end of the country, easing up by the end of the night. overnight temperatures pretty chilly, down to 10 degrees in towns and cities, maybe mid single digits out of town so it will feel notably chilly. we head into friday, we have a ridge of high pressure that will keep things fine and settled in the south but another area of low pressure m oves south but another area of low pressure moves in early on in the north and west. dry, quite chilly, some sunshine around, the cloud will tend to build up across all areas, a little bit of sunshine continuing in the south—east but the weather systems will make inroads with blustery winds so it's a downhill feature here. temperatures, high teens celsius in the north where it will feel quite cool but a recovery for south—east england, 21—23. for the weekend high pressure keeps things largely fine for saturday but as we head into sunday this feature will come in off the atlantic to spoil things, particularly across the north and west but there is some uncertainty where the rain will fall. for saturday not a bad picture, probably the better day of the two. it will be largely dry with

good spells of sunshine, a few showers for central scotland and northern ireland. temperatures 19—25 in the south—east, feeling quite warm and humid. on sunday don't take this too literally, it looks like the rain will affect more central northern and western areas, the south—east staying dry and feeling warmer again, top temperatures 24-25. the warmer again, top temperatures 24—25. the further north and west we will see outbreaks of rain. there is uncertainty to the weekend because of the system moving in on sunday. saturday is probably the better day of the two with regards to drier, brighter and warmer weather. a reminder of our main story this lunchtime. there's been a rise in the number of pupils getting top grades at a level — more than a quarter were awarded as or a stars, the most for six years. that's all from the bbc news at one. it's goodbye from me. on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. good afternoon.

i'm will perry with the latest from the bbc sport centre danny cipriani has been fined £2000 after pleading guilty to common assault and resisting arrest. this all follows an incident at a nightclub injersey in the early hours of wednesday morning. the england international is on the island with his club gloucester, and has also been ordered to pay £250 compensation to a police officer. two other charges have been dropped. so what next for cipriani's england career? here's our rugby union reporter chrisjones. are a very tight—lipped about what this means for danny cipriani's future. in the past, eddiejones has hinted that he was on somewhat of a last chance because of the issues he has had in the past. jones has had

to separate a player's form and conduct with their clubs from what they have been doing at international level. when it comes to england, cipriani's conduct on and off the field during a tour of south africa was absolutely exemplary, according to eddiejones. we will wait and see whetherjones is willing to park a misdemeanour on clu b is willing to park a misdemeanour on club duty of whether he feels that trouble club duty of whether he feels that trou ble follows club duty of whether he feels that trouble follows cipriani around and he doesn't need that. that is something that eddie jones he doesn't need that. that is something that eddiejones and the rfu hierarchy will be pondering. england cricket head coach trevor bayliss says ben stokes is in the squad for this weekend's third test agains india for ”his own wellbeing”. the all—rounder is expected to return to the team at trent bridge after missing the second test whilst on trial for affray. he's since been cleared, but the former england captain mincahel vaughan says stokes‘ return shouldn't come with any fanfare. i can't get my head round about why he wouldn't want to go and take a little bit of time. even if england

wa nted little bit of time. even if england wanted him, he hasjust gone through eight days in crown court. i would have thought that his head could be ina have thought that his head could be in a different place from wanting to play international cricket. knowing the england cricket fans as i do, they will give him a reception. i don't think he deserves that. he is certainly not a hero and has brought the game into disrepute. but the punishment and the fact that he missed the whole winter in australia, that is enough. he should be able to click a quick. well stoke's return provides the england selectors with a headache, given england's impressive win over india in the second test at lord's. but vaughan says it's a nice headache to have. he is outstanding. they will make way for somebody. i don't think it should be pope. he got that number four position. you could look atjos buttler, too much take —— two test matches against india. if the pitch

is going to be the same as we have seen at edgbaston, it could swing around and you will need a spinner. in terms of a cricketing sense, the captain will be delighted to have the all—round expertise of ben stokes the all—round expertise of ben sto kes ba ck the all—round expertise of ben stokes back available. after their run to the last four at the world cup in russia, england's football team are now ranked as the sixth best side in the world according to fifa's world ranking system. gareth southgate's team have moved up six places after this summer's tournament. germany, who were knocked out in the group stages, are out of the world's top ten for the first time since 2005. no surprise who's top of the rankings. the new world champions france also climb six places to take the number one is spot from the germans. and team sky riders geraint thomas and chris froome have confirmed that they will take part in the tour of britain. thomas says he knew he wanted to be involved in the race as soon as he'd won the tour de france. the tour of britain starts in wales on september 2nd. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website — including the news that carlos seinz

has just been announced as fernando alonso‘s replacement at mclaren. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. hundreds of thousands of a—level students have been receiving their results across england, wales and northern ireland. official figures show the proportion of entries awarded either a or a—star grades is the highest since 2012 and boys have outperformed girls for the second year running. earlier i spoke to seeta bhardwa, who's the student content editor at times higher education and carl cullinane, head of research and policy at the sutton trust. they gave their advice to students receiving their results. if you don't receive your grades on results day, it's not the end of the world. there are a few different processes to go through, the first being clearing.

at the moment, there are 30,000 courses available through clearing, so speak to your teachers at school, speak to your parents, decide what options are best for you, and then log on to ucas, search through the courses that are available. try not to panic and pick courses that sound interesting, or think that you have to rethink your helpline. think about what you were planning to do when you are first thinking of going to universities, and then call the universities yourself, don't get someone else to do it for you, ask questions, and think of reasons why you might want to go to their university, the reasons you want to do the course. and take some time to think about your options. you have until october to decide. clearing is open till october, so there is time. so, draw breath. carl, you have done research into broader attitudes among people thinking of going to university, so what have you been finding? we have been interviewing

younger people, 11—16, and we have been doing that since 2003, and the pattern in recent years is that those who intend to go to university, the number is dropping, by about a quarter in the last decade. university being important for success in life, that number has gone down. does that chime with what you have seen or heard? i think students are still interested in going to university. i think what is happening is that people are thinking about the other options that are available. which is a good thing. yes, it is important to remember that university isn't for everybody, but still a lot of 18—year—olds are going to university, so i think it's promising to see that students are considering their options. when people do start to look at alternatives, why are they tending to do that, and what do they find?

we have seen since 2012 that there is a big increase in financial worries among young people, about the high levels of debt, the £9,000 fees, so that has made some people think twice. we have seen a big increase in interest in doing apprenticeships, going up a lot since 2014, and the government has put a lot of effort into creating more opportunities and promoting the idea of apprenticeships, but we need effort in creating high—quality degree level apprenticeships to give a real viable alternative to university. you can find all the background to the new style exams and advice on how to go through clearing on the bbc news website — the address is on your screen. up to 20 people are still unaccounted for following the bridge

collapse in northern italy on tuesday. at least 39 bodies have so far been recovered from the rubble of the morandi viaduct which crashed down onto warehouses and homes in genoa during a violent storm. my colleague tim willcox has been following the rescue mission in genoa. all night and all day, the air here in genoa close to the bridge collapse has been filled with the sound of heavy hammer drilling. fire and rescue teams are trying to smash up those huge chunks of concrete to actually reveal where the other vehicles and victims are beneath the thousands of tonnes of rubble here. no more survivors have been found, unfortunately, for more than 2a hours. at the same time, though, more stories are emerging of the most miraculous escapes. the lorryjust up here on the bridge behind me, just ten metres away from where it collapsed.

we now know that the driver of that vehicle is a man called luigi. he hasn't spoken to the international media or the italian press yet, but his friends have, and according to them, as soon as he saw the cars in front beginning to tip over, he slammed on the brakes, reversed as far as he could, left the engine running, open the door and sprinted to the start of the bridge. apparently he wasjoking with some of his friends, saying, as far as i'm aware, that van continued running until it ran out of fuel, because nobody has been up there. today, we spoke to a man who was below the bridge at the time of the collapse, caught in a traffic jam, and when you look at these pictures, you see what an extraordinary escape he had. basically, if he had been sitting in the passenger seat of his van, he would almost certainly have been killed. as it was, half the cabin was crushed by falling masonry and concrete.

he broke his arm. two days later, he is back, trying to salvage some of his belongings from inside that vehicle, still in great pain. you can see him wincing there, and he said it was a miracle he survived. the he also said he felt for the victims, realising how many people had lost their lives. there will be a state funeralfor victims this saturday, attended by the president. and the political row continues, with the government demanding the resignation and also talking about a fine for the company running the motorway network here in italy, and also criticising the eu for not doing enough in terms of releasing billions of euros in funds for the infrastructure. it will take several days if not weeks to clear this rubble, but the long—lasting effects of this tragedy for the country, will endure for a long time to come. is

i51z43pm. for thousands of years, mummifying loved ones and pharaohs alike was common practice among ancient egyptians, who believed that it allowed the spirit to enter the afterlife. now, new forensic examination techniques have discovered how the embalming was done — and it turns out that it's a lot simpler than previously thought. our science correspondent victoria gill has been finding out more at bolton museum. a warehouse on the industrial estate might not be somewhere you would think would be hiding the secrets of ancient egypt, but actually, the first chemical clues about what was in this embalming recipe thousands of years old came from tiny pieces of fabric housed in this very building, and they are here with someone who knows all about the secrets that these bits of fabric contain.

doctor stephen barclay from the university of york. thank you forjoining us. tell us what you discovered in these little fragments of fabric. they don't seem much to look at, but actually, they are impregnated with complex recipes of natural products. so, a mixture of resin, plant gum, plant oil, and an aromatic plant extract, so complex recipes, and crucially, they have got antibacterial ingredients that would have served to preserve the bodies, the mummies, these prehistoric mummies, so what is exciting is that mummification of the pharaohs, the iconic part of egyptian culture that we know so well, these fabrics are actually showing that the origins of mummification go back over 1500 years earlier than we thought. these are fragments of linen that actually wrapped those mummies, much older than the egyptian pharaohs, and they have revealed this recipe. what does that mean for our understanding of

ancient egypt? it's painting a different picture. absolutely. what is crucial is that these recipes on these prehistoric textiles are essentially the same as those used 2500 years later, when the embalmer's art was at its best, so it is showing that connection that they were experimenting with mummification far earlier. what is in that recipe? we have oil, gum, plant resin. the ingredients are helping to preserve these mummies way back in in ancient history, before the iconic mummies that we know about. the antibacterial property is crucial, isn't it, to stop that body decaying and maintain it as a vessel for the soul?

is that what the egyptians believed? the survival of the body was absolutely survival and weak was absolutely— — vital for survival in the afterlife. their essence, their soul, their spirit couldn't survive without the body being intact, so bodily preservation was absolutely central to ancient egyptian culture, so pushing it back by over 1000 years is really quite exciting. it is fascinating to talk to you about it. thank you, doctor buckley. they don't look like much, as you say, but it goes to show what secrets you can find if you search through the drawers are some of these warehouses in rather innocuous places. we will keep on looking and see what else we canfind. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... the a—level results are out and they show students have been awarded the highest proportion of a's and a—stars since 2012 — with more than a quarter of entries awarded the top grades this year. italy declares a state of emergency

following the bridge collapse in genoa in which at least 39 people are known to have died. the england rugby player, danny cipriani has pleaded guilty to common assault and resisting arrest following an incident at a nightclub injersey. i'm ben bland with the business news. promotional discounts and an increase in online shopping help retail sales rise more than expected last month. they were up by 0.7% injuly despite no pick—up on the high street. celebrities are being warned to make it clear when they're being paid to endorse products on social media. the uk's competition watchdog has begun investigating. it's written to a number of so—called "influencers" asking how they operate. it hasn't said who — but will name anyone found to be breaking the rules. the summer heatwave gives kingfisher‘s profits a boost.

the owner of bm.) said it's like—for—like sales rose by 1.6% in the second quarter, however its sales in europe remained a concern. the world's biggest retailer — walmart — has announced its results for the second quarter. the retailer — which owns asda — said online sales rose by 40% in the last three months, helping boost sales to around £100 billion. walmart‘s uk subsidiary asda, which is merging with sainsbury‘s, reported a 0.4% rise in like—for—like sales. investors seemed happy with the news, with walmart shares rising 10% ahead of the opening of the new york stock market. joining me now from our leeds studio is alaister lockhart, who's the insight director at savvy. good to see you, alistair. a bit of a turnaround in fortunes for walmart. it had been one of the

worst performers on the new york stock exchange. absolutely. walmart isa stock exchange. absolutely. walmart is a business that has just issued a quarterly result that is their best in ten years, so a big improvement for them. the thing that is really interesting about this is that, like you said at the beginning, the growth in online. certainly one of the challenges that walmart had been facing was that it be been —— it had been left behind. a number of the line is that they sell, the distribution among households that can receive its deliveries has increased. their quick and collect service has been scaled up massively as well. it is notjust positive now, but certainly momentum meant to look into the future and i'm sure investors will be pleased to see that. the big fear was the threat from amazon, wasn't it? absolutely. we all know that amazon is big here.

it is also very big in the us, and walmart has had a close eye on that. it is interesting that walmart has acquired an indian business which is like amazon in india, and they will be looking to scale up their international business and take amazon on head—to—head there as well. when you look at specifically the asda results, 0.4% rise in like—for—like sales, it is slower than the 3.4% they had in the first three months of the year. does easter make that much of a difference? it does. easter is not only a day when people get together, but you have a bank holiday around it and you have a lot of spending associated with that. easter falling ina associated with that. easter falling in a different quarter makes a difference, and for asda, events are an important part of their business. they do events very well. easter is important for them, and asda has

seen itself outperforming the rest of its big four competitors. in part, that is because it has done well and ta ken part, that is because it has done well and taken advantage of the good summer weather. alistair, good to get your thoughts. uk retail sales grew more than expected last month, despite many shoppers deciding to stay away from the high street. figures from the the office for national statistics showed they rose 0.7% injuly compared with june. the boost came from several retail promotions and online sales. if you compare retail sales injuly with a year ago — they rose by 3.5% according to the office for national statistics. and on the three—month measure for may tojuly, sales rose 2.1%, which is the strongest three months since february 2015. ruth gregory from capital economics is surprised by the jump. ruth gregory from capital economics

is surprised by the jumplj ruth gregory from capital economics is surprised by the jump. i think that retailers are still battling online competition and consumers. there has been very little improvement in consumer purchasing power, so we would be wary of placing too much weight on these figures. indeed, it may bejust placing too much weight on these figures. indeed, it may be just that the strength in retail sales is offset by weaker spending away from the high street, as was the case earlier in the year. given that retailers were only managing to sustain this growth given the discounts, this is unlikely to be sustained, so we would not be too surprised to see some reversal in the august figures. amazon looks set to continue its expansion plans in the uk by setting up an insurance comparison site. according to reuters, amazon has been "sounding out" insurance companies to see if they would contribute products to its new venture. if you're after some bargain handbags and gladrags. .. sir rod stewart is having a "good old—fashioned clear out" and auctioning off some his furniture. fans of the maggie may singer could own items like a leopard print armchair or a figure

of a banjo player. the sale is expected to raise around £110,000. a spokesman said it was "all very rock and roll". corona beer owner constellation brands is set to pour some £3.1billion into canada's top cannabis producer, canopy growth. last year, the firm injected £157million into canopy in a deal to produce a nonalcoholic cannabis—based beverage. it wants to capitalise on the growing legalisation of the drug. and china will send a a top negotiator to the us later this month to resume trade talks. it will be the first public meeting in weeks — as the trade conflict intensifies. china says it opposes trade protectionism and does not accept unilateral restriction measures. the uk's top share index edged higher on thursday, led by a strong rise across beaten—down mining stocks

while a still—depressed pound propped up shares in international earners. shares in kingfisher were down because of concerns about europe. i will be back with more business later in the afternoon. back to you, ben. floods and landslides in southern india have killed at least 43 people. it's the worst flooding in almost a century, and heavy monsoon rains are expected to continue throughout the week. rhodri davies has more. the elderly and the young are seeking safety across the indian state of kerala. seasonal rains have left people adrift in one of the worst floods in the last century. landslides have killed dozens of people.

others are struggling. translation: we haven't faced rainfall of such magnitude in decades. we are focusing on staying alive. that is in monsoon rains and winds that have left tens of thousands of people stranded and devastated crops. it has been exacerbated by authorities having to open 35 dangerously full dams, sending a surge of water into rivers, many of which are overflowing. at least 511,000 people are displaced in the southern state. families are arriving to shelters and camps bringing stories of near escapes. translation: when the water came in, we ran away with whatever we could grab. the water came very fast. we had to save our lives. we lost so many things. so many of our belongings are still inside and we don't know what has happened to them. these places are a major international destination for

tourists. one of the main airports will only be open again on saturday, when the indian meteorological department expects heavy and very heavy rains to continue until. disaster management forces, the army and the navy are continuing to carry out rescue attempts and the road and rail disruption. but with days of rain to come, in the cities and rural areas, there will be concern about how many more people will need help. rhodri davies, bbc news. let's ta ke let's take a look at the weather. we have showers and rein in the forecast. most of the showers are confined to the north—west corner of the uk, some of them heavy and thundery. western scotland is seeing most of the showers, and the heaviest ones at the moment. further

south and east, a different story. a band of rain slowly edging its way south and east, so pretty miserable here for the next few hours. you can see though showers in the north—west. a good slice of sunshine in between, and that is how it is set the paper much of the afternoon. the rain in the south—east slowly clearing. skies were bright in here by the end of the day. it is blustery as well, especially in the north and west when the showers come along. temperatures are not too good. the high teens, maybe 20 or 21 celsius further south. this evening and overnight, the rain clears away from the south—east. showers continue across the north west. elsewhere, dry with clear skies. it will be quite a chilly one, temperatures just making double figures in towns and cities overnight, but down to single digits in brora places. this is the

pressure chart for friday. a ridge of high pressure affecting southern areas, low—pressure to the north. after a chilly, bright start the many, with some sunshine, clouds will tend to build up is the weather system will tend to build up is the weather syste m m oves will tend to build up is the weather system moves into northern ireland, western scotland and later into western scotland and later into western fringes of england. lighter winds in the east. more sunshine in the east, so temperatures recovering to 21-23dc, in the east, so temperatures recovering to 21—23dc, in the north and west, high teens celsius. on sunday, this feature is expected to come in off the atlantic. some uncertainty as to where it will arrive, further north 01’ where it will arrive, further north orfurther where it will arrive, further north or further south. it will bring some rain to some parts of the country, so stay tuned. saturday, good spells of sunshine, mostly dry, maybe a few showers through southern scotland and into northern ireland. quite

warm and humid for england and wales, temperatures reaching 25 celsius. sunday will see cloud and rain, particularly across the north and west. southern areas will feel warm, with sunshine. hello. you're watching afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. today at 2: 0h, oh, my god. i didn't! oh, my god. ididn't! —— oh, my god. i didn't! —— i did it! that a level moment: teenagers have been getting their results in england, wales and northern ireland — the number with as or a stars is the highest for six years. really proud of myself and what i have achieved. it has been a really difficult yearfor me have achieved. it has been a really difficult year for me and i achieved eight b, a c, and hd. it wasjust such a relief to get the results. rescue workers in italy say there's no hope of finding any more survivors of the genoa bridge collapse — up to 20 people are missing. it has really hit home to everyone

how much worse this disaster could still get.