tonight at ten, more confusion and uncertainty over a—level results. the regulator pulls advice on how to appeal against grades, hours, after making it public. widespread anger again today from students, who say the whole process is unjust. ijust think it's unfair that we got given these grades, even though we didn't actually sit these exams in the first place. the common theme is anger. a lot of people are feeling sad and distressed. it's a very stressful time, your future is uncertain. one former tory education secretary says the government should "stop digging a hole" and reassess the grading system. also tonight... in belarus, the biggest

anti—government protests yet against president lukashenko, who says he won't resign. the bodies of two brothers who got into difficulties in the sea off the lancashire coast, have been recovered. and manchester united's europa league hopes come to an end, with defeat in the semi—finals against sevilla. good evening. there's further uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of a—level students, and those waiting for gcse results in a few days‘ time. the exams regulator, quual, has withdrawn its advice on how pupils can appeal against their allocated grades, just hours after making it public. the government has been under fire since thursday, when a—level results were awarded and nearly 40% of teacher assessments were downgraded.

labour has urged borisjohnson to take personal responsibility, to take personal responsibility for what it's called the "mess" surrounding exams. here's our education editor, bra nwen jeffreys. outraged, disappointed by their a—levels. the common theme is anger, a lot of people are really sad and distressed. it's a really stressful time, like, yourfuture is uncertain. students brought their protest to westminster today. i was predicted a, a, a, and i got given b, c, c. i think it's unfair that we got given these grades, even though we didn't actually sit these exams in the first place. afraid their future is at stake. i don't really know what to do. the only thing i have left to do is wait for the government to reveal a fair appeals process. some did get the grades they needed, but 40% of a—level grades were adjusted down. next week, with gcses, it could be worse. half a million pupils will get their grades.

in england, only a i% rise overall is allowed. senior tories calling for a rethink. there will be a massive number of downgrades this thursday. a really great massive number. we mustn't forget half a million people take maths gcse, so you're into numbers of hundreds of thousands complaining that they've been hit. you know, when you're in a hole, stop digging! goodness knows what is going on at quual. it sows confusion amongst pupils, head teachers, school teachers, and it's the last thing we need at this time. we need a ronseal appeal system that is simple, that people understand it. the politics of grades never so heated. the pressure on ministers building. i care about these young people, to be honest, and the hundreds of thousands of students who are affected by this disaster. so, that's why i'm calling on the prime minister to step in, quite frankly. he needs to right this wrong in the next 24 hours.

that's why he's the prime minister of the country. he needs to get up off his backside and help and support these young people. when schools shut, exams had to be cancelled. but now support for the alternative is falling apart. it's really not good enough for us to be finding out information last night, which our members are going to have to implement. you know, one head teacher saying they're going to have 900 appeals across their school at a time when they're trying to do the logistics of this pandemic. there has to be a sense of government, the regulator working with the very people who are responsible for young people and who have to implement these ideas. and still, it's not clear how many will appeal, as rules for that have been rewritten. branwen jeffreys, bbc news. our political correspondent jonathan blakejoins us now. no one is happy about any of this and now conservatives themselves are up and now conservatives themselves are up in arms. could we see a change in

policy in the next few days?m up in arms. could we see a change in policy in the next few days? it is possible, pressure is growing on the government, 2a hours on from that dramatic decision by quual to revoke the guidance they had issued to stu d e nts revoke the guidance they had issued to students hoping to appear on the basis of their mock exam results and still no explanation has been given. that was undoubtedly an awkward moment for the government because that guidance appeared to contradict the education secretary, gavin williamson's promised that students would benefit from this triple lock allowing them to either have their allocated great appeal on the basis of their mock result or take an exam in the autumn. we had a statement from the department for education in the last hour. it says they want to build as much fairness into the appeals process as possible and had been working with quual to achieve that. labour are calling for the prime minister to step in, as you heard. what will worry the government more is the growing disquiet on conservative backbenchers, they are being increasingly vocal in their criticism. one saved today that this

smacks of naive incompetence. 21 said. another describing it as a com plete said. another describing it as a complete mess. political criticism, protests, legal challenges, there is only so much of this the government can take before it is forced into a fundamental change. the statement that has come to night suggests they will try to tweak the appeals process and open that up, rather than doa process and open that up, rather than do a complete u—turn. but there is undoubtedly more criticism add more pressure to come in the build—up to gcse results being published on thursday —— and more pressure. thankjonathan blake. in belarus, the largest anti—government protests since last week's disputed elections have been taking place, with further calls for alexander lukashenko to step down. but he's vowing to stay in power, claiming belarus is under threat from foreign forces. mr lukashenko is accused of rigging the vote and unleashing a violent crackdown against demonstrators. it's thought as many as 100,000 people took to the streets has sent us this report. chanting

a week after the disputed election, belarus is voting with its feet. the centre of the capital, minsk, taken over by hundreds of thousands of people. united in their demand that alexander lu kashenko, the only president this country has ever known, step down. do you think the president is going to go peacefully? do you think that is likely, he has been here a long time. do you think that this sort of demonstration is going to convince the president to go? yes, we believe, and that's why we are all here. all of minsk, all of our country. belarus has never seen scenes like this before. a couple of weeks ago, demonstrations were extremely rare and they were usually brutally snuffed out by the government.

now there are people marching as far as the eye can see through the centre of the capital, minsk. there's a real sense of change in the air. but this isn't over. but for now, the president clings on to power. this was his rally today in minsk, just a few thousand showed up. an embarrassing turn out for a man who claims to have got 80% of the vote. in a defiant speech, he rejected calls for new elections, telling his supporters that nato ta nks telling his supporters that nato tanks were near the border. leave, leave, they chance. but exactly how that happens is far from clear. but exactly how that happens is farfrom clear.

do you think the president is going to go peacefully? i'm not sure about it, but we will not go away. today, tomorrow, next week, we will stay here on the streets. and i would like to say that i was born in 1998, and i spent all my life with president lukashenko and i don't want it any more. this was a day when belarussians found their voice. "lukashenko — lock him up," they are saying here. europe's longest—serving leader may have passed the point of no return. the numbers on the streets of minsk we re the numbers on the streets of minsk were huge and unprecedented but it may turn out to be moscow that has the critical voice in what happens next. we know that russia has been following events here very closely. many russians see belarus is effectively pa rt many russians see belarus is effectively part of their back yard. russia's president, vladimir putin, we also know is no fan of the sort of people's revolution that might well be unfolding here at the

moment. discussions have taken place in the last couple of days between russia and president lukashenko in belarus as to some sort of security assistance of some form. in the back of people's minds as they continue their protests and the strikes continue is the possibility of some sort of russian intervention. thank you, jonah fisher live in minsk. latest figures from the uk show there were 1,040 new confirmed cases of covid—19 reported in the latest 24—hour period. the seven—day rolling average for daily cases is 1,085, so as you can see here, the average is slowly rising. five deaths were recorded in the same 24—hour period, taking the total number across the uk, to 41,366. the number of reported deaths is generally lower at the weekend. on average in the past week, 13 people are reported to have died every day from coronavirus.

globally, the world health organisation says nearly 300,000 people tested positive for covid—19 in the last 24 hours, the highest rate of the pandemic so far. countries across europe are reporting rising infections, including spain, where experts say the situation is critical. and in italy and france, there are surges in cases, while south korea has recorded its biggest outbreak in five months. but in south africa, the government says infections have peaked, and so lockdown measures, were eased today. meanwhile back here, one of the key public bodies in charge of handling the coronavirus in england is to be scrapped. public health england has been criticised for the way it's handled data and its test and trace programme. our health editor, hugh pym is here. what has prompted this decision? they are given a new agency is needed to tackle the virus and future pandemics. in the next couple

of days, it is understood the government will announce a chunk of public health england's function, surveillance and testing so i will be moved into a new organisation and merged with the test and trace system in england under its leadership or some sort of new leadership or some sort of new leadership about to be announced. public health england will carry on for a while, dealing with health prevention issues like obesity. the background to all this is back in march, a very controversial decision, p he was involved in that, to suspend community testing and tracing —— phe and move into hospital testing. they realised a mass testing system was needed and they embarked on it possibly too late. critics may say the move announced could be to fix mistakes made by phe. it is an executive agency responsible to the secretary of state, it is not independent or autonomous, all those decisions in

march would have involved ministers, scientific and medical advisers as well. exactly who was responsible or culpable, we will have to wait for an independent enquiry, if and when it comes along. thank you for that. police in wiltshire say four people have died after a car crashed into a house on the a4. all the young men in the vehicle died at the scene, in derry hill, near calne. no—one in the house was injured. the bodies of two brothers who went missing in the sea near lytham st annes in lancashire have been found. the teenagers from west yorkshire got into difficulties, last night. a third person, their cousin, is recovering after managing to swim to shore. fiona trott has more details. the start of an 18—hour search, and this was just one part of it. one of these rnli lifeboats was out for 15 hours. they were later joined by another from blackpool. all of them searching for 18—year—old muhammad and his 16—year—old brother, ali. the teenager's 15—year—old cousin

managed to swim ashore. we saw the young lad come back in, he had just trousers on, no top, and he was, like, shaking. and they took him out of the coastal van with, we think, it was his sister. and they put him straight into an ambulance. this vast beach at st anne's pier is popular at this time of year, but people who know it well say visitors can get into difficulty. the beach, although it looks flat, isn't. if you're on the higher ground and looking out to sea, not paying attention to what happens behind you, the water can come in behind you and next minute you know, you've got to at least wade ashore or, if it gets too deep, swim ashore. at lunchtime today, the difficult decision was made. despite all their efforts, the coast guard suspended the search. and, this evening, the brothers‘ family arrived at its office, minutes after hearing two bodies had been found.

they're yet to be formally identified, but police say they are believed to be muhammad and ali shabbir. fiona trott, bbc news, lancashire. in america, democrats will host their national convention beginning tomorrow, wherejoe biden will be confirmed as the party's nominee for president, in november's election. because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year the event is scaled down and mainly virtual, with speakers giving their addresses from different remote locations. mr biden knows there are some in the party less than enthusiastic about his nomination, particularly on the left. but he's hoping his choice of running mate, senator kamala harris, can help him win the support of minorities and more progressive voters. here's our north america editor, jon sopel. folks, thanks, i understand there are thousands of you on this zoom... campaigning, covid style. this is a socially—distanced fundraiser. but there are no phone banks, just thousands on a zoom call.

and since kamala harris joined the ticket, the money's been pouring in. $48 million raised injust 48 hours. the excitement is palpable! at least i'm excited. but enthusiasm is hardly the right word. even among democratic voters, like these college kids. he's getting older. i don't think he was the strongest candidate that was out there, but he is the lesser of two evils, definitely. maybe not the most, like, the person i would want if i had any option, but, yeah, definitely the lesser of two evils. i'm voting for him, sadly. um, because at the end of the day, electoral politics is... it's basically damage control. and these students aren't exceptional. a newly published pew research poll asked democrats why they'd be voting for biden. a staggering 56% said it was because he wasn't donald trump. the next most important was his leadership performance. just 19% said that would be the reason for backing him. butjoe biden has likeability.

ask the owner of this diner in his home town of wilmington, where the biden family have been regulars for decades. i wouldn't just vote democratic, ijust... i'm on his side. you know, i agree with his policies and hopefully that's going to get us out of a big mess. for the past five months, joe biden has scarcely emerged from his basement hideaway in the house behind me. and keeping such a low profile, paradoxically, has served him well. his poll numbers keep going up. but, surely, in the next three months, he's going to have to campaign hard, if he wants to win the presidency. trump campaign ads have sought to portray the 77—year—old as a man who is losing it. i'll make sure that we are... ..in a position that... go ahead. oh, no, probably best i don't. certainly, biden is gaffe prone. if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or trump and you ain't black...

and that i'm going to beatjoe biden. we hold these truths to be self—evident. all men and women created by the... you know the... you know the thing. the next vice president of the united states of america! in 2008, when a youthful barack obama stood withjoe biden as his running mate, the optimistic and positive message was hope and, yes, we can. ready, set, go. in this strange 2020 election, not being donald trump might be joe biden‘s biggest plus. jon sopel, bbc news, wilmington, delaware. now, with all the sport, here's karthi gna nasegaram, at the bbc sport centre. good evening. it has not been a good weekend for manchester's football clubs in european competitions, with manchester united this evening losing to sevilla in the semi—finals of the europa league. united took the lead within the opening ten minutes but the spanish side came back to win 2—1 and they will

play in friday's final. patrick gearey reports. and then there was one. manchester united were britain's last men standing in europe, still going in the 61st match of a stretched out season. no sign of tiring limbs and this move, fernandez didn't have to regret that touch long, the referee spotted a foul, penalty. fernandez has been recently compared with eric ca nto na. has been recently compared with eric cantona. a kick fit for a king. but no team has been more successful than savile in this competition and there was a beautiful efficiency about the equaliser, scored by, of liverpool. manchester united returned with purpose after the break but one man kept them from a precious goal. a hero named bono, united couldn't find the edge. sevilla can be razor—sharp, an absent—minded moment, luuk dejong got three. it only takes a moment. frustration, recrimination, united

face elimination, they finished with 20 shots but no second goal. their season has lasted for more than a year and yet it has ended earlier than they would like. patrick geary, bbc news. it is time to pop out of the room if you are waiting to watch sportscene, which follows soon on bbc one in scotland. rangers are top of the table after a goalless draw with livingstone. that result brings to an end rangers‘100% winning record at the start of this season. ronnie o'sullivan has won his sixth world snooker championship with a dominant display at the crucible. he beat kyren wilson by 18—8 in this weekend's final. o'sullivan is now level with steve davis and ray reardon, and is just one win away from equalling the record of seven crucible crowns. joe wilson reports. five—time champion of the world, the rocket, ronnie o'sullivan! ronnie o'sullivan, the greatest snooker player of all—time — that's what kyren wilson called him, and he spent the weekend losing to him. o'sullivan only needed one frame in the evening session.

enjoy every second — there weren't many. if o'sullivan is at his best, well, you don't get a chance. kyren wilson already knew that. it looked like o'sullivan would win with a century break until he slightly misjudged his position on the black, and, well, then... didn't matter. now, o'sullivan rates wilson highly, but he's been scathing of other young players. well, he is 44 and he is the world champion. my thing has been longevity, you know, i kind of... i go in and out of form, you know, my mind can wander sometimes, but then ijust get a little bit of a taste for it and think, "come on, let's see if you've still got it!" 2001 was the first, this the sixth world title, one behind stephen hendry. maybe that's a motivation. for, if o'sullivan really wants more, who still can stop him? joe wilson, bbc news. lewis hamilton has won formula one's spanish grand prix and in doing so has broken the record set by michael schumacher for

the most podium finishes. it is the 156th time that hamilton has had a top—three finish. and it was a comfortable win, with the british driver 24 seconds ahead of max verstappen. after the race, hamilton said he was so focussed he hadn't realised he was on the final lap! he is now 37 points ahead in the driver's standings as he aims for a record equalling seventh world title. the second cricket test between england and pakistan is heading for a draw after rain disrupted play on day four. with just one hour's play today, england bowled pakistan out for 236. before the wicket of rory burns fell in the opening over of their first innings reply. england are 7—1 and have a 1—0 lead in the series. there's more on the bbc sport website, including news of the final game of rugby union's first weekend back since lockdown, where wasps beat northampton saints in the premiership. thank you. that's it. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel, but now on bbc one, time for the news where you are.

have a very good night. hello. this is bbc news with lukwesa burak. from today people across wales, who've been shielding because of coronavirus, can leave their homes again. the change in welsh government advice means around 130,000 people can now go to work, school or out shopping.

but some charities are warning that they still need to socially distance, and keep up high levels of hand hygiene. nick palit reports. this is the first time paddy murphy has set foot outside her front door since the pandemic began. the 80—year—old academic editor has been in lockdown in her newcastle emlyn home because of a heart and lung condition. today, she ventured down to her local shop and was filmed by her grandson on his mobile phone. she says the whole experience was very strange indeed. i have been down that high street hundreds of times, but it felt like a new experience. so i was feeling quite nervous. by the time i got to the shop, less so and i had a conversation with a neighbour, which was quite heartening and so on the way back i felt better. around 130,000 people like paddy all across wales have been shielding. for those who have not been out in months, those first tentative steps may be hard and they could be nervous. a doctor, based at prince charles

hospital in merthyr, who is herself shielding, has designed a badge for shielders to wear, so the public can identify them and be extra careful around them. it initially came as an idea forjust shielding, but actually,