and taiwan's new president is sworn in to office at a time of heightened tensions with china. hello. i'm ben thompson. welcome to bbc news. we start with breaking news from iran where state media says the helicopter which crashed while carrying president ebrahim raisi and several other senior officials has been located and there are no signs of life. it says there are no signs of life. the search has been taking place in a mountainous area in northwestern iran near tabriz. mr raisi was returning from a visit to azerbaijan where he had been accompanied by his foreign minister, hossein amir—abdollahian. the helicopter had been one of three flying together —

this is the helicopter taking off to return to iran. the other two reached their destination safely, but iran's interior minister said on sunday that the president's aircraft had experience a hard landing and communication had been lost. several countries have offered to help in the search, which was been hampered by bad weather — as you can see from these pictures issued by the azerbaijan red crescent society. overnight, turkey launched a drone to search for the missing helicopter. this map tracks its progress — you can see where it concentrated its search. in the early hours of the morning, turkey said it had identified a source of heat, which it suspected to be the wreckage of a helicopter carrying iran's president raisi. it said it had shared the coordinates with the iranian teams. let's speak to patricia degennaro, professor of international security at new york university. welcome to the programme. thank you for being with us. at this

stage we don't have many details, as we've reported, state media in iran reporting that no survivors have been found. if that is indeed confirmed, talk to me about the implications of this for iran to lose its president. i think for any country _ to lose its president. i think for any country to _ to lose its president. i think for any country to lose - to lose its president. i think for any country to lose a - for any country to lose a president you are going to have some chaos. this is quite a tragedy for any country, and condolences to the families, and i think these are people so we have to keep that in mind. but i think for any country thatis but i think for any country that is going to be some chaos and a morning period. then there is going to be some real shuffling about how they go about adhering to the constitution, with dry think, and your audience has heard over and over, will be a vote in 50 days, and then until then the vice president will take over, and i think it is really

indicative of everything is the words that came straight from the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei, saying he has everything under control and nothing is going to change. so thatis nothing is going to change. so that is a direct message to the population, if anyone is thinking about speaking out or demonstrating law even celebrating such a tragedy. so i think he was pretty clear about that, and that should be keptin about that, and that should be kept in mind as far as any chaos that happens with in the country itself.— country itself. yes, and you are right — country itself. yes, and you are right to _ country itself. yes, and you are right to point _ country itself. yes, and you are right to point to - country itself. yes, and you are right to point to that. are right to point to that statement, saying nothing will change. but i wonder, at this stage, given iran's involvement in politics in the region, what are potential fallouts of this, and does it actually changed iran's position in the region is such a regional power? i think it will change very

little, you know, that will depend on who we see being brought forward for the elections, the upcoming elections. i think we are not going to know right away. it will certainly be someone that ayatollah khamenei decides upon, and i think things are probably going to remain more on a hard—line trajectory. so i think we are not going to see much change, and we are already seeing a lot of... basically china and russia are covering this very closely. it is all over their own media, so i think they will work to remain and have the situation, have the place of iran where it has been and it will continue to be within the international community that is on the anti—

west, so to speak range. patricia, stay with us. ijust want to run through what we know about president ebrahim raisi as well. let's explain a bit about his background and rolling iran. —— background and his role in iran. he was born in 1960, and as a teenager, took part in the protests against the shah, who ruled iran with the backing of western nations, including the us. when the shah was overthrown in 1979, he rose quickly within the new regime, headed by the ayatollah khomeini. aged just 25, he became the deputy prosecutor in tehran. it's believed he sat on secret tribunals thousands of political prisoners to death. mr raisi remained a leading figure in iranian politics, and in 2021, he won the presidential election. observers say many moderate and reformist candidates were not allowed to stand, and the turnout was low. he is seen as a conservative, hardline cleric, and under his presidency,

he's had to deal with widespread anti—government protests, including those against the obligatory wearing by women of a head covering. there has also been international isolation over iran's suspected nuclear programme and he has overseen iran's support of hamas in the war in gaza. let's bring patricia back in. patricia degennaro, a former professor of international security at new york university. having explained that and what we know about the president, what do we —— talk to me about how a radio politics works. the significance of the difference in the power between the president and the supreme leader. i president and the supreme leader. ~ , ., ., , leader. i think you have set it riaht leader. i think you have set it right there- — leader. i think you have set it right there. you _ leader. i think you have set it right there. you have - leader. i think you have set it right there. you have a - leader. i think you have set it i right there. you have a supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei makes all the decisions, he is the commander—in—chief so to speak. the president is usually more responsible with domestic

affairs and domestic situations, and i think that is why you are seeing a lot of iranians that has spoken out against him. first and foremost because of the problems with the economy, in addition to that, a lot of the crackdowns that, a lot of the crackdowns that have been happening because of the protests, because of the protests, because of the protests, because of anyone that speaks out against the regime of the leadership. so there is a very big vision within the government where it is the supreme leader, and then he is the decision—maker. and again, that goes back to we will see who comes up as presidential candidates, and i think the supreme leader and will have a lot to say about her that will be, and it will also be, lot to say about her that will be, and it willalso be, i would assume, someone who is very similar to ebrahim raisi and following the same kind of ideals that he has been following, and therefore, getting the support from ayatollah khamenei himself.

what we are looking at now, patricia, just to explain to viewers what they can see right now on the right of the screen is a live shot coming to us from tabriz in iran, close to whether such has been taking place overnight. you can see the vehicles lined up there. as yet, still the official line we are getting from iranians state tv saying there is no sign of life at the sight of that helicopter crash. remember, there were three flying in sequence, two of them made it safely to their destination, the third we understand was carrying the president and his home secretary... sorry, foreign minister, i should say, also a board that helicopter. no sign of life is what we are being told. patricia, just while we say on those pictures, talk to me if you will about the potential line of succession now. because ebrahim raisi was seen potentially as a successor to the supreme leader, that is right, isn't

it? ~ leader, that is right, isn't it? , , leader, that is right, isn't it? . , , ., leader, that is right, isn't it? y , a, , , leader, that is right, isn't it? y, leader, that is right, isn't in y, it? well, yes, that seems to be what the thought _ it? well, yes, that seems to be what the thought process - it? well, yes, that seems to be what the thought process was l what the thought process was and what was coming out of the regime. we will have to document the successor will have two remain to be six —— remained to be seen because now there is a whole shakeup in the decision—making. there has been talk about ayatollah khamenei's son, i am sure there are other very close hardliners that work very close hardliners that work very closely with him that he will have to look at and make decisions and we will see those decisions and we will see those decisions coming out in the next several days. it is a little too early to speculate on that. i think because you are going to see a morning period that is going to happen before this. i would worry about if i were in the us and environment�*s position right now, i would worry about the ircg right now, i'd worry about whether or not they are going

to make some decisions about their operations in iraq and syria, specifically, based on everybody�*s now viewing what is happening here and has their eyes on this particular tragedy and event. so i think people should be keeping their eyes on whether or not they are going to go a little road because they don't have eyes on them, so i think that is important geopolitical aspect to look at. and, again, also help the gulf nations are going to respond to this. that is a very important dynamic that we have to pay attention to.— attention to. yes, you are riuht. attention to. yes, you are right- so _ attention to. yes, you are right. so many _ attention to. yes, you are right. so many different l attention to. yes, you are - right. so many different power plays in this. right. so many different power plays in this- plays in this. right, because they have — plays in this. right, because they have been _ plays in this. right, because they have been very - they have been very instrumental with the saudis and other parties of the decade

it has now happened in the gulf. so that is going to be something very important to watch. 2, 2 2, something very important to watch. . ., , watch. patricia, really grateful _ watch. patricia, really grateful for _ watch. patricia, really grateful for you - watch. patricia, really grateful for you been | watch. patricia, really- grateful for you been with us. let us take you now to be busy persia's washington correspondent. —— let's speak to bbc persian�*s washington correspondent khashayarjoneidi. just repeating the line there is no sign of life at the reps out of that helicopter crash. do you understand is happening right now —— crash site. do you understand is happening right now -- crash site.- right now -- crash site. there has been _ right now -- crash site. there has been a — right now -- crash site. there has been a very _ right now -- crash site. there has been a very long - right now -- crash site. there has been a very long night - has been a very long night for the iranians rescue and search mission over there in the mountains of iran, trying to locate and identify the crash site. it is a very treacherous terrain, it is a mountainous area, thick forest, and it is very difficult to navigate through the forests. it took them many hours throughout the

night and actually with the help of turkey, turkey's drone which they managed to locate the incident area, but it is a developing story, it has been about an hour developing story, it has been aboutan hour orso developing story, it has been about an hour or so that they have identified that they have come to the crash site. iran's a visual media are saying there is no sign of life, and we are still waiting to hear more from them. there were some unofficial accounts about the charred remains of those passengers on board the helicopter. again, these are unofficial accounts published on telegram channels affiliated to certain branches of the rgc, but we haven't seen official accounts of that, but the... everyone was actually thinking there would be news once this

comes out in during the morning hours. and we have two wait for the official confirmation of what everybody was waiting about. , , 2, , what everybody was waiting about. , .,, ,, what everybody was waiting about. , ., ,, about. just as you are speaking there, about. just as you are speaking there. we _ about. just as you are speaking there, we are _ about. just as you are speaking there, we are getting _ about. just as you are speaking there, we are getting news - there, we are getting news coming from iran's newsagency are now being reported by state media confirming, as we said, on media, that the radiant president ebrahim raisi has died, along with his foreign minister. they say that is where his helicopter crashed. so that coming to us from the radiant media being reported on reuters news agency. you can see there on the screen, the iranians president ebrahim raisi confirmed dead along with his foreign minister as a result of that rash. —— of that crash. result of that rash. -- of that crash. ., ., ., crash. the information will come out. _ crash. the information will come out, more _ crash. the information will i come out, more information crash. the information will. come out, more information is affected to come out soon. absolutely. while you are with

us, if, as is apparently confirmed on a radiant state media, this death now confirmed, talk to me now about what process will unfold from here. , 2, what process will unfold from here. , ., ., here. first, we have to pay attention — here. first, we have to pay attention that _ here. first, we have to pay attention that there - here. first, we have to pay attention that there will. here. first, we have to pay attention that there will be j here. first, we have to pay i attention that there will be a vacuum of power because the president is not the highest authority in iran, it is the supreme leader with the highest authority, the final arbiter, final decision—maker in terms of foreign policy, internal policy and that he is the commander—in—chief. the president is the chief executive of the executive branch. that is what the president's role is. he runs the day by day operations of the day by day operations of the administration. so he is not the main person responsible for the governing of the country, but what happens here is now, according to the iranian constitution, it is upon the first vice president to take over the responsibilities of the president once the president is

incapacitated or is not capable of performing his duties. and then, the first vice president, in cooperation with the heads of the parliament and the judiciary, are responsible for holding election to elect a new president in 50 days. so we will have a morning period in iran. once this is officially announced there would be a morning period, and that will be followed by the process of those candidates who are interested to run for president to register, have to be vetted by the council, there will be some campaigning period and an election. ., ~ some campaigning period and an election. . ~ ., ., ., election. talk to me about not onl the election. talk to me about not only the impact _ election. talk to me about not only the impact domestically l only the impact domestically and the role of the president in terms of domestic politics, because we know that has not been without its own controversies. but what this

means for the regional power in the middle east. we know iran is a key player in what is going on there, particularly because that war between israel and gaza. what are the implications is there is a change of resident in iran? i have two mention, in addition to the president, another passenger of that helicopter was the foreign minister, hossein amir—abdollahian, but i have to add that within the establishment of the islamic republic, foreign ministers are not the main players in terms of implementing foreign policy, policy making. of implementing foreign policy, policy making-— policy making. they are actually _ policy making. they are actually implementing i policy making. they are i actually implementing the policies of the system. so when it comes to iran's neighbouring countries, especially within the arab world or israel, it is i rgc which is a main player. although behind the curtains

and the foreign minister is a person who executes the policies that the regime has decided to follow. it is the same with the president. he is the figurehead but the letter is a main arbiter when it comes to foreign policy, plus the i rgc. the policies of the regime are expected to have a sudden change in policy, although we're not expecting to see something very dramatic, but it very much depends on how it will be... how this apparent crash will be reported and the investigation into this, whether it is foul play or a technical issue. we will see some finger—pointing toward certain elements in the region, accusing them of having a role, that way happen. that would have a role. but that is very much dependent on the regime to see in what situation it is

located now internally and externally, and how it has to react. that is what we have to wait and see. we react. that is what we have to wait and see.— wait and see. we will. really aood to wait and see. we will. really good to have _ wait and see. we will. really good to have you _ wait and see. we will. really good to have you with - wait and see. we will. really good to have you with us. . wait and see. we will. really| good to have you with us. we will talk about. that is our busy persian washington correspondent. we want to take you to the bbc live page on the website constantly updated of course. if you take a look. there is an image taken from drone footage that has been shared by the iranians later newsagency. based say it shows the wreckage of ebrahim raisi's helicopter. they say the footage shot by the red crescent showing the tail of the helicopter next to what is a large patch of scorched earth. that is very central to the search area overnight and confirmation from iranians like tv. president ebrahim raisi has died, along with his foreign minister in that helicopter

crash. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

welcome back. you are with bbc news. a recap of the breaking news we have brought you in the last few minutes, iranians newsagency is confirming the death of the iranian president, ebrahim raisi. they say he died, along with his foreign minister, in a helicopter crash. the helicopter that crashed was one of three travelling in a convoy. they suggest it had a hard landing after getting into difficulties in heavy fog in the north—west of the country. the president was travelling to tabriz, the north—west of iran, after returning from a meeting in the iran azerbaijan border area. confirmation just coming within the last few minutes, a new

images coming to us from drone footage showing the wreck side of the helicopter crash, confirmation that the iranians president has died along with his foreign minister. we will have more on that for you throughout the programme. let's turn to other main stories today. victims and families of the contaminated blood scandal held a vigil in westminster last night on the eve of the publication of the inquiry�*s final report. there is speculation that the government is setting aside £10 billion for compensation. more than 30,000 people were given infected blood products by the nhs decades ago. around 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, for years, they feel their voices weren't heard and they were ignored by those in authority. while other leading healthcare 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. you can follow all alternate's events as the report is made published here live on bbc news. the details will emerge at 12:30 after a briefing in westminster — our correspondents will bring you that breaking story here, live.

details online and on your tv. i want to remind you of our breaking through this half—hour. iranians atv says that the president, ebrahim raisi, has died, along with his foreign minister after a helicopter carrying them across iran crashed near to tabriz in the north—west of the country. that was the life image. this is the iranian president. confirmation that he has now died. 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 4 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.

flush with cash — a damning new report says shareholders at the uk's largest water companies withdrew tens of billions of pounds, whilst failing to invest in infrastructure. metals moves — trading soars in the building blocks behind the green tech revolution. and waste not, want not —

we find out about a business connecting customers to food that is too good to waste. live from london, this is business today. i'm ben thompson. we begin in the uk, where there's another warning about the lack of investment in the country's creaking water industry. new research claims that shareholders in some of the uk's largest water companies have withdrawn tens of billions of pounds, whilst failing to invest in maintaining or delivering services. at the same time, the report says these firms also want to raise household water bills to pay for future spending. analysis by the university of greenwich shows investors have withdrawn over £85 billion from ten water and sewage firms in england and wales, since the industry was privatised, more than 30 years ago. ofwat, the industry regulator, said it "strongly refuted" the figures, but "agrees wholeheartedly with demands "for companies to change". water and sewage firms want to increase customers'

bills by an average 33% over the next five years,