democrats get a pep—talk from coach tim walz — as kamala harris�*s running mate makes a pitch to middle america. and confirmation that the first drug to slow the progression of early—stage alzheimer's won't be available on the nhs in england because it's too expensive. hello. i'm geeta guru—murthy. back to our top story. italian search teams have reportedly recovered the body of the british technology tycoon mike lynch, after his luxury yacht sank in an intense storm off the coast of sicily. there are multiple reports that the latest body recovered this morning from the wreckage is that of the british technology tycoon mike lynch. his 18—year—old daughter remains missing.

six people were in the accident and 15 survived. the afp news agency is reporting that the bodies of five missing men have been recovered and brought back to shore. divers are continuing to search the wreckage for the one remaining missing person helped by remote control vehicles that can be on the seabed for several hours, far longer than the 10 minutes than each dive team is allowed at the depth. the yacht lies 50 metres below the surface of the water, apparently largely in tact. rescuers have struggled to get into the cabins, where it's thought those who were missing had been sleeping. his 18—year—old daughter hannah reportedly remains missing. the italian coastguard confirmed to the pa news agency that the sixth and final person yet to be found is a woman. let's speak to diver andy goddard now. thank you forjoining us. can you just talk us through in terms of your own experience how difficult this search must be for those teams

involved? , ., this search must be for those teams involved? , . , ., involved? yes. there are several real issues _ involved? yes. there are several real issues with _ involved? yes. there are several real issues with this. _ involved? yes. there are several real issues with this. and - involved? yes. there are several real issues with this. and just . involved? yes. there are several real issues with this. and just to | real issues with this. and just to say the diving team have done a tremendousjob to get say the diving team have done a tremendous job to get where they have got. one of the main issues is the depth of water. quite simply, at that depth when breathing air like this there is a very limited time in which you can work and they say it is around ten minutes. if you go beyond that time, it means you can't simply come to the surface, you would have to stop on the way up to do decompression stops. if you didn't, then that would lead to the bends, decompression sickness which is very serious and could cost the life of the diver so the diving team have to be very vigilant. the other issue we have is that at that depth of water, 50 metres, there is very little light and the wreck is on its side. sojust imagine you are

swimming into that wreck, just close your eyes now and imagine that the floor is turned through 90 degrees. you can't see anything and everything in that room is now floating around. you can see how hazardous this really is. so they have done an excellentjob but this is the issue is that they have got. how unusual is it to see a boat like this sink in the way that it is, evenin this sink in the way that it is, even in these sort of very difficult conditions?— conditions? you can't really say it is unprecedented _ conditions? you can't really say it is unprecedented but _ conditions? you can't really say it is unprecedented but it _ conditions? you can't really say it is unprecedented but it is - conditions? you can't really say it i is unprecedented but it is extreme. if you think, it was a summer evening, their mode of one of the most beautiful coasts in the world sicily there. it is the last thing they would ever expect to happen and thatis they would ever expect to happen and that is a ship remember, it is big. it is over 160 feet, a50 tonnes. if you're on the vessel the last thing you're on the vessel the last thing you expect is for something like that to happen and of course it

happened so quickly. there was very little time. find happened so quickly. there was very little time. �* ., , ., happened so quickly. there was very little time. �* ., ., ., ., little time. and are you aware of the questions — little time. and are you aware of the questions that _ little time. and are you aware of the questions that will _ little time. and are you aware of the questions that will have - little time. and are you aware of the questions that will have to l little time. and are you aware of| the questions that will have to be asked by investigators as they go forward? , , , ., forward? yes, because the main thing forward? yes, because the main thing for doinu forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that — forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that is _ forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that is to _ forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that is to try _ forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that is to try to _ forward? yes, because the main thing for doing that is to try to prevent - for doing that is to try to prevent it from happening again. you don't want anyone to lose their life in circumstances like this. so there will be a very thorough inquiry to find out what happened and to learn from it and hope something like this really doesn't happen again. this must be dangerous work for the dying differs —— for the divers, as you have explained in part. you expect eventually the ship will be pulled out of the water and salvaged? i would say without a doubt i'm sure it will be. but they will not be using this type of diving equipment. certainly if we would not be and i'm

sure they will be the same. i'm sure they will bring in a big salvage barge, the divers will be using very different equipment. they will be connected to the surface. it is called surface command equipment, the diver will have a helmet on, there will be voice communication with the surface, the gas or breathing supply will go down an umbilical and he will be doing his decompression stops in a chamber, so much safer way to do it. but obviously that takes time to set up and these divers, the men and women who are doing the job, and these divers, the men and women who are doing thejob, i had to get in there quickly. but i would say going forward i'm sure they will recover the vessel and i'm sure that is the type of method they will use. andy goddard, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. for all the developments on this stoerou can follow our live page on the bbc news website and app bringing you all the news

of the search and developments. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky says he's visited border areas in the sumy region, just across the border from russia's kursk region, where ukrainian troops are staging an unprecedented offensive. he says he's been meeting commanders in the region. zelensky said his troops had seized another settlement. ukrainian officials have said the goals of the offensive included creating a buffer zone in russian territory, seeking an end to the war on fair terms. meanwhile, russia's president vladimir putin has been holding a meeting with senior ministerand security chiefs about the incursion and ongoing military campaign inside ukraine. the united nations says ukraine is breaking international law in the way it prosecutes people accused of collaborating with russia. since the full—scale war, there have been roughly 1,800 convictions ranging from leaking military secrets to simply justifying the invasion online. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports from the east of the country. collaboration hurts ukraine.

in the village of hroza last year, two local men tipped off the russians about the funeral of a ukrainian soldier. the invaders then hit it with a missile, killing 59 people. mps voted quickly to make collaboration a crime in 2022 with russia's full—scale invasion, to prevent tragedies like these. this is lyman, a town bludgeoned by occupation, liberation and fighting. when the russians arrived, dmytro, an electrician, volunteered to restore power to the town. translation: the russians said i had to work for them or not at all. - i was afraid they would punish me and my family. but when lyman was liberated six months later, he was arrested. after admitting to helping the russians, dmytro was handed a suspended sentence and banned from working as an electrician.

across town, volodymyr is adjusting to life without his wife, tetyana, who is in prison. she was a neighbourhood volunteer, where she liaised with local officials. under occupation, she continued and was later sentenced to five years by a ukrainian court. if i were weak i would burst into tears, he tells me. but what about his wife? we were granted permission to meet her at this prison 300 kilometres away. tetyana is held in this separate block for convicted collaborators. she claims she was just giving out firewood. prosecutors argued she had illegally taken a job with the russians. translation: what's my crime? fighting for my people? i did not work for the russians, i survived and found myself in prison.

critics, including the united nations, are concerned. the law is problematic because it is vaguely worded. and in terms of compliance with international humanitarian law it does criminalise acts that could be lawfully compelled by the occupying authority. but the message from one of the mps who drew up the collaboration law is blunt. i strongly disagree with such a statement that this legislation is a breach of international law. what about those who act under duress? they might be saying what they need to to just survive? look, the law is pretty much clear, saying that collaboration is a crime if you do it voluntarily. not under, like, direct pressure. for now, this collaboration law is seen as necessary for tough justice if it means ukraine can be free of russia's grasp.

james waterhouse, bbc news, lyman. india's prime minister, narendra modi, says his government is willing to offer any help it can to end the conflict in ukraine but warned nothing could be solved on the battlefield. he was speaking after talks in warsaw with his polish counterpart, donald tusk. the indian leader is due in ukraine on friday at the invitation of president zelensky. translation: friends, - the situation prevailing in ukraine and west asia is a matter of deep concern for us all. india firmly believes that no conflict or problem can be resolved on the battlefield. the loss of innocent lives in any crisis is the biggest challenge for all of humanity and that is why we support dialogue and diplomacy for the quick restoration of peace and stability. for this, india is ready to work with friendly nations to provide all possible support. let's speak to our correspondent

adam easton, who's in warsaw. adam, narendra modi recently had a major trip to moscow, russia, and —— russia and india are a long time historic allies with business links ongoing but india is now in an increasingly powerful global position and now coming into poland and ukraine. it is very interesting on the diplomatic front, isn't it? it is indeed. viewers probably remember that for decades india has pursued a policy of nonalignment in foreign affairs. and as you mentioned, india has refrained from directly criticising russia for its unprovoked invasion and war against ukraine. so many analysts are seeing this visit to poland today and ukraine on friday as a way to

rebalance relations, to show the world that it will maintain its strong relationship with moscow, which includes strong business ties. india buys a lot, gets about a0% of its crude oil from russia and a lot of it armaments come from russia. but at the same time this visit is also signalling to the west that india is prepared to have strong relations with the west and therefore trying to rebalance, maintain this nonalignment policy that it has pursued for decades now. now certainly the polish prime minister donald tusk was talking about the role india might play in any kind of peacekeeping talks might take place. it was interesting that one of the first things he mentioned that both he and narendra modi had said how important it was the

respect for territorial integrity, they agreed on that issue. mr tusk said that as the modi had personally assured him he would get involved in assured him he would get involved in a quick and just enter the war, as he called it. that is certainly something that poland would like to see india play a role in. whether india is prepared itself to play a direct role in any sort of peace talks remains to be seen. adam easton in warsaw, _ talks remains to be seen. adam easton in warsaw, many - talks remains to be seen. adam easton in warsaw, many thanks j easton in warsaw, many thanks indeed. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

the uk regulator which looks at whether medicines are safe — the mhra — has approved, for private use, a drug that's been shown to slow the progression of alzheimer's disease. lecanemab is designed to help clear the build—up of a toxic protein from the brain. it was shown to slow cognitive

decline by about a quarter in patients in the early stages of the disease. it won't though be available on the nhs in england, due to the costs. let's speak to samantha benham—hermetz, executive director at alzheimers research uk. thank you forjoining us. what is your reaction to this news? goad your reaction to this news? good afternoon- _ your reaction to this news? good afternoon. this _ your reaction to this news? good afternoon. this is _ your reaction to this news? good afternoon. this is a _ your reaction to this news? (emf. afternoon. this is a bittersweet moment the people affected by alzheimer's disease. on the one hand, we have the exciting news that first has been approved for use in the uk and that is a first time the regulator has done for a drug of this kind —— lecanemab. but unfortunately, as you said, the body that assesses cost effectiveness of new medicines has looked at the evidence around this drug and found that as with many drugs that are new and innovative, that the benefits are modest and that there are

serious side—effects and significant gusts associated with delivering it on the nhs and so nice have not approved at this time.— approved at this time. what is a cost approximately _ approved at this time. what is a cost approximately to _ approved at this time. what is a cost approximately to someone | approved at this time. what is a - cost approximately to someone over a yearfor cost approximately to someone over a year for example? cost approximately to someone over a yearfor example? 50 cost approximately to someone over a year for example?— year for example? so the cost of the dru: itself year for example? so the cost of the drug itself is — year for example? so the cost of the drug itself is around _ year for example? so the cost of the drug itself is around £20,000 - year for example? so the cost of the drug itself is around £20,000 but i year for example? so the cost of the drug itself is around £20,000 but if| drug itself is around £20,000 but if you consider that dementia is the leading cause of death in the uk and we know that many hundreds of thousands of people have alzheimer's disease, the gusts soon stack up. we also have a situation where dementia services and the care that people receive has really not changed for the last 20 years, since the last round of synthetic treatments were approved. this means there are huge gusts involved with accessing new drugs, for example accessing new diagnostics, infusion suites where the medication can be given and also because of the significant side effects there would be careful monitoring that would need to take place. nhs england's estimates are

up place. nhs england's estimates are up to £1 billion a year. so it is a considerable sum of money and we are desperately disappointed that title back nice have said this isn't cost—effective the nhs. wes streeting has been urged to get the stakeholders around the table including the nhs and the drug manufacturer. it is obviously a great step forward that we now have medication that can address early alzheimer's disease and slow progression for the first time but it is a crying shame that people won't be able to access these drugs on the nhs. find won't be able to access these drugs on the nhs-— on the nhs. and if people feel that the want on the nhs. and if people feel that they want to _ on the nhs. and if people feel that they want to try — on the nhs. and if people feel that they want to try purchase - on the nhs. and if people feel that they want to try purchase it - they want to try purchase it privately, there is a risk—benefit analysis have to do in terms of the risks are potentially serious, small brain bleeds and temporary swelling in some cases, versus how much this drug can help slow the progression of the disease?—

drug can help slow the progression of the disease? yes. so as with many new treatments _ of the disease? yes. so as with many new treatments it _ of the disease? yes. so as with many new treatments it affects _ of the disease? yes. so as with many new treatments it affects are - new treatments it affects are modest. alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurological condition, so your memory and thinking skills get worse over time. this new medicine, lecanemab, affects how quickly progresses. as to how many people would be in position to pay privately, they would have to assess those benefits and risks and usually they will discuss that with their doctor. but for most people this treatment, because of the associated scans and diagnostics that would need to be administered, will not be affordable for many and that is why it is so important that the government takes this seriously. brings people together and understands how we can make sure that the nhs is ready for the treatment of the future. one of the challenges we also have around the nice process is it doesn't value the true cost of dementia. it cost £a2 billion a year but the majority of

those costs are not borne by the nhs, they are borne by individuals and theirfamilies. the nice process doesn't incorporate these costs into its assessment so i think that is one area that would need to be looked at in the future as well and alzheimer's research uk will be continuing to look at these issues. thank you very much for your time. there have been large falls in the number of work and student visas issued by the home office, according to new figures. over 280,000 people were granted work visas in the year tojune, an 11% fall on the previous year. the number of visas issued to health and care workers has dropped by more than a quarter. and there was a 13% drop in the number of student visas. today's statistics also suggest a fall in the number of people applying for asylum in the uk. just over 97,000 sought refugee status, 8% fewer than in the previous year. seperately, figures on small boat arrivals to the uk show the top five nationalities of those crossing the channel were afghanistan, iran, vietnam, turkey and syria.

let's speak to madeleine sumption, director of migration observatory at the university of oxford, which provides independent analysis on uk migration. what is your most striking finding from these figures? i what is your most striking finding from these figures?— what is your most striking finding from these figures? i think some are ruite from these figures? i think some are quite significant, _ from these figures? i think some are quite significant, others _ from these figures? i think some are quite significant, others are - from these figures? i think some are quite significant, others are more . quite significant, others are more modest. i think the most striking thing is the decrease in the number of people coming on health and care visas. this follows some policy changes made by the government, including a move to scrutinise some of the employers who were sponsoring care workers more carefully because there had been a lot of exploitation previously. there are significant declines. we have to remember that previously the number of visas granted was unusually high. so these declines, they don't take this down to dramatically lower levels by any means. it is more of a reversal to something more normal after last year and the year before which was

pretty unusual. i5 year and the year before which was pretty unusual-— pretty unusual. is that going to cause problems _ pretty unusual. is that going to cause problems for _ pretty unusual. is that going to cause problems for the - pretty unusual. is that going to cause problems for the health | pretty unusual. is that going to i cause problems for the health and care sector, given that is still an ongoing shortage of workers? weill. ongoing shortage of workers? well, we will have — ongoing shortage of workers? well, we will have to _ ongoing shortage of workers? well, we will have to see _ ongoing shortage of workers? well, we will have to see and _ ongoing shortage of workers? well, we will have to see and we - ongoing shortage of workers? -ii we will have to see and we don't yet know how much is driven by care workers and how much by other health workers and how much by other health workers like nurses in particular. the most recent figures suggest we are still having around just under 3000 main applicants in the health and care sector per month which is not a devastatingly low figure. if you told me a few years ago it was going to be that high i would have thought gosh that is quite significant. i don't think it is inherently problematic. i think the decree the care sector does have some really difficult underlying problems with recruitment but it is the pay and conditions are relatively poor and that is not going to go away. find relatively poor and that is not going to go away-— relatively poor and that is not going to go away. and in terms of the number _ going to go away. and in terms of the number of _ going to go away. and in terms of the number of students _ going to go away. and in terms of the number of students coming i going to go away. and in terms of| the number of students coming in, going to go away. and in terms of - the number of students coming in, we have seen concerns from universities. again, what you make of the figures that have been published?— of the figures that have been

ublished? . , , published? yeah, so it looks pretty likel that published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we _ published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we are _ published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we are going _ published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we are going to - published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we are going to be - published? yeah, so it looks pretty likely that we are going to be in - likely that we are going to be in for a fall in the total number of students this year. the caveat there is that most students are applying for their visas right now, so people tend to apply in august, september in order to start in september or october. so we won't really know the full extent of it for a few months. it does look like the numbers will be down and they are particularly down from nigeria, which has had a currency crisis, so that make studying in the uk a lot more expensive. and also from india. what i think will happen is that will hurt some institutions much more than others, vertically some of these non—russell group universities that really ramped up their recruitment of indian and nigerian students over the last couple of years. students over the last couple of ears. , , ., ., years. does it seem then to you that there is a change _ years. does it seem then to you that there is a change in _ years. does it seem then to you that there is a change in the _ years. does it seem then to you that there is a change in the direction - there is a change in the direction of migration to the uk? yes. there is a change in the direction of migration to the uk?- there is a change in the direction of migration to the uk? yes. i do think that we _ of migration to the uk? yes. i do think that we are _ of migration to the uk? yes. i do think that we are starting - of migration to the uk? yes. i do think that we are starting to - of migration to the uk? yes. i do think that we are starting to see l of migration to the uk? yes. i do| think that we are starting to see a downward trend following what was unusually high levels over the last couple of years. it is always difficult to know how long those

things will last. migration trends can be very unpredictable, especially things like asylum and you mentioned there was a slight downturn in asylum applications but those numbers can pop up and down. it is very difficult to know precisely what we are going to expect. but i wouldn't be surprised if we saw a relatively substantial decline in overall net migration when we see the figures, particular the figures for next year. also because we are having more students leaving the country, notjust for your people coming in. leaving the country, not 'ust for your people coming in._ leaving the country, not 'ust for your people coming in. thank you very much — your people coming in. thank you very much indeed. _ let mejust show let me just show you some pictures on our top story today and the ongoing search in sicily where the teams have reportedly recovered the body of the british tech tycoon michael lynch after his luxury yacht sank in a very intense storm of the sicilian coast. there are multiple

different reports but the bbc cannot as yet to confirm any news of those who have been recovered, the bodies of those been recovered. but a number of the news agencies, afp for example is reporting all five men have been recovered and reuters is reporting that there is a missing female who divers have still been searching for. there were 22 people on board the bayesian when on monday morning and we're already hearing in the last hour from people who have worked with mike mike lynch, praising his contribution to the technology world here in the uk and globally. there have been a lot of questions about what has happened but of course at the moment the key focus is on the recovery of one more person. and you can see the teams there who have been working. we have heard it is very difficult for those

divers to state more than a few minutes because of the depth of the water and the conditions that they are working with. we have heard of the rarity of this sort of accident and there is an investigation ongoing to look at what lessons can be learned for any future such incidents. as one person told us on this programmejust so incidents. as one person told us on this programme just so that any kind of thinking that this can be avoided and questions for how the crew behaved and whether they heeded warnings but at the moment all thoughts with those who have lost their lives in this accident as the search continues off the coast of sicily. there is a live page on the bbc website if you want to keep up to date. we are back in a few minutes. hello again. the met office has mentioned a low pressure system

coming our way as storm lillian. this is it here moving in later but the moment we have a weather front moving in all the time moving towards the south—east. this is taking this patchy light rain with it. behind it will still be blustery conditions. a lot of dry weather and a few showers but strong winds prevail across north—west. but strong winds prevail across the northwest and you can see even inland we're looking at gusty conditions. temperatures today ranging from around about 1a in the north to a high of about 21 in parts of the south east and eastern england. as we head on through the evening and overnight, what you'll find is we'll have a dry start and then we start to see the heavy rain coming in. and by the end of the night, strengthening winds, gales through the irish sea, but very windy across northern england in particular. but it'll be windy across the rest of england and wales as well.

but storm lilian could well affect the m6, the a66 and the mm because, along with the strong winds we'll have some heavy rain tomorrow. that all pulls away into the north sea. but we do have a hook of rain coming in across eastern scotland and northern england and that moves away. the other end of the rain pushes away from the southeast. the winds ease a touch. and then we're looking at brighter skies. not as windy through the afternoon, but blustery showers coming in across the north and the west. temperatures 13 to 23. moving on then, as we move into friday night, we've got this system coming up from the south that looks like it could clip parts of wales central and southern and southeastern england before it moves away, but it could move a little bit further north or a little bit further south. so it's one to watch. this is what we think at the moment, though the rain is slow to clear the southeast, behind it a lot of dry weather, but showery outbreaks of rain coming in and a strengthening wind across the northwest. temperatures 1a to 20 degrees as we head on into the weekend. for sunday for most,

it's going to be bright and breezy. there will be some rain around, and then as we head into monday, a bank holiday for some of us for england and for wales, mostly dry for scotland and northern ireland, there'll be rain coming in later.

today at one... a breakthrough drug that slows down alzheimer's disease is approved for use by the uk medicines

regulator — the first drug of its kind to be licensed here. but it won't be available on the nhs because it is said to be too expensive and the cost can't be justified. todayis today is a defining moment for alzheimer's disease, but we're disappointed that at this point, nice were unable to recommend it for using the nhs. also on the programme this lunchtime... one of the bodies recovered from the superyacht that sank in sicily is reported to be that of the british tech tycoon mike lynch. a big fall in the the number of work and student visas issued to people from overseas. it's gcse results day for hundreds of thousands of teenagers — the pass rate has fallen for the third year running. commentator: interesting. very interestinr! commentator: interesting. very interesting! 0h! _ and happy birthday to match of the day — 60 years old today.

and coming up on bbc news...