this is bbc news. my name's mike embley with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. day two of the virtual convention — joe biden will be formally picked as the democratic party's election nominee. his wife, jill, and former us president, bill clinton will give keynote speeches. the president of mali appears on state television to announce his resignation after he and the prime minister are arrested by the military in an apparent coup attempt. researchers uncover the unseen scale of plastic pollution clogging the atlantic ocean. and an unwelcome spotlight on the chat show hosted by ellen degeneres — three senior producers are fired for misconduct.

hello to you. the democratic party in the united states is holding the second evening of its virtual national convention. joe biden will be formally nominated as the party's candidate for november's presidential election. his wifejill will deliver tuesday's main speech. there'll also be appearances by former president bill clinton and alexandria ocasio—cortez. our correspondent laura trevelyan is in wilmington, delaware wherejoe biden will make his speech and accept the nomination on thursday. his home state of course. absolutely. here we are in his home town and tonight his wife jill biden will deliver the keynote speech. she is going to be speaking from the classroom at the high school where she taught. her theme is that she is an educator and you would have to think with so much of

america gripped with how to go back to school safely during this coronavirus, but she is going to use that moment somehow to talk about president trump's leadership, or lack thereof as democrats would see it, during the pandemic. a big night, joe biden is formally nominated. he becomes the democratic nominee, or the party nominates in. also going to hear from supporters of bernie sanders tonight because remember, he also got a number of votes. he has got a number of votes. he has got a number of delegates and alexandria ocasio—cortez is going to nominate bernie sanders. that can be another big night. she only gets a minute but there is a big petition of young progressive saying they want her to have longer. i would imagine there was quite a lot of wrangling around that, a sore point? of course because just look at last night when democrats deliberately showcase all of the republicans for biden who got to speak. and specifically the former republican governor of ohio,

don classic, who had a significant amount of speaking time. that prompted young aggressive is to write 11 up with hundreds of signatories to say that aoc should get the same amount of time. —— progressives. we will be watching to see if she gets more than a minute when she nominates him during the roll call tonight. what do we know about how the voters are looking at all this? i think we have seen all networks trying to label what is white, struggling to, what is recorded, was low, whether it even matters. it's pretty interesting. the figures came out today as to how many people watched last night compared to the same night of the democratic convention in 2016. and the viewership was down around 25%. down to about 19 million people watched across the three networks in the big hour which is the 10pm hour.

so, the dnc is saying that digital viewership was up. it may well be that overall it is a wash, fewer people are watching tv but more people are watching tv but more people are watching digitally. wejust don't have a handle on digital figures. to try to answer your question, does it matter? a little ha rd to question, does it matter? a little hard to know. it doesn't suggest so far that the figures are generating much more enthusiasm than in 2016 but really it is the polling that we look at a week out that shows you never people were moved by what they saw. and of course, last night was that huge appeal by michelle obama who doesn't like politics but she took down president trump pretty good to leave, saying that he wasn't the person to be president at this moment. we will see if that message got through whether it was just polarising. thank you very much for that, laura. we will be speaking again in a moment but we you there. joining me now from new york is corey brettschneider, he's the author of a book, ‘the oath and the office: a guide to the constitution for future presidents' and he's professor of political science at brown university.

good to talk to you again. what are the headlines of all of this for you so far? pleasure to speak to you too. i think, you know, the format is odd as you know, the format is odd as you have been talking about but we have to remember why it is odd. it is odd because this president has failed so badly in dealing with the coronavirus and dealing with this pandemic, and dealing with this pandemic, and that is really a symbol that we have to do this from home, of the leadership they're going to point to which has been a totalfailure going to point to which has been a total failure really, the lack of leadership. i also think this election is unlike any other in the this president is really threatening to suspend the election in dealing with the post office. that is especially worrying. we have neverin especially worrying. we have never in our history, even during the civil war, have had an election suspended. i think what the democrats will start to do, and we saw that at the beginning last night, his focus on the threat this president poses to democracy. and i think this is a really unusual election and an existential

threat to the constitution as a whole. obviously, the pandemic makes an enormous difference in terms of massive personal tragedies, how much do you think it is an election issue? or will voters say, frankly, no president could have dealt with this? i think there was interview recently and we also have a number of never trumps, former republican is advertising what happened during that, the president's com plete during that, the president's complete incompetence and certainly understanding in what is going on. certainly you can look at this being handled better, looking at new zealand, and other democracies around the world who rose to this challenge. this president failed. he put his son—in—law in charge who has a very competent sense of his own abilities and it correlates inversely to how much he is failing. i think americans when they start to see what is happening around the world, when they understand the failure here, for instance his delay around tests, he has just

admitted that he didn't want to do test because it would make you look at to show the extent of the pandemic. americans are really angry and they are going to show that in the polls, angry at the threat to democracy and the incompetence of doing the basic services of government. what do you expect to be hearing at the second night of the virtual convention from former president bill clinton and also from alexandria ocasio—cortez, from very different wings of the party? one thing i think about aoc is we saw bernie sanders yesterday really focus on the democracy theme that i am mentioning, that this isn't really a n mentioning, that this isn't really an election about partisan politics. it isn't about the differences among moderates and progressives when it comes to, for instance, how to deal with healthcare. i think those things can be worked out in the event of a victory. and i think what, and i hope what aoc says, will reflect a mental bernie sanders saying this is a election about democracy. do want to democratic system or not,

wonder based on racial equality 01’ wonder based on racial equality or do we want to backtrack as this president has to a nation of white supremacy. there has been some horse trading i think around coverage around the election partially because it isa election partially because it is a difficult watch, people not knowing what is recorded and what is live. but also because of a network is committed to a certain amount of coverage for the democrats, they must do the same for the republican convention next week and there are difficulties around covering president trump life to be frank. yes, the media is facing unprecedented challenges. in many ways, the media has been governed by the principle of fairness on the one hand, and on the other hand. if you cover this president without calling out his lies, without fact checking him in realtime his lies, without fact checking him in real time as this axios interviewer did when saying things were false when he said them. it would be a disservice to the american people because giving him equal time without comment, you are spreading the lies that he is continually telling. a reporter recently said, how do you feel about all of the lies you have told and he was speechless and moved

onto the next question. that is the sort of thing we are going to see if they're going to cover the convention and him with adequate time, the media to fa ct with adequate time, the media to fact check in real—time. i hope that is what we will see. thank you very much and of course we will be going to the convention a little later in the bulletin. the postmaster general of the united states has said he is suspending claims of trading the postal service after claims he was interfering with the election. he is a big financial data to president trump and he 110w data to president trump and he now says no changes will be made until after the election and he does expect the post of ballots to be delivered on time. there is no evidence of such widespread fraud and when they asked his chief of staff, you don't have any evidence of fraud, in the vote by mail, he said, well you don't have any evidence that there isn't fraud. i really. this is how

they insult the intelligence of they insult the intelligence of the american people. and that is why they know they can't win the election on the level so they have to lie, cheat and steal and that is what this is. nancy pelosi there addressing president trump's claim that postal ballots lead to fraud of which there is almost no evidence of. let's get some of the day's other news. the disputed president of belarus, alexander lu kashenko, has accused the opposition of attempting to overthrow him by setting up a coordination council to facilitate a transfer of power. he's threatened action against the 35 members appointed by his main opponent svetla na ti kha novs kaya. the captain of a japanese ship that spilt hundreds of tonnes of oil off the coast of mauritius has been arrested and charged with endangering safe navigation. crew members told police there'd been a birthday party on the day the vessel ran aground last month. the ship split in half over the weekend and its bow is being towed away from the reef.

actor ben cross, who was best known for playing athlete, harold abrahams, in the film chariots of fire, has died at the age of 72. representatives said he died suddenly following a short illness. tributes are flowing on social media with his daughter, lauren, posting she is utterly heartbroken. tens of thousands of students in the uk, who've now got higher a level grades after the government's u—turn on monday, have spent the day scrambling for university places. with many courses already full, some students remain unsure about their academic futures. ministers were forced to abandon the exam regulator quual‘s computer modelling for a level and gcse results, after an outcry when 40% of entries were downgraded. wales and northern ireland also reversed their policies. our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys, has the latest. natasha wants to study medicine, she's got top grades from her teachers but still hasn't got a place after being rejected

on last week's results. i'm really pleased about the u—turn the government has made, because i feel a lot more secure now in my future. however, it's been a very stressful couple of days because i thought i hadn't got into university and i've been working for this for a very long time. trying to keep calm and focused, but medicine courses are full. good afternoon, you're through to manchester metropolitan university clearing line. all universities were taking calls today — students checking they still have a place. this university says it will honour offers made last week and those for students who now have the grades. the legal situation, i don't think, is entirely clear, but my understanding is if you were made an offer and you'd met that offer, the university will be obliged to admit those students. that is right, fair and proper, and that is certainly what we are doing at manchester met. i think it's more challenging if you haven't had an offer but you want to apply now through clearing on the basis of the teacher assessed grades.

i think that situation is less certain. he says students need to weigh up their options. talk to your school or college, talk to the universities, but, but really, do we really want students to put their life on hold, you know? they've been through a lot over the last months. universities say they'd like to be more flexible but they need the government's help. here, they'd like to offer more places for teachers to train, at other universities, more places for medicine. but even if they get some extra leeway, it's far from clear that every student that wants their first choice place will be able to have it this year. since results day, there have been fears for some. bright students in poorer areas were downgraded, they might not be able to affor to wait a year or have anyone in their family to advise. today — a warning — they must not be the losers. this is a serious risk,

and i think all of us are determined to try and prevent these unprecedented circumstances from having the most impact on the students who can least afford to navigate their way through it, and the least able to navigate their way through it. while universities work out how to fit more in, ministers said they weren't to blame for the chaos, insisting they acted as soon as possible. the last few days, it has arisen and really been highlighted both locally to me as an mp, but also nationally as a minister that there are a number of anomalies in that algorithm. i think we made the right decisio yesterday because, actually, students come first and we can't carry on with a system that is grossly unfair. it's just a few weeks until students arrive but the political fallout from this year's grades fiasco could last much longer. branwen jeffries, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the empty cruise ships lining england's south coast that have become an unlikely tourist attraction. washington, the world's most political city, is today assessing the political health of the world's most powerful man. indeed i did have a relationship with ms lewinsky that was not appropriate. in fact, it was wrong. in south africa, 97 people have been killed today in one of the worst days of violence between rival black groups. over the last ten days, 500 have died. chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! czechoslovakia must be free! chanting: czechoslovakia must be free! russia is observing a national day of mourning for the 118 submariners who died on board the kursk. we all with them now, within our hearts. the pope has celebrated mass before a congregation of more

than 2.5 million people in his home town of krakow. "stay with us, stay with us," chanted this ocean of humanity. "well, well," joked the pope, "so you want me to desert rome? " this is bbc news, our top story: day two of the virtual convention — joe biden will be formally picked as the democratic party's election nominee. his wife, jill, and former us president, bill clinton will give keynote speeches. here in the uk, the retailer marks and spencer is planning to cut 7,000 staff by the end of the year, after a slump in sales during the coronavirus pandemic. the cuts are on top of 950 already announced and amount to about a tenth of

the overall work force. the company is the latest to announce major losses, as our business correspondent emma simpson reports. you do not see this often, a new store just opening after lockdown. it is close to nottingham and pulling in the shoppers. it helps being out of town. it's a different story in many city centres. this is oxford street in london and much quieter than it should be. not good if you rely on footfall for sales. this was the first floor at marble arch this lunchtime, one of the key london stores for marks & spencer and today the company said there had been a material shift in trade and it had to act. these new figures show the challenge. in the two months since reopening, clothing and home sales at its stores down 48% compared to last year but online sales up 39%. this pandemic has driven a rapid change in shopping habits. with more people buying online, fewer workers are needed in stores.

marks & spencers was already making big changes before the pandemic and they have been speeding up those changes now. today, 7,000 jobs to go today, the biggest cuts this retailer has ever made. awful news for the people involved but i'm afraid rather inevitable as shops like this are expensive to run, the cost does not go down if fewer people turn up to shop and that is what is happening. sooner or later you have to align your cost with revenue and that is what m&s is doing today. they're not the only ones? they're not and we will see, i'm afraid, a lot more. just look at the last seven days, 2,500 morejob losses at debenhams, a business on the brink. 350 to go at river island and new look trying to cut rent to survive. jigsaw could be cutting stores as well. now m&s is taking drastic action to cut costs, most of the job losses will be in its stores and it hopes many will be through voluntary redundancy or early retirement. there will also be newjobs as it invests in online, a retailer that wants

to recove from this pandemic with a leaner and more sustainable business. emma simpson, bbc news. president ibrahim boubakar keita has appeared on state tv in mali to announce his resignation, and the dissolution of the government and parliament. he and the prime minister were arrested by the military, in an apparent coup attempt. the move has been condemned by the united nations secretary general and france, the former colonial power. paul hawkins has more. mali's rebel soldiers taking mali's leaders under arrest away from the presidential palace in the capital bamako. where they're going, nobody knows — which is how many malians

feel about their future. the president resigning and dissolving... in recent months, huge crowds led by this man have been calling on the president to step down. a country of 90 million people beset by corruption, a flagging economy. which is why the rebel soldiers had their supporters. translation: the whole of mali has been liberated by a republican force. the malian people support them from above and from below. we are really very, very happy. there is no education, there is no health, there is no security. he does not want to listen to these people.

all of mali's people have been waiting for this day. today, honestly, we don't have any words to express what is in our heart. thank god. the president's arrest had been condemned by the african union, the un and france, the former colonial power which has troops based there. many feel this is a rerun of 2012 when the government's mishandling of a rebellion led to another coup. violent jihad rebellion led to another coup. violentjihad is took advantage of that chaos to seize northern mali and they are still there today. the seat of this current coup sown during the previous 18 years ago stopping many will be hoping now for a smooth transition of power. they're usually seen cruising the mediterranean and the caribbean. but since the pandemic, with staycations on the cards for many of us this summer, a growing number of luxury liners have moored off the south coast of england. the ships themselves have become an unlikely attraction. duncan kennedy reports from weymouth.

weymouth bay has become a parking bay for britain's cruise industry. we counted ten ships today, giant, gleaming and empty vessels. they are here so they don't have to pay the berthing fees in ports, but these mega ships have now become major attractions. something else to come and see, isn't it? something different. they should be out cruising, but what can you do with this going on? it's a bit of a risk for the passengers. jon holland has been on 1a cruises in the past few years and cannot bear to see them idle. most of them i have been on, most ones, it's a tragedy, isn't it? it really is. it will be about two or three years before we get back on them. the ships have become so popular special boat trips are taking people around them in what has become a kind of maritime museum.

each vessel still has about 100 crew members on board to keep them maintained and stop them drifting in rough weather. but whatever the weather, these ships are currently going nowhere. british people usually take around two million cruises every year but because of covid—19, these vessels are stuck. to see ships bobbing around weymouth harbour is quite unprecedented, so the focus moves on to how we find solutions. the cruise industry is a £10 billion industry for the uk so it's vital it gets going. this line of liners are currently the pride of britain's cruising fleet, but it's currently a fleet, and industry, of course. duncan kennedy, bbc news, weymouth. let's just take you back to the united states and that second day of the democratic party's virtual national convention.

our correspondent laura trevelyan is in wilmington, delaware — wherejoe biden will make his speech and accept the nomination on thursday. several people making the point that this, by necessity, is structured for people to dip into. it is not something you would necessarily sit and watch the whole lot of stop you might leave your streaming service on this and then go back? absolutely. the segments are pretty short and there was just a powerful one that the democrats have chosen to lead off this hour, formally the acting attorney general when president trump became president trump became president and she was fired because she refused to defend the controversial muslim travel ban, if you remember back in january 2017 when president trump said there was this group of countries where people could no longer coming to america and her argument was it was unconstitutional to stop people from coming in on the basis of

religion. shejust made from coming in on the basis of religion. she just made a very powerful speech saying that donald trump treats our country like his family business, accusing him of weaponising the justice department and drawing together various threads of legal shenanigans that have gone on in donald trump's term and trying to make the case that he at as though he is above the law, so this is part of the democrat theme tonight which is leadership matters and with sally yates they are trying to make the point that the president fails to close to the president fails to close to the law. and chuck schumer leader of the democratic minority in the senate, some pretty big tickets coming up. that's right. of course chuck schumer, this is very important that we democrats showcasing him because they hope, in their wildest dreams, if everything goes right they could regain the senate, because without the senate, the health and the presidency is very difficult for anybody to get anything done. thank you very much indeed for that. and you can get in touch

with me and most of the team on twitter, i'm @bbcmikeembley. thank you for watching. hello there. if this was autumn or winter, this weather forecast wouldn't look particularly unusual but, of course, it is summer. the winds over the next few days are going to be exceptionally strong for the time of year, it could cause some problems. low pressure is in charge, the centre of the low up here, this swirl of cloud. you can see these different lumps of cloud just being scooped up by the low and sent in our direction. this one is going to bring some very windy weather through wednesday night and thursday. this lump of cloud bringing rain into the southwest through the first parts of the day. ahead of that, some areas starting off with some mist and fog, but there will be a lot of dry weather, some spells of sunshine. however, this heavy rain will drift its way northwards across england and wales, getting into northern ireland, and perhaps into southern scotland by the end of the afternoon.

the winds will be strengthening all the while, particularly down to the southwest. temperaturewise, 19—23 degrees, quite a humid feel as well. then as we head through wednesday evening, we will see this band of rain continuing to journey northwards. more wet weather pushing in from the southwest, and the winds really will start to strengthen. now, this area of low pressure has been named by the irish weather service, storm ellen. see all of the white lines, the isobars on this chart, squeezing together. this shows that we've got a very deep low, which for the republic of ireland could well bring damaging winds, exceptionally strong winds for this time of year. but as you can see, those strong winds are also likely to affect western parts of the uk. not as windy as it will be for the republic of ireland, but as we head through wednesday night and through thursday, we are likely to see wind gusts of 40—50 mph, a little more than that in exposed spots in the west. the winds not as strong further east. we will see some outbreaks of rain clearing northwards across scotland, then some sunshine and some showers, temperatures between 21—26 degrees in parts of eastern england.

some warm air being sucked up ahead of this area of low pressure, and the low stays with us into friday. still plenty of white lines on this chart, plenty of isobars, so we will see some pretty strong winds continuing. in fact, for some of us, friday is set to be the windiest day of all. showers or longer spells of rain particularly up towards the northwest. largely dry the further south and east you are with some sunshine. top temperatures of 18—24 degrees. so, some unusually windy weather ahead.

this is bbc news, the headlines. that take you back to the second day of the democratic pa rty‘s second day of the democratic party's virtual national convention with bill clinton speaking now. to give our kids better tomorrow. it is a tall order this year with the covid—19 outbreak on the path to killing 200,000 people and destroying millions ofjobs and small businesses. how did donald trump respond? at first, he said the virus was under control and would soon disappear. when it didn't, he was on tv every day bragging on what a greatjob he was doing. while a scientist waited to give us vital information. when he didn't like the expert advice he was given, he ignored it. only when covid exploded in even more states did he encourage people to wear masks. by encourage people to wear masks. by then, many more were dying. when asked about the surge in death, he shrugged and said, it is what it is. what did it have

to be this way?