How Does The UK Fight Wildfires?

Today, a major incident has been declared in Suffolk where a wildfire the size of 140 football pitches is burning.

The fire is not yet under control, but Suffolk’s chief fire officer says it currently poses no risk to nearby nuclear power station Sizewell B. And, in the rest of the UK, drought has been declared in Wales and more than half of England.

Adam is joined by Anna Murgatroyd, lecturer in hydrology at Newcastle University, and Theodore Keeping, climate and wildfire scientist at Imperial College London, to discuss how the fire service are tackling the blaze plus how daily life could be affected by a drought in England and Wales.

And, the conflict between the US and Iran has expanded following escalations over the last few weeks. The US has retaliated with strikes across the country after Iran launched attacks on US bases in Jordan earlier this week. Caitríona Perry, chief news presenter, and Parham Ghobadi, senior reporter for BBC Persian, join Adam to explain the latest developments in the conflict.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Rosie Merotra. The social producer was Gabriel Purcell-Davis and Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.