Six O'Clock News

Firefighters are battling hot spots still burning in the West Midlands; a blaze that devastated the town of Stourbridge is under control.

Dozens of people are killed in a powerful earthquake off the Indonesian island of Flores.

Lyse Doucet reports from Kabul where supporters of the Taliban celebrate five years since the western-backed government was forced out of power.

Nineteen houses have been fully destroyed in multiple blazes across the West Midlands - eighteen others were damaged as firefighters fought to gain control.

Parliamentary investigators re-open their examination of a £5 million gift to Nigel Farage - just hours after the Reform UK leader's resounding by-election victory.

Luigi Mangione -- accused of shooting dead a health insurance executive in New York - - has pleaded guilty to the killing.

Israel sends in more troops to try to break up an Israeli settler blockade of two families in a village in the occupied West Bank. Also: a train derails near Lewes in East Sussex. And there has been an increase in the proportion of A-levels awarded at the top grades in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Millions of people across the UK witness the country's most significant solar eclipse since 1999. Also: The serial sex offender Simon Levy has been given a whole-life order after murdering two women and raping another. And a chocolate bar has been made entirely from ingredients grown in Britain for the first time in more than 90 years.

The Prime Minister has said he is 'increasingly confident' that two of the three men convicted of killing PC Andrew Harper will not be released from prison early. Also: The US media is reporting President Trump was involved in an elaborate plane-swapping decoy operation, while returning from a NATO summit, because of fears of a Tehran assassination plot. And the Met Office says the UK is on course for its hottest summer on record.

A dinghy carrying 230 migrants has crossed the Channel, setting a new record for the number of arrivals on a single small boat. Also: At least 13 people have died in Ukrainian drone strikes deep into Russia. And a critically endangered turtle has begun its journey from Wales to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country "rejects" the 15-point plan for peace in Gaza, which President Trump's Board of Peace said last month had been accepted by Hamas. This morning, Mr Netanyahu said Hamas would have to fully disarm first -- and that, as long as he was in office, there would be no Palestinian state in Gaza or the West Bank. Hamas responded by calling on the US to pressure Israel into accepting the deal. Also: An Irish government jet carrying the suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan is due to land in Dublin. He has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates and will face a charge of directing a criminal organisation. And: Italian divers have discovered a Roman-era shipwreck off the coast of Sicily.

On a visit to Russia's traditional ally Serbia, President Zelensky has appealed for more air defences. Three members of one family were killed by Russian strikes on Kyiv.

The boss of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has denied allegations that UEFA paid-off a woman he had an affair with while he was running European football.

Police have appealed for any potential victims of Simon Levy to come forward. The registered sex offender was yesterday convicted of the murder of two women.

And why one maker of the trusted British summer hat was left clutching at straws.

(Image: EPA)

A serial sex offender who was being monitored by the Metropolitan police has been found guilty of murdering two women and raping a third. Also: The detective, who led the investigation into the death of PC Andrew Harper, says the aggravating factors in the case should be considered before deciding whether two of the killers might be released early. And the music producer, William Orbit, has died at the age of 69.

The Home Office's anti-extremism programme, Prevent, has seen the highest number of referrals in its history, driven by a surge in reports since the Southport stabbings. Also: European football's governing body, UEFA, has said it is still prepared to boycott FIFA competitions despite plans for the involvement of private investment being scrapped. And state schools in England are to be set their own, individual attendance targets.