' from interview since she took over from joe biden as the candidate. there's to be a pause in the fighting in gaza to allow the vaccination of thousands of children against polio. growing concerns over the way evidence was presented in the trials of the nurse lucy letby, found guilty of killing seven babies. mixed fortunes for the british team on day one of the paralympics, with golds in pool but a crash on the track for kadeena cox. and root the master as he equals the england test record for centuries in a superb innings against sri lanka. and stay with us here on bbc news for continuing coverage and analysis from our team of correspondents in the uk and around the world.

good evening. the grieving mother of a teenage girl who was murdered in a frenzied knife attack in northumberland in 2023 has told a court her "beautiful girl was cruelly taken away". today, a jury found a 17—year—old boy, whom we can't name because of his age, guilty of the murder of holly newton in hexham. on the night she died, he'd followed her for around 45 minutes before convincing holly to speak to him. she'd already complained about the boy stalking her hours before, and her mother had arranged a meeting with police that very evening. alison freeman has our top story. these are the moments before holly newton went into an alleyway with her killer, caught on cctv. the teenager, seen on the right here, stabbed and slashed 15—year—old holly more than 30 times

injust one minute in the market town of hexham on the 27th of january last year. the attack was so brutal and sustained that the knife broke during it. holly was taken to hospital but couldn't be saved. this is truly a tragic case, in which a 15—year—old girl, with so much to look forward to in life, has had her future taken away. holly was a very popular girl and is sorely missed by so many. the boy, who was 16 at the time and has autism, had been following holly for 45 minutes before the attack took place. he'd even turned up at holly's house the night before, and a meeting had been arranged with police to discuss his behaviour. they agreed to come out at four o'clock on the friday, so i told holly, and she said, "but i was supposed to be going out with my friends tonight," and she'd begged me for a good... i don't know, half an hour, 45 minutes.

"but, mam, i want to go out, i want to go out." and in the end, the biggest mistake of my life, i'd agreed. the defendant told the court he'd been carrying the knife for more than a week because he planned to hurt himself, not holly, and that he had no memory of attacking her in this alleyway. but today the jury said they didn't believe him, and he was found guilty of holly's murder. he was also found guilty of wounding another boy who tried to help her. the judge took the unusual step of asking holly's mum, michaela, to say a few words to the jury about what her daughter was like. she described a beautiful and funny child who would do anything to make people smile. outside of court, she said more about holly. to think that holly should have been collecting her gcse exam results last week, but instead our baby girl's future was cruelly taken away from her. we are grateful to the many people who have shown their support as we continue to navigate a life without holly in it. no result will ever bring

our beautiful girl back. it was a crime that shocked this small market town — the brutal murder of a schoolgirl. the defendant, who's now 17 and can't be named because of his age, is due to be sentenced at the end of october. alison freeman, bbc news, newcastle. ukraine says one of its new f—16fighterjets, supplied by nato allies, has crashed, killing its pilot. it was involved in an operation against a russian aerial assault. nick beake is in the sumy region of ukraine near the border with russia. nick, it is onejet but a big symbolic blow. it nick, it is one jet but a big symbolic blow.— nick, it is one jet but a big symbolic blow. it certainly is, clive, symbolic blow. it certainly is, clive. this — symbolic blow. it certainly is, clive, this happened - symbolic blow. it certainly is, clive, this happened on - symbolic blow. it certainly is, i clive, this happened on monday morning, when ukraine had come under huge aerial morning, when ukraine had come under hu-e aerial bombardment. morning, when ukraine had come under huge aerial morning, when ukraine had come under hu-e aerial bombardment. we morning, when ukraine had come under huge aerial morning, when ukraine had come under hu-e aerial bombardment. we knew huge aerial bombardment. we knew that the ukrainians had used f—16 jets to shoot down the russian

missiles and drones, but today the news that one of the ukrainian pilots was killed in that effort. the circumstances were unclear, it is said he was not hit by direct enemy fire, and there is now an investigation under way, but he and another pilot colleague had travelled to washington as part of ukraine's big effort to be given these f—16 jets, ukraine's big effort to be given these f—16jets, but now ukraine's big effort to be given these f—16 jets, but now both of those pilots have been killed in action. it is also a blow for president zelensky, who personally campaigned to get these jets for the past two and a half years, he finally got them, the first of them just a few weeks ago, and now this has happened. there were these warnings that the russians would target them and crucially the airfield from which they take off, and that is why president zelensky has asked once again of his allies that they give him permission to use these foreign—made long—range missiles so that they can hit

further into russia, and president zelensky says if he is given that permission, they can prevent these sorts of attacks across the whole of ukraine, but also they are better prepared, clive, to protect these really expensive and vital f—16 jets. really expensive and vital f-16 'ets. �* . ~ really expensive and vital f-16 'ets. �* ., ~ really expensive and vital f-16 'ets. �* ., ., jets. all right, nick, thank you for that, nick beake _ jets. all right, nick, thank you for that, nick beake live _ jets. all right, nick, thank you for that, nick beake live in _ jets. all right, nick, thank you for that, nick beake live in tim - jets. all right, nick, thank you for that, nick beake live in tim in - that, nick beake live in tim in eastern ukraine. —— live in sumy. in the us, it's a big night for kamala harris, the democratic presidential nominee, who's given her first major tv interview since replacing joe biden in the race for the white house. but appearing alongside her running mate, tim walz, she's been attacked for not giving a solo interview, with republicans claiming she's dodging scrutiny. sarah smith has more in washington. hi! on the road — kamala harris is crisscrossing the key state of georgia. hi! no wonder she's smiling, with opinion polls moving in her direction and her campaign is going very smoothly — so far. a serious tv interview

will be a bigger test. in this preview clip, ms harris is asked about recent policy u—turns and whether voters can trust her. the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed. in this memorable interview three years ago, she was asked why she hadn't personally visited the southern border. we are going to the border, we've been to the border, so this whole thing about the border, we've been to the border, we've been to the border. you haven't been to the border. and i haven't been to europe. i mean, i don't understand the point you're making! donald trump will certainly be watching. he seems convinced that ms harris will again perform badly on tv. she's barely competent, and she can't do an interview. but i look forward to the debates. i promise to be a president for all americans, you can always trust me... after a very successful convention in chicago,

democrats are delighted with how well kamala harris is performing — much better than many expected. four years ago, she took on mike pence in the vice presidential debates. mr vice president, i'm speaking, i'm speaking... and kamala harris will debate donald trump on television next month. joe biden�*s debate against mr trump ended his campaign. these events can make a huge difference to the election. look... if... we finally beat medicare. kamala harris is currently enthusing her supporters, but forced outside of these friendly environments, she will face much tougher tests. the rest of that interview will be on cnn later tonight, and it is

going to be really interesting to watch how she handles tough questions, as well as watching how she stands up to donald trump on that debate stage, because for all that debate stage, because for all that her campaign has been going very well, voters want to see her in these sort of unscripted situations so they can see how she responds in the moment, because something is bound to go wrong for her campaign between now and polling day, that is practically inevitable. what the big question will be is how she copes with situations that are out of her control. indeed, ok, sarah, thank you, sarah smith, our north america editor in washington. and victoria derbyshire will have more on this in newsnight on bbc two shortly. hi, victoria. we will bring you early reaction to the preview of that interview, and is the tory leadership race here finally starting to hot up? see you soon. thanks, victoria. israel and hamas have agreed

to several three—day pauses in fighting to allow the vaccinations of more than 600,000 children in gaza against polio. it's been confirmed a baby has contracted the disease, the first in the palestinian territory for a quarter of a century. lucy williamson has the very latest. born a month before the gaza war began, abdul rahman has played a role in pausing it — something world leaders have struggled to do. earlier this month, abdul rahman was diagnosed with polio — the first case in gaza for 25 years. the family, nine children in all, live in a camp in central gaza, displaced multiple times from their home in the north. the constant moving disrupted his vaccinations. his mother says others in the camp are afraid and stop their children playing with them. translation: the virus stopped his progress. i he stopped sitting, stopped walking, stopped crawling and stopped moving. i want him to be treated. he wants to live and walk

like other children. abdul rahman�*s diagnosis has raised fresh alarm over conditions in gaza's camps. the phased pause in fighting will allow medics to vaccinate more than half a million children in stages across the territory. but the conditions that caused this crisis are worsening, say aid organisations, and their solutions are not straightforward. due to the insecurity, the damage, the road infrastructure and population displacement, but also based on our experience with this kind of campaign globally and worldwide, the three days might not be enough to achieve adequate vaccination. israel's prime minister was clear that this was not a ceasefire. the war has so far been resistant to both diplomacy and disease, but preventing another layer of tragedy is seen as one small victory.

what the eu's foreign policy chief called a drop of hope in a sea of despair. lucy williamson, bbc news, jenin. on day two of israel's counterterrorism operation across the occupied west bank, palestinian media are reporting the number of dead has risen to 17. it's one of the biggest operations in decades, with overnight raids injenin and in tulkham, where troops say they killed five terrorists hiding in a mosque. the us has urged israel to take all feasible measures to protect civilian lives in the west bank. smoking outside in pub gardens, restaurants, playgrounds and sports grounds could be banned under plans being considered by the government. health experts have welcomed the proposals, but some businesses are worried customers might stay away. latest research shows 6.4 million people in the uk still smoke, with almost 80,000 smokers dying every year. this is despite the ban

on smoking indoors in public places coming into force in 2007. danny savage has more from york. we all know smoking is bad for our health, but plenty of people still choose to do so. so what about the latest idea to restrict it, ban it in pub gardens and outdoor restaurants in england and possibly elsewhere in the uk? we showed the prime minister's views to people in a pub garden. over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking. that's a preventable death, it's a huge burden on the nhs, and of course it's a burden on the taxpayer. so what do they think? we're all sat having a drink in the sunshine here in york. some people lit a cigarette, and instantly you smelt it. and you don't want to do that? i personally don't want to do that, and i have to say that i'm anti—smoking. unless you're banning it full stop, there needs to be places for

people to have a smoke. - but whilst we're eating, i don't particularly want to smell it. i i think it's ludicrous, personally... simon runs the pub — and six others. i think it's another restriction on hospitality trying to survive. it's going to impact our sales, and it takes away the freedom of choice for people who want to do something outside, where it's ok for them. smoking was banned in enclosed public spaces across the uk about 17 years ago. now it could be potentially stopped out here too, which will please many but frustrate some people. sophie has smoked for ten years and isn't convinced the plan will work. people willjust stop going to them businesses to drink in. they'll go somewhere where they can smoke or...? yeah, they'lljust stay at home or go to their gardens and do it for cheaper. chris wants to give up, and this might help. discouraging the youth from partaking, that's nothing but a good thing. whether that's going to stop them starting in the first place or not, i don't know. in york, local bylaws already

forbid smoking in these outdoor seating areas. so they can't smoke sitting there? no. but they can literally come the other side of the barrier here, stand here and smoke perfectly leaall ? . policing it can be difficult, though. people try and hide it from us, like they'll stick their cigarette down here, but you can literally see the smoke and you can smell it. and obviously it is a restaurant as well, that's kind of like why we don't allow it, it makes sense to not allow it as well because people are eating, there's kids eating. health authorities say there is no safe level of exposure to second—hand smoke. making it more difficult to light up in public could be on the cards. danny savage, bbc news, york. iain watson's at westminster. what's been the political reaction, iain? these proposals have certainly created sharp political dividing lines here at westminster. nannying, impinging on freedom, cowardly, these are some of the descriptions used by conservative leadership

candidates about these proposals. it's worth remembering half of them backed rishi sunak�*s plans to stop the next generation, those born in 2009 and beyond, from smoking completely but they say, look, labour are affecting existing smokers, and certainly some civil servants in the business department i'm told this raised concern about the impact about these proposals on the impact about these proposals on the hospitality industry and some ministers remain uneasy but what health experts are telling the government is they can cut the number of people claiming long—term sickness benefits, they can reduce health inequalities, they can relieve pressure on the nhs, if they impose more restrictions on smoking. these proposals will go out to public consultation but with labour's big majority and the support of opinion polling, no ifs and no buts, more restrictions are on the way. mil and no buts, more restrictions are on the way-— on the way. all right, iain watson at westminster. _ concerns have been raised by a growing number of experts about the trials of lucy letby.

she was the nurse convicted of killing seven babies in her care and attempting to kill seven others, and she was jailed for life last year. now there have been claims that vital evidence may have been misinterpreted, although others insist the claims are misguided and that the trials were fair. it comes as lucy letby lodged papers to seek leave to appeal, against her most recent conviction for one attempted murder. gill dummigan has the full story. guilty. nurse lucy letby is the most prolific baby killer in modern times. lucy letby�*s murder trial last year was one of the longest in british legal history, following a six—year police investigation. she perverted her learning to inflict harm, grief and death. six expert medical witnesses and many former colleagues testified against her. you have no remorse. there are no mitigating factors. the case against letby was wide ranging — blood test results showing that two babies had been overdosed with insulin, x—rays indicating air injected into others, an apparent confession note

at her house, and a rota which showed her on duty for every suspicious collapse or death. this is the famous duty roster... this chart was a key part of the prosecution case. so this chart appears to be very convincing. but there are a number of issues with it. a big thing is that it only describes 25 of the bad events that happened in this period. it doesn't include any of the events that happened when lucy was not on duty. there were at least six other deaths and other collapses. professor green says he doesn't want to cause the babies' parents any more pain but the questions have to be asked. the danger is that this evidence can be very compelling to the non—professional, and overinterpreted. another crucial part of the prosecution case were blood samples from babies who'd collapsed with low blood sugar. they indicated exceptionally high levels of insulin, leading to the charge that letby had deliberately poisoned the babies by adding a synthetic version to their feed bags. the problem is that the method

of analysis used was probably perfectly good for a clinical point of view, but not a forensic toxicology point of view. the website of the testing lab states that if synthetic insulin is suspected, the results should be verified externally. but that didn't happen because the babies recovered. i don't doubt that the preterm infants had had low blood sugar, but there could be other reasons for that. others also question the charge that letby injected air into babies' blood vessels, causing often fatal blockages known as an embolism. at the appeal court hearing, one doctor who co—wrote a paper used by the prosecution in the original case spoke for letby�*s defence. the defence claimed the distinctive rash he'd outlined wasn't that described by witnesses in her case. the defence called no expert witnesses in the original trial. by contrast, six testified for the prosecution, in particular retired paediatric

consultant dr dewi evans. dr evans told me that he'd referenced 18 research papers on air embolism, not just that contested one, and that his findings had been backed up in court by a radiologist and a neonatal pathologist. on the subject of the rota, he said he'd chosen those cases because they were the ones that seemed to him to be either suspicious or unexplained, and that he hadn't known at that point that lucy letby had been on duty. the crown prosecution service points out that the court of appeal rejected letby�*s case. there's a 58—page judgment explaining why. much has been made of the fact that the case is circumstantial — no one definitively saw letby committing a crime. but some think that's missing the point. people often say, well, circumstantial evidence can't prove guilt. that's simply not true. tim owen kc has spent a0 years as a defence lawyer. he also co—hosts a legal podcast which has examined the letby debate. a circumstantial case i can be a powerful case,

but in order to understand it, . you have to look at the totality. he's dealt with many miscarriages ofjustice, but says as this stands, there's no proof that this is one. i'm seeing lots of peoplej putting forward theories. they are making assumptions without the solid basis for it. i but still the questions continue. now a letter signed by 2a experts has asked for the forthcoming letby inquiry to take those questions into account. you're not saying, though, are you, that you think she's innocent? i have no idea whether she's innocent or not. my concern is simply about the possibility that this was not a safe conviction. i don't know whether she's guilty or not. i don't think anyone knows except lucy letby. the inquiry is due to start on september the 10th. gill dummigan, bbc news.

new figures show the cost of housing homeless people was more than £1 billion last year. that's up 52% on 2022. the numbers show a record number of families were affected in england, with more than 150,000 children, living in temporary accommodation. charities have called the situation "absurd", and say a failure to build enough social housing, combined with rising rents and increased evictions, has caused homelessness to spiral. the government says it plans to deliver 1.5 million new homes, overseeing the biggest increase in social and affordable house—building in a generation. high—street retailers say they're shocked by a bbc investigation found that some dishonest traders are buying stolen goods from shoplifters then selling them on in their own stores. the british independent retailers association says the practice adds "insult to injury". it comes as a former prolific shoplifter has told how he regularly stole items to order for retailers.

the government is promising new laws to tackle the crime. jim connolly has this exclusive report from leeds. perfume, always a staple. box sets, cosmetics, leather handbags. a big box of lego can be £100. this is ross, for decades one of leeds' most prolific shoplifters. he says he's been clean from crack and heroin for five months and says he hasn't shoplifted in that time. previously, he was stealing £300 worth of stuff every day to fund his addiction. i know it's in the tens of thousands. you've stolen tens of thousands of pounds? yeah, i'm ashamed to say, yeah. i think i'd be a gold medallist if shoplifting were a sport. shoplifting costs the country billions of pounds. what do you think about that? i feel guilty and ashamed. it's simply desperation. ross only made money if people were willing to buy stolen goods. "whisky, vodka, bailey's, tia maria, honey, cheese, washing tablets and liquid if you can, please, mate."

messages from a middleman, daily requests to steal to order. and even more surprisingly, his customers also included other shops all across the city. if i had a bag full of stuff, i'd know which shop to go to to sell it on. and we'd discuss a price, and i'm out of there with the money. it sounds crazy to say that, doesn't it? it's the economics, isn't it, i suppose. i was the cheapest wholesaler. experts say 70% of shoplifters are addicts like ross, but there's no escaping the fact he's a criminal — 23 convictions in two decades, including 15 for shoplifting, but he's never been to prison. i think it really highlighted the scale of the problem. those representing the high street are worried about this trend of unscrupulous shops buying their stock from shoplifters. for our members, who are hard—working, many of them on the breadline as well, because their business is really struggling, to see their savings in the form of product end up with someone else, that's adding insult

to injury to those people, and you can understand their frustration at the lack of authority and the lack of enforcement to deal with that problem. leeds has been described as the shoplifting capital of the uk — and, yes, rates here are high. but the story of ross and the city in general applies up and down the country. 350 miles away in truro, cctv captures thieves in this shop on a near—daily basis. they seem to be choosing something specific, so this could be _ an instance of where they're stealing to order. _ what really angers him is where he believes some of the stolen goods end up. we were able to follow a chap straight from a theft, - hot on his heels, followed him to the store, actually took - pictures of the cash _ being exchanged and off they went. now, that was the first time - i was able to actually, completely, 100% say stolen goods - are being taken and sold on. the government has promised new laws to tackle shoplifting, but retailers i've spoken to just want to see an end to their profits walking out the door. jim connolly, bbc news.

it's been a day of highs and lows for the british team, on the first day of the paralympics in paris. poppy maskill broke the world record to claim victory in the pool, in the women's 100 metres butterfly. and tonight tully kearney won gold in the women's 200 metres freestyle final. but there was disappointment for kadeena cox, who crashed on the track. from paris, here's andy swiss. representing great britain, poppy maskill. it was, she said, unreal. poppy maskill, a paralympic champion atjust 19, and britain's first of the games. maskill, who competes in the class for athletes with an intellectual impairment, left her rivals treading water as she raced the 100 metres butterfly in exhilarating fashion. commentator: maskill. is a paralympic champion. a gold medal, a world record and her own piece of history. and britain soon had another gold. last year tully kearney�*s hopes

here hung in the balance after a serious injury, but she held off her rivals to win the 200 metres freestyle. gold for great britain, gold for tully kearney. for paralympics gb, it was some night in the pool. in fact, there was so nearly a british hat—trick, but will ellard was just edged out into silver in his 100 metres butterfly. a glittering start then for britain's swimmers here, and there was success for the cyclists too, although for one of their biggest names there was only heartache. kadeena cox had won the time trial at the previous two games, but her disability has left her weakened on her right side and she later said that was what caused this. and it hasn't gone according to plan. after falling at the first bend, cox was in tears. "that's sport," she later said, and she still has another event here. but her emotions were plain to see. that is not the sight that we wanted

to see at this stage of proceedings. but the tears were ofjoy for daphne schrager after she won silver in the pursuit, and although steve bate and chris latham lost out to the dutch in their final, another silver was ample consolation. they finished second in tokyo and they finished second again here. one of the team's youngest athletes, 14—year—old bly twomey, also picked up a medal. in the table tennis doubles she won bronze with fliss pickard. but elsewhere this was a golden first day for paralympics gb. they will be hoping there's plenty more to come. andy swiss, bbc news, paris. it's been another memorable day in the career of one of england's finest cricketers stole the show at lord's today. england closed the first day of the second test against sri lanka on 358—7 — thanks to a record equalling 100 byjoe root. joe wilson was watching.

test cricket is not easy. ask ollie pope, england's stand—in captain and subsequently struggling batter. he fell for one, and having opted to bowl first, sri lanka were on top at lord's. ollie pope is only leading england for this series but in their team england have a man who captained them for 64 test matches, still going strong. time to activate once morejoe root. once in the middle he waits for the bad ball and makes the most of it. it's been the same for a dozen years, the world over. fashions change. in england's new attacking era, joe root�*s ongoing success is the triumph of a balanced mind. if you can play with that kind of freedom and that mentality, first off, you're always going to give yourself a better chance of, you know, being confident in yourself, in your own game and making good decisions under pressure. and there was pressure. england were six wickets down whenjoe root guided his way to the 33rd hundred of his test career, inspiring the crowd, equalling england's record, level with the commentating alastair

cook. root was carrying england's hopes modestly and methodically until he tried his trick shot and fell. well, one error is forgiveable when you make 143. and who was that swiping sixes? gus atkinson, like ben stokes. england to 358—7. their day — because it was anotherjoe root day. joe wilson, bbc news, at lord's. time for a look at the weather. this programme continues on bbc one. kamala harris gives herfirst interview since the democratic race for president was upended six weeks ago — what does it tell us about how she'd govern?