News Daily: US sends more troops to Middle East and Heathrow plan revealed

By Justin Parkinson BBC News

If you want to get this briefing by email, sign-up here

Image copyright Getty Images

Gulf of Oman: US sends more troops as tensions with Iran rise

The US is sending an extra 1,000 troops to the Middle East - in addition to the 1,500 announced last month - as tensions with Iran continue to escalate. Meanwhile, the US Navy has shared images it says link Iran to recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

On Monday, Tehran said it would breach an agreement with international powers in 2015 over its nuclear ambitions, by exceeding a limit on its depleted uranium stockpiles by 27 June.

No detail has been given over where the extra US troops will go and, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he does not want war, he has said his country is "considering a full range of options". Iran denies any involvement in the attacks on tankers. So what motive might it have for targeting ships?

And is the US heading for war with Iran?

Heathrow: Plans for third runway by 2026

A "masterplan" for London's Heathrow Airport has been unveiled, with the public given until 13 September to have its say. It involves a third runway being in place by 2026 and other work, including building terminals and re-routing part of the M25, being finished by about 2050. Campaign groups say it will raise pollution and disrupt the area, but work is planned to begin by 2022.

Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning

Tory leadership race: MPs hold second ballot

The work of getting the number of Tory leadership (and prime ministerial) candidates down to two - before they face a vote of party members - continues. In today's second round of MPs' voting, the candidate placed last out of the six left will be eliminated. So, too, will anyone failing to gain 33 votes.

Frontrunner Boris Johnson looks likely to get through. Of the others, only Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt exceeded 33 votes last time. Fellow candidates Rory Stewart, Dominic Raab and Sajid Javid will hope to pick up support.

The result is due at about 18:00 BST, with those getting through taking part in a debate on BBC One at 20:00. Here's where the contenders stand on Brexit.

The gay men breaking blood donation rules

By Ben Hunte, Victoria Derbyshire programme

Men who have sex with other men in England, Scotland and Wales are barred from giving blood for three months after sexual activity. Some are deciding to break the law, because they do not agree with it.

"It galls me every time I hear an advert on the radio asking for people to give blood, when there's a huge section of society that is just denied that for no good reason," says David - not his real name - a sexually active gay man who donates blood to the NHS several times a year.

"I grew up in a family who gave blood regularly and instilled in me that that was the right thing to do," he says. "I did it before I started having sex with men, and I carried on doing it afterwards, because for me, that was the right thing to do."

Read the full article

What the papers say

The i leads on Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart warning that up to 100 Conservative MPs could vote against any attempt to make the UK leave the EU without a formal withdrawal deal. The Daily Telegraph, however, says Mr Stewart is facing questions over his past, amid suggestions he was recruited as a spy by MI6. Elsewhere, the Daily Express says Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage is ruling out any electoral pact with Boris Johnson if he becomes PM. And the Guardian reports that the number of "tent cities" removed by councils has trebled in five years.