pakistan's batsman have made a steady start on the first day of the second test against england in southampton. at lunch, the visitors were 62 for 1. our sports correspondentjoe wilson has been watching. now, who does shan masood see approaching? that is james "eternal" anderson. it took 11 minutes to prove what england's captain already knew — no bowler does it better, certainly in england. of course, there's stuart broad. catch that. bowlers need fielders. the chance fell to burns or sibley, and fell to the ground. if that was frustrating, this was agonising. chris woakes the bowler, trying to work out what had just happened. wait for the angle that reveals it to us. the ball struck the stumps but too weak to remove the bails. not out, of course. we can accept that taking catches is never taken for granted.

dropped again. but any professional would class that chance as gettable, even simple. rory burns was left rehearsing, empty—handed. survey england's team, you'll noticed no ben stokes, attending to family matters, jofra archer, rested, mark wood, not picked. anderson kept trying. but pakistan were past 50. tough session, but they were starting to thrive, starting to make england chase and regret those missed opportunities. the cloud on the horizon was always the cloud on the horizon. rain came at 12:50pm, with pakistan 62—1. in terms of the play so far, they had won. joe wilson, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's darren bett. hello there. still very humid today, not quite as hot, but we have had them earlier storms leaving behind some local flooding. that has since moved on into the midlands. over the

next couple of days, the southern half of the uk will see more torrential rain, thunderstorms and a very muddy field, as well. further north across the uk, much quieter, some sunshine, areas of mist and low cloud, as we've seen already today, for example here in the scottish borders. the reason for the difference across the uk is more northern areas their tire pressure dominating bringing an easterly breeze and low cloud but further south across the uk, lower pressure and are rounded clusters of cloud bringing some torrential rain and some thunderstorms, thousands of lightning flashes in the wet weather which has moved its way into the midlands. torrential downpours here. eventually sliding towards wales, more downpours arriving further south, as well, so the southern half of the uk could see some wet weather. it is still going to be hot, 29, not 34-35 weather. it is still going to be hot, 29, not 3a—35 of recent days. further north, warm sunshine to come u nless further north, warm sunshine to come unless you're stuck underneath the greatness on the north sea coast where it will be much cooler. the low cloud comes back inland

overnight, mist and health, spots of drizzle, further south, continuing risk of further thundery downpours gci’oss risk of further thundery downpours across the southern half of the uk. another warm night, perhaps tropical in the south—east, temperatures, 18-19 in the south—east, temperatures, 18—19 across southern areas. more downpours coming in from continental europe, though, plaguing wales, the midlands, east anglia and southern england. torrential rain possible. further north, sunshine developing of the cloud retreats back to some of the cloud retreats back to some of those north—east coast. the heatwave should have gone i think by tomorrow, the highest temperatures, 25-26. tomorrow, the highest temperatures, 25—26. warm in the north west of england, northern ireland and western scotland with some sunshine. over the weekend, well, higher pressure in the north beginning to move away, low pressure in the south and that will push the heavier rain northwards is the weekend goes on. the first half of the become, not a great deal of change, sunny spells developing widely, low cloud near the north sea coasts and more torrential thundery downpours coming in across wales, the midlands and southern england. we will see

temperatures at best of 25. second half of the weekend, the wet weather potentially heavy, rain and thunderstorms moving further north into northern england, northern ireland, southern scotland, and sunshine and the rest of scotland away from the east and sunshine in the south—east of england with temperatures are more bearable 25 celsius. that's bearable 25 celsius. all from us. good afternoon. good afternoon, i'm gavin ramjaun, and this is your latest sports news. let's go to southampton, where england are playing pakistan in the second test of a three match series. henry moeran‘s at the aegeas bowl for us. henry, an early wicket but then frustration for england 7 frustration, not just frustration, notjust because of the weather which saw lunch ta ken

frustration, notjust because of the weather which saw lunch taken early. the players have just headed weather which saw lunch taken early. the players havejust headed back out onto the field and we will be shortly but frustration because of england's catching, two big opportunities to get wickets were missed. it will be particularly annoying for england because the conditions for bowling have been so good, muggy and overcast, the ball swinging. james anderson and stuart broad doing what they do best but not getting the wicket will be a real frustration for england. as for the weather, we expected the rain to come, a bit of a shower an hour ago button terms of storms and lightning, nothing at all so far. england will hope these conditions will continue in the afternoon —— in the afternoon and be a little bit surer with their hands when the opportunities come. thank you for that, henry. the world number one novak

djokovic has confirmed that he will play at the us open, which starts in new york at the end of this month. it's a boost for the organisers after some high profile pull outs, including rafael nadal. there are concerns amongst players about travelling to america because of the coronavirus pandemic. djokovic says it wasn't an easy decision to make, but the prospect of competing again made him really excited. there will be no fa cup replays next season, in an attempt to ease pressure on the football calendar. the competition will start with the extra preliminary round on i september and the final is due to be played on 15 may next year. fa cup prize money has been halved to £1.8m because of the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. the efl cup semi—finals will be reduced to one leg. there was a thrilling finish to the first champions league quarter final. remember all the games in the latter stages are being played in a straight knockout tournament in lisbon. atalanta were on course for a huge upset against paris saint germain. the italian side were 1—0 up as the game ticked into injury time and that's when psg pounced. two goals in the space of three minutes sent the french champions

through to the semis — eric maxim chupo—moting with the winner, he was relegated from the premier league with stoke city just a couple of years ago. the ladies scottish open is underway in east lothian. it's the first major international sporting event in the country since lockdown, albeit in a bio secure bubble. gemma dryburgh and kylie henry are going well for the home support in the first round just a shot off the lead. england's georgia hall is due to tee off later this afternoon. the former british open winner feels the tournament could inspire younger golfers to take up the sport. it isa it is a great opportunity to showcase it is a great opportunity to showcase women's it is a great opportunity to showcase women's golf in general, especially as a lot of spots are not happening yet. if we can get some great home—based players doing well and up the leaderboard, getting it televised, hopefully we can see a lot more of the younger generation

watch as an sea's on tv and show that the fans and people come to spectate. —— it is a shame that the fa ns spectate. —— it is a shame that the fans cannot come to spectate but they can watch on tv. and the semi—finals of the world snooker championship continue in sheffield today. england's kyren wilson has had a great morning against scottish qualifier anthony mcgill. wilson trailed 6—2 overnight but has won six out of eight frames today. that squares the match at 8—8. they'll play to a finish this evening. the winner will play either mark selby or ronnie o'sullivan — they resume in around half an hour, with o'sullivan 5—3 up. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you very much, see you later on. a very good afternoon. i am jane hill, to take you through all the developments around coronavirus and of course exam results. all your questions answered on that at half

past two, worth reminding you of that. let us start in northern ireland. boris johnson has been in belfast for his first face—to—face meeting with the irish taoisearch micheal martin since mrmartin got the job in june. the prime minister is also holding talks with the northern ireland first minister arlene foster and the deputy first minister michelle o'neill. the discussions will focus on northern ireland's response to covid—i9 and the uk's ongoing negotiations with the eu to reach a trade deal. mrjohnson will also announce plans to mark northern ireland's centenary year in 2021. arlene foster described the talks with the prime minister as constructive. let's listen to some of what she had to say. we have had a good engagement with the prime minister this morning. we covered a wide—range of issues. obviously we talked about brexit and the need for those promises in the command paper and protocol to be followed through on relation to unfettered access for northern ireland business

services into great britain and in terms of goods coming from great britain into northern ireland. so we have continued to work with the government around the brexit issues. we raised the issue of the victims pension payment which still remains outstanding and which we need to see a solution to as we know there are many victims in northern ireland and indeed in the rest of the united kingdom waiting for this payment to relieve some of their suffering. in terms of covid, we have seen strongly there needs to be not only an aviation strategy but also intervention for all of companies who are at the moment really suffering from that, especially around skills and the need for recapitalisation. and of course we talked about the centenary which is coming next year, in 2021. as you know the prime minister has

announced a centenary forum today, and a historic advisory panel who will work with the prime minister on centenary plans. obviously, we will look back but it is very important for us to look forward as well into the future and place northern ireland on the global stage so we can in a productive way for all of our people. —— do business in a productive way. the names of two of the three people who died in the aberdeenshire rail crash yesterday had been released. these are pictures of the driver brett mccullough, and conductor donald dinnie who died, along with a passenger. scotland's transport secretary says extreme weather had an impact on the train derailment. the aberdeen to glasgow service is thought to have hit a landslide following torrential rain and thunderstorms in the area. a further six people were taken to hospital following the accident. an investigation into the cause has begun. during the daily media briefing,

scottish first minister nicola sturgeon expressed her sympathy at the train derailment and those who died. when i gave the covid update in parliament yesterday, news was still coming through about the terrible train derailment near stonehaven. since then we have learned the devastating news that three people died, a passenger, the train driver and conductor and a further six people were taken to hospital. an investigation into the accident is now getting under way and it is important we allow that to do its work but in time, we must also ensure that any and all necessary lessons are learned. however, for the moment, my thoughts are with the injured, with all those affected directly by the tragedy and indeed with everybody who works on our railways. i know they will be grieving today. but of course i'm thinking particularly of the bereaved families, facing an experience all of us dread, coming to terms with the sudden

and tragic loss of a loved one. no words can ease their pain nor the offer —— the awful reality they are forced to confront. but the hearts of a nation are with them today. what we can do right now is send them love and support and in doing so, i am sure i speak on behalf of everyone across scotland. i also want to thank our emergency services. the scene they encountered yesterday was horrific in itself but the location and circumstances also prevented major logistical and practical challenges for a rescue and recovery operation. our emergency services showed yet again their immense professionalism and dedication to duty and i am so very grateful to them for that. the first minister also gave an update on the coronavirus clusters affecting areas of scotland, after a primary school was closed due to a positive case.

i mentioned earlier that 26 of the 47 new cases reported today are in the grampian area. on the latest figures available, a total of 300 cases have been identified in grampian since the 26 ofjuly. our information at this stage is 182 of these are likely to be associated with the cluster linked to aberdeen pubs. 961 contacts have now been identified from those 182 cases. in the past 24 hours, aberdeenshire council has taken the decision to delay reopening a primary school in peterhead while a household cluster is being identified and contact traced. a cluster of eight positive cases is also under investigation in greater glasgow clyde area which includes some students who go to bannerman high school but it is really important to stress that none of these students have actually attended school, they have all been self isolating at home.

there is also currently an orkney based cluster which is under investigation. an incident management team will meet in orkney later today and this may include residents of other nhs board areas. all the work that should be done is being done in orkney to contact and trace everyone involved and ensure they are self isolating. while orkney had a number of cases at beginning of the pandemic, it has had very few since. i would urge everyone on the island to guard against complacency. if you have symptoms of coronavirus, please isolate immediately and make arrangements to investigate. —— to be tested. the headlines on bbc news. as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a level and vocational

results — headteachers warn that some lowered grades seem to be "unfair and unfathomable". tui — the world's biggest travel company — says it's lost over a billion dollars from march tojune. coronavirus cases surge across much of europe — with germany, france and spain all registering a record number of infections. let's return now to our top story — those a—level and btec results that have been coming in from around the uk. our correspondent nina warhust spent the morning with students in sunderland, and explained why calculating btec results differs slightly to a—levels. it is different, actually, because you'll probably know that people who study vocational courses, like btec for example, they are regularly assessed throughout the two years that they are studying, and so their final grades are a little bit easier to predict and there will be more young people receiving vocational qualifications this summer than there will a—levels. we are prolonging the torture here for poor old mia. she is looking to get a place at durham university. she has been studying...

just remind us what you have been studying, children's play... and learning development. and you need distinction, distinction, merit to get into durham to get your place to do... primary education. let's open it, let's have a look. bless you for hanging on this long. would be stuck, wouldn't it? i know. so, we are looking fora letter d, d, m. distinction, distinction, distinction. you did even better! i would like to high five you but we are not allowed. how do you feel and how has it been gaining your qualifications over the covid period when you haven't had as much face—to—face contact with children for example as you'd have liked? a lot harder. hasit? definitely. you don't have the the support that you need as well like you do in college. and all that stopped in march? no, obviously we still had contact with the teachers but it is a lot different than being sat in a classroom. when you look ahead to going to durham, it is a brilliant

place to be moving to, but do you worry that you will not have the full university experience because of social distancing and maybe remote learning? i'm not really sure. i was just more bothered about getting in for now. that is the most important thing at the moment. congratulations, i know you have worked really hard. lucy, what is next for you? you have already opened your results and they went well, didn't they? yes, i'm hoping to get a job as a teaching assistant in a primary school. and how do you feel when you think about the jobs that are out there and obviously in primary school things are going to be slightly different in light of the pandemic. yeah, it will definitely be a lot different, but i'm still hoping i will be able to get one. i'm sure you will, i'm sure you are brilliant with young people. right, let's have a look at your results because you were hoping for a place with the raf. yes, i have got a merit, merit, so that is more than what i need to get in. it isjust now to sit the test and go from there. fantastic, congratulations. and your place in the raf, that was already decided, was it? yes, it has been a decision of mine to be in the raf

since i was younger. originally it was to be a pilot, but as i grew older i grew more towards engineering so with me having this, i'm now closer than i have ever been to getting what my dream was, to go in the royal air force, so i'm now one step closer and i am over the moon that i have got the grades i need. a proper dream come true, isn't it? yeah. well done. and these guys are training in areas in the public sector so where there will consistently be work, but rob is in a position where he takes on apprentices and has done for many years, but you are concerned about the impact of the recession on the jobs market and how much value will be placed on apprenticeships and workplace learning. yes, i think obviously some of the work that apprentices and all of the students have done during the lockdown has shown the testament of how good you can be and the potential they have got, so that is where we need to look

at that and think, we need to carry on through and bring these people through into the industries. i should just explain that you make dashboards for nissan car so you are in that manufacturing chain. you will be directly affected when this recession begins to bite? i hope not. obviously, we havejust got to keep pushing on i think. we have shown how good we are in the north—east at manufacturing, obviously automation. we build a car every minute with nissan and that is how good we are, even in social distancing times, so hopefully that shows people around the world to come to the north—east and spend some money and take us seriously i suppose, yeah. absolutely and rob was telling me earlier, come what may, they will continue to invest in apprentices and they hope the government does the same. the government does acknowledge that for a long time, practical learning has been undervalued and underfunded and it is time for that to change, but while today there is a lot

of excitement about some very well deserved results, also anxiety about the kind ofjob market they are about to face. to remind you we will talk much more about the whole exam system, your questions coming up at 230. british holiday—makers in france are waiting to hear if there will be any changes to the uk's quarantine rules. it comes ahead of a weekly review looking at the number of coronavirus infections in different countries. germany, france and spain have all registered a record number of daily coronavirus infections as paul hawkins reports. germans flying off to spain on holiday. the government says they are part of the reason the country is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases. more than 1200 were reported in germany in the past 2a hours. so the government has warned against nonessential trips to parts of spain, but that has not put these tourists off.

translation: i said to myself that i could getjust as easily infected in germany! i plan to get a test done at the airport and then another test, a week later. i think that that will be a safe bet. translation: we are using all the options available to disinfect ourselves. we are going to a finka instead of a hotel. i would have cancelled if we were staying in a hotel but i am relaxed about going toa finka. the only stressful thing is the airport. france is also seeing a rise, 2224 cases in 2a hours — the highest daily rise since lockdown was lifted in may, and that is why the paris marathon, rescheduled for november, has now been cancelled. like other french cities, it has made face masks compulsory in busy, outdoor areas. spain, meanwhile, is facing the worse coronavirus infection rate in western europe, with 1690 new infections on wednesday.

there was also a daily record rise for greece. every increasing number making it more and more difficult to fully reopen society. paul hawkins, bbc news. venues and theatres have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic but now there's some hope for the industry as live performances slowly return. rehearsals for the stage version of the film "sleepless in seattle" have started ahead of the show‘s planned opening later this month. tim muffett reports. before any acting or singing, a test for covid—19. welcome to theatre rehearsals in a pandemic and an attempt to become the first live indoor show to open in the uk since lockdown began. the cast will be segregated

into this big foyer space. testing is done and they can receive results within 45 minutes and it's ensuring we are in this bubble — nothing can come in, nothing can come out and we are continuously tested. the show being rehearsed is sleepless, based on the tom hanks and meg ryan movie sleepless in seattle. it was due to open in march. how does it feel to be back on stage? it feels amazing to hear people sing again, it'sjust made me realise the escapism of theatre and how much people will really enjoy to see it again. it has been organised so well and i think the most important thing in these covid times is having the direction and knowing what you're meant to be doing in order to stay safe. the second we arrived, we were told exactly where to go, where to be, where to go when we got tested, after we had been tested, and had a negative test.

testing was an interesting start to the day but also one that we have now been building up for so long. everyone was just really ready for it and wanted to sort of get their negative results. and get to work. many theatres are old buildings which makes them very difficult to adapt but the troubadour here in wembley only opened last year. being new is an huge help. there is a much biggerfoyer, a far greater number of toilets and it'sjust a better atmosphere when you've got more space. and this is really what's made it possible. this, and the testing facility. what if someone tests positive, what would you do then? we had two people first day test positive. this test is extremely sensitive and they were just over the borderline but we sent them home. those were technicians, so so far it

hasn't impacted hugely on the show. theatres in england had been told they could open from august 1st, but that was delayed until at least august 15th. producers are hoping to open this show on the 25th, government guidance permitted. audiences will be temperature checked on arrival and numbers limited. rather than saying there is two there, two there, two there, two there, there is lots of threes or fours and they do it when people book. when they phone in, they see what's available and they will put them in theirown bubble, as it were, in the auditorium. as well as daily testing, cast and crew will also wear face coverings backstage. producers say every possible safety measure will be followed. over the next couple of days, we will be looking at how we can angle people so they are not singing directly at each other and looking at the angles that projection might be going and eliminating as much

contact as possible. how important is it that this works? the importance of making this work is huge. i had an email from the schuberts on broadway who own all the big theatres in new york. i had a message from mti — music theatre international — who said, "we're watching, we have everything crossed for you, we hope you succeed." it's quite a burden to carry. it must be an emotional time. yeah, it is. it is a huge thing we've got to achieve. a rare glimpse of hope in an industry brought to its knees. there's belief here that the show will go on. tim muffet, bbc news.

fingers crossed it does go ahead as planned. now, the weather with darren bett hello there, we have seen thundery down pairs again bringing flooding. not as hot as a has—been, 28 degrees in the south—east, cooler in the north—east of scotland in the north—east of scotland in the north—east of scotland in the north—east of england. the cloud will push back inland this evening and overnight bringing mist and drizzle. further south, and overnight bringing mist and drizzle. furthersouth, continued threat of further heavy thundery downpours, threatening further flooding. a warm night. temperatures no lower than 18 or 19 degrees in the south. tomorrow and murky start for many, that low cloud will burn off towards the coast but continue to affect north—east of scotland. sunshine in many areas but the potential for further downpours in

wales, east anglia and southern england. highest temperatures 25 tomorrow. quite warm and the rest of england, northern ireland and scotla nd england, northern ireland and scotland in the sunshine.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: as students across england, wales and northern ireland receive their a level and vocational results — anger and upset as thousands have their grades lowered. it seems like there's been some unfairgrading, some downgrading and, yeah, so i'm disappointed. i'm not used to failing. the government says pupils have the option of appealing or sitting exams this autumn. but some headteachers are angry — describing the changes as unfathomable and unfair. we are seeing this across the bar, that something wrong and that's not about appealing, that's about the government looking at this properly and thinking what has gone wrong.