six hostages in gaza — as the us secretary of state visits egypt for fresh peace talks. in gaza, the hamas—run health ministry says at least ten people have been killed in an israeli military attack on a school. specialist divers continue the search for six people missing after a luxury yacht sank in a freak storm off sicily. these are live pictures from sicily, where divers say their work is being made very difficut by objects blocking their access to the yacht�*s cabins. i'm the democratic national convention in the chicago, where after an emotional speech by president biden last night, tonight barack obama will seek to rally voters for kamala harris. the democratic republic of congo says it expects to start vaccinating

against mpox by the end of next week. and king charles meets emergency service workers in southport — in the north—west of england — where three young girls were fatally stabbed at a dance class last month. hello, i'm annita mcveigh. the israeli army has retrieved the bodies of six hostages from khan younis, in southern gaza. these are the six men — they'd been captured in southern israel during the hamas attacks on october 7. five of their deaths had already been announced, but one was previously thought to have still been alive. in gaza, hamas officials say at least ten people have been killed in an israeli military attack on a school. israel's military says the strike targeted hamas fighters using what they described as a hidden "command

centre" in the school. the un says almost 500 school buildings have been directly hit or damaged during the current conflict. meanwhile, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, has visited egypt where he's pushed for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in gaza. he's met egyptian president abdel fattah el—sisi and other officials in cairo. antony blinken has now left egypt heading for qatar. yesterday mr blinken said it was up to hamas to agree to a "bridging proposal" for a ceasefire deal after he met israeli officials in tel aviv. hamas has issued a statement, saying claims by the us, including president biden, that it was backing away from a ceasefire deal are misleading. hamas says it is keen to reach a cessation of aggression and that remarks by the us administration give israel the green light to continue the war. hamas also accused the us of bias towards israel. our correspondent,

wyre davies, was live injerusalem a little earlier. as you say, on both sides people are suffering. the fate of the remaining hostages is of paramount importance, perhaps the most important thing for most israelis and why many israelis want a peace deal. they might agree with some of their government's military aims in gaza, but an overwhelming number of israelis are putting pressure on the government to try to achieve a deal to get those remaining hostages released. 109 hostages now remain in gaza, according to the israeli government. 73 are considered to be alive. so there's a lot of pressure on the israeli government to get the remaining hostages out. today's development that the bodies of six hostages have been recovered is of course another reminder here in israel

of the importance of getting the remaining hostages out. in gaza itself, israeli air strikes have continued over the last few days, this latest strike against a school. israel has admitted targeting this school building which it says hamas was using as a headquarters. the latest figures we have from gaza is that at least 12 people have been killed in that air strike. there have been numerous other strikes over the last three days in which many civilians have been reportedly killed as well. the number of people killed in gaza now is well over 40,000, according to the hamas—run health ministry in gaza. zahiro shahar mor is the nephew of one of the hostages whose remains have been recovered and and has been speaking about his uncle abraham munder. my my uncle was kidnapped from his house, from his home on that

saturday by hamas terrorists. this happened 0ctober saturday by hamas terrorists. this happened october 7. 0n saturday by hamas terrorists. this happened october 7. on october 8 he was abandoned by his government. and on october 9 he was abandoned by his government. and this continually went on until the day that he died. he saw television and heard some radio broadcasts, i'm sure that he heard what is going on in israel. it must have broke his heart to see that people from his own government are objecting to sign a deal that will get him back home. so, yes, hamas took him, but the continuous abandonment is on at the hands of the israeli government. they had plenty of opportunities to get him out, together with all the other hostages. in so many cases, we have counted i8 hostages. in so many cases, we have counted 18 cases of the government of israel torpedoing the initiative

to get the hostages back, 18 in the last ten months. we to get the hostages back, 18 in the last ten months.— last ten months. we have 'ust received some i last ten months. we have 'ust received some pictures h last ten months. we have 'ust received some pictures of“ last ten months. we have just received some pictures of the | last ten months. we have just - received some pictures of the school that was hit in at the latest strike by israeli military. a warning, you may find at these pictures distressing. thesejust may find at these pictures distressing. these just coming may find at these pictures distressing. thesejust coming into us and at the last few minutes. the pictures do show children running from the scene. looking at the latest copy on this, we are told that the second floor of a school building was hit in this strike. the israeli military is saying that it had carried out a precise strike on hamas, who said what they call a centre inside the school building. the numbers killed in at this, hamas releasing at least ten people were killed, but some other figures releasing at least ten people were killed, but some otherfigures i'm seeing suggesting it could be more

than that, but we cannot verify that number just yet. than that, but we cannot verify that numberjust yet. those picturesjust coming into us. specialist italian divers have begun a fresh search for six people missing after a british luxury yacht sank in a freak storm off sicily on monday morning. morgan stanley international bank chairmanjonathan bloomer — together with his wifejudy, and lawyer chris morvillo are among those missing. british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18—year—old daughter hannah are also missing. the yacht sank in bad weather in the early hours of monday. 15 were rescued, and a man's body has been recovered. the body hasn't been formally identified, but the palermo coastguard have said it was the ship's cook. the bayesian yacht is on the sea bed, 50 metres underwater. last night the fire service said divers couldn't access the cabins due to furniture blocking passageways. 0ur southern europe correspondent

mark lowen has more from sicily. the search has been continuing and resuming since 6:30 this morning, with first light shortly after dawn. divers going deep into the water here, about 50 metres underwater to the sea bed where the wreckage of that superyacht still lies, believing now that they will find the bodies of the six missing passengers inside, trapped inside the wreckage of the yacht. they are mike lynch, the british tech entrepreneur, his 18—year—old daughter, hannah. chris morvillo, a lawyer from clifford chance, a city firm, and his wife neda. the president of morgan stanley international, jonathan bloomer, and his wife anne. the local fire unit have said because of the depth of the wreckage, each dive can only be 12 minutes long — ten minutes underwater, and a minute down and a minute up. they say that they have not found any bodies on the bridge of the yacht itself, that is the area where the captain controls the yacht, but they said they have had access now to the lounge of the superyacht

and are hoping to make progress from there into the rest, closer to the cabins where the passengers were sleeping when this waterspout hit. 0ur correspondent, lauren moss, has all the very latest. a rescue operation now focused on recovery and salvage, a day after the bayesian sank 50 metres beneath the waves. there are six people missing. the british tech tycoon, mike lynch, and his 18—year—old daughter, hannah. the chairman of investment bank morgan stanley international, jonathan bloomer and his wifejudy. mr lynch's lawyer, chris morvillo, and another passenger. divers went down again earlier this morning. translation: access to the hull is difficult. | if you have managed to get inside you would understand there is a world of objects, so getting inside and descending into the compartment below from the stairs that are narrow and going into all the cabins is a really hard and difficultjob. this was the bayesian

photographed on sunday night, anchored 700 metres away from the small fishing village, porticello. it was struck by a sudden, fierce storm in the early hours of monday morning. it was so violent that a waterspout, like this one, a spinning column of air and mist, appeared above the sea. it is believed it smashed into the yacht, snapping the mast and causing the boat to capsize and sink. they are sort of the tornado of the oceans, so rather than dust and debris from the land being picked up by them, they pick up water. in fact they can pick up fish and other things as well. when it does hit, and as we see now and hear from tales from people rescued by the vessel, it suddenly becomes chaotic, and that i suppose is something what you might expect from something like a waterspout. 0ne body was pulled from the water. 0thers clung to a life raft, screaming for help. 15 people made it to safety, including british tourist charlotte, her husband james and one—year—old daughter. charlotte described losing

hold of her baby before finding her and holding her afloat, arms stretched out above the churning waves. mike lynch's wife is among the survivors, listed among the owners of the yacht. we will do whatever we can practically to help in this very difficult and distressing, heartbreaking situation. i think that's the most important thing we as an embassy can do. earlier this year mr lynch was acquitted of multiple fraud charges in the united states after selling his software company, autonomy, to hewlett—packa rd. he had faced a long prison sentence. i knew i had done nothing wrong and it was very important to me. and this by the way is a british thing, we don't fold in the same way the americans do, probably because we don't understand the consequences of american law. as the news of yesterday's yacht sinking emerged, it emerged mike lynch's co—defendant in that case, stephen chamberlain, died after being hit by a car

in cambridgeshire on saturday. the uk's marine accident investigation branch isjoining teams in sicily to assist and find out what happened in a tragedy the ship's captain is reported to have told the media theyjust didn't see coming. lauren moss, bbc news. these live pictures now of the coast of sicily, where the operation is going on to try to locate the missing. they waters they are looking pretty calm today, unlikely circumstances in which the yacht went down. as we heard there, the sinking has focused attention on the ocean phenomenon known as waterspouts. tomasz schafernaker — from the bbc weather centre — explains how they're formed and the risk they pose. waterspouts are powerful world wins at the sea, not too dissimilar to a tornado. here is footage of one

recorded earlier this yearjust off the coast of turkey. you can see how narrow that column of whirling air is with the sea mist driven upwards, perhaps a few tens of metres across. a lot of twisting motion, a lot of power, potentialfor damage a lot of twisting motion, a lot of power, potential for damage and a lot of twisting motion, a lot of power, potentialfor damage and life threatening. i8 waterspouts were reported off the coast of italy on july 19 alone. it is the second day of the democratic national convention in chicago. 0n the opening evening joe biden gave an emotional farewell speech, offering a robust defence of his presidency which touched on many of the themes he'd campaigned on before abandoning his re—election bid in july. mr biden told democrats they were in a battle for the "very soul of america" and painted donald trump as a threat to democracy. he also sang the praises of his vice—president, kamala harris, the woman he hopes will succeed him in the white house.

i am joined now by our chief presenter, caitriona perry, in chicago. before we look ahead to today, let's talk about that speech from joe biden last night, particularly the timing of it. biden last night, particularly the timing of it— timing of it. absolutely, that is the talking _ timing of it. absolutely, that is the talking point _ timing of it. absolutely, that is the talking point among - timing of it. absolutely, that is the talking point among manyl timing of it. absolutely, that is. the talking point among many of timing of it. absolutely, that is - the talking point among many of the democrats here today, is how he ended up speaking so late. he spoke across midnight eastern time, which many of the battleground states, that their time sound, people they are trying to target and that kind of blue—collar, hard—working people, who work may be low paid jobs, many of them already in bed at the time thatjoe biden was speaking. all some criticise of the organisers why this was billed asjoe biden's swansong, but she wasn't given prime

time billing, may be two hours before he came on stage. nevertheless it was a very emotional moment forjoe biden and his supporters and family. when he walked on intojust by his daughter, ashley, there was a standing ovation here in the arena for over four minutes. really a huge amount of love in the room for this man who was given decades of his life to his party, to public service. you have got the sense that this half of the speech was the one he had designed to give if he were the dunamis heading into the election on thursday night. instead he gave it last night. he also spoke about how he was doing everything he could and would continue to do for kamala harris as she takes the party forward. ., ., ~' harris as she takes the party forward. ., ., ~ ., ., harris as she takes the party forward. ., ., ., harris as she takes the party forward. . ., ., ., forward. looking ahead to day two, we know that _ forward. looking ahead to day two, we know that both _ forward. looking ahead to day two, we know that both of— forward. looking ahead to day two, we know that both of the _ forward. looking ahead to day two, we know that both of the above - we know that both of the above amounts, michelle and barack obama, libby speaking. arguably still the democrats absolute star attraction.

what can we expect from them? indeed the are, what can we expect from them? indeed they are. and — what can we expect from them? indeed they are. and for _ what can we expect from them? indeed they are, and for many _ what can we expect from them? indeed they are, and for many people - what can we expect from them? indeed they are, and for many people at - what can we expect from them? indeed they are, and for many people at the i they are, and for many people at the howl of the week is hearing from barack and michelle obama tonight. we had hillary clinton last night, we will have bill clinton tomorrow night. we are told that they will focus very much on dried into an aunt. this is a close race and it will come down to a few hundred thousand boats in those battleground states. they are both going to address this issue, describing it as address this issue, describing it as a fight for their life, a fight for the soul of america, barack obama describing it as an all hands on deck moment. they will also focus interestingly notjust on the presidential race, but on the need to help those down ballot races as well, the people running for congress, for senate, for governors, even locally elected officials as well, that it is really important to

turn out everyone they can for democrats and all races. for now, thank you — democrats and all races. for now, thank you very _ democrats and all races. for now, thank you very much, _ democrats and all races. for now, thank you very much, katrina - democrats and all races. for now, | thank you very much, katrina perry in chicago. for more analysis on the democratic convention, listen to our latest podcast. it's available on the bbc sounds app or the bbc iplayer if you are in the uk. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

the democratic republic of congo and other african countries will start vaccinating against mpox next week — if everything is in place. last week the world health organization declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years over concerns about a new variant. we can now speak live to professor paul hunter, an expert in the spread of infectious diseases at the university of east anglia.

professor hunter, good to have you with us on the programme. just to begin at the very beginning, what exactly is mpox? and crucially how does it spread? it is exactly is mpox? and crucially how does it spread?— does it spread? it is a virus, it is similar in — does it spread? it is a virus, it is similar in structure _ does it spread? it is a virus, it is similar in structure to _ does it spread? it is a virus, it is similar in structure to the - does it spread? it is a virus, it is i similar in structure to the smallpox virus, and for many years at the main concern was whether a case of mpox was actually smallpox. but fortunately smallpox has been eradicated. in most people it causes initially are relatively mild illness, but it can certainly develop a characteristic rash, and at times it can be fatal. it is red usually, there are two ways, firstly it can be acquired from animals. the reservoir for this infection it can be acquired from animals. the reservoirfor this infection is probably small mammals in africa. and then it can be spread from person to person. normally it doesn't spread well from person to

person, but we saw in 2022 that 7 ?macr02 person, but we saw in 2022 that ? ?macr02 spread across the world, typically through sexual contact. we are now seeing clade one which arouses in the democratic republic of congo, and that also seems to be spreading prudently through sexual transmission.— transmission. explain to us exactly what ou transmission. explain to us exactly what you mean _ transmission. explain to us exactly what you mean by _ transmission. explain to us exactly what you mean by the _ transmission. explain to us exactly what you mean by the word, - transmission. explain to us exactly| what you mean by the word, clade. think of it as a variant, they are different variants of the same virus. , ., , , ., virus. does that blistering on the skin appear _ virus. does that blistering on the skin appear in — virus. does that blistering on the skin appear in all _ virus. does that blistering on the skin appear in all cases? - virus. does that blistering on the skin appear in all cases? we - virus. does that blistering on the| skin appear in all cases? we have obviously seen images of people who have mpox of that characteristic blistering. but does that happen all at the time?— blistering. but does that happen all at the time? . ., ,., , ., at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering — at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering is _ at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering is in _ at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering is in areas _ at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering is in areas where - at the time? name, and sometimes at the blistering is in areas where it - the blistering is in areas where it is not obvious even with

examination. —— no. sometimes it is in the mouth, sometimes it's in the genital areas, so it can be difficult to spot at times i do know whether some of the actually has mpox. whether some of the actually has m ox. ., . ., whether some of the actually has mox. ., . ., ., mpox. how much would you caution --eole mpox. how much would you caution people concerned _ mpox. how much would you caution people concerned about _ mpox. how much would you caution people concerned about it _ mpox. how much would you caution people concerned about it spread, l people concerned about it spread, indeedin people concerned about it spread, indeed in africa, or in other parts of the world? is this like covid in that sense, something that can spread relatively easy, or is at least great going to be more contained in your view? firstly, other than _ contained in your view? firstly, other than sexually, _ contained in your view? firstly, other than sexually, this - contained in your view? firstly, other than sexually, this is - contained in your view? firstly, other than sexually, this is an l other than sexually, this is an infection that is not actually very infectious. without sexual transmission it would die out quite quickly in humans. in addition to that, the people most at risk will have already had the 2022 infection, and that therefore will have a

substantial degree of protection. and many of the more at risk groups will already have had vaccination. so i think it is unlikely we are going to see as many cases reported internationally as we saw in 2022. but on the other hand that is evidence that this is actually potentially more lethal than the variant then. so, probably fewer cases, but we may see more fatalities than we would have seen in 2022. ., , ., ., ., ., in 2022. the latest information from the african cpc, — in 2022. the latest information from the african cdc, they _ in 2022. the latest information from the african cdc, they have _ in 2022. the latest information from the african cdc, they have been - the african cdc, they have been talking about hoping to start this vaccination programme in various african nations at the end of next week, saying that children will be targeted for is for these vaccinations, as the infection rate has proven to be higher in those below the age of 15. is that something different to 2022 as well?

i think the difficulty in the congo is that you have clade one a and clade one b. cladei has been around for a long time, it's more lethal in children than adults. children typically get the infection through with animals. so in terms of actual reducing mortality it is better to target children to reduce death rates. more global spread and spreading among adults is the clade i b, spreading among adults is the clade i b, and i think that's the issue that might lead to further spread. having said that, dig up one b does not exclusively infect adults. just occasionally you can get the virus

spreading through nonsexual routes, andindeed spreading through nonsexual routes, and indeed occasionally infecting children. but it is usually through close contact, someone in the household, that sort of thing. a rocket engine has exploded during a test at britain's new spaceport in shetland — off the north coast of scotland. scientists had been hoping to see the first full—engine test of a vertical rocket on european soil, as part of a project which aims to send satellites into space. but the engine was engulfed in fire on the launchpad. no—one was injured. king charles has been meeting families and survivors of last month's knife attack in southport, three weeks after a knife attack that claimed the lives of three children. the king also thanked emergency services workers when he visited the southport

community fire station and spoke to with local community and faith leaders. he also signed a book of condolence in the local town hall — signing his name, adding "in deepest sympathy." king charles is also scheduled to meet with three bereaved families in london. elsie dot stancombe, bebe king, and alice dasilva aguiar were stabbed to death at a taylor swift—themed dance class. hours after three girls were killed in southport, misinformation spread online and fuelled riots across parts of the uk. much more coming out for you here on verified live, so do stay with us.

good afternoon. some very wet weather in the forecast, particularly for northern and western areas of the uk as we head through the rest of the week. also windy, but even further south and east there will still be showers around at times. today is a day of sunny spells but blustery showers. the strongest gusts of wind in northern ireland and western scotland, gusts up to 40—50 mph. this is where the bulk of the showers will be for the rest of the day. some of the showers will be heavy and thundery, merging at times to form longer spells of rain. a largely dry story for the rest of the day further south. a few more isolated showers out towards the west, but in the best of the sunshine across parts of south—east england, 23 or 2a celsius. a fresher feel to things behind the front earlier this morning. cooler tonight, showers towards the north and west, cloudier here by the end of the night.

the winds lightening a little and some of the temperatures could drop back to high single figures. cooler and less muggy than it was last night. tomorrow, more rain to come. the rain feeds across northern ireland and into western scotland, down through north—west england. strong gusts of wind coupled with high spring tides could cause coastal overtopping in some areas. there could be showers out towards the west, then it is largely dry again, with a ridge of high pressure. temperatures in the mid to high teens in the north and west, low 20s further south. more weather fronts coming our way, this one containing the remnants of hurricane ernesto. there will be humid feeling air lasting longer towards the south and east. strong, gusty winds wherever you are across the uk, perhaps gusting as high as 40—50 mph across england and wales, with more rain to follow. fresher feeling air digging

in behind that cold front, humid air lasting longest the further east you are. more rain in the forecast on friday, and also windy weather. a tight squeeze on the isobars here. it will probably dry out with sunshine for most by the end of the day. further outbreaks of rain towards the south on saturday morning. bye— bye.

battling business or paying theirfair share — kamala harris will push to raise us corporate tax rates to 28% if she wins november's election. with japan's biggest ever foreign takeover bid possible, the president of the owner of 7—eleven has been speaking to the bbc. and the boss of the uk's new shetland spaceport where a rocket engine exploded during a test launch tells the bbc he's still confident a launch will take off in the next few months. welcome to business today. we start in the us, where the democratic national convention continues today in chicago. president biden's speech on monday was seen as him passing the torch to his vice president, kamala harris. her team have revealed more of their economic policies, including proposing to increase the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% if harris beats trump in november,

a move that could help raise revenue for the us government but one that's