this is bbc news. the headlines: tributes have been paid to the african—american actor chadwick boseman, who's died four years after being diagnosed with cancer. he continued to work on films during his medical treatment — including black panther, which won several awards. its director described his death as a crushing blow. the italian coastguard has responded to calls to help dozens of people stranded on a refugee rescue boat in the mediterranean. the boat is funded by the street artist banksy. people were taken off by the coastguard hours after the ship's leaders said they had called for help near lampedusa. thousands have protested in the mauritian capital, port louis, against the government's handling of an oil spill from a japanese ship and the subsequent deaths of dozens of dolphins. around 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into fragile marine areas after the ship struck a coral reef last month.

there was a bit of a thrill for a group of children in norway this summer, when they found a message washed up on the beach. not in a bottle, but in a tiny boat. and it turns out that the little boat had been on a big journey. it set sail ten years ago from the remote scottish island of st kilda. 0ur scotland correspondent lorna gordon has the story. a summer holiday surprise from islands far across the sea. messages not in a bottle but in a tiny mail boat, washed ashore and discovered by children playing on a remote norwegian beach. the kids, as always, were messing around down by the water and looking for things and just playing around, and they just stumbled upon this boat. they found it and look what i found and then, by coincidence, totally coincidence, they just dropped it and it opened. what they found inside was

a treasure trove of postcards, intact after a ten—year, thousand—mile journey from the shores of the remote scottish islands of st kilda. the mail boat tradition stretches back to when the islanders who used to live here had to send messages appealing for help from the mainland. life in this rocky outcrop in the atlantic was extremely harsh and the islands last—remaining residents voted to leave and were evacuated in 1930. just imagining that life there, and you can see the abandoned community and it is all still there to see — the street, the graveyard, the church, the school — just all left when people walked out 90 years ago. alexander gillies—fergusson, here wearing the cap, as a teenager was one of the first to launch a mail boat from st kilda, his story passing down the generations. when he was 1a, in about 1885,

he sent one of these st kilda mail boats with a message in it saying that the winter storms had damaged their stores and that the people on the island were getting very hungry if not getting near starvation. it worked. the message reached help and st kilda was resupplied. their tiny mail boats a unique reminder of a way of life left long ago. lorna gordon, bbc news. now on bbc news, covid—19 is posing an unprecedented us election year challenge to the candidates running for president, transforming it into a virtual one. chanting: four more years! the 2020 race for the white house is like no other. history has delivered us to one the most difficult moments we have ever faced. the coronavirus has upended american life. before the plague came in from china, like we had never seen. and transformed the political conventions, launching a presidential campaign

which is anything but normal. as you've seen by now, this isn't a normal convention. president trump is fighting for re—election against his challengerjoe biden as the nation reels from the coronavirus outbreak which has left millions unemployed and killed more than 180,000. his only pre—existing condition was trusting donald trump. as a national reckoning over racial injustice. i urge people to come together in a civil manner. previous conventions brought great drama and launched careers. the rhetoric this time depicted a country in crisis. we can and will overcome this season of darkness in america. our country can go in a horrible, horrible direction. or in an even greater direction. america's voters face a stark choice in a highly charged election.

the first virtual political convention is a very strange affair — no crowds, no applause, very few media tents, no spin doctors telling you how the speech is playing here in wilmington. but in many ways, the virtual gathering is a party manager's dream. everyone has to keep to time. and it's very easy to control dissent, and to make the message disciplined. so democrats are arguing over and over again, america is facing three crises: the coronavirus, the economic fallout, and the reckoning over racial injustice. and they're arguing president trump has shown himself to be unfit to lead. i caught up with delaware senator chris coons, long—time friend and ally ofjoe biden‘s, as he prepared to make his address to the convention. this is an unprecedented moment in so many ways. can you generate the same excitement with a virtual convention? well, it's not quite the same thing. i am a delegate

to this convention. i have been a delegate to conventions going back 30 years. and i'm really missing the balloon drop and the parties and the cheering crowd. but if it saves a few american lives, i am happy that we are doing it virtually. thatjoe biden personally decided we're not going to have a convention when it's the pinnacle of his political career shows that he's committed to listening to public health experts and to protecting the health of the american people. democrats tried to make a virtue of their remote convention, using the delegate rollcall to show off the diversity of the party and of america. joe biden. he will bring this nation together. good evening. i'm eva longoria baston... famous actors were the hosts, and though the keynote speaker on opening night was pre—recorded, the appeal from the former first lady who professes to hate politics

lost none of its impact. so let me be as honest and clear as i possibly can. donald trump is the wrong president for our country. he has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job but he is clearly in over his head. he cannot meet this moment. he simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. it is what it is. if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. if we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote forjoe biden like our lives depend on it. it was a message echoed by bernie sanders, blamed by some democrats for failing to rally his supporters behind hillary clinton in 2016. there was no mistaking his urgency this time. my friends, i say to you, to everyone who supported other candidates in the primary,

and to those who may have voted for donald trump in the last election: the future of our democracy is at stake. the future of our economy is at stake. the future of our planet is at stake. we most come together to defeat donald trump and electjoe biden and kamala harris as our next president and vice president. my friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine. covid—19 hit us much harder than it had to. one of the select few who have served in the oval office, former president bill clinton, underlined the democrats‘ message that president trump does not deserve a second term. donald trump says we're leading the world. well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple. you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else.

if you want a president who defines the job as hours a day watching tv and zapping people on social media, he's your man. in thisjob interview, the difference is stark. you know what donald trump will do with four more years, blame, bully and belittle. and you know whatjoe biden will do, build back better. the candidate's wife, jill biden, spoke from the classroom she once taught in, telling americans the profound loss her husband endured losing his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash and then his adult son to cancer has prepared him to lead in this moment. the burdens we carry are heavy, and we need someone with strong shoulders. i know that if we entrust this nation tojoe, he will do for your family what he did for ours. bring us together and make us whole. carry us forward in our time of need.

keep the promise of america for all of us. great job! i love you. republicans for biden appealed to gop voters disillusioned with president trump. withjoe biden in the white house, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to adversaries. as senatorjohn mccain's widow celebrated her husband's enduring friendship with mr biden, despite their political differences. they would just sit and joke. it was like a comedy show, sometimes, to watch the two of them. the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 180,000 americans and infected more than 5.8 million was a constant theme. kristin urquiza, whose father, a trump supporter, died after contracting covid—19, gave a raw, powerful speech. he had faith in donald trump. he voted for him,

listened to him, believed him and his mouthpieces when they said coronavirus was under control and going to disappear. so in late may, after the stay—at—home order was lifted in arizona, my dad went to a karaoke bar with his friends. a few weeks later he was put on a ventilator, and after five agonising days, he died alone in the icu with a nurse holding his hand. my dad was a healthy 65—year—old. his only pre—existing condition was trusting donald trump. and for that he paid for it with his life. the democratic party is still traumatised by hillary clinton's surprise loss to donald trump in 2016, as she won nearly 3 million more votes than him, she lost the three key states of michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin by fewer than 80,000 votes. so it's no surprise this week all of the keynote speakers

have been urging the party faithful to vote as though their lives depend on it. and hillary clinton has turned her disappointment into a call for action. don't forget, joe and kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose. take it from me. so we need numbers overwhelming, so trump can't sneak or steal his way to victory. speaking from the museum of the american revolution in philadelphia, birthplace of us democracy, former president barack 0bama cast aside his natural caution and protocol to directly attack the sitting president. donald trump hasn't grown into the job, because he can't. and the consequences of that failure are severe. 170,000 americans dead. millions ofjobs gone. while those at the top take in more than ever. 0ur worst impulses unleashed,

our proud reputation around the world badly diminished. this administration has shown it will tear our democracy down, if that's what it takes for them to win. so we have to get busy, building it up by pouring all our efforts into these 76 days. kamala harris is my auntie. my stepmom. my big sister! barack 0bama's presidency was historic. now kamala harris is the first woman of colour to be a vice presidential candidate. her hope was that an increasingly diverse american electorate could see their story in her acceptance speech. i keep thinking about that 25—year—old indian woman, all of five feet tall, who gave birth to me at kaiser hospital in oakland, california. on that day, she probably could have never imagined that i would be standing before you now and speaking these words.

i accept your nomination for vice president of the united states of america. we have a chance to change the course of history. we are all in this fight — you, me, and joe. together. what an awesome responsibility. the 77—year—old joe biden who tried to run for president twice before is hoping that this is his moment, as so many americans grieve so many different losses, this was his message. i have some idea how it feels to lose someone you love. i know that deep black hole that opens up in the middle of your chest and you feel like you are being sucked into it. i know how mean and cruel and unfairlife can be sometimes. the current president

has cloaked american darkness for much too long. too much anger, too much fear, too much division. here and now, i give you my word. if you entrust me with the presidency, i will draw on the best of us, not the worst. i will be an ally of the light, not the darkness. so it's with great honour and humility i accept this nomination for president of the united states of america. this joe biden is presenting himself as a unifying figure, a protector and comforter who will draw on his 50 years in public life to solve the nation's many woes. he has the backing of his party's different wings for now, as they are desperate to oust donald trump. by portraying the coming election is nothing less than a battle for the soul of america, joe biden is trying to win over the voters

who are weary of the frenetic trump presidency. branding is all—important to donald trump. the real estate mogul who became a reality tv star and used that as a springboard to the presidency. the trump hotel here in washington is a regular haunt for those wishing to get in the president's good books and stay there. and just as his turbulent first term was marked by the near—daily tv appearances, so the republican national convention is a chance for the president to dominate the airwaves in his quest for a second term. law and order was a rallying cry at the republican convention. the death of george floyd in police custody in may led to a wave of mostly peaceful protests across america, but some of the clashes turned violent. in wisconsin this week, jacob blake was shot by police, and amid the demonstrations and counter—protests, two people were killed.

ron christie, who worked in the white house of president george w bush, says president trump will try to appeal to voters who are worried by the unrest. certainly, the president has really looked at law and order. we look back to 1968, when richard nixon won with a silent majority of appealing to people for law and order. i think the president is looking at a trifecta of things. number one, he is looking to rebound with the economy. number two, he is looking to contain the pandemic. and then, of course, number three, as i said, the law and order, trying to bring more social cohesion to a lot of the riots and demonstrations we have seen here in the united states. 0ur nominee, donaldj trump! republicans also talked up how their convention would simultaneously feature a hopeful uplifting message, but on the opening morning, president trump accused democrats of encouraging voter fraud because they want people to be able to vote by mail in the election. what they're doing is using covid to steal an election.

right! right, exactly! they are using covid to defraud the american people, all of our people, of a fair and free election. from the very beginning, democrats, the media, and the world health 0rganization got coronavirus wrong. the first night featured a congratulatory video praising the president's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, though polling suggests americans disapprove of the job he's done. president donald trump. tim scott, the top black republican lawmaker, was the keynote speaker, as republicans try to show white voters put off by mr trump's polarising rhetoric on race the president has african—american support. there are millions of families just like mine all across this nation, full of potential, seeking to live the american dream. and i'm here tonight to tell you that supporting the republican ticket gives you the best chance of making

that dream a reality. yet much of the convention was devoted to ominous warnings about what a biden administration would do to america. take this from mark and patricia mccluskey, who were filmed brandishing guns to defend their home as racial justice protesters marched by. no matter where you live, your family will not be safe in the radical democrats' america. and the culture wars were front and centre as kimberly guilfoyle, girlfriend of the president's oldest son, argued that a victory by biden would actually threaten americans' way of life. they want to destroy this country and everything that we have fought for and hold dear. they want to steal your liberty, your freedom, they want to control what you see and think and believe that so they can control how you live. republican strategists hope that will motivate the president's base of white supporters to turn out and even pull in some people who didn't vote for him last time.

trump for four more years! it's how donald trumer framed the choice facing voters. people of faith are under attack. you are not allowed to go to church, but mass chaos in the streets gets a pass. it's almost like this election is shaping up to be church, work, and school vs rioting, looting and vandalism. as the week progressed, republicans tried to soften trump's ha rd—edged image, having family members and ordinary americans pay tribute to him. my name is jason joyce and i'm an eighth generation lobster fishermen from maine. as long as trump is president, fishing families like mine will have a voice. controversially, the white house itself was the backdrop for night two. a blatant use of government property for a political campaign. there was even a live naturalisation

ceremony as the president who wants to build a war —— wall with mexico welcomed new americans, trying to draw a distinction between illegal immigrants and legal ones. congratulations, you are now citizens of the united states. first lady melania trump made one of her rare forays into the spotlight. the trump campaign believes she can reach out to the female voters disenchanted with the president. in contrast to her husband, she expressed sympathy for those who have lost loved ones to coronavirus. i know many people are anxious and some feel helpless. i want you to know you are not alone. my husband's administration will not stop fighting until there is an effective treatment or vaccine available to everyone. donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic. melania trump made this appeal amid the social unrest.

i urge people to come together in a civil manner so that we can work and live up to our standard american ideals. i also ask people to stop the violence and looting being done in the name ofjustice, and never make assumptions based on the colour of a person's skin. republicans are trying to reframe the election around civic unrest, not the cause of it, as the tensions in wisconsin in the wake of the latest shooting of a black man, jacob blake, worsened, the vice president amplified the message. the violence must stop. whether in minneapolis, portland, or kenosha. too many heroes have died defending our freedom to see americans strike each other down. we will have law and order on the streets of this country.

the south lawn of the white house was the backdrop for the finale of the republican convention. the crowds flouting the administration's own coronavirus guidelines as the president's daughter tried to soften her father's rough edges. whether you agree with him or not, you always know where he stands. i recognise that my dad's communication style is not to everyone's taste, and i know that his tweets can feel a bit unfiltered, but the results? the results speak for themselves. president trump use the building known as the people's house as a prop for his campaign with a dig at his opponents. the fact is, i'm here. what's the name of that building? applause but i'll say it differently. the fact is, we are here,

and they are not. behind in the national opinion polls at this stage in the race, the president defended his handling of the pandemic. in recent months, our nation and the entire planet has been struck by a new and powerful invisible enemy. like those brave americans before us, we are meeting this challenge. we are delivering life—saving therapies and will produce a vaccine before the end of the year or maybe even sooner. we will defeat the virus and the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever before. applause the crowded south lawn was the closest mr trump has got to one of his trademark rallies in months. he used the platform to hammer home the republican attack. make no mistake, if you give

power tojoe biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across america. they will pass federal legislation to reduce law—enforcement nationwide. they will make every city look like democrat—run portland, 0regon. no—one will be safe in biden‘s america. applause donald trump's once hostile takeover of the republican party is complete. it's been remade in his image, and now he is asking americans rehire him. the first votes will be cast by mail in september. the people are about to have their say. the convention season is over, the general election is less than 70 days. what sort of a fight do you predict? a very, very protracted one and it is almost going to be like knife fighting in the trenches. the biden people are going to vote

for biden, that is the coalitions they have amassed, people of colour, ethnicity, sexual orientation, they already know they are voting for biden. the republicans, the hard—core trump base, they know they are voting for trump so the question is, who can appeal to the middle? the independents? there are more registered independents here in the united states than say they are republicans or democrats, how do you get to them and get them in yourcamp? america is more deeply divided and partisan than ever. the battle now is for those swing voters, who is to decide if donald trump has earned a second term or ofjoe biden‘s unifying message is more appealing? after these unconventional conventions, the stage is set for a most consequential election. hello.

in the sunshine on saturday, it looked like summer, but with a brisk northerly wind it did not always feel that way. temperatures in places struggling to get above the low teens in celsius and for others, just rain and cloud through the midlands, east anglia, and south—east england, tied in with low pressure continuing to pull away is was through the early hours of sunday. high pressure to the west of the uk and in between the squares of the isobars, gusty winds down the eastern coast. a cool is not chilly start to sunday, particularly across rural scotland where we could see temperatures getting close to freezing, the touch of frost, perhaps. through the gusty morning, cloud will build and eventually spread out. some bright spells throughout the afternoon. one or two showers scotland and northern ireland, mostly dry. light winds compared to saturday. still are most visible northerly wind and eastern

coasts, taking the edge off temperatures which at best will be 1a or 15 celsius. we could get up to 18 or 19 in central england in the best of the sunshine. through the night going into monday with a mixture of variable cloud includes bells but once again fairly cool if not chilly with temperatures widely in single figures and low single figures across rural parts of northern england, scotland, and northern ireland. monday away from scotland is a bank holiday. high pressure the dominant feature. this front still out of the west bringing cloud and may be some rain later in the day to northern ireland and western scotland. but we cast our minds back to the late august bank holiday last year where it was the warmest on record, 33 celsius in london and cambridgeshire. something different this year. but quiet, dry, some spells of showers on monday morning. cloud building and certainly increasing in northern ireland and western scotland. patchy rain here by the end of the day. mostly drier, temperatures at best 16—18 celsius. this year it could be the coolest late august bank

holiday on record. on tuesday and wednesday, eyes to the atlantic. particularly on wednesday, wet and windy weather coming. but probably not to the south of england. so some rain in the forecast in the week ahead and still not feeling particularly warm. goodbye. and of

this is bbc news — i'm aaron safir. our top stories: tributes to the actor chadwick boseman, the star of gound—breaking blockbuster, black panther, who's died at the age of a3. more protests in cities across europe from demonstrators angry over measures designed to combat covid—19. the italian coastguard takes 49 migrants from a rescue ship funded by the artist banksy. but hundreds remain at sea on another rescue vessel. and president trump visits areas devastated by hurricane laura as hundreds of thousands of people remain without power and water.