this is bbc news. the headlines at a... exams regulator quual has set out the criteria for what will determine a "valid" mock for appeals of gcse, as and a——levels in england. it follows anger a—level results in england, after nearly 40% were downgraded. the minimum i needed was abb, i only needed three c to get into the foundation course which was the back—up but on thursday i discovered i had been awarded three ds. prince charles leads commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of vj day, the day world war ii ended

with victory over japan. we salute all those who remain among us and offer our most heartfelt and undying gratitude for those who are gone before. the prince of wales and veterans lay wreaths at the national memorial arboretum, as part of a service of remembrance. we'll have the latest from events in the uk and around the world, as we remember the day world war ii ended. also, thousands of holiday—makers have arrived back in the uk after a last—minute dash to avoid a mandatory 2—week quarantine, which came into effect at 4am this morning. and coming up...in a special

edition, talking movies and coming up... in a special edition, talking movies reports on the impact of the pandemic on cinema. in the past hour, the exams regulator quual has set out the criteria for how appeals of gcse, as and a—levels in england can be made. because of coronavirus, no exams took place and grades are being awarded using a controversial modelling system. schools and colleges will be able to appeal on behalf of students from monday. our political correspondent

jonathan blake is here. take jonathan blake is here. us through exactly what ha been take us through exactly what has been announced. you will member earlier this week the education secretary this week gavin williamson announced that students who were not happy with the grade they had received for their a—level results would be able to appeal on the basis of their mock exams taken before the coronavirus pandemic happened. not every student has taken mock exams, schools do them in different ways so there were lots of questions about exactly how that would work in the government was clear from the start it would be to be a valid mock exam result to be considered and we were told we had to wait for the guidance on that. quual have just published the criteria. setting out exactly what mock exam results could be considered by students as grounds for appeal. they say by way of

introduction that students should first be to their school or college, they want this opportunity to be available to as many students as possible including those who had not taken a written mock exam and will therefore allow non—exam assessments to be used. and successful appeals on those grounds will allow students to receive them upgrade in place of the one that they were given and as a reminder as we know by now, that process was achieved by teachers predicted grades and then put through standardisation model which has seen 40% of students in england down. i won't go through all the criteria now but the eggs include exams having appropriate in visual and, done under appropriate time to conditions, using an an appropriate marking scheme by the exam board and substantial coverage by the content

normally at. some clarity and some detail now for students and schools who are not happy with their own or particular student grades and are looking to appeal against that. we will see how that works out but these gcses are expected next week, thursday. politically too distant into something of a hot potato?m already is hugely controversial issue. politically. we've seen a lot of pressure on the government on its handling of exam results this year. without exams being taken, a system of some kind had to be dripped up and there are lots of people including labour in england where the government has responsibility for exam results, saying that ministers should consider scrapping the standardisation model and reverting to teachers predicted grades. the concern has been that the appeals process which a lot of stu d e nts the appeals process which a lot of students are going to want to take advantage of to receive their grades revised up if they feel they have been treated unfairly has been no real focus and we have seen a lot of

conservative backbench mps saying that does need to deliver for the stu d e nts if that does need to deliver for the students if the system overall is going to bejudged to have been fair. a lot will be riding on this detail and whether students think it's enough for them to take advantage of. ck, jonathan blake, thank you very much. the prince of wales has led commemorations for the 75th anniversary of vj day, when japan's surrender ended the second world war. prince charles joined veterans and military personnel for a service at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire. he paid tribute to the courage of those who fought, saying their service and sacrifice would "echo through the ages" and remembered all those who lives were blighted by the conflict. nicholas witchell reports.

a lone piper at dawn, aboard hms belfast, marking the fact that 75 years ago this morning, the world awoke, finally, to peace. in the open spaces of the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire, a carefully choreographed commemoration attended by a0 veterans who fought in the 14th, sometimes forgotten, army against a ferocious enemy in some of the most challenging of conditions. many tens of thousands of allied troops from many different nations lost their lives in the jungles of southeast asia and tens of thousands more died injapanese prisoner of war camps. they shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. after the sounding of the last post by a royal marine bugler,

a two—minute silence was led by the prince of wales. and in remembrance of lives lost from so many nations, from the british and indian and other allied armies, wreaths were placed at memorials here and in many of the nations that and in remembrance of lives lost from so many nations, were involved in the conflict. today, in this hallowed place, and in the presence of all those gathered here or in their homes, or wherever they may be, let us affirm that they and the surviving

veterans are not forgotten. rather, you are respected, thanked, and cherished with all our hearts and for all time. 75 years on, the forgotten army was remembered and its last survivors cherished. and also as part of the commemorations, the raf‘s red arrows flew over belfast city centre. the aircraft passed the landmark titanic building and the harland and wolff shipyard cranes as they flew up belfast lough, leaving their famous red, white and blue smoke trails in their wake.

in tokyo, the japanese emperor, naruhito, has expressed deep remorse for his country's past military actions. the war was brought to an end shortly after the us dropped nuclear bombs over the cities of hiroshima and nagasaki. naruhito is the grandson of emperor hirohito, in whose name imperial troops fought the war. translation: since the end of the war, 75 years have passed. the relentless effort of the japanese people has built our country's peace and prosperity today. when thinking of the past, the hardship of our people, we reflect deeply. we are now facing a pandemic of covid—i9 and we are facing new challenges, but we shall cooperate with each other to overcome this crisis.

thousands of holiday—makers have arrived back in the uk after a last—minute dash to avoid a mandatory 2—week quarantine, which came into effect at 4am this morning. the new rules, which apply to france, the netherlands and 4 other countries, follow concerns about the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in each. andy moore has the details. there were long queues at calais early this morning as people scrambled to get back to the uk ahead of the 4am deadline. it is 2.45 in the morning, trains are running 90 minutes late, the signs say. at passport control to get this far, they told us we should be fine to get back to the uk for the 4am deadline. on one of the last ferries out of france, from dieppe, some exhausted travellers. i'm told that the ferry people know that we need to get to the uk

before four o'clock. so we'll see you later. the ship docked in newhavenjust before the deadline. 3:58am in the uk. we are on land. fantastic. the airports are also busy with flights to the uk. and the queue just keeps going and going and going. this was nice last night. hi. we've just boarded the plane, it's about ten o'clock. been a really long, hard day. so many people at the airport. finally on our flight. at gatwick airport this morning, some of the first passengers arriving back from france who will have to go into quarantine. we were five hours too late for the quarantine, so now we all have to quarantine. my husband is losing money for two weeks. it's ridiculous. we've been in a part of france

that's got hardly any covid—19, it feels really safe there as well. it feels like a very kind of broad brush stroke kind of measure. the passengers arriving here from france are going into a very strict form of self isolation for two weeks. they won't be able to go out for exercise, they won't be able to walk the dog, any shopping will have to be brought to them. and the penalty for breaching those rules starts at £1,000. andy moore, bbc news, gatwick airport. 0ur correspondent gavin lee, is at the channel port of dieppe in france, and sent us this update. the rush to return from france seems to be over. 0n the ferries, the airports, whether it is the trains in the eurotunnel, it is a lot calmer today but it's interesting. the majorferry operators, here in dieppe and dunkirk and calais saying that they are dealing with increased custom, so they are putting on extra demand and that suggests there are still many people coming back, even if they have to quarantine, because they feel... i've met and spoke to one family, 12 people who have tried to get here. they said they have

tried to book online all throughout the day yesterday. claiming that the prices were going up for flights and frustrated because they will have to quarantine. two haulage workers who have just arrived saying that they were confused. somebody told them that the borders might close and they have been panicking coming from malaga. so stories increasing here of those who have missed the boat now having to quarantine. debenhams has asked an advisory firm that specialises in store closures to draw up plans for possible liquidation. but the struggling retailer insists the move isjust a "contingency plan" and would be a last resort. our business correspondent vivienne nunisjoins me now. what are debenhams saying? debenhams have said this is a procedural matter. yes they have appointed this firm, a possible liquidator, but they say is just a last resort and

it's very unlikely its 124 stores would close and it would go into liquidation. they say once you go into administration which debenhams did earlier this year it's just power for the course for an administrator to look at the possible future outcomes for the company, they look at where next for debenhams. 0ne company, they look at where next for debenhams. one option ethic business can't be sold as it could be go into liquidation but debenhams says it's very unlikely. they have been in trouble for a while, hasn't it? very unlikely. they have been in trouble for a while, hasn't mm has for a few years really as we have seen high street and department stores for a few years now. debenhams have said recently though that things are turning around. but just a few weeks ago as we went into lockdown, debenhams had to close all of its stores like other retailers dead but during that lockdown, —— retailers did. crucially in may 6500 people lost their jobs from

debenhams or in total that's how many people since may anyway. that's a pretty worrying situation and the appointment of the company could raise red flags. they are known to come in and assist troubled stores when they need to close their business but as i say, debenhams insisted its normal procedure. a last resort and it's pretty unlikely it will get that. thank you very much indeed. the headlines on bbc news... exams regulator 0fqual has set out the criteria for students to appeal against downgraded a levels and gcse‘s in england. it follows anger over a level results, after nearly 40% were marked lower than teacher predictions. prince charles has led commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of vj day the day world war 2 ended with victory over japan.

thousands of holidaymakers have arrived back in the uk after a last—minute dash to avoid a mandatory 2—week quarantine — which came into effect at 4am this morning. sport and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. after a five month break, rugby union's premiership is back it has not done exeter any harm at all. they have a nine—point lead at the top of the table. gloucester will have enjoyed their return too. they thrashed worcester 44—15 in a bonus point win at sixways earlier. worcester actually got off to the better start with a try

in the second minute but that tackle from melani nanai was where the game changed. he was shown a red card and worcester couldn't compete from then. with gloucester running in 6 tries for a comfortable win. this is the latest in the premiership. the second half for bath v london irish, 17—7 bath. tom dunn with 2 tries. bristol get under way against relegated saracens, in about 10 minutes. one other line from rugby, former scotland captainjohn barclay has retired at the age of 33. he made 76 international appearances, played in three world cups and captained the team to their first calcutta cup win over england in a decade in 2018. barclay also spent 8 years at glasgow warriors, five with welsh side scarlets and had a spell at edinburgh. fans are back in the stands

at the crucible theatre for the snooker world championship final as part of the governments plans to get crowds back at events. there are 300 watching on in sheffield as five time champion ronnie 0'sullivan takes on kyren wilson who's looking for his first world title. and it's 0'sullivan who has impressed so far, with this break of 106 helping him to a 5—2 lead. and here's live pictures from the crucible. in the 8th frame here. wilson leading that frame. if 0'sullivan wins he'll equal steve davis and ray reardon's record of 6 world titles, stephen hendry holds the record with 7. lewis hamilton has finished fastest in qualifying ahead of tomorrow's spanish grand prix. merecedes take first and second as team—mate valterri bottas just misses out, to leave hamilton on pole position for the 92nd time in his career.

red bull's max verstappen sits behind in third. verstappen 30 points behind hamilton who leads the drivers standings. we're still waiting for play to get under way, in day three of england's second test against pakistan. poor weather in southampton, has stopped anything from happening so far. the pitch is being inspected at the moment. currently pakistan in their first innings, are on 223—9. england are ahead in the three test series. to a huge night in the champions league for manchester city now. a win over lyon will seal just their second ever semi final in the tournament. that would set up a shoot out against bayern munich, following their 8—2 demolition of barcelona, for a spot in the final. but manager pep guardiola isn't getting carried away. we try to do our best, like all the other teams. we are here, we are prepared, we are prepared to go through but they are an opponent so try to put the mistakes like in this competition punish us and that is all.

so the pressure is always there to try to do our best and yeah, we will do it. despite celtic‘s game against aberdeen being postponed due to players breaking covid rules, there are three matches into the second half, in the scottish premiership. ross county could move top with a win. later hibs could jump back above them, and go top, and make it four wins from four when they take on motherwell. defending tour de france champion egan bernal has pulled out of the criterium du dauphine, the main warm—up race for the tour, with a back problem. primoz roglic keeps his 14—second race lead, despite a crash earlier in the day — on current form the slovenian must be a favourite for the tour, which starts in two weeks' time.

stage four of five was won by the 23—year—old german rider lennard kamna, who broke away for the biggest victory of his career so far. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. more now on the commemorations which have been taking place to mark the 75th anniversary of vj day, the day world war ii ended with victory over japan. let's speak to artist sally grumbridge, the daughter of george edward milner porter who was a far east prisoner of war from 1942 until japan's surrender in 1945. thank you so much for taking the time to speak to us today. what does today mean to you? main meanings for

me. one is the global... 0ne today mean to you? main meanings for me. one is the global... one of the biggest conflicts the world has ever known. and then... that is a shame. if you give me one moment please, just to let our viewers know we're having technical problem. if you can carry on we willjust persist for a little bit longer. the significance of today for you. the significance of today for you. the significance of today for you. the significance of today is on two levels. 0ne of today for you. the significance of today is on two levels. one is the global end of the war and the other is... no. it is such a shame, sally but we will not give up. i am just going to interop because even as you talk you are breaking up, we will phone you back and try and establish a stronger line so we can hear your story and your father's story. so do bear with us. two men, given the death penalty

for killing two british backpackers in thailand, have had their sentences reduced to life in prison. the bodies of 23—year—old hannah witheridge from norfolk and 24—year—old david miller from jersey, were found on a beach on the thai island of koh tao, 6 years ago. two burmese nationals were convicted of their murders in a thai court in 2015. they'll now serve life sentences instead of facing the death penalty, following a royal decree. thousands of people have gathered in the belarus capital, minsk, to pay their respects to a man who died during opposition protests, following a presidential election that most people believe was rigged. protests have gathered momentum in recent days following a brutal police crackdown, during which thousands have been arrested and many beaten and tortured. the prime ministers of the three baltic republics, latvia, lithuania and estonia, have called on belarus to hold new "free and fair" presidential elections.

0ur correspondent, abdujalil abdurasulov, has more. people are gathering at the pushkinskaya metro station in minsk. this is the site where alexander taraikovsky, one of the protesters, died during the violence here. people are laying flowers in his memory, chanting, "we will never forget, we will never forgive." the crowd is getting bigger and bigger every minute. people keep coming. the drivers that are passing by are honking their car horns in support. this is truly unprecedented for belarus. mr lukashenko in his 26 years of being in power has neverfaced such a challenge before and perhaps this is a sign that he has reached the point of no return.

the united states postal service has issued a warning that not all postal ballots for the presidential election in november will necessarily arrive in time to be counted. a huge increase in mail—in voting is expected this year but president trump says he won't approve funding to the usps to meet the extra demand. lossmaking and politically unloved. the united states postal service is about to get very busy with an unprecedented number of americans expected to vote by mail in november the clarity of the result could depend on the ability of postal workers to deliver millions of mail—in ballots on time. the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 168,000 people here, according to official figures, not only puts polling staff who tend to be elderly in jeopardy, it potentially endangers those who would gather in long lines at polling stations. hence postal voting appeals

to many here, although not, it seems, to president trump, who is blocking democrats' demands for additionalfunding. they want $3.5 billion for universal mail—in voting for the country. we have...hundreds of millions of voters, they can't do a little race with 20,000 people. now they want to take it countrywide mail—in voting, it's going to be the greatest fraud in the history of elections. when you always talk about russia, russia, russia, china, iran on voting, your biggest problem is going to be with the democrats. the president's contention that postal voting leads to fraud isn't supported by the facts and his opposition to it appears to have more to do with the fact that higher turnouts tend to favour the democrats. it's the sheer volume of mail—in ballots that could cause the problem and the postal service is warning it can't guarantee they will all arrive in time to be counted. a letter sent to states

across the country says certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail—in ballots are incongruous with the postal service's delivery standards. democrats are furious and have accused the president of deliberately seeking to sabotage the system. the president says he's not putting up any money for absentee voting and he's not putting up any money for the postal service, undermining the health of our democracy. the prospect remains that if the beleaguered us postal service fails to rise to the challenge, millions of american voters could be disenfranchised. and such is the irony here that two of the most recent florida residents to register to vote by mail are donald j trump and his wife, melania. david willis, bbc news, los angeles. now it's time for a look at the weather with tomasz shafernaker.

hello. for most of the uk the weather really isn't going to change much for the rest of the weekend. saturday, a pretty dull, drizzly day, thunderstorms in the forecast too, but it's not all bad. there is some sunshine around and pleasantly warm weather across northern wales, north—west of england, south—west of scotland and the western isles too, so it is certainly not cloudy everywhere. the temperatures typically in the low 20s but a lot cooler on the north sea coast. thunderstorms are possible broadly speaking across the southern half of the uk as we go through the rest of today and tonight. the overnight hours. and a very muggy night. 18 degrees in london. around the mid teens expected in scotland. showers again expected tomorrow. the possibility of thunderstorms again, probably the heaviest ones across more southern areas. a little brightness possible now and then, but on the whole, a lot of cloud across the uk.