stokes said it was just banter. the two gay men seen chatting to stokes earlier that evening. neither were called as witnesses in the trial. i didn't get involved. i was more on the sideline. but, yeah, it turned into a massive brawl. and obviously i got a bit scared, so i carried on walking on. so you didn't witness the entire fight to the end? i witnessed most of it. yeah. when the guy was on the floor that's when i can have thought it was a bit too much for me. this has been a costly episode for a player who only ten days ago starred as england beat india in the first test, but who had to sit out last winter's ashes series in australia. within the hour he had been reinstated to the england squad for the third test match, which start on saturday. do you have any message for england cricket fans, ben? this could just be the biggest victory of the all—rounder‘s career. but at a time when english cricket wants to attract a new family audience, it may not be the end of a saga which has cast a shadow over the sport. da

stokes claimed it was just banter. these are the two gay men seen chatting to stokes.ither were called as witnesses in the triallj did not get involved more on the sideline. it turned into a massive brawl and i got scared and walked off. so, you didn't witness it? i witnessed most of it. when the guy was on the floor that is when i thought it was too much for me.“ found guilty, stokes could have faced a suspended prison sentence. instead he was cleared. that allows a controversial career to resume. this is been a controversial episode for a player who starred as england beat india in the first test. stokes was left out of the squad for the ashes series but today he was reinstated for the third test which sta rts reinstated for the third test which starts on saturday. this could just be the biggest victory of his career but with a disciplinary commission set to decide on any cricketing punishment for stokes in the coming weeks, today is not the end of a saga that has damaged the reputation of both the player and the sport. as the verdict was read out today, ben stokes c

stokes denies affray. but while his teammates prepare for the second test match against india that begins on thursday, he'll still be in court. here's our sports editor, dan roan. having had to swap cricket field for courtroom, ben stokes arrived here this morning for the opening day of his trial. dressed in a navy suit, the 27—year—old all—rounder sat in the dock alongside two local men he's accused of punching during a fight in the city last year, ryan hale and ryan ali. all three are accused of affray, a charge they each deny. the jury was shown this mobile phone footage of a late—night brawl outside a bristol nightclub in september, just hours after stokes had played for england. both hale and ali were knocked unconscious by the cricketer, leaving ali with significant injuries, including a broken eye socket. the court was told stokes lost his control and started to attack with revenge, retaliation or punishment in mind, well beyond the realm of self—defence. not a trivial moment of unpleasantness, but

stokes will 110w guilty of affray today. this behind him and get back to doing what he does best, he is a star all—rounderfor england and with the world cup and a home ashes series on the horizon next year, this will have come as a massive relief. dan roan, thank you the joining massive relief. dan roan, thank you thejoining us. well, stokes will be back soon, it seems, but what about fernando alonso? he's bidding adieu to formula 1, maybe for just next season or maybe for much longer as he signalled his intent to retire from the sport after some rather barren seasons with mclaren. after 17 years in the sport, which brought the spaniard two world titles, the 37—year—old believes it's time for something different. he posted this on his social media sites this afternoon. you were not expecting me and i wasn't sure i wanted to get to know you. when i barely knew how to walk around towards your noise, your circus, without knowing anything about you. we had some good times, some unforgettable, others really bad. we have played to

the law for ben stokes said. thejudicial focus. the law for ben stokes said.r now. it was day seven of the trial. the jury had been out for about two and a half hours. as the verdict was released, ben stokes closed his eyes briefly and then looked up in relief. he went over to shake hands with his co—accused, the man he actually knocked out at that fight in bristol last september. his wife who has been here and throughout, cried when the jury came back with their verdict. as you said, ben stokes, left court with his lawyer about 15 minutes ago. he did not speak but his lawyer spoke on his behalf saying that this had been an ordealfor his client behalf saying that this had been an ordeal for his client and that the jury ordeal for his client and that the jury had obviously listened to all the evidence, not a selective version of it that the public had been presented with. let's look at the background to the case with our bbc sports correspondent. he is one of world cricket's biggest stars with both bat and ball, ben stokes is arguably england's most important a

ben stokes is arguably england's most talented and high—profile cricketer.econd 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

but bayliss said it's not yet certain if stokes will play at trent bridge on saturday. days after emerging from bristol crown court, today ben stokes walked out to more familiar surroundings, the england star still the main attraction at trent bridge as he was welcomed back into the england squad after being cleared of affray. but while stokes could play against india here on saturday, the fallout from his trial following a brawl last year continues, and he's now being encouraged to publicly apologise, having already said sorry to his team—mates. certainly. i think it was important to actually apologise to the boys in the team. i'm sure something will be forthcoming. he will certainly pull his weight from now on going forward. i'm sure it's been a wake—up call for him. ben stokes must still await the outcome of a cricket disciplinary commission hearing, which in the next few weeks could decide to suspend him if he is found to have brought the game into disrepute. but for now, the all—rounder is back in the england fold. stokes said he had been acting in self—defence whe

the hero on the crucial morning at edgbaston, ben stokes, is in court, so won't be bowling.irat kohli, 200 i’u ns point of victory by virat kohli, 200 runs in the match but he doesn't believe he's carrying too many passengers. it's unfortunate we haven't been able to cross the line and been so close, that's the only thing we're looking at as a side, how do we crossed the line? it doesn't matter if i get runs or other players do, whoever in the batting order, as long as we crossed the line, that's all that matters. this week cricket is coming home but what happens over the next few days on this famous ground could be crucial for the direction of this crucial for the direction of this crucial series. patrick gearey, crucial for the direction of this crucialseries. patrick gearey, bbc news, at lord's. meanwhile, sri lanka beat south africa in a rain—affected fourth one—day international in kandy. the tourists had already won the series. south africa won the toss and put the home side into bat, and dasun shanaka top—scored with 65 as sri lanka made 306—7 in an innings that was r

michael stirling, who's 32 and from stoke—on trent, was remanded in custody.arm, 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

stokes said it was just banter. to stokes earlier that evening. neither were called as witnesses in the trial. i didn't get involved. i was more on the sideline. but, yeah, it turned into a massive brawl. and obviously i got a bit scared, so i carried on walking on. so you didn't witness the entire fight to the end? i witnessed most of it. yeah. when the guy was on the floor that's when i can have thought it was a bit too much for me. this has been a costly episode for a player who only ten days ago starred as england beat india in the first test. but he had to sit out last winter's ashes series in australia. as the verdict was read out here, stokes closed his eyes with relief. within the hour he had been reinstated for the england squad for the third test match, which start on saturday. but with a cricket disciplinary commission due to meet in the coming weeks, it is possible that both he and hales are suspended if found to have brought the game into disrepute. do you have any message for england cricket fans, ben?

england saved ben stokes is back in the squad for his own well—being. the day's other sports stories now. world cup semi—finallists england have climbed six places to sixth in the fifa world rankings. the world champions france are top after winning the tournament for the second time, replacing 2014 champions germany who drop down to fifteenth. la liga is going to have a match played overseas for the first time, with a spanish top—flight game to be played in the us. it's part of a partnership between la liga and media company relevent, which organises the international champions cup, to promote football in north america. we've had some golfing history today. american brandt snedeker‘s become the tenth player in pga tour history to shoot a round of below 60. he carded a 59 in the first round at the wyndham championship. and the format of tennis' davis cup is changing. the competition which andy murray led great britain to victory in three years ago, traditionally spans most of the calendar year but tennis federations today approved plans to turn it into

stokes, and one other man, deny a charge of affray.today dropped against a third defendant. our correspondent, jon kay, is following the case at bristol crown court. yes, four days into this trial, the prosecution case has all been heard. and in the last few moments, the judge has decided that the case against one of these men, ryan hale, should be dropped. he has heard the evidence against ryan hale and the judge decided there is no case to a nswer judge decided there is no case to answer and the jury should find him not guilty. so he will leave cut in the next few minutes. that is why the next few minutes. that is why the cameras, the journalist waiting to hear from the cameras, the journalist waiting to hearfrom him. but the trial continues on to the defence stage. the trial of two men, cricketer ben stokes and the other defendant, ryan ali. they are both charged with affray, they are both denying those charges. >> weather—macro: has just begun giving his version of events, but before he started in the witness box, we heard the pros

stokes said it was just banter. city that evening. neither were called as witnesses in the trial. i didn't get involved. i was more on the sideline. but yeah, it turned into a massive brawl. and obviously i got a bit scared so carried on walking on. so you didn't witness the entire fight to the end? i witnessed most of it. yeah. when the guys were on the floor that's when i can have thought it was a bit too much for me. this has been a costly episode for a player who only ten days ago starred as england beat india in the first test. but he had to sit out last winter's ashes series in australia. as the verdict was read out here, stokes closed his eyes with relief. within the hour he had been reinstated for the england squad for the third test match, which start on saturday. but with a cricket disciplinary commission due to meet in the coming weeks, it is possible that both he and alex hales are suspended if found to have brought the game into disrepute. do you have any message for england cricket fans, ben? this coul

the court hearing from stokes for the first time.two gay men had been subject to homophobic comments, something he suggested to police back when he was arrested. that is all i have been told at the moment. that is why i have arrested you on suspicion of assault. ali denied that, however, insisting they had just had banter between him, hale, and the two gay men. stokes may have since returned to cricket, but in the wake of the incident, he was suspended meaning that he missed the ashes series to australia last winter. here at lord's, the ecb will now conduct its own internal enquiry into a saga that has been damaging for both the player and those who run the game. obviously, when you are trying to attract new people, families, kids, even women to cricket, you want to show it as a sport which respects people generally and attracts good people, good people who are respectful of each other and have good behaviour, so it wasn't a particularly good episode. today's not guilty verdict will come as a huge relief to stokes and to england, but

bayliss says he will take time before deciding whether stokes will play.d in a fracas in bristol last september but he was found not guilty of affray earlier this week. we will find out over the next couple of days, i have not spoken to him since. i'm sure he had plenty of phone calls. we have the next two days to assess whether he plays or not, and i have some guys and for him and it will be a difficult position to make, whether it is him oi’ position to make, whether it is him or someone position to make, whether it is him or someone else. position to make, whether it is him or someone else. we position to make, whether it is him or someone else. we have been trying to get him in and test them for a while now. the one day team is a difficult one to select. test team has been different for other reasons but we are starting to get some good, young players coming to the tea m good, young players coming to the team which makes the job difficult. england rugby union internation danny cipriani has apologised after pleading guilty in court to charges of common

it followed a one—day international that stokes had played inafew international that stokes had playedhours before. he and some tea m in a few hours before. he and some team mates were on a night out and later on at around two o'clock in the morning, a fight erupted outside the morning, a fight erupted outside the nightclub. we heard today what went on in the build up to that incident. one which the prosecution told the court was triggered when stokes lost his control and started to attack with revenge, retaliation 01’ to attack with revenge, retaliation or punishment in mind. thejury heard it was beyond self—defence, but a sustained episode of significant violence that left onlookers shocked. stokes and the two men that he knocked unconscious in the fight, ryan alli and ryan hale, were charged with affray, all three men deny that accusation and all three are in the dock here at bristol crown court during this trial, which started today. how long is he expected to be in court and will this affect his participation for england beyond the second test at lord's? well, he was meant to be p

this was ben stokes. he did not know why ben stokes.im. he said later on perhaps he wasjust stokes was rushing at him. he said later on perhaps he was just angry that night and looking for a fight. he did admit that he brandished a bottle at some stage. again, he said that was in self—defense. he took ben stokes in a headlock at one stage, again that wishes to comment down. earlier on, we heard ben stokes himself and he said a lot of the incident he could not remember. he was asked why he could not remember hitting someone. bully in the face and knocking them unconscious and he had no answerfor that. he just unconscious and he had no answerfor that. hejust said he unconscious and he had no answerfor that. he just said he felt threatened. he was asked about his drinking. he said he had had ten drinks that night by his own admission and then after that he may have had a few digger meister bombs. he was thinking of the abuse that was being hurled at this man. he could not remember the details. he was asked by the prosecution, were you an a

michael stirling — who's 32 and from stoke—on trent — was remanded in custody.has written to the home secretary expressing policing concerns, in the event of a ‘no deal‘ brexit. ? the letter emphasises the importance of continued co—operation with european policing and justice bodies. ? it adds that a ‘no deal‘ could pose significant risks to uk citizens. deaths from drug poisoning in england and wales have reached a new high. latest figures show more than 3,700 people lost their lives in 2017, that's more than ten dying every day. as our home editor mark easton reports, the news has provoked a row over funding for drug treatment. i never dreamt i'd have one son die from a heroin overdose, never mind two. rose and her husband saw two of their children die from heroin overdoses, and since then they have campaigned for reform to the drug laws, including posting this emotional video. 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, rose is demanding more help be

he knows that carl stokes, african-american lawyer in town almost won the mayorship in cleveland. but this time cleveland had almost 40% african-american population, so he knew that this was the place to go to because he now we wanted to move from civil rights into black power and the other guy really pushing him on this is stokely carl michael, he comes to cleveland because he sees as opportunity. listen to what he says, u clip i found when he comes to cleveland, 1967, not long after he declares opposition to vietnam war which he did, this is a little bit later, listen to how he explains why he's coming to cleveland. >> we feel over the last few years through nonviolent struggle we have achieved the moral power and we have literally subpoenaed large segments of the nation to appear before the judgment seat of morality on the question of civil rights. now it is necessary to transform this moral power into political power so that we can bring about the necessary political reforms that will solve the problems that we face. >> all right, so big deal, he comes to cleveland, you see ap

it was said that ben stokes acted deplorably as the red mist came down.ce, gordon cole qc suggested that alex hale, the england team—mate ben stokes may have been responsible for some of the injuries. and that ben stokes potentially was not solely to blame maybe he was being singled out for blame because of his status as one of the game's leading all—rounders. the ecb today announced its squad for the third test which gets under way on saturday against india. it is unchanged. ben stokes is not in it the ecb says it will decide on his availability after the outcome of this trial. whatever the outcome of events here at bristol crown court, the independent disciplinary commission of the ecb must also have a hearing to decide if there should bea a hearing to decide if there should be a cricketing punishment for stokes and hayles after what happened on the 25th of september last year. nine american golfers here — eight of them have now cemented their places in the us ryder cup team after yesterday's pga championship. one of them hasn't. do you know which one h

our news correspondent, sarah corker, joins me now the outskirts of stoke—on—trent.ah, into this apparently unexplained disappearance. yes, the search for some anther eastward is now very much focused in this rural area of north staffordshire. we are about ten miles from stoke—on—trent and you can see behind me this road was cordoned off early this morning near the village of cover support. police officers, specially trained officers with sniffer dogs have been searching farmland including woods and fields for the last couple of hours or so. they been carrying out what is cold a fingertip search of the area here. we're not sure why there is this renewed their appeal to members of the public to report sightings of vehicles parked in unusual areas, lay—by eyes or unusual areas, lay—by eyes or unusual areas. how unusual areas, lay—by eyes or unusual areas. how far is that from the hospital? we are about ten miles from the royal stoke hospital, which is of course where samantha eastward was last seen last friday when she finished her night shift at around 7:1i5am in the

the court hearing from stokes for the first time.mething he suggested to police back when he was arrested. ali denied that, however, insisting there had just been banter between him, hale and the two gay men. stokes may have since returned to cricket, but in the wake of incident he was suspended, meaning that he missed the ashes series to australia last year. here at lord's, the ecb will now conduct its own internal inquiry into a saga that has been damaging for both the player and those who run the game. obviously, when you're trying to attract new people — families, kids, even women — to cricket, you want to show it as a sport which respects people generally and attracts good people, good people who are respectful of each other and have good behaviour. so it wasn't a particularly good episode. today's not guilty verdict will come as a huge relief to stokes and england. but having been cleared by the courts he must now wait to see if cricket's governing body takes any action. now a ben stokes did not make any comment himself at the

it's the second day of the ben stokes court case in bristol.following an incident outside a nightclub in the city last september. our sports editor dan roan was in court. today the jury in bristol lent more about the events leading up to the fight in the early hours of september last year involving ben stokes and two local men. they heard from andrew cunningham the head doorman of the nightclub where the fight took place. he told the jury that ben stokes who was accompanied by alex hales had been abusive, spiteful and a bully towards him abusing him for his prominent tattoos and his gold teeth and then knocking two gay men outside the nightclub and throwing a cigarette but at the head of one of them. but the defence barrister then suggested that cunningham who said he did not like cricket had been aggressive towards ben stokes. he said that the two men have been laughing about his gold shoes and it had just been playful banter. later on the jury also heard from max wilson, a local resident who filmed the fracas which followed on his mobile phon

stokes, and one other defendent, deny affray. also on the programme... a report finds that two leading catholic schools covered up the sexual abuse of pupils by staff, over four decades. the number of dead in the lombok earthquake in indonesia rises to more than 250. the conservative party is examining dozens of complaints about boris johnson's comments on muslim women and full face veils. and a whole country welcomes their hero of the tour de france, as geraint thomas returns to cardiff. and coming up on bbc news: all the headlines from transfer deadline day, as chelsea break the world record transfer for a keeper called kepa arrizabalaga. good evening. the england cricketer ben stokes says he was defending himself and others during a fight outside a nightclub in bristol last year. taking the stand for the first time in his trial on a charge of affray, he told the jury he intervened after hearing homophobic abuse being shouted at two men. earlier there were claims the cricketer "could have killed" a man during the incident. stokes and one other defendan

they brought in and stokes. stokes will miss the next test because he will be in court.y wicket. an lbw for 51 at the moment of the day. in the same over, he p°pped of the day. in the same over, he normed up of the day. in the same over, he popped up with the wicket. wa on review and stokes came back to remove him and settled the match. england win by 31 runs. incredible drama in allfour england win by 31 runs. incredible drama in all four days of this match. afterwards the england captain —— captain gerard spoke about what it meant for notjust in esteem but the whole for game. and when the is test cricket is dead just should play this match and repeat. what a game. just trying to soak roll in. fabulous team performance this morning we spoke about belief and desire that we dow and if we stayed calm and trusted the areas which we had previously worked in, ithink the areas which we had previously worked in, i think we did just that. iam worked in, i think we did just that. i am really proud of the group. it sets up the series really nicely. i'm looking forward to boarding

stokes is one of world cricket's highest profile talents, helping england beat india last week.ake do without him in the second test. the trial continues. dan roan, bbc news, bristol. more than 105 people have now died, following sunday's powerful earthquake that hit an indonesian island, and two days on, survivors are still being found. the 6.9—magnitude quake was the second to hit the area injust over a week. mehulika sitepu reports from lombok. it's 48 hours after the earthquake hit lombok. a man is pulled out the collapsed mosque. and a search for survivors continues. nearby, a 23—year—old woman is rescued after being trapped beneath a flattened convenience store. translation: they thought they smelt dead bodies, but when we opened up an access point, it was just rotten eggs. then we heard a voice. the ones that survived have been taken to the nearest hospital which has also been damaged by the earthquake. patients are being treated in tents outdoors, mostly suffering from broken bones. translation: there are too many patients. we have to prioritise who among them need the m

tomorrow we may hear from ben stokes. and acted like animals. tomorrow we may hearfrom ben stokes.ar from ben stokes. he was meant to prepare in the second test match for england against india which begins on thursday. instead, he will be back here. he denies the charge of affray, as do is fellow codefendants. on to golf and tiger woods says it's a dream come true as he plays at the 100th us pga championship in st. louis this week. the 42—year—old is a four—time winner of this tournament in what is its final time it will be played as the last of the four majors on the calendar. from next year it will move to may and woods who hasn't won a major title since claiming his 14th back in 2008 says he understands his body better as he continues his remarkable comeback from spinal fusion surgery. i certainly cannot do what i used to do ten or 15 years ago however i am still able to hit the majority of my shots and i have had to learn a golf swing that is restricted. i have never had a spinal restriction before. i played all those years without it. i had a bung knee for most of those years

and finally even though ben stokes could take the field injust four though ben stokes could take thethat is cast over him and the england team now last? the government is considering giving tenants in england more support to hold landlords to account — by speeding up the complaints procedure and publishing league tables. the measures are part of what ministers call "a landmark opportunity for major reform" on social housing. but campaign groups say what's needed is more homes for people on low incomes. 0ur social affairs correspondent michael buchanan reports. the grenfell fire was meant to change the nation's attitude to housing the poor. for too long in our country under governments of both colours, we have not given enough attention to social housing. it is a national crisis and one that we are ready to meet. today, ministers revealed much changes this tragedy would mean for social housing across england. tenants will get more powers to hold landlords to account, government support to ensure their homes or other decent quality of this housing adviser, the proposals after a year of

he describes the man in the green t—shirt, seemingly ben stokes, as the main aggressor.om the man in the green t—shirt but the man in the green t—shirt was the main aggressor. thejury has been shown a range of video angles, cctv and body cam footage taken from another officer who arrested ben stokes that night. when she told him there was a man nearby covered in blood and asked what was going on, he said he had been trying to help out because his two gay friends were being insulted and he was trying to help out onto their behalf. a statement read to the jury, ben stokes said that two men were giving nasty homophobic language to a gay couple on the streets of bristol and he stepped in to try to stop that. he said that these two men, he claimed, had bottles in their hand so he said he acted in self—defence. he said he was afraid. ben stokes who is 27 and the other two are all charged with affray. they denied that charge. they will be back here at bristol crown court tomorrow. the second test between england and india gets under way at lord's tomorrow. england are 1—0 up in

ben stokes in the side, stokes of course is attending his court case in bristol.he surrey batsman is in the side in place of dawid malan and will bat at four. england are 1—0 up in the series. great britain's wheelchair rugby team have missed out on a place in the final of the world championships in sydney. they lost to the hosts australia by 59 points to 57, in an incredibly tight match. they have never made it to a major world final — they'll take on the united states tomorrow for bronze. wheelchair rugby lost its uk sport funding after failing to win a paralympic medal in rio but the sport was given some financial support to compete at these world championships. that's all the sport for now. another powerful earthquake has hit the indonesian island of lombok, causing more damage to the already devastated area. it follows a quake on sunday which killed 230 people, according to the head of the provincial search and rescue agency on the island. the latest tremors sent locals fleeing into the streets to escape collapsing buildings. with more, here's david campanale

ben stokes held up his hand and showed it to the jury.d already seen of swollen joints were the result of cricketing injuries from years ago, and nothing to do with the night in question. the jury has also been shown this footage of injuries suffered by 28—year—old ryan ali. he's also charged with affray and denies the count. ryan... this afternoon, a third man, ryan hale, was cleared. the court was told the former soldier felt he was an innocent bystander, who'd feared he was going to be killed. the judge said there was no case for him to answer and he was found not guilty of affray. i'm happy. that's all. i'm happy for myself. just got to see what happens now with the rest of the case, so, i won't comment until then. after giving evidence for three hours, the england all—rounder left court with his wife this evening. ben stokes is due to return tomorrow for a fifth day, as this trial continues. jon kay, bbc news, bristol crown court. the county council facing a funding shortfall of around £50 billion has held a crisis meeting where they

mr stokes denied accusation.o hit the england all wind with a bottle during the brawl. he is expected to give evidence today. ben stokes has defended himself throughout the trial saying he was feeling under threat himself and was protecting a gay couple who he said were being abused. ryan ali's character asked whether he had got the wrong end of the stick, she said, i suggest your belief was mistaken, there was no homophobic abuse. mr stokes said it was clear that there was homophobic abuse. he also denied being rude and aggressive on the cctv outside the club. the prosecutor said, we see on this that it an angry man who has lost control, and stokes replied, absolutely not. he has left the court with his wife, aged and legal tea m court with his wife, aged and legal team and he will be back in about half an hour for the team and he will be back in about half an hourfor the rest team and he will be back in about half an hour for the rest of the day's proceedings. hundreds of ryanair flights have been cancelled aft

stokes made note, daddy left ward and allowed his lawyer to do the talking for him.served to highlight todayjust how highly he values his position as an england representative both in terms of the privilege that role in sales and the responsibilities that it can bring. now that the trial is over he's keen to get back to cricket being his sole focus. within about an hourof being his sole focus. within about an hour of the verdict being announced the ecb issued a statement in which they confirmed that he had been reinstated for the squad for the third test match which starts on saturday at trent bridge against india. it is feasible he could in fa ct india. it is feasible he could in fact be playing in that, but of course this is not the end of the saga necessarily because a cricket disciplinary commission in the next few weeks will hold a hearing and it will —— may well be that despite the fa ct will —— may well be that despite the fact thejury will —— may well be that despite the fact the jury found him not guilty, of afraid, they still believe he deserves a cricketin

. —— then stokes.s outside bristol crown court. this is the first day that ben stokes has been heard from directly. explain a little bit more about the proceedings today. as you remember, during the prosecution case that we have seen a lot of phone footage of the fight itself will stop you have seen more the fight itself will stop you have seen more of it there. this is where stokes is seen throwing punches. the man who was cleared today in a police statement said he felt he could die under attack from stokes. we heard evidence from the doorman who had refused entry into the nightclub in the early hours of the morning. he was described as being angry and spiteful mimicking a gay couple in an offensive manner. he had his chance to put his version of events and said none of that was true. he had not been angry and spiteful, he had been messing around and having fun with the gay couple outside the nightclub. he told the court that ryan ali had threatened him with a bottle and heard the remarks made. he sa

once again today stokes looked relaxed.fans, but he knows come tomorrow all eyes will be on his cricketing comeback. andy swiss, bbc news. well, ben stokes will have a new team—mate at durham for next season, another man who has recently been accused of bringing the game into disrepute. cameron bancroft is coming to england. joe lynskey can tell us more. hugh, thank you, yes. these are the images you will remember from six months ago. the brightest star is breaking down in a press conference. they're the images that will stay with australian cricket fans for a lifetime. all because of the ball—tampering scandal which happened in a match against south africa in march. the man who carried out the act of putting sandpaper on the ball was cameron bancroft — the youngest of the three was given a nine—month ban, three months less than the other two senior players who were deemed to have instigated the plot. well, today durham announced they were prepared to take on the batsman as one of their overseas players for next year's coun

england cricketer ben stokes "mocked two gay men" before a fight outside a nightclub in bristol last year, a court's heard. the trump administration is re—imposing a series of sanctions on iran, starting with metals trading, industrial—related software and the motor industry. a man appears in court accused of the murder of 28—year—old midwife samantha eastwood. also coming up — wildfires across europe and america and here a warning the hot weather could last till october we'll be asking if hot weather like this is going to be the new normal, and what we should do to adapt. good evening and welcome to bbc news. thousands of tourists and residents have been left stranded after a second earthquake in a week hit the holiday island of lombok. officials in indonesia say they have begun an evacuation of parts of the area. at least 98 people are known to have died, and the authorities say they expect that figure to rise. hundreds more were injured. the country is prone to earthquakes because it sits on the "ring of fire", an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the pacific basin. lombok is ea

ben stokes is back in the england team.d in the england side to face india. the third test match begins at trent bridge tomorrow. andy swiss has more. from the courtroom to the cricket field, ben stokes, back in the england team at the end of a dramatic week. it was only on tuesday stokes was cleared of affray, and just four days later, he will once again represent his country. the unlucky player to make way is sam curran, with five wickets and a half century, being man of the match in the first test. his captain says dropping him was one of the toughest decisions he has had to make, but that stokes is ready to return. i had two day's practise to gauge that on in terms of practise and making sure he was right to play physically. we had two days of practise. i sat down with him last night and ask him quite readily and honestly, "are you in the right place to go out and play for england?" he assured me that he is absolutely ready to go and perform at his best level. i have no worries or doubts that he will be able to go and d

instead, ben stokes was back in court. cunningham, a witness to the events leading up to the brawl at the centre of the case. stokes is accused of losing control and attacking two local men, ryan hale and ryan ali, in the early hours of september 25th last year. all three denying a charge of affray. head doorman at the mbargo nightclub, cunningham said that earlier ben stokes had been spiteful, angry and a bully, after he refused the cricketer and his england team—mate, alex hales, re—entry to the venue. the court was shown this cctv footage. cunningham claimed ben stokes, who he described as "the ginger one", insulted his teeth and prominent tattoos, and then mocked two gay men, making camp gestures and throwing a cigarette butt at one of them. defence barrister gordon cole qc suggested that cunningham, who said he didn't like cricket, had been aggressive towards ben stokes and alex hales. "definitely not", said the doorman. cole said the cricketers had been laughing with the two gay men about stokes's gold—encrusted shoe

stokes is one of world cricket's highest profile talents, helping england beat india last week. second test. the trial continues. dan roan, bbc news, bristol. more than 100 people have now died, and another 80,000 are in need of shelter, following sunday's powerful earthquake that hit an indonesian island. the 6.9—magnitude quake was the second to hit the area injust over a week. mehulika sitepu reports from lombok. it's 48 hours after the earthquake hit lombok. a man is pulled out a collapsed mosque, and a search for survivors continues. nearby, a 23—year—old woman is rescued after being trapped beneath a flattened convenience store. translation: they thought they smelt dead bodies, but when we opened up an access point, it was just rotten eggs. then we heard a voice. the ones that survived have been taken to the nearest hospital which has also been damaged by the earthquake. patients are being treated in tents outdoors, mostly suffering from broken bones. translation: there are too many patients. we have to prioritise who among them need the most help. so, for patients that ca

michael stirling, who's 32 and from stoke—on trent, was remanded in custody.se of humour — samantha eastwood, a 28—year—old midwife, was reported missing ten days ago. her disappearance has now become a murder inquiry. appearing in court, 32—year—old michael stirling was charged with samantha's murder. michael is thought to have known samantha. he's her former 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 the royal hospital stoke university, ten days ago. when she didn't arrive for her shift that evening, her colleagues raised the alarm. samantha's body was found on saturday in rural staffordshire, ten miles from her home. michael stirling left the magistrates' court after hearing the charges. he will next appear via video link on wednesday at stafford crown court. caroline davies, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: at least 98 people have been killed and thousands are evacuated after the second earthquake on the indonesian island of lombok. engla

we are around ten miles, a 30 minute drive, from stoke—on—trent here.is morning near the village of caverswall. specialist police officers aided by police dogs have been scouring a large area of woodland and fields and they have been on—site here for the last three or four hours. it's not clear at this stage why the focus of this investigation has moved to this area. samantha eastwood has not been seen since she left work last friday at the royal stoke hospital. a 32—year—old man was arrested in connection with her disappearance but has since been released. today, staffordshire police renewed their appeal for members of the public to report any sightings of vehicles parked in strange locations, in lay—bys or isolated areas, and they say their officers are working round—the—clock to find samantha. three people have died of heatstroke in spain this week, with temperatures there reaching as high as 45 degrees. tour operators say last minute summer holiday bookings to countries around the mediterranean are down, as tourists seek out cooler destinations. 0ur

the daily star also leads with the ben stokes trial and that aquittal.he mirror's top line is the suspected terrorist attack near the houses of parliament, and reference to the police arriving within seconds on the scene. it also has coverage of the collapsed bridge in genoa. also leading with the westminster attack, and that collapsed bridge in genoa, is the telegraph's front page, as well as the times. the is front page has an image of the moment police swarmed the westminster attacker‘s car. and, finally, the guardian's main story is the reported rise in pay for chief executives, while workers' pay failed to match inflation. 0k. let's get onto it. we are going to start with the mail. laura, the mail, westminster attack, 700 live terror probes, revealing the scale of the threat to the uk — a huge operation today, and an even bigger operation today, and an even bigger operation in general to thwart terror attacks. yes, interesting that downing street came out with the figures on the day that we have this botched attempt, as if they we re this botched at

ben stokes of course was the hero of the edgbaston test match on saturday.by a phalanx of photographers, and he has been sitting in the dock this morning at the opening of this trial, alongside his co—defendants, ryan ali and ryan hale, who are both also accused of a charge of affray in relation to this incident that happened outside the nightclub last year. all three of them were described as young men of promise. ben stokes the international cricketer, ryan hale and ryan ali, one was a veteran of the war in afghanistan, the other works for themergency services. the trial itself is expected to last until next week and before juries were selected to sit in this case they were asked a number of questions, one of which was whether or not any of them had an extreme passion for cricket. none of them said they had, and so they were empowered to sit on this trial. the case will continue after a brief adjournment this afternoon. drug deaths involving the misuse of the powerful painkillerfentanyl, in england and wales, have risen by almost a third, according to new

stokes denies affray.t india that begins on thursday, he'll still be in court. here's our sports editor, dan roan. having had to swap cricket field for courtroom, ben stokes arrived here this morning for the opening day of his trial. dressed in a navy suit, the 27—year—old all—rounder sat in the dock alongside two local men he's accused of punching during a fight in the city last year, ryan hale and ryan ali.

he said he saw a tall blonde guy charging at him, that was stokes, he said he had no idea why stokesier on, we heard from stokes himself, he said many of the events that night he couldn't recall, in detail. he said he was asked why he had punched a man in the face and knocked him unconscious, he said he couldn't recall that, he said everything he was doing with us in self—defence or to protect those two 93v self—defence or to protect those two gay men, he was asked about his drinking, he said he had ten drinks and then he said he may have had a fewjagerbombs and then he said he may have had a few jagerbombs on top and then he said he may have had a fewjagerbombs on top of that but he said he wasn't drunk. he was asked whether he had flicked a cigarette but in the face of one of these gay men, he was shown the video, he said there was a gesture there but he didn't quite know what was going on, he was also asked about this homophobic abuse that he said he was protecting the two gay men from, and he said he couldn't remember in detail any of the words used. so we have now had all the ev

ben stokes was with him, as was alex —— ryan hale.around his face. he said he had some kind of compression. he described himself as a happy drunk, not an aggressive one, and his head at the time he had no idea that there were any england cricketers in the club, or even who ben stokes was. ryan hale was knocked out during a brawl by ben stokes, along with the other co—defendant, ryan ali. all three deny affray. there is an adjournment, and at some stage you would expect ben stokes to start giving evidence himself. the trial is expected to finish sometime next week. thanks for the update. the results of an independent investigation into historic child sex abuse at two roman catholic boarding schools during the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, will be published today. the english benedictine monasteries at ampleforth in north yorkshire and downside in somerset have apologised for past failings. the report is based on evidence given at public hearings in december. our correspondent richard lister reports. good morning, everyone. over two months last

tomorrow we may hear more from ben stokes.cond test match for england against being dunn india that starts on thursday at lords but instead he will be back here. he denies the charge of afraid, as do his team—mates. arsenal's majority shareholder stan kroenke, who owns over two thirds of the club's shares, has had an offer to buy the whole club accepted. the other major shareholder alisher usmanov has agreed to sell his 30% stake in what he describes as the "best football club in the world". kroenke says single ownership will help to further arsenal's "strategy and ambitions". but the arsenal supporters trust are opposed to the takeover, calling it a dreadful day for the club with concerns over transparency and accountabilty. the worst—case scenario is the money will be taken out of the club due to management fees to pay the debts which have been taken out by arsenal, and we know he is an investor so there will be less money going into the club and more going out of the club. let's have quick look at some of tonight's other sp

why stoke? why is this problem so big in stoke and not anywhere else?ause it's so, you know, the drug dealers are only selling it for £2 a bag, so at the end of the day the £2 a bag, the more people buy it, the more money they make. with it being so cheap, there's got to be a lot more people are stoke—on—trent as well. we have seen major outbreaks of specific synthetic drugs such as spice in manchester and lincoln. but this new make—up is causing a different challenge for emergency services. let's talk now to darren murinas who is a former drug addict and dealer. he first came across monkey dust when he was in prison. and gareth snell is the labour mp for stoke—on—trent. paula reece is from ukat, a national drug rehabilitation service. william morris, works with stoke s homeless community. dr 0liver sutcliffe has developed the first drugs tester for spice in manchester. we will find out how it might be releva nt to we will find out how it might be relevant to this monkey dust. darren, you came across it in prison, what effect did you see it was doing to

all free men, ben stokes, main aggressor. all free men, ben sto kes, rya n main aggressor.ial will continue tomorrow. thank you. now look at a couple of other stories. about three and a half million british gas customers are facing an increase in their bills for the second time this year. the energy supplier is putting up its standard variable tariff by 3.8%. centrica, which owns british gas, said the rise was due to the increasing cost of energy on the wholesale market. a man has appeared at stafford crown court via videolink, charged with murdering the midwife samantha eastwood. michael stirling, who's the brother—in—law of her former finance, spoke only to confirm his name. he'll return to court for a plea hearing in october. the body of samantha eastwood was found in a rural area of staffordshire eight days after she went missing. self—testing hiv kits are to become available on the high street for the first time. the retailer, superdrug, says the kits will be sold in its 200 pharmacy stores across the uk. the self—testing product, which manufacturers claim has a 99.7%

once again today stokes looked relaxed.but he knows come tomorrow all eyes will be on his cricketing comeback. andy swiss, bbc news. the english county cricket side durham have signed cameron bancroft, the australia opener who was banned for nine months after admitting ball—tampering during a test match. just to warn you, there's some flash photography coming up. he was part of the scandal that shook the sport, with australia captain steve smith and vice—captain david warner also suspended. bancroft admitted to using sandpaper on the ball in a game against south africa in march and his deal with somerset was cancelled. he'lljoin durham next year. if you've done a search on manchester united/pogba, over the last couple of days you'd think they were a team in turmoil — with plenty of negative headlines regarding united midfielder paul pogba and his managerjose mourinho. it was reported the pair had had a fallout and following their premier league win over leicester. but mourinho says their relationship couldn't be more positi