hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones and welcome to bbc world news. ukraine says it's getting full co—operation from iran in the investigation into wednesday's plane crash which killed 176 people. tehran has again rejected suggestions the ukrainian jet was brought down by one of its missiles. 57 of the victims were canadian. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool reports from toronto. so this is about two weeks ago when they got to iran... the siddiqi family travelled to iran from canada to plan a wedding. they never came back.

alvar and his wife negar, his sister sohand and her five—year—old daughter sufi all died in the crash. it's left close friend utterly dazed. first, it was shock and denial because, you know, you can't fathom it, itjust doesn't make sense, you never hear of such a story but then as you keep reading and looking at the, you know, news and videos and there is this anger, like, why did it happen to these people? they are the nicest people. why them? the us, canada and britain say there is evidence of an iranian missile hitting the plane. tehran calls those "illogical allegations" and says it could take one or two years to complete its investigation. but these pictures show it's already chosen to clear much of the crash site, potentially burying important leads.

and even before the data has been analysed from the flight recorders, its officials already say they are sure of one thing. translation: an aviation authority cannot speculate. we aren't sure of the causes yet but what we can say for certain is that a missile did not strike the plane, but the fire and its causes we still need to work out. but this mobile phone footage does appear to back up the theory the plane was struck by a missile. a small outgoing speck of light suddenly exploding. with the impact following. the iranians insist if it really was a missile strike, the debris would have been spread over a larger area. it's not what us secretary of state mike pompeo thinks. we do believe that it's likely that that plane was shot down by an iranian missile.

he announced new sanctions on iran. we want iran to simply behave like a normal nation. we believe the sanctions that we've imposed today further that strategic objective. but forfamilies in iran, ukraine, britain and more than 60 in canada, the focus is on grieving. there is no question, though, that the sense this tragedy could have been a consequence of those regional tensions has only added to the anger and despair. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in toronto. voting underway in taiwan's general election — with control of both the presidency and the parliament up for grabs. relations with china are the main issue with parties standing on closer links or independence platforms. cindy sui has more. it's the biggest export destination, biggest export destination and

people rely on the mainland for their livelihood and tourism is also a big factor here. since president tsai ing—wen coming to power, that the relationship between the two sides has largely deteriorated. the amount of tourists coming here has dropped by over one million and tourist earnings have dropped by $1.5 billion so this is affecting a lot of people's livelihoods. they need to determine among themselves whether it is more important to safeguard taiwan's democracy as the president is advocating or find a more moderate solution, perhaps, to have good relationships with beijing and still economic growth in taiwan. let's get some of the day's other news. oman state tv is reporting that the sultan qaboos bin said al said has died. he was 79 and had been ill for some time. the sultan acceded to the throne in 1970 following a successful coup against his father — a coup that was supported by the british. there's been a welcome reprieve for

firefighters when a mild weekend began on australia's east coast. after an arduous night for firefighters tackling an increase in blazes thanks to sudden strong winds. here in the uk, it looks like the devolved government in northern ireland could soon be up and running again. a deal aimed at restoring power—sharing has been agreed by the main political parties sinn fein and the democratic unionists. the assembly was suspended three years ago when the parties clashed over a scandal involving a green energy scheme. emma vardy reports. after three years of resistance, the final steps to an agreement. faces from northern ireland's past here to witness a new future. i believe that power—sharing can work. that requires everyone to step up. sinn fein‘s commitment is to do all in our power to make this happen.

it marks the end of a bitter stand—off between sinn fein and the democratic unionists. it is a fair and balanced deal. i know there will be challenges in the deal, not least we need to make sure that we have the finances to be able to deal with all of the issues in northern ireland that are present at the moment. events were set in motion when an ultimatum was given late last night in dramatic fashion. the british and irish government chose to go public with the deal, saying, take it or leave it. but the gamble paid off. the new agreement contains wide—ranging promises. firstly, to tackle a crisis in the health service and resolve a pay dispute which has seen health workers on strike. there will be more money for schools after months of head teachers saying they face an unprecedented shortfall. and northern ireland will get around 800 more police to increase numbers to 7500. but the biggest ask was getting agreement for that much fought over

legal protection of the irish language. sings in irish. decades of conflict in northern ireland, the issues of british and irish identity, often lead to tension. some unionists believe giving the irish language more prominence with new laws proposed in the deal is a step too far. i don't see how one identity can erode another. i think if you are secure enough in your own identity, it shouldn't be an issue. while the dup has agreed to the new legislation, some of their most staunch supporters have rejected it. they once said that every word spoken in irish was a shot fired for irish freedom. people would say that would be a blunt instrument to further irish unity. the secretary of state tried to reassure voters in loyalist heartlands today that the deal is fair. but in this city, compromise never comes easily. what is the problem with having laws to protect the irish language? none of us want it.

we don't want the irish language. we have to protect it, it has gone on for three years now. what other place would stick with that? without a government, public services have been in steady decline. parts of the health service have come close to collapse. for northern ireland's nurses, who are striking for the first time in their history, today's deal will bring an end to these picket lines. there is extra cash from the british government to raise wages and measures to reduce the crippling waiting lists at hospitals. but parties know the devil is in the detail, and the new provisions for a change in northern ireland will mean plenty of rows to come. but now that can happen within a devolved government, not outside it. emma vardy reporting. iraq's top shi'ite muslim cleric condemned the confrontation between iran and the united states, saying it risked plunging the country and the wider middle east into deeper conflict.

grand ayatollah ali al—sistani said attacks by both sides inside iraq in the last week showed a blatant disregard for the country's sovereignty. 0ur middle east editor, jeremy bowen reports from baghdad. chanting. in baghdad, it was a day of protest, to show they don't plan to give up. their main target, politicians and a parliament they say have dragged the country to disaster. "get out," was the chant. "you corrupt people, leave our land." protesters have occupied baghdad's equivalent of piccadilly circus since october. iraq's trip to the brink of a new war this week has reinforced the desire for change. we don't want to be a place for war. we want to be free from all these things. we want to be a country

that is separated from iran, from the united states. we want to be friends with everyone, enough of war. 0ther protests happened outside baghdad. this was karbala in the south. it's a holy city and in the mosque, iraq's senior shia muslim cleric also had hard words for the government. an aide read the message from the elderly grand ayatollah ali al—sistani. "iraq's leaders have let them down, failing to protect them from aggression and repeated violations of sovereignty. iraq should be independent and led by its own people, not by foreigners." this country is fragile and violent. in tahrir square, baghdad, mohammed showed me where he'd been stabbed by masked men.

hundreds of protesters have been shot dead since october. memorials are everywhere. many say the killers were iraqi militiamen directed by the assassinated general soleimani. punishing them for anti—iranian demonstrations. serious obstacles lie between these would—be revolutionaries and the change that they want. the men who have the big jobs, who control the political parties and the militias, won't give up power easily. and then there is iran. at a time when it's being hemmed in, isolated by american sanctions, it needs iraq as its window on the world. a place where it can do business. 0n the barricades, a poet warned them that politicians were like foxes. they couldn't be trusted. the protesters loved it, they are hopeful.

across the middle east, young people especially are demanding change. but iraqis are trapped, caught up in a0 years of confrontation between iran and the united states which, in the absence of a diplomatic breakthrough, will continue to slide towards war. jeremy bowen, bbc news, baghdad. i was telling you earlier about the elections in taiwan they got under way and i want to take you live to taiwan because we can see that the president is voting that, the lady in the glasses, white t—shirt under a black jacket in in the glasses, white t—shirt under a blackjacket in the middle that. lots of people there as well but you can see, voting about to take place. that is tsai ing—wen. the incumbent president in a fascinating election under way there in taiwan. essentially a choice about its neighbour china and relations with that country. all intents and

purposes, taiwan has been independent since 1950 but china certainly doesn't view it that way. it views itself as part of its territory. so you have two parties on either side of the debate and the incumbent there tsai ing—wen arguing for greater distance and less reliance on china. her opponent, arguing the opposite for better and more cordial relations with china. a crucial, interesting and fascinating election getting under way in taiwan and is the incumbent president there is casting her vote. we'll have more of that on bbc news as it goes. meanwhile, as the inquiry into the iran plane crash continues, we've been speaking to scott hamilton — an aviation industry consultant with leeham news and analysis in the us. he told us why he's not reassured by the investigation so far. the fact that the iranians are already bulldozing the site is very troubling. we don't know what full

cooperation it really means. it could be any number of things, it's very subjective. we don't think the ukrainians are going to have the authority to look at the black box 01’ authority to look at the black box or not. there been accidents in the past when a light filament was a key to unravelling an accident because for the iranians to be bulldozing the site within days, it is very troubling. to me, it speaks that they are going to try and literally, if not figuratively cover things up. even, as you want to put it, a normal accident, it is not at all unusualfor normal accident, it is not at all unusual for the probable cause to ta ke unusual for the probable cause to take wonder year to 18 months to be determined. i believe the mh at 217 over ukraine took as much as three yea rs before over ukraine took as much as three

years before the accident report came out. the families of the victims are unfortunately in free longhorn this one. you are watching bbc news and our headlines on the sour. this is bbc news, the headlines: ukraine says iran is offering its full cooperation in the investigation into wednesday's plane crash. tehran denies the boeing was shot down. the united states is imposing new sanctions on iran aimed at vital sectors of the country's economy and top—level leaders. the metropolitan police is treating an attack on a guard at whitemoor prison in cambridgeshire as a terrorist incident. the officer was stabbed by two inmates carrying bladed weapons and said to have been wearing fake suicide vests. a convicted terrorist, brusthom ziamani, is suspected of involvement. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. this is brusthom ziamani, jailed five years ago for plotting to behead a soldier. he had been carrying this large knife and hammer at the time of his arrest.

he is now suspected of being one of two men who carried out, in prison, what police say was a terrorist attack. it happened on a wing of whitemoor prison, a high securityjail which has a history of problems with terrorist prisoners. yesterday two inmates wearing fake suicide belts and shouting "allahu akbar" attacked an officer from behind, slashing his head and neck with home—made knives. it was only but for the professionalism of all the other staff there at hmp whitemoor that i'm not standing here talking about the murder of a prison officer. that is how serious this cowardly and vicious attack was. ministers and officials here at the ministry ofjustice and prison service headquarters are now urgently reviewing safety after what was the first officially designated terrorist attack in an english jail. the government has been repeatedly warned by a former senior governor

about the risk that convicted terrorists pose to prison staff who are obvious targets for an inmate wanting to commit violent political acts. there has been a colossal failure of intelligence here in terms of protecting prison staff from somebody who was clearly very radicalised, and that is really important because if we cannot recruit and retain and train and protect front line prison staff, who are dealing with some of the most dangerous and sophisticated terrorists in the country, we are going to have a very serious problem. whitemoor prison is where usman khan was also held. he was the released terrorist prisoner who carried out the attack on fishmongers‘ hall in november, killing jack merritt and saskia jones, people who had been trying to rehabilitate him. daniel sandford, bbc news, at the ministry ofjustice. more from australia now, where there's been a welcome reprieve for firefighters as the weekend began with milder

conditions on the country's east coast. it comes after an arduous night for firefighters who tackled an increase in blazes thanks to sudden strong winds. authorities in new south wales now say they expect at least a week of milder weather. clive myrie‘s with some of the state's firefighters in the town of cooma. we are at the main rural fire service headquarters here in the town, lots of personnel milling around, it has been a busy night for them, along with the military, some army reservists have been here as well. everyone feeling a little more confident about the next few days, the fear overnight was that very strong winds in excess of 100 kilometres an hour, along with high temperatures, were going to cause more problems, more people's lives in danger. and indeed a number of smaller fires in danger. and indeed a number of smallerfires did merge into what they call a magnifier, burning tens of thousands of hectares. those magnifiers are apparently being contained in the forecast for the

next few days, well, lighter winds and lower temperatures. i should also say there has been a lot of speculation about the role of arson during this bushfire season. here in new south wales the authorities say 196 new south wales the authorities say 1% was caused deliberately. in victoria one incident out of hundreds, and in south australia, none at all. the vast majority of the fires were begun by lightning strikes. meanwhile, tens of thousands of australians havejoined rallies across the country to demand action on climate change. prime minister scott morrison has avoided drawing any link between australia's warming climate and the ferocity of the fires — despite scientific evidence. as a result, large parts of society are angry. freya cole reports. while the country burns, emotions are running high. grief and heartbreak is turning into frustration and anger. the fact that we are at the bottom of the list of western countries in dealing with climate change, is ridiculous, considering how affluent we are as a country.

scott morrison's conservative government has been widely criticised for its attitude towards climate change. the prime minister has dismissed scientific advice that there is a link between australia's warming climate and the severity of this bushfire disaster. i think we want climate action, not handshakes. climate action! summer in australia is something to be feared, not something to look forward to. just like the rest of our seasons. i wonder why that is. there is a common theme on the streets of sydney and melbourne, and many small towns across the country. younger generations are leading this cause — they are looking for immediate action. what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now! i said when do we want it? now! summer in australia is usually reserved for those days at the beach and backyard cricket. but this isn't the first climate rally of the season,

and it surely won't be the last. australians aren't very good at protesting, generally, and i feel like today we have done pretty well. a lot of people yelling which is... it makes you feel pretty good. i feel like change is on the horizon. but on the immediate horizon is the remainder of a hot, dry and dangerous summer, with the fires set to burn until there is a decent amount of rainfall. in mexico, a schoolboy, thought to be 11 years old, has shot and killed a teacher and injured at least six other people at a school in the norther city of torreon, before killing himself. rich preston has the story. you might find some of rich's report disturbing. tragedy struck this school early in the morning. at the very start of the morning. at the very start of the school day avoid many considered to bea the school day avoid many considered to be a good student started killing his classmates. sending parents and pupils into panic. police and

soldiers quickly surrounding the school. it happened in mexico's northern state of coahuila, at the colegio cervantes private school. pa rents colegio cervantes private school. parents gathered outside, many not knowing whether their children were affected. state officials said shortly after arriving at school, he asked permission to go to the bathroom. translation: after 15 minutes he still had not returned. so the teacher went to look for him. she found him walking out carrying two guns, shooting. it also changed —— he had also changed out of his school uniform and into the t—shirt bearing the logo of a video game, the same video game referenced by shooters at columbine high school in america where two students murdered classmates in 1999. despite mexico's

reputation for violence, school shootings are rare. officials say this pupil gave no cause for concern. translation: he was a student who was not a mattock. he had good behaviour, until today when he told some of his classmates that today was the day. police say they are still trying to understand the reasons behind this unprovoked act of violence. parents are always warning their children to be careful about who they speak to online — but for one teenager in cheshire, befriending a stranger may have saved his life. 17—year—old aidan jackson was chatting to a woman in texas, 5000 miles away, when he suddenly fell ill. his family were downstairs and had no idea. judith moritz reports. aidanjackson spends hours playing video games against opponents from around the world. online gaming can be a test of fast reflexes. luckily for him, it was one

of his gamer friends from texas who did the quick thinking and called for help when aidan started to feel unwell. dial tone. that caller was dia lathora, who lives 5,000 miles away from aidan's home in cheshire. today, we spoke to her online. i could hear him and seizing and breathing really hard. it sounded like he was choking and crying. automatically, that sets off the red flag of he's in trouble, what's going on? aidan had passed out. used to him being a silent teenager, his parents thought nothing of him being quiet upstairs until the police turned up. i'm sitting there watching tv, then seeing two police cars outside with flashing lights. when they came in, the police, what did they say to you?

theyjust said they had had a call from america, that there was an unresponsive male, possible seizure. so then i ran upstairs to check on aidan. since this has all happened, have you had the chance to thank dia and tell her what you think? i thank her every day. chuckles because life could have been over like that. and seizures are dangerous things. sometimes, obviously, we don't know, had it gone on for longer, we don't know what would have happened. one day aidan would like to meet his online saviour and thank her for staging a real world rescue. judith moritz, bbc news, widnes. the drummer from canadian the drummerfrom canadian rock band rush has died, he was 67. the musician, seen as one of the best

rock drummers in history died on tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. , rush, one of the most successful bands of the 70s and 80s sold more than a0 million albums worldwide. coming up, click. first the weather with darren bett. hello there. there was a good view of the wolf moon for many parts of the country early on in the night, that was before all this cloud rolled in. a lot of it is quite high cloud, the zone of thickest cloud that's stretching across scotland and northern ireland is on that weather front there. that is continuing to bring some outbreaks of rain. ahead of it the winds are going to be howling, we are drawing in the milder winds from a long way south, so after a cold start, temperatures are continuing to rise to these sort of numbers by the end of the night. nine, ten, maybe 11 degrees — still on the chillier side across east anglia, mind you. we've still got the rain coming in to scotland and northern ireland heavy over the hills. a little trickle this way, very slowly southwards,

some quite wet weather over the cumbrian fells and later into snow down here. ——snowdonia. eventually the rain turns more showery in scotland throught the afternoon, the winds will start to ease a bit but it stays very windy across england and wales, strong to gale force winds here. but as we've seen it's mild air so for many parts of the country we've got double—figure temperatures, perhaps as high as 12 or 13 degrees. the weather front bringing that brand of rain will sweep its way down toward south—eastern areas overnight on saturday night, and then leaving behind that, we are going to find showers coming in on a cooler air stream from off the atlantic. we've still got some rain to clear away first thing across the south—east of england, once that goes we will see a batch of showers coming in across wales through the midlands. those could be rather heavy in the morning before easing off during the afternoon. further north some sunshine, and some showers, most of them in th north—west of scotland where it will be wintry over the hills. we're back in to cooler air on sunday, particularly across the northern half of the uk,

still double figures for a while in the south—east, it won't be as windy. but only briefly because look what is coming in from the atlantic — a storm is brewing. that's going to be racing our way, probably heading to the north—west of scotland. after a reasonably quiet start, with some sunshine around, it probably will stay dry across eastern areas but the winds will continue to strengthen, particularly out towards the west where we'll see this rain moving in and that's going to be quite heavy. the strength of the wind could cause one or two issues, 60, maybe 70 miles an hour or more across some western parts of the uk. of course it's a mild wind direction and those temperatures are going to be up to around 8—11 degrees. that sets the scene on what is going to be a very changeable week ahead, we're going to find further areas of low pressure, rain at times, strong winds. for the most part, it will be mild.

you are watching bbc news and our headlines on the sour.

this is bbc news, the headlines: ukraine has said iran is offering kiev its full cooperation in establishing the facts behind wednesday's deadly crash of a ukrainian plane. 50 ukrainian experts are in iran to take part in the investigation — and the ukrainian foreign minister said they'd been given access to the flight recorders. the polls have opened in taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections. incumbent president — tsai ing—wen — is going up against han kuo—yu — who favours closer ties with beijing. the pro—democracy protests taking place in hong kong have cast a long shadow over the taiwan election campaign. oman state television is reporting that the sultan of oman - qaboos bin said al said — has died. he was 79 and had been ill for some time. he came to the throne in 1970 following a bloodless coup against his father — which was supported by britain.