Newshour

The head of world football has scrapped his plan to allow private investment in the World Cup, after a backlash from football associations worldwide. Gianni Infantino said he was acting because the proposal was dividing the sport, but he's now facing calls to resign.

Also in the programme: Our reporter in the West Bank speaks to an Israeli settler about the killings of Palestinians; the search continues for seven missing climbers after Pakistan avalanche; and folk dancing from the east of Colombia makes its way to London.

(Photo: Fifa President Gianni Infantino. Credit: Reuters)

Spain says most of the around 55,000 migrants who flooded into its North African territory of Ceuta have returned to Morocco. We speak to a Spanish politician who asks for support from Spain's European partners.

Also on the programme: Hamas has said it's agreed to completely disarm if Israel fully withdraws from Gaza and ends all its attacks; and can Fifa's Gianni Infantino survive after a severe backlash from his own senior staff?

(Photo: Migrants from Morocco arrive at the Spanish border in Ceuta, Spain on July 31, 2026, as migrants cross into Ceuta by sea and land. Credit: Reuters)

Hamas says it has agreed to completely disarm if Israel withdraws forces and ends its attacks. But the Israeli government has yet to confirm whether it will comply.

Also in the programme: Spain's prime minister condemns an influx of tens of thousands of people from Morocco into Ceuta as an attack on Spain's territorial integrity; a top advisor to the head of FIFA resigns over plans to sell private stakes in the World Cup; and the first drone footage of a humpback whale giving birth - we speak to the young man who got the video.

(Photo credit: EPA)

All 55 European footballing nations have voted to boycott the men's and women's World Cup if Fifa goes ahead with plans to sell stakes in the tournaments to private investors. We speak to the vice president of Uefa, which governs European football.

The US military says it has completed a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tuesday's attempted ballistic missile attacks on American forces. Also on the programme, a  teenager who travelled from Norway to the UK to carry out a "hit" for a Swedish organised crime group has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder; and, why K-Pop sensation BTS are boycotting the next year's Grammys.

(Photo: A woman walks next to anti-US graffiti on a street in Tehran, Iran, 20 July 2026. Abedin Taherkenareh EPA/Shutterstock.)

FIFA promises national football associations $40m each if they back contentious new plans to sell stakes in major competitions. We hear from a former vice-president of FIFA, who is not impressed.

Also in the programme: the former White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci is warned by Republican senators that he could face charges of contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about the Covid pandemic; a BBC investigation into alleged criminal sexual behaviour by the film star Jared Leto; and the British chemist who's helped find a new way to fight the growing global threat of fungal infections.

(IMAGE: FIFA President Gianni Infantino inside the stadium before the World Cup final, July 19, 2026 / CREDIT: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Mark J Rebilas/File Photo)

Along with the US, the Saudis have carried out missile strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in a potential escalation of the Middle East conflict. One of the Iran-aligned groups, the Popular Mobilisation Forces, said at least 20 of its members were killed in the overnight attacks.

Also in the programme: the number of settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank was the highest on record last month, according to the UN; and the health-conscious ravers swapping nightclubs for saunas.

(Photo: Damage at a site belonging to Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) following joint airstrikes by the US and Saudi Arabia, in Bartella, Nineveh province, Iraq, July 29, 2026. Credit: Reuters/Khalid Al-Mousily)

It remains one of the defining meetings of President Trump's second term - that now infamous Oval Office exchange - when President Trump and his Vice President JD Vance met Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025. They clashed over the Ukraine conflict with President Trump accusing President Zelensky of 'gambling with World War Three.' The pair met today and President Zelensky said it was a 'good' meeting.

Also in the programme: Dozens are still unaccounted for after a powerful earthquake hits Japan. Firefighters are working around the clock to contain wildfires in France; and is clicking your fingers in cricket cheating? A video goes viral.

(Photo: The presidents meet in the Oval Office. Credit: Zelensky/Telegram)

The Israeli prime minister is preparing to meet Donald Trump for the first time since the start of the war with Iran - will the discussions harden US strategy on Iran.

Also in the programme: a strong earthquake rocks southern Japan; and we're on the front line of Ecuador's battle with the cocaine cartels.

(Photo: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the president's tesidence in Jerusalem, 12 July, 2026. Credit: Abir Sultan/EPA/Shutterstock)

Firefighters in France say they are still not in control of an unprecedented wildfire that's spreading towards the southwestern city of Bordeaux. The city's mayor says he's preparing for all eventualities.

Also, India's youth protesters threaten to restart their demonstrations a day after they ended, we explain why.

And a few months away from the US mid term elections - how will President Trump's war with Iran, impact voters views?

(Photo: French firefighters battle a wildfire spreading in Marcheprime, south-western France, 26 July 2026. Credit: EPA)