The Labour Run Council is struggling to pay off a huge bill for equal pay claims that dates back more than a decade. It has also had major issues with a new it system. Our Midlands Correspondent navteonhal is there. The first thing to say is that the city council here has not stopped functioning, it has a legal duty to provide Certain Services and they will continue, but this is a signal to government ofjust how dire the financial situation is here, and admission that the council here cannot pay its bills. The people i have spoken to around birmingham say they are worried about what the future may hold. But for those who have been watching the saga closely, in some ways today has felt inevitable. The pressure on this citys finances has been rising and rising, and europes biggest local authority is now in big trouble. The news that their council is, in effect, declaring itself bankrupt has left many People Living in birmingham shocked and angry. Oh my god, ive never heard of such a thing in my life. How can the council be bankrupt . After the Commonwealth Games last year, this city was thriving. It is a dynamic vibrant city. But this should never have happened. It should never have got to this point. Its really, really sad. Its problems began more than a decade ago, when a Landmark Case was brought against the council which has led to it having to pay out more than £1 billion so far in equal pay claims to mostly female staff. But earlier this summer the authority announced it had up to £760 million still to find to settle the equal pay claims and that is on top of the cost of a botched roll out of a new it system which has set it back another £100 million. The City Council Leader who is currently abroad, he says, as part of a long standing family commitment, told us questions on this will be answered. Commitment, told us questions we have already got a Governance Review that has been commissioned jointly with the department for levelling up thats looking at those issues of governance and accountability within the authority. Ive also made it clear that at the end of this, there needs to be a Judge Led Inquiry that looks at the issues around equal pay. This is devastating news for birmingham taxpayers here. The administration have had to declare that they are effectively bankrupt because of their failure to deliver proper accounts for the last three years and their failure to get to grips with the equal pay mess. The council is responsible for, among other things, social care, housing, and waste collection. It says it will protect Core Services but Nonessential Spending has stopped and no new expenditure is permitted. Its currently unclear what services will have to be cut, but could include parks, libraries orfunding for cultural projects. The fact theyve done this, the nuclear option, the last possible thing, because they know going cap in hand to government, they are not going to get much joy, anything the government do for them is going to come with lots of strings attached. The Commonwealth Games here last year were supposed to herald the start of a golden decade for the city but instead, the outlook for residents is one of cuts to services instead. Navteonhal, bbc news, birmingham. And chris mason is here. Is birmingham a unique case . It isnt, no. More councils recently have pressed the financial Emergency Button, if you like, as birmingham has done today. Some people in government say it is down to local authorities to sort out their finances in the first instance and there has been a few politicaljobs because labour run the council in birmingham. And a conservative government in westminster. Some of the other councils that have pressed the other councils that have pressed the Emergency Button have been conservative councils, and if we look at the whole issue of equal pay, that is not a uniquely birmingham challenge and glasgow, dundee, coventry, but also looking at this and other slightly to as well and it comes with huge bills. And then there a bigger picture, and in the last couple of years the Funding Councils have had from Central Government has ticked up but if we look at it since 2010 when the conservatives came into power, it has been under significant pressure. That has contributed to some local authorities who then encounter other problems, being tipped over the precipice. At the same time as they have dealt with the social care costs, often increasing and inflation, but for birmingham, i do not think anything will change overnight. The people may find themselves paying more council tax in time and because the services that are deemed nonessential are likely to be cut, things like sweeping the streets, improving parks, the danger is perhaps that the people in the city will feel like it is less nice place to live while the council deals with a difficult situation. Difficult situation. There is another developing difficult situation. There is another developing story i difficult situation. There is another developing story tonight . Difficult situation. There is another developing story tonight . On another developing story tonight . et the international front. The russian the internationalfront. The russian mostly group, the wagner group, we devoted a lot of time into the death of the leader of the wagner group, in a plane crash, and that organisation will be prescribed by the uk government which means that the uk government which means that the government here believes bluntly that it the government here believes bluntly thatitis the government here believes bluntly that it is in the business of terrorism. It is categorising it along the likes of alqaeda and others. The government describing it as a Proxy Military Force Acting on behalf of the russian state and they say it poses a threat to british nationals abroad in the process of prescribing will begin in parliament tomorrow. In terms of what it means in practical terms, it would make it illegal to be a member or supporter of the group and its assets can be categorised as terraced property and seized and the Home Secretary tonight describing the wagner group as a violent, destructive and a monster and describing its members as terrorists plain and simple. Chris mason, thanks forjoining us. A bbc investigation suggests that three major Water Companies in england discharged Sewage Hundreds Of Times last year on days when it wasnt raining and thats illegal. The practice is known as dry spilling. It is banned because it can cause environmental harm. 0ur Environment Correspondent jonah fisher reports. Rural west sussex, and one of southern englands celebrated chalk streams. Here we are, welcome to the river lavant, or as we locally call it, the river lav. The river lav . The river lav, just full of effluent. Rob, a retired businessman, is notjoking. There would be no river lavant in the summer without the treated discharges from the next door sewage plant. We had the Storm Overflow coming out here. Untreated sewage coming out here. Last march, rob found and filmed a spill during dry weather, illegal under environmental law. Much to his annoyance, the company involved, Southern Water, only received a warning from the Environment Agency. They treated it as a one off, absolutely, whereas it had probably been going for three to four months. It is a scandal. So how common are dry spills . To find out, the bbc requested details from all nine english Water Companies. Three of the largest complied, providing us with huge amounts of data. We then cross referenced that with rainfall, and found what looks like nearly 400 Sewage Spills, lasting thousands of hours, that started during dry weather. Many of the Water Companies, like Southern Water at the lavant, say Ground Water Leaking into cracked pipes is behind some of the spills. Thames water apologised, while wessex told us there were flaws in their own data. There should never be a dry spill, and any suggestion that there has been one should be investigated fully by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is the regulator, they are the people who will do the detailed investigation and understanding. But the Environment Agency has endured years of cuts. This man has worked at the regulator for two decades, and told us it no longer had enough resources or experienced staff. Its quite simple. We are doing less and less, and therefore the potential is there for more to get by us. This ea official told us morale was good, and that they were investing in digital monitoring of water quality. Its the Water Companies job not to pollute our environment. And its yourjob to police them. And thats what were doing. In the last. But youre not doing very well, are you . Because the spills are still taking place. But in the last eight years alone, weve brought 59 prosecutions, with fines totalling £150 million. Stopping the Sewage Spills will require many billions more. It isa it is a cast likely to be paid by all of us through a higher water bills. Jonah fisher, bbc news. At least 13 schools in england confirmed to have crumbling Raac Concrete had funding to rebuild withdrawn in 2010. 0ur EducationEditor Branwenjeffreys is here. Building schools for the future was an Ambitious Programme that was meant to rebuild or replace most of englands secondary schools and it was set up under labour and in 2010 michael gove the then Education Secretary pulled the plug on this partly because of concerns about value for money and how expensive the schools were, and bbc verify have looked at the list of projects that had their money poured, more than 700, and found 13 of the schools that now are dealing with the disruption of raac and having to have some or all of their buildings close, raising the question that if they had had more help earlier, with they had had more help earlier, with they have been in these difficulty now . Although some have had some money towards their buildings in the intervening years, it clearly has not been enough to replace their ageing buildings and prevent them from having to stop the term in such a disruptive way. From having to stop the term in such a disruptive way. L from having to stop the term in such| a disruptive way. To a disruptive way. Many thanks. To start the term a disruptive way. Many thanks. To start the term in a disruptive way. Many thanks. To start the term in such a disruptive way. Many thanks. To start the term in such a a disruptive way. Many thanks. To start the term in such a disruptive i start the term in such a disruptive way. At least one person has died in eastern greece after severe rainful triggered flash floods. The regional capital volos, which you can see here, has seen the same mount of water falling in 2a hours that it usually gets across the whole of autumn. Thats according to local meterologists. And on nearby skiathos, planes reportedly cant approach the airport. Grace this summer, first wildfires, and now train so it has turned into rivers, and has washed away trees, cars and anything that stands in its path. The island here in the north east of greece has been transformed, usually a buzzing holiday paradise, now deluged as fierce rain lashes the streets. Hgppy fierce rain lashes the streets. Happy holidays. Fierce rain lashes the streets. Happy holiday5 fierce rain lashes the streets. Happy holidays. Fierce rain lashes the streets. Han holida s. , ,. ,. , happy holidays. Tourist plans are in disarray and happy holidays. Tourist plans are in disarray and there happy holidays. Tourist plans are in disarray and there are happy holidays. Tourist plans are in disarray and there are reports happy holidays. Tourist plans are in disarray and there are reports of. Disarray and there are reports of tourists including from the uk forced to stay in their hotels, effectively stuck while the downpour continues. 0n the mainland this town has also been lashed by the storm, and one man has been killed in the local mayor has pleaded with people to stay at home. Translation in a little while it to stay at home. Translation i� i. Little while it will overflow onto the street. Look, it will be sweeping people up. Look at the bridge. Please stay at home. Iliiuiith bridge. Please stay at home. With homes flooded bridge. Please stay at home. With homes flooded and bridge. Please stay at home. With homes flooded and people stranded, it is another punishing about of extreme weather for the people of greece and its visitors. And it is not just Greece Greece and its visitors. And it is notjust greece because the same whether system is now hitting neighbouring turkey and this is the same tonight in the capital istanbul. The scene. More than 1,300 jobs are to go at the Collapsed Retail Chain Wilko after it failed to secure a buyer for the whole business. A rival chain has agreed to buy 51 shops but 52 others will be closed. The Stores Affected wont be made public until tomorrow morning once staff have been told. And the fate of the remaining 300 stores is still unclear. The grandfather of a ten Year Old Girl who was found dead at a house in woking has said that the girls father told him she died accidentally. Sara sharif� s father, urfan sharif, as well as his partner and his brother, fled to pakistan the day before the childs body was discovered. Her grandfather, muhammad sharif, has been speaking to our correspondent Caroline Davies in pakistan. Weeks of courts, police, and lawyers. The search for urfan sharif has pulled his pakistan family into the limelight. His father now willing to speak on camera and confirm he did see his son in pakistan. Did urfan tell you what had happened to sara . Translation it was an accident. Nothing more than that. How it happened, he didnt say. After sara died, did he explain to you why he had come to pakistan . Translation because of fear. What was he afraid of . Translation his daughter died. And when you undergo so much trauma, obviously you cant think properly. They returned out of fear nothing else. Sara sharif� s body was found on the 10th august in this house in woking. Why she died hasnt been established, but a post mortem did find multiple and extensive injuries likely to have been caused over a sustained period of time. What was sara like as a little girl . Very nice. Very beautiful. Very lovely. Translation im saddened. Because of my granddaughter. She died. The grief will always stay with me for the rest of my life. Saras father, urfan sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle faisal malik, along with five children, are still in hiding. Muhammad had this message for all three. Translation wherever they are, they will be able to listen to this. | i say they should come out, defend their case, whatever it is. They should answer the questions. I dont say they should stay in hiding. After weeks of searching, can this message make the difference in finding out what happened to sara . Caroline davies, bbc news, rawalpindi. The government has announced that Planning Permission for onshore wind farms is to be relaxed in england, as long as theres Community Support for them. The head of an onshore wind trade body says its unlikely that any easing of rules will lead to a large number of new applications. The coach of spains world cup winning womens Football Team has been sacked following the outcry over Luis Rubiales. The two men are considered close allies. Rubiales, the president of the countrys football federation, has been suspended for kissing a player on the lips without her consent, as the team celebrated their victory. Heres our sports correspondent, katie gornall. 16 days ago, jorge vilda seemed on top of the world. Little could he have known what was to unfold. The fallout from Luis Rubiales now infamous kiss Onjenni Hermoso today taking a new turn. The writing had been on the wall after he was seen applauding rubiales at a Federation Meeting on friday, when instead of resigning, rubiales announced he was going nowhere. Vilda later distanced himself from the spanish fa president but stopped short of calling for him to go. The spain coach was already a controversialfigure. Last year, 15 of his players went on strike, accusing the leadership of poor treatment. The federation supported him back then not any more. He is notjust a coach that has won a world cup, he has also played an active role in this kind of Misogynist Culture within the federation that the players are now speaking up about. Things would have remained the same but now the world is looking and this is whats happened, just because it happened in the middle of a world cup celebration. Two weeks on from that incident, the Spanish Football Federation has today apologised for the enormous damaged caused by its suspended president , describing rubia