Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash after an hours-long search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country's northwest, state media reported.

Raisi was 63.

The incident comes as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

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Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women's rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.

Raisi was travelling in Iran's East Azerbaijan province. State TV said what it called a "hard landing" happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometres (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

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https://twitter.com/anadoluagency/status/1792348729858768951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Later, state TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remained contradictory.

Travelling with Raisi were Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word "crash," but others referred to either a "hard landing" or an "incident."

Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisi's condition in the hours afterward.

Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they "suspected to be wreckage of helicopter."

The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.

Hard-liners urged the public to pray for him. State TV aired images of hundreds of the faithful, some with their hands outstretched in supplication, praying at Imam Reza Shrine in the city of Mashhad, one of Shiite Islam's holiest sites, as well as in Qom and other locations across the country. State television's main channel aired the prayers nonstop.

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In Tehran, a group of men kneeling on the side of the street clasped strands of prayer beads and watched a video of Raisi praying, some of them visibly weeping.

"If anything happens to him we'll be heartbroken," said one of the men, Mehdi Seyedi. "May the prayers work and may he return to the arms of the nation safe and sound."

In comments aired on state TV, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said: "The esteemed president and company were on their way back aboard some helicopters and one of the helicopters was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog."

"Various rescue teams are on their way to the region but because of the poor weather and fogginess it might take time for them to reach the helicopter."

IRNA called the area a "forest" and the region is known to be mountainous as well. State TV aired images of SUVs racing through a wooded area and said they were being hampered by poor weather conditions, including heavy rain and wind. Rescuers could be seen walking in the fog and mist.

A rescue helicopter tried to reach the area where authorities believe Raisi's helicopter was, but it couldn't land due to heavy mist, emergency services spokesman Babak Yektaparast told IRNA. Late in the evening, Turkey's defense ministry announced that it had sent an unmanned aerial vehicle and was preparing to send a helicopter with night vision capabilities to join the search-and-rescue efforts.

Long after the sunset, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi acknowledged that "we are experiencing difficult and complicated conditions" in the search.

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"It is the right of the people and the media to be aware of the latest news about the president's helicopter accident, but considering the coordinates of the incident site and the weather conditions, there is 'no' new news whatsoever until now," he wrote on the social platform X. "In these moments, patience, prayer and trust in relief groups are the way forward."

Khamenei himself also urged the public to pray.

"We hope that God the Almighty returns the dear president and his colleagues in full health to the arms of the nation," Khamenei said, drawing an "amen" from the worshipers he was addressing.

However, the supreme leader also stressed the business of Iran's government would continue no matter what. Under the Iranian constitution, Iran's vice first president takes over if the president dies with Khamenei's assent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days. First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber already had begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments in Raisi's absence, state media reported.

Raisi, 63, a hard-liner who formerly led the country's judiciary, is viewed as a protégé of Khamenei and some analysts have suggested he could replace the 85-year-old leader after Khamenei's death or resignation.

Raisi had been on the border with Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third one that the two nations built on the Aras River. The visit came despite chilly relations between the two nations, including over a gun attack on Azerbaijan's Embassy in Tehran in 2023, and Azerbaijan's diplomatic relations with Israel, which Iran's Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.

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Iran flies a variety of helicopters in the country, but international sanctions make it difficult to obtain parts for them. Its military air fleet also largely dates back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. IRNA published images it described as Raisi taking off in what resembled a Bell helicopter, with a blue-and-white paint scheme previously seen in published photographs.

Raisi won Iran's 2021 presidential election, a vote that saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic's history. Raisi is sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 at the end of the bloody Iran-Iraq war.

Under Raisi, Iran now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and hampers international inspections. Iran has armed Russia in its war on Ukraine, as well as launched a massive drone-and-missile attack on Israel amid its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It also has continued arming proxy groups in the Mideast, like Yemen's Houthi rebels and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, mass protests in the country have raged for years. The most recent involved the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who had been earlier detained over allegedly not wearing a hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities. The monthslong security crackdown that followed the demonstrations killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.

READ MORE: What we know about the crash of the helicopter carrying Iran's president

In March, a United Nations investigative panel found that Iran was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to Amini's death.

President Joe Biden was briefed by aides on the Iran crash, but administration officials have not learned much more than what is being reported publicly by Iran state media, said a senior administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Exclusive: A Perth father has spoken of his devastation and called for change after his 22-month-old son died after choking on a grape.

Brian Bwoga was with his two sons on a mother's group outing at Burns Beach, near the Illuka Foreshore, when the tragedy occurred on January 15.

Bwoga told 9news.com.au he was watching his youngest son Zaire, also known as ZaZa, playing happily on the water's edge with another toddler.

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"I was on the beach and we had just come in from swimming," Bwoga said. 

"I was (watching him) like a hawk playing near the water. He was fine, and then he suddenly started choking."

Bwoga said ZaZa's little toddler friend had shared a grape with him.

"I come from a background of being a chef, so I'm always one of those parents who cut up everything," Bwoga said. 

"But he was playing with his friend, and his friend just shared the grape and that was it."

Bwoga immediately rushed to ZaZa and tried to clear his airways.

"I started doing CPR and mouth-to-mouth and all of that," Bwoga, who is trained in CPR, said.

A friend called an ambulance as Bwoga frantically tried to save his son.

"It all happened so quickly. Literally, within five minutes, my son was dead," Bwoga said.

"He died in my arms."

A spokesperson for St John Ambulance Western Australia said paramedics rushed ZaZa to Joondalup Health Campus under priority 1 conditions.

However, ZaZa could not be revived.

ZaZa was a happy and cheeky boy who was loved by all, his father said.

"He was a little rebel and he loved life," Bwoga said. 

"He taught me to live your life to the fullest. He showed me so many things and that is what I miss about him. 

"Life is short. It's a cliche, but it's true, it can be snatched out of you within minutes."

Bwoga said he plunged into a deep depression immediately after ZaZa's death and "didn't want to live".

He began searching for answers and was shocked to see the number of choking incidents happening in Australia. 

"I started doing some research and I realised this is just unbelievable," Bwoga said.

Statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show there were 134 injury cases of choking and suffocation relating to food among children aged four and under in 2021-2022.

During the same period, there were two infant deaths recorded from choking or suffocation because of food obstructing the respiratory tract.

In Australia, there are currently no labelling requirements relating to choking hazards.

This is something Bwoga would like to see changed.

Bwoga last week started an online petition calling on authorities to make it mandatory for warning labels to be placed on packaged grapes and signage to be added in stores selling loose grapes.

"Warning labels or a sign when purchasing grapes is a fairly simple thing," Bwoga wrote in the petition.

"In regards to cost, a sign placed where shoppers can see when they select their grapes is a one-time expense that can last several years.

"It's a priceless service if it saves a life. 

"Ideally, we would like supermarkets and big chains to consider putting some choking hazard warning labels on (grapes), just like they do on toys and other things."

Bwoga said he didn't want any other families to have to go through a similar tragedy.

"It scares me that other kids could pass away. For me, that is just unacceptable," he said.

"I'm just asking for awareness and for ZaZa's death not to be in vain."

Australian labelling requirements are set by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

A spokesperson for Australia New Zealand Food Standards, who oversee the code, said anyone could make an application to change the code, which it would then assess. 

Caitlin Collins, the Labor MP for Hillarys, told 9news.com.au she recently met with Bwoga and spoke with him about his campaign.

"I recently met with Brian in my office. My heart really goes out to him and the … family after the tragic loss of their little one.

"This was a truly devastating accident and I extend my sincere condolences to the entire family."

Collins said she would encourage Bwoga to make an application to change the Food Standards Code.

"I will continue to offer support to Brian through this difficult time," she said.

The federal government's Department of Social Services' Raising Children parenting website offers advice about choking hazards for children.

Any food smaller than a 20-cent coin can present a choking danger for small children under four years old and should be mashed, grated, finely cut or peeled, the website states.

Food choking risks include:

• nuts and seeds, including popcorn kernels
• hot dogs and sausages
• pieces and bones of meat, including chicken or fish
• hard foods like crackers and corn chips
• lollies and marshmallows
• unpeeled food like apples, nectarines, grapes and tomatoes
• fruit pips and stones
• raw vegetables like carrots, uncooked peas and lettuce leaves
• stringy food like celery and pineapple

Source: Raising Children

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au

A solution for the ballooning number of demountable classrooms in New South Wales looks far away, with the plan to build more permanent classrooms caught in a tug-of-war over funding.

Demountable classrooms – often cold inside during winter and baking hot in summer – were established as what successive NSW governments said was a stop-gap solution for schools coping with expanding student enrolments.

But a recent study this year showed thousands have become permanent fixtures in the state's public schools, with some remaining in place for decades.

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An Australian Education Union (AEU) report into federal government spending on public and private schools revealed demountables in some NSW schools have been there for 20 years or longer.

There are more than 5000 temporary demountable buildings used as classrooms in the state's public schools, a 30 per cent increase from 2011 to 2021, the study said. That represents 12 per cent of learning space in public schools.

Analysis showed west and south-west Sydney have disproportionately higher numbers of demountable classrooms. Almost one-quarter of the 5093 demountables were found in the federal electorates of Greenway, Mitchell, Parramatta, Fowler, and Blaxland (the electorate of federal Education Minister Jason Clare).

And it identified more than 2000 of the state's demountable buildings as aged 20 years or older.

"The capital funding divide has forced public school students to learn in classrooms that are outdated, unsafe and unfit for modern learning," the Ending the capital divide in Australia's schools report said.

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The AEU study also said private schools had benefitted from billions more of dollars in federal government funding compared with public schools.

It noted five exclusive private schools in NSW and Victoria spent $175.6 million in 2021, compared with spending of $174.4 million at 3372 public schools. But private schools insisted their capital investment is largely funded by school and parent communities.

The AEU and the NSW Teachers Federation are concerned the Albanese government's $68 million capital investment for the state's public schools will expire this year and want a new funding deal hammered out.

The haggle over funding means there is no solution to building more permanent classrooms and facilities for many NSW public schools on the horizon.

A spokesperson for the NSW Education Minister Prue Car told 9news.com.au the government was "working hard" to replace the demountable classrooms.

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"The number of demountable classrooms being used in NSW public schools exploded under 12 years of Liberal National government as they refused to upgrade or build new schools where they were needed in Western Sydney's rapidly growing suburbs.

"We are working hard to fix the school infrastructure backlog left by the former government and ensure all NSW students have high quality, permanent schools to learn in.

"The NSW Government has committed record funding to deliver new and upgraded schools. In Western Sydney alone, a record $3.5 billion pipeline will deliver more than 60 new and upgraded public schools for Sydney's rapidly growing suburbs."

The spokesperson said the 2023-2024 NSW budget includes funding for 15 new schools and 17 upgrades in the top 10 student growth areas.

The apparent crash of a helicopter carrying Iran's president and foreign minister has sent shockwaves around the region.

Details remained scant in the hours after the incident, and it was unclear if Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the other officials had survived.

Here's what we know so far.

Who was on board the helicopter?

The helicopter was carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran's East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

Raisi was returning from a trip to Iran's border with Azerbaijan earlier Sunday to inaugurate a dam with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, the news agency said.

Where and how did the helicopter go down?

The helicopter apparently crashed or made an emergency landing in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear.

Initially, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the helicopter "was forced to make a hard landing due to the bad weather and fog."

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What is the status of the search?

Iranian officials have said the mountainous, forested terrain and heavy fog impeded search-and-rescue operations.

The president of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Pir-Hossein Koulivand, said 40 search teams were on the ground in the area despite "challenging weather conditions."

The search is being done by teams on the ground, as "the weather conditions have made it impossible to conduct aerial searches" via drones, Koulivand said, according to IRNA.

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If Raisi died in the crash, how might this impact Iran?

Raisi is seen as a protégé to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a potential successor for his position within the country's Shiite theocracy.

Under the Iranian constitution, if he died, the country's first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, would become president. Khamenei has publicly assured Iranians that there would be "no disruption to the operations of the country" as a result of the crash.

What has the international reaction been?

Countries including Russia, Iraq and Qatar have made formal statements of concern about Raisi's fate and offered to assist in the search operations.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev said he was "deeply concerned" to hear of the incident, and affirmed that Azerbaijan was ready to provide any support necessary. Relations between the two countries have been chilly due to Azerbaijan's diplomatic relations with Israel, Iran's regional arch-enemy.

Saudi Arabia, which is traditionally a rival of Iran although the two countries have recently made a rapprochement, also expressed concern in a statement and said it "stands by Iran in these difficult circumstances."

There was no immediate official reaction from Israel. Last month, following an Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Damascus that killed two Iranian generals, Tehran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel. They were mostly shot down and tensions have apparently since subsided.

A large meteor has been filmed streaking over Portugal, lighting up the night with a great burst of light.

The incredible sight dazzled those lucky enough to witness it just before midnight on Saturday (early Sunday AEST).

Many videos shared on social media captured a bright flash of light almost turning day to night as the projectile streaked through the atmosphere with either a greenish or bluish hue.

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The footage was captured in Porto and other parts of the country by security cameras, dash cams and even people partying or watching concerts. 

Spanish astronomers who followed the meteor's path, said it entered the atmosphere at 161,000km/h but stopped being visible 54 kilometres above the ground.

It's unclear whether the meteor hit the Earth's surface. The Portuguese Civil Protection agency received reports of a meteorite landing in the municipality of Castro Daire, about 65 kilometres south-east of Porto but crews sent to investigate found no sign of it.

But a Portuguese astrophysicist said the meteor may not have landed at all.

Nuno Peixinho from Coimbra University's Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences said images captured by a Spanish meteor observation network appeared to show the meteor vaporising while still more than 50 kilometres above the earth's surface.

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"The burst of light we saw is precisely the object vapourising itself," he told CNN Portugal. "An object like this enters the atmosphere at a velocity between 10 and 70 kilometres per second.

"This one entered at 45. It was already pretty big and fast."

Peixinho said meteors were common but "fireballs" such as this one were rarer, particularly in a small country such as Portugal.

He said the noise heard by many witnesses only meant that the meteor was large, not that it hit the earth to become a meteorite.

Protesters have clashed outside Victorian parliament as Pro-Palestinian supporters confronted a group of people saying they were against anti-Semitism.

Six people were arrested with hundreds of police called to Spring Street in Melbourne to maintain calm as more than 7000 people gathered.

Police said a protest, the 32nd consecutive week pro-Palestinians have gathered to protest the conflict in Gaza, started about 12pm.

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A group of pro-Palestinian supporters splintered off from the main march and gathered in front of Victoria's parliament.

Another group of protestors waving Australian and Israeli flags had already collected there on Spring Street.

One protestor is expected to be charged on summons for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Three more are expected to be charged with hindering police officers.

One protester was seen burning an Israeli flag.

The two groups were separated by hundreds of police officers, some of whom were bussed in from other parts of the state.

Pro-Palestinian protesters were today commemorating the Nakba, a historic expulsion of Palestinian people from their territory in 1948.

Police were prepared for today's chaos after pro-Palestinian supporters stormed a Victorian Labor conference yesterday.

Dozens of demonstrators entered Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne's north-west where key speeches were delivered by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan yesterday.

MPs were locked behind a door inside the venue after pro-Palestinian CMFEU members and activists managed to get inside the pavilion.

Union members shouted "free Palestine" via megaphone and some went up to help reinforce the door while police officers escorted Allan out of her seat.

No arrests were made over that incident and police yesterday said the group left without incident.

A 47-year-old man has been charged with four counts of assault after he allegedly attacked four women on a train.

About 9am today, four women on the Adelaide-bound Gawler line were travelling separately when a man on the same train allegedly assaulted them at random.

The man allegedly punched, slapped, pushed, spat on the women, and verbally abused them, police said.

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After the train arrived in Adelaide, police allege the man jumped the exit barriers and ran towards Adelaide Oval.

He was soon caught by police and arrested.

None of the women who were allegedly assaulted required medical treatment.

The Salisbury resident was charged with four counts of assault.

He was granted police bail and will appear before the Adelaide Magistrates Court on August 13.

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The man was banned from using public transport for three months.

Police believe the incident took place between Kilburn and Adelaide, and are looking to speak to any witnesses to the alleged attack.

Six members of a Richmond-based Army unit that prepares parachutes for military exercises are facing expulsion after they allegedly tested positive for illicit drugs.

The randomised test was carried out only days before special forces soldier Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon was killed in a training jump in March. 

But the Australian Defence Force said all personnel who were involved in packing and checking Fitzgibbon's parachute tested negative for prohibited substances.

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"The safety of our personnel is paramount and the death of any member, whether in training or in defence of Australia, is deeply felt across the ADF," a defence spokesperson said.

"Defence carries out random and targeted testing for prohibited substances on an ongoing basis.

"The investigations into the death of Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon remain ongoing."

Fitzgibbon, from the 2nd Commando Regiment, suffered critical injuries at a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base in Richmond on March 6, 2024.

A Careflight helicopter was deployed to the scene before he was transported to Westmead Hospital by road ambulance.

The 33-year-old died in hospital. 

A formal investigation was opened into his death, and all parachuting training activities were temporarily suspended.

Fitzgibbon was the son of Joe Fitzgibbon, who served as the member for Hunter between 1996 and 2022 and defence minister in the Rudd government.

Beverley Attard was just 11 when she watched her father destroy their family. 

Attard's mum, Betty, was murdered by her husband more than 30 years ago and decades on, Attard is still navigating the difficulties of being a survivor.

"I was witness to him shooting and killing my mother in our backyard," Attard said.

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"For me, there was a lot of stigma and loneliness."

Attard received support from counsellors for two years but even as time has passed, she said children in Victoria are still the forgotten victims of these heinous crimes. 

"The concept of it is quite confronting and you're often then silenced and people who have had lived experience are often invisible," she said.

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Rebecca Burdon shares Attard's grief and frustration.

Her mother Marilyn was shot dead by her boyfriend in a murder-suicide at her Kew home in 2017.

Burdon was 42 at the time and had three young children, including a six-month-old. 

She said there wasn't enough victim support from government agencies to help her cope.

"I personally needed practical support," she said.

"I was so stressed that I couldn't feed the baby anymore and I had to leave it because I couldn't take it with me."

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A Melbourne University study conducted by Professor Eva Alisic reviewed 70 children affected by domestic homicide.

The findings revealed that many of these survivors have been failed by the lack of support available to them. 

"The impact on these children is enormous and lifelong," Alisic said.

It is estimated that this year alone 34 Australian children have lost a parent in these circumstances but there is no official database recording these statistics. 

"We should really know which children are affected," Alisic said.

"We need to provide them with good, evidence-based trauma and grief therapy."

Attard was sent to live with her aunty after her mother died.

Professor Alisic argues there should be better assistance for extended families.

"The caregivers are grandparents or other family members who are going through their own grief," she said.

"It's really tough for them to support children in these tough circumstances."

For years, both Attard and Burdon searched for others who share a similar story to them. 

They want to see an established peer group for survivors.

"It's been a really positive experience to be able to connect with someone who gets it," Burdon said.

The federal government has allocated $925 million to help prevent family violence but Burdon and Attard said some of that money could significantly help the children of a murdered parent cope with the ongoing trauma. 

"This is not something that's gonna stop in the near foreseeable future and there are going to be many children who will be impacted," Attard said.

"Not just on the day but for the rest of their lives."

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Lifeline on 13 11 14.

A man has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a police officer in the back of the head in Sydney's CBD.

Police said a 33-year-old man approached the officer at the intersection of Park Street and Castlereagh Street at about 1pm before allegedly injuring him with a knife several times.

The police officer and a colleague chased the alleged attacker through nearby Hyde Park, where the man was Tasered and arrested.

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In footage of the tense standoff before the man's arrest on Elizabeth Street, police can be heard warning the man to "put the knife down".

The officer was treated by paramedics at the scene and taken to St Vincent's Hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

The 33-year-old man was arrested and taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for further assessment.

He has not been charged with any offences.

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NSW Police Superintendent Martin Fileman said the man "didn't say anything" before he walked up to the officers.

"There was no conversation," he said.

Fileman said the alleged stabbing was an isolated incident but the man had been known to police for several minor matters.

"There is no history of mental illness on our database," he said.

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A large police presence was seen on Elizabeth Street at Hyde Park near Bathurst Street.

NSW Police said there is no ongoing threat to the public.

A second crime scene was established at the intersection of nearby Castlereagh Street and Park Street.

Several roads had been closed in the city due to the police operation, but have since reopened.

The southbound bus lane on Elizabeth Street remains closed.