this is bbc world news, i'm lewis vaughanjones. our top stories: some of the first results are expected within hours as voters in iran choose a successor to president hassan rouhani. catholic bishops in the us face clashing withjoe biden after moving to deny holy communion to politicians, like the us president, who support abortion rights. the woman who punched a crocodile on the nose to save her twin sister tells us how she fought off the deadly reptile. more trouble at the golden globes as two members of the body that organise the awards quit, calling the organisation "toxic". and one of the most anticipated matches of euro 2020 so far ends in a goalless draw, as england face scotland at wembley stadium.

hello and welcome to bbc news. the people of iran have been voting in a presidential election. the winner will succeed hassan rouhani, who's not allowed to serve for a third term. but with candidates hand—picked by iran's powerful guardian council, many would—be voters have become disenchanted, especially the young. the vote also comes at a sensitive time for the country — with us sanctions still battering the economy and the future of the iran nuclear deal hanging in the balance. our middle east editor jeremy bowen reports. elections in iran are not free or fair, but they're a window into an opaque country with a repressive regime. any resemblance to democracy

is coincidental — candidates are vetted in advance. millions of frustrated iranians have stopped hoping that voting will improve their lives. in the city of shiraz, he was pulling down every election poster he could find. man yells. "well done!" shouts the man in the car. this man posted a plea to boycott the election, next to portraits of his son, amir hussain, who was killed with hundreds of others in protests in 2019. "my vote," he says, "is for the downfall of the dictator and the criminals who've sold out the country". a hardliner, ebrahim raisi, the head of thejudiciary, seems to have a clear path to the presidency. his strongest rivals were not allowed to stand. get set... gunshot.

a viral video compared raisi to the murderous middle eastern tyrant in the sacha baron cohen film the dictator, partly because of the way that voters were denied a real choice. and it's because of the executions of thousands of regime opponents in the late 1980s. raisi was one of their prosecutors. his past sends a bleak message to iranian reformists who want more freedom. this man, not the president, is at the pinnacle of power in iran. he is ayatollah ali khamenei, the 82—year—old supreme leader who seems determined to deliver a victory for conservative hardliners. the only candidate left who might appeal to reformists is abdolnaser hemmati, the former central bank governor. elections in iran can produce surprises,

but he needs a miracle. iran's nuclear future remains the big issue for any president. ebrahim raisi says he supports reviving the international deal that restricts iran's capabilities. iran's price would be an end to the sanctions that have caused real hardship. this was a queue for chicken in a country with huge reserves of oil. whoever�*s president, the iranian people need some relief. i spoke to bbc persian correspondent rana rahimpour. it was always clear, from the moment that we found out who was qualified to run for this election, it was obvious that ebrahim raisi was going to win. he's the favourite candidate for the establishment and, asjeremy said in his report,

they made sure that there are no serious competition for him in the race. so it was more like a single horse race and it's obvious who's going to win. ok, so what, when it's confirmed, what difference will this make? let's start internationally — international agreements, things like sanctions, the nuclear deal, what kind of difference will his appointment make? so, we're now looking at a very unified islamic republic of iran. all the branches are now dominated by ultra—conservative hardliners, anti—american, anti—west in general, but don't forget that when it comes to nuclear policy, it's the supreme leader who makes that decision. so currently, the current government is negotiating with the west in vienna just because they have a green light from the supreme leader. and the next president won't be different, because they don't make those kinds of decisions, it's the supreme leader. that's a really good reminder of the power and where it really sits in the country. internally then, ordinary iranians, what difference, if any, will they see?

it is going to be difficult for many iranians, especially in terms of freedoms, social freedoms. already during the election period, we heard that many journalists were summoned by the intelligence ministry, they were told that they weren't allowed to criticise ebrahim raisi — the likely winner of this election — so in terms of suppression of any dissent, a lot of people predicted that it's going to be much worse than before. just for people who hadn't heard of ebrahim raisi before, what's a bit about his background, his character? ebrahim raisi is currently the head ofjudiciary but he has a long list of human rights violations. he was a member of the so—called �*committee of death', and he was involved in sentencing so many political activists to execution. so in 1988, thousands of people were executed and he was involved in that. and as the head ofjudiciary, he has been involved in suppressing dissidents and a lot of protesters have been killed over the last couple of years and those

deaths have never been investigated. so he is head ofjudiciary with a long history of violating human rights. 0k, and what about the succession planning, if you can call it that, with, well, all the major roles? where does this fit in to a grand master plan, if there is one? there's definitely a master plan, and what was fascinating is that many people believe the reason the establishment made sure they weren't any reformists in the run is because the supreme leader is thinking about the next supreme leader. the current supreme leader is in his 80s, we have had reports that he's been ill, and he will possibly die in the first term of the next president. and it seems that the hardcore establishment was trying to make sure that there isn't a serious challenge

to who will succeed the current supreme leader, so that is something to keep in the back of your mind. roman catholic bishops in the us have voted overwhelmingly to draft a teaching document addressing whether catholic politicians who support abortion rights — including presidentjoe biden — should be barred from communion. the decision is seen as a direct rebuke to mr biden, and exposes the deep political and cultural divisions within the american church. jamie manson is the president of the advocacy group catholics for choice. she says this was a political action against president biden. i think the timing is very obvious. joe biden is one of the most faithful and religious presidents we've had in a long time. he's a very devout catholic and he supports abortion rights. and the bishops have decided that is the pre—eminent issue and they use it really as a political rallying cry. but won't they say "it is very important to us, it's what we believe and everyone must believe

the same thing?" well, that would be true if they were consistent. and the reality is they had nothing to say to president trump, who supported capital punishment, who treated migrants at the border in a subhuman manner, who daily defiled the earth with his practices and his policies. if they were consistent, sure. but they're not consistent on life issues. ok, let's get into slight technicalities — not too much — but what kind of document are they drawing up and what kind of weight does it have? it's a teaching document, it's not official norms, but it is something that they can draw upon to back up their demands, that politicians who support abortion rights refrain from communion. and just remind people who aren't catholic, what is communion and why is it important? absolutely, so this is the central sacrament of the church. you could receive it daily when you are a catholic. you're supposed to receive it at least once a week.

it's the body and blood of christ for catholics. it's the real presence of god in our midst. it truly brings us into communion, into one with each other. and so to see this disunity happening is profoundly painful for the church. so what kind of impact would it have if this does go ahead and joe biden is formally, according to this document, not allowed to take part in that? well, it wouldn'tjust be joe biden, it would be house speaker nancy pelosi and early 100 other congresspeople who are catholic and pro—choice. and they would be forced to refrain from communion. and it's very sad because they are using this to bully the president with something that is profoundly sacred to him, and many of our elected officials. so it would be, i think it would be a cause of great embarrassment for the church, and a cause of great pain for elected officials. our thanks to jamie manson. let's get some of the day's other news. the un special envoy for myanmar says the country is at real risk of a

large—scale civil war. christine schraner burgener warned the un general assembly that the opportunity to reverse february's military coup was narrowing. earlier, a resolution was passed calling for member states to stop providing arms to myanmar. the palestinian authority has cancelled a deal under which israel was to give it at least a million coronavirus vaccines. the palestinians said the jabs were too close to their expiry date. there's been international criticism of israel's failure to fully extend its world—beating vaccination programme to the occupied territories. dangerously hot temperatures across the us south—west continue to climb this week. an excessive heat warning is now in place for much of arizona and california, and southern areas of nevada and utah. people are being told to stay in air—conditioned areas and out of the sun. many areas have seen temperatures top 43 celsius for much of this week. people living in new orleans

and along parts of the us gulf coast are preparing for the arrival of a tropical storm. it's the third storm of the 2021 season and is expected to strengthen over the weekend. some oil companies have already evacuated their offshore platforms off the coast of louisiana. the newest version of boeing's 737 max aircraft has made its first test flight over washington state. the max 10 successfully completed a 2.5 hour flight before landing in seattle. the 737 max was grounded worldwide in march 2019 after two fatal crashes in indonesia and ethiopia. it was cleared to start flying again at the end of last year. in florida, closing arguments will be heard on monday in the ronnie 0'neal double murder trial. 0'neal faces the death penalty if convicted. he's accused of shooting dead his partner, murdering their daughter with an axe and stabbing and setting their son alight in 2018.

the accused was allowed to confront the boy in court. aruna iyengar has this report. it's unusual for the accused to represent themselves in their own murder trial, but that's what ronnie 0'neal is doing. this week in a florida court he's tried to portray himself as a victim of a conspiracy. this is how he greeted his son, now aged 11. his son, who testified via video link from a different location, told the jury how his father had killed his mother, kenyatta barron, and struck his sister ron'niveya with an axe in march 2018. then this extraordinary exchange... did i hurt you that night, of this incident? yes.

this was the harrowing testimony about the boy's sister. in the united states, defendants are allowed to represent themselves and question witnesses, even if those in the stand are victims. on friday, the lead detective was questioned by 0neal on friday, the lead detective was questioned by 0'neal about whether the killings could be in self defence. 0'neal himself refused to testify in his own defence. he could face the death penalty if convicted. you are watching bbc news. i'm lewis_ you are watching bbc news. i'm lewis vaughanjones.

the headlines: votes are being counted following iran's presidential election, with some results expected in the coming hours. unofficial reports suggest conservative cleric ebrahim raisi has taken about two—thirds of the vote. roman catholic bishops in the us have made a first move towards denying holy communion to politicians — like president biden — who support abortion rights. the bishops voted in defiance of the vatican's advice. a british woman who was attacked repeatedly by a crocodile in mexico has been discharged from hospital. 28—year—old melissa laurie suffered a perforated intestine and several other injuries when she was attacked by the animal in a lagoon. her twin georgia had to fend off the creature, while trying to pull her sibling to safety. she's been speaking to will grant. a bandage hiding the teeth marks in her wrist is the only outward sign of georgia laurie's recent encounter with a crocodile. but the horrific attack which almost killed her twin

sister melissa has left much deeper, emotionalscars. i actually heard her scream and i saw her being taken underneath by the crocodile. then i realised she was really in trouble when i was calling out her name and there was no response from her. my worst fear became a reality, is that i have probably lost her, that she is dead. their nightmare began here at the manialtepec lagoon. their unlicensed german guide told the tour group they could swim in these waters, despite it being hatching season for crocodiles. i grabbed her body, pulled it towards me and rested her on my chest. she was blue and i tried to revive her. then the crocodile came along, so i beat it off. and it went away, but then she started going into a fit, flailing her arms and legs. i think she thought it was still attacking her. so i tried to calm her down and then it came back. so i beat it off again,

but i was trying to hold her head up at the same time so she didn't take in any more water and beat it off. and then it went away and i dragged her body away to safety and then a boat came along. but unfortunately, they couldn't get close enough with the boat and it took a little while, and then it came back for a third time. that's when i sustained actually the most injuries because it grabbed her on the leg and her behind, and tried to death roll her and drag her away. i was beating it on its snout and it grabbed my wrist and my arm. so i had to beat it off with my other arm. georgia's quick thinking and bravery, hitting the animal repeatedly on the nose, undoubtedly saved melissa, who is still recovering from a perforated intestine and other injuries. crocodile attacks in this

part of mexico are rare, but rarer still is to survive one and tell the story afterwards. the laurie twins are pretty unique in that regard, but the scars of their experience, both emotional and physical, could take a lifetime to fade. she thought that this was the way she was going to go and she wasn't ready. she was thinking of me in herfinal moments. like, what is going to happen to georgia? you know, it's really harrowing that she was feeling that way. i am counting my lucky stars that someone was looking out for us. thanks to georgia foote telling that extraordinary story to us. —— for telling. many people in the us have been enjoying the day off in celebration of the nation's newest federal holiday. juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of the last

enslaved african americans over 150 years ago and thursday, presidentjoe biden signed the bill making the day official. koralie barrau reports. all right! applause for the first time in nearly a0 years, america officially has a new federal holiday. at an event at the white house on thursday, president biden signed into law a national commemoration ofjuneteenth, which memorialises when the last enslaved people in texas were freed. a day in which we remember the moral stain and the terrible toll that slavery took on the country, and continues to take. what i have long called america's original sin. among those at the signing with the president was 94—year—old 0pal lee, who has been referred to as the grandmother of juneteenth, for her efforts to urge legislators to make today a federal holiday. the bill is passed! how am i supposed to express the joy, how am i supposed to express all the years that we have worked,

and for it to come to fruition, on the backs of so many people? juneteenth is a commemoration of when slavery ended in the united states. 0n19june, 1865 among the last enslaved people living in galveston, texas, received the news they were free. it was nearly 2.5 years after abraham lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation. so today is the first time many americans have the day off work in honour of the holiday, and in galveston, celebrations are already under way. people are aware, it has been recognised, and i truly think they will be able to see a lot of change, a lot of things. things are going to improve, ijust believe in that. america continues to face a racial reckoning and a national conversation about systemic racism, police brutality and voting rights issues. the recognition

ofjuneteenth as a holiday is a reminder of how far the country has come, but many americans are also taking the day to highlight the work that is left to do. two top executives from one of hong kong's biggest newspapers, apple daily, have appeared in court, charged with violating a controversial national security law. small crowd of people gathered outside to support the men — they believe the charges are intended to silence criticism of the authorities. ryan law and cheung kim hung were accused of asking foreign nations to impose sanctions on hong kong and the chinese government. they were arrested on thursday in a raid on the paper's offices by 500 police. apple daily has backed the pro—democracy movement and criticised beijing's tightening grip on hong kong. to the us now.

two members have resigned from the hollywood foreign press association, the body that organises the golden globes, denouncing the organisation as �*toxic�*. the hfpa has been battered by recent criticism. back in may, the us broadcaster nbc announced that it would not air the golden globes in 2022. among the reasons given, the hfpa had not had any black members in more than 20 years. diederik van hoogstraten and wenting xu wrote a letter. here is some of what they had to say. they also said: in a statement, the hfpa said they �*share one, common goal — passing the transformational change our organisation needs�*. here's our la correspondent david willis. this has been a terrible year for the hollywood foreign press association, no question about that. it has long be the butt

ofjokes, as a group of about 85 starstruck journalists, many of whom work for obscure overseas publications. even then, part time rather than full—time in many cases. but those jokes became a lot more serious this year, following the publication of an expose in the los angeles times, which talked about corruption in the organisation, and basically made it seem more like a sort of country club at best, or a sort of cabal at worst. that was followed by the news that some of the big powerful companies in hollywood like amazon and warner brothers were boycotting the hollywood foreign press association until reforms had taken place, and nbc, which as the annual golden globe ceremony also announced it was stepping back. now we have this very damning criticism from insiders who are basically saying that any motion towards reform that the organisation says it is taking is really no more than window dressing.

thanks to david there. football now and one of the most anticipated matches of euro 2020 so far — the clash between england and scotland has ended in a goalless draw. 0ur sports editor, dan roan reports from wembley. no older rivalry and no greater stage. a quarter of a century had passed since wembley hosted the only previous meeting between these two teams at a major tournament — one of england's most memorable victories, but the visitors have enjoyed success of their own here. a night of history and hope lay ahead. we've got a really good chance here, we've got a good squad, good line—up. anything can happen. england always underestimate us. we have nothing to lose here. so let's do it. i'm nervous. i can see scotland getting a goal, and it's making me a bit nervy, but i think

we will come through. we will get what we need. these fixtures almost always have an edge, and with the rain failing to dampen the atmosphere, it was clear this would be no exception. in a lively opening period, john stones�* towering header coming agonisingly close to putting england ahead. so much for predictions — this could be cagey. jordan pickford forced into a great save by stephen 0'donnell. hard to believe a0 places separate these teams in the world rankings. despite an injury time goal mouth scramble, england had been kept at bay in a performance that raises more questions than answers. a goalless draw the final result, but a point scotland will be proud of. we defended well, we had a game plan and we drew 0—0, and we are going to qualify, so thank you. —— that was dan roan reporting there. there is plenty more online. as always. you can get me on

twitter. i'm lewis vaughan jones and this is bbc news. bye— bye. hello there. friday brought us two very different days of weather depending on where you were across the uk. for some, beautiful sunshine — that was the scene for a weather watcher in 0rkney, compare that with this picture from oxford, where the rain was teeming down. some parts of southern england saw over a month's worth of rain injust 2a hours. you can see that wet weather on the earlier radar picture. but it did begin to clear off to the east through the latter part of the day, the area of low pressure responsible sliding away eastwards, and that leaves us between weather systems for saturday. so the contrasts in the weather system will be less dramatic. some places will be a little cloudier than others. some will see some showers, but generally speaking, there's quite a lot of dry weather on the way. we will see some spells of sunshine developing, some showers breaking out particularly across parts of scotland through the day, some of those could be heavy and some creeping up across the channel islands and into southern counties of england later on. temperatures perhaps

at their highest around parts of wales and north—west england getting up to 21 or 22 degrees. as we head through saturday night, we are going to see some of those showers pushing up from the south. some longer spells of rain in places. northern ireland and scotland staying largely dry through the night with some clear spells and temperatures generally between 8 and 1a degrees. so for sunday, it is quite a complicated weather setup. low pressure to the south—west, this frontal system will bring some early rain across some eastern and north—eastern parts and a few showers elsewhere. so, the detailfor sunday probably will change between now and then. but we are going to see quite a lot of cloud spilling up from the south with some showers or longer spells of rain. some sunny spells too across parts of northern ireland, southern scotland, perhaps the north of england. but even here, we could see some showers breaking out. and temperatures will depend on how much sunshine you get, but generally between 13 and 20 degrees. let's have a look at the start of next week. because as we head into monday, this weather front here is likely to become quite slow moving across southern parts of the uk. so that means there will be some outbreaks of rain here. with the wind starting to come down from the north,

we are going to tap into some rather cool air for the time of year. monday is the summer solstice. it is not going to feel much like summer — cool for all, wet down towards the south. stays unsettled and quite cool into tuesday.

he could face the death penalty if convicted.

this is bbc news, the headlines: votes are being counted following iran's presidential election, with some results expected in the coming hours. unofficial reports suggest the conservative cleric and favoured candidate ebrahim raisi, has taken about two—thirds of the vote. most reformists were barred from standing, leaving a majority of hardliners in the race. roman catholic bishops in the us are on a potential collision course withjoe biden after voting overwhelmingly to draft a teaching document addressing whether catholic politicians who support abortion rights should be barred from communion. the vatican has already indicated its opposition to the bishops�* move. england and scotland have played to a 0—0 draw at wembley in their eagerly anticipated group game at euro 2020. it was the first contest between football�*s oldest rivals at a major tournament since euro 96.