BBC News

What does a drought mean for you and is the UK running out of water?

It's not just about grass turning brown, some reservoirs have been low on water.

These reservoirs are used to either generate power or sometimes they are treated to provided drinking water.

At this time of year, some of this is expected but summer so far has been exceptionally hot and dry across much of the UK.

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#France #SpainA fourth heatwave of the summer has begun in Spain and France, with firefighters trying to prevent a flare-up from major wildfires that have only just been brought under control.

In Spain, 24,000 people have been told they can return to their homes in the Madrid region, but some fires further afield have continued to burn.

Fire crews in France have been tackling wildfires in the south-west as temperatures soar to 40C, prompting fears more fires could break out.

Officials in the Gironde region insist fires there are under control. Thousands of evacuees can now return to their homes but they’ve been warned they may need to leave again.

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Former top US health official Anthony Fauci has refused to answer questions at a tense US Senate hearing on Covid-19, saying he feared Republicans would try to use his testimony to prosecute him for perjury.

He invoked the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution - which says nobody can be "compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself" - more than 100 times.

Republicans have long accused Fauci of concealing information about the pandemic from the public and lying about its dangers. He has denied wrongdoing.

Fauci has called the allegations against him "simply preposterous" in previous testimony to lawmakers.

Before leaving office in 2025, then-President Joe Biden issued a pre-emptive pardon to Fauci, granting him protection from any prosecution.

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US President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard after a ballistic missile attack on US bases overnight in Jordan. It's the first such attack since Trump ordered a halt to US strikes over the weekend.

In response, the American and Saudi Arabian forces quickly launched joint strikes on militant groups in Iraq who are aligned with Iran.

Twenty people were reportedly killed, including five Iranians. And the US President has threatened further strikes.

Iraq - which is a key US ally in the region - is furious, warning Washington and Riyadh it will defend its sovereignty against any further strikes.

On the Iran War Today, we bring you up to date with everything you need to know about the conflict and what might come next.

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European football's governing body Uefa and UK PM Andy Burnham have criticised proposals from Fifa to seek private investment in its competitions, including the World Cup.

Fifa said it intends to expand "football development funding" and invite third-party investment in a new venture.

But who might the third party be - and why are people furious about the plans?

In this video...

01:29 - What does FIFA have planned?

02:35 - Quickfire questions

Who owns FIFA?

Is FIFA a non-profit?

Who is Infantino?

05:14 - Reaction to the controversy

08:03 - Infantino-Trump relationship

09:46 - What happens next?

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he wants a major reform of the current social care system in England and set out his three-point plan to achieve it.

The prime minister has brought forward a review of social care by Baroness Casey, and has asked the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to work with him on his reforms.

But what does Andy Burnham mean by a ‘National Care Service’? Why have 22 previous reviews into adult social care failed to affect change? And how will he fund the major task of fixing social care in England?

Adam is joined by Alison Holt, Social Affairs Editor, Jim Reed, Health Correspodnent, and Ben Chu, Policy and Analysis Correspondent at BBC Verify to comb through everything we learned - and everything we didn’t - from the Prime Minister today.

To unpack everything we learned today of this Adam is joined by Social Affairs Editor Alison Holt, Health Correspondent Jim Reed, and Policy and Analysis Correspondent at BBC Verify Ben Chu.

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00:00 Introduction

02:20 What are the issues in the social care sector?

07:00 What is Andy Burnham's plan to fix it?

12:30 Andy Burnham brings the social care review forward

21:30 How can the social care workforce be reformed?

27:50 Cross-party social care talks

31:40 The PM's position on assisted dying

The BBC's chief football news reporter Simon Stone tells us about Fifa's controversial plan to sell stock in the World Cup.

Football's global governing body is registered as a non-profit. But Fifa boss Gianni Infantino has proposed a new subsidiary called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would sell shares to private investors, and run major events including the World Cup.

Fifa says the lead investor would likely be Thrive Eternal, a US venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner - whose brother Jared Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

Mr Infantino has said that the individual football federations which make up Fifa stand to make an initial $20 million if they accept the plan. But Europe's UEFA - which is among the most powerful of those federations - has said the proposal "crosses a line", accusing Fifa of using football "to enrich themselves and their friends".

Meanwhile British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said Fifa is "selling out", saying that "the World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in world sport, and it was never anyone's to sell."

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00:00 Introduction

00:28 Infantino’s plan for the World Cup

01:56 Fifa and Trump

02:29 The problem with Fifa’s plan

04:23 Will Fifa members support Infantino’s proposal?

07:50 Could countries boycott Fifa?

Saudi Arabia and the US have carried out strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict.

US Central Command said the strikes were against "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure".

Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces, which is dominated by Iran-backed Shia militias, said at least 20 of its members had been killed in US-Saudi strikes on its bases.

It came hours after Centcom said Iran had launched missiles at US forces in the Middle East in an "attempted surprise attack", ending a lull in hostilities.

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The president of the Aeon Mall in Kumamoto, Japan, where a large explosion took place following Tuesday's earthquake, says that three people have been killed and three people are still missing following the disaster.

Akio Yoshida also said that four people were transported to hospital from the mall and that the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

The quake hit the country's south-west region with a magnitude of 6.8.

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Spanish authorities have allowed thousands of people evacuated because of wildfires to return to their homes after restrictions were lifted in the areas of Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, and Castellón.

In the Madrid region alone, 24,000 people have been told they can return and lockdowns on another 20,000 have been lifted.

Spain and France are both braced for the start of the fourth heatwave so far this summer and some fires have continued to burn, including one at Burgohondo 150km (93 miles) west of Madrid.

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