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tv   BBC News  BBC News  August 24, 2017 11:00pm-11:16pm BST

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this is bbc news. the headlines at 11pm: homeward bound — net migration is down to its lowest level for three years. many feel they're no longer earning enough here. sterling is going down, you know, and so we want to go there because we can find good jobs for the same money. the number of teenagers gaining the highest gcse grades has fallen, as the biggest shake—up of exams in england for a generation gets under way. the husband of the woman killed by a cyclist riding a bike with no front brakes calls for new laws to prevent another tragedy. and on newsnight what do today's migration statistics mean for theresa may, and what lessons can the uk learn from the norway— sweden border? good evening.
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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, is at the lowest level for three years. this still means there are twice as many eu nationals coming to britain as leaving. here's our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford. for some eastern europeans, brexit has been the trigger to go.
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buses leaving london for poland this afternoon, and some of the passengers won't come back. among the crowds, telecoms technician daniel, who is heading back to romania at christmas. he says the atmosphere in britain has changed. i think they are a little bit racist with us, with the european people. yeah, for that reason. that's why you are planning to leave? yeah, and also because sterling is going down, you know? we want to go there, because we can find good jobs for the same money. at this chicken hatchery in west oxfordshire, they've become reliant on workers from the so—called e8 countries, nations thatjoined the eu in 2004, like poland. it's allowed their business to expand, year—on—year. but suddenly, almost as many people from e8 countries are leaving britain as arriving. for workers at this farm, brexit was a sort of watershed.
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over the last 12 months or so, it's just got worse and worse. people have thought about it more and more and it's now becoming a reality. this isn't something that might happen in the future, in 2019. for people like ourselves, recruiting staff, this is a problem today. further up the chain in chicken production, they're even more reliant on eu workers. so, for the first time in years, he's planning to shrink the business, not grow it. rightly or wrongly, huge sections of the agricultural, food production, hospitality and manufacturing industries in the uk have become reliant on a ready supply of workers from the european union. now, all of a sudden, that supply is drying up. in nearby witney, only some thought the fall in migrant numbers was a good thing. we're getting too many people in the country, so, yeah, we'll get over them before long. it does depend where the migrants come from and what skills they bring with them.
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i like the mix. i think we need the mix and they've been very hard workers. in the year to march, overall migration into britain fell sharply because fewer europeans are coming and more are leaving. but it's still almost a quarter of a million a year, far short of the government's aim of tens of thousands. we won't be complacent. there's still a lot of work to do and we'll continue to do that work, to deliver ultimately on the long—term ambition to see net migration fall to sustainable levels. and why are eu citizens leaving? a sense of uncertainty and a falling pound. firstly, it's more expensive to live in the uk. things cost more. but also, if you are earning money in the uk and you want to spend that money another country or send it home to your family, it's worth less. and one argument over student migration was laid to rest today. newly introduced exit checks discovered that almost nobody abuses their student visa and overstays in the black economy. daniel sandford, bbc news.
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the first gcse results since new more demanding english and maths exams were introduced in england, are out and they show a decline in the proportion of top grades. the overall pass rate across all subjects in england, wales and northern ireland has also fallen slightly. over the next two years all subjects will move to the new marking system. and this is how it works: the old top mark a* is being replaced by a nine and the bottom mark g is now a one. it's all part of wider reforms designed to make gcses more rigorous and challenging, as our education editor branwenjeffreys reports. a jumble of letters and numbers. mainly cs, a d... two 65 and a five. three bs, a seven, two 5s and an a. making sense of their gcse results, the first 16—year—olds to take the tougher exams. there's loads more new content that you have to learn. there's just not much
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time to learn it in. we're learning a—level stuff as well as gcse stuff. it's really difficult. it was a shock. it'sjust making sure smarter people get the grades they deserve, i say. maybe? at this nottinghamshire school, tears mainly of relief. for the kids this year, the new gcses have been a real culture shock. they've had to learn so much more, remember so much more, and their grades have all rested on these final exams. the results here much better than last year, but at a cost. they couldn't teach it all in the school day. we've had a compulsory session after school, particularly focused on english and maths, but on a rotation for all other subjects, to get in the increased content. of course, that's going to get even tougher as we move towards the new gcses in all other subjects.
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the pass rate in england for 16—year—olds moved just a little. in english language, 69.9% got a four or above, a little better than in the old exam last year. in english literature, it was 72.5%. in maths, 70.7%. both just slightly down, because the grade points are moved to avoid a big drop in results. three a*s, four as and the rest bs. in wales, results included six new gcses. many took exams a year early. as a result, fewer pupils got good grades, still counted here in a* to c. this is where they pick up the pieces. in england, maths and english resits are compulsory. that's for anyone getting a three this year. so does that help us be
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a better skilled nation? it's a significant concern for us. not just about how they're going to do it, but also the appropriateness. because a lot of young people come to colleges to go into vocational education, into technical education. and gcses, traditional gcse routes, are those the right routes? today's results are just the beginning. what children learn in england is changing, with more tough gcs es to follow. bra nwen jeffreys, bbc news, nottinghamshire. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news this evening: councillors in kensington and chelsea have agreed a £76 million package to help people who lost their homes in the grenfell tower fire. £40 million will go
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towards buying homes from private social housing providers. money is also being set aside to compensate people who owned flats in the tower. at least eight people are still missing in eastern switzerland after the biggest landslide there in decades. almost ten million tons of rock and mud roared down into the valley yesterday near the tiny village of bondo. a rescue operation is under way but police say the mud and rock covers an area of three miles, and is 30 feet deep in places. the husband of a woman killed by a cyclist riding a bike with no front brakes is calling for new laws to be introduced for death by dangerous cycling. the cyclist, 19—year—old charlie alliston, was convicted yesterday of wanton and furious driving, an offence dating back to 1861. kim brigg's husband says it's time the law was brought up to date. dan johnson reports. she had this mantra of "make every day count." enormous believer in filling life
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with experiences, with travel. she was always happy. yeah, she was just fantastic. kim briggs‘ husband wants to make her death count. she died crossing the road in a collision which he describes as senseless and avoidable. the law is inadequate. people say you are calling for new laws. we are calling for a change in the law to incorporate cycling. we have dangerous driving and reckless driving. iam have dangerous driving and reckless driving. i am calling for cycling to be incorporated into that for the law to catch up. this case raises broader issues about how cyclists and pedestrians share the same space. the key question is how much responsibility should cyclists have for safety on the road? should that responsibility be at the same level as car drivers? some cycling groups accept a review is needed, but they
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wa nt accept a review is needed, but they want all the rules of the road updated. the government promised four years ago to look at road traffic offences and it has been under the remit for four consecutive justice secretary is, none of whom have progressed it and the matter is still in abeyance at the moment. have progressed it and the matter is still in abeyance at the momentm has prompted plenty of debate. especially at this london cycle cafe. we all have responsibility to travel on roads and i think someone is causing death by dangerous cycling, why should that be different from dangerous driving? you regularly see bikes that are not fit for the road basically, they shouldn't be out on the road, bikes with three wheels that have breaks that don't work, which are more dangerous than a fixed wheel without break. that briggs rides a bike himself but he thinks a change in the law could save lives and prevent injuries —— matt. the law could save lives and prevent injuries -- matt. this is the right thing to do and, yes, i am doing it in kim‘s name and i am also doing it to ensure that, you know, just
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perhaps we can stop this happening again. these deaths are rare. many more people on foot and on bikes are killed by motorists but our streets are getting busier with the potential for more conflict. an interfaith memorial has taken place in barcelona to commemorate the victims of last week‘s terror attack. flowers were laid at the ceremony to pay tribute to the 1a people who died in the attack, which targeted barcelona and the seaside resort of cambrils. today marks one week since a van drove into pedestrians on las ramblas promenade. a woman who made up a string of false rape and sexual assault allegations has beenjailed for ten years for perjury and perverting the course of justice. jemma beale, who‘s 25, was found guilty injuly. one of the men she wrongly accused spent time in prison. the prosecution said investigating all of her claims had cost at least a quarter of a million pounds. shares in dixons carphone,
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which the company which owns carphone warehouse and dixons, have dropped by nearly a quarter after it warned that its profits would be lower than previously expected. it‘s blaming falling sales of mobile phones. our technology correspondent rory cellanjones explained that it wasn‘t a case of people falling out of love with their phones. it seems that we may have decided we don‘t need to upgrade them as often. dixons saying maybe we will do it every two and a half years rather than two years and that will cost them a lot of money. why? you only need to look at a handful of modern mobile phones. they all look exactly the same. and every new phone has got maybe some slight wrinkle in it. but people are finding it hard to justify the added cost. and that is the other factor. they are getting more expensive. the fall in the pound has lead to rises in prices. we saw samsung issue a phone
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yesterday which is going to cost £869 as a starting price with rumours that the iphone might cost up rumours that the iphone might cost up to £1000. so beginning to bite that kind of price rise. here is someone that kind of price rise. here is someone for whom higher prices will no longer be a concern. a woman in america has won the biggest lottery prize ever awarded to a single ticket—holder. 53—year—old mavis wanzik — here, wearing the black top — scooped almost £600 million after spending $2 on a lottery ticket at a petrol station in massachusetts. the mother of two says she has already quit herjob. she chose her numbers based on her relatives‘ birthdays. that‘s a summary of the news. newsday is coming up at midnight. now on bbc news, it‘s time for newsnight with emma barnett. there‘s some strong language from the outset. for years the government believed many international students overstayed their visas. today we find out almost none of them do. so what credibility should we give the migration statistics? this new data undermines
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a lot of what we thought we knew about how many people come to live here. the hottest topic in british politics turns out to be the area in which we‘ve been worst informed. we‘ll ask a leading brexiteer and a prominent remainer, if government policy has long been based on dodgy data. we‘ve been to the border between norway and sweden. ministers here think it‘s a model for a future frictionless border between northern ireland and the republic. so how does it work for them? what you think about the customs here? i think it is completely clap, it takes a long time, it is not easy. hundreds of thousands of teenagers opened their gcse results this morning. do you know what a grade 4 in maths actually means? and what‘s the difference between a "good pass" and a "standard" one?

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