this is bbc news, the headlines: a former white house aide has told a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. cassidy hutchinson also testified that mr trump tried to take the steering wheel from his limousine driver when he was told he could not attend. a court in new york has sentenced the british socialite ghislaine maxwell to 20 years in jail for helping her former partner, jeffrey epstein, abuse underage girls. maxwell was found guilty in december of sex trafficking. epstein killed himself in a manhattanjail cell in 2019. the turkish government has dropped its objections to finland and swedenjoining nato after spending weeks refusing to do so. turkey had accused both countries of harbouring kurdish militants but says it has

now got what it wanted from talks at the summit in madrid. how much time have you spent scrolling on your phone so far today? the fact that so many of us spend so much time on our mobiles means some are swapping smartphones for so—called dumb ones, which have fewer distractions. even the man who helped to invent the very first mobile believes his creation is now out of control. jayne mccubbin has been talking to him. this is what the very first mobile phone looked like. as you can see, it's huge. this is martin cooper, the man who helped to invent the very first mobile phone. do you know how many people have a mobile phone right now? and way back when, could you ever have imagined it would be that prolific?

of course, jayne, we knew. but one thing we did not anticipate was this powerful computer in your phone because none of those things existed. good afternoon, sir. today, more than 6.5 billion people own a mobile, almost 84% of the world's population. but... let's stop and ask, how are we all doing with that? how long do you think you spend on your phone every day? five or six hours. most of the day, to be honest. screen time? i'm going to get caught, now. six hours 25. that's probably average. what are you looking at all day? cats and food. my name is dulcie cowling and i gave up my smartphone because it was too addictive. this is what dulcie did. remember these? she ditched her smartphone and switched to an

old—style �*dumb phone'. i would recommend it. i think there are nicer things to spend your time. but with the old dumb phone 36 network being switched off in 2033, tech entrepreneurs are updating martin cooper's original idea. my name's kai, i co—fund a light phone. it is similar to a hammer or a screwdriver, right? you use it and then you put it back, it disappears. it is not like you use your hammer and you swipe your hammerfor two hours for entertainment. suddenly, social media have just gotten impossible. they have taken over some people's lives. i would guess that i use my mobile phone less than 5% of my time. so what would you say to anybody like myself who are upwards of five hours? do you really spend five hours a day? i would say, jayne, get a life! laughter.

not bad advice! jayne mccubbin reporting there. now on bbc news, our world. in july 2021, anti—government protests took place across iran. the protests were triggered by water shortages in the southern province of khuzestan. failing crops, dying wildlife, no drinking water. dry rivers. people in khuzestan face a water crisis. i'm siavash ardalan, and i report on the environment for bbc persian. seeing people suffering, i wanted to understand what caused these water shortages. is it climate change or are there other factors? what is happening in iran today is the outcome of decades

of bad management, poor environmental governance and a lack of foresight, not climate change. the bbc cannot operate freely inside iran, so i've pieced the story together using social media, and visited the united states to see how they manage their water. wow, this is amazing! look how much the water has gone down. as iran and the rest of the world tackle water scarcity, i'll be asking — what can be done to improve the water supply for people in khuzestan? khuzestan has long been thought of as lush and green, with wetlands and diverse wildlife. its rivers used for leisure and agriculture. but over the last decades,

that has changed. today, rivers are dirty or run dry. the great horolazim wetland has been drained for oil extraction. the environment and communities destroyed. iran's students' news agency reports show that in villages across khuzestan, water is scarce. to understand these people's anger, we need to look at the rivers feeding the area, and the many demands made on them. this is khuzestan, lying in the south—west of iran. it's a coastal province on the border with iraq. iran's longest and most well—known river, the karun river, originates in the zagros mountain on the eastern side of khuzestan. there are four more rivers that also originate outside

khuzestan�*s official borders that flow into the province, making khuzestan one of the most water—abundant provinces in iran, supplying its industry, agriculture and drinking water. but for many years, farmers have protested that water simply does not reach them, their villages and their crops. shouting. these protests have largely been peaceful and contained to farming areas.

protests began in a few cities in khuzestan and spread first across the province and then to the rest of the country. i tracked events through social media, and saw the rising tide of anger in the crowds as protesters brought in other issues like unemployment, poverty and political freedoms. the government viewed the situation as a security issue and cracked down. the protests lasted ten days. eight people were killed. chanting. this woman is a human rights lawyer defending a number of protesters who were charged with disrupting public order.

during our conversation, she told me more about who the protesters were. security sent in by the state silenced the protesters. but a fundamental question remained — what has gone wrong with the water supply? my search for answers began at the un climate change conference in glasgow. glasgow is a long way away from khuzestan and its problems, but the water

crisis is really being discussed here because it affects all regions like khuzestan. the head of iran's delegation addressed the conference. the government of islamic republic of iran is committed, alongside with other nations, to combat climate change and global warming. thank you very much for doing this interview... and later, he agreed to an interview with my bbc colleague, matt mcgrath.

you say that climate change has impacted the issue of water, but in khuzestan and elsewhere, is itjust climate change or is it the management of the water issue — has that caused the problems to be worse there? so, the iranian governments say that water shortages have been caused by climate change. but critics say that climate change has exacerbated years of water mismanagement that has damaged the delicate balance of supply and demand.

when we look at the sources of the rivers that flow into khuzestan, the first thing we find is a network of canals, pipelines and tunnels that take the water to other provinces like kerman, isfahan, yazd, and as far away as qom. protests in january this year were a result of tensions over these water transfers. chanting. two provinces east of khuzestan were protesting over who takes how much water. after the water transfers, the rest of the water that flows into khuzestan is captured by a number of dams. on karun river alone, there is one, two, three, four, five dams built, one after another, and more dams on khuzestan�*s

other rivers. in fact, iranian authorities have broken records over the numbers of dams they have built — close to 650 dams in a span of a0 years. with so many dams controlling the supply of water, why do water shortages persist, both in khuzestan and right across iran? las vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the us with each household using 1,000 litres of water a day. and yet, when you're in las vegas, it's easy to forget that this is a town built in the middle of the desert. the landscape here reminds me of when i used to live in iran. iran is essentially a dry country, so this barren land, for me, is a reminder of home.

and that's why i'm here. both the south—west of the united states and khuzestan are dry, and make heavy demands on their river water. so, what's happening here can tell me something about khuzestan. i'm heading to the hoover dam, 60 kilometres north of las vegas, which depends on its water supply. construction of this mighty piece of engineering began in 1931. explosion. the idea behind it was to regulate water supply, and also, to generate electricity. the same idea behind building this dam was also applied to building dams in khuzestan and other developing regions of the world. this is kaveh madani in tehran,

promoting awareness about how water is used. there is finally a global consensus about the need to act strongly to mitigate climate change and to... at the time, he was deputy head of iran's environmental protection agency. following pressure from the intelligence services, he feared for his safety and fled iran. kaveh argues that politics has driven dam building in iran, while human and environmental concerns, like submerging villages and animal habitats, get sidelined. and far from solving water supply problems, he sees dams and the reservoirs they create as the fix that backfires. when you build a reservoir, you also create some demand downstream. now, everyone downstream is looking at the water that has been stored, everyone has a plan for it.

someone wants to use it in the agriculture, some people want to develop cities below reservoirs. so, and industries keep growing and your water demand keeps increasing and water shortage keeps getting bigger and bigger. from the hoover dam, the demands downstream can't be seen. but what is plain to see is the supply problem at source. wow — this is amazing. look how much the water has gone down. you can clearly see those water marks. officially, they're saying that the water capacity is only 38%. in both the south—west us and khuzestan, there's less rain and snowfall, and the reservoirs are running low. i put it to kaveh that surely climate change is key to water shortages everywhere, including iran. what is happening in iran today is the outcome of decades of bad management, poor environmental governance and a lack of foresight,

not climate change. did climate change have a role? yes, to an extent, as a catalyst. but the iranians didn't consider water as a limit to growth and they continue developing and developing, thinking that with money and engineering, they can overcome the natural limitations. singing # there was a river, gather us together...# this musician is from khuzestan. for years, he has used social media to post songs in english and persian about water. singing in this video, he explores the karun river.

industry, agriculture, even hospital waste is dumped into the karun. for people in urban areas, sewage and sanitation are bigger water issues than supply alone. although official figures have never been released, according to unofficial estimates, a large portion of khuzestan�*s population is arab, and many of them blame poor water infrastructure on a long history of central government discrimination against the region. sitting on the border of iraq, people in khuzestan also felt the full force of the iran—iraq war in the 1980s.

he shows his followers what the lack of water infrastructure means for people in their homes. he says the water from the main tap is only for washing, not cooking or drinking. waterfilters, tanks,

water pumps — it all sounds very benign, but this is a daily reality in the lives of the people who live in the towns and cities of khuzestan. just a few miles from the centre of ahvaz is farmland. the farmers who protest that there is not enough water for their crops are part of an agricultural system that in fact takes the lion's share. globally irrigated agriculture accounts for 70% of water consumption.

but in iran, that figure rises to a staggering 90%. agriculture enjoys considerable protection from government because it is a key driver of a long—held policy. after the 1979 revolution, food self—sufficiency became one of the most important slogans of the state. us sanctions further drive commitment to this goal. but many experts doubt this is achievable given iran's current level of development. one of the most important crops in the drive for

but many experts doubt this is achievable given iran's current level of development. one of the most important crops in the drive for self—sufficiency is sugar. in the 1990s, the government planted commercial—scale sugar farms across khuzestan. today, the province provides close to half of all the sugar grown across the country. but sugarcane is one of the most water—intensive crops in the world. every year in khuzestan, up to 3.5 billion litres of precious water are released from the dams to grow sugarcane, more than any other crop in khuzestan. this drain on water supplies was forewarned by many, including in parliament 18 years ago.

now retired in ahvaz, ghasem shadidzadeh remains frustrated that the government is wedded to sugarcane rather than alternative crops that need less water. but rather than reducing water demand, the iranian government is more focused on increasing water supply.

one source of water iran has turned to is the sea. iran is investing billions of dollars in an ambitious infrastructure project called the hope line. the intention is to provide and transfer desalination water across the whole country. kaveh madani believes that local desalination projects have potential benefits, but transferring large volumes of desalinated water across the country is not sustainable. why would you use water to grow rice in central iran and then desalinate water and transfer water to the dry locations? it doesn't make sense. the people of khuzestan who face another year of unpredictable rainfall have made it clear — they want action from the government.

the head of the environment protection agency says they are ready to act. iran has managed its water supply sustainably for centuries, and the expertise to do so still exists today. but critics say this expertise is ignored.

many would view such a prediction as extreme, but where experts, critics and the government agree is that solving khuzestan�*s water crisis is complicated. addressing the needs of people here while coping with the impact of climate change will be a formidable challenge.

hello there. on tuesday, we saw a definite east—west divide across the country. eastern areas saw the best of the sunshine and the warmth. further north and west, it was windy with outbreaks of rain and felt fairly cool for the time of year. now, for today, it's going to be one of sunshine and showers and it'll be less windy as well. the reason for it — the centre of this low pressure system will be just pulling away slightly from the northwest of the uk, so we'll have fewer isobars across the charts, but still some weather fronts which will bring outbreaks of rain. the overnight band of rain will be slowly clearing away from eastern england and eastern scotland. it will do by around mid—morning, and then we're all into the regime of sunshine and showers, and into the afternoon, some of these showers could turn out to be heavy and thundery across some northern

and western areas. probably the best of the sunshine across the southeast. winds will be lighter — these are mean wind speeds — much lighter than what we had on tuesday. i think with lighter winds and in the sunshine, it'll feel a touch warmer. temperatures range from around 18—23 degrees across the southeast. many of the showers will tend to fade away during wednesday night. just watching this area of heavy, perhaps thundery rain, just scrape the far southeast of the near continent there. that'll push in towards the north sea, perhaps affecting northeast scotland during the morning. but for most, it's clear spells, one or two showers and mild, with temperatures in double figures for most. you can see that weather front bringing heavy rainfall across the eastern parts of the uk as we head through thursday. otherwise, low pressure, again, close enough to bring another day of sunshine and showers. so, this rain could get close, again, to the southeast of england during thursday afternoon. could be some heavy rain as well across the far northeast of scotland. otherwise, for most, sunshine and showers again, some of them will be quite heavy, and because the winds are light,

these showers will be fairly slow—moving. temperatures reaching highs of 18—21 degrees. friday, similar story. we've got low pressure to the west of the uk, so again, it's generally light winds, sunny spells, scattered showers and some of them could be quite heavy in places, and those temperatures around just a little below the seasonal norm of, say, 18—21 celsius. now, as we head into the weekend, we'll hold onto the sunshine and showers theme, but i think from sunday and into the following week, it looks like high pressure will build in from the west, and that should settle things down and turn warmer in the south.

this is bbc news. i'm nancy kacungira. our top stories: a former white house aide tells a congressional committee that president trump wanted to join the capitol hill rioters. the president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. mr engel grabbed his arm. he said, "sir, you need to take your hand off "the steering wheel. "we're going back to the west wing. "we're not going to the capitol." turkey drops its opposition to sweden and finland joining the nato military alliance after the three countries sign a joint agreement. in new york, ghislaine maxwell is sentenced to 20 years for helping jeffrey epstein

abuse young girls. bowel cancer campaigner dame deborah james,