six people are missing. romanian police raid the home of andrew tate. the controversial social media influencer faces a string of new charges, including human trafficking. barack and michelle obama give enthusiastic endorsements of kamala harris in her bid for the white house, calling for a new chapter in us history. america's ready for a better story. we are ready for a president kamala harris! america, hope is making a comeback! and bennifer is no more. hollywood stars — jennifer lopez and ben affleck — are divorcing, after two years of marriage.

the search for six people missing after the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of siciliy is into its third day — with little hope of finding survivors. these are the live pictures from porticello — coastguard vessels have been seen heading off into the sea. there is a big media presence there trying to get the latest on this operation. the vessel is lying 50 metres down. divers are being helped by remote controlled vehicles that can operate on the seabed for far longer than the rescuers themselves. the rescuers can only spend 15 minutes down at that depth. six people are still missing, but it's now thought rescuers are trying to recover bodies. the people on board were likely sleeping inside the cabins on monday when the ship was hit by a tornado—like water spout,

which tossed it underwater. our correspondent bethany bell is in sicily and gave this update about the search operation. they have got teams of specialist divers who are used to working in small, cramped quarters. but the depth of the ship wreck is proving a big challenge. we understand, we have been told that dive verse a minute to get —— divers have a minute to get —— divers have a minute to get down to the wreck and they can spend eight to ten minutes under water before they have to come up under water before they have to come up to the surface. but they're using remote controlled vehiclers. we have been told they have been hampered by the fact the boat is lying on its side and the access points are choked with debris and it is difficult to gain access to the yacht itself. what we understand is that they want today to try to get

into the cabins, where some of the missing, the missing may have been sleeping. i missing, the missing may have been sleeina. , ,,, missing, the missing may have been slee-ain. , , .,, missing, the missing may have been sleeninu. , ., missing, the missing may have been sleeniun. , ., sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report. — sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report. it _ sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report, it is _ sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report, it is a _ sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report, it is a search _ sleeping. i suppose, as we heard in that report, it is a search for - that report, it is a search for bodies rather than survivors? the rescue services — bodies rather than survivors? tue: rescue services know bodies rather than survivors? tte: rescue services know that bodies rather than survivors? "tte: rescue services know that with bodies rather than survivors? t'te: rescue services know that with every passing hour the chances of finding people still alive is diminishing. however in the words of one rescue worker, neversay however in the words of one rescue worker, never say never. however in the words of one rescue worker, neversay never. so however in the words of one rescue worker, never say never. so people are working as hard as they can to locate these six missing people. in the meantime there are questions being asked as to how this happened, how it was that this particular yacht was hit and sunk this way, when other boats around about were not hit and a team of british investigators is here in sicily, working with the italians to try and assess what happened. there have

been questions about whether it was the mast, whether the hatches were closed, but of course the priority remains locating the missing. absolutely. but the captain survived and i assume that the investigators will want to talk to him in quite a lot of detail as to what happened and whether they had enough notice of this water spout and the bad weather that was in the area? yes. weather that was in the area? yes, many peeple. _ weather that was in the area? yes, many people, experts _ weather that was in the area? yes, many people, experts in _ weather that was in the area? te: many people, experts in the feed, have described the water spout as an extreme condition, something that is very hard to plan for in a sense in terms of knowing that it is going to come right then and there. however, people will be asking whether there were enough measures taken to mitigate such extreme weather events which of course we know can happen. but, as i say, for now, the huge, huge priority is locating the

missing people, the investigations will continue, they're continuing now, but for now the focus is finding the missing. there was appalling weather off the sicilian coast, before the sinking of the bayesian. witnesses described seeing a waterspout — or a tornado — over the water. but how common are they, and could the design of the yacht have contributed to the sinking? here's pallab ghosh. 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 at 72m. its 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 survivor 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 sized rig causing the vessel to keel over and then most likely start taking on water, which would then lead to a very fast sinking. but aren't these superyachts built to withstand being able to tilt over as much as 90 degrees, and then bob back up? 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 vessel.

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 19th alone. 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, given you had 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. it is now the third day of the operation to get down to the yacht and try and get into those cabins. let's speak now to ian taylor, a professional technical diver with apex diving and marine, based on the dorset coastline here in the uk. thank you forjoining us. how difficult is it for the divers in this operation?— difficult is it for the divers in this operation? difficult is it for the divers in this 0 neration? ,., ., ., �*, this operation? good morning. it's very difficult _ this operation? good morning. it's very difficult operation _ this operation? good morning. it's very difficult operation indeed. - this operation? good morning. it's| very difficult operation indeed. the divers have to go inside the wreck. you imagine they will be carrying quite bulky equipment. there will be narrow gang ways, walk ways inside, corridors inside the wreck. you imagine, where the wreck is sunk everything that wasn't screwed down will be floating around in all the

cabins, behind doors, blocking gang ways and path ways to the lower decks. very difficult and a very dangerous sort of place to go and investigate. dangerous sort of place to go and investigate-— dangerous sort of place to go and investiuate. f ., , t, ., ., investigate. they're only allowed to snend investigate. they're only allowed to spend around _ investigate. they're only allowed to spend around ten _ investigate. they're only allowed to spend around ten minutes - investigate. they're only allowed to spend around ten minutes down - investigate. they're only allowed to i spend around ten minutes down there at a time. so when you described all of those world of objects that are there and they only have ten minutes, that adds to how difficult it is for them?— it is for them? yeah, the divers that originally _ it is for them? yeah, the divers that originally would _ it is for them? yeah, the divers that originally would have - it is for them? yeah, the divers that originally would have dived it is for them? yeah, the divers - that originally would have dived the site, the initial risk rescue divers, the equipment they are using would only allow them that time scale. more specialist divers can actually spend longer in side the wreck exploring, getting to where they need to do. so i would imagine now that the time we are three days on there should be more specialised divers with more specialised equipment that could spend longer in the wreck and do more things that it

is actually safer to do and get to where they need to get. thea;r is actually safer to do and get to where they need to get. they are brin u inu where they need to get. they are bringing in _ where they need to get. they are bringing in the — where they need to get. they are bringing in the remote-operated| bringing in the remote—operated equipment as well. we have heard from some of the divers that the wreck is quite intact, that is having that difficulty that none of the windows have been broken and they have got to try and get access into there. how difficult does that add to this operation? the into there. how difficult does that add to this operation?— add to this operation? the whole thinu is a add to this operation? the whole thing is a really _ add to this operation? the whole thing is a really difficult - add to this operation? the whole thing is a really difficult and - thing is a really difficult and dangerous operation. i mean, obviously the safety of the divers investigating the wreck is paramount. they have got to be able to get back out from where they go into. things will move around inside the wreck as they're moving around. it will be dark. once you go down below into cabins where there is no lighting, it will be dark, they have to have torches and it is a

dangerous place to be. there will be pollution, there could be diesel and other fluids floating around. you just imagine turning a room upside down, everything will be every where. everything that floats will be floating around inside the cabins or the walk ways. a very dangerous and a very careful, it will take a long time to get to the right places. long time to get to the right nlaces. ., long time to get to the right nlaces. . .,y ., long time to get to the right nlaces. ., ., t, ,, long time to get to the right nlaces. . ., . ~' i” ., places. ian taylor, thank you. you can see those _ places. ian taylor, thank you. you can see those vessels _ places. ian taylor, thank you. you can see those vessels are - places. ian taylor, thank you. you can see those vessels are there. l can see those vessels are there. every hour or so we see the vessels come in and out from there. we have also seen an emergency lifeboat was pictured this morning. we also saw some of the rescue divers having oxygen tanks with them, because they can only spend that short period of time down there. also the other

divers are being brought in from else. that have better skills to be able to stay down there longer. the aim is to try and enter the sleeping cabins which is where the six people who are still missing, third day of the search, are thought to have been probably been sleeping. we are talking about them recovering bodies rather than being found alive. the key thing they're trying to do is get into those cabins. a reminder that we have a live page up and running on the bbc news web—site and an app where you can find all of the latest updates and analysis on this rescue attempt. we heard from bethany bell, she is posting on the live page with the latest. you can find that at the web—site.

now some breaking news. police in romania have raided the home of british—american social media influencer andrew tate and announced he faces several new charges. the special prosecution service of the romanian organised crime directorate said police searched tate's four properties in the capital bucharest and in ilfov county on wednesday morning. the new charges include sex with — and trafficking in — underage persons, money laundering, and attempting to influence witnesses. he has previously denied earlier charges, including human trafficking. let's speak to our central europe correspondent nick thorpe. what is the latest that the romanian authorities are telling us? yes. what is the iatest that the romanian authorities are telling us?— authorities are telling us? yes, we have this statement _ authorities are telling us? yes, we have this statement as _ authorities are telling us? yes, we have this statement as you - authorities are telling us? yes, we have this statement as you say - authorities are telling us? yes, we i have this statement as you say from the main prosecution, the special prosecution service, that they carried out these raids. they did

not actually name andrew tate or his brother tristan in that press release, but we understand this is, those were the targets of the raids. what is the new development is the mentioning of other charges of sex with a minor, trafficking a minor, attempts to influence witnesses in the existing charges. these are new developments, specifically on the romanian charges. the british police also want to speak to andrew tate and they have asked for his transfer from romania, but they have accepted that the romanian charges will be dealt with, any legal proceedings in romania that are separate to any charges or investigation going on in the united kingdom. this charges or investigation going on in the united kingdom.— the united kingdom. this of course has been a — the united kingdom. this of course has been a long — the united kingdom. this of course has been a long running _ the united kingdom. this of course has been a long running saga - the united kingdom. this of course has been a long running saga in - has been a long running saga in romania, they were first detained in 2022. but at the moment, they were

released from house arrest, but they're not allowed to leave the country, are they?— country, are they? that's right. they were _ country, are they? that's right. they were first _ country, are they? that's right. they were first arrested - country, are they? that's right. they were first arrested in - country, are they? that's right. - they were first arrested in december 202. so this is a long—running case. initially they were detained in prison. that was softened to house arrest in august 2023. just a year ago they were released from house arrest, but not allowed to leave the country. their lawyers have been fighting for the right for them to travel again freely. the brothers have insisted on their innocence throughout this. they say these are trumped up charges and they say that they, you know, are sure they will be cleared. the romanian prosecutors continue to press charges as we seeing with these new charges. indie seeing with these new charges. we know this has only broken in the last hour, has there been any comment from the tate brothers or their representatives? trlat comment from the tate brothers or their representatives?—

their representatives? not yet, no. the tate brothers' _ their representatives? not yet, no. the tate brothers' lawyers - their representatives? not yet, no. the tate brothers' lawyers have - their representatives? not yet, no. l the tate brothers' lawyers have been keen to maintain contact with the media and with the romanian authorities. they say that andrew and tristan are co—operating with the legal authorities are sure they will be proved innocent in is in case. . ~' will be proved innocent in is in case. . ~ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

to the the united states now. the former president barack obama and his wife michelle have enthusiastically backed kamala harris�*s bid for the white house on the second day of the democratic party convention in chicago. during his keynote primetime speech, mr obama said america was ready for a new chapter with kamala harris as president and described donald trump as selfish, dangerous and weirdly obsessed with crowd size. our senior north america correspondent, gary o'donoghue, was watching.

this is about as close to royalty as the democratic party gets. hello, chicago! it's good to be home. barack obama paid tribute to his former vice president, joe biden, and he warned the democrats the election would be a tight race in a closely divided country. if we work like we've never worked before, if we hold firm to our convictions, we will elect kamala harris as the next president of the united states. both barack obama and the former first lady laid into donald trump — misogynistic, racist, whingeing, childish among the many insults. michelle obama going after him in a more directly personal way than before. see, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.

but there was more — the punch line that sent the crowd wild. i want to know, who's going to tell him, who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking mightjust be one of those blackjobs? earlier, the convention formally adopted kamala harris as the nominee, and it was down to her husband, the current second gentleman, to tell the hall about the person as well as the politician. she findsjoy in pursuing justice. she stands up to bullies, - just like my parents taught me to. and she likes to see - people do well, but hates when they're treated unfairly. 90 miles up the road, the nominee herself was campaigning in wisconsin — 76 days to prove to the american electorate that she is the right choice. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, chicago. cbs news correspondent caroline cummings is at the convention hall in chicago —

and told us about the reaction the obamas received. people were ecstatic to hear the obamas speak last night, they stole the show, they both gave very compelling speeches to democrats here to try to illicit a sense of hope. both of them leaned into that, michelle obama said, "america, hope is making a comeback". so they tried to inspire the audience and also draw that contrast between president trump and vice—president harris, now top of the ticket with her running mate governor tim wals. but very well received speech here by democrats. these two are arguably some of the most beloved people in the party for democrats here, so very well received here in chicago. thomas gift is the founding director of the centre on us politics at university college london. he is in pennsylvania at the moment. thank you for either staying up late or getting up early for us. i wonder

if i could get your reaction to the obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for havinu obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me. — obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me. it— obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me, it is _ obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me, it is good _ obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me, it is good to _ obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me, it is good to be - obamas' speeches at the dnc? thanks for having me, it is good to be with - for having me, it is good to be with you, always happy to wake up early for the bbc! i think that the obamas' speech did inspire the crowd. that was true of barack obama and michelle obama. they are trying to reclaim the winning vibes of 2008 and 2012 and draw a direct line between those victory and kamala harris�*s campaign at the moment. it was a mix of both praising harris as well as getting some jabs into trump. i think that combination resonated well with the crowd. itruiere resonated well with the crowd. were ou resonated well with the crowd. were you surprised _ resonated well with the crowd. were you surprised how— resonated well with the crowd. were you surprised how personal the jibes at mr trump were? trlat you surprised how personal the 'ibes at mr trump were?fi you surprised how personal the 'ibes at mr trump were? not necessarily. i mean certainly _ at mr trump were? not necessarily. i mean certainly donald _ at mr trump were? not necessarily. i mean certainly donald trump's - at mr trump were? not necessarily. i mean certainly donald trump'sjibesl mean certainly donald trump's jibes at democrats have been more pointed.

you do expect maybe in a setting like this for there to be just a bit more positivity and a focus on the future. but at the same time democrats want to make this election a referendum on donald trump and they realise that donald trump has a ceiling on his support, although he can galvanise a section of republicans. some moderate voters are turned off by his morals, what he did as president the first time. its not too surprising probably that the obamas leaned into that criticism. . . ., the obamas leaned into that criticism. . . . . , , criticism. kamala harris herself was not at the convention _ criticism. kamala harris herself was not at the convention last _ criticism. kamala harris herself was not at the convention last night, - not at the convention last night, she was out campaigning. her big speech is on thursday. how important is that event for her in terms of laying out who she is and what her policies are to not only the people in the hall, but the wider people who will be watching on prime time tv? i who will be watching on prime time tv? ~ who will be watching on prime time tv? i think harris's speech is where her campaign _ tv? i think harris's speech is where her campaign gets _ tv? i think harris's speech is where her campaign gets real. _

tv? i think harris's speech is where her campaign gets real. up - tv? i think harris's speech is where her campaign gets real. up until- her campaign gets real. up until this point a lot of americans still have had a limited opinion on kamala harris, despite the fact that she has been vice—president, despite she has been vice—president, despite she has been vice—president, despite she has been the nominee for the democrats for several weeks. we haven't heard a lot from her. she hasn't given a press conference or answered a lot of questions. this is her opportunity to sort of tell voters who she is and what she represents. i think after her speech, the media's going to surround her and scrutinise her and ask questions about policy. this is an opportunity to define who she is and what kind of administration she wants to run. and what kind of administration she wants to run-— and what kind of administration she wants to run. ., ., , . ,, i. wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much- — wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much- you _ wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much. you can _ wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much. you can of— wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much. you can of course - wants to run. thomas gift, thank you very much. you can of course get - very much. you can of course get more on the dnc and the conference on the bbc�*s podcast. we will have live coverage in the early hours in the uk and throughout the night on

bbc news from the convention. hollywood starsjennifer lopez and ben affleck are divorcing, after two years of marriage. the hollywood couple tied the knot in las vegas injuly 2022 — and jad a second ceremony in georgia a month later. they rekindled their relationship almost 20 years after calling off their first engagement. lopez filed for divorce, according to documents seen by the bbc. the couple — dubbed bennifer by tabloids — met on the set of a film in 2003. jeanne wolf is a journalist covering hollywood — she told us more about the couple and what went wrong. its on the second anniversary of their marriage, which is kind of a statement itself. ifelt their marriage, which is kind of a statement itself. i felt kind of sad when i heard it, they're both to glamorous and what we know about their life is almost like a fairy

tale that you have to remember that they're people and so it is sad for them to break up and sad because he got to know her children, she got along well with his children. you know, that will be upsetting too. but it was inevitable. let know, that will be upsetting too. but it was inevitable.— know, that will be upsetting too. but it was inevitable. let me take ou back but it was inevitable. let me take you back to _ but it was inevitable. let me take you back to the — but it was inevitable. let me take you back to the pictures - but it was inevitable. let me take you back to the pictures live - but it was inevitable. let me take you back to the pictures live from | you back to the pictures live from sicily, where that rescue operation, you can see the boats heading out, it is day three of the rescue operation after that superyacht sank. they're trying to get into the cabin of the yacht where it is believed the six people who are still missing may have been sleeping when that yacht capsized in that bad weather off porticello on monday. we will have the latest stay with us on bbc news.

hello again, the weather is going to be wet and windy across many parts of the country. what is happening is low pressure is driving the weather, we have various fronts which are coming our way, we have various fronts which are coming ourway, bringing we have various fronts which are coming our way, bringing the wet and windy conditions. although some of us started on a sunny note, it is clouding over from the west. as the rain pushes into northern ireland, much of scotland, north—west england and eventually north—west wales. further south it is drier and brighter, but blustery in the south. wind yip in the north t —— windy in the north. from coastal gales in the north—west. temperatures from 13 to about 22. so as we head through the evening, the rain will continue to push eastwards and then hot on its heels comes in the next band of rain. the wind will strengthen, there will be gales through the irish sea. the rain getting into northern england, wales and the

south—west. there will be some clear skies in the south—east and temperatures higher to start the day tomorrow than today. here is the this front, it has the remnants of hurricane ernesto and will produce some heavy rain as it moves from the south to the north—east. as heads to the south—east it will break up. behind it is, we are looking at sunshine and blustery showers. still windy down in the south of the country with highs here up to 21. 1a in the north. as we head into thursday night and friday, this system comes in, bringing wet and windy weather. particularly weather for a time across northern england. gusts up to 50mph, plus this heavy rain. but it does push away into the north sea by lunchtime. the rain also clears and once again we are

back into some sunshine and showers coming in across the north—west. temperatures 13 to 23 degrees north to south. the rain in the north—west will push across england and wales during the course of saturday. and then for sunday and monday, it is a mixture of sunshine and showers.

this is bbc news, the headlines... divers use remote—controlled vehicles to try to access a luxury yacht that sank off sicily on monday. six people are missing. romanian police raid the home of andrew tate. the controversial social media influencer faces a string of new charges, including human trafficking. barack and michelle obama give enthusiastic endorsements of kamala harris in her bid for the white house, calling for a new chapter in us history. america's ready for a better story. we are ready for a president kamala harris! america, hope is making a comeback! and bennifer is no more. hollywood starsjennifer lopez and ben affleck are divorcing, after two years of marriage.