Newshour

US President Donald Trump confirms he spoke to FIFA before they suspended Folarin Balogun's one-game red card ban. The 25-year-old striker, who is the US's top scorer at the tournament with three goals, was shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender last week. There are now warnings that football's integrity may be at stake as the ban was overturned. We hear from a former top FIFA executive who thinks football's governing body has got it badly wrong.

Also on the programme: a new insight into a puzzle from the start of the universe; and why an ancient Greek epic speaks to us today as Homer's Odyssey has its global movie premiere in London.

(Photo: US footballer Folarin Balogun practising in Seattle Credit: Imagn Images via Reuters/Steven Bisig)

Ukraine’s President Zelensky calls on allies for air defence help after more than seventeen people are killed in Russian ballistic missiles strikes on and around the capital Kyiv.

Also in the programme: the World Cup red card row ramps up as Belgium appeals FIFA’s decision to suspend a match ban on Team USA's top striker, which followed a phone call to FIFA’s boss by President Trump; and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologises to singer Kylie Minogue after comments he made on a podcast.

(IMAGE: An explosion in Vyshneve, Kyiv region, Ukraine, July 6, 2026, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in this still image obtained from a social media video / CREDIT: Social media verified via REUTERS)

Ukrainian drone strikes deep inside Russian held territory fuel growing energy crisis as Kyiv tries to pressure Moscow into peace talks.

Also in the news: We'll hear about Israel defying the Israeli supreme court - with President Herzog saying that crosses a red line; and why male marathon runners collapse in a heap more often than female ones (Photo: Vehicles queue to refuel at a Rosneft petrol pump, Sergey Pivovarov: REUTERS)

Ukrainian drones strike Russian energy grids amid growing fuel crisis as Kyiv tries to pressure Moscow into peace talks. We also hear how life in Russian-occupied Crimea is becoming unbearable for some residents.

Also in the news: mysterious space debris found on Queensland beaches; and why women are less likely than men to hit the wall in marathons. 

(Photo: Smoke rises from an oil refinery following a Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow. Credit: Reuters)

The United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, but is President Trump politicising the occasion? Also in the programme: Iran mourns late Ayatollah Khamenei ahead of his funeral; and Cape Verde, the small African island nation that made history in this World Cup.

(Photograph: Fighter jets over New York. Credit: Shutterstock)

President Trump has used a speech on the eve of the 250th anniversary of US independence to claim that American identity is under threat from domestic 'radicals' and 'extremists'. At the Mount Rushmore national monument, Mr Trump warned of a resurgence of what he called 'the communist menace' and 'newcomers' who embrace ideas opposed to the American way of life.

The coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, is on display along with those of four family members at the Grand Mosalla mosque in Tehran. Millions of people are expected to attend Saturday's official ceremony. We hear from our correspondent in Tehran.

Iran has begun several days of public mourning and funeral processions for its former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, more than four months after he was killed in strikes launched by the US and Israel.

Tehran is using the occasion as an opportunity to project to the world an image of power.

Also in the programme: There's a grim warning from the UN that another humanitarian catastrophe is imminent in Sudan; why taking maternity leave as a town mayor is highly controversial in Japan; and we'll hear about the dolphins that are the gauge of marine destruction in the Adriatic Sea.

(Photo shows mourners gathered by the coffin of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran, on 3 July 2026. Credit: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

A man has been rescued alive after being trapped for eight days in the rubble of a building that collapsed after twin earthquakes in Venezuela. We’ll hear from one of the rescuers in Catia La Mar.

Also on the programme: Ukrainian officials say now that at least 25 people were killed in Russia's huge overnight attacks on Kyiv; and the chair of the jury of one of the world's most highly regarded international piano competitions tells us why he's planning to rip up the rule-book.

(Photo: Rescue workers carry an earthquake survivor after the person was trapped under the rubble for eight days in Catia La Mar, Venezuela on July 2, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)

Kyiv was hit overnight by some 74 Russian missiles and 500 drones. At least 26 penetrated air defences, causing fires, damage to residential buildings and at least 18 deaths. We hear the latest from the city, and ask the defence specialist and Estonian ambassador to the UK, Sven Sakkov, whether President Putin's war is sustainable.

Also in the programme: the thousands of people with wartime injuries or life-threatening diseases who are desperate to leave Gaza for medical treatment abroad; and will a plethora of new satellites in space make it impossible for astronomers to scrutinise the skies?

(Photo: Aftermath of massive Russian attack on Kyiv, 2 Jul 2026. Credit: MAXYM MARUSENKO/EPA/Shutterstock)