Six O'Clock News

President Trump urges the UK to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, to help defend the vital shipping route from Iranian attacks. Israel says it's hit more than a-hundred Hezbollah command centres in the Lebanese capital Beirut. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, says she has found extra money to offer support to people struggling with higher heating oil costs. Also: The public is invited to vote an new artwork to remember Northumberland's Sycamore Gap tree.

The US has confirmed that all six members of the crew on board a military refuelling aircraft were killed when it crashed in western Iraq. European leaders have criticised the Trump administration for easing sanctions on Russian oil to curb price rises caused by the conflict. UK Petrol prices surpass £1.40 a litre - the highest in 18 months. Also: John Lennon's piano fetches nearly £2.2 million at auction.

Iranian state television has broadcast a statement attributed to the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei – in which he pledges to maintain his country's blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway.
Israel is ramping up its offensive against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah – telling many more people in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes.
In other news: a woman from Tewkesbury has been jailed for 13 years for keeping a vulnerable woman as a slave, and Lloyds Banking Group is investigating after customers reported seeing other users' transactions on their apps.

Documents released by the government show that Sir Keir Starmer was warned that Lord Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein posed a "general reputational risk" if he was appointed as the UK's ambassador to the US. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, told MPs that the due diligence process had "fallen short of what was required". The BBC understands that Lord Mandelson maintains he did not act criminally or for personal gain.

The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said that air strikes on Iran today will be the 'most intense' so far of the eleven-day war. In a news conference at the Pentagon, Mr Hegseth said America was achieving its war goals and winning with 'brutal efficiency' - and that Iran would be 'decisively defeated'. Also: Some local commuter services are expected to resume at Glasgow Central station tomorrow -- three days after a large fire in a neighbouring building forced it to close. And: On the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, Lossiemouth -- trained by the leading Irish trainer, Willie Mullins -- stormed to victory in the Champion Hurdle, the first big race of the meeting.