north down to the south, even the little that is getting in. the south is now running out of food. there are thousands of children already being treated for malnutrition, there are already high rates of dysentery and diarrhoea. for example, the rate of acute diarrhoea is 20 times higher than you would normally find at this time of year. and i am sure you and your viewers know how easily diarrhoea can kill children. there is a lack of shelter, children and people are extremely vulnerable. if the incursion does come they have no protection and nowhere to go and they have no medical services to treat the inevitable injuries and death that would follow. you were talking there about children, how vulnerable they are with malnutrition and acute diarrhoea and so on and i know unicef focuses on the plight of children but i wonder as well,

speaking to the parents there who have moved from place to place across the gaza strip, how are they doing psychologically when they are in the very difficult situation, for any parent of not being able to guarantee their children's survival? they are really really suffering. they are really strange. i make a point every day of going for a walk around the displaced population around our office where we work and talk to people. i was talking to one family who were packing up and leaving a couple of days ago and asking where they were going and they said they were going back to their home in khan younis which they knew had been destroyed. they said they would rather put up a shelter in the ruins of their home than stay. but while they were talking the father, the elderly gentleman, he tried to hang on and he started breaking down and sobbing and then the kids

started crying and sobbing and the kids started asking when will it all end, when will it stop? this is just an example. sometimes that can get lost in the overwhelming numbers but these are real people and they are suffering enormously. this is just one of hundreds of thousands of examples of what people are going through here in gaza. that is why we need a ceasefire and we need it now. you think there are chances of that? we know that us national security adviser to the president, jack sullivan has been speaking with benjamin netanyahu. your thoughts on whether that will come to pass? here on the ground we do not have any inside information. we watched the news services in the social media like everybody else. all i can say is that what we do see on the ground is an overwhelming and desperate need that really cannot be met by anything other than a ceasefire. humanitarian agencies, the un and unicef, the ngos, we can all make a contribution to easing humanitarian suffering

but it is overwhelming particularly for children, which is why a ceasefire is the only viable option. the only thing that will help the children of gaza now. william ley was sworn in as the new taiwanese president in a ceremony in taipei on monday. this was the scene live in taipei. bring the inauguration speech he expressed the need for peace on both sides. he is being sworn in as the divide between taiwan and china deepens. mr lai is a strong defender of sovereignty and democracy in taiwan and beijing regards it as adept as that make dangerous separatists. china has stepped up activity around the island since he was elected in january. presidentjoe biden delivered the commencement address at morehouse college in atlanta, georgia on sunday morning. in his speech, president biden references israel's war in gaza. it's the source of recent campus protests that took place at universities across the us.

he acknowledged anger over the war by citing his push for a deal to pause the conflict in exchange for the release of hostages. mr biden was largely uninterrupted by protests that have shut down graduations elsewhere. however, there was a group of protestors outside of the venue. 0ur north america correspondent nomia iqbal is in georgia and has more. it does not appear that we have that report. let us move on then. we do have it. wherever then. we do have it. wherever the president travels so do protesters. many are angry at mr biden�*s staunch support for israel and its war against hamas militants which has seen thousands of palestinians killed in gaza. dozens of universities in the united

states witnessed protests and arrests in recent weeks. while moorhouse did not see any encampments there has been unhappiness at mr biden being here. students silently express their protest. 0thers here. students silently express their protest. others out loud. it is my stance as a moorhouse student, and they as a human being to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the gaza strip. and permanent ceasefire in the gaza strip-— gaza strip. the president addressed _ gaza strip. the president addressed it. _ gaza strip. the president addressed it. i— gaza strip. the president addressed it. i support i addressed it. i support peaceful— addressed it. i support peaceful nonviolent. addressed it. i support - peaceful nonviolent protest. your voices should be heard and i promise you i will hear them. it is not a coincidence that president biden is delivering this speech. in georgia. it is a key swing state he needs to win in the presidential election in november and one third of the population here is black, an important voting bloc he is struggling to reach.

recent polls and battleground states suggest that his republican rival donald trump is winning more than 20% of black voters in a 2—way match. mr biden promoted what he had done lately for the audience. to make a difference? he did not get my vote. hat to make a difference? he did not get my vote.— not get my vote. not getting our not get my vote. not getting your vote? — not get my vote. not getting your vote? no. _ not get my vote. not getting your vote? no. what - not get my vote. not getting your vote? no. what would i not get my vote. not getting i your vote? no. what would he have to do _ your vote? iiru what would he have to do to get it? your vote? no. what would he have to do to get it? we - your vote? no. what would he have to do to get it? we are l have to do to get it? we are graduating _ have to do to get it? we are graduating and _ have to do to get it? we are graduating and in _ have to do to get it? we are graduating and in debt. - have to do to get it? we are graduating and in debt. we | have to do to get it? we are - graduating and in debt. we need help with debt. if you are coming to say hello we appreciate that but we could have done that with an african—american figure. have done that with an african—americanfigure. some african—american figure. some of african—americanfigure. some of my friends were not so happy to have president biden here, thatis to have president biden here, that is understandable that i still go of the fact that he is still go of the fact that he is still the most powerful man in the world. by the time november comes i will make my own decision and i will say from does not have my vote. they may have been — does not have my vote. they may have been little _ does not have my vote. they may have been little protest _ does not have my vote. they may have been little protest here - have been little protest here but there was also little enthusiasm. black voters he helped president biden to his 2020 election victory and four years later it is not a certainty will happen again.

rapper sean �*diddy�* combs has made an apology for what he called his inexcusable behavior towards singer casandra �*cassie' ventura. the apology comes after cnn obtained 2016 hotel footage of a man throwing ms ventura to the floor, kicking her, then trying to throw an object at her. combs posted the apology video to instagram saying "i was disgusted when i did it. i'm disgusted now." ms ventura's legal team told cbs news that his statement is more about himself than the people he hurt and when other women came forward about being assulted, he denied everything. at least 155 people have been killed in flooding in brazil, where unprecedented rainfall has left huge areas under water. around 600,000 people have been displaced. continuing bad weather is hampering rescue efforts in the city of porto alegre, from where our south america correspondent ione wells sent this report. this the roads that connect these cities,

these cities that hold people's homes, some now entirely under water. helicopters are the only way to reach some people who need help. this woman had a stroke, but ambulances would not be able to get her to hospital in time. she lives near a lake that has flooded the surrounding roads. even by helicopter, we arrive hours later than needed after a stroke. these rescues are not without their risks. as we fly back, the weather turns bad. visibility is poor. rescue flights are called off for the day. the aim is to get people to safety. about 6,000 people are now living in this university sports hall that has been converted into a shelter. people here are coming to terms with having lost everything. they don't know when they will be able to return home, if they will have a home to go back to, and some are fearful about going back to a place they worry could flood again. albertina is here with her husband, sons and grandchildren, after being rescued

from theirflooded home. translation: “3:61 helicopters passed by and none of them stopped. then it started to rain. my son, who is here, he was at the window, shouting that his father was old and couldn't walk, and then a boat came and picked us up. i came with just the clothes on my body. i was very sad, really sad. i didn't even sleep five nights, but after i saw that, it seems like everyone is going to help us, so i think i'm not worrying any more. i'm really not. hope is what albertina holds on to — hope of soon returning home. looking down on her flooded city, that seems a distant prospect. ione wells, bbc news in porto alegre, brazil. and before we go, a reminder of our top story. a major search operation is continuing in north—west iran, where a helicopter

carrying its president ebrahim raisi and its foreign minister has crashed. search team have reached the wreckage according to state tv. the air craft crashed in a remote mountainous region and poor weather hampers efforts to find it. we will keep you updated on that story. join us at the top of the hour if you can. 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.

hello and welcome to unspun world. why is israel's government deliberately flouting the wishes of its leading ally, the united states? perhaps it goes to show what netanyahu is willing to do for his own political survival. this is definitely kind of bringing israel towards a more isolationist stance. what's the extent of china's infiltration of western countries? whether it's in the uk or in other countries — we've seen them in the us, we've seen them in australia, there's a canadian parliamentary inquiry — there's something going on there. and why is a law on foreign agents in georgia causing mass demonstrations? they see it as a pivot in - the country's foreign policy. it is quite black and white. you know, it's - either eu or russia.