convicted of the murder of seven babies and attempting to murder six others at the countess of chester hospital, she'll be sentenced today at manchester crown court. but she's indicated that she wont attend the hearing. her refusal to be in court has led to renewed calls for a law forcing convicted criminals to attend their sentencing in person. let's head straight to manchester. anna foster is there for us now. anna, personal statements will be made to the judge during sentencing, but lucy letby won't be there to hear them? that is correct. lucy letby�*s legal team at the suggestion that while she is in court here, she would not return to the dock in the courtroom for what will be a lengthy

sentencing process today. she was convicted over a period of several hearings of seven counts of murder, attempting to murder another six babies in her care. that is why this will be a long process today, because as you say, one of the key features of sentencing in the uk now is victim impact statements. this is where the families of those babies have been able to put in words what an ordeal this has been for them, and that will be reflected in the judge's sentencing. it is something he considers along with things like sentencing guidelines and the framework by which he can choose the sentence he gives to lucy letby. so the process is beginning now in court. the court is full. the families of the babies involved have filled the public gallery and our north of england correspondent judith moritz, who has followed this case throughout, says eight of the 11 jurors who were involved in hearing what is believed to be the longest murder case in english legal history, they are back in the

courtroom to hear those verdicts when they are past. we believe a little later this afternoon, because the victim impact statements will take time, when the judge makes the victim impact statements will take time, when thejudge makes his remarks, he will sum up this case. and when he passes that sentence, the remarks he would have made to lucy letby in person about her offending, they will be televised because in courts now, there are rare occasions where cameras are now capturing sentencing in certain cases. this is something that is new. it means it is something you will be able to watch on tv, which ordinarily would not be the case. crucially, lucy letby herself will not be sitting in the dock to hear that. not be sitting in the clock to hear that. �* ., .,, not be sitting in the clock to hear that. �* ., ., , that. anna foster, outside manchester _ that. anna foster, outside manchester crown - that. anna foster, outside manchester crown court. i let's bring in our home editor — mark easton. we are seeing fresh calls for a rule forcing those convicted to attend

court. how soon are we to that being likely to happen. the court. how soon are we to that being likely to happen-— court. how soon are we to that being likely to happen. the government has said they are — likely to happen. the government has said they are keen _ likely to happen. the government has said they are keen to _ likely to happen. the government has said they are keen to extend - likely to happen. the government has said they are keen to extend the - said they are keen to extend the existing powers a judge would have to compel someone to come to the dock. i understand they can compel someone to come and if they don't come, they will be able to increase the punishment. that already exists. the question is whether more can be done. we have seen a number of cases in the last few years in which the offender has refused to come into the dock. over the last six months, the dock. over the last six months, the political pressure has increased. the formerjustice secretary dominic raab said he would do something. we have seen similar statements since. obviously, it means a huge amount of those victims and theirfamilies who means a huge amount of those victims and their families who want to ensure that the offender experiences their pain and understands the implications of what they have done. but there are practical difficulties, because if a prisoner

simply refuses to leave the holding cell underneath the court, it is then down to prison officers to literally manhandle them and somehow bring them into the dock. that presents questions about the risk that prison officers themselves might be liable if they go beyond what is regarded as reasonable force. the second thing that is problematic with it is that it's possible that they offender becomes the focus of what should be the time when we are thinking about the victims. we saw this in the lee rigby trial. you may recall that there was a scuffle in the dock at there was a scuffle in the dock at the time that the two culprits were being sentenced. and the judge the time that the two culprits were being sentenced. and thejudge in that case required them to be removed from the court because all the focus was suddenly on the offenders rather than thinking about the victims. so it's not easy. it is

difficult to see how they can pursue something that goes further than what we already have, not least because in the case of a whole life term, which is certainly what lucy letby is going to receive today, you can't increase it beyond that. so there is nothing you can do in terms of custody. could you do something in terms of solitary confinement or other things that would make her life in prison more difficult? but certainly, the political will is there. other political parties have said they agree that more needs to be done, because this is something that goes to the heart of the principal that victims are able to have their stories heard notjust by the court, but by the offender himself or herself.— the court, but by the offender himself or herself. while you have been talking. _ himself or herself. while you have been talking, we _ himself or herself. while you have been talking, we have _ himself or herself. while you have been talking, we have heard - himself or herself. while you have been talking, we have heard that. been talking, we have heard that lucy letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of sentencing at manchester crown court. many will agree that this case has raised many

questions. you have police reviewing the care of 4000 babies where the nurse worked, and the government has ordered an inquiry looking at how clinicians' concerns were handled. so there is much more to come from this. i so there is much more to come from this. ~' ,., so there is much more to come from this. ~ ,., , , ., so there is much more to come from this. ~ , , ., ., this. i think so. this is one of those crimes _ this. i think so. this is one of those crimes that _ this. i think so. this is one of those crimes that has - this. i think so. this is one of l those crimes that has exploded this. i think so. this is one of - those crimes that has exploded into the national consciousness. i am sure all of us have had conversations about what is in some ways unfathomable crime, trying to understand why that could have happened but also what errors were made and what could have been done to prevent at least some of those deaths. as you say, there will be an inquiry. the question is what state the inquiry will have. a number of people have said it should be a public inquiry with the power to force people to give evidence. that takes a lot longer and tends to be more expensive. one thing that will

be looked at is whether or not... we have had endless inquiries. you could go back to the late 60s and the ely inquiry which said we need to listen to whistle—blowers and learn lessons and so on. all that time, we have had inquiries like this. the question is whether we actually do learn those lessons, whether it is one words and rhetoric, but actually, we don't learn lessons properly. there is some suggestion that we might look to see if there is a statutory footing on which we can put how we respond to these inquiries. should there be a system whereby the promises that are made, the recommendations that are made, that we check to see if genuine progress has been made? there is always a fear that we spend a lot of time and money holding these inquiries, but in the end, nothing changes. mark easton, in the end, nothing changes. mark easton. our _ in the end, nothing changes. mark easton, our home _ in the end, nothing changes. mark easton, our home editor, - in the end, nothing changes. mark easton, our home editor, thank you for your analysis. just to reiterate

that breaking news. according to pa, lucy letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of the sentencing hearing today at manchester crown court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more. to the united states now, where much of southern california has been hit by torrential rain. it's the state's first tropical storm in more than 80 years. nine million people are under flash flood warnings. this is water streaming down streets in palm springs, a city to the east of los angeles that usually looks much drier than this. the storm brought more rain than ever before in a single hour. this is las vegas. the rain there has triggered severe flooding. hundreds of flights have been cancelled at airports in the city. look at these pictures from death valley. it's known for its extreme temperatures, but now the desert environment has been

inundated with water. in victorville, juan and his mother, monica, nervously watched floodwaters inch closer to their home before making all that started within an hour or two, and kept piling up and the water kept coming further back up the street, and just more and more. lives can't be replaced. material objects can. it's better to just replace a house and fix whatever gets damaged than to get somebody drowning over something that's avoidable. california's governor gavin newsom gave this update on the many problems the state is now grappling with a short while ago. there is an old, ancient curse that loosely is translated as, may you live in interesting times. it is certainly interesting times. tornadoes, lightning strikes, worries about wildfires because of

the winds, notjust the tornadoes. i had a walk around emergency services, checked my phone to learn about an earthquake that originally came at 6.0 was that it is to be closer to 5.1. there were over 13 aftershocks just in the drive over the region. these are certainly interesting times. kathleen treseder is a professor at the university of california irvine, where she leads a research programme studying the effects of climate change. she also serves as a member of the irvine city council. she had this to say a little earlier. well, the storm is pretty intense. it's about as intense as it has been. so here in irvine, we're a bit west of the centre of the storm, so we're not getting hit as hard. but the wind is shaking my house. we have a lot of rain coming down. you definitely know that we're in the middle of a storm. we haven't seen anything

of this scope before. but on the other hand, we do have great infrastructure in this area in orange county. we have a lot of drainage channels and flood prevention measures. so we felt pretty good going into it. i am a bit worried. there's this channel behind us that's the main drainage channel for our city. i took this picture several hours ago, and it was the highest i've ever seen it. we've had a lot of rain since then, so i'm watching this channel carefully. this is a once in 100 years storm and we're getting a lot of hundred—year events here. we do know that climate change increases and we could see an intensity of el ninos, and that in turn heats up the pacific ocean to a threshold where it can then birth a hurricane. and this hasn't happened before in recent memory. so this is the first time the ocean has been warm enough to generate this hurricane, i think ultimately, in large part

due to climate change. whenever we have an extreme event like this now, i tell myself this is not going to be a one—off. likely we're going to have more, and it may even be worse. so i wouldn't be surprised if we have another tropical storm coming up here, so this is a good incentive to really prepare. we also have really severe wildfires here and those are getting worse and worse. that is something we really have to prepare for here as well. more than half the ballots have been counted in ecuador�*s presidential election — and left—wing candidate luisa gonzalez has won the first round. she received just over 33% of the votes and goes through in poll position. and goes through in pole position. she will face businessman daniel noboa azin in the second round in october. security been a major focus of the election campaign after the murder of anti—corruption candidate

fernando villavicencio, who was gunned down while leaving a campaign event this month. our south america correspondent katy watson now reports from ecuador�*s capital, quito. when you need dozens of soldiers and a bullet—proof curtain to be able to vote, you realise democracy is in danger. "i voted with courage", says this candidate, running in place of fernando villavicencio, the politician shot dead earlier this month. ecuadorians are still reeling from the attack on mr villavicencio, a journalist turned politician who was outspoken on corruption and organised crime, murdered as he left a campaign event. ecuador was once a peaceful country. but in the past few years, colombian and mexican drug cartels vying for lucrative routes have taken advantage of the struggling state and corrupt

politics and they've gained the upper hand. dressed in white and calling for peace, fernando villavicencio's daughter cast her vote, remembering a dad who was also her best friend. translation: he was beautiful, powerful, kind, a giant, one of my best friends. we are living in a powerful historic moment here in ecuador. so many people who didn't care about politics are upset, and they are thinking, "if i don't do something for my country, for myself, then nothing will change and the mafia will come and dominate us". for ecuadorians going to vote, security was high on the risk of priorities. i think right now, there's a lot of violence in the country. things are very complicated and after the death of villavicencio, i think we need to unite. leftist candidate luisa gonzales won the most votes, pledging social welfare programmes including

education and health. she'll face businessman daniel noboa, a surprise to many that he'll go through to a run—off vote in october. ecuadorians might be split politically, but they all agree on one thing — the need for peace and security. that's going to be at the heart of campaigning ahead of the second round. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories the making news. a bbc investigation has revealed that a black hole in local authority budgets continues to grow. information provided by 190 authorities across the uk revealed council leaders were predicting a shortfall of around £5 billion by april 2026, even after making £2.5 billion of cuts. the government said funding

for councils beyond the next financial year has not yet been decided. the nhs has teamed up with morrisons supermarket to put extra labels in underwear reminding people to see their gp if they spot potential symptoms of breast or testicular cancer. people should look out for lumps and bumps or "anything unusual". the nutmeg—branded boxer shorts and crop—top bras will be in 240 stores in england in the coming months. a cargo ship fitted with giant rigid sails the size of aircraft wings has embarked on its maiden voyage from china to brazil. you're live with bbc news. spain is celebrating the world cup victory of its women's football team after they beat england in the final on sunday. it's the first time spain has won the tournament. the spanish team were in high spirits as they returned to their hotel. their win, which was well deserved on the night, came despite tensions off the pitch.

several top spanish footballers actually refused to play in the tournament because of a dispute with the coach. these are the latest pictures from sydney of the departing england team, disappointed after that narrow 1—0 defeat. the final was watched by millions of people around the world, with the tournament hailed as a significant step forward for the women's game. let's go to madrid. sergi forcada is there for us. it was such a tense game. i was watching. spain of course did win, but despite tensions and turmoil off the pitch. talk us through what was happening? the pitch. talk us through what was ha enin: ? . . the pitch. talk us through what was haueninu? . ., , the pitch. talk us through what was ha enin: ? . ., , ., happening? yeah, there had been a lot of talk about _ happening? yeah, there had been a lot of talk about the _ happening? yeah, there had been a lot of talk about the relationship - lot of talk about the relationship between the coach, the manager of this spanish national team and some

of the players. it all becomes because of a few months ago, some players decided they wanted change in the national team and to get rid of the manager. they were not happy with how things were going because they said they had a lot of potential, but in international competitions, they were achieving nothing. the spanish football federation decided to back the manager, so he stayed there. then the squad was renewed, with lots of new faces. to be fair, this seems to have worked out. many people in spain are still questioning this manager. he was even booed at some of the fan zones where he would be on screen. but the reality is that these are the headlines in the newspapers in madrid. champions of the world. they are world cup winners, and this is something that never happened before. yesterday, there were plenty of celebrations across the country. this was the fan zonein across the country. this was the fan zone in madrid, with thousands of

people celebrating that they have achieved that goal. those celebrations, despite being intense, were also short. they only lasted for a couple of hours. that might be because it was too hot to be outside. , ., ~ ., ., outside. very hot. we also heard that following _ outside. very hot. we also heard that following the _ outside. very hot. we also heard that following the game, - outside. very hot. we also heard that following the game, one - outside. very hot. we also heard i that following the game, one player had some very sad news when she came off the pitch?— off the pitch? yeah, this was a story everybody _ off the pitch? yeah, this was a story everybody is _ off the pitch? yeah, this was a story everybody is touched - off the pitch? yeah, this was a story everybody is touched by | off the pitch? yeah, this was a l story everybody is touched by in spain about the captain of the squad. as soon as she finished that much, she heard she had lost her father a few days earlier. her father a few days earlier. her father died on friday after a long illness and her father decided to keep that information away from her so she could focus on this final, a match that turned her into a world cup winner. and not only that, because for olga carmona, she was

also chosen as the best player of the final. , , , ~ the final. very bittersweet. but some really _ the final. very bittersweet. but some really touching _ the final. very bittersweet. but some really touching stories i the final. very bittersweet. but some really touching stories to | some really touching stories to follow on from that match. thank you, sergi forcada, reporting from madrid. russia 5 first lunar mission in nearly 50 years, has ended in failure, after its spacecraft, crashed into the moon. the unmanned luna 25 module was supposed to land at the south pole of the moon, but experienced problems as it moved into pre—landing orbit. will vernon reports. russia's first mission to the moon for almost 50 years. luna 25 blasted off on 11th august. hopes were high that russia would be the first country to land on the south pole of the moon. the russian space agency broke the bad news. luna 25 had been lost.

in a statement, roscosmos said the craft ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon. this is a humiliating blow for moscow. russia had hoped that this mission would re—establish it as one of the world leaders in space travel. but russia's space industry has been in decline for years, partly because of western sanctions. but also because for the kremlin, the priority is the military and not space programmes. the war in ukraine has led to isolation. after russia's full—scale invasion last year, international agreements on space were torn up. you cannot buy certain electronics unless you have worldwide cooperation, and if the developers of the spacecraft work in isolation,

even if they have 20 years like they had with luna 25, it's still not enough. and india is in the race now too. chandrayaan—3 is due to touch down on the moon on wednesday. if india succeeds, that will be another blow to russia's reputation in space. and just a reminder of our top story — the nurse, lucy letby, who killed seven babies, making her the uk's most prolific child serial killer in modern times. the 33—year—old was also convicted of trying to kill six other infants at the countess of chester hospital. so far, we know from our correspondents at court that lucy letby did not appear in the dock at the beginning of her sentencing hearing at manchester crown court for the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others.

we will try and bring you our correspondent outside court in the next few minutes. ijust correspondent outside court in the next few minutes. i just want to bring you a statement from the prime minister rishi sunak. he hasjust released a statement saying "it is cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims". the serial child murderer lucy letby refused to appear in court, prime minister rishi sunak saying it is cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims. let's go straight to manchester crown court. anna foster is there for us now. the proceedings — anna foster is there for us now. tue: proceedings here anna foster is there for us now. tte: proceedings here started 20 minutes ago. lucy letby was brought to manchester crown court from prison, but she has chosen not to appear in the dock to hear both her sentencing

and crucially, the victim impact statements that are being read out. things began just after ten o'clock this morning. the courtroom is full. many of the babies' families are present, even though in some cases, rather than reading their own victim impact statements, they are being read out by legal counsel instead. many of them are there for the sentencing hearing. also eight of the 11 jurors who spent more than 110 hours considering those 22 charges that lucy letby was accused of, that she was found guilty of murdering seven babies and trying to murdering seven babies and trying to murder six more in her care. eight of thosejurors are murder six more in her care. eight of those jurors are also in court. let me bring you some of the detail of what is being said by legal counsel. nickjohnson kc has said these crimes qualify a sadistic and

premeditated, which should qualify for a whole life order. and that is what the prosecution are pushing for today. what the prosecution are pushing for toda . �* ., .,, what the prosecution are pushing for toda .�* ., ., , today. anna foster outside manchester _ today. anna foster outside manchester crown - today. anna foster outside manchester crown court. l today. anna foster outside - manchester crown court. some difficult statements that are going to be heard today. stay with us on bbc news. this is bbc news. let's return to the sentencing of nurse lucy letby, the sentencing of nurse lucy letby, the most prolific killer of children in modern british history. a short while ago, the prime minister rishi sunak said "it was cowardly that people who commit such horrendous crimes do not face their victims". he was speaking after lucy letby refused to appear in the dock. i want to bring our correspondent anna foster back in. we were just hearing a few more details about what the families have been saying, a difficult impact statements we are going to be hearing throughout the day. some of them are being

represented by their legal representation. talk us through what are going to be some tough details. the first of those is already being delivered in court. i do want to warn you that these are some very harrowing details, because these are the victim impact statements from the victim impact statements from the parents of those babies that lucy letby murdered or attempted to murder. they are talking about the most difficult moments in their lives and they make very difficult listening and difficult reading. the parents of baby �*s a and b, they were twin babies attacked injune 2015. they said in their statement, you thought it was your right to play god with our children's lives. you thought you could enter our lives and turn it upside down, but you will never win. we hope you live a very long life and spend every day suffering for what you have done. that was the parents of babies a and

b. each of the statements are lengthy victim impact statements. the mother of baby c is giving her statement in court. the parents can all choose to stand up and read those difficult word is that they have written themselves. they can choose to have legal counsel read them for them or they can choose to do it via video link as opposed to being in the courtroom physically. lucy letby is not there, even though she is here at manchester crown court today. she has opted to remain in the holding cells and not to go into the courtroom and sit in the dock again to hear these victim impact statements. the mother of c says, i will always remember the overwhelming wave of emotion when i first held my baby. it was like nothing i had ever experienced. my tiny, feisty boy, my first—born, my son. the trauma of that night will live with us forever. knowing his murderer was watching us was like something out of a horror story. there are many what—ifs that keep me awake. what if i had not gone to bed

that night? maybe he would still be here. it goes on to say, in the dark days after his death, i would open his memory box. i used to wear his hand and footprints around my neck. on july the hand and footprints around my neck. onjuly the 3rd, when lucy letby was arrested, ifelt onjuly the 3rd, when lucy letby was arrested, i felt so conflicted. onjuly the 3rd, when lucy letby was arrested, ifelt so conflicted. she took those hand and footprints. the mother of baby c was crying in the dock as she continued. lucy letby, there is no sentence that will ever compare to the excruciating agony that we have suffered as a consequence of your actions. and then baby d, the mother of that baby is speaking in court. i miss my baby so much, it has. i was desperate to feel her, smell her and cuddle her. i was desperate to keep her safe. the mother of baby d has also said she had been pushing for answers, but was initially told this was not a police matter. she said, i have lost my confidence as a mother, a

woman, a friend and wife. my marriage is also scarred. it has been hard to keep strong together at times since my baby passed away. i live behind my own shadow. i had a car accident and i crashed into a wall was that these are victim impact statements that continue to be read out. that is at lucy letby�*s sentencing here at manchester crown court. �* ., .,, sentencing here at manchester crown court. �* ., the sentencing of nurse lucy letby, the most prolific killer of children in modern british history. some of the details we are bringing you viewers may find distressing. if you viewers may find distressing. if you or someone you know needs help after listening to or reading some of these, please to head to the bbc action line where there are many

organisations offering help and advice. i do want to try and return back to anna foster, who is outside court for us. we are hearing this extremely distressing information and these impact statements. these will take a very long time to get through. we are starting at 10am uk time and it will carry on for around four hours, we believe. this time and it will carry on for around four hours, we believe.— four hours, we believe. this is because the — four hours, we believe. this is because the family _ four hours, we believe. this is because the family of - four hours, we believe. this is because the family of each - four hours, we believe. this is because the family of each of| four hours, we believe. this is - because the family of each of those babies that was a victim of lucy letby,is babies that was a victim of lucy letby, is it that she managed to kill or attempted to kill, each of them gets an opportunity to make a victim impact statement. one of the things that the law provides for, the whole judicial process, the process of trial and sentencing, at this point the person convicted is supposed to be there. they are

supposed to be there. they are supposed to be hearing about the ordeal that they