welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: a verdict is due for yingluck. thailand's former premier could face jail if she's found guilty of negligence. rescue workers intensify their efforts to find eight hikers, missing in a landslide in the swiss alps. geologists are warning more could follow. billionaire samsung boss jay y lee's corruption trial reaches a conclusion as he awaits a court verdict. the biggest single win in american lottery history. a hospital worker from massachusetts scoops $750 million on the powerball. thailand's supreme court is expected to rule in the coming hours on a case that's lasted 18 months and could put one of the country's

most popular politicians injail, and knock her out of politics for life. former premier yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a costly rice subsidy policy. her opponents say it was in effect a bribe to her supporters. she could face a decade behind bars. she insists she's innocent, and has asked the court for "kindness." from bangkok, the bbc‘s karishma vaswani. this was yingluck shinawatra six years ago, a political novice bringing her brother's party to victory in thailand's general elections. she's no longer in power and is now standing trial on a charge of negligence for a controversial rice subsidy scheme. if found guilty, she could face ten years in prison and a lifetime ban from politics. seen here at the start of her trial, yingluck appeared confident about her chances. but her critics say she's guilty of implementing a controversial rice

subsidy policy that benefited only her party, pheu thai, and that cost the government billions of dollars. the scheme was part of yingluck‘s winning manifesto, a generous promise to buy rice farmers‘ entire crop for much more than the market price. but it was also expensive and wasteful. some of those losses, it's alleged, were also due to corruption. the military used corruption as one of the justifications of the coup against yingluck‘s government. but many thais believed the coup was about knocking out the shinawatra family as a political force. karishma vaswani there, and a short time ago i spoke to her outside the court. every single court appearance she

has made has had an even bigger appearance of supporters. flowers and a strong feeling of good sentiment for her among the crucial rural voter base. they have not been allowed into this area. this is the media pen. they are 300 metres over there. in the lead—up to this, to give you a sense of how much tension and leg up there at into this, there have been checkpoints everywhere with police telling people not to come into the city. —— lead—up into this. we still expect there will be a strong support base for her when she arrives today in court. this is the culmination of an 18 month long

trial that could effectively end with her behind bars, and certainly, if she is found guilty, a lifetime ban from politics. we expect to see her when she goes to court. will supporters see her if she is found guilty or does she go straight to jail? she has the right to appeal, though that law has yet to be ratified. we expect her to depart from the courtroom. both times she appeared in court before, she was greeted by supporters who were very sympathetic of her case. as we were saying earlier, she is an extremely popular figure, saying earlier, she is an extremely popularfigure, but she is saying earlier, she is an extremely popular figure, but she is also very divisive. the rural heartland feels very strongly about her, partly because of the rice subsidy scheme at the heart of this trial. they felt she listened to them and that asa

felt she listened to them and that as a result of the subsidy scheme, the farmers were attended to. there is another side to this, the ruling elite, the people against her and herfamily, they elite, the people against her and her family, they say the rice subsidy scheme was expensive, wasteful, alleged corruption, and thatis wasteful, alleged corruption, and that is what she is standing trial for. whether or not she is guilty of negligence, that is what we are waiting for. swiss police say eight people are missing following a landslide in the east of the country. rescue operations are being intensified, and geologists are warning that further landslides in the remote alpine valley, which is popular with hikers and climbers, cannot be ruled out. imogen foulkes reports. on wednesday morning, 4 million cubic metres of mud and rock poured down the mountain, destroying farmhouses in its path and ending up right on the edge of the tiny village of bondo. residents were evacuated immediately. helicopters plucked hikers from alpine huts. at first rescue workers

thought everyone was safe. translation: overnight we received reports of missing people. we intensified the rescue effort, an army helicopter was sent out. unfortunately, up to now, we haven't found anyone. police have now confirmed that eight people known to have been in the region at the time of the landslide are officially missing. over 120 rescue workers are now searching on foot and with specialised helicopters which can detect mobile phone signals. these remote steep sided valleys are popular with climbers and hikers but they are also known for the risk of avalanche and rock slides. some communities here have already invested millions in protective barriers.

geologists are warning that in the coming days further landslides cannot be ruled out. imogen foulkes, bbc news, geneva. the us defence secretary says sanctions against russia will stay in place until it returns crimea to ukraine. meeting ukraine's president, james mattis said moscow wasn't respecting international treaties or talks. it was ukrainian independence day and mr. mattis also announced he is actively reviewing whether to send lethal weapons to ukraine. we do not and we will not accept russia's seizure of the crimea and despite russia's denials we know they are seeking to redraw international borders by force, undermining the sovereign and free nations of europe. the us and our allies will continue to press russia to honour its minsk commitments and our sanctions will remain in place until moscow reverses the actions that triggered them. let's take a look at some

of the other stories making the news. a ferry has capsized off the north—eastern brazilian city of salvador, killing more than 20 people. the authorities say more than 100 were rescued. it's the second major boat accident in brazil this week. a ferry sinking on tuesday killed at least 19 people. florida state prison has executed the white supremacist mark james asay, the first white inmate put to death in florida for killing a black man, since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1979. he was killed by a lethal injection, that included a drug never used before in the us. asay was sentenced to death in 1988 for killing two men in separate incidents on the same day. india's supreme court has ruled that individual privacy is a fundamental right. the landmark judgement has implications for india's massive

biometric identity card scheme in which almost all indians are now enrolled. it was conceived as a voluntary system but is mandatory for many services. danish prosecutors investigating the death of a swedish journalist say they plan to charge submarine inventor, payter madsen, with her murder. the dismembered body of kim varl was found off the danish coast after she was taken out to sea in a submarine built by mr madsen. he denies killing her. tom donkin reports. the grim search continues for what remains of kim wall. after confirmation on wednesday that hers was the torso found washed up on denmark's coast, police now scour swamp and sea for any further sign of the young swedish journalist. this is the last image of her alive. it's august the 10th and kim is on board the uc3 nautilus, the world's biggest home—made submarine. she was writing a profile about the man who built it, danish inventor peter madsen, who took her out to sea and was the last person to see her alive. the only suspect in her death, danish prosecutors now said

mr madsen will face a murder charge when he appears in court next month. he denies killing kim wall and his account of events have changed since police rescued him from his sinking submarine just hours after kim had been reported missing. initially saying he had dropped her off alive near copenhagen, he later explained her death was an accident. translation: he's explained that an accident happened on the submarine that has caused the death of kim wall and that he afterwards buried her at sea. in new york, students of columbia university remember kim, who graduated here in 2013. they celebrated the life of a talented journalist who travelled and reported from around the world but met her gruesome end so close to home. so, as the investigation continues, this is a case which keeps growing up more questions than answers. and with the absence of witness testimony and much of the physical evidence now washed away, there could be a long wait for friends and family to know exactly what happened to kim and why. tom donkin, bbc news.

it isa it is a figure too big to comprehend. $758] million. but mavis wonzik has beaten all the odds to win the biggest single jackpot in american history. the numbers that made a middle—aged hospital worker one of the richest people in the world. mother of two mavis wanczyk, from chicopee, massachusetts, has since told her bosses she won't be at work tomorrow, or the next day or any other day after that. her $758 million prize is the largest single ticketjackpot in american history. last night it was kind of like... i didn't realise it.

today, i'm still like, this is untrue, it can't be. now it's like... uh...i am a winner and i'm scared. i'll be ok. us lottery winners have the choice of taking the jackpot as a lump sum or a series of annual payments, spread over the course of 29 years. mavis has opted for the former. even after paying $300 million in taxes, it will still leave her wealthy beyond her wildest dreams. another more modest beneficiary is the convenience store where she bought the winning ticket. they are donating their $50,000 prize to charity. we just happen to be the lucky people, that's all, and we are glad to be able to pass it on. mavis said she always dreamt of retiring early and now that dream has come through. her immediate plans include paying off her car. but before that she says she will be hiding in her bed, trying to take in all the excitement. stay with us on bbc news.

still to come: they're known as the unicorns of the sea. why scientists are taking a new interest in narwhals. he's the first african—american to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls tonight, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange, glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon, our neighbouring planet, mars. there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it'll take months, and billions of dollars to re pair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great

clock has been off duty in 117 years, so it was with great satisfaction that clockmaker john vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: a verdict is due for yingluck shinawatra. thailand's former premier could face jail if she's found guilty of negligence. rescue workers intensify their efforts to find eight missing hikers following a landslide in the swiss alps. the billionaire head of south korea's samsung group is just hours away from finding out whether he's been found guilty of corruption. for the past six—months jay y lee has been on trial accused of making inappropriate donations to a friend of the former

president park geun—hye, a charge that helped trigger her impeachment and dismissal from office. mr lee has pleaded not guilty. the bbc‘s yogita limaye told me samsung is far more than an electronics company. it dominates south korea's economy. this company accounts for nearly one fifth of the economy here. it's a huge group, a global technology giant, and that's why this verdict is being watched so closely. but it's also not asked about this one company. large conglomerates dominate the economy here. there have been accusations of corruption against the heads of many of these companies. in the past, even when they've been convicted, they've been pardoned because the government said there would be an economic impact on the country if they go to jail. so it is very significant if we get a strong sentence today and if he is found guilty

because now they are the new government, which won elections, saying it will clean up corruption and there will be no more part —— pardons for the head. this is only the start. the former president who was impeached is also facing trial. that's right. the verdict that comes out here today will be an indicator of what the former president might have to face. this is a huge scandal that triggered mass protest here, demanding the removal of the former president. she is accused of allowing her close friends to accept donations from these large conglomerates. the president, the new president of this country, has vowed to take on large conglomerates and this government is saying the verdict here today will send a strong message, that these political and business links can't continue and this is a turning point for south korean business and politics. forecasters in the united states are expecting hurricane harvey to hit the coast of

texas on friday night. the state governor has already declared a state of disaster for thirty counties and the national hurricane centre has warned that torrential rain could bring life—threatening flooding to houston and other cities. the mayor of corpus christi gave this warning to residents. we are up to and almost at the threshold of mandatory evacuation. we are not going to cross that line right now. we are going to, in the strongest possible terms, encourage the residents in low—lying areas to, as they say, get out of the dodge. the rate of melting ice in the arctic has been worrying scientists for some time. now they're studying narwhals — one of the most mysterious ocean species — to help determine the impact. a new exhibition at the smithsonian's national museum of natural history in washington dc reveals some of their findings. jane 0'brien went to take a look. often called sea unicorns, narwhals are among the most mysterious creatures of the arctic.

their frozen habitat has made them how to study but as the ice melts, these aquatic mammals are becoming more accessible to scientists who hope to solve perhaps the biggest mystery of them all, the purpose of the narwhal‘s tusk. a lot of people think this tusk is a horn, but it's not, it's a tooth, isn't it? and you're a dentist, which i suppose makes sense. in this case a dentist to one of the most extraordinary marine mammals on the planet. i think it's a sensory organ. the research we were conducting for the last 16 years has shown tiny nerve connections between the outside of this tusk and its inner nerve, which is innervated directly to the brain. it's a sensory probe if you will. that's one of many theories, although most scientists believe the tusk is used by males to attract females. this exhibition presents an overview of the latest research. it also shows how narwhals are changing their behaviour due to habitat loss caused by climate

change and how that affects the inuit, who have depended on narwhals for thousands of years. the native folks have said there are changing migrations and there are more incidents of entrapment is when the narwhals get caught when the ice is freezing up in the fall and in the winter it will freeze right over their breathing holes, hundreds if not thousands perish. there are some pretty dramatic events that can occur. scientists work with the inuit to track and study narwhals. by fitting them with sensors they're learning more about their diving patterns, feeding habits, migration and even how they communicate. these sounds were recorded underwater but when predators are detected, the narwhals become quiet. but even their breathing can be an unforgettable experience. i was on the ice and it was 2am roughly and i heard the breathing sound ofjust one while come up. the water was still, it was tranquil. there was a light mist and a fault

and then hundreds of whales started surfacing and i heard this cacophony of breathing sounds all around me. there are approximately 180,000 narwhals living in the arctic, but climate change is opening the region notjust to scientists but commercial enterprises, raising the risk of pollution. and that could pose the biggest threat of all. james o'brien, bbc news, washington. the stand out moment of the edinburgh fringe festival — that's how one critic has described a new play that's opened there called adam. it tells the remarkable story of a transgender asylum seeker from egypt who's making a new life for himself in scotland. and the new play doesn't just tell his story. he is the star of the show. eloise dickers has been following adam's journey from egypt to centre stage. the last time i've seen my mum i was in a girl's body, i looked like a girl.

adam felt he couldn't live freely in egypt. they will harass, they might even torture, they will kill for that, because it's just something not normal, not normal. he sought asylum in a country that would allow him to live as a man. i left egypt so i can be who i am. ta—da! once in scotland he started reassignment surgery. they take a skin graft from your arm. skin that they took from your arm with the nerves and artery they form it into a penis. i stopped having periods the moment i got on testosterone, so that was like four years ago, that was ages ago. that's history now. i can hardly remember that. this year, life changed dramatically again. he got married.

it's something that just a few years ago he could never have imagined. her name is toni. she's pretty cool. she's not superficial in the slightest. she managed somehow to see through all that and just see me as who i was. with the help of the national theatre of scotland, adam has now turned his extraordinaryjourney into play. who knew you were transgender in egypt? nobody. let me rephrase. how many of your friends knew you were transgender? none. it's had its premiere at this year's edinburgh fringe festival, where it's received 5—star reviews. female adam is played by neshla caplan, and the real adam is played by adam himself. he hopes that the play will inspire others like him to speak out. i had my inspirations from people on youtube,

showing the me the before and after, and that really gives me hope. he did it, he did it, he did it, why can't i? really hope that i give the light to somebody else. here in the uk, the keepers at london zoo have begun their annual weigh—in. that's a weigh—in for the animals, not the keepers. it's done to check the health of all the zoo's inhabitants. the results are recorded on a database that's shared with other zoos around the world. the bbc‘s tim allman reports on all creatures great and small. when you are weighing someone, this is not the sort of thing that usually happens. the squirrel monkeys of london zoo, a little reluctant to co—operate. every year, around 200 animals get put on the scales. these baby penguins, a little more docile, but not all the zoo's inhabitants are willing to play ball. some are definitely less cooperative and it's not even about being less cooperative sometimes,

some of them think it's a game. primates in particular and young animals are very inquisitive when you go in and they think think it's a game and they are more interested at picking at the scales, looking at the gloves the keepers are wearing, or running off with some of the food and not getting on the scales at all. so it can be a real challenge. it's not just weight, other vital statistics are of interest too. a giant ruler being used to measure the height of these lions. a sack of meat encouraging them to stand on their hind legs to get the most accurate figures. all this information helps the zoo monitor the animal's health and well—being. information that is then shared with other zoos around the world. from the smallest to the largest, every animal takes part, whether they want to or not. and from london zoo to some adorable pictures from another zoo

in the chilean capital of santiago. meet pantaleon, the first baby white rhinoceros to be born in captivity in south america in several years, according to zoo keepers. weighing in at a healthy 62 kilograms, he's already keeping his mum and dad, oliver and hannah, on their toes. panteleon was born last month in buin zoo to the delight of zoo staff and his parents. according to the world wildlife fund, the white rhino remains ‘near threatened' and urgent efforts are underway to stop the poaching and end the illegal trade. for more on that and all of the news please check the bbc website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. hello there.

there's not much movement of our weather at the moment, so it's a familiar theme as we head to the end of the week. the best of the weather towards the south—east of the uk, where temperatures should be a bit higher than they were on thursday. head towards the north—west and here it's much more unsettled, showers and maybe some longer spells of rain. as a result it will be a bit cooler too. the wetter weather is in the north—west because we're closer to this area of low pressure. now, eventually that will push across scotland out into the north sea and take the wetter weather away this weekend. but for the moment we've got more rain to come both overnight and into friday across northern ireland and into western scotland. some showers further east across scotland, one or two for northern england and wales as the cloud increases, sunnier skies further south and east. so a lot of cloud to come across northern ireland, already we've had some flooding earlier on in the week, this rain isn't going to help. a lot of cloud across scotland and if we get some sunshine in the north—east of scotland that could trigger one or two heavy showers in the afternoon.

by then a little more cloud coming into northern england and perhaps some showers here, one or two in wales. most of wales will be dry, we will see the cloud increasing here and in the south—west. the sunnier skies through the east midlands, east anglia and the south—east were temps are a bit higher, probably around about the mid—20s. it's not going to be as warm as that in headingley. it will feel quite chilly actually as the cloud increases through the day and there's just the small chance of one or two like light showers. most of the wet weather continues to be further north close to that area of low pressure, and that will push the wetter weather generally clear from northern ireland across scotland. further south, some drier conditions, one or two showers perhaps and temperatures of 1a to 16 degrees. into the start of the weekend then and we've got rain mainly in scotland but it's going to be pushing out to the north sea, it's going to take a while for things to improve across eastern scotland but a much better day in western scotland and northern ireland, generally dry with some sunshine. some sunshine for england and wales, maybe one or two more showers drifting further south and you can see the difference in temperatures,

again peaking in the south—east around about the mid—twenties. a lot of those showers will have moved away as we head into the second half of the weekend. so if you do catch a shower you're going to be quite unlucky, a lot of dry weather around and some sunshine at times and temperatures near average for the time of year. as we head into monday, a bank holiday for many, we're back into the north—west south—east split with weather fronts driving into the north—west together with some stronger winds. so rain for scotland and northern ireland but the wind will move things on into northern ireland and wales later. to the south—east, it's going to be sunnier here and also warmer. this is bbc news. the headlines: thailand's supreme court is preparing to rule on whether former premier yingluck chinnawut is guilty of negligence over a costly rice subsidy policy. if convicted, she could face up to a decade behind bars, and be out of politics for life. she has always denied the allegations. swiss police say eight people are missing in a landslide in the east of the country. rescuers are intensifying their efforts as geologists warn more landslides are possible

in the remote alpine valley, which is very popular with hikers and climbers. the united nations has called for a humanitarian pause in fighting for control of the syrian town of raqqa, a stronghold of extremist group, the so—called islamic state. un agencies believe up to 25,000 civilians are trapped, caught between is fighters and heavy bombing by coalition forces. now it's time for click.