this is bbc news. i'm simon mccauley. the headlines at four: net migration to the uk falls by a quarter to 246,000 a year — the lowest level for three years. it follows a surge in eu nationals leaving the uk since the brexit vote. a 25—year—old woman has been jailed for ten years for making a series of false accusations of rape and sexual assault. also in the next hour... a 25—year—old woman has been jailed for ten years for making a series of false accusations of rape and sexual assault. also in the next hour... thousands of civilians in the syrian city of raqqa come under fire from all sides. the syrian army says it's gaining ground driving out the militants. the husband of a woman who was knocked down and killed by a cyclist calls for a change to the law to tackle ‘irresponsible and reckless‘ actions. and, aged between a0 and 60?

get out on regular brisk walks, says public health england, to prevent cancer, heart disease and poor mental health. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. there's been a sharp fall in the number of eu citizens migrating to the uk. net migration — the difference between those entering and leaving the uk — fell 81,000 to 246,000 in the year to march. the office for national statistics said the figures suggest migrants from eastern and central european countries, the so called eu8 nations, have been returning home. despite today's falling figures, the government remains well short of its target of bringing net

migration below 100 thousand. adina campbell reports. could today's new numbers be the early signs of brexit? net migration, the difference between those entering and leaving the uk, fell to 246,000, in the year to march 2017. that's a drop of 81,000 in the previous year. much of that figure is down to net migration of eu citizens falling by 51,000. but despite today's falling figures, the government remains well short of its targets of bringing net migration below 100,000. since the eu referendum, we've seen falls in net migration for eu citizens and in particular those for eastern european, and that's been driven by emigration of eastern european citizens who are returning for work. the office for national statistics figures show a sharp rise in people from the so—called eu8 countries leaving the uk. but migration experts say the overall net migration

figure is still too high. the level is still 250,000 a year. that's a massive number for net migration and that's what's going to drive our population up by half a million every year for the indefinite future. and that means building a city the size of birmingham every two years. this cafe in west london serves scandinavian cuisine but advertising for new staff is proving increasingly expensive. it normally costs £200. but that shot up to more than £2,000 this summer. i might not choose london because of brexit and what will happen next year and the year after. they want some form of security and knowledge that they are allowed to stay and work in the country that they are choosing to go to. finding staff here may be difficult, but the government says it wants to get immigration even lower. labour warns, though, that could harm the economy. we want to be clear

that we welcome people from around the world and people from all over europe, 3 million of whom are in this country at the moment, contributing to our society, playing an important part in our economy. we need to continue to welcome people. we also need to be clear that when we leave the eu we will have more control of our borders. the nhs, particularly in parts of england, is facing problems of nurse recruitment partly because of the number of eu citizens coming. we have to have stability and migration based on the economic needs of the uk and that's what we're working on. as well as these new migration figures, new data from exit checks at ports and airports has also been released. the data revealed that when it comes to international students, one of the biggest groups of immigrants, the results weren't what some people previously thought. 97% of them left when they finished their courses, and therefore didn't abuse their visas. and to build a clearer picture of this, the government has now announced that it's going to start a new investigation,

looking at the impact of international students on the uk's society and economy. the study is expected to be completed by september 2018. adina campbell, bbc news. joining me is our home affairs correspondent, dominic casciani. what's going on here? the changes. it's really interesting. in short more use its sins are leaving and fewer a re more use its sins are leaving and fewer are arriving. within that a great deal of change is being driven by movement. the rate of the net migration, the numbers arriving over those who are leaving, that has halved in a year. in march last year ahead of the referendum, 100,000 more workers from eastern and central europe arrived in the

previous year then left. today the figure is 50,000, that's an astonishing rate of change. 0ne interesting figure that come out in relation to that is you can predict future trends on the number of workers registering at the moment with the idea of coming to the uk. that number is down 12% for eu nationals, so 12% of eu nationals are expressing an interest in coming to the uk than the year before. what is it particularly surprising, given we have voted to leave the european union, they will say perhaps they are not going to be as friendly as other countries are. that is a key issue, it is difficult to get to the bottom of that. people talk about the chilling effects, anecdotally. workers from eastern europe have saidi workers from eastern europe have said i don't feel that welcome many more, there is uncertainty around my status. those who have children who

are settled, they are more likely to stay but the younger workers, the single men on the building site and things like that, they have other opportunities they seem to be pursuing. there's also the issue of the pound, on the eve of the referendum £1 sent back to poland bought six of the currency but now it is much less so to be change for them. the polish economy is booming and they are desperate to get the back. in essence, while we can in theory choose to work as we want after brexit, many economists say a lot of those workers will choose us 01’ lot of those workers will choose us or other countries. and this will have an impact on home—grown skills. we have had the building federation in in the last hour saying there has been a huge shortage. they have to come from somewhere. this is the

other side of the equation, when you ta ke other side of the equation, when you take one thing out the balance, so if you take the foreign labour out of the balance, if you're going to fill the gap in the economy you have got to fill it somehow. the stereotypical eastern european crop picker, could that be automated? some amazing advance in robotics could cover that but not in the short term so you have got to try to recruit more locally and that's what's really concerning a lot of businesses and that's why a lot of them are lobbying the home office ha rd them are lobbying the home office hard in continuing some transitional arrangement so they have access to additional labour in what they believe will be a very uncertain time in the future. if anyone is looking at you now, it thinking is this a good thing or a bad thing, why doesn't dominic say, it is because we are entering a different time? yes, the economics before this

began was different, poland was a poorer country. the key market many of those workers may have gone to, germany, used transitional controls to say you cannot come in just now, the uk took a different decision saying we will let them in and we had this enormous flood of these workers in the uk. we are many years down list. you won't see these communities disappear. as of today there is a record number of polls in there is a record number of polls in the uk, 1 million. those communities won't disappear overnight, they will become fabric of the uk but whether they will continue to grow in the same way they have over the previous decades, it is looking like the trend is starting to tip. it will be interesting to see how this goes in the six or nine months ahead to see whether the brexit effect continues to affect those numbers. dominik, thank you very much. the number of teenagers gaining the highest gcse grades

has fallen slightly, after exam boards moved to a tougher system. for the first time, students in england have been graded from nine to one in english language, english literature and maths, with nine being the top mark. 0ur education correspondent gillian hargreaves has been spending the day at 0utwood academy in sheffield. you know the routine, thejourney, the waiting, the nerves. then the results. i've got into college so i'm all right. i passed everything. pretty good, i'm really proud of myself. in england, a new grading system for english and maths but only a few will achieve grade nine. grade four is compared to an old —style grade four is compared to an old—style grade c and considered a standard pass however grade five should be considered a strong pass.

i've only just passed should be considered a strong pass. i've onlyjust passed maths, it's fine, i'm happy with it. in fact some maths papers were so challenging in england this year you only needed 18% to pass. the subject content is significantly harder, and some of the old a—level content is in there so some people will take confidence these results are world —class. confidence these results are world-class. which is why there have been all of these changes this year. the government wants students such as these to compete with the best in the world. we want our young people to be well equipped, to do well in the world of work in a competitive, global economy so it has been necessary. the new grading system has been introduced to draw a distinction between the old gcse and these new, more demanding gcses. but these new, more demanding gcses. but the combination of new and old style exams has caused confusion and led headteachers‘ unions to say the pace

of change has been too quick. headteachers‘ unions to say the pace of change has been too quicklj think we will look back and say this has been a very distracting process. the students we need to focus on are the middle and lower ability stu d e nts the middle and lower ability students who are easily neglected, and if we focus on the top end we neglect them even further. students here have spent two years getting used to these changes but the next big challenge will be explaining it to those employers who recruit 16—year—olds for apprenticeships. here they take on several 16—year—old apprentices each year but the owner isn‘t sure how he will be able to work out who has the best qualifications. i think i'm going to be confused. 0ver qualifications. i think i'm going to be confused. over a period of time obviously we will work it out. the standard pass, ithink obviously we will work it out. the standard pass, i think that would be oui’ standard pass, i think that would be our borderline. it is notjust pupils in england who have been picking up results. welsh students have also been finding out how they

fared in new, tougher exams. in northern ireland where the system has remained the same, results have risen with one in ten entries being awarded a star. ministers are determined to make gcses harder to end what some see as dumbing down. this year ‘s results are putting those ambitions to the test too. warwickshire police are responding to an incident where 14 men have been found in the back of a lorry, four taken to hospital. the condition is that not thought to be life—threatening. the lorry has been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking, the remaining men have been taken into custody. the a405 is closed westbound. between the m45

and the a4001. a woman who made a series of false rape and sexual assault allegations has been sentenced to ten years in prison. 25—year—old jemma beale made accusations against 15 men over a period of four years. 0ur correspondent, sarah corker was in court. thejudge described the judge described jemma beale as an attention seeker. the bogus story started in 2010 and she has accused 15 men wrongly of rape and assault. sentencing her today, thejudge said you are very convincing liar and enjoy being seen as a victim. he said the case was so serious because there was a real risk that rape victims would be deterred from coming forward because of a fear of not being believed and that the guilty men could go free. he also said this had been an enormous waste

of police money and time, and earlier i spoke to the police officer in this case. it has impacted on the police, having to spend many hours and resources investigating each of the individual cases and then going on to investigate the allegations of perjury and perverting the course of justice as well so it‘s taken up many hours and been a long, complex investigation. it actually cost the metropolitan police around a quarter of £1 million and wasted more than 6000 hours of police time. police said that on more than one occasion, jemma beale made up stories she had been gang raped, they also said she had been injured to make her story is more plausible and when the judge sentenced her today, said that the men she accused would have to live with the effects of those obligations for the rest of their lives. she was sentenced to ten

yea rs lives. she was sentenced to ten years in prison and will serve half of that sentence before being released on licence. the headlines on bbc news: net migration to the uk falls by a quarter — to 246,000 a year. it‘s at its lowest level for three years. it follows a surge in eu nationals leaving the uk since lastjune‘s brexit vote. the number of students getting top gcse grades in maths and english and english has fallen slightly after the introduction of new tougher exams. a 25—year—old woman has been jailed for ten years for making a series of false accusations of rape and sexual assault. zlata n zlatan ibrahimovic will wear the number ten shirt for manchester united next season after signing a new one—year deal. he scored 28

times for united in his debut season before suffering a bad knee injury. serve mo farah is getting ready for a final farewell on the track in zurich tonight where he will run over 5000 metres. he‘s swapping the stadium for roads to run marathon instead. i will be back with more on those stories after half—past. as the latest data immigration figures is released and the government launches an investigation into the impact of international students in the uk, a poll by the independent think tank british future suggests that three quarters of the british public want the number of students coming to study in the uk from abroad to stay the same or even increase. with me is steve ballinger — director of communications at british future. just explain what british future is. we are just explain what british future is. we a re interested just explain what british future is. we are interested in what the public thinks so we do a lot of opinion polling, travelling around the country, asking people what they

think should happen next on immigration because there‘s going to be changes after we leave the eu. and specifically you have been asking about attitudes to students. yes, we found three quarters of the public would like the numbers of international students to either remain the same or increase, the fifth of people would like more international students coming to the country. actually that sort of reflects previous research we have done as well which shows people think students bring money into the economy, help british universities remain some of the best in the world and compete, and the other thing we found out today as well from the home office is they go home at the end of the visa as well. which will come as a surprise to some. the prime minister wants to keep international students as part of the immigration figures. if you remove the thought some of them stay on illegally, what will her argument

be? it will be hard to make sense of it. only a fifth of the public think they are migrants anyway, they were baffled when they were told they counted in the net migration figures. it would get the numbers down and make more sense of the public as well. 5696 down and make more sense of the public as well. 56% say down and make more sense of the public as well. 5696 say they should stay the same level. yes, that's right. so most people are happy with the status quo. yes, but there is no official cap and no incentive to attract more international students to come to british universities which means we could fall behind other big international institutions in the us and australia for example. great timing for you, your report comes out at the same time as these ons comes out at the same time as these 0ns figures but do you think the results of your survey would be different if they were armed with

the ons different if they were armed with the 0ns figures before you ask the questions again? hard to say. net migration has taken a big leap down, and it has surprised quite a lot of people. but international students still make up a quarter of those immigration figures so it is still quite a big chunk of the figures. immigration figures so it is still quite a big chunk of the figuresm the people you ask, did you ask if they were brexiteers or not, and how many people did you talk to? it's a bowl of 3000 people across great britain, we did ask if people had voted to remain or leave in the referendum and two thirds of leave voters were happy for international student numbers to say the same or increase so there‘s a strong argument for taking them out of the net migration target and perhaps even looking to set a different target for international students and perhaps increase numbers to make our universities more competitive.

after all, student figures show they bring in something like 25 billion into the economy every year. this is one side of, if you like, what people here think of international students. we are seeing in the 0ns figures that students are thinking i‘m not sure i want to go there, it doesn‘t look like such a friendly place. yes, the universities will have to try hard to keep attracting international students but we do have some of the best universities in the world, we should be able to drive numbers up, keep the funding coming in to keep them right up there in the international league ta bles there in the international league tables and after brexit we might have to work harder to do that. 0k, thank you for coming in. steve ballinger. the widower of the woman who died after she was knocked over

by a cyclist who was riding without front brakes, is launching a campaign to change the law. yesterday 20—year—old charlie alliston was convicted of wanton and furious driving, an offence dating back to 1861, but was cleared of manslaughter, following the death of kim briggs. her husband, matthew is calling for the creation of new offences such as death by dangerous cycling. he‘s been speaking to our correspondent, dan johnson. she had this mantra of make every day count, filling life with experiences, travel. she was always happy, always willing to help people, always willing to lend an ear. she was just fantastic. people, always willing to lend an ear. she wasjust fantastic. kim briggs, a wife and mother who was hit by a bike. she suffered serious head injuries and died a week later. that bike should never have been on the road, it was designed for the velodrome. fixed gear and with no front brake. riding it was charlie elliston in the middle, cleared yesterday of manslaughter but convicted of causing bodily harm by

wa nton convicted of causing bodily harm by wanton orfurious convicted of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving. convicted of causing bodily harm by wanton orfurious driving. kim briggs‘ formally welcome this verdict but they are now calling for the law to be changed. it is fantastic more and more people are cycling. the law is outdated, it refers back to 1861. i am just asking that the law catches up, as it is doing with technology and social media. i‘m just asking that the law catches up. this case raises broader issues about how cyclists and pedestrians share the same space but the key question is how much responsibility should cyclists have for safety on the road? should the responsibility be at the same level as for car drivers? questions that have prompted plenty of debate. we regularly see bikes that are not fit for the road, bikes with three wheels, that have breaks that don‘t work which are more dangerous than fixed wheel without breaks. the

question has formed in the head, looking up the phones they are distracted. if someone is causing death by dangerous driving why should that be different? cyclists are not opposed to review but there are not opposed to review but there a re calls are not opposed to review but there are calls for all traffic laws to be brought up to date. the problem is there‘s a stack of offences in relation to the conduct of people on the roads where we use kellas, reckless, wanton, dangerous, and there‘s a huge inconsistency of people‘s perception of what is careless, was reckless, what is wa nton careless, was reckless, what is wanton and furious, what the consequence should be and should be looked at holistic review of all matters. i'm doing this to honour her. it's not an easy thing to do, to put myself out there when we have been quite a private family up till

now but it comes back to my earlier point that sometimes you just have to do the right thing and it occurs to do the right thing and it occurs to me that this is the right thing to me that this is the right thing to do, and yes i'm doing it in kim's name but also to ensure that just perhaps we can stop this happening again. our streets are getting busier with the potential for more conflict. it‘s a problem not easily solved. dan johnson, bbc conflict. it‘s a problem not easily solved. danjohnson, bbc news, london. breaking news from brazil, a passenger ferry has sunk on the coast of north—eastern brazil in the state of bahia. the port authority said three rescue teams on three ships have been sent to the site of the shipwreck. apparently, according to the association of maritime

transporters, the ferry was supposed to cross the state capital on the other side of the bahia all saints bay, had the capacity to carry 160 people. that is what we are hearing, a passenger ferry with 129 people. that is what we are hearing, a passengerferry with 129 people suffered the loss of 122 lives. more than six million adults in england fail to have a brisk ten minute walk even once a month. that‘s a finding from public health england which has launched a campaign to encourage the practice, particularly among people who are middle aged. the public health body says walking can help prevent cancer, heart disease and poor mental health. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. in denton, in manchester, the first steps towards a healthier lifestyle. this walking group is starting slowly, but already some members are feeling the benefits of a regular stroll. i‘ve lost about four stone.

have you? yeah. four stone, wow. gone down from virtually 25 to 21. that‘s impressive. so it does help. it's got me out, it's got me getting some exercise. and it's company as well, because i live on my own so that helps a lot. this is week two for me, i'm a newbie. and i decided when i retired that i wanted to do lots of different things. and i've done lots of things to keep the mind going, but not a lot to keep the body going. the beauty of walking is, of course, it‘s free. you don‘t need any special training or indeed any special kit. but health experts say doing just ten minutes of brisk walking every day, well, that can have a really positive impact on your health. 0ur lifestyles have changed. compared to the 1960s, we are now 20% less active. and each year we walk 15 miles less than we did just two decades ago. physical inactivity amongst adults contributes to one in six deaths in the uk. it is estimated to cost the nhs nearly £1 billion a year. but a brisk walk ofjust ten minutes

each day can reduce the risk of early death by 15%. gp doctor zoe williams advises her patients that it‘s walking at a good pace, around three miles an hour that is the key. practising what she preaches, she uses a smartphone app to measure her own progress. but according to a public health england survey of our exercise habits, millions of adults are missing out. four in ten adults between the ages of 40 and 60 are not managing to achieve ten minutes of brisk walking per month. which sounds unbelievable. lots of those people will be walking, but they are not walking at a brisk pace. and it‘s important to walk briskly because that‘s when you start to get the health benefits. but for many of us it‘s finding the time in an already busy day. i drive to work and it is timing really, trying to find the time. generally i would rather drive than walk because i need to get there in a hurry.

so generally not, no. not every day, we probably do about one and a half miles twice a day and about one mile in the middle of that. you can always make time. 0ne less cake, one more walk! walking can help with weight loss, back pain, long—term conditions like diabetes, and even reducing the risk of cancer. now we are all being urged to get up and get moving. dominic hughes, bbc news. the headlines coming up, but first a look at the weather. the best of the drier and brighter weather today, the further south and east you are. that is thanks to an area of low pressure that is sitting out in the north—west. it kind of parked itself there, edging slowly eastwards over the next few days, bringing more in the way of cloud

and outbreaks of rain. high pressure building into the south, that is where we are seeing the drier and brighter weather. as we move to the rest of the day for england, central and southern parts of wales, we see some bright spells. staying dry overnight. we will see adverts of rain across northern ireland, into western scotland and the far north—west of england. temperatures falling to an overnight low of between 12 and 14 degrees celsius. try and bright, the further east you are. cloud will increase of england and wales. as we are in northern ireland and western scotland, we will start to see outbreaks of rain pushing their way towards the east and spreading into northern england as we move towards the end of the day. temperatures tomorrow are up a touch on today in the south—east, highs of 25 celsius. in the north, highs of 25 celsius. in the north, highs of 25 celsius. in the north, highs of 20 celsius. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines... net migration has fallen to the lowest level for three years after a surge in the number of eu

nationals leaving the uk since lastjune‘s brexit vote. despite today‘s falling figures, the government remains well short of its target of bringing net migration below 100,000. gcse passes overall have dropped slightly across the range of subjects. new, tougher exams were sat for the first time in a number of subjects by pupils in england, wales and northern ireland. a 25—year—old woman has been jailed for ten years for making a series of false accusations of rape and sexual assault. jemma beale claimed she had been raped or sexually assaulted in four different encounters. thousands of civilians in the syrian city of raqqa are under fire from all sides. the un estimates that some 25,000 civilians remain trapped in the city. the husband of a woman who was knocked down and killed by a cyclist calls for a change to the law to tackle irresponsible actions. matthew briggs has urged reckless riders to learn from his wife‘s death. officials at public health england are urging those between the ages of 40 and 60 to start doing regular brisk walks amid concern high levels of inactivity may be

harming their health. 14 men have been found in the back ofa 14 men have been found in the back of a lorry at a mangrove services, near rugby. the driver has been arrested on suspicion of people trafficking. sport now, and the bbc sports centre is our destination. the england manager gareth southgate says he fully understands wayne rooney‘s decision to retire from international football. southgate admitted he had wanted to include the everton forward in his squad for next month‘s world cup qualifiers against malta and slovakia but took time to congratulate his former captain on "a fantastic international career." i thought it was a role he could play for in the squad, but by the same token i fully understand his rationale. a good moment to recognise what an outstanding player he has been for england. i see some

debate about if he is a legend or isn‘t he, if you are the most capped outfield player and record goal—scorer, i‘m not quite sure what else you have to do to be a legend. he has been summary that has served england brilliantly. well in his squad southgate has given a first call—up to leicester city‘s harry maguire, whojoined from hull for 17 million in the summer. there‘s a recall for arsenal‘s danny wellbeck, but adam lallana misses out through injury. also getting his first chance at the senior level is watford‘s nathaniel chalobah who moved from chelsea in this transfer window. like maguire, he moves up from the under—21 level. there‘s good news for manchester united fans this afternoon. zlatan ibrahimovic says he‘s "back to finish what he started." the swede has signed a new one year deal to stay at old trafford having scored 28 times in 46 appearances in his first season with the club. he‘s unlikely to return until the turn of the year, following the serious knee injury that saw him miss the club‘s europa league win back in may. will alexis sanchez be signing a new deal with arsenal? that question still lingers. sanchez though, could make

a comeback this sunday when they face liverpool at anfield. manager arsene wenger says last season‘s top scorer is available after injury at the end of last season. he works very hard, very focused, and gives absolutely everything. it is always difficult to stop him. but he looks ready, he has not played for a long time. i will have to decide what i do with him. but he is ready to play. another man back in action is team sky‘s geraint thomas — he‘ll return to cycling for the tour of britain next month, with team—mate 0wain doull also set to compete. thomas was sitting second overall in the tour de france when he broke his collarbone in a fall at last month. the tour of britain starts in edinburgh in september and will finish in his home city of cardiff. meanwhile milos raonic is the latest high—profile player to pull out of tennis‘s us open, which starts on monday. the world number 11 has

withdrawn because of a persistent wrist injury. he joins defending champion stan wawrinka, novak djokovic, kay nishikori and victoria azarenka in missing out at flushing meadows. well one of great britain‘s most well respected athletes, sir mo farah, is getting ready for his farewell on the track in zurich tonight. his incredible career has seen him win a total of 10 world championship and olympic gold medals. but this won‘t be the last we see of him — as he‘s switches his focus to marathon running instead. no matter who you are, you‘ve got to fight for it. the medals, they don‘t ta ke fight for it. the medals, they don‘t take me to the line. i‘ve got to go in with a new mind, there will be new guys that are already running faster than me. how do i get to them, what do i need to learn from them? what does it take? and remember you can listen to our test match special 60th anniversary match right now over on 5live sports extra or watch

the celebrity teams go head to head over on the red button or online. that is all the sport for now. let‘s return to the exam results and the news that the number of teenagers gaining the highest gcse grades has fallen slightly, after exam boards moved to a tougher system. with me is debroah streatfield, chief executive of my big career — a guidance service which helps some of the most disadvantaged children in the uk. a lot of people talking about what is happening at the top end, when you have eight and nine, what is happening at the low end? are you happy the change has been brought in? not so happy it has been brought in so quickly. i think there was confusion between a standard pass at 4, and a standard pass at new merit five. i think it was rushed through by universities. universities are not sure if 5 all 4 is a c. young people will feel very confused. i

would like to congratulate them, but there is confusion. 4 is a c, 5 is a strong c? yes, it will be confusing ifa strong c? yes, it will be confusing if a student gets a 4, and is applying to a university that considers new merit five to be a grade c. and they will be calling their parents, who will ask what that means? yes, they will have those two sets of results. i think the parity should have been slower, for universities and employers to understand the change. is there an a cce pta nce understand the change. is there an acceptance that change needed to come, because we have a*s already, where would you go next? that is the reason why the change happened. you can‘t keep adding stars at the top end. i think it would be easier to

increase from 9, up to 12 or 13. 0nce increase from 9, up to 12 or 13. once all of the subjects are changed toa once all of the subjects are changed to a numeric system, i think it will be better. difficult for pupils, they get grades and are trying to work out what it means. if they think the outside world is not sure, it isa think the outside world is not sure, it is a strange time? it is. for young people, it must be quite difficult today. i congratulate them, but i think that the government, certainly, should have taken a little bit more time in leading it through the systems. are we over obsessed with the top end of this scale? you know, with the top 196, this scale? you know, with the top 1%, the 8 and 9s heyworth a and a*s, the only reason that matters is for higher education? it does, but apprentices and employers need to know if they have passed the key subjects. don‘t think it is a

fixation at the top. at medical school, they do look for the number of a*s. but in the middle, that is where it should have been much better thought out, and a pass is a past, without a blurred edge between two numbers. someone watching who opened the envelope and have a horrible feeling, i know it well, not done as well as they had hoped, what do you say to them? at the moment, they should be very co mforta ble moment, they should be very comfortable in what they have achieved. i think they should be very careful in looking at, if this is the university path they want to follow, which universities at the moment are considering which number to be the pass. to think carefully beyond university, because i think apprenticeships are much betterfor apprenticeships are much betterfor a young person that isn‘t sure. i think that young people in debt, over £50,000, you have to be very sure for your future that is the path to take. very good for you to

come in. thank you for your time. thousands of civilians in the syrian city of raqqa are coming under fire from all sides, as the battle for control of the city enters its final stage. amnesty international says hundreds of people have been killed or injured since june, when the offensive began to recapture raqqa, which is the stronghold of so—called islamic state. 0ur chief international correspondent lyse doucet is in the syrian town of homs. this amnesty report is heartbreaking and chilling. it is set in the context of the last, what is believed to be the final months, the final battles to destroy the so—called caliphate of the islamic state here in syria. in raqqa, the city you just mentioned in northern syria, it was their self—declared capital. and as the war intensifies right into the centre of raqqa into heavily populated neighbourhoods, civilians are trapped into what amnesty calls this deadly labyrinth. every direction they turn come under fire, whether snipers and booby traps from isis, which doesn‘t want civilians to leave or when they do escape they are coming under fire

from us led coalition air strikes which have killed hundreds of civilians in recent months. so this amnesty report is a cry for compassion but also for protection, even in wartime there are rules, and the rules of war are being absolutely shattered, day in, day out, here. eight people are missing following a landslide that forced the evacuation of several villages in south—eastern switzerland. rescue operations are being intensified and geologists are warning that further landslides cannot be ruled out. 0n on wednesday morning, 4 million cubic metres of mud and rock poured down the mountain, destroying farmhouses in its path and ending up right on the edge of the tiny village. residents were evacuated

immediately, and helicopters plucked hikers from alpine huts. at first, rescue workers thought everybody was safe. translation: overnight, we have received reports of missing people. we have have intensified rescue efforts, but until now we have not found anyone. police have confirmed that eight people known to be in the region at the time of the landslide are officially missing. in the last hours, a relative has told the last hours, a relative has told the swiss authorities that a further group of five or six people cannot be contacted. 0ver group of five or six people cannot be contacted. over 120 group of five or six people cannot be contacted. 0ver120 rescue workers are now searching, on foot and with specialised helicopters which can detect mobile phone signals. these remote, steep sided valleys are popular with climbers and hikers. but they are also known for the risk of avalanche and rock slides. some communities here have

already invested millions in protective barriers. geologists are warning that in the coming days further landslides cannot be ruled out. two teenagers have been convicted of manslaughter for throwing a stolen marine distress flare into a car in which a man was sleeping. father of three vilson meshi died from smoke inhalation during the incident in basildon, in essex, in february. 18—year—old keani hobbs, along with a 16—year—old boy who cannot be named, will be sentenced tomorrow. dutch police have made a second arrest, after a rock concert in rotterdam was cancelled because of an alert from spanish police. the arrest follows the detention of a spanish man who was found with gas canisters in his van in rotterdam. the authorities had been warned about a potential risk — though it‘s not clear whether there is any link to the attacks in catalonia last week that killed 15 people. anna holligan is in rotterdam. the focus of the police

investigation has shifted from this concert venue in rotterdam to a house in the regional trabant, close to the belgian border. in the early hours of this morning, they detained a 22—year—old man and searched his home. he is now being questioned on suspicion of having links to this tip—off received from the spanish police that the gig performed by the american rock group allah—las might be the target of a terror attack. police in rotterdam said they cleared the venue immediately as a precaution. we asked if the public was ever in danger. they said it was too soon to say. that was the subject of the investigation. allah—las an american rock group. they have talked in the past of receiving messages of concern from muslims who do not like the use of the word allah in the band‘s title.

as far as the spanish van driver who was detained close to this music venue last night, he is now being questioned on suspicion of drug driving. he is not suspected of having any links to the possible terror attack happy music venue here in rotterdam. —— at the music venue here. the police have said the fact that they acted so swiftly is because they were prepared to take any chances. just got some breaking news for you, the uk‘s only female giant panda is believed to be pregnant and is being closely monitored. this news is coming from edinburgh zoo. we will bring you much more on this. tian tian is believed to be pregnant and is being closely monitored at edinburgh zoo. we might have more before we go off air at five

o‘clock. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news... net migration to the uk falls by a quarter — to 246,000 a year. it‘s at its lowest level for three years. it follows a surge in eu nationals leaving the uk since lastjune‘s brexit vote. the number of students getting top gcse grades in maths and english has fallen slightly — after the introduction of new tougher exams. a 25—year—old woman has been jailed for ten years for making a series of false accusations of rape and sexual assault. iam i am alex baxter. let‘s see how the markets in europe have ended the trading session. for the most part, all of the major indexes are making pretty solid gains following advances we saw across much of asia.

investors brushing off the losses on wall street. london‘s benchmark ftse 100 index up 0.4% nearing midday, the pound recovered from two—month lows versus the dollar as traders reacted to official data confirming that britain‘s economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter despite high inflation and uncertainty over brexit. some individual share prices i wa nted some individual share prices i wanted to talk you through. shares in dixons carphone have fallen sharply, down nearly a third after warning that more expensive mobile phones and lower eu roaming charges will hurt profits. has been prompting consumers to hold onto theirfor longer. has been prompting consumers to hold

onto their for longer. the company also blamed roaming charges. i also wa nt to also blamed roaming charges. i also want to talk to you about prominent financial. it was the highest climber on the ftse, continuing its recovery after a profit warning earlier this week prompted a near colla pse earlier this week prompted a near collapse in the share price. shares ata collapse in the share price. shares at a lender were up over 14%. but the stock is still down almost 60% since the start of the week. lastly, i want to talk to you about the 0ffice i want to talk to you about the office of national statistics telling us that the economy grew by just 0.7%. we also learned that household spending saw its lowest rise in two and a half years, rising by just rise in two and a half years, rising byjust 0.1%, partly due to a slowdown in car sales in particular. all of that means that, one year after the sharp depreciation in the pound that we saw in the wake of the brexit vote, household spending has actually stalled.

let‘s get detailed analysis of lawrence gosling, editor—in—chief of investment week. so, that means that the uk is the slowest growing economy in the g7 so far this year. what do you make of the numbers? it is interesting that we are the slowest growing economy in the eu, along with finland. finland is clearly a much smaller economy and smaller country. i think it is part of the slowdown you already referred to. i think we were already referred to. i think we were already aware that the general chat about brexit, particularly political chat, is beginning to impact on ordinary people in the street, making them nervous and pessimistic. we know that wage growth in the uk is low, probably dragging behind inflation. there is a bit of a squeeze coming on. also, that softer pound contributing to this. imported goods getting that little bit more

expensive for holidays, etc, how important is that? we have a couple of weeks of the holiday season to 90, of weeks of the holiday season to go, i went to buy some euros for my trip to spain and it was a painful transaction. a lot of people are seeing that. we are hearing a lot of companies, dixon and carphone warehouse alluded to it, the impact of the cost of sterling on their goods. the weakness of sterling is beginning to impact on all of our lives. i want to talk to you about a troubled lender, provident financial. highest climber on the ftse, but still down on a week. what a week it has been? extraordinary, we have seen the chief executive standing down on tuesday, a huge decrease in the value of the shares. 0ne decrease in the value of the shares. one of the largest shareholders, often referred to as britain‘s warren buffett, he said that he

thought the company was undervalued before the announcement. he said it was even more undervalued after the share declined. i suspect people like him and other canny investors are the reason that the share prices improved a little bit. as you quite rightly said, it is still quite a way down on the beginning of the week. a long way to go for them to repair their reputation. very briefly, another helpful hint, dixon carphone shares falling sharply, a good time to the chief executive said that the business was still in good shape, so i suspect we will see some canny professional investors dipping into the market today and tomorrow to pick up the stock. ultimately, it still pays a reasonable dividend and these are some quite good growth forecasts. quick reminder of how ftse finished. plus, across the pond, wall street stocks opened fairly flat on thursday, following a

round of solid earnings from tiffany and other retail companies. we saw them declining on wednesday, largely thanks to the typically thin trading volumes that we see over this time of year, volumes that we see over this time of yea r, lots volumes that we see over this time of year, lots of people on holiday. also, uneasiness over american politics. tomorrow we have the central bank summit that could signal a more dramatic shift away from the policies we have seen in recent yea rs. from the policies we have seen in recent years. that is all from me. more business on the website. a violinist who suffered brain damage in an accident has performed in concert with her best friend, 29 years after the accident that left her unable to to play. in a ground—breaking project, rosemaryjohnson was wired up to a computer using specialist software, allowing her to compose and play music again. this month, for the first time, she was able to perform with fellow musician alison balfour, a friend from her days with the welsh national opera orchestra.

let‘s have a look at the project in action. the system is reading rosie‘s brainwaves. she makes a selection and the violin player plays those phrases. that moment was magical. the idea of playing with rosie again after so many years was something i never imagined would be possible. earlier alison balfour — a friend and fellow musician — told the victoria derbyshire programme about her experience playing alongside rosie again. is

it was a privilege. is i felt honoured to be playing with rosie after all this time. it was extraordinary to see her reaction to see what was possible, notjust for rosie but for possibly many other people. tell us more about her before the accident and your friendship? well, we were not best friends. she was a bit younger than me. but we are all together in an orchestra, and we are all violinists together. and when she had this accident, we all felt utterly broken. and it took a long time to get over that. people will know, of course, that listening to music can be transformational for your feelings. how much do you think it has meant to her to do this? well, i hope it has meant quite a lot to her. her reaction when we were doing the recordings was wonderful to see. she looked so happy, she was smiling and she had a look

of total exhilaration, i have to say. and what do you take away from it? the wonder of what can happen with technology, it‘s extraordinary. are you hoping that you will be able to do more with her, going forward? i would like to, who knows? let‘s bring you an update on that news coming from edinburgh, saying that their female panda, news coming from edinburgh, saying that theirfemale panda, tian news coming from edinburgh, saying that their female panda, tian tian is pregnant. they cannot give a due date. we are showing you pictures of a panda, it could be tian tian. it could be the male panda. the producer said you can only see from

the front, so it doesn‘t really matter! she was reported to have lost a curb earlier in the year, having miscarried. edinburgh zoo are issuing something of a health warning with the announcement. a spokeswoman said the panda breeding season can last until september and that tian tian was being closely monitored. she has been pregnant by means of artificial insemination several times before but has never given birth to a live cub. if it does go through, it will be the first panda cub born in this country in captivity. those are library pictures. now let‘s get the weather forecast. lucy? good evening. bright whether the further south and east you are. low pressure in the north—west. that is bringing some outbreaks of rain as we move through the next few days. it is edging its way towards the

south—east, with drier, brighter weather always further south and east you are. we have seen some showers around this morning. some lovely rainbow sent in by a weather watcher in antrim. also, some bright intervals as well. this photograph sentin intervals as well. this photograph sent in by our weather watcher in twickenham, in london. as we move through the rest of the day today, we have a few showers still pushing into northern ireland. that is where we have seen the bulk of them today. good spells of sunshine around as well. becoming drier, the further south you are. through the rest of today, some showers across northern ireland and scotland, edging their way eastwards overnight. we will see some clear spells for wales, southern and central england, where temperatures will fall to an overnight low of around 12—14 degrees celsius. we could see some patches of mist and fog developing where we have clearer skies, but they will lift fairly quickly first thing tomorrow. tomorrow, low pressure sitting up to the

north—west. a fairly similar story to today. we will see some good spells of sunshine first thing in the south—east. perhaps more cloud bubbling up as we move through the day and some aspects of rain pushing in from northern ireland into western scotland and across to northern england as well. so, here we are at four o‘clock. you can see the outbreaks of rain. some of them will be quite persistent and heavy at points. temperatures in the mid to upper teens in scotland. just a few showers as you move into northern england. a touch more cloud across wales, but a few bright intervals around as well. similar story for the south—west, which will be mostly dry with good spells of sunshine. the south—east will see temperatures reaching a maximum of about 24 or 25 celsius. as we move into saturday, again, the best of the brightness the further south and east you are. we will see a slightly cloudier start, east you are. we will see a slightly cloudierstart, brightening east you are. we will see a slightly cloudier start, brightening up with a few clouds in the north and highs of 23 celsius. the showers could edge further south as we move into sunday, possibly for the midlands.

we will start to see the next area of low pressure moving in, as we go into monday. a breezy day. some outbreaks of rain, and the best of the dry weather the further south you are. tonight at five: net migration to the uk falls by a quarter. the net number of people entering the uk was 246,000 in the year to march — the lowest level for three years. it follows a surge in eu nationals leaving the uk since the eu referendum. what we a seeing is a third quarter net reduction in the migration figures, but it shows we cannot and will not be complacent about working towards that long term aim and desire that we outlined to people across the country that we want to see net migration fall to sustainable levels. we‘ll hear from a polish

businessman based in the uk and we‘ll get the latest analysis from westminster. the other main stories on bbc news at five: the number of students getting top gcse grades in maths and english has fallen slightly after the introduction of new tougher exams.