this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk president trump says he won't and around the world. put the us into lockdown, i'm james reynolds. despite a surge president trump comes close to admitting he's leaving in covid—19 cases. the white house next year, as he says he won't put mr trump came close to admitting he's leaving the us into lockdown, the white house next year, despite a surge in covid—19. saying he didn't know which administration would be i will not go — this in charge in the future. administration will not be going to a lockdown. hopefully the — whatever the uk prime minister's most senior adviser, dominic cummings, has happens in the future, quit hisjob after days who knows which of political turmoil. administration it will be — i guess time will tell. infighting at the heart of the government spilled out at least 42 people have died and 20 others are missing into the public eye this week after typhoon vamco made as downing street's director of communications, landfall in the philippines and is now heading for vietnam. lee cain, resigned. italy has added more regions and we'll be looking at how families plan to to its coronavirus red zones. light up their diwali campania and tuscany have been placed under the country's strictest lockdown celebrations during lockdown. measures from sunday. it comes as italy registers a record number of daily cases and health authorities are growing increasingly concerned.

96—year—old kenneth meredith moved into a care home five weeks ago because of his worsening dementia, but coronavirus restrictions meant his wife of 71 years, betty, was unable to visit. she missed him so much she asked whether she could be moved into the care home as well. phil mackie takes up the story. married for 71 years and reunited, after being separated for more than a month. kenneth meredith has dementia and had to move into the bourne view care home. neither he nor his wife, betty, could bear being apart so she decided to surprise her husband and moved in, too. he'd been away for five weeks, i think, and he wasn't coming back because they wouldn't

let him out, so i decided to come here tojoin him. how difficult was it for you, betty, to be apart from ken? very difficult, very difficult. we missed each other so much. for a week betty had to isolate in one of the groundfloor flats here, while kenneth was upstairs. she was ringing him but he didn't know she was there. when she was given the all clear they were allowed to reunite and now they are sharing one of these flats on the ground floor together. none of this would have happened without rosie and kylie, who organised the whole reunion and filmed it to. we got betty, she sat down and waited for kenny, and then kenny walked in and was so emotional. every member of staff were in floods of tears, we were also happy to see them reunited. the footage became a sensation when the merediths' granddaughters shared it on social media. in these bleak times rare moments like this bring rare moments ofjoy.

bring much needed joy. it's like seeing a different man. seeing him upset, as he was every day. he was crying... it was emotional, he was so upset, and then the minute betty came, it's like i go into their room now and all he does is smile. he is beaming, just so happy. it is incredible. now the merediths can enjoy the rest of their lives together. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. now on bbc news, our world. five years ago, an electrician called ali motamed was shot and killed in almere, just outside amsterdam. it looked like a professional hitjob but why would anyone want to assassinate a seemingly innocent electrician? jiyar gol follows a trail of destruction across europe in a story of spies, lies and geopolitics, with a string of extraordinary twists. a warning this film contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

the american assassination of around's. general set the world on edge. iran vowed revenge. for the past two years, i have been investigating bloodbath and assassinations on european soils. what concerns me, in this city an assassination was conducted. the trail of destruction leads from denmark to the netherlands. we saw my dad lying on the ground covered in his blood.

this is the extraordinary story of iran and the mystery murders. my investigation starts here, in the small dutch city of almere, near amsterdam. one quiet morning, five years ago, two hitmen lie in wait. shots ring out, killing their target instantly. the assassins escape in a stolen black bmw, later found abandoned and burned out just a few blocks away. the victim was a middle—aged electrician, but who was he, and why did he have to die? normally, assassinations are one criminal assassinating another criminal, but this time it was an electrician.

that is why i kept asking questions. how come? paul vughts is an investigative journalist known for his inside stories on amsterdam's gang violence and drugs trade. his assassination was a big surprise for the police, and so people thought maybe he was in the world of growing weed, hashish, maybe as an electrician, if you grow weed and need electricity and power and don't want to be seen. so that was the first thought. but there was no evidence of any drugs linked. then a few months later, the police released to the victim's name and a photograph. he was a 56—year—old iranian called ali motamed. this was the street when ali motamed lived. those who knew him, they say he was a family man. but what they didn't know was that he was being watched by two men sitting in a carfor days.

cctv recordings appears to show ali motamed's white van and repeated appearances by the assassins' black bmw. but why would professional hitmen target a seemingly innocent electrician? this man is an iranian dissident, who lives in the netherlands. in the dutch iranian community, there were rumours that the victim had a dark past. and investigative journalist paul vught was hearing the same thing. someone tipped me that the victim of the assassination

was called ali motamed, was not really ali motamed but was mr kolahi. paul vught was right. within hours of the killing, ali motamed's wife told police he had another identity. his real name was mohammad—reza kolahi samadi. he was considered both a terrorist and a wanted man by the iranian regime. in 1981, a massive bomb destroyed the headquarters of the iranian regime's ruling party, killing more than 70 people, including high—ranking officials. the bombing was carried out by the mek, a dissident faction that launched deadly attacks against the iranian regime and is still considered its sworn enemy.

saeed shahsavandi was a senior member of the mek at the time, and he knew kolahi samadi, or ali motamed, personally. iran's revolutionary court sentenced kolahi samadi to death in absentia. in 1991, kolahi cut his ties to the mek and claimed asylum in the netherlands. he changed his name to ali motamed, got married, and settled down to what he thought would be a quiet life in almere. so could the iranian regime have ordered his killing?

local politicians here were horrified at the prospect. everybody is keeping their mouths shut. what concerns me in this city, though, an assassination was conducted, maybe by a foreign country. this is of course, people deserve to know what happened and especially of course iranian dissidents. of course i can imagine they are frightened now. two months after the assassination, a dutch intelligence officer contacted a dutch human rights activist, morteza sadeghi, with a warning for other iranian dissidents living in the netherlands.

but within months, there was another murder. in november, 2017, iranian dissident ahmad mola nissi, was walking home in the hague. two men in a black bmw were following him. one got out of the car and shot nissi at point—blank range. this mobile footage apparently shows killers escaping. nissi died on the spot. his daughter, hawra, was home at the time. i went downstairs with my brothers and sisters and my mum and we saw my dad lying on the ground, covered in his blood.

it was very difficult, very shocking, even to this moment. it is something that i wish nobody can experience. ahmad mola nissi was the leader of the asmla, a separatist group fighting for a homeland for the arab minority. iran regards it as a terrorist group. he was threatened a couple of times. who threatened him, we don't know. we don't have any information. but we know that, as a charismatic leader, he brought all the ahwazi resistance group together. he was a target for his enemies inside iran and outside iran. so, within months of each other, there were two mysterious murders where

the victims were both opponents of the iranian regime. the matter of the factors they were both assassinated mafia style. there was a bmw, i think it was a hit—style by proxy. i think a professional criminal organisations were hired to do the assassination. who did the formal order is unclear yet, but there are some indications that the state of iran was responsible. in early 2018, dutch police arrested two associates of this man, amsterdam crime boss naoufal fassih, in connection with the first killing, that of ali motamed. those who had followed the case were baffled at first. from what i understand of the police investigation, there are no ties or connections whatsoever connecting this man to criminal activity, money—laundering, drugs. nothing. naoufal fassih and his associates were found guilty of ali motamed's murder.

the prosecution claimed the hitmen were each played 10,000 euros for pulling the trigger, and naoufal fassih got 130,000 euros for organising the killing but he refused to say who had paid him. if that kind of money is paid to a criminal organisation for an assassination, for a political assassination, that is a clear indication of state sponsorship. the eu stayed silent on any links between the murders and iran. in 2015, it had helped negotiate a major deal with iran to limit its nuclear ambitions. the priority that the european powers gave to preserving the nuclear deal above all other outstanding issues, which includes iranian activities on european soil, really gave tehran a bargaining chip because each time it stepped out of line, such as activities in europe,

you know, terror plots, assassinations, europe would bite its tongue. but in the summer of 2018, donald trump announced the us was walking away from the nuclear deal, and a key trump lieutenant had no problem with calling out iran in public. the iranian quds force conducts covert assassination operations in the heart of europe. something was about to happen, which would add fuel to the fire. in the summer of 2018, the anti—iranian government mek's conference opened just outside paris. the group was still pushing for regime change in iran, and by now, they had won some powerfulfriends, including members of president trump's inner circle. thank god my president turned his back on that very dangerous agreement with iran!

butjust as a conference opened, belgian police acted to stop what they said with a plot to bomb the event, masterminded by iran. france has accused iran of attempting to set off a bomb in paris... an iranian—belgian couple that was with explosives in theircar. a couple were arrested at the scene, allegedly with a detonator and half a kilogram of explosive. this man, assadollah assadi, a serving iranian diplomat based in vienna was later detained in germany. the foreign minister of iran took to twitter to deny any involvement and suggested it was fake news. four people, including assadi and the couple, will stand on trial in belgium on terrorism charges this month. they are expected to deny the charges. by now, theallegations of iranian involvement

in terror attacks in europe were out in the open and i was on the trail of the story. in september, 2018, gunmen opened fire on a military parade in the iranian city of ahvaz, killing around 25 and injuring 60. the iranian regime blamed arab ahwazi separatists, and its foreign minister promised to hit back hard. now, the plot thickened in an unexpected place, denmark. reporter: it was one of the most visible manhunts in denmark in decades. reporter: ..iranian nationals over alleged assassination plots in denmark and france.

after a tipoff, the danes shut down major bridges and motorways as they hunted for a terrorist suspect. at the time, denmark's intelligence chief told me why. the case you're talking about is a highly unusual case and in my view a very serious case. in brief, it involves iranian intelligence activities in denmark and, in our assessment, aimed at planning an assassination of a person living in denmark. the target of the assassination attempt was the leader of the asmla, the ahwazi separatist group. until now, the eu had said nothing about iran's alleged involvement in terror attacks on european soil but events forced their hand. they imposed targeted sanctions on iran's intelligence ministry. the dutc went further. intelligence we've got from our intelligence service

was so strong that it made us decide to expel two iranian diplomats. the european country tolerated iranian activities on european soil because the nuclear deal with iran and the economic benefits of it were more important for them, is that the case? that is nonsense. the question is you waited so long? the activities we are speaking about now, murdering or trying to murder former iranian nationals on european soil, are unacceptable. at the same time, we think the nuclear deal was, and still is, a just measure to avoid nuclear proliferation in the middle east. supporters of iran blame rogue elements inside the regime for trying to undermine the government. i would be really sorry for my country when my supreme leader, my president, the national security council, the parliament, they all decide to build an excellent relationship with europe, and some rogue elements, they undo.

but you cannot blame the government, the state. we can very, very confidently assert that any activity beyond iran's borders, whether that is terrorist activity, the assassination of political dissidents, that will have come from top—down. iran's regime is, afterall, an authoritarian regime. it is very tightly controlled. and all of these activities are very, very well—planned, carefully co—ordinated and executed, using the iranian state's privileges abroad. for almost a year, the trail went cold.

then, in november 2019, i received a tipoff about a threat against another iranian dissident, based in the netherlands. i'm on my way to a tv station in the hague. one of the presenters has been threatened. he is under the dutch police protection. hidden away in these backstreets are the anonymous studios of ahwazna tv, it broadcasts to iran's minority arab population and has close links to the asmla group. their message is uncompromising. they want an independent homeland for iranian arabs and actively encourage people to rise up against the regime in tehran. eissa al—fakher hosts the most popular programme. it is called "my words are my sword".

its links to the asmla have placed his life in real danger. raghdan al—khazali was an iraqi journalist based in sweden and someone eissa al—fakher knew well.

the iranian threat was seen as so serious, eissa and his colleagues were issued with panic buttons.

his story was confirmed by the swedish authorities. in december 2019, raghdan al—khazali was jailed in stockholm for 2.5 years for carrying out hostile surveillance on behalf of the iranian regime. the court that said his activities may have caused a number of opposition ahwazis or their relatives to be persecuted, seriously injured or killed. the evidence against iran was beginning to mount. in denmark, this summer, a man was convicted of events leading to the police mayhem in 2018, that shut denmark's roads and bridges. he was found guilty of spying for iran and an accessory to murder and jailed

for seven years. the man who was convicted is now appealing. but in another extraordinary twist, the targets of his espionage were themselves charged by danish authorities with spying for saudi arabia. they deny the charges and are awaiting trial. now, we have discovered that eissa al—fakher, the man with the panic button, has himself been arrested in the netherlands and charged with planning an act of terrorism in iran. he denies the charges and is in prison, awaiting trial. two years ago, i set

out to investigate two mysterious murders with links to iran at a time few wanted to talk to me. now, a serving iranian diplomat is about to go on trial for terrorism offences and there have been a series of other convictions across europe. this extraordinary story still has a long way to run. hello there. we ended the working week on a fine note. we saw quite a bit of sunshine on friday, but it's not going to be the case this weekend — it's going to be a lot more unsettled, thanks to low pressure.

it'll be windy for most of us, and there will be spells of heavy rain at times — all courtesy of this new area of low pressure, which is going to stick around both saturday and sunday, and it's going to bring strongest winds to the southern and western areas, through the day on saturday, and there'll be bands of rain spreading from south to north across the country. some of the rain could be quite heavy in places. maybe a rumble of thunder for england and wales, and very windy around the south—west. around irish sea coasts, up to 55 mph. probably the best of any drier interludes will be across central northern scotland, and north—east england for a time. but a milder day to come, 12 to maybe 15 or 16 degrees across the south—east.

but that rain gets into northern and north—east areas through saturday evening. it's followed by further blustery showers or longer spells of rain moving up from the south. though again, there will be some dryer interludes, but it's going to be a blustery night — gusts of wind around 20—30 mph widely, more than that around the south—west — up to 50 mph there. temperature—wise, single—figure values across the north, but again, i think, a fairly mild night to come for england and wales. now, as we head on into sunday, here's our area of low pressure to the north—west of the uk, spinning across the country, bringing further bands of pretty heavy rain and strong winds. but it looks like the strongest of the winds on sunday will be across more southern parts of britain. gales running through the channel, 50—65 mph here. and there will be bands of rain spreading from west to east. again with some dry, maybe brighter interludes in between. it's not going to be a complete wash—out.

a little bit cooler on sunday, temperatures of 11—14 celsius. now our weekend — the low pressure begins to slip away as we head on into next week. now, as we move through the week, it stays changeable. further spells of rain, followed by sunshine and showers. then there's a chance that all areas will be turning 00:29:13,802 --> 2147483051:51:21,615 much colder 2147483051:51:21,615 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 by the end of the week.