Saudi Arabia joins US strikes on Iran-backed militias

FIFA offers incentives over "stakeholder" plan

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)

Saudi Arabia joins US strikes on Iran-backed militias

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)

Has Zelensky won Trump's trust?

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)

What does Netanyahu want from meeting with Trump?

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)

Wildfires continue to burn in France and Spain

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)