one of the stars of england cricket — ben stokes — appears in court charged with affray after a fight outside a nightclub last year. the jury was told that the 27—year—old all rounder mocked two gay men before losing control during a sustained episode of significant violence. two other men are appearing alongside him in court — all three deny the charges. also tonight. thousands of people — including tourists — try to leave the indonesian island of lombok after the second earthquake in a week leaves almost 100 people dead. drug poisoning claims the lives of more than three and half thousand people in a year in england and wales — an all time high. fighting the flames — as forecasters say temperatures here are finally set to cool — we'll be looking at what's behind this years‘ extreme weather. and why these incredible — eerie — wind powered scultpures have caught the attention of nasa's space scientists. and coming up on bbc news, dreams come true for an inspirational georgia hall as she becomes only the third british winner of the women's open championship.

good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the england cricketer ben stokes has appeared in court charged with affray after a fight in bristol last september. the jury was told that the 27—year—old mocked two gay men outside a nightclub and then "lost control" during what was called a sustained episode of significant violence. two other men — ryan ali and ryan hale — are also charged with affray. all three deny the charges. our sports editor dan roan is at court. ben stokes is arguably england's

most talented and high—profile cricketer. but rather than preparing for the second test match against india which starts at lord's on thursday as planned, he finds himself at bristol crown court because of an incident that occurred 11 months ago. having had to swap the cricket field for the court room, ben stokes arrived here this morning for the opening day of his trial. dressed in a navy suit, the 27—year—old sat in the dock alongside ryan hale and ryan ali, the two local men he is accused of punching during a late—night brawl in bristol last year. all three defendants are accused of affray, a charge they deny. the jury was told that having been refused re—entry to this nightclub in the early hours of september 25 last year, just hours after he played for england, stokes acted in a provocative and offensive way. he allegedly mocked two openly gay men and according to a bouncer he insulted, flicked a cigarette but at one of them. the court was told that later stokes lost his control and started to attack with revenge and retaliation or punishment in mind, well beyond the

realm of self defence. not a trivial moment of unpleasantness, but a sustained episode of significant violence that left onlookers shocked. for the prosecution, the barrister said the incident left both hale and and alli unconscious. the latter had a broken eye socket. the jury was shown cctv and mobile phone footage of the incident along with an audio recording of a 999 call from a witness. just two days ago, stokes was starting for his country at edgbaston, his six wickets helping england win attends opening test match against india. but this case has already cost one of world cricket's top talents in the england vice captaincy and a place on last winter's ashes tour for which he was suspended. the prosecution said that stokes told police he acted in self defence or in the defence of others and the force used was reasonable and entirely justified. the trial is expected to last until early next week. rescue teams are searching

for survivors on the indonesian island of lombok after the second earthquake there in a week. at least 98 people have died and the death toll is expected to rise. thousands of residents and tourists — who've been left without shelter — are now trying to leave the holiday island. our correspondent mehulika sitepu is on lombok. she sent this report. it struck without warning, sending thousands into the streets to seek shelter. the 6.9 magnitude quake is the second to have hit the island of lombok... the after—shocks could bring about a tsunami. in the fresh light of day, a sense of the scale

of the damage. homes and buildings reduced to rubble, and a desperate hunt for those who may have survived. my son and wife all survived. my son and wife all survived but my nephew hurt his head and he died because of the damage from the wall. there were also three children who died. hundreds are injured and medical staff are struggling to cope with the numbers turning up at the hospitals in the main city. we should try to minimise the effects of this earthquake as quickly as possible, be it evacuation of the dead or the injured. they should be treated as one as they can be. hundreds of tourists are among those stranded. you normally serene paradise beaches covered in swarms of people desperate to leave by any means possible. but there aren't enough votes. some at the island's airport are managing to leave. we didn't get

are managing to leave. we didn't get a wink of sleep and we are currently at the airport. as soon as the earthquake hit week boarded a flight to get home straightaway. for the locals here the earthquake comes too soon after the one last week which this place —— displays 10,000 people. a further 10,000 are expected to join them in rescue camps like this where they can find food, water and shelter. the tsunami threat has been lifted and no further large tremors are predicted, but the death toll is expected to rise. two men accused of being part of the notorious islamic state group cell known as the beatles, have called into question the governments attempt to have them tried in the united states. speaking to the bbc for the first time since the legal moves were made public, alexanda koty and shafee el sheikh deny being part of the is cell and say they have not been stripped of their british citizenship. the pair are being held at an undisclosed location in northern syria.

they spoke to our middle east correspondent, quentin sommerville. for seven months now, alexanda koty and el shafee elsheikh have been held in kurdish and american custody in northern syria. the us government alleges that the men waterboarded, crucified and executed prisoners as part of a jihadist cell dubbed "the beatles" by the prisoners. what did you do in is? as for the specific details as to what i was doing while living in is—controlled territories, a question i prefer to decline to answer at this present stage. for legal reasons. do you still deny that you were a member of the group known as the beatles which carried out executions and beheadings? yes, of course. el shafee? same question? yeah. the gang is blamed for the brutal killings of britons alan henning and david haines, and the murders of americans james foley,

abdul—rahman peter kassig and steven sotloff. kayla mueller was also ta ken captive. none of the bodies of the dead have been found. did you ever meet kayla mueller? who? kayla mueller. remind me. she was an american ngo worker. we didn't meet any foreign non—muslims. the gruesome videos from the group set a new grin low. defenceless journalists and aid workers were beheaded in front of the camera. the chief executioner was mohammed emwazi, dubbedjihadijohn. but he was only the ringmaster, one of a group of four who imprisoned, tortured and executed as many as 27 prisoners. emwazi was killed by a us drone strike. did the two men know the islamic state's most notorious executioner, and did they spend time with him, i asked.

he's a friend of mine. jihadijohn? he was nicknamed that, yeah. the emwazi, the jihadi john that the rest of the world knows is an executioner, someone who's been called a psychopath. yeah. somebody who will be remembered for his cruelty and his brutality. that's their way to choose to remember him. i choose to remember him differently. you wouldn't condemn his torture and his beheadings of the likes of james foley... i took a position... ..alan henning, and... i took a position of not speaking of him at all in a negative way. so, you've no remorse, there is no shame, it wasn't you? i have many regrets, notjust being here, previous to coming here. i have my regrets. not about coming to syria.

i told them that britain wants to send them to the united states where they could face the death penalty. what makes the british government want a british citizen to be tried in america? but they've stripped you of your citizenship. that hasn't been confirmed. for now, the fate of alexanda koty and el shafee elsheikh remains uncertain. the government's plan, that they face trial in the united states, is under judicial review. former hostages tell us that they want them to face western justice. in the meantime, the two men have been returned to solitary confinement. they are being held under heavy guard at an undisclosed location in northern syria. quentin somerville, bbc news. 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. tell us more about the accusations and what will happen now. the home

secretary sajid javid said in a letter recently there was intelligence that implicated both men in the murder of a number of individuals including three americans and two britons. the us state department is specific saying l sheffield shaik had a reputation for mock executions and crucifixions and it said alexanda kotey was responsible for exceptionally cruel torture methods. what happens to them is less clear and not whether they will ever face trial. they are being held by kurdish militia in northern syria. they have been stripped of their british citizenship. their alleged victims we re citizenship. their alleged victims were international. the british government's view is these guys should be tried in the usa because they think there's a greater chance ofa they think there's a greater chance of a successful prosecution. the americans have yet to make a decision about that. one of the suspects families is trying to launch a legal challenge to the

british government handing over any intelligence. there's a lot of confusion. no one is expecting a decision soon. the fear within the british government that things have changed. the americans say send them to guant namo bay without due process , to guant namo bay without due process, 01’ to guant namo bay without due process, or the kurdish militia take matters into their own hands. the reason this matters is because these are such high—profile suspects, how they are treated will set a precedent and will be seen as an example of how the west will treat otherforeign example of how the west will treat other foreign fighters in the future. thank you. a man has appeared in court in staffordshire, charged with the murder of the midwife, samantha eastwood. her body was found on saturday —eight days after she was last seen leaving work at royal stoke university hospital. michael stirling, who's 32 and from stoke—on trent, was remanded in custody. 0ur correspondent caroline davies was in court. warm, generous, with a great sense of humour. samantha eastwood, a 28—year—old midwife was reported missing ten days ago.

her disappearance has now become a murder enquiry. appearing in court, 32—year—old michael stirling was charged with samantha's murder. mr stirling knew samantha. he is herformer fiance's brother—in—law. samantha's engagement ended earlier this year. this is the last known image of samantha, here on the left, leaving her night shift at royal stoke university hospital. when she didn't arrive for her shift that evening, her colleagues raised the alarm. police were concerned about samantha's disappearance. her car was still in her driveway. she had not used any of her bank cards and on the day she went missing, neighbours here heard a scream around two o'clock in the afternoon, coming from near her house. on friday, her sister made an emotional appeal for anyone with information to come forward. she is my best friend and partner in crime. without her, half of me is gone. samantha's body was found on saturday in rural staffordshire,

ten miles from her home. outside the hospital where she worked, colleagues held a temporary memorial. 0ne message read, our lovely little work family will never be the same. our hearts are breaking. samantha's family were not in court today, but hersister, gemma, and her former fiance, john peake, visited samantha's home, to read the messages left by the community. the family have asked for time to grieve. michael stirling left the magistrates‘ court and was remanded into custody. he will next appear via video link on wednesday at stafford crown court. caroline davies, bbc news. the time is almost quarter past six. our top story this evening. england cricket star ben stokes appears in court charged with affray after a fight outside a nightclub last year. and still to come. meet the strandbeests, windblown artworks that are helping to solve, would you believe, the problem of venus. coming up in sportsday on bbc news,

britain's ethan hayter wins a dramatic bronze alongside 0llie wood in the madison to claim his third medal of the european championships in glasgow. forecasters are predicting temperatures across the uk will fall back down to average for this time of year by the end of the week. but across many other parts of the world — heatwaves are continuing. in portugal, and parts of the united states, hundreds of firefighters are still trying to control major wildfires. injapan and australia the authorities are also trying to cope with severe weather conditions. 0ur science editor david shukman reports. an image of apocalypse of the kind you might expect hollywood to conjure up. but this was filmed on a realfront line, in california, over the weekend. record temperatures and bone dry conditions are triggering dozens of wildfires in several american states.

we stayed up there as long as we could in our valley, until the flames were actually, they were not 360 degrees around our area, but close enough that we decided to get out. there are similar scenes in europe. in portugal, an entire mountainside in the algarve has been burning for three days. fires are a constant risk here, but the speed of their spread has been shocking. this woman and her animals had a lucky escape. at the same time, there is punishing heat in asia. north korea, usually so secretive, allowed its shimmering streets to be filmed. the heatwave has been declared a natural disaster. the summer isn't over yet but already there has been a string of remarkable extremes. last month, death valley in california had an average temperature of 42.3 celsius, the highest ever recorded. even in the arctic, in one area of norway it reached a record high of 33.5 celsius and 0man had

a 24—hour period in which it never got below 42.6. and scientists say that climate change may bring more of this. what we think is, as the globe warms, this is more likely to take place. there will be more weather extremes, there will be more heatwaves, there will be more floods, there will be more big storms and all these are expected to come about in response to climate change. extreme heat is felt in many different ways. in switzerland, the meadows have turned brown and this nuclear power station has had to cut back, because the river water that is meant to cool it, is now too hot. and injapan, there is another challenge, more than 100 people have died in the heat, but this is where the olympic games will be held in 2020. so, they might shift the clocks by two hours, so races can be run in cooler conditions. a radical move as temperatures are set to rise. david shukman, bbc news. two trucks have crashed on a motorway near bologna

in northern italy causing a fire which has killed two people and injured at least 60 others. it's thought that a lorry carrying cars collided on a bridge with another truck full of flammable materials. the bridge partly collapsed and fire spread to a car park below, where several more vehicles exploded. deaths from drug poisoning in england and wales have reached a new high according to the latest figures. more than 3000 700 people lost their lives to drugs in 2017. that works out as more than ten people dying every day. as our home editor mark easton reports, it has provoked a row over funding for drug treatment. i never dreamt at have one son died from a heroin overdose, never mind two. rose and her husband saw two of

the children die from heroin overdoses and since then they have campaigned for reform to the drug laws, including posting this emotional video. ten laws, including posting this emotionalvideo. ten miles laws, including posting this emotional video. ten miles from laws, including posting this emotionalvideo. ten miles from here isa emotionalvideo. ten miles from here is a natural burial ground. two of my sons are lying there. today, with new figures showing record drug deaths in england and wales, roses demanding more help be made available for people addicted to drugs. we have to make the government in charge of the drugs trade so that they can make drugs safer, so that since people are going to be using them anyway, at least they can do it safely, they can buy it or have it prescribed from safe places, instead of having to get involved with criminals. the official statistics show the number official statistics show the number of people who died from drug poisoning last year at an all—time high, 3756 people, over half died

from overdosing on opiates, mostly heroin, a figure still close to record levels. the government's official drug advisory body told ministers and 2016 that the way to stop so many people dying was to protect funding for treatment, in particular substitution therapy. prescribing medicines such as methadone or even diamorphine, pharmaceutical heroin, to street heroin users. responding last year, the home office said it accepted the advice on substitution therapy in full, but the money for drug treatment comes from the public health fund distributed to local councils, that has been cut by hundreds of millions of pounds per year and treatment has disappeared with it. even in the town that is the worst affected which is blackpool, we are seeing cuts. alec stevens is one of the official advisers on drug deaths and today is beginning a personal capacity, he told me of his frustration. the

problem is that ministers claim to acce pt problem is that ministers claim to accept the recommendations but their actions have not lived up to their words and instead of investing in substitution treatment, they have cut funding. no minister was available to talk about the figures 01’ available to talk about the figures or answer questions about cuts to therapy. in a statement, a spokesperson said that the government wants everyone across the government wants everyone across the country to get access to the help, the treatment of support they need to live a drug—free life. when it comes to public spending, illegal drug users are not high on the list of priorities for the public but behind each of the ten deaths every day from drugs is a personal tragedy that many believe can and should be avoided. mark easton, bbc news. rural crime has risen to its highest level in four years across the uk with many farmers saying they feel vulnerable and have to protect their property— according to insurers. nfu mutual says some farmers are digging trenches and earthbanks, to try to deter organised gangs of criminals targetting quad bikes,

tools and machinery. 0ur correspondent danny savage reports from peterborough. it's a load of cannabis growing material. when it comes to being a victim of rural crime, farmerjudith jacobs can claim a full house. fertiliser, plastic sheets, etc. first, there is the fly—tipping. the remains of a cannabis farm is the latest thing to be dumped by her fields. we are dumbfounded, basically, by people that can leave this on our doorstep and their doorstep. they're too lazy to go to the tip and it actually creates us a lot of work and makes us very sad. also it's a fire hazard. and just a few days ago there was a fire on her land. got a phone call on saturday night to say that the neighbours had seen three boys running away and the fields were on fire. judith says it was almost a disasterfor the business. we've got two combines out there valued at £150,000 each. standing crop behind me there that we had to gather a group of neighbours up to batter it down and try to contain it until the fire engines arrived. research out today suggests farm thieves are getting more aggressive and don't care

if they are caught on cctv. so some farmers are building long earth banks to protect their land, as organised crime gangs muscle in on rural easy pickings. whenjudith found a criminal gang in her own farmyard she dialled 999. but nobody came. it was the most frightening experience i've ever had. i was confronted in my own yard by two vehicles and eight men and then said they know where i live and they'll be back. she says things must change. i would like somebody when i dial 999, to understand my predicament and be able to help me, give me advice and point me in the right direction and be there for me when i need them. police say they are updating their tactics but too many people in rural areas feel as though crime is not been adequately tackled. danny savage, bbc news, cambridgeshire. have a look at these — extraordinary animal sculptures that can roam across the sand — powered entirely by the wind. they‘ re called strandbeests and they've been created by the dutch artist theo jansen —

who's been working on them for almost three decades. and now his eerie contrapations have caught the attention of nasa — they want to use his ideas to create a windpowered rover on venus — one of the most inhospitable places in the solar system. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito went to meet him. scheveningen. 0n the dutch coast. and a summer spectacle, the strandbeests. wind blown mechanical artworks. you don't get used to it, not really, so it is always something special when you see them. i think they are amazing. my name is theojansen and i try to make new forms of life on the beach where i was born, 70 years ago. it moves pretty easily, doesn't it?

theo jansen is an engineer and artist and wejoined him as he brought out his latest beests for his summer experiments. these animals, they gave me sleepless nights, because i am thinking is this really workable? the puzzle, how to make something move and survive on the beach, powered only by the wind. what you're looking at is 28 years of trial and error, expertise, creating mechanical movement, almost a mechanical brain, which is what has attracted the attention of nasa. this animation shows how their meeting with theo has influenced their thinking for a venus rover, an environment where pressure and heat is just too much for normal motors. however, he had doubts that the legs could cope with rocky surfaces, so he showed them this, his caterpillar. inspiration for a more

robust design. i was honoured that nasa, they invited me and of course, i promoted the beests very much there. do you think one of your strandbeests will end up on another planet now? i don't think so, but i hope so. nasa is still working on a final design, but whatever they come up with, it will owe something to theo jansen's strange, beautiful, windborne creatures. david sillito, bbc news, scheveningen in the netherlands. extraordinary! time for a look at the weather... here's ben rich. there is a big change on the way. things will be different. there is more of what we have become used to in the south—east, blue skies,

sunshine and heat, this beautiful picture from a viewer in lincolnshire. it has not been like that everywhere. also a beautiful picture from scotland, but more cloud. that cloud will affect northern ireland, southern scotland, parts of england and wales, drifting slowly into the south—east bringing rain. to the north—west, clear spells and showers, towards the surveys , spells and showers, towards the surveys, there will be another warm night and tomorrow, another hot day. lots of sunshine, as stripe of cloud staggering its way across the south of scotla nd staggering its way across the south of scotland and the north of england and the south west, the odd spot of rain but that. to the north—west, a mixture of sunshine and showers and a relatively cool day, 18 degrees for glasgow and belfast but still up into the 30s in the south—east corner where we have that heat, there is a chance during tomorrow evening we could import some thunderstorms. some of these could be pretty heavy, flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder,

but once we clear there was a way, as we get into the middle of the week, all of us are going to see some much cooler, fresher air sweeping in from the atlantic, so, on wednesday and thursday, no more 30s, middle 20s at best, there will still be some sunshine, showers especially in the west and then by friday, signs of more persistent rain. this weather chart would not look out of place in autumn, an area of low pressure, a deep blow heading towards our shores, some uncertainty about the timing but it looks at some stage at the weekend we will see a spell of heavy rain, strong winds as well, so for a heavy rain, strong winds as well, so fora time, heavy rain, strong winds as well, so for a time, not all the time, wind and rain over the weekend and it will feel much, much cooler. big changes on the way. a reminder of our top story... one of the stars of england cricket — ben stokes — appears in court charged with affray after a fight outside a nightclub last year.

that's all from the bbc news at six, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. this is bbc news. time for the latest headlines: at least 98 people have been killed and thousands evacuated after the second earthquake on the indonesian island of lombok in a week. we were outside, we were going to watch a movie. but everything went blank. it was terrible. a court has heard that the england