with the pass rate falling for the third year running. democrats get a pep—talk from coach tim walz — as kamala harris's running mate — rallies the crowd to act now. we've got 76 days. that's nothing. there'll be time to sleep when you're dead. we're going to leave it on the field. and confirmation that the first drug to slow the progression of early—stage alzheimer's won't be available on the nhs because it's too expensive. hello. our top story, divers have been searching the wreck of a superyacht that sank off sicily on monday. they have now recovered

a fifth body. it brings the death toll to six. a fire service boat returned a short while ago to the port of porticello, as the search for the one remaining missing passenger continues. italian authorities have not yet confirmed the identities of the five bodies that have been recovered. and it's a challenging search, the yacht is currently 50 metres underwater, after it capsized in a freak storm. here's the latest from our correspondent bethany bell in sicily. well, we know that divers are continuing their search for this final missing person still unaccounted for. the body of the fifth person they discovered yesterday was brought up this morning. we understand the body, like the other bodies that were recovered yesterday, will be taken to a mortuary and then the official procedures involving investigation and postmortems, with the authorities present, will take place.

it was a very grim sight seeing body bags being brought to shore yesterday and taken off in these ambulances. and also, the investigations into as to how it was this super yacht went down in this waterspout, this extreme weather event, are under way. and, bethany, what more are we hearing from the survivors? well, initially we heard those heart—rending accounts of the mother who was able to save her one—year—old baby, bringing them to shore. but they have been very protected from the public. we know that doctors who have been looking after them here have talked about how they were consumed and absolutely terribly upset by the darkness that engulfed them as the waves rose

high and the ship sank. and, bethany, we have been hearing a little bit more on what they think could have happened, what the last movements of the ship were. what are some of the puzzle pieces that are coming together? well, all of this will be the subject of an investigation which is likely to go on for weeks, if not months. what we know is that the diving teams who have been going down to the wreck have been using a robot, remotely controlled vehicles, that have been taking pictures. that, we understand, has been given to public prosecutor's office. the investigators have already questioned the captain. they questioned him yesterday for two hours. and the questions that are swirling around, and this isn't officially confirmed yet, but people are asking how is it that this super yacht went down in this way? were there actions that

could have been taken that could have mitigated this? were the hatches closed? all of this, though, the subject of the investigation by the italian authorities. earlier, we werejoined by tom sharpe, a former royal navy commander who was captain of hms endurance in 2008 when the ship sprang a catastrophic leak in the atlantic. we talked about hopes for airpockets onboard. i think those hopes are vanishingly small now, sadly. but then, if you'd asked me what the likelihood of a yacht this size being taken down by extreme weather in the way it was, i would also say the likelihood of that was vanishingly small. so we are still in the search and rescue phase and while that continues, fingers crossed. and we do know that the captain, as our correspondent mentioned there, has been questioned for several hours. what are some of the issues that you think investigators are going to want to explore when it comes to this superyacht, this luxury yacht sinking?

they will be looking at a number of issues. dating back quite often before the actual event itself, they will be looking at safety culture and processes and procedures and training and tests and all the sort of things that ships at sea are generally expected to do. i've worked closely enough with the superyacht industry now to know that there is a variable standard across different boats. it's very dependent on the nature of the relationship between the captain and owner. so they will be looking at that. but then they'll be looking at the water tight state of the boat at the time of the incident. what was the stability condition of that yacht, which should frankly have been able to survive extreme weather. they are specifically built to do so. so they will want to look very closely at why the condition of the boat changed so much that it could be overwhelmed by strong winds. well, i just want to pick up on what you mentioned there because i think that's what a lot of people are wondering here is could this tragedy have been inevitable? is a yacht like this meant to be

able to survive when it comes to such an unexpected weather event? with incidents like this, you will always get two camps — you'll get those that say this was inevitable, they should have seen it coming, they should have taken all the safety precautions first. but this is a pleasure yacht at anchor in the mediterranean. that sets a different mindset. and then you'll get those who say it was, you know, a black swan event, and absolutely unavoidable. the answer is inevitably somewhere in the middle. if the keel was up, and this seems to be very, very, a very important part of this, you're taking away a huge element of that boat's stability. at that point you would expect different measures to be in place in anticipation of bad weather. because you have completely changed the stability condition of your boat. those are the sorts of things that i think the investigation team will need to look at. ido want i do want to point you to our live page on the bbc news website because we have the breaking news that we

broach about an hour ago and that is that the british tech entrepreneur mike lynch's body has been recovered from the yacht. that is according to multiple reports. we are in contact with the italian authorities but they have not yet independently confirmed the identities of those recovered. in the meantime, a source has told reuters that his body was recovered, but that his 18—year—old daughter is still missing. although we don't have that official confirmation from authorities, given these reports there have been tributes coming out for mike lynch. one of those is from the technology industry group, tech uk. they said, mike lynch was a significant and pioneering figure in the uk technology sector. our hearts go out to all the family and friends who have been impacted by this tragedy. a reminder that there were 22 people aboard that yacht when it sank in

bad weather. we also have a another tribute that has come from the royal academy of engineering. they said, he was a mentor, donor and former councilman member and a member of staff and the council of engineering. we are deeply sad to learn of the developments and send our profound condolences to the family. he became a fellow of the royal academy of engineering in 2008 and they have fond memories of the act that he played as a donor and councilmember. this development is according to multiple reports and news agencies but at the bbc we have not independently confirm this with authorities. once we have, we will bring that news to you as well. all of this on our bbc news live page and app. figures out in the past half hour show that gcse passes across the whole of england,

wales and northern ireland have fallen for a third year running. the overall pass rate is now 67.6% that's down from 68.2% last year. the students sitting their gcses this time were in their first year of secondary school when the covid lockdowns began. let's speak to our correspondent nicky schiller, who is at a school in gorton, in manchester. what reaction have you been getting there? figs what reaction have you been getting there? �* , , ., what reaction have you been getting there? ~ , i. what reaction have you been getting there? a i. , what reaction have you been getting there? a , ,., there? as you can see here it is a lot quieter- _ there? as you can see here it is a lot quieter. there _ there? as you can see here it is a lot quieter. there are a _ there? as you can see here it is a lot quieter. there are a few - there? as you can see here it is a - lot quieter. there are a few members of staff and the tables are still out but most of the key brown envelopes have disappeared... about to hours ago. crazing is here as the students came in to collect their results. as you said these students have had to go through covid—i9 stop they are aged around 15 and 16. but when they started their secondary education they were in year seven

and just love that covid—i9 struck and just love that covid—i9 struck and then they had the lock downs and remote learning and they have had to get back into education to do their gcses. we have seen the results in england, wales and northern ireland. the pass rate which is a4 in england and a grade c in wales and northern has fallen for the third year. they are now roughly come parable to 2019, before covid—19. during covid—19 a lot of teachers had to give estimated results and they were more passes. it looks like a return to those 2019 levels. it is interesting that there is still a divide in terms of where you live. london and the south—east still do better than other areas. in particular, one of the worst areas in terms of the number of pass rates is the west midlands, it only get

63.1% compared to 72.5 for london. there is a concern and the government has said that they are trying to look at that regional divide in results. but, we all know, todayis divide in results. but, we all know, today is about individual results and i know that you probably remember when you got your exam results, i remember mine, it is one of those life moments for a 15 or 16—year—old, to get their exam results. most of the students here have got what they wanted and they didn't get much sleep last night and also they are going out to celebrate with their friends before they decide what to do next, whether that is a—levels or go into vocational courses, some of those results are out today. full results on the bbc news website and app and they will be answering your questions in around ten or 15 minutes' time, if you have a question about the exam results, you can e—mail your questions to the bbc and look at the

bbc news website and app for the answers. i bbc news website and app for the answers. ., �* , , bbc news website and app for the answers. ., �* ,, ., , ., answers. i don't miss any of those nerves from _ answers. i don't miss any of those nerves from those _ answers. i don't miss any of those nerves from those nights - answers. i don't miss any of those nerves from those nights before. l nerves from those nights before. thank you very much fun that. some breaking news now relating to andrew tait. the latest is that romanian prosecutors are going to asked their romanian prosecutors are going to ask the court to remand the brothers. those charges include sex with a minor and trafficking underage persons. the new investigation involves 3a alleged victims. a reminder, we discussed this earlier, the brothers were taken into custody for 24—hour is last night, but they have been asked to hold them longer and the prosecutors, in order to do that, they need to bring them before a judge and that is expected to happen later to date. all of this is from

our correspondence sarah rainsford who is outside the court and has been following this very closely. a reminder that previously the brothers have denied all allegations and have told the bbc and our reporter that they deny these latest ones as well. we will have more for you on that as soon as we can. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

let's turn to the us now. kamala harris�*s running mate, tim walz, has given a combative speech to democrats as he accepted the vice presidential nomination at the democratic national convention. the minnesota governor described the nomination as the "honour of his life." he also attacked the republican agenda which he said served the richest people and most extreme voices. the event had a lot of star power, with big names such as stevie wonder,

oprah winfrey and former us president bill clinton. our senior north america correspondent, gary o'donoghue, was there. democrats have been ramping up the celebrity count. kamala harris! echoing michelle obama, oprah told the packed hall to do something. and what we're going to do is elect kamala harris as the next president of the united states! but the current president, joe biden, isn't quite forgotten. even by those senior democrats like nancy pelosi, who eased him out of the nomination. thank you, joe. they have already had two presidents this week, here is a third one. and they love him. two days ago i turned 78, l the oldest man in my family for four generations.

and the only personal vanity i want to assert is i am - still younger than donald trump. every convention needs its share of glitz and glamour, and this one has got plenty of it. but today is also about introducing governor tim walz. you probably won't have heard of him. two weeks ago he became kamala harris�* pick for vice president. high school teacher, sports coach, 20 years in the national guard, tim walz is being sold as the ultimate everyman. no matter who you are, kamala harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead. because that's what we want for ourselves, and it's what we want for our neighbours. all the razzmatazz is designed for one thing.

the build—up to kamala harris�* acceptance speech tonight, the biggest moment of her political career so far. gary o'donoghue, bbc news, chicago. meanwhile donald trump has been on the campaign trail... this is the moment he walked onto the stage at asheboro, in north carolina — seen as a key swing state. the former president appeared behind bullet—proof glass — it was his first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt in july. this was his message at the rally. we are close to a third world war but don't kid yourself. if that happens you are not going to have any third world was, every american was safer under president trump, in fact the entire world was safer when i sat behind that beautiful desk in

the oval office. the united nations says ukraine is breaking international law in the way it prosecutes people — accused of collaborating with russia. since the full—scale war, there have been roughly 1,800 convictions ranging from �*leaking military secrets' to simply �*justifying the invastion online'. our bbc ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports from the east of the country. collaboration hurts ukraine. in the village of hroza last year, two local men tipped off the russians about the funeral of a ukrainian soldier. the invaders then hit it with a missile, killing 59 people. mps voted quickly to make collaboration a crime in 2022 with russia's full—scale invasion, to prevent tragedies like these. this is lyman, a town bludgeoned by occupation, liberation and fighting. when the russians arrived, dmytro,

an electrician, volunteered to restore power to the town. translation: the russians said i had to work for - them or not at all. i was afraid they would punish me and my family. but when lyman was liberated six months later, he was arrested. after admitting to helping the russians, dmytro was handed a suspended sentence and banned from working as an electrician. across town, volodymyr is adjusting to life without his wife, tetyana, who is in prison. she was a neighbourhood volunteer, where she liaised with local officials. under occupation, she continued and was later sentenced to five years by a ukrainian court. if i were weak i would burst into tears, he tells me. but what about his wife? we were granted permission to meet

her at this present 300 kilometres away. tetyana is held in this separate blog for convicted collaborators. she claims she was just giving out firewood. prosecutors argued she had illegally taken a job with the russians. translation: what's my crime? fighting for my people? i did not work for the russians, i survived and found myself in prison. critics, including the united nations, are concerned. the law is problematic because it is vaguely worded. and in terms of compliance with international humanitarian law it does criminalise acts that could be lawfully compelled by the occupying authority. but the message from one of the mps who drew up the collaboration law is blunt. i strongly disagree with such a statement that this legislation is a

breach of international law. what about those who act under duress? they might be saying what they need to to just survive? look, the law is pretty much clear, saying that collaboration is a crime if you do it voluntarily. not under, like, direct pressure. for now, this collaboration law is seen as necessary for tough justice if it means ukraine can be free of russia's grasp. the uk regulator which looks at whether medicines are safe — the mhra — has approved, for private use, a drug that's been shown to slow the progression of alzheimer's disease. lecanemab is designed to help clear the build—up of a toxic protein from the brain. this means it can't be used through

the nhs. our medical aid later told us more. so this has been a long awaited decision and very unusually nice. the health assessment body for england and wales has come up with its decision to reject lecanemab at the same moment that the drug has been licensed, so it's been deemed safe and effective by the medicines regulator. so across the uk it will be available privately and will continue to be used in medical trials. but the sting in the tail is that the health assessment body says the benefits are just too small. when you set aside the costs that it would present to the nhs. and could you put that into perspective for us, this idea that the benefits are too small? it was seen as a breakthrough, though, wasn't it? well, it is, it is. and charities have said this is a defining moment and the reason why this is a big deal, this drug is there's never been a drug before in alzheimer's, which has convincingly slowed the progress of the disease.

so lecanemab tackles the underlying mechanism, or one of the underlying mechanisms that drives alzheimer's the build—up of these sticky proteins called amyloid in the brain, and it strips the brain of the amyloid. but it also comes with side effects that disrupts the brain. it can cause brain bleeds and brain swelling, some of which can be serious. and so and then there's the cost. you have to go into a clinic every two weeks to have an hour—long infusion. you need regular monitoring with mri scans. you also...there's great difficulty in getting assessed. you have to have amyloid checked that it's there in your brain. so one charity, alzheimer's research uk, said it was a bittersweet moment, but there are 27 other drugs in the pipeline, so we will look back on this as i think an historic moment even though the drug at the moment is not available.

before we go i want to bring you our live page again from the bbc news website and app. we have a live page in relation to the yacht, the super yacht that sank off sicily. the fifth body has been found and brought ashore as one person is still messing. we have been bringing you that breaking news that the british tech entrepreneur, mike lynch's body has been recovered from the yacht and that is according to multiple reports. the bbc is in contact with the italian authorities but has not yet independently confirmed the identities of those recovered. having said that, a source has told the reuters news agency that lynch's body was recovered but that his 18—year—old daughter is still missing. given

some of these reports even if this hasn't been independently confirmed, there are tributes that are coming out for mike lynch. we also have on that bbc live news page a list of the six people who have been recovered, a list of all six victims as well, including three men, as well as their relations to each other. as soon as we have more updates on theirs, as well as those reports, in terms of mike lynch and the reports that his body has been recovered, we will bring that to you. do stay with us here on bbc news. there is plenty more to come. hello again. the met office has named the low—pressure system coming our way

tonight as storm lilian. this is it here, moving in later. but at the moment we've got our weather front weakening all the time, pushing down towards the southeast. now that's taking its cloud and patchy, light rain and strong winds with it. behind it, it will still be blustery conditions. a lot of dry weather, bright skies, some sunny intervals and a few showers. but strong winds prevail across the northwest and you can see even inland we're looking at gusty conditions. temperatures today ranging from around about 1k in the north to a high of about 21 in parts of the south east and eastern england. as we head on through the evening and overnight, what you'll find is we'll have a dry start and then we start to see the heavy rain coming in. and by the end of the night, strengthening winds, gales through the irish sea, but very windy across northern england in particular. but it'll be windy across the rest of england and wales as well. but storm lilian could well affect the m6, the a66 and the a1 because,

along with the strong winds we'll have some heavy rain tomorrow. that all pulls away into the north sea. but we do have a hook of rain coming in across eastern scotland and northern england and that moves away. the other end of the rain pushes away from the southeast. the winds ease a touch. and then we're looking at brighter skies. not as windy through the afternoon, but blustery showers coming in across the north and the west. temperatures 13 to 23. moving on then, as we move into friday night, we've got this system coming up from the south that looks like it could clip parts of wales central and southern and southeastern england before it moves away, but it could move a little bit further north or a little bit further south. so it's one to watch. this is what we think at the moment, though the rain is slow to clear the southeast, behind it a lot of dry weather, but showery outbreaks of rain coming in and a strengthening wind across the northwest. temperatures 1a to 20 degrees as we head

on into the weekend for sunday. for most, it's going to be bright and breezy. there will be some rain around, and then as we head into monday, a bank holiday for some of us for england and for wales, mostly dry for scotland and northern ireland, there'll be rain coming in later.

not if but by how much —

wall street doubles down on rate cut bets as details from the last fed meeting are revealed. building momentum — us vice president kamala harris is set to round off the democratic convention with what could be the biggest speech of her career. what could it tell us about her plans for the economy? the new boss of starbucks is criticised for his planned commute of 1,000—miles between newport beach and seattle. lesotho's white gold — how the landlocked country is keeping the taps running in south africa. welcome to business today. i'm tadhg enright. we start with the world's biggest economy, the united states. minutes from the latest meeting of the people who decide on what to do with the interest rate show that the "vast majority" of them believe an interest cut

is likely next month. let's remind you of the state of play.