that is phil mercer in _ normal as well. that is phil mercer in sydney _ normal as well. being counted in iran's parliamentary elections — the first test of opinion there since the wave of protests against the hardline islamic regime. turnout so far has reportedly been low — several groups of reformist politicians have boycotted the election altogether. the bbc�*s caroline davies was given rare permission to report from inside the country, and has been speaking to people there. iran is yet to announce its official results for the election but there are still some early indications from state media about turnout. this is one of the state newspapers. here it says the turnout is at 41% across the country, and here, in the capital tehran, it is at 24%. now, these figures have not been finalised yet but if these are correct, 41% is thought to be a historically low turnout for iran during these parliamentary elections. it is difficult to get a sense here in iran about exactly how many people are feeling. many people don't want to speak to foreign media, particularly on camera.

phil mercer. in south korea, a dispute _ later date. phil mercer.ween doctors later date. phil mercer. in south - korea, a dispute between doctors and the government has become increasingly divisive. the government is pressing ahead with his vow to suspend the licenses of thousands of doctors who ignore its repeated demands to end the collective walk—outs. they're locked in a standoff over staff shortages. doctors argue a plan won't deal with the fundamental flaws in the system. but the government is not backing down, saying more doctors need to be trained. it has accused medics of putting patients' lives at risk. he is the south korean president. translation: the is the south korean president. translation: ., ., , ., translation: the government has to res-ond translation: the government has to re5pond sternly _ translation: the government has to respond sternly to _ translation: the government has to respond sternly to illegal _ respond sternly to illegal collective action that holds people's like hostage. the reason the government gives is to prot

let's speak to our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer.make rafts and move around, what is this latest development?— around, what is this latest develoment? , ., , development? these fire ants, native to south _ development? these fire ants, native to south america, - development? these fire ants, native to south america, were| native to south america, were first detected in the australian city of brisbane in 2001, and this federal inquiry is an guh manning —— is examining the health, economic, and agricultural consequences of the spread of the spread of these fire ants. it is believed they have crossed the border from queensland into northern parts of new south wales. they have also been detected at major ports right around australia, and these fire ants, when they attack, they attack en masse, they swarm over their victims, theirjaws log onto a victim's skin and they insert venom by a stinker of a spike in their abdomen, so essentially it is not really a bite, it is a stab, and these fire ants can inflict multiple stings on victims, and

phil mercer has more for us. heatwaves are australia's deadliest natural hazard.il of social service, which is an advocacy organisation, certainly sheds new light on the potential social and health consequences of extreme heat in this country. we should caution that this survey has a relatively small sample size ofjust over 1,000 people. but campaigners say it does highlight a significant issue in this country and that disadvantaged people, including indigenous australians, are far more adversely affected by extreme heat than anyone else. they point to the fact that 80% of respondents say that their homes were simply too hot during the summer. a similar number also said that that heat had made them unwell, that sleep, for example, was hard to find. they were suffering from nausea, headaches and nosebleeds and also pre—existing heart conditions. diabetes and depression were made far worse. now, many people on low income are struggling to afford energy bills in order to run their air conditioning units. and many properties simply don't have aircon orfans for cooling

let's speak to our reporter in sydney phil mercer. he is following this for us. good to see you. on board flight la 800. it originated here in sydney. it was on its way to santiago in chile with a stopover in auckland, new zealand's biggest city. about two hours into a three—hour flight, passengers report, some of them experiencing a sudden midair drop and that briefly the plane nosedived and that briefly the plane nosedived and witnesses have described people, passengers and crew flying through the cabin, leaving blood on the roof and pictures posted online have shown people being treated for their injuries, what we do know is that mercifully this service, this latam flight was able to continue its journey, landed on schedule at auckland's international airport and it was there that paramedics have treated 50 people, about a dozen have been taken to hospital. we understand that one of those patients is in a serious condition. sounds absolutely terrifying. what are the airline saying? the sounds absolutely terrifying. what are the airline saying?— are the airline saying? the airl

our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, told us more.imes. and the authorities say that these creatures pose a threat notjust to people but to pets, livestock and wildlife. these creatures were first discovered in australia at the port of brisbane in 2001. they have spread throughout the south—eastern part of queensland state, encroaching now over the border into neighbouring new south wales, and also they have been found at major ports around australia as well. so this federal inquiry in the australian capital canberra looking at ways that these ants are affecting are potentially affecting health, economy, and society. after yet another volcanic eruption, a state of emergency is in force in southern iceland. it's the fourth eruption since december. residents in the small town of grindaveek have been evacuated. the blue lagoon geothermal spa, which is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations, has also closed. popular tourist destinations, has also closed. lava flows cut off one road overnight, but they've slowed down since

our correspondent in sydney, phil mercer, has more.tive to south america, were first detected in the australian city of brisbane in 2001. and this federal inquiry is examining the health, economic and agricultural consequences of the spread of these fire ants. now, it's believed that they have crossed the borderfrom queensland into northern parts of new south wales state. they have also been detected at major ports right around australia. and these fire ants, when they attack, they attack en masse, they swarm over their victims, their jaws lock onto a victim's skin and they insert venom via a stinger, or a spike, in their abdomen. so, essentially, it's not really a bite, it's a stab, and these fire ants can inflict multiple stings on victims and they pose a threat notjust to people but to pets, livestock and wildlife as well. so, a lot for this parliamentary inquiry in canberra to digest, as it ascertains the threat from these tiny, yet aggressive creatures. let's speak to reece pianta from australia's invasive species council, who has

live now to our sydney correspondent phil mercer. this is expensive for uber. it is.ion us dollars, one of the biggest class action settlement in australia's history. uber was accused of arriving on australian shores well over a decade ago, behaving illegally like pirates, according to these lawyers representing more than 8000 hire car and taxi drivers. they claimed uber wasn't abiding by rules and regulations at the time, but now uber has agreed to pay the huge amount of money. lawyers for the taxi drivers and hire car drivers say that this is a significant victory, which proves they were right all along. proves they were right all alonu. ., . ., , along. you could certainly an ue along. you could certainly argue that. _ along. you could certainly argue that, given - along. you could certainly argue that, given the i along. you could certainly i argue that, given the outcome, but interesting for uber, which operates in many cities around the world. i wonder if taxi drivers elsewhere are looking at this and wondering.- drivers elsewhere are looking at this and wonderi