the cabins of a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of sicily — six people are still missing. the italian coastguard says search operations are complicated by the depth and the position of the hull lying on the seabed — about 50 metres down. one body has been recovered — it's thought to be that of chef recaldo thomas — described by his friends as a well loved, kind human being. iam here i am here in sicily where the second day of the search is drawing to a close as rescuers expect to find more bodies once they get inside the wreckage. also today — a warm reception for the king as he views tributes in southport to the victims of the stabbings three weeks ago. america, i give my best to you! america, i gave my best to you! an emotional defence of his legacy from joe biden to the democratic national convention — as he prepares to pass the torch to kamala harris.

and a controlled explosion in newtonards of a world war two bomb found just last week. and coming up on sportsday later in the hour on bbc news, we'll get the latest from old trafford on the eve of england's first test against sri lanka, and we'll hear from the standing captain, ollie pope. good evening. the search is continuing for six people who are missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of sicily yesterday. the body of one man recovered near the yacht is believed to be that of the chef, recaldo thomas. among those missing are the british tech tycoon mike lynch, and the chairman of the bank morgan stanley international, jonathan bloomer. the yacht had been anchored outside the harbour at porticello, a small fishing village to the east of palermo in sicily. specialist divers are trying

to reach the cabins in the yacht, which is lying under about 50 metres of water. mark lowen is in sicily for us. the sun is going down here in sicily and that means the work will be limited overnight on the wreckage. they've been down here since first light trying to reach the wreckage of the bayesian but they're struggling because even though the mast of the yacht snapped when it was hit by this water spout this rotating column of air and cloud the rest of the ship is largely intact. which means that access inside to try to find the bodies potentially is difficult. rescuers say they've reached the lounge of the ship but now are trying to go further into the cabin area where they believe passengers were sleeping in the early hours of monday morning when disaster struck. from early morning, they returned. plunging into the depths

to reach the horrors below. divers seeking what has been swallowed up by the sea, the wreckage of the bayesian lying 150 feet underwater. and trapped inside, probably, the bodies of the missing. given how deep it is, each dive can only be ten minutes before the team must resurface. translation: the biggest difficulty i is being able to get into the ship. i once inside, following the path, we can begin searching room by room. this is what they're trying to access. the bayesian�*s cabins. an old video shows what was a gleaming superyacht, now a sunken coffin. the world's tallest aluminium mast snapped when storms prompted a tornado—like water spout which engulfed the yacht within minutes. today, more of the 15 survivors left hospital, including the parents of one—year—old sophie emsley, rescued at sea, shielded from public glare. the body of the yacht�*s chef, recaldo thomas, was found yesterday.

just a wonderful guy, you know. i think he was about uplifting other people. and, you know, caring about his friends. six are still missing. the british tech tycoon mike lynch and his 18—year—old daughter hannah, his lawyer chris morvillo and wife neda, and the head of morgan stanley international, jonathan bloomer and his wifejudy. all celebrating mr lynch's recent acquittal on us fraud charges. a reverend who knew mr bloomer spoke of his loss. we know the family quite well. jonathan and judy have been regulars here on and off for some time. and we know other members of the family. and whatever the situation is, we will be there to support them through this. still you can see just how choppy the water is from the winds that continue to buffet the sicilian coast. a weather alert had reportedly been issued before the capsizing due to the searing heat

and violent storms. and the investigation will now partly focus on what could have been done on board the yacht such as closing hatches to mitigate that. it has even taken those who know these waters well by surprise. giovanni has owned his boat club here for 28 years on the other side of the bay and he is stunned. translation: the waterspout passed here too and threw- cushions into the air. but nobody could imagine what happened to the yacht. i've never seen anything like it. the water has warmed so much that this weather tragedy became possible. it worries me that this is no longer the sicily of 20 years ago. the lynch family tragedy spread to england, too. police confirming today that his co—defendant in his us trial, stephen chamberlain, had died after a car accident. another cruel twist of fate.

back in sicily, the search goes on, but with no more hope of a mediterranean miracle survival. mark lowen, bbc news, porticello, sicily. witnesses described seeing a waterspout — that's a tornado over water — form during the storm before the sinking of the bayesian. but how common are they and could the design of the yacht have contributed to the sinking? our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports. it was plain sailing for the bayesian in this promotional video made 15 years ago. its italian makers showing off its sleek design and luxurious interiors, all of which are now under the sea. the bayesian is one of the largest sailing yachts ever built, 56m long, and it has the second tallest sailing mast ever built. sailing mast ever built at 72m. it sails would have been down overnight, but some experts have said that because the mast

was so tall, it might have caught the high winds just like a sail. and they speculate that this might have helped tip the vessel over. they also wonder whether the yacht�*s keel, which is a flat blade sticking into the water for balance, was retracted and so affected its stability. reports from the survivors was that the sinking happened in a matter of minutes. we now have reports from the divers that the vessel is pretty much intact, so that very much hints at extreme winds on a rather large, large sized rig, causing the vessel to heel over and then most likely start taking on water, which would then lead to a very fast sinking. but aren't these super yachts built to withstand being able to tilt over as much as 90 degrees and then bob back up? we can get scenarios years where particularly again with very strong winds, the vessel can go further than 90 degrees, at which point you would obviously be taking on very large amounts of water through a number of the openings

that you have on the vessels. the key factors were the ferocity of the winds and possibly a waterspout like this one that struck the vessel. they're like tornadoes, but occur at sea, gathering mist and moisture. they have narrow columns just a few tens of metres. twisting, powerful and life threatening. 18 waterspouts were reported off the coast of italy on august the 19th alone. and experts say that the higher than average sea temperatures might have made them especially powerful. the big question is, is the waterspout in its own right enough? given you had a thunderstorm and a very tall mast pushing up into those thunderstorm clouds, and we don't know the details, and it's not until the vessel's been investigated, hopefully recovered that we'll learn the true story of what went on. but it is possible that this intensive tornado, this waterspout, did capsize the vessel. investigators hope to know soon what sent the bayesian down so suddenly.

and if there are lessons to learn to prevent such accidents from happening in the future. pallab ghosh, bbc news. king charles has visited southport to offer support to survivors of last month's stabbing attack. he held private meetings with the families, and spent time with front line emergency staff and other members of the community affected both by the stabbing — and the disorder that followed. danny savage reports from southport. there was a warm welcome for the king in southport today. his first stop was to look at the messages and tributes left outside the town hall since the awful events here last month. he then signed a book of condolence after a meeting with some of those injured in the attack. among them wasjohn hayes, who was stabbed when he tried to intervene. what was it like to meet the king? fabulous. it was lovely to meet him. and ifound him quite engaging, quite easy to talk to. i think most people said the same.

it was lovely. does it mean something when he comes here to hear first hand himself about what happened, rather than second or third hand? absolutely. i mean, i think he only arrived in balmoral yesterday. so for him to come all the way to southport today to see people is fabulous. so very kind of him. and i'm sure everybody that met him will have got a lift from that. hundreds of people turned out to see the monarch on a visit, which was only made public at 10 am. i don't think for a moment people actually expected it, as i say, especially with him being on holiday. so we're absolutely thrilled that he's taken the time out to do it. he just said, are you southport people? and we, we said yes. and he said, he's very sorry for what has happened. the king then went on to meet emergency service workers and the imam of the mosque, which was later targeted. his majesty is, you know,

to take time off his heavy schedule. and he came to support a small town like this. it means a lot to us. this was a visit triggered by terrible circumstance. but this town has proudly guarded the sentiments made since then. the flowers and tributes outside southport town hall here are so well organised. every night, volunteers collecting all the soft toys to protect them from the weather and then put them out again during the daytime. there is a real pride in what they are doing here after the awful, devastating events, and people are deeply grateful that the king came here today. people in southport wish it wasn't this way, but are glad the king came to see and listen. trees got here. following the violent disorder across parts of the uk this summer, courts have continued to sentence people who took part. among them, ex soldierjoel bishop who threw stones at police during disorder in hartlepool —

and 20 year—old liam gray who pushed against a line of officers in rotherham. the crown prosecution service says 494 people have now been charged with offences related to the disorder. our uk affairs corresponent daniel sandford reports. after repeatedly charging at police lines and trying to rugby tackle one officer, liam gray was eventually wrestled into the bushes outside the holiday inn express near rotherham. he was part of a mob that attacked the hotel housing asylum seekers. today he was jailed for three years at sheffield crown court. the judge said he brought shame on the town where he lived. he was one of four men sent to prison today for their parts in the rotherham riot, the others were alfie conway, david chadwick and leah crisp. as riot police tried to take back the streets during the civil disorder in

hartlepool, former army driverjo bishop emerged from the crowd and hurled stones and a large wooden plank at them. he was later identified because its green shirt had his name printed on the back of it. his wife and partner wept as he was jailed for 18 months. as a result of the widespread disorder more than 140 people have now been sent to prison for between seven weeks and six years. including bradley mccarthy who spent hours goading antiracism protesters and police officers in bristol and also craig campbell who through concrete blocks are police trying to protect a hotel being used to house asylum seekers. daniel sandford, bbc news. it was the speech he didn't want to give, and it was an emotional farewell from the us presidentjoe biden to the democractic national convention, telling supporters in chicago that they were in a battle for the "very soul of america". he also praised his

vice—president kamala harris, who hopes to succeed him in the white house. delegates are due to endorse her as the democratic candidate for november's presidential election on thursday. here's our north america editor sarah smith. a surprise appearance from the party's new leader electrified this convention as kamala harris paid tribute to her boss, the man who handed her the opportunity to run for president. joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. we are forever grateful to you. thank you. president biden received an enthusiastic welcome for almost five full minutes as the crowd delivered heartfelt applause, he looked almost moved to tears, in one of the more emotional moments in his very long political career. thank you, thank you, thank you!

of course, he was meant to be the headliner, not the opening act, and he is a proud man who believed he had earned the right to run for re—election, now explaining that he stood aside for the good of the nation. it's been the honour of my lifetime to serve as your president. i love the job, but i love my country more. in 2024, we need you to vote. and above all, we need you to beat donald trump! applauded by the very people who pushed him out of the wayjust one month ago. isn't this something? everybody shouting about how much they lovejoe biden now that he's stepping aside, celebrating and congratulating him, now that he's handing over to a younger candidate. let me ask you — are you ready to elect kamala harris and tim walz? kamala harris�*s big moment comes on thursday when she accepts her party's nomination and gives her speech. have you heard her laugh?

that is the laugh of a crazy person. she has already wrongfooted donald trump, who doesn't seem to know how to campaign against her. i'm a better looking person than kamala. why insult her intelligence? well, i have to do that. well, i don't think she's a very bright person. i do feel that, i mean, i think that's right. i think i am a very bright person, and a lot of people say that. i don't think she's a very bright person. together on stage, we could see miss harris say, "i love you so much, joe," as he passed the torch to the next generation, and, he hopes, to the next american president. kamala harris, her big moment here is when she gives her acceptance speech on thursday and then after that there are still plenty of challenges ahead. currently she is performing better in the opinion polls thanjoe biden but she is only

slightly leading against donald trump. she still has to flesh out her policy platform which until now has been deliberately pretty vague. and she has not given a single press conference or broadcast interview since becoming the likely democratic candidate so there are plenty of potential pitfalls between now and the election day. the time is 6.17pm. our top story this evening. rescuers struggle to reach the cabins of a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of sicily — six people are still missing. still to come, the secrets to a long life — as the world's oldest person dies at the age of 117. coming up on sportsday in the next 15 minutes on bbc news... the world number one jannik sinner has escaped a doping ban after twice testing positive for a banned anabolic steroid five months ago.

investigations are underway to work out why a rocket engine exploded during a test in shetland. the test was being carried out by the german company rocket factory augsburg, who hope eventually to launch the uk's first vertical rocket into orbit. it happened at the saxavord spaceport on the island of unst. lorna gordon was there to witness it. the moment a critical static engine test on a rocket being readied for space went dramatically wrong. a plume of smoke and flames shooting out sideways, then loud bangs as the entire structure was engulfed by fire. a devastating blow for this young, highly skilled team who earlier were readying the engines for the test. what we see is the first stage of

the 30 metre tall vehicle, three stage rocket. companies across europe are designing rockets, all vying to succeed ahead of the launch. hopes here were high. we were super excited and this was the biggest milestone for the company so far on the first stage was now fully qualified and ready for flight. nut the burnt out structure on view this morning, a sign this now unlikely. unst is britain's most northerly island for the spaceport. the remoteness is part of the attraction. all protocols were observed during the test. they said no—one was put at risk. developing rockets can be fraught with difficulty. the first satellite mission launched from britain ended when the virgin orbit aircraft lost the rocket it released. last year, the spacex starship spacecraft exploded minutes after lift—off. sending rockets into space is hard.

this is not the result anyone involved would have hoped for but it is the reason why the tests are carried out. is the reason why the tests are carried out-— is the reason why the tests are carried out. , ., ., carried out. they will learn from it and reset and _ carried out. they will learn from it and reset and have _ carried out. they will learn from it and reset and have a _ carried out. they will learn from it and reset and have a few days - carried out. they will learn from it and reset and have a few days of i and reset and have a few days of mourning, all that effort, but it won't take them anywhere near the length of time to get back to where they have been. in a statement, the rocket company said they will take their time to analyse and assess the situation. the goal is to return to regular operations as soon as possible. the risks are clear, but each potential setback another small step on the journey to send rockets into space from britain. lorna gordon, bbc news, shetland. the bodies of six hostages being held by hamas have been recovered from southern gaza, according to the israeli army, including that of british—israeli, nadav popplewell. meanwhile the us secretary of state anthony blinken is in egypt as part of a tour of the middle east, where he's pushing for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. our middle east correspondent

lucy williamson reports. deep inside the tunnels of khan younis, israeli forces found the bodies of israeli hostages and brought them home. six bodies recovered. their names confirmed by the unit's commanding officer. avraham. yoram metzger. haim perry. among them british israeli nadav popplewell, who hamas said was killed by israeli airstrikes in may. a man who loved board games and science fiction kidnapped from kibbutz nirim on the 7th of october with his mother hanna, freed in a hostage deal last november. neighbour adele watched nadav grow up. nadav, a quiet man, a very kind man. he never married, so he lived in a semi—attached next to his mom. his 79—year—old mom.

and he has a brother...had a brother who lived on nirim. he was murdered on october 7th. the remains of five other captives were also brought home last night. haim perry, yankev buchstab, yoram metzger and alex danzig and avraham munder kidnapped from kibbutz nir oz. for his family, the first confirmation that he was dead. we have counted 18 cases of the government of israel torpedoing the initiative to get the hostages back. we're caught between a rock and a hard place, you know. the hamas and the israeli government both contributing their part to the death of my uncle. the us secretary of state is in the middle east to kick start a new ceasefire plan. israel has agreed to back it. today, he was asking

egypt for its support. in khan younis, today, six bodies were laid out for burial. killed in a strike on an internet connection point. one of them, taufiq al—khalidi, a student preparing for his engineering exams. another day when lives ended and the war carried on. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. the number of people who died due to drug misuse in scotland rose again last year — up by more than 120 to 1,172. the number of deaths is almost four times higher than 20 years ago, and scotland continues to have the highest rate by far in europe, with heroin and cocaine being commonly linked to both overdoses and deaths. our scotland editorjames cook has been asking why. i'm an addict. and do you mind me asking

you what drugs you've used over the years? heroin and cocaine. last year we met jade on the streets of glasgow. my ex—partner died with drugs. my dad died — he was an addict. and my sister's passed away. a lot of my friends have passed away. and jade, do you mind me asking you why? why you do it? i do it to block my past, my trauma from my past. six months later, jade was found dead in a flat not far from here of a suspected overdose. she was 34 years old. jade's family did not want to appear on camera, but they did give us permission to rebroadcast her interview, saying they wanted to highlight the work that was being done to help people with drug—related issues. work is under way to improve addiction services. this site will soon become the uk's first official consumption room, where drug users can inject their own heroin and cocaine under medical supervision.

for all my colleagues, these aren't just numbers, these are people. the doctor in charge here says there are many reasons why scotland has europe's highest level of drug deaths, including inadequate provision of treatment programmes. in other parts of europe, maybe 70—80% of people who are experiencing problem drug use are engaged and retained in treatment. in scotland, that's fallen to 40, and perhaps even for a less than 40% at times. so that protective safety net hasn't been at the level that we would want. so is the scottish government doing and spending enough? there is no escaping the fact that the drug death figures are profoundly worse here than elsewhere in the uk, and indeed in other parts of europe. and i take responsibility for that. and i understand that the scottish government's role in ensuring that improves. are you ashamed? are you ashamed about it?

well, of course we want to see the picture improving. and that's why we are making the investments that we are. this recovery cafe in dundee provides one answer. it is packed and popular, but reaching women has been a challenge. women will often use substances as a coping mechanism because of the trauma they've experienced, and this is complex trauma that men probably will not have experienced. women are much more likely to experience domestic abuse, rape, sexual abuse, even abuse in childhood. there is now targeted help for some female drug users in scotland, but even such compassion could not save jade or thousands like her. james cook, bbc news, glasgow. bomb disposal experts have carried out a controlled explosion on a world war two german bomb that was found county down in northern ireland. the 83—year—old bomb, weighing 500 kilogams,

was discovered near a housing development last thursday. 400 nearby homes were evacuated at the weekend. sara girvin sent this report from the scene. explosion this is the moment a world war ii bomb was detonated in a county down housing estate. as the explosion took place, residents, some of whom were evacuated on sunday, queued up to be allowed home. since we've been here, they've done an explosion. so now, like i say, we're just waiting now for the go—ahead to go through. it wasn't as loud as i expected it to be. i mean, the ground didn't shake or anything. we have been concerned, yes, i suppose if the bomb did explode, you know, we are worried in case of the damage. i all relieved it's over, that's it passed. police have confirmed the device was an

airdropped sc—500 german bomb from world war ii. they said the device, which was more than 1,000le and around 83 years old, still posed a significant risk to public safety. since it was discovered, soldiers have been building a sound structure around it, preparing for the controlled explosion. this evening, a large cordon remains in place. and we've been speaking to the developer of the site. he says, initially, the damage does not seem so bad. homes near to the explosion, well, their windows are still intact, but a few solar panels have been damaged. more than 400 homes have been evacuated since sunday. over the next few hours, those residents will hope to return and assess the impact this historic bomb has had on their newly—built homes. sarah girvin, bbc news, in newtonards. the world's oldest living person has died at the age of 117. maria branyas was born in the united states in 1907, moving to spain as a small child. she survived two world wars, the spanish flu, the spanish

civil war and covid, which she contracted as a 113—year—old. maria was a lover of social media and shared weekly updates with her 16,000 followers. she exercised every morning up to the age of 105, and said her long life was due to "order" and "tranquillity" as well as avoiding "toxic people". what a great recipe for living. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. thank you. this was the scene for some of us today, not particularly summer like, a drenching downpour for this weather watcher in glasgow and there is more to come. today's showers were driven by this area of low pressure and notice a lot of isobars squeezing together which is why it has been so windy and the wind continues to be a feature of

the forecast, easing a little bit overnight tonight in the shower is fading, so a little bit quieter night with clear spells in quite a cool fresh night with temperatures between nine and 11 degrees or many of us. dry star many tomorrow but that will not last in the north of the uk. these frontal systems will bring huge amounts of rain across the western side of scotland and through the middle part of the week in the rain setting in across parts of northern ireland and western scotland quite quickly through the morning tomorrow. further south and east, parts of northern england and north wales will see rain to the south—east where it stays dry and breezy for all of us but towards the north—west wind picking up with gusts of 40 or 50 mph and the temperatures between 15 and 22 at best. through tomorrow evening the rain keeps coming, 100 millimetres possible across parts of western scotland and gail is likely to develop around some coasts in the west. it is still august and as we

get into thursday the frontal system