"a decisive moment for the gaza ceasefire talks". america's top diplomat is in israel for discussions as the israelis and hamas both blame each other for blocking a deal. kamala harris is in chicago for the democratic national convention where she'll be formally confirmed as the party's presidential candidate to face donald trump in november's election. one person is dead and six are still missing after a super—yacht sinks off the coast of sicily. we have life pictures coming to earth from the coast where rescues are still urgently searching for the missing. as a new deadlier strain of mpox spreads around the globe, we talk to a team of specialists to get your questions answered. get in touch. and, a spectacular sunset across the uk last night as the world prepares for a rare blue supermoon. these are pictures coming into us now of the supermoon in seoul south korea.

this is south korea right now, with the super moon hanging over the skies of the south korean capital. hello, i'm lucy hockings. welcome to bbc news now, 3 hours of fast—moving news, interviews and reaction. now is "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal in gaza — those the words of the us secretary of state antony blinken who's been holding talks with israel's prime minister benjamin neta nyahu in tel aviv. the us has expressed optimism about a deal, but that level of optimism is not shared by the israeli leadership or hamas. the current negotiations are based on a modified proposal presented by the us. the main sticking points are: israel's military presence along the philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip of land along gaza's southern border with egypt. hamas wants assurances that and israel will not resume the war after the first batch of hostages,

around 30, are released. israel wants to ensure negotiations do not drag on indefinitely over the second phase in which the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers would be freed. let's have a listen to the us secretary of state. this is a decisive moment. probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security. i am here as part of an intensive diplomatic effort on president biden�*s instructions to try to get this agreement to the line and ultimately over the line. it is time for it to get done. it is also time to make sure that no one takes any steps that could derail this process. the us secretary of state speaking

there, we will be live injerusalem in a moment to bring you the latest on any progress that may be being made during those talks. but we want to take you to the us now, because kamala harris has arrived in chicago for the democratic national convention. where she'll be formally confirmed as the party's presidential candidate. ms harris is expected to join president biden on stage when he addresses the convention later. this is the scene at the venue where security is tight ahead of the four—day event. here are life pictures. you can expect that to be credited with people later in the day. amongst them will be our correspondent, emma vardy. leaning out of a 94th floor, this city of skyscrapers is a dramatic sight. now thousands are descending on chicago for the convention. this is an amazingly important and unprecedented thing that's going on. it will affect how americans will vote in november. to us, this is a really important election. when you stand for freedom, whether it be to make decisions about your own body or love

who you love, you fight for those things. there's been a surge of excitement for the democrats�* new presidential candidate sincejoe biden withdrew over concerns about his age. kamala harris has had a meteoric rise from joe biden�*s running mate, to being the democratic nominee, to now leading in the polls against donald trump, and she's done it all in less than a month. now the stage is set for the party to rally behind her, with former presidents barack obama and bill clinton among the big names who will speak over the next four days. expect plenty of razzmatazz as the democrats try to keep this new feel good factor going. there's thousands of balloons up there waiting to rain down on this arena, for starters. but good vibes alone may not be enough, because there's an appetite from democrats now for kamala harris to use this podium to put more flesh on the bones of what she really stands for. outside, chicago's braced for big protests over the war in gaza, one of several key issues kamala harris has yet to set out her stance on in detail. and come and take a look

behind the scenes, because this is also a massive broadcasting operation for the american networks, which the democrats would like to become must—watch tv. in the swing state of pennsylvania at the weekend, donald trump attacked his rival. i'm better looking than she is. in her speech yesterday, kamala went full communist. you heard that — she went full communist. she wants to destroy our country. it's in the battleground states where the race really gets dirty. in wisconsin, a demolition derby gave people something to cheer for. it's voters here that kamala harris will have to win over. i like her. but i don't know if she's strong enough. i would consider myself republican. i don't know if trump is the exact lanswer for that party, but i surel like his, uh, his viewpoints. he did things, you know. do you think kamala harris has got him rattled? i think, uh, no.

i think he has her rattled. in a race that's been upended in recent weeks, the two new opponents are only just getting their horns locked. emma vardy, bbc news. let's speak to shannon felton—spence, politics and communications strategist at harvard university's belfer center. very good to have you with us here on bbc news. i know you have been very closely looking at the polling numbers, because what we are seeing is the sense of excitement, a sense of momentum, but what are the polls showing? of momentum, but what are the polls showin: ? n . , of momentum, but what are the polls showinu? a ., , ., of momentum, but what are the polls showin? n ., , ., , showing? actually, a new poll “ust came out this fl showing? actually, a new poll “ust came out this morning i showing? actually, a new poll “ust came out this morning from h showing? actually, a new polljust i came out this morning from emerson college, which is one of the new york times's trusted sources. it showed that she has pulled ahead by about four points. that does not sound like a lot my four points, here or there, but this race has

been 5050 since 2020. this is a completely calcified electorate, so any sort of one or two percentage in either direction is a big deal. and we still have a couple of third party candidates that are pulling some numbers that will ultimately affect the raise in some way, they will go to one candidate or the other. but kamala harris is pulling much stronger than she was withjoe biden, and she is polling very strongly with young voters. so there are millions of voters that have just recently turned voting age, did not have the chance to vote in 2020 and have been sort of wanting to check the box for the democrats, and now they are very excited to vote for kamala harris. those little margins could make a huge difference especially in swing states. i was seeinu especially in swing states. i was seeing those — especially in swing states. i was seeing those numbers - especially in swing states. i was seeing those numbers in - especially in swing states. i was seeing those numbers in the - seeing those numbers in the battleground states where are you talking about a bump overall in the popular vote? the talking about a bump overall in the penular vote?— talking about a bump overall in the popular vote? the swing states are alwa s popular vote? the swing states are always going _ popular vote? the swing states are always going to _ popular vote? the swing states are always going to be _ popular vote? the swing states are always going to be much _ popular vote? the swing states are always going to be much tighter. popular vote? the swing states are i always going to be much tighter than the overall picture. the numbers i just laid out were an overall us of

likely voters. that was about 4% bump that i saw over the weekend. in the battleground states, she is ahead in several of them but it is a tighter margin. like i said, the selection, it may come down to 100 or 200,000 voters in six states, maybe even three states. many little bit of bump that she can get in any of those states, michigan, pennsylvania, georgia, arizona may be. that is going to make the difference in this election. 50 it difference in this election. so it is still too _ difference in this election. so it is still too close _ difference in this election. so it is still too close to _ difference in this election. so it is still too close to call - difference in this election. so it is still too close to call and - difference in this election. so it is still too close to call and we | is still too close to call and we are a long way out, but there is a lot that voters do not know about kamala harris. she is yet to give a big interview since she has become the front runner, we know she is going to be approved this week at the convention. but what are we expecting to hear from the convention. but what are we expecting to hearfrom her? do you think we will get more on policy from her this week? i think we will get more on policy from her this week?— think we will get more on policy from her this week? i hope that we do aet from her this week? i hope that we do get some _ from her this week? i hope that we do get some more _ from her this week? i hope that we do get some more from _ from her this week? i hope that we do get some more from policy - from her this week? i hope that we do get some more from policy on l from her this week? i hope that we i do get some more from policy on her, the conventions are sort of razzle—dazzle with the side of policy. the convention is trulyjust

securing the nomination. it is a bit of a challenge nowadays with the convention than it was in years past, because now you are playing towards the audience in the room, which is the delegates, they are all there for you, that is the home team audience who want to hear for you and are excited for you. you also claim to millions of euros on tv and across social media, so every single moment counts. we are probably going to see a lot of touting her up, she is going to tell her story, there will be a lot of slick demographic videos and we are going to hear from names that we know, like barack obama and the clintons. we might even hearfrom some obama and the clintons. we might even hear from some celebrities, which would be exciting. all of this is to really reintroduce herself. it is to really reintroduce herself. it is not going to be as solid as it will be developed and trickled out over the coming days and weeks. great to have you with us, as we also see those life pictures from

chicago. three months to go before the election, thousands will be gathering in chicago and many are already there for one week of what they call a celebration amongst the democrats of the national convention, lots of razzmatazz, and perhaps some policy will be laid out to. they are expecting memorable speeches from party leaders in the appearance of a few celebrities as well. let's take you back to the middle east and bring you an update on the ceasefire negotiations that are taking place at the moment, antony blinken, america's top diplomat is there and he has been speaking to benjamin netanyahu. let's speak to our middle east correspondent, yolande knell. we have been hearing that this is the last chance for a possible ceasefire, also asked resting a bit of optimism, but is that optimism coming from the us? certainly it is mainly coming from the american side, and we do have

one us senior official travelling with mr antony blinken raised the possibility that a deal could be done by this time next week. when it comes to hamas and the israeli leadership have been saying in their latest statements not really so positive. the reason for the americans that this is being presented as a decisive moment, that these are last—ditch talks according to how they are being seen, is really because they are trying so hard not to avert the threat of a wider regional war here. they are also saying this could be the last chance to bring home israeli hostages to their families. that is something that mr blinken was really emphasising as well as to end the war in gaza. you can imagine now that behind closed doors a lot of pressures being put on the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in particular, mr blinken also in meeting the defence minister and others during his stay here. {line

meeting the defence minister and others during his stay here. one of the sticking — others during his stay here. one of the sticking points, _ others during his stay here. one of the sticking points, can _ others during his stay here. one of the sticking points, can they - the sticking points, can they realistically... ?_ the sticking points, can they realistically... ? the americans have come _ realistically... ? the americans have come on _ realistically... ? the americans have come up with _ realistically... ? the americans have come up with a _ realistically... ? the americans have come up with a bridging . have come up with a bridging proposal to solve the outstanding issues, this was after americans and egyptian mediators met with an israeli negotiating team in doha at the end of last week with messages being passed along to the hamas leaders by them. although there has not been an official announcement about what this plan involves we have got some idea about what the outstanding issues are. the statement that came from the israeli prime minister's office talked very much about the need to maintain israeli forces in the gaza strip, particularly along the strategically important strip of land between gaza and egypt. meanwhile, hamas have been really rejecting the idea of

having any israeli troops in the gaza strip beyond the course of the war, they have also really brought up war, they have also really brought up this issue about the importance of freedom of movement, for palestinians displaced by the fighting to the south, the need for them to be able to move to the north of the gaza strip. that remains an issue. and also the identity, the numbers as well, of palestinian prisoners in israeli jails who would be released as part of the exchange for those remaining israeli hostages. for those remaining israeli hostages-— for those remaining israeli hostages. for those remaining israeli hostaues. ., ., ., for those remaining israeli hostaues. .,. ., . hostages. yolande, thanks so much for the update _ hostages. yolande, thanks so much for the update from _ hostages. yolande, thanks so much for the update from jerusalem. - hostages. yolande, thanks so much| for the update from jerusalem. let's for the update from jerusalem. let's bring you an update now on our breaking story in the last hour. six people are missing and one person has died after a luxury yacht sank in the early hours of monday off the coast of sicily. the italian coastguard says four britons, two americans and a canadian citizen are missing. 15 other people were rescued. what we are seeing here now is life

pictures from off the coast of sicily, where the rescue effort is still very much under way. we can bring in a moment our transport correspondent who has been looking closely at what is happening there, but let's just bring you first this comment from a local fisherman. a local fisherman describes the moments leading up to the tornado hitting. translation: i saw flashes of lightning than i did not like the look of the sky so we stopped inside the dock and waited for it to pass. at around four o'clock the water spout hit the town, everyone inside the harbour was scared. our boat was thrown onto its side. 15 minutes later, we saw a flare in the sea, once the waterspout had passed we went out to inspect. all we saw were cushions and the rest of the boat which had sunk. we did not find any men in the sea.

quite an evocative statement from one of the fisherman who was experiencing what was happening there. what do you know about what is happening at the moment? let’s is happening at the moment? let's rewind to last _ is happening at the moment? let's rewind to last night, _ is happening at the moment? let's rewind to last night, we _ is happening at the moment? let�*s rewind to last night, we have a picture taken of some of the import of the super yacht, which is 65 metres long, safety anchored on the bay of the sicilian port. until the morning, that is where it stayed. we also have pictures at about five o'clock, four o'clock local time in italy, of a massive storm hitting a local town. you saw that description there of that fishing captain describing what he saw, a waterspout. we cannot confirm that but that is what he said he saw. but we do know that it seems to have sunk at that point, the 22 people on board, about 12 guests and ten crew, tried to escape, and some of them, 15 of them, managed to get onto a nearby yacht and then rescued by coastguard. after that, nobody else emerged from the wreckage of this vessel. it is thought that seven

people are missing, and certainly one body back has been filmed being taken onto the shore at the part nearby. d0 taken onto the shore at the part nearb . ,, taken onto the shore at the part nearb . i. ~ ., nearby. do you know the nationalities _ nearby. do you know the nationalities of - nearby. do you know the nationalities of those - nearby. do you know the i nationalities of those were nearby. do you know the _ nationalities of those were missing? we do, this is a british flagship, the crew and passengers on board mainly from great britain. but there is one in new zealand citizen, one from sri lanka, and irish national and two people with dual british french citizenship. one of the survivors is a one—year—old child. and what about the rescue efforts being made at the moment? we can see some activity from the life pictures we are getting. it some activity from the life pictures we are getting-— we are getting. it was a very quick resonse we are getting. it was a very quick response from _ we are getting. it was a very quick response from the _ we are getting. it was a very quick response from the coast _ we are getting. it was a very quick response from the coast guards i we are getting. it was a very quick response from the coast guards in j response from the coast guards in this area, they went out with a number of vessels and try to help those coming off the yacht that rescued from the main vessel that went down. today they have been searching the area both with their own surface ships but also divers who have been going down 50 metres to see this vessel, presumably on the bed of the sea, to try to spot

anybody inside. of course, it is quite possible this happened early hours in the morning that people were inside their cabins and that would have made it very hard to escape. it is worth pointing out that people who do not know how the mediterranean and these books operate... this was not more into in the harbour where it would have been protected at least from their ways. it was anchored out offshore, because these yachts are pretty big and it is hard to get them into a small harbour. it generally they are ferried into sure to have dinner on small tenders. there will be an investigation into whether the sinking could have been prevented. but at the moment this is the rescue operation. but at the moment this is the rescue o eration. �* , , but at the moment this is the rescue oeration. �* , , . , , operation. and this is incredibly unusual, presumably, - operation. and this is incredibly unusual, presumably, looking l operation. and this is incredibly| unusual, presumably, looking at operation. and this is incredibly - unusual, presumably, looking at the life pictures the sea seems quite calm. there are no aftereffects, it seems, from the storm or whatever happened. fiur seems, from the storm or whatever ha ened. ., ., ,_ seems, from the storm or whatever hauened. ., ., , happened. our weather team say this was a very intense _ happened. our weather team say this was a very intense set _ happened. our weather team say this was a very intense set of— happened. our weather team say this was a very intense set of storms - was a very intense set of storms that passed the north coast of

sicily at around that time, they cannot confirm a tornado but it might suggest that is what happen. we had this yacht along side which appears to have been untouched or at least able to rescue those who came off the sunken yacht. it is a very big sailing ship that has gone down very close by, by all accounts. that may be the weather conditions, i think it will be something that will be looked at very closely. as you seen outcome of the storm has passed and the rescue operation is taking place in relatively calm seas. thank ou so place in relatively calm seas. thank you so much- _ place in relatively calm seas. thank you so much. we _ place in relatively calm seas. thank you so much. we are _ place in relatively calm seas. thank you so much. we are getting - place in relatively calm seas. thank you so much. we are getting updates from the coastguard and the authorities and our own team is well on the way to sicily, we have a life page “p on the way to sicily, we have a life page up on the bbc news website. keep following, do log on and you will get regular updates on the situation there. we will also keep across it for you here on bbc news. health experts in the east of the democratic republic of congo say a reluctance to seek hospital treatment is undermining efforts to tackle the outbreak of mpox. a doctor in south kivu province

where there have been more than 4,000 cases and 30 to a0 new infections every day said a lack of drugs was also a problem. last week the world health organization declared the mpox outbreak — that has been spreading rapidly across parts of central africa — a public health emergency of international concern. our africa correspondent simijolaoso has more. there has been a steady rise in cases in affected countries on the continent, at 18,700 cases have been reported so far with more than 540 decibels. that is across 12 african countries, including liberia and nigeria here in west africa, south africa and southern africa, there is kenya, and uganda, but a majority of the cases have been reported in the democratic republic of the congo. and that accounts for 96% of cases, and 97% of the deaths reported so far. several african countries have said they remain on high alert and

have put in precautions in place to curve the outbreak. that would include increasing surveillance across borders, ensuring that there is enough public awareness through public health campaigns, conducting contact tracing as well, and establishing isolation centres. ngos working on the ground like the red cross say there is a critical shortage of testing kits and of vaccines. vaccines are what are essential to curbing this outbreak, the african cdc has pledged 10 million doses by the end of 2025 will be made available on the continent. it has also announced a partnership with the danish manufacturer bavarian nordic to increase vaccine production capabilities here on the continent. they have also pledged 2 million doses will be made available this year. now, the african cdc says it will give an update on the outbreak

here on the continent on tuesday, meanwhile regional blocks in west africa and in southern africa have said that they are monitoring the situation with health ministers in southern africa do to hold an emergency meeting to assess the impact of that mpox outbreak in countries there. in 10 minutes we'll be answering all your questions on mpox with a panel from nairobi, geneva and wales. i hope you canjoin us in ten minutes' time.

here in the uk, the government has activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding as more rioters are sentenced for their part in recent disorder. across the north of england defendants waiting for a court appearance will be kept in police cells until prison space is available. the chairman of the prison officers' association has been explaining how the system will work.

operation safeguard is where we use police cells, and the desire is only to have prisoners in police cells for a maximum of 24 hours. the police now have a decision to make — so if they can't take all the prisoners from their cells this morning or this afternoon, they then need to decide whether to hold that prisoner for another 24 or 48 hours hoping they will be up in front of the magistrate so they can go into prison custody, or do we have to bail them? in reality, the most serious offences will end up in court, we will guarantee them a prison cell and the lesser offences, the police will decide whether to hold onto them or to bail them. our political correspondent, henry zeffman shared his thoughts with us. the government is not pretending this is anything other than an emergency measure that is a sign of the seriousness of the prison overcrowding issue. in practical terms, what will happen here is in most areas of the north of england, when people are waiting for a court appearance in a police cell, there will be a discussion over

whether there is availability in a prison for a potential prison sentence. and if there isn't then they will be held in that police cell longer. that is something the government is very loathe to do. they have done it once in recent times back in may — the then conservative government briefly activated this to ease prison overcrowding. but if you think this is the sound of a justice system in crisis, well that is the word the government themselves are using to describe the situation that has led to them activating this emergency measure this morning. a rare blue supermoon is forecast tonight — bigger and brighter than usual because the moon's orbit will bring it closer to the earth. and that's not the only thing that may have caught your eye in recent days. spectacular sunrises and sunsets — like these — have been spotted around the uk,

as smoke particles from wildfires across the atlantic, have given the sky an unusual hue. and we can actually see life pictures coming to us right now from seoul, south korea, of the super moon. a glorious night to be looking at the moon if you're in south korea. let's take your life to sicily, we are keeping across the rescue operation still taking place here. one man has died and six other people are missing after a super yacht has sunk off the coast of sicily during some really bad weather that they had in the middle of the night. there were 22 people on board, we know, but emergency services rescued only 15, including a one—year—old child. the search efforts continue right now off the coast of sicily, we are keeping a close eye on this story and there is also life page up and running on the bbc news website. to stay with us, coming up we have got your questions answered on mpox.

hello again. as we go through this week, the weather is going to take more of an autumnal turn then it has done. so we are looking at some heavy rain at times, particularly so in the northwest. it is likely to be unseasonably windy with the gales, especially with exposure in the west. but equally, there will be some sunshine. now, today a low pressure is very much driving our weather, you can see the fronts crossing us from monday into tuesday. and what that is doing is bringing in rain and also windy conditions. the driest, brightest conditions will be in the southeast for the longest, but as the rain advances from the west towards the east, the cloud will build ahead of it. and it is going to be windy, particularly so through the irish sea, with gales, but windy in the coasts adjacent to the irish sea. temperatures 13 to about 25, possibly 26 or 27, depending on the amount of sunshine in the southeast. through this evening and overnight, the rain advances eastwards, there could still be the odd heavy burst or a rumble of thunder. some clear skies, still windy,

it is worth having a look out for the super moon because it is lovely if you do get to see it. and still humid across the southeast, but not so for the rest of the uk. that takes us into tomorrow, we start with the dregs of today's front in the southeast, producing cloud, some patchy light rain. that clears. then we are into sunshine and blustery showers. windy, especially in the northern half of the country, where the showers will be heaviest. we might hear the odd rumble of thunder from those as well. and temperatures 14 to about 23, may be 24 degrees. so then, into wednesday, we have got a ridge of high pressure across the south, so we start off in a fine note. the cloud building here through the day with scattered showers in the west. but low pressure is going to be bringing in some heavy rain, particularly so across western scotland. but we will see some of that get into northern ireland and the rest of scotland through the course of the day. and it is going to be windy. temperatures 13 to about 22 degrees. into thursday, low pressure is still with us, but this cold front producing the rain, tied up in the remnants

of hurricane ernesto. so, again we will see a fair bit of rain from this for a time, behind it we will see brighter skies follow in and some blustery showers. temperatures on thursday, 14 in lerwick and stornoway, to highs of 22 or 23 in the southeast.

hello, i'm lucy hockings. for the next 20 minutes, we'll be focusing on the mpox outbreak — and the world health organization declaring it an emergency. we'll be taking you through what we know and answering all your questions. first, let's remind ourselves of the facts. the who says there have been more than 14,000 cases and 524 deaths in africa this year — which already exceeds last year's figures. so far, more than 96% of all cases and deaths are in a single country — dr congo. who have labelled it "a public health emergency "of international concern". that's important because it's the same category used in the past for ebola outbreaks, covid—19 and a 2022 mpox outbreak in europe. on wednesday, the world health organisation called on countries to work together to stop the outbreak.