and coming up on bbc news, if you've been counting the days, you'll only be holding one more finger up — the premier league is back tomorrow, with manchester city going for five in a row. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. the number of students with top a—level results has risen for the first time since 2021. just under a third of all grades were marked a or a—star. but it is a mixed picture, as results are down in northern ireland and wales, and there is a north—south divide in england. for those going on to university, 82% of students have got theirfirst choice. there's also been a rise in the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds being offered university places. and 400,000 qualifications

were awarded in more than 500 vocational and technical subjects. here's our education editor, branwen jeffreys. she gasps. yay! better than expected for these two friends — one hoping to travel, the other to go on and study. it has opened so many doors for me because i didn't think i'd get into uni. i instantly logged into ucas, - and ijust saw "congratulations". like, it took so much - weight off my shoulders. anyone that didn't get what they were hoping for, life is life. - everything will work out in the end. such a weight off my shoulders... others were weighing up different options. apprenticeships, i think, offer more, like, life skills. also you get paid for it, which is always nice. i've done however many years of, like, learning. i feel i'm ready to go into the working world now. it's always an emotional day. there's elation, sometimes a little bit of disappointment. but whatever your grades are today,

if you want to go to university, there are plenty of choices. nice. maths is now the most popular a—level in england, contributing to a small increase in top grades. vocational qualifications are a big part of today's celebrations. some were getting t—levels in burnley, though across england, a quarter dropped out from this newer qualification. and in enniskillen, keyan and his friends were getting b—tecs. was feeling a wee bit anxious before today. i kind of knew that i was pretty, you know, set for getting what i wanted to achieve, getting where i wanted to go. in northern ireland, there was a return to pre—covid standards, so in a—levels, a small drop in top grades here. and in wales, too, where the normal exam process kicked in, though that didn't dampen celebrations in wrexham. we've had to adapt, and i think we've all done really well getting what we have.

and speaking to my other friends, who've done really, really well. we're all so proud of each other, and, you know, it was difficult, but we've managed to overcome it. and hopefully we'll be able to do the same at university. exam results reveal differences, and in england, they are stark. even though there was faster improvement in some parts of the north this year, london still pulls ahead of the rest of the country. i want to make sure _ as education secretary that we break down those barriers to opportunity for our young people, _ that where you're from doesn't determine what you can go - on to achieve in life. changing the pattern of decades will be hard, and getting to university is just one measure. thank you for calling coventry university group clearing hotline. .. at coventry, calls were slightly down in clearing. other universities quietly dropping their entry grades and making offers. this year is really different because 82% of the cohort have received offers to their first choice. that's unprecedented, you know? i've never seen... in 32 years of doing clearing,

i've never seen anything like that. and in that process, universities have dropped their grades for admission in order to fill courses. perfect, thank you! they'll be taking calls well into 0ctober. universities need to fill places to help their finances. some young people looking at the cost will decide work or apprenticeships are a better deal. and branwenjoins us now, from the university of coventry. we can see people behind you working on the clearing process. what do you take away from this set of results? results days always give us a bit of a snapshot of what is going on in our education system. this year, because everyone is finally stepping back to the pre—covid standards, that means exams without any special protection for the students, it has been hard to make comparisons across the uk, because england did that last year. but what we have seen is

a revival of the debate about the huge differences within england. london and the south—east, once again, producing higher results, more top grades, despite progress in the west midlands, where i am, and also in parts of the north. now, these differences are long—standing, they're very entrenched, they go back decades. but london has been pulling ahead for 20 years now, and that alters the life chances of the young people. of course, one measure of that is getting a place at university, and it isjust one measure. there is plenty of time, the cause here will be going on well into 0ctober. they have got about another hour to go tonight, but there is going to be a busy clearing period, and for students, it is good news, because of the worry that universities have about their finances, and the income they rely

on, they are very keen to recruit, so students can take their time, look around, and then make their decision about whether to try to go to university or whether to seek other opportunities in the world of work or apprenticeships. and on the bbc news website, there's more information about how the ucas clearing system works for those students who didn't get the grades they were hoping for today, or who want to explore available offers. just search results day on the bbc website or bbc news app. official figures say the uk economy grew by 0.6% between april and june, continuing its recovery from recession at the end of last year. that's the second consecutive quarter of growth. the chancellor, rachel reeves, says the government is "under no illusion" that there is work to do "to make every part of the country better off". the conservatives say labour has benefited from inheriting a growing economy.

here's our economics editor, faisal islam. across the british economy, the signs are of businesses and people daring to believe years of crisis and inflationary shocks are behind us, that they're getting ready for more normal growth, not just at this robotics factory in birmingham. business in general�*s very good. we're very busy. currently on the shop floor we've got a lot of work going on. we've got a lot in our pipeline. we're expecting a lot more work coming in in the nearfuture. we think interest rates coming down is maybe going to be a thing that people saw was going to happen towards the end of the year, so maybe they're holding off a little bit to wait for the interest rates coming down. between march and june, the british economy grew by 0.6%, continuing solid growth this year as the inflation numbers, too, return to more normal levels. the new government's central economic mission, it says, is to get the british economy growing faster than the rest of the g7 advanced economies.

now, if you take today's second quarter number and the first quarter's number, so far in 2024, the uk is already the fastest—growing economy in the g7. now, if you adjust this chart for a longer time frame orfor population, that picture would change, but it does raise reasonable questions aboutjust how dire labour's economic inheritance actually was. here at the treasury, the chancellor's deputy said the problem was with the tax and debt burdens specifically. people at home know, and anyone can look at the statistics, that what we inherited from the conservatives was the worst fiscal inheritance since the second world war, and that means we've got very challenging economic circumstances. we welcome growth in the economy, and growth is our first and most important mission here at the treasury. but we've got much, much more work to do to recover from the mess that we were left with. but the opposition said today's numbers made a mockery of the government's central justification for pondering tax rises at the autumn budget. rachel reeves is sitting

in the treasury fuming i because this is yet more data to undermine her narrative . that the economic inheritance - was bad, and she can no longer use that as a pretext for the tax rises that she was planning all along. i the path in front of us now is still not certain. at this skateboard shop in digbeth, the weather held things back in june. nobody�*s really been coming out and buying stuff just because, you know, the weather's been terrible. we've not really had weather that's conducive to any kind of outdoor activities, so it's been very difficult. and it's kind of picked up in the last month, but that'sjust cos, i guess, things are a bit warmer and it has been slightly sunnier. but the wheels are back on the british economy. how fast it goes from here is still up for grabs. faisal islam, bbc news. a 15—year—old boy from sunderland has become the first person to be charged with the offence of "riot" after the violence that swept parts of the uk this summer. rioting is an offence that carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison —

that's double the time given for violent disorder. so far, more than 1,100 people have been arrested over the ongoing disorder. 648 have been charged. 0ur senior uk correspondent sima kotecha has been looking at the impact the riots are having on the criminaljustice system, amid concerns that prioritising the cases of those involved in the riots will cause yet more delays in the criminal courts. today, more people sent to prison for their role in the riots, including 21—year—old paul smith from manchester. he was given two years and ten months for violent disorder after throwing bricks and a glass bottle at police outside a hotel housing asylum—seekers. and 33—year—old plasterer daniel kingsley from north wales, sentenced to 21 months after posting two racist messages in support of the riots. of course they pleaded guilty, but for defendants who don't, a long wait could be on the cards before their case gets to trial.

this woman, who says she was raped, has waited several years for her case to get in front of a judge. i find it incredibly frustrating. people are waiting all the time to have their cases come to court, and the waiting is torture. to then be told its been put off for x amount of months or you're going to have to wait till next year because there's something else that's happened is incredibly unfair. it seems almost inhumane, to be honest with you, to treat human beings like that. now, the criminal bar association says the backlog in the courts will get even worse as the government prioritises prosecuting those involved in the riots. earlier, a 15—year—old boy was the first person in england to be charged with the more serious offence of riot over the recent disorder. cases are getting pushed back. we've got cases already listed in 2026, and this new influx in cases is inevitably going to cause more delay and put more pressure on a system that is already at capacity. and it feels like just

as we were tackling that backlog, we're now taking ten steps back. there's a backlog of almost 68,000 cases in the crown courts, while the magistrates' courts have a caseload of more than 370,000. the government has wanted to show swift justice for any of those related to the riots. that's a way of saying if you're involved in any violence, the law will come down hard on you, but that means for those who've been waiting for justice for unrelated crimes, the wait could be even longer. all of this is piling more pressure on prisons, with some jail staff telling us they're having to find space they simply don't have. we understand more than 75 people linked to the riots have been sent to jail over the last two weeks. a message from a prison officer said... "people are being locked up in police stations for longer because there's no room in prisons. the government says the courts

and prisons continue to be under enormous strain. it says reducing waiting times for victims of abhorrent offences like rape is a priority, which is why it's committed to fast—tracking those cases. i want to be able to have been to court and have my say and then leave court and have therapy and counselling and talk about it. and then move on from it and leave it in the past and try and heal and grow and just move forward in life. i just can't do that at the moment. sima kotecha, bbc news. it has just been announced in the united states that five people have been charged in connection with the death of the friend star matthew perry. the 54—year—old actor was found in a hot tub at his home in los angeles last october. he had taken the drug ketamine. 0ur los angeles correspondent emma vardy joins us now. this is breaking news, what more can you tell us? matthew

per is what more can you tell us? matthew perry is best — what more can you tell us? matthew perry is best known _ what more can you tell us? matthew perry is best known as _ what more can you tell us? matthew perry is best known as chandler - what more can you tell us? matthew| perry is best known as chandler from friends. it's no secret that through his career he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. but according to medical reports, he had been clean for a year. he had been going through a type of therapy that involves taking small amounts of cattlemen for depression, but the levels when he was found in his hot tub were much higher. at the time, the coroner ruled that his death was an accident. today, we are hearing that five people are facing charges, one of them as a doctor. it was alleged that the five of them were part of a criminal network supplying ketamine. it's also alleged that matthew perry paid more than $15,000 for the drug. law enforcement officials believe it was the involvement of the network in supplying the drug that contributed to his death. the number of people killed in gaza since hamas launched the attacks on israel in october last year has

now passed 40,000. the figures, which include armed palestinian fighters and civilians who've been killed, are released by the hamas—run health ministry. they used to only include hosptial deaths. but now deaths reported by families as well as reliable media reports are also counted. the death toll is often disputed by the israeli government. israel is not allowing international journalists from media organisations including the bbc independent access to gaza. barbara plett usher has this report, with help from a local cameraman. it took ali two months to dig his family out of the wreckage of their home. he was the only one who survived the strike. translation: i could see my father under the rubble, but i couldn't - extract him at first because he was under two columns of cement and the ceiling would have collapsed. he decomposed in front of my eyes. my mother's body was inside the house, but when i tried to go to see her, i felt smothered and had to leave.

he's looked after now by his grandfather in a shelter for orphans and widows. carrying on with the task of living. his mother, father, brother and two sisters are among the 40,000 reported killed in the gaza war. the number is overwhelming. each loss is a raw and individual grief, experienced again and again in places that are supposed to be safe. israel says it hits civilian infrastructure because hamas is operating there. hamas says it isn't. the international community condemns civilian deaths, and the killing goes on. more than ten months of war have turned gaza into a destruction zone, displaced most of its people. many are sick and hungry. in the southern city of khan younis, they've been forced to flee a continually shifting front line.

"we are tired of this life," she says. "death is better than this." death is a constant presence. sami kawar still has his family and whatever else he could carry with him, but this graveyard was the only space he could find in a shrinking humanitarian zone. translation: we have fled from dying to be among the dead, _ meaning we are the living dead. the truth is no—one really knows what to say. back at the shelter, the orphans have been given another chance at life. how much of a chance, though? without at least a ceasefire, the future looks as dangerous as the present. barbara plett usher, bbc news, jerusalem. well what hope is there of a ceasefire after ten months of war? talks on that and the release of israeli hostages still held

in gaza resumed today in doha, the capital of qatar. let�*s talk to our middle east correspondent, lucy williamson who's in israel. apologies, we don't seem to be able tojoin lucy. our top story this evening... the number of students with top a—level results has risen for the first time since 2021. and we are live here at wembley stadium, where within the next hour taylor swift is going to play her first concert since an alleged terror plot forced her coming up on sportsdsay on bbc news, a new era for women's football — the top two divisions break away from the fa and will be run by an independent company, but what changes will we likely see for the new wsl season?

evasion are set to be refunded after a judge ruled that their convictions were void. after a judge ruled that six train operating companies, including northern rail and greater anglia, brought prosecutions against train users using something called the singlejustice procedure, a fast track process, despite not being permitted to do so. here's our transport correspondent katy austin. a couple of years ago, sarah from barnsley had an experience that put her off train travel. a ticket machine wouldn't accept her card. she thought she could buy one on the train, but she ended up being prosecuted for fare evasion under a fast—track process called a single justice procedure. she's not the only one. when it was happening to me, i thought it was just me. since it's been made more public, a lot of people have come forward, a lot of people have approached me personally and said the same thing happened to them or a relative. the singlejustice procedure is used

to deal with a range of minor offences efficiently, but some train companies used it in recent years to prosecute people for a specific fare—dodging offence they weren't allowed to. now, tens of thousands of people are set to have their convictions voided following a decision about a handful of cases, including sarah's. the chief magistrate declared the six test cases a nullity, meaning it's as if they'd never happened. and he said at some point in the future, he'd make a similar ruling in relation to other cases. it's not known at the moment exactly how many, but he said the current best guess was more than 74,000. now, the courts and train companies will try to identify those people, it's likely to take several months. i'm glad now that 75,000 people will have common sense brought to them, that it has been overruled, that everybody�*s convictions have been quashed. i think it's a brilliant win. listening in at today's court hearing was christian. he wasn't a test case, but drew attention to the issue when he successfully fought a prosecution. it feels absolutely great.

it's complete vindication of mine and the rail uk forum's position right from the start. it was a lonely six months when i was having to get my mp involved, and to get today's ruling is absolutely fantastic. following the ruling, one expert lawyer said as much as £30 million might have to be paid out, but he had this warning. it doesn't mean that people canjust i get on trains and dodge their fare. i the train companies can simply- amend their procedures and always prosecute under the railway bylaws when using the single _ justice procedure. the department for transport welcomed an apology from train operators and said people affected would be directly contacted in due course. katy austin, bbc news. sweden has cofirmed the first case of the more serious strain of mpox outside africa. the world health organization has declared mpox, which used to be called monkeypox, a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in democratic republic of congo.

the bbc has been told that british tanks have been used in ukraine's surprise incursion into russia. kyiv says its troops have seized more than 400 square miles of the russian region of kursk since last tuesday. 14 challenger ii tanks were donated to ukraine last year. with me is our defence correspondent, jonathan beale . jonathan, how big a surprise is this? but in some ways it is not a surprise, ukraine has been using its press units, which have western ammunition and western equipment, we have seen evidence of notjust british tanks, but us armoured vehicles, german supplied armoured vehicles, german supplied armoured vehicles being used in this incursion into russia. that said, when they gave those 14 tanks last year, the challenger ii tanks, it was for a specific operation. the attack that ukraine launched to retake its own territory. if you

remember, that stalled, that offensive, in the face of fierce russian defences and resistance. so i think, in one sense, nobody envisage that british tanks will be fighting inside russia against russians last year, that's for sure. but the important point to make is that it hasn't dented western support. in fact, the mod are saying clearly that ukrainians have a right to use british supplied weapons however they see fit, and making clear that they see this as part of a self—defence operation, not an invasion. but there is one important restriction, that is on long range weapons. at the moment, they are not allowed to use uk and us supplied long—range weapons inside russia, which ukraine has been pleading for. the debate is ongoing. there is a debate active in government about storm shadow missiles supplied by

the uk. the important point to make is that there have been a lot of red lines made in the past, and a lot of them have been crossed. the australian breakdancer known as raygun says the reaction to her performance at the olympics in paris has been devastating. it was the first time breaking was allowed as an olympic sport. 36—year—old rachel gunn was widely mocked online for her performances in what became a social media storm. nesta mcgregor reports. a proud moment for any athlete — representing your nation on the biggest stage. rachael gunn, aka b—girl raygun, full ofjoy as breaking made its 0lympic debut. praised byjudges for her originality, but she failed to secure a single vote in any of her dance battles. the university lecturer was soon at the centre of a global debate — her moves mocked, the performance criticised online. i just want to start by thanking all the people who have supported me.

i really appreciate the positivity. i didn't realise that that would also open the door to so much hate, which has frankly been pretty devastating. questions over rachael gunn�*s selection have prompted australian breaking to issue this statement. it said... "she emerged as a top performer, and its selection was based solely on performance." aus breaking also condemned the global online harassment and bullying she'd suffered. rachael gunn thanked her team—mates, fans and the dancing community for their support. a holiday means she's taking a breakfrom breaking, but she's vowed to return to the sport she loves. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. in an hour's time, taylor swift will take to the stage at london's wembley stadium for the first of five nights. it's the first time she will perform since her shows in vienna were cancelled by an alleged terrorism plot. the metropolitan police say they're "well—prepared". let's go live now to wembley and our

music correspondent, mark savage... yes, fans have been arriving at wembley since 6am this morning and they are still trickling in, with taylor about 30 minutes away from taking the stage. the myth of the excitement and trading of friendship bracelets, there is a sense that it could be quite an emotional night. it's herfirst show could be quite an emotional night. it's her first show since the alleged terrorist plot in austria, and also her first alleged terrorist plot in austria, and also herfirst uk alleged terrorist plot in austria, and also her first uk shows since a knife attack in southport at a taylor swift themed dance class in southport that claimed the lives of three young girls. there are extra security checks for everybody going into the stadium and we have been talking to them about what that means. 90,000 people pouring into wembley stadium, covered in tassles, sequins and ball gowns. but the euphoria has been dampened by the cancellation of three shows in austria last week after police foiled a planned terror

attack. some fans in london say they had second thoughts. i attack. some fans in london say they had second thoughts.— had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried. _ had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried, but _ had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried, but i _ had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried, but i think _ had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried, but i think you've - had second thoughts. i was a little bit worried, but i think you've just| bit worried, but i think you've just got to get on with life as well, because i think you would stop everything, there are so many worrying thing is going on. you wouldn't be able to do anything. we thought we got to come, we couldn't not come and see her. we thought we got to come, we couldn't not come and see her.— thought we got to come, we couldn't not come and see her. we had already lanned to not come and see her. we had already planned to come _ not come and see her. we had already planned to come here, _ not come and see her. we had already planned to come here, there - not come and see her. we had already planned to come here, there was - not come and see her. we had already planned to come here, there was no i planned to come here, there was no point _ planned to come here, there was no point thinking twice. we planned to come here, there was no point thinking twice.— point thinking twice. we don't know if this would — point thinking twice. we don't know if this would get _ point thinking twice. we don't know if this would get cancelled, but - point thinking twice. we don't know if this would get cancelled, but we | if this would get cancelled, but we have seen— if this would get cancelled, but we have seen there _ if this would get cancelled, but we have seen there are _ if this would get cancelled, but we have seen there are so— if this would get cancelled, but we have seen there are so much- if this would get cancelled, but we i have seen there are so much security so it made _ have seen there are so much security so it made us— have seen there are so much security so it made us feel— have seen there are so much security so it made us feel better. _ so it made us feel better. security has been tightened _ so it made us feel better. security has been tightened around - so it made us feel better. security has been tightened around the - so it made us feel better. security - has been tightened around the venue, with a bigger police presence than the previous london shows injune. wembley is a location that is very used to dealing with big crowds. it's almost a weekly event that they have, thousands and thousands of people in the area. people shouldn't be concerned. but they should still be concerned. but they should still be alert. there is a terrorist threat in the background and it is not going to go away soon. it's

important that everybody plays their part in preventing any further attacks. and just being alert and reporting suspicious sightings is going to really help.— reporting suspicious sightings is going to really help. nearly 500,000 --eole going to really help. nearly 500,000 eo - le will going to really help. nearly 500,000 peeple will see _ going to really help. nearly 500,000 people will see taylor _ going to really help. nearly 500,000 people will see taylor swift _ going to really help. nearly 500,000 people will see taylor swift play - people will see taylor swift play over the next six days, after which she takes a well earned break before wrapping up the tour in canada this december. when it all finishes, she is expected to have made $2 billion in ticket sales alone. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. well, hard for these sunflowers to follow the sun with this blanket of cloud today. this was north yorkshire for the cloud has been fairly extensive across the country and it has brought some rain, some of it heavy as well. an inch or two, quite widely as it drifted steadily south. look at this, from lincolnshire to bristol, here we have seen some sunshine and also had some warmth as well. temperatures peaking as high as 25 degrees. very

nice in northamptonshire. this looks a little bit too autumnal for my liking. this frontal system will bring a showery rain to the south—east overnight. not that much, but some. leiter went further north. temperatures will fall away. here, we are looking at single figures. a fresh start. butjust look at london, 17 degrees first thing in the morning. might be cloudy and damp with showery rain easing away. 0n the whole, friday will be dry with a lot of sunshine around. a bit more of a breeze into the far north—west. a view scattered and perhaps sharp showers here. temperatures a little bit fresher, 15 or 19 degrees. 0nce temperatures a little bit fresher, 15 or 19 degrees. once again, 20 or 25 celsius in the sunshine, 77 fahrenheit. forthe 25 celsius in the sunshine, 77 fahrenheit. for the all—important weekend, it's looking quite promising. if you do have outdoor plans, i think you will be pleased with this forecast, the high coming in from the south—west and widening things down. there will be cloud around, especially from the west on

saturday. the odd isolated chow into the far north—west. likely to stay breezy and not as warm. 15 or 20 degrees, highs of 25. temperatures pretty much where they should be. more in the way of sunshine around potentially for sunday. the dry, settled theme continues. still always the chance of a risk of a view sharp showers in the far north—west of scotland. back to you. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm hugh ferris. the headlines this evening. just short of three months, but still a long time for premier league fans no doubt. it's back, with manchester city going for five in a row. still another four weeks until more of these in the new wsl season, but the top two divisions of the women's game are about to start a new era. also coming up on sportsday...

a bond so special he has his horse's name tattooed on his arm,