Reservoirs that supply Tehran's 15 million residents are almost empty.

The Karaj dam, which supplies a quarter of the city's drinking water, is just 8% full.

Water rationing has begun in some areas, with the flow from taps reduced or even stopped altogether overnight.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged people to use water sparingly - or the city, or at least parts of it, may even have to evacuate.

So what's going on?

Rain should start falling in the autumn after Iran's hot dry summer.

But according to the country's National Weather Forecasting Centre, this has been the driest September to November period in half a century, with rainfall 89% below the long-term average.

The combination of low rainfall and high heat has lasted for more than five years, leaving the country parched.

But the weather - and the shadow of climate change - aren't the only factors in Tehran's water crisis.

According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, the population of the city has almost doubled from 4.9 million in 1979 to 9.7 million today.

But water consumption has risen even faster, quadrupling from 346 million cubic metres in 1976 to 1.2 billion cubic metres now. Increasing wealth has allowed more people to buy washing machines and dishwashers.

To supplement supplies from reservoirs, Tehran has had to turn to natural aquifers underground, which provide between 30% and 60% of its tap water in recent years.

But that puts the city in direct competition with farmers who draw on the water to irrigate crops.

Levels are falling by 101 million cubic metres a year around Tehran, according to analysis in the journal Science Advances. That's water that has accumulated from many decades of rain - and will take at least as long to replenish.

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Professor Kaveh Madani, the former deputy head of Iran's environment department and now director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said chronic mismanagement of natural resources has led to what he calls water bankruptcy.

He told Sky News: "These things were not created overnight.

"They're the product of decades of bad management, lack of foresight, overreliance and false confidence in how much infrastructure and engineering projects can do in a country that is relatively water short."

Government ministers blame the water shortage on climate change, water leaks from pipes and the 12-day war with Israel.

Whatever the reason, it underlines the threat of water scarcity to global cities. Tehran is not alone.

Cape Town in South Africa narrowly avoided taps running dry eight years ago after a city-wide effort to save water.

Even London, known for its rain, is at risk. Supplies haven't kept up with population growth and booming demand.

As Tehran has found, droughts that are being made more likely and more severe with climate change can expose the fragility of water supply.

What was once a promotional loss leader for supermarkets desperate for drivers to fill their car boots with groceries, unleaded and diesel costs have been unusually high for years.

Fuel retailers say there is a simple explanation: rising costs being passed on to motorists.

But critics argue there is a reason why the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has consistently found that we're paying more than we should be - and that the disparity between wholesale costs and pump prices has got worse in recent months.

So: who's right?

What the oil data tells us

Oil prices are well down on levels seen in January (between $75 and $82 a barrel) but fuel prices are clearly not.

As the chart shows, petrol and diesel have been largely on the rise since mid-June when Brent crude hit $78 per barrel.

Despite a couple of wobbles, oil costs have dipped sharply since, to a range of $62 to $64 per barrel and yet drivers are currently, on average, paying £1.37 a litre for petrol and £1.46 for diesel.

Compare those fuel costs to average pump prices in January, for example, (£1.39 for petrol and £1.45 for diesel) and a disparity is notable.

Prices can be affected by all sorts of factors including the value of the pound versus the oil-priced dollar and squeezes in supply of refined products on global markets. It all makes for a complicated supply chain.

There is another, emerging, factor to consider

It might surprise you to learn that the UK now has only four operational refineries to produce petrol and diesel after two major sites shut this year.

The decline has sparked an industry warning of a crisis due to high UK carbon charges, imposed by the government, that have made domestic fuel producers uncompetitive versus imports.

The loss of the refinery at Grangemouth this spring has been particularly acute as it left Scotland without domestic production and at the mercy of a more complicated and expensive delivery structure.

Fuel retailers say the impact has been minimal so far, mainly due to remaining UK refineries raising production.

The case for the prosecution

Quite simply, fuel price campaigners and motoring groups have long accused the industry of raising its profit margins.

Supermarkets focused price investment elsewhere as the cost of living crisis took hold but the days of Asda (before it was bought by the fuel-focused Issa brothers and private equity) leading a sector-wide fuel price war are long gone.

Reports by both the AA and RAC this week highlight price spikes despite a 5p slump in wholesale costs a fortnight ago.

The AA said: "At the height of the spike, it matched what had been seen in mid June. Then, the petrol pump average reached a maximum of 135.8p by late July.

It said that government data had since shown pump prices at levels not seen since March.

The body questioned the reasons behind that disparity and also pointed towards, what it called, a postcode lottery for pump costs with gaps of up to 9p a litre between towns only 10 miles apart.

The RAC declared on Thursday that pump prices rose at their fastest pace in 18 months during November, with diesel at a 15-month high.

The critics have also included regulators as monitoring of fuel retailers by the CMA since its original market study has consistently found that drivers have been excessively charged.

What's the fuel industry's position?

It pleads "not guilty".

The bodies representing retailers make the point that the CMA and its wider critics fail to take into account huge rises in costs they have faced over the past four years - costs which are being/have been passed on across the economy.

These include those for energy, business rates, minimum wage, employer national insurance costs and record sums arising from forecourt crime.

The Petrol Retailers' Association (PRA), which represents the majority of forecourts, told Sky News that average margins across the sector are the same today as they were a year ago at between 3% to 4% after costs.

It suggests no fuel for the fire surrounding those profiteering allegations but that rising costs have been passed on in full.

What has the regulator done?

The CMA's road fuel market study committed to monitor the market and recommended a compulsory fuel finder scheme to help bolster competition. That was two-and-a-half years ago.

Limited data has been widely available via motoring apps ahead of the start of the official scheme, expected in spring next year, which will bring real-time pricing into a driver's view for the first time.

The CMA hopes that by forcing each retailer to divulge their prices in real time, customers will vote with their feet.

In the regulator's defence

The CMA could argue that government has dragged its heels in implementing its fuel finder recommendation.

While the Conservatives accepted it, Labour is now pushing it through parliament.

The regulator can only act within the powers it has been given. It would say that it can't threaten or hand out fines until its recommendations are in play and they have been clearly flouted.

So who's right?

This is a debate all about transparency but we clearly don't have a full view on the complicated, and shifting, supply chain which can influence pump prices.

The CMA hopes that postcode lotteries for pump costs will ease once more drivers are aware of the ability to compare and shop around.

But the main reason why this issue remains unresolved is that the CMA's findings have been incomplete to date.

Its determinations that pump costs have been excessive have all been made without taking retailers' operating costs into full account.

Why we are closer to an answer

The CMA's next market update is expected within weeks and will, for the first time, take more extensive cost data into account.

A spokesperson told Sky News: "We recommended the Fuel Finder scheme to help drivers avoid paying more than they should at the pump, and the government intends to launch it by spring 2026.

"The scheme will give drivers real-time price information, helping them find the cheapest fuel and putting pressure on retailers to compete.

"We looked closely at operating costs during our review of the market, and they formed a key part of our final report in 2023.

"As we confirmed in June, we've been examining claims that these costs have risen and will set out our assessment in our annual report later this month."

The hope must be that both sides involved can accept the report's findings for the first time, to bring this bitter debate to an end once and for all."

Technology giant Meta has already started locking children under the age of 16 out of Instagram and Facebook, as it runs age checks on its users.

Other platforms have started contacting underage users - advising them to download their photos and contacts, and offering the choice of deleting their accounts or freezing them until they turn 16.

The age-restricted ban also includes TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Kick, Threads and X.

Impact on influencers

In the town of Umina on the New South Wales central coast, 14-year-old skateboarders Vespa Eding and Indy Conwell post photos and videos of their latest tricks in the skate bowl. Their accounts are managed by their mums.

The girls also coach young skaters and have corporate sponsors.

"I see both sides to it," Indy explains. "It's sad because I'm probably going to lose my account that I use to contact my sponsors and do my business."

"But I think it's a good idea [to ban it] for people getting bullied or if they're getting addicted to it."

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Mental health crises

Lawyer and mother Emma Mason knows how damaging social media can be.

Her daughter Matilda Rosewarne, who was called "Tilly", suffered from years of online abuse as a teenager in the regional city of Bathurst.

Tilly took her own life on 16 February 2022. She was 15 years old.

"When Tilly was about 14, a fake nude was sent around by a friend of hers at school in Bathurst," Ms Mason said.

"It spread to about 300 children, then it went to about 1,000 kids and by 6pm she had attempted suicide."

Ms Mason has campaigned for Australia's social media ban since she lost her daughter, and spoke at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this year.

Psychologist Danielle Einstein, co-author of the book Raising Anxiety, says there is clearly a link between anxiety, uncertainty and social media.

"Now is the time to get contact numbers and to see who your good friends are," Dr Einstein said. "Who are the people you have fun with and who are the people you talk to when things aren't going well."

Under the ban, children will still be able to use messaging services.

Life off the apps

At Brigidine College in Sydney, students are preparing to get off the apps.

Teenager Sophia Benson says: "I'm on the fence about it. I think it's good for kids' mental health. But I also think it encourages the younger generation to find ways around it because obviously if you're told you can't do something, you want to do it more."

Elsie Ord is 15 years old and will spend the next seven months without social media access.

"I signed up at such a young age I was already using fake ages," Elsie says. "I'm on social media around eight hours a day. I don't know how I'm going to cope. I'm one of the people thinking how am I going to escape this, but it's inevitable."

Some 96% of Australia's teenagers under 16 have social media accounts, according to Australia's internet regulator.

The Australian government says the new social media laws are necessary to protect children from addiction and cyberbullying.

However, there is opposition as well.

Social media 'whack a mole'

John Riddick is a member of the NSW Parliament and the Libertarian Party.

He's also president of the Digital Freedom Project, which is backing a High Court challenge against the ban.

Mr Riddick says it should be up to parents to decide what is good for their children, not the government.

"Kids are tech savvy. You say 'you can't do this, and you can't do that' and you're going to play whack-a-mole, the kids are going to get around it," he argues.

The government has warned it may expand its list of banned apps.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK.

Alternatively, you can call Mind's support line on 0300 102 1234, or NHS on 111.

Not a head of state. But Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA.

The boss of world football's governing body was back in the White House this week, and sport wasn't even on the agenda.

And yet it still came back to football and today's World Cup draw - even after the signing of a peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mr Infantino was picked out in the audience as Mr Trump diverted from trumpeting ending another conflict to boasting about World Cup ticket sales.

"A great leader in sports and a great gentleman," the US president said.

So it's certainly not just Mr Infantino dishing out the flattery. But there is plenty of that, aligning himself with the MAGA agenda going back into the first term.

"Together we will make not only America great again," he said in January, "but also the entire world".

There is often bemusement when Mr Infantino pops up wherever Mr Trump is - from a Saudi-backed financial conference in Miami to an official visit to Saudi Arabia and the Gaza peace summit in Egypt.

There isn't a non-American with such prominent proximity to the presidency. And it's being used to shortcut decision-making for the World Cup, with direct access to the most powerful man on Earth to help smooth the tournament's delivery.

Mr Infantino knows how to chime with Mr Trump's talking points, recently telling critics to lay off the president because he has a mandate from winning the 2024 election.

"We should all support what he is doing because I think he is doing pretty good," Mr Infantino said.

For a man who was largely known a decade ago for drawing balls for the Champions League, the ascent to the peak of power has been rapid and only made possible by scandals knocking out presumptive leaders.

It will be a draw on Friday that cements this unlikeliest of bonds when the World Cup schedule is determined at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

So much has been done to flatter Mr Trump, to pander to his passions.

The one thing he craves more than anything is a peace prize.

And after missing out on the foremost, illustrious Nobel version - despite an endorsement from Mr Infantino - FIFA created its own to hand out on Friday without any announced process for nominations or selection.

And if there is one song to indulge Mr Trump with it is the unlikely YMCA. The 1970s disco group Village People have been hired for the draw ceremony.

Expect the Trump dance. Expect the unexpected. Expect uneasy moments as Mr Trump takes centre stage alongside Mr Infantino.

How freewheeling will the presidential address become?

And is it all too political, even for a football organisation rarely untouched by politics?

It has created awkward moments when Mr Trump has been disparaging towards Democrat-run cities attacked for not being safe.

"Gianni, can I say we will move (matches)?" Mr Trump asked on live TV in the Oval Office.

"I don't think you're going to have this problem. But we're going to move the event to some place where it's going to be appreciated and safe."

Usually FIFA dismisses questions about moving World Cup venues this late on, but Mr Infantino responded in part: "Safety and security is the number one priority."

Usually, FIFA would be working to ensure all fans can attend its tournament, but the governing body is not dissenting against the block on visitors from Iran and Haiti.

The rhetoric of Mr Trump - framed around security - collides with FIFA's idealism about uniting the world through football, with everyone being welcome.

And this is not just about the US. For the first time this is a World Cup being co-hosted by three nations, even if Mr Infantino has paid more visits to just one of them.

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But the leaders of Canada and Mexico are due at the draw here in DC.

They'll hope the football ceremony provides some respite from Mr Trump's threats of a military strike on Mexico over drugs or deepening the trade war with Canada.

There is a peace prize to award, after all.

A celebration of all things Donald Trump.

And at some point, the teams will discover they will be drawn to play at the tournament next summer.

Because with Gianni Infantino it has to come back to football, the whole purpose of his role.

Even if his political alliances can seem more prominent than what happens on the pitch.

Targeted action against workers in the so-called gig economy led to 171 arrests nationwide last month, the Home Office said.

Those arrested included Chinese nationals working in a restaurant in Solihull, Bangladeshi and Indian riders in east London, and Indian delivery riders in Norwich.

The drive comes as ministers try to crack down on illegal working in the UK, as part of efforts to deter those coming to the country illegally.

Home Office figures show there were 8,232 arrests of illegal workers in the year to September, up 63% compared with the previous 12 months.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out reforms to the asylum system last month, aimed at making the UK less attractive for illegal migration and making it easier to deport people.

Border security minister Alex Norris said the government was rooting out the criminality of illegal working in the delivery sector from communities.

He went on to say: "These results should send a clear message, if you are working illegally in this country, you will be arrested and removed.

"This action is part of the most sweeping changes to illegal migration in modern times to reduce the incentives that draw illegal migrations here and scale up removals."

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Ministers have also been working with firms Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats to address concerns of abuse in the sector and ramping up identity checks to tackle account-sharing.

The Home Office also agreed in July to share asylum hotel locations with food delivery companies, to tackle suspected hot spots of illegal working.

The action also comes as the government's new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act became law on Tuesday, which includes measures to close a "loophole" for casual, temporary or subcontracted workers to also have to prove their status.

Employers who fail to carry out checks could face up to five years in prison, fines of £60,000 for each illegal worker they have employed, and having their business closed.