What You Need To Know

Continental Europe is in the grip of a deadly heatwave that has claimed hundreds of lives, including three children in France, as temperatures soared above 40C. France and Spain were among the worst affected as the continent sweltered under a heat dome, a vast area of stagnant high pressure. In Spain, 212 people have died due to the extreme heat over the past week, according to data from the country’s mortality monitoring system, MoMo. At least 48 people have drowned in France, seeking relief from the record-breaking temperatures, including a 21-year-old French footballer with a second-division club. In the UK meanwhile, the UK’s hottest June day on record has been broken again during this week's heatwave, with a provisional temperature of 36.4C recorded in Yeovilton, Somerset. This surpasses the high of 36.1C set on Wednesday in Gosport, Hampshire, the Met Office said. It comes after the Met Office extended its red warning for extreme heat for Friday as the peak of a heatwave affecting most of England and Wales are set to shift eastwards. But what is causing these records to be smashed, and this brutal weather to continue? And how long will the heat last? We explain the 'heat dome' that has descended upon Europe.

In this ITV News explainer, correspondent Geraint Vincent breaks down the race to neutralise Iran’s missing uranium stockpile. Deep beneath the rubble of Iran’s bombed nuclear facilities lies an estimated 440kg of near-weapons-grade uranium. Following massive US and Israeli airstrikes in June 2025, much of this vast radioactive stockpile is now thought to be entombed underground, and the Iranian government claims it has no plans to retrieve it.With the material enriched to 60%—dangerously close to the 90% threshold required to create nuclear warheads—the United States military faces an unprecedented logistical nightmare. How do you secure nearly 1,000 pounds of toxic, radioactive material buried hundreds of feet beneath hostile territory?

After almost two weeks of the war in the Middle East, global attention has been on fears about the rising price of oil and gas, but there’s a hidden factor at play: the impact on the cost of food. Because with tensions across the region escalating, Iran has now closed the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to attack ships passing through the narrow stretch of sea. In this explainer, ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew breaks down the hidden impact this could have on global trade, food supplies, and agriculture.

From FPV drones, to leaderboards for kills and captures, to large-scale cyber warfare, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has rewritten how modern combat is fought. As we reach four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the stalemate between Putin and Zelenskyy continues to push military tech to its limits.So how is this new technology impacting soldiers on the battlefield and people living in the rest of Europe? And how will these four years of innovation define the future of warfare across the globe?Sam Leader tells you what you need to know.Contributions from:James Rogers - drone expertLauren Sukin - Associate Professor, U.S. Foreign Policy

People carrying knives are more likely to end up as victims. Weapons escalate arguments and confrontations - sending them out of control. Videos of violence, rapidly shared on social media, can strike fear into teens watching. But for some, far from putting them off carrying a weapon, it has the opposite effect, even when knife crime is falling. Police and schools across the country are grappling with this viscious cycle. So how can you stop teens carrying knives? North of England Reporter Jonathan Brown and Senior Producer Eleanor Gregory tell Lucy Watson what you need to know. -- Jonathan and Eleanor's teen violence investigations: On the front line with police tackling teen violence - https://youtu.be/b6tXl5_uUEU?si=cD-coyIdRpc6SRmT Inside a school lockdown as teachers drill for knife attack https://youtu.be/mWdsNPsbnZk?si=aZDVHCMQ-O-O_HkC

Prince Harry is back in the UK, and back at the High Court.The Duke of Sussex is leading a high-profile group of claimants against the publisher of The Daily Mail and Mail On Sunday over claims of phone hacking, and other illegal information gathering.Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence are amongst the others suing Associated Newspapers Limited.Associated Newspapers Limited denies the allegations. So what can we expect from the trial?Royal Editor Chris Ship tells Faye Barker what you need to know.--Here more from Chris on the Talking Royals podcast:https://www.youtube.com/@ITVNewsTalkingRoyals?sub_confirmation=1

Would upgrading ketamine to class A stop the drug's surge? The cheap, widely available drug can shred and shrink users bladders' - leaving them constantly rushing to the toilet.It can even kill, with Friends actor Matthew Perry and drag star The Vivienne both dying after taking the drug in recent years.The government is deliberating on whether to reclassify the drug from class B to class A, bringing harsher punishments for supply AND possession.Steve Rolles from Transform Drug Policy Foundation and Digital Reporter George Hancorn join Lucy Watson to discuss whether reclassification would put people off.