this is bbc news. the headlines at seven o'clock: the number of dead after the genoa bridge collapse is now 39, with emergency crews still searching for survivors. people were running, screaming in italian. 50 we just literally, people were running, screaming in italian. 50 wejust literally, kids, run, because we did not know what was happening. the authorities have released the identites of some of the victims, one as young as 8 years old. police are continuing to question 29—year—old salih khater, the man arrested after the suspected terror attack in westminster. the bbc will not appeal, after losing a high court privacy case brought by sir cliff richard, over its coverage of a police raid on his home. 30 men and one woman, many thought to be british pakistanis, are charged with numerous sexual offences including child rape and trafficking, in the huddersfield area. and also on the programme, on the eve of a—level results being published, we'll be taking a look at the increasing popularity of vocational courses. thousands of students received their btec results today,

qualifications that are more career—focused, but can also gain entry to university. and why would you run almost 500 miles around the perimeter of yorkshire? we've been ca ntering round the county with the man doing just that. good evening. the italian prime minister has declared a 12 month state of emergency across the genoa region, in response to the motorway bridge collapse. at least 39 people are now known to have died after the morandi bridge gave way. the cause of the disaster isn't yet clear. rescuers estimate that at least 15 vehicles are still trapped in the rubble, but say they have little hope of finding more survivors.

among those who had a narrow escape were a british family. james reynolds reports. can there be anyone left underneath all of this? to find out, rescuers will have teeth such and every broken concrete slab at signs of life from beneath the rubble have not died away. we haven't had any cries since yesterday, but we may still find survivors. looking up you can see some vehicles have been abandoned right on the edges of the section just standing ahead of the collapse. a few more seconds and those drivers would have crashed to the ground. they were all incredibly lucky to survive. nicola and lisa from 0xfordshire were here on holiday with their children. they told me they were driving towards the bridge when they saw a commotion up ahead. people started shouting. waving their arms to reverse.

tooting horns and everything. we tried to reverse. and we couldn't go anywhere. the car in front hit the front of our car. the people were running, screaming in italian, "run, out, cars!" we literally went, "kids, run." we didn't know what happened. we made our son run and grabbed our daughter's hand and started running. we couldn't pick her up. there was torrential rain. our daughter took her shoes off. she didn't have her glasses. we left everything in the car and ran for our lives. they took shelter in a motorway tunnel. many others ahead of them lost their lives. the victims include this family. another man was 48 with a young

son and he was killed on his way to work. a 35—year—old father of four was driving his work van. four others were in their 20s and on their way to spain. they had planned to fly, but they ended up hiring a car instead. the italian authorities have promised a full investigation into the collapse of the bridge. translation: tragic events like this must not be allowed to happen in a modern country like italy. this is unacceptable. those responsible must pay. in the end, responsibility may have to be shared. foi’ years, successive governments have failed to fix italy's crumbling infrastructure. italians may now ask if this

disaster is the consequence of years of wider neglect. let's get more now on the rescue operation now with marcello de angelis from the italian red cross. he's been receiving regular updates from genoa. what is the latest you have as regards casualties and the possibility of anybody being found alive? we still haven't reported any more missing and as you were saying, 15 cars still under the rubble. i heard from our rescue unitjust less than an hourago heard from our rescue unitjust less than an hour ago that the dogs were

barking. when the dogs barking it means they have found something. but doesn't necessarily mean... it could bea human... doesn't necessarily mean... it could be a human... we recently pulled out a dog under the rubble who had died shortly after the collapse. and we don't know if the dog smelt something dead or alive. we don't despair in the sense that in previous experiences like during the earthquake in 2009, we found someone alive even after three or four days. it is very rare, a recall. but miracles do happen. indeed i remember the earthquake well. and there were pockets of air that people managed to survive in for a number of days. and do you believe thatis number of days. and do you believe that is still a possibility now? their bristol hope? no. 0urjob is to carry on searching. which is what

we are going to do. we are prepared to do this for days until the authorities will decide that it is no longer plausible to carry on with the search. but there is still a lot of rubble to be removed. and as we we re of rubble to be removed. and as we were saying their bra cars that have been detected under the rubble. so there really is still a lot of work to do. and we are ready to do that. have you had to attend the scenes of similar disasters in the past?m have you had to attend the scenes of similar disasters in the past? it is very similar to similar disasters in the past? it is very similarto an similar disasters in the past? it is very similar to an earthquake. and u nfortu nately we a re very similar to an earthquake. and unfortunately we are quite used to earthquakes in italy. we had quite a big one last year. and it is like a town been stricken by an earthquake. in the procedure it is more or less the same. we have to set up an

emergency camp, give food. and luckily now unlike an earthquake, where hospitals were not affected, so where hospitals were not affected, so it was quite easy and immediate. being able to give medical assistance to people. but what we are doing is exactly the same. we are doing is exactly the same. we are removing the heavy chunks of concrete to allow the search to go deeper into the rubble. and when the dogs give us signals and then it. just removing stones until you find the bodies. good luck to you and the emergency crews on the ground. trying to do the best they can to find any survivors who may still be alive. thank you. more details have emerged

about the man arrested in connection with the suspected terror attack outside parliament yesterday. the suspect, 29—year—old salih khater, is a british citizen, who originally came from sudan as a refugee. police are continuing to search an address in birmingham as part of their investigation. 0ur midlands correspondent sima kotecha sent this report. a british national of sudanese origin. salih khater came to this country eight years ago. he's now under arrest on suspicion of terror charges and attempted murder. on monday night police say he drove from birmingham to london. his car crashed into a barrier outside the houses of parliament. after having swerved into an area where there were pedestrians and

cyclists. police searched three properties in birmingham, including this building, where the suspect once lived. he didn't talk that much. i know him from the shisha club. he used to sit opposite me. never used to say anything. a quiet man? very. the bbc understands that salih khater lived in the flat above this cafe for at least nine months. he moved out earlier this year and today several customers here have told us that he regularly visited the area up until very recently. we have obtained a copy of his cv. he says after going to school in sudan, he spent time working in libya. in 2010, he arrived in the uk as a refugee. according to the document, between working various jobs, he took an english course. we understand he went on to study science and last year enrolled in an accountancy course, but left after failing his first year. he describes himself

as hard—working, honest and responsible. the suspect‘s brother has said his family is in a state of shock, while a local friend told us he was a normal person. good, polite, humble. he was a normal person. friendly. he was a normal person. kept himself to himself. he was a normal person. he is not one of them people that mingle with people or nothing. just does his job and that's it. in westminster all the cordons have been lifted. a day after the arrest, police continue with trying to piece together what happened and why. they say their priority is understanding whether there was any motivation behind the incident. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford said the metropolitan police has yet to establish a motive for the attack.

to establish a motive extraordinarily almost 36 hours after this car smashes into security barriers outside parliament, the motivation still remains a very a very open question. the normal procedure of this politically of a politically motivated attack in britain is of three senior counters terrorism detectives to declare what is called a terrorist incident. it is a bureaucratic procedure, but that is what normally happens and in this case no terrorist incident has been declared. and the only explanation for that is that detectives in their searches have not so far found anything to suggest a political motivation behind what is called mindset material. yes, salih khater is being held on suspicion of terrorism offences, also on suspicion of attempted murder, but in the such as we have made we have found no sign of extremism and detectives in their extensive investigation

also appears not to have found any signs of political motivation, said that does raise the possibility, besides it seems, that there may be some other motivation if this was a deliberate attack. for example, he had recently failed his exams at university. is there something like that that was the motivation if this was a deliberate act? the bbc has decided not to appeal the judgement in the case brought by sir cliff richard against the corporation and south yorkshire police. last month, a high courtjudge ruled that the bbc infringed the singer's privacy, awarding him substantial damages. here's our media editor amol rajan. last month the bbc was found guilty of a serious invasion of sir cliff richard's privacy. the corporation, which had filmed a police raid on his home was forced to pay vast damages and legal costs. £1.9 million and set to grow. but because the judgment created new case law, its director of news warned of a threat to british journalism. thejudge made clear

even if there was no footage of the search, the naming of sir cliff would have been unlawful. this creates a significant shift against press freedom. the issue is whether suspects in police cases can be named by journalists before they're charged. while privacy can and will be breached, reporters says this allows them to scrutinise the police. today the corporation said that based on legal advice it will not appeal the decision. instead the director general has written to the attorney general asking him to review the law in this area. we think and the whole media thinks there is an important principle at stake and the judge has extended law in a very unhelpful way. we thought there was a principle at stake and we were prepared to settle on everything other than the principle and made many offers to do so. but the principle

is important to us. many legal minds believe the bbc was unwise to fight the case. i think editors misunderstand the position. what this illustrates and this has been a long—term problem in britain, is a failure to appreciate the importance of privacy rights. they don't trump freedom of expression rights, but they're of equal value and must be balanced. the bbc is damaged by this case. a big editorial misjudgment has been compounded by a failed battle. while a letter to the attorney general could buy some time, it is not clear this falls within his remit. the editor of one paper believes that british journalism has become tougher. this ruling tips the balance too far towards secrecy. yes, it will help innocent people like cliff richard,

but it will also hurt victims of crime. there can be a domino effect when news of an investigation breaks and others come forward. it is not clear how this case will affect the freedom of the press, but it is clear sir cliff richard feels hurt and wronged and the bbc has spent public money on a lost fight. and we'll find out how this story and many others , are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are the broadcaster, david davies and owen bennett, who's deputy political editor of the news website, huffpost uk. the headlines on bbc news. the number of dead after the genoa bridge collapse is now 39, with emergency crews still searching for survivors. police are continuing to question 29 —year—old salih khater, the man arrested after the suspected

terror attack in westminster. the bbc will not appeal, after losing a high court privacy case brought by sir cliff richard, ogver its coverage of a police raid on his home. west yorkshire police have charged 30 men and one woman with sexual offences, against children including rape and trafficking. the alleged crimes took place between 2005 and 2012. many of the suspects are thought to be of british pakistani heritage. emma glaz—bee reports from huddersfield. some of these offences dated back 13 yea rs. some of these offences dated back 13 years. police say all of the charges relate to five women. now these women were aged between 12 and 18 yea rs women were aged between 12 and 18 years old. but it is alleged the offences took place between 2005 and 2000 most of the men are from

huddersfield, but they are also charged a man from jewish berry, ships berry and camden, with offences including rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation. a woman from huddersfield has also been charged for specific to it in the commission of the child sex offence. at least 67 people have been killed after monsoon floods hit the southern indian state of kerala. hundreds of villages have been submerged and more than 50,000 people have been displaced after several days of heavy rain. an official said hundreds of relief camps had been set up across the state and the local airport has been closed until saturday. closing arguments in the defence case have begun in the trial against donald trump's former campaign chairman paul manafort, on bank and tax fraud charges.

the case is the first from special counsel robert mueller‘s investigation, into alleged russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. let's speak to chris buckler in washington. it is the. no witnesses brought by the defence, why? the defence team decided to rest without bringing any evidence to the table. the prosecution did not meet the standard of proof, their argument to the journey. that the standard of proof, their argument to thejourney. that the prosecution did not do a good enoughjob of bringing a case against paul manas that. a man called rick gates, paul manas fought‘s right and man through crucial times when allegedly these crimes were committed. he said that he had committed crimes along paul. but the defence got him to admit

that he had an extramarital affair and had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from paul, which all happened in a local courtroom as paul was staring at him. a lot of drama during this case. now it will come down to the cherry. this prosecution set up this case that the defence had been given a final statement in the last few minutes. we expect the jerry to go out statement in the last few minutes. we expect thejerry to go out even this evening or tomorrow morning. by the end of this week? it depends on how much the journey wants to do. but some of the focus will be on rick gates, but there was a lot of evidence given by the prosecution also. in theirfinal statements, they were making the point that the jerry did not have too like rick gates, they had to look at him in the context of the other witnesses who had been called. they will all very ha rd who had been called. they will all very hard about warm and offered himself. we should explain some of this as paul was the campaign managerfor donald

this as paul was the campaign manager for donald trump. these charges really get back from before he was campaign manager, before working for donald trump. and time when he was working in ukraine for pro—russian parties there. it is claimed he hid tens of millions of dollars he got from the consultancy in bank accounts he lied about tax returns, falsified accounts. " in bank accounts he lied about tax returns, falsified accounts." today the prosecution said that manaford lied in order to try to get bank loa ns. lied in order to try to get bank loans. they say the defence are now making theirfinal loans. they say the defence are now making their final statements. ultimately it will be up to the jerry, but this will be watched extremely closely, because donald trump has already been commented on in this case because it has been brought by the special counsel. technically this is nothing to do of charges of collusion or russian interference in the presidential election in 2016, but president

trump believes everything that is being done is a witchhunt and he has been deeply critical of this case. even saying that manaford has been treated unfairly. rail unions have clashed with the government after a call by the transport secretary to change the way that annual fare increases are calculated. the transport secretary chris grayling has suggested linking them to the lower rate of inflation — cpi — rather than rpi. the rmt union said it was an attempt to impose a pay cap on its members. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge has been getting reaction from those most affected — the passengers. people have accepted that they don't have a choice, and you feel exploited, to some extent. passengers are really frustrated. you can see today, i'm standing right next to the door. i could just about get into the train. commuters crammed into a rickety old carriage early this morning. i payjust over £1,000 a year. john has two kids and commutes from appley bridge, outside

wigan, into manchester. it's just absolutely horrendous. sometimes one train turns up, sometimes they don't. now his season ticket could cost an extra £32 next year, in line with inflation. i don't know how they can justify that when they can't even get it to run on time at the best of times, so it's an absolute disgrace. remember, this is august, when things are supposed to be quiet, but after half an hour of ourjourney, it was standing room only. and remember, these passengers have suffered weeks of disruption, with cancellations and delays. amid the anger overjanuary‘s rail fare rise, the government has now suggested that a lower measure of inflation — the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index — should be used in future to produce smaller increases to ticket prices, but it says costs, like rail workers' wages, should go up at a lower rate too. salaries amount to about half the costs of the industry as a whole, so you can't make

adjustments without working with the unions as well. i'm really disappointed they've just said no. they've said, basically, we want our members to have higher pay rises than everybody else. the unions say the idea is a bad joke. labour agrees. chris grayling then trying to blame rail workers for this is absurd. it's his decision, his decision to keep this privatised network in operation, and there's a lot of people making a lot of money out of it and a lot of commuters paying an awful lot more to travel. with more of us using the trains, the conundrum is who should pay for a better, more affordable service? a woman from north west london has become a household name in pakistan after starring in some of the country's biggest tv dramas over the past two years. kubra khan has been cast in two of the three pakistani films being released next week to coincide with the islamic festival of eid. kubra khan swapped harrow

for karachi at the age of 19 when she was approached to star in a pakistani movie. five years on, she's one of the biggest tv and film stars in the country and has two movies releasing on the same day this coming eid. it turns out though her mum was apprehensive about her moving maybe 5,000 miles away to pursue a career in acting. i remember telling her i will go to drama club in pakistan. she was like, "ok, that's fine." and then i was like, "i'm going again, for 11 months. i kept saying that. mum, you think i should just move there because i'm working quite bit, i don't get a single day off. i don't want to come home for like five days anyways. and i'd still do the same thing but at least i'd be at peace of mind at my own place. and she was very supportive about it. there must‘ve been a sense of validation when you were offered a role in two of this eid's big releases. in many ways, you accomplish what you set out to achieve. there was a sense of achievement when i was doing the movies,

it was a much more stressful when i found out they were releasing on eid together. what am i going to do what are going to promote? but of course there are three movies coming out two have them... my mother is very proud. you grew up in this country in london, but you move to a country that is perceived in western media as being oppressive towards women. where you afraid about those perceptions? my perceptions changed the second i went to pakistan. because i spent my entire life here, so i always thought that pakistan it will be like close minded people. i did think that, i was a bitjudgmental. but when i got there, everyone was so much more modern, open minded. women in pakistan is not definitely not, but it is not half as bad as it is shown on tv. what about the quality of life that you sacrificed here in london in exchange for your new base which is karachi? the first 11 months i'd stay in guest houses and hotels and i would work 15 hours and come back to a dark room alone and i would get really depressed,

but it is ok because i have a few number of friends i can call. so if i get lonely ijust go i'm sad, talk to me. what do you miss most about living in the uk? you know you miss the uk when you start missing the tubes. with both of kubra's eid releases predicted to do big business at the box office, it's likely she will continue her dream run in pakistan for the foreseeable future. now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. living in the heart of the country that were dry and brighter today, we can suspect something different tomorrow. rain on the way. places with thick cloud of outbreaks of rain today should be brighter tomorrow. bands of rain continuing tomorrow. bands of rain continuing to work is words tonight. down into

northern england, wales, the south west. southern areas generally will be quite warm overnight. northern ireland and scotland, some cooler fresher air beginning to show its head. tomorrow, a bright start across the south—east. this arena band will eventually arrive. behind it parts of wales in the south west, brightening up with some sunshine. northern ireland and scotland, a mixture of sunny spells, heavy thundery showers, but across the board, those temperatures much they were. 16 to 20 degrees at best. friday will see some outbreaks of rain, northern areas mainly dry. things look witty mixed as we head towards the weekend. hello, this is bbc news. i'm clive myrie. the headlines. the number of people dead after the genoa bridge collapse is now 39. people were running, screaming in italian, run, out!

everyone out, cars, out, cars! cars! so we were just literally, kids, run! because we didn't know what was happening. police are continuing to question 29 year old salih khater, the man arrested after the suspected terror attack in westminster. the bbc will not appeal, after losing a high court privacy case brought by sir cliff richard, ogver its coverage of a police raid on his home. and coming up, how a police force is catching gun—runners and kidnappers by paying them in the digital currency bitcoin. let‘s get more now on our top story— the genoa bridge collapse, and the italian prime minister giuseppe conte has ordered a 12—month state of emergency in the region after at least 39 people died. the cause has not yet been established but the transport minister has called on the bosses of the company maintaining the morandi bridge, to resign. let's talk now tojohn hooper, italy correspondent for the economist. hejoins me via webcam from florence. it is good to see you, thank you for

being with us. the announcement of the state of emergency, what does it mean for that region? it is an attempt to try to help the region get over the effects of this disaster because he has on the one hand cut the city of —— it has cut the city of genoa in two because it was a bridge that ran over the city, and it has cut off the main route to the port and the main route along which traffic flows to from the area so which traffic flows to from the area so there is the possibility of an economic disaster in the region as well as the tragedy we have already seen well as the tragedy we have already seen with the loss of those lives at least of the lives you mentioned in your introduction. there has been a

call for the contract of autostrade, that deals with maintenance of the bridge, to come to an end. and an appealfor help, bridge, to come to an end. and an appeal for help, also . the interior minister first divorce said it was brussels' fault for not giving italy are enough money, or not allowing it to spend enough money on its infrastructure. since then he has changed his tune and gone for the company in charge of that part of the motorway network, saying it did not have the maintenance in place to guarantee the safety. the firm vehemently denies this and says it maintained the stretch of motorway with three

monthly inspections and a much more in—depth inspection every two years. there are many who suggest that italy's infrastructure has been crumbling for some time and not enough effort has been made to maintain bridges like this one. the figures we have run at the economists suggest the spending on infrastructure is about average in europe —— the economist. what happens is patching up what their ea rs happens is patching up what their ears than is spent on new projects. this is largely the result of disputes that take place when the project is first mooted. 0ne disputes that take place when the project is first mooted. one of those projects is a proposed bypass, which was going to take the traffic away from this bridge, because there has been concern about its safety

for many years. we will leave it there. john hooper, italy correspondent for the economist. a memorial bell has tolled in 0magh to mark the 20th anniversary of the real ira car bomb — the single most deadly attrocity in the history of the troubles. a woman pregnant with twins was among 29 people killed in the dissident republican attack, for which no one has been successfully prosecuted. from 0magh our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. the horror of 0magh was unprecedented. the carnage and panic of that day will for ever be in the memories of those who survived. when they came in and said, "there's a bomb scare, would you move down?" kevin skelton had been shopping in town with his wife. they each walked into different stores. this brief moment that separated them was fateful. and as i turned to come round,

to come out — bang! the bomb went off. he found his wife lying in the rubble of the shop just next door. i lifted her arm. i couldn't feel any pulse. i knew she was dead. 29 people were killed by the car bomb, including a woman who was pregnant with twins. it had been detonated in the busiest part of town by a breakaway republican group known as the real ira. it was so loud that the car bounced off the road. people were running, screaming, calling, and i met children huddling together. paddy mcgowan gave first aid. more than 200 people were injured that day and thousands more traumatised. how do you feel, 20 years on, when you come back to this spot? it still makes the hairs stand on the back of my neck. i don't come up here too often. i try to avoid it as much as i can. today, in 0magh, a bell was rung

for each of the lives lost. hundreds gathered in the high street for a two—minute silence to mark the final annual commemoration of the atrocity — an act of remembrance and unity. when they put that car on this street, they thought they were going to divide it, but they've brought this community tighter together. 0magh was always a mixed community, which came together after the attack and continues to do so today. but people here live in the knowledge that despite thousands of hours of investigation and many arrests, there have never been any criminal convictions for the killings. for many, hopes have now faded of ever seeing justice. today, petals were scattered for those who lost their lives, and tributes were paid to 0magh‘s survivors, who never let this tragedy divide them. emma vardy, bbc news, 0magh.

the england rugby international danny cipriani has been arrested and charged following an incident an a nightclub injersey. police say the 30—year—old fly—half was arrested in the early hours of this morning in st helier. he's been charged with five offences, including assault and resisting arrest. he's due to appear atjersey magistrates‘ court tomorrow morning. eight people have been injured after a horsejumped over a fence into a crowd during a farming show in pembrokeshire. an air ambulance was called to help those hurt after the horse, which was taking part in a competition, threw off its rider and — in the words of an eye witness — went on a rampage. five people were taken to hospital including a twelve—year—old boy and an eighty—three—year—old man. a police force in england is catching gun—runners and kidnappers by paying them in bitcoin. the so—called crypto—currency are increasingly popular with legitimate investors. but peter goodman, who's derbyshire's chief constable, and the national police lead

on cyber—crime, says more criminals are using them too. and that's because they can't be traced through the banks. jeremy ball reports. they say money makes the world go round and this is the currency most of us use. but more and more people on converting pounds and pence into new digital currencies bitcoin. just look at this, in this these agents in leicester, just look at this, in this newsagents in leicester, there is even a machine where you can change it automatically. you touch the screen to start and press the option. he installed this atm after he made money on bitcoin. investors who know how to play the markets can make a fortune on it. but there is a prominent warning about scammers, too. one woman who came here lost £3000. they rang this lady and said she did not pay enough tax and she put a large amount of money inside the machine. she was in tears. when i got here and explained to her the actual process

of what bitcoin is. she was under the impression she was on the phone to hmrc and then she was under the impression she spoke to mr bitcoin himself. it doesn't exist. so she got scammed very badly. so how does bitcoin work? it is one of several so—called crypto currencies. essentially a string of computer code you can buy and sell online. its value fluctuates sharply. that is why it is used by legitimate investors. but because it is not part of the banking system, those transactions are anonymous and harder to trace. that makes it popular with criminals, too. your old east end bank robbers probably don't use crypto currency, but your new cybercriminals, your new extortionists, the majority of drug dealing does not take place on a street corner any more, where you meet the shady drug dealer and pay £20 for your hit or whatever you want. the majority of it takes place through the dark web using crypto currency and the stuff delivered to your house. when we look at the transactions, the majority are not involved in criminality.

and it is a new battle ground for detectives like mick donegan. now they are using crypto currencies, too, as part of new covert techniques to gather intelligence and evidence. people think that crypto currency transactions are completely anonymous and not traceable. that isn't true. we've used them in traditional kidnap cases. extortion cases, we have paid for firearms through bitcoin to make sure they don't enter the streets of derbyshire and we can keep derbyshire safe. we have also used bitcoin to buy drugs as part of our evidential and prosecution process. this is no longer a cinderella sport for us. and it is not going away. the bitcoin is already bringing extra business for his shop here in belgrave and he thinks that crypto currencies could eventually replace hard cash. many people will be getting their exam results this week, but an increasing number

are choosing vocational courses over traditional a—levels. today, it's the turn of thousands of students to get their btec results — the qualifications are career—focused but can also be used to gain entry to university. steph mcgovern reports. when it comes to education, it's not all about gcses and a—levels. these are some of the millions of people studying vocational qualifications. and it's everything from robotics, catering, performing arts, engineering, hairdressing, we've got sport, and health and social care — to name a few. top marks today would be students getting d*s — distinction stars. hi, guys, how have you done? tell me what you've got, go on. i've done great. i've got d*, d*, d* over my three years, doing sports science, so it's really good. what next for you? i'm off to the states at the end of this year for a four—year scholarship playing rugby. 0h, amazing! well done. guys, guys, i got a d and an e! that's so good! thanks. oh, that's really good. what are you doing next, sarah? i'm going into a salon in newcastle.

so let me give you some numbers on this. now, in england, last year, 5.1 million people did gcses. 1.5 million did a—level and as—levels. and 3.8 million did vocational qualifications. there are loads of different courses — like diplomas, nvqs and btecs. double—0lympic champion max whitlock says his career was helped by his btec in sport. the way it was based, with coursework, made it a lot easier for me to work on a qualification whilst doing gymnastics at the same time. the skills that i learnt, i can easily transfer over to my sport and how i run in business now. rhianne — who wants to work in cyber security, and kayleigh — hoping to be a midwife — are both off to uni. i got a d*, so a double distinction — the equivalent of, like, three as. yeah, at a—level. in a—level, yeah. amazing, well done. yeah, thank you. why did you decide to do vocational study rather than, like, a—levels? it kind of was more suited to me because you do experience with coursework. i find with a—levels,

it's generally like there's. .. well, like your gcses, you have this big exam at the end of the year and that's what your entire course relies on, whilst with btec, it's individual assignments. so, as well as doing coursework, i've also worked for a north east cancer charity and i've worked for the elderly. this is where i do all of my coursework. and it's notjust for the young. linda decided to do a diploma in art in herfifties. it's something i've always wanted to do and i thought, i don't want to look back in years to come and say, i wish i had. yeah. so i decided i would leave myjob and enrol on the course, and that's what i've done, and i've not looked back. ultimately, i would love to teach. i can see your enthusiasm is just bursting out! fab! whatever age you take them, employers say this type of qualification — with its work experience and practical skills — are crucial. steph mcgovern, bbc news, gateshead. jacqui maher, is an assistant principal at south and city college birmingham which offers btec courses. what do you put the increasing

popularity down two of courses like btec as far as younger people are concerned? i think the increase in numbers in btec, choosing them over a—level, as it said in your report, is down to the fact that most btecs incorporate work experience and it prepares young people well for employment and leaves them open to more choice at the end. because you are not deemed to have to go into that area you have chosen. you can continue and go to university or choose a different vocational area. you are not tied into anything in particular. it seems as if you have your cake and eat it, you get work experience, you could go into the job perhaps faster than someone with

a degree, but you can go to university with that qualification. your choices are far more open with btecs. 0ur college is predominantly a vocational college. we deliver some a—levels but most students come to us looking for btecs and we have hundreds of different levels. the choices available are everything from construction, which we've seen a huge rising, particularly in the higher levels, construction management, which match the skills gap in the west midlands area, so they are going into good high level, well—paid jobs. they are going into good high level, well-paid jobs. it seems businesses wa nt well-paid jobs. it seems businesses want people who are more qualified and have work experience, to take them on as opposed to others who may have done of the courses at universities. there has been a continual report about employers saying they are getting people out

of university and colleges that are not ready, who do not have the skills, who do not have the behaviours that enable them to be successful when they get them to go into employment. with btec and the work experience in those programmes those students already are more prepared to go into employment and beat the leaves. employers are also involved in the development so they talk with the colleges, which then can talk with the colleges, which then ca n twea k talk with the colleges, which then can tweak their programmes to fit what the employers need. do you find perhaps the cost of going to colleges and university, higher education courses, that is perhaps pushing a lot more people into more work orientated qualifications? absolutely, students coming to us now look at costs. they want to know what the cost is. they tell you what

job they want to get to and you map out the route to them, the courses they need to do. you show them both routes, you have the academic route, the a—level route, also the btec route, where you canjump off the a—level route, also the btec route, where you can jump off at any point and go into employment and be prepared for that. it is looking as though if you want to choose the cheaper option and go through work, particularly with the growth in apprenticeships so if you do a btec 16-18 apprenticeships so if you do a btec 16—18 go into employment, employers are likely to have an apprenticeship in the area you hope to study and continue studying and get high level qualifications and you can do it whilst in employment and the btec better prepares you for that. thank you. if you're getting results this summer and want some help with what to do next, the bbc has a dedicated website called bitesize where you can get lots of information on education and careers www.bbc.com/bitesize.

the headlines on bbc news... the number of dead after the genoa bridge collapse is now 39, with emergency crews still searching for survivors. police are continuing to question 29 year old salih khater, the man arrested after the suspected terror attack in westminster. the bbc will not appeal, after losing a high court privacy case brought by sir cliff richard, ogver its coverage of a police raid on his home. an australian politician has used his maiden speech in the senate to make an inflammatory call for a "final solution" to immigration. the queensland senator also suggested banning all muslim migrants from entering the country. kristina harazim has more. i believe that the reason for ending all further muslim immigration...

fraser anning has not yet served a year in australian politics and already he's making headlines. for all the wrong reasons. we have black african muslim gangs terrorising melbourne. we have isis—sympathising muslims trying to go overseas to fight for isis and while all muslims are not terrorists, certainly all terrorists, these days, are muslims. senator anning, who is from the regional city of gladstone in the country's north, was elected to the upper house of parliament earlier this year. a day after making the statement and he refused to back down or apologise. talk to the people of australia that i do, in bars and places, and you will find that most of them would like to back exactly what i say. mr anning is the sole senator representing katter‘s australian party, a minor party led by fellow queenslander bob katter. this was his first speech to the senate and what he said next sparked global outrage. the final solution to the immigration problem,

of course, a popular vote. of course, is a popular vote. senator anning's a remarks are appalling. i condemn them and i reject them in their entirety. i have relatives who went through the holocaust. his comment about the final solution to immigration is insensitive, was ignorant, was divisive, and was hurtful. but mr anning denies his words were a reference to the holocaust. it was two words used. it's the thought police who believe that it is an inflammatory comment. party leader bob katter is one of his few supporters. he described mr anning's speech as solid gold. we, as a race of people, we australians, are being buried by a mass migration programme. immigration remains a hot topic in australia amid concerns about jobs and overcrowding in major cities. even as migration numbers

continue to fall. what price convenience? that's the question many cash—strapped councils are being forced to ask when it comes to providing free public toilets. numbers have been declining for years and now the bbc has learnt that some uk high streets and tourist hot spots have no council—run loos at all. so is the era of a free pee set to end completely? sian lloyd has been finding out. it's become a familiar sight — public toilets no longer in use. in some cases, they're being sold off, or transferred to other bodies to run. either way, councils are maintaining fewer of them and saving money. research by the bbc shows that across the uk, councils have stopped running 13% of public toilets over the past eight years. major councils now maintain 4,486. that's down from 5,159 in 2010.

and in 37 areas, they no longer run any public loos at all. in this former toilet block, you'll spend more than a penny. leased from cardiff council, it's been reopened as a business. while enjoying a new local amenity, customers have noticed there are fewer public toilets around. i think it's a disgrace that they're closing so many and don't provide the amenities for people. i live in a neighbouring town and, when i was pregnant, it was very inconvenient, because there's only actually one there and it's in the bus station. just the way it is, isn't it? councils spend their money on something else. there's no legal obligation for councils to provide these facilities. in some places, shopping centres are filling the gaps, but in rural areas, changes may be felt more keenly. it's about health and wellbeing, it's about equality,

it's about social inclusion. as well as that, it's about public dignity and public decency. councils say they have to make tough choices about paying for public facilities. across the uk, larger councils have been shifting responsibility to smaller parish — or town — councils, but there's concern about how long that can be sustained. sian lloyd, bbc news, cardiff. a man from yorkshire is nearing the end of running an entire lap of the county , a 500 milejourney. ben dave from harrogate has been running a marathon every day since he set off at the start of the month. and it's all to raise money for a charity that works to prevent male suicide. imagine running hundreds. miles and it look this imagine running hundreds. miles and - it look this easy. my and making it look this easy. my feet hurt constantly but in my head

iam all feet hurt constantly but in my head i am all right. then from harrogate is running a lap of the yorkshire boundary, 470 miles. is running a lap of the yorkshire boundary, 470 mileslj is running a lap of the yorkshire boundary, 470 miles. i am surprised how much i have settled into it. you have a good 10—15 miles and everything falls to pieces. you cope with the sense of solitude? it gets lonely on the tops when the weather comes in and can be disorientating. ido comes in and can be disorientating. i do not have a lot of navigational skills. i have chucked myself in at the deep end. as well as the running and navigating there is camping to content with. it is tiny, like sleeping in a coffin. then set off from scarborough 15 days ago. he followed the yorkshire boundary along the coast to redcar and crossed into the dales and then

south over the pennines to sheffield and east over the humber bridge. 400 miles, so this next bit should be easy. back to scarborough to com plete easy. back to scarborough to complete the challenge on saturday. it feels superhuman when you are smashing the miles out. an incredible feeling. there is extra motivation to keep going. he is raising money for calm, a charity dealing with male suicide.|j raising money for calm, a charity dealing with male suicide. i thought everybody hated me and that was a burden —— that i was a burden to the world. it is hard to describe, it is not a nice place to be. it is incredibly lonely. i hope people will reach out to help. and hold their hands up. it is nothing to be ashamed of. you can follow progress

on social media. if you have been inspired, why notjoin him on the final stretch? now it's time for a look at the weather with ben rich. those parts of the country that enjoyed dry, bright and warm weather today can expect something different tomorrow. i suspect the skies will not stay blue in cambridgeshire tomorrow but whereas it was cloudy in western scotland today here we should see something brighter. various stripes of cloud in the north—west, bringing rain. continuing south—eastwards over the next 24 hours and as the rain tears, we will see fresh conditions spreading from the north—west. as we go through this evening and night, northern ireland and scotland will see rain and they will transfer them

into the north—west, wells, the midlands. pretty warm in the south but a fresher night in northern ireland and scotland. tomorrow morning is likely to dawn bright in east anglia and southeast but the rain is on the way. in the south—west, wales, the midlands, northern england, had spells of sunshine and the small chance of a shower. northern ireland and scotland, sunny spells, and heavy and sundry perhaps showers. breezy, as well and temperatures down on what they have been. the rain in the south—east will clear as we go through thursday night. high—pressure tries to build back in southern areas. dry weather here the most pa rt southern areas. dry weather here the most part over the weekend. friday, more unsettled weather moving into northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland with that outbreaks of rain at times and a breezy day on friday,

especially across the north—west. gusts up to 45 mph. temperature is beginning to creep upwards in the south—east. dry weather for the beginning to creep upwards in the south—east. dry weatherfor the most pa rt south—east. dry weatherfor the most part in the south over the weekend but further north, a couple of areas of low pressure bringing rain. some uncertainty as to where the heaviest will be. we will see some rain through the weekend and often it will be breezy. the driest weather a lwa ys will be breezy. the driest weather always in the south and south—east. this is bbc news. the headlines. the number of dead after the genoa bridge collapse is now 39, with emergency crews still searching for survivors. people were running, screaming in italian, run, out. out of the cars. so we just literally, kids, run, run. we didn't know what was happening. the authorities have released the identites

of some of the victims, one as young as 8 years old. police are continuing to question 29—year—old salih khater, the man arrested after the suspected terror attack in westminster. the bbc will not appeal after losing a high court privacy case brought by sir cliff richard, over its coverage of a police raid on his home. and also on the programme, on the eve of a—level results being published, we'll be taking a look at the increasing popularity of vocational courses. thousands of students received their btec results today,