now she's the one carrying british hopes, and knows just what it takes to win. in a year blighted by coronavirus, this is the most significant golf tournament to be staged in britain. some were enjoying the spotlight. others, including home favourite charley hull, found the going a little tougher. she would battle to finish the day on five—over, while hall, despite dropping a shot at the last, is sitting more comfortably on two—over par. glad how i battled back and i took every hole as it came so i am by —— quite pleased with my result today. now all eyes will be on the defending champion, hinako shibuno. a superstar injapan after her victory last year, but such is the current climate there are no fans to cheer her on here. katie gornall, bbc news. let's look at the weather.

two words, unseasonably windy, and we have seen the first signs of that during the early hours of this morning with storm allen moving across the republic of ireland bringing gusts in excess of 80 mph —— ellen. low pressure keeps things unseasonably windy with sunny spells and scattered showers. the satellite picture shows the area of low pressure sitting out in the atlantic. to the north, the remnants of what was ellen and that is where we continue to see the strongest winds this afternoon, potentially sharp showers into northern ireland, western fringes of scotland, north—west england and wales. but it is an afternoon of contest because further east, in comparison to yesterday, it is a lovely day, lots of sunshine. dry after that miserable wet day. and it will feel quite warmer temperatures in the mid—to—high 20s. that is the mid—70s. but that low pressure influencing the story tonight and to the southern flank of that low, we will see the wind is picking up

again with gusts in excess of 60 to 70 mph. that coupled with spring tides could bring some localised flooding. coastal flooding, tides could bring some localised flooding. coastalflooding, that is. it will be a relatively mild starts to friday, but there will be a spell of wet weather, some of it quite heavy for a time. that will drift its way steadily northwards. it is really worth emphasising that friday will be widespread windy weather right across the country. so into the afternoon, gusts of winds in excess the afternoon, gusts of winds in excess of 30 to a0 mph. sharp showers across scotland. stronger winds for england and wales. inland, 50 mph and on exposed coasts, in excess 50 mph and on exposed coasts, in excess of 60 mph is with scattered showers. so are very unseasonably windy day. that's it, that south and east, you should get to see more sunshine and again, temperatures dipping at 25 celsius. going to feel very strange when you factor in the strength of the wind. for the start of the weekend, the pushes on to we

start to see isobars open up a touch. a touch. a weather front brings rain into scotland, northern ireland, north—west england. a blustery day, but not quite as windy on saturday. again, central and southern england should see some sunshine coming through. and we start to lose that humidity. so for many, perhaps a little more pleasant with top temperatures of 22 degrees. thanks very much. stu d e nts students grades are awarded by teachers after exams were cancelled by coronavirus. that is all from the tea m by coronavirus. that is all from the team today. goodbye from everyone here. let'sjoin the bbc team today. goodbye from everyone here. let's join the bbc news teams wherever you here. let's join the bbc news teams whei’evei’ you are, here. let's join the bbc news teams wherever you are, goodbye.

you are watching bbc news, i am arlene foster at the bbc sports centre. liverpool will begin the defence of their premier league title against newly—promoted leeds united. the fixtures for the new season were published this morning with the opening day fixtures set for the weekend of september 12th. it'll be leeds first game back in the premier league for 16 years. chelsea and arsenal follow for liverpool in a tough opening to the season forjurgen klopp‘s champions. the other promoted sides are both at home on the opening day — fulham take on arsenal and west brom play leicester. you can see a fill list of fixtures on the bbc sport website. ahead of their return to the premier league and that opening game against liverpool, leeds chief executive angus kinnear says head coach marcelo bielsa is "very close" to signing a new contract. his current deal expired at the end of the championship title winning season, but kinnear is confident bielsa will sign a new deal shortly. bayern munich‘s alphonso davies says

it's a dream come true to reach the champions league final. their 3—0 win over lyon last night will see them face paris st—germain for the trophy in lisbon on sunday. former arsenal midfielder, serge gnabry starred againfor the german champions. he scored twice to take his tally to nine goals in this season's competition. and robert lewandowski has 15, and his 55th goal of the season in all competitions sealed what should be a mouthwatering final against a psg side with neymar and kylian mbappe. the first round is well under way at the women's open at royal troon — the biggest golf tournament to be staged in britain this year. players have been struggling with conditions in scotland, and leading britain georgia hall finished her round 2 over par. world number four nelly korda, one of the favourites, had a mixed day, making this eagle on the 3rd, but endingi over after this wayward drive.

we but i will take it. the australian stpeh kyriacou leads on i under. britain's adam yates says he's targeting stage wins at this year's tour de france after being selected in the michelton—scott team for the race which gets under way at the end of the month. yates says he's not aiming for overall victory in the general classification, while his brother simon won't feature, he's instead concentrating on the giro d'italia in october. after all the frustrations because of limited play due to bad light and rain in the second test between england and pakistan, the ecb have announced that revised hours of play will be possible during the third match of the series which gets under way in southampton tomorrow. play can now begin at 10:30 rather than the traditional iiam start, if time is lost due to bad light

or rain earlier in the match. 3 and half days were lost during the second test. england lead the series 1—0. england lead the series 1-0. we waited several hours to play the other day and then there was one hours play and they broke for a a0 minute lunch session. i mean, really? i don't think spectators are going to put up with it any more, they have so many other options and i think people's standards of tolerance of the sort of nonsense are diminished. i think the world has changed. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. it is an unchanged squad for england against pakistan in that deciding test, and keep up—to—date with the women's open in troon but i will see you in half an hour. good afternoon, iamjane you in half an hour. good afternoon, i amjane hill, i will take you over

the text, coronavirus, and other news. we will start this half hour in the news that the brother of the manchester arena, has been jailed for at least 55 years for the murders of 22 people. hashem abedi helped his older sibling salman to plan the atrocity that killed 22 and left hundreds more injured in may 2017. he was convicted of 22 murders after a court heard he was "just as guilty" as his brother, who detonated the bomb at the end of an ariana grande concert. figen murray is the mother of one of the vicitms, martyn hett, in the last few minutes she gave her reaction outside court. hello, everybody. today's sentence given to hashem abedi signifies the end of another chapter in our lives and reaffirmed to us that the

british justice system is strong and fairand british justice system is strong and fair and punishes those who break the law. although our lives have been deeply affected by what happened, we can now at least put the trial behind us and mentally prepare ourselves for the public enquiry that is starting soon. we wa nt to enquiry that is starting soon. we want to reiterate our gratitude to oui’ want to reiterate our gratitude to our amazing, outstanding legal team and everyone who has supported us through the difficult times of the trial. thank you very much. is anything you want to add?” trial. thank you very much. is anything you want to add? i would just say that has been a roller—coaster ride of emotion in there, but the thing that has come through for me isjust there, but the thing that has come through for me is just the resilience and strength of everyone in there, the families, it isjust incredible, absolutely incredible how people have rallied and come around despite everything. that was

martyn‘s stepfather and mother, who has been so vocal since the manchester arena bombing, giving their reaction to that 55 year sentence handed down at lunchtime today just in sentence handed down at lunchtime todayjust in the last hour or so, just to tell you that we are hoping to be speaking to her after two o'clock here this afternoon. we will turn to the story that has dominated here today. exam results day, so many questions still after a tumultuous couple of weeks for students. we have had a lot of questions. my colleague carrie gracie tried to get answers to some of them in — your questions answered. your questions answered now and we are joined

your questions answered now and we arejoined by a journalist your questions answered now and we are joined by a journalist from the times educational supplement, she was a secondary teacher for years with experience of teaching gcse as well as be text. thank you for joining us. we have questions coming in from viewers. karen asks, why have the btec results being delayed? what caused the delay? yesterday we found out that btec results would not be released today for the stu d e nts not be released today for the students severing the —— studying the equivalence. this is due to the fa ct the equivalence. this is due to the fact they want to bring the btec is in line with the gcses, they are receiving the higher out of their centre assessed grade, grade schools have awarded them or if they calculated raid from the exam board was higher, they would achieve that. the body says they want to make sure there is consistency with the gcses s0 there is consistency with the gcses so btec students will get the results but we do not know when. karen has asked why our btec stu d e nts karen has asked why our btec students being treated differently

toa students being treated differently to a level, but it sounds as if this movies in order to treat them the same. it is to try and treat them the same but the confusing thing is a—levels and gcses have the exams at the end of the course. there might bea the end of the course. there might be a little bit of coursework in the a—level, but there is no reason why the btec should not have been more straightforward. we had exams, we had coursework, there was plenty of evidence tojudge their had coursework, there was plenty of evidence to judge their final grade. it should have been easier, so we are not sure why it has been so troubling for the btec. here is a question, which is when i have not seen before, regarding the international version and his question is, when the gcse results are question is, when the gcse results a re revealed, question is, when the gcse results are revealed, will the eye gcse be treated in the same manner? these are the independent sector's version stop i understand, he says, not set oi’ stop i understand, he says, not set or checked in the same way. he is quite right, they are different to the gcses and it has been made clear

that they are not meant to be considered the same equivalent qualifications. they are already out and they will be processed separately. they are not going to be changed due to the changes that have been made because they are not governed by the same body. does that mean that they might suffer, is there a standardised model that is used to measure eyes them —— measure them? they are done separately and they try to standard size their programmes ovei’ they try to standard size their programmes over time so they don't have a surge grades, they want their convocations to be reliable. they don't want a top rate to be the same as the top rate the following year. when we look at employers and universities and employers, they know it is different to the gcse. i know it is different to the gcse. i know now there might be adjustments

coming to the igcse but that is something that is separate and something that is separate and something they would need to sort out. i suppose underlines the way that all these different exam results impinge on each other and for employers, if one set in changes in the way it is burned or decided, it has knock—on effects to how they compare the achievements young people. —— governed or decided. compare the achievements young people. —— governed or decidedm is very difficult and for employers, they know that a gcse grade or any level degree or a degree tells you is not part of a person but it doesn't tell you the whole story. u nless doesn't tell you the whole story. unless you are up—to—date with latest education use, you might not be at grips to the fact that we have switched from gcse numbers grades to letters from numbers. and they are more rigorous btec. if you are thinking about employing a person or putting somebody onto a course, the

grades are only telling part of a story but they won't ever tell you the full story. let's go back to questions from the audience. anna asks, were gcse students have the choice of the hire of the algorithm grade and the centrally assessed grade? this is interesting because we grade? this is interesting because we thought at the start they were going to be given both grades and they would take whichever was the higher. then they made the decision they were going to give them both together, so they would never see what they downgraded grade would have been if they had been downgraded by the statistical model, which means that students will only evei’ see which means that students will only ever see their highest grades. the grades they received today will be the higher out of their school grades, the centre assessed grade, their teachers and school leaders have come up with, and the grey that came out of the statistical model. thatin came out of the statistical model. that in itself is causing some problems because from the statistical model, as we know from the a—levels, this is stirring up some anomalies and grades that don't

seem to make sense. we have been hearing from schools since yesterday that they had incidences of students being awarded very high grades despite the centre assessed grade, the great the teacher and the school put forward being quite low. a low grade may be because they didn't com plete grade may be because they didn't complete hashem abedi the whole course, they have had high levels of —— but putting it through the statistical model because there has been historically high levels at school, that student has a grade that as we higher in some cases than what would be realistic. 0ne that as we higher in some cases than what would be realistic. one student was awarded a u grade because they have been absent since the start of the course has been upgraded to grades like grade nine which schools are having to deal with appealing. it might sound like a wonderful surprise to hear on gcse results day but practically moving forward, that is not a helpful thing to give to a child. and does that explain why we are seeing some increased grades, a

surge in higher grades that we are mentioning a moment ago? this is contributing towards it. what we haveis contributing towards it. what we have is a system that was never meant to exist. when the teachers put forward their calculated grades, the centre assessed grades that schools and teachers came up with, it was never intended to be used on its own, schools and centres were well aware of these grades were going to be moderated down. that was a was the plan. so what we have now area a was the plan. so what we have now are a mixture of calculated grades using the statistical model and the teacher grades, the centre assessed grades, which means we have higher than ever inflation which was the exact opposite of what we were trying to do in this whole process. which brings me to a question from john, who said, how should employers treat the teacher assessed grades when employing people compared to previous years? as an employer, i am concerned this year's grades adjust best guest by a teacher as opposed to an actual exam grade.|j

best guest by a teacher as opposed to an actual exam grade. i can feel for him because i can see what he means. when you are comparing stu d e nts means. when you are comparing students from year by year you won't have consistency and to be able to know if a grade four in english means a grade four, where is this year we have a little bit of uncertainty because of the process is being used. what i would say to all employers and colleges is to a lwa ys all employers and colleges is to always ta ke all employers and colleges is to always take exam results as a part of the picture. you need to look at it holistically, look at all the results and as john it holistically, look at all the results and asjohn would know, when you are employing somebody, you interview them, lots of employers have their own test they give to candidates. it is a much more thorough process than just looking at the grades. that is all we have time for, but thank you so much for joining us. thank you. we will talk much more about that topic after two o'clock, we will be

discussing btec results, regrading going on there and after 2:30pm, we hope to be speaking to the universities minister as well so much more on all of that. scotland will remain in phase three of the snp‘s four—part plan for easing lockdown restrictions. it comes as the country recorded the highest number of daily coronavirus cases in almost three months. speaking this lunchtime, nicola sturgeon said ministers would have to be satisfied that "the virus is no longer considered a significant threat to public health" to move into phase four — however there are some changes being made next week. the 2ath of august changes include some outdoor life events with physical distancing, enhanced hygiene and restricted numbers, organised outdoor contact sports will also resume for people of all ages, but for outdoor coaching sessions, there will be a cap of 30 on the total number of people that can be coached at any one time. driving lessons will resume and indoor face—to—face advice services, for example citizens advice, can also open to provide

financial advice when necessary. we have given particularly careful consideration to premises like bingo halls, because these share some obvious similarities with the indoor hospitality sector. it is therefore of the utmost importance that guidance is strictly adhered to and we will be monitoring that carefully. let me now turn to the reopening of gyms, swimming pools and indoor sports courts. three weeks ago i indicated they could reopen from the iath of september but i also said then we would consider if that date could safely be brought forward, especially given the wider physical and mental health benefits of access to these facilities. having done so, i am not able to confirm that these facilities can reopen, subject to guidance being in place, from the 31st of august. for indoor sports courts, which includes dance studios and gymnastics, it is worth stressing that for people aged 12 and over, the reopening on this date applies to noncontact activity only. these are the only key changes

to restrictions that we plan to make within this review period. however, we hope that further changes will be possible from monday the iath of september in line with what is currently set out in the route map. however, i must stress these changes are at this stage indicative only and given the volatility we face in transmission of the virus, there is a very real possibility that some or all of these plans could change. thousands of people have been forced out of their homes near the us city of san francisco, as a number of fast moving wildfires swept into the region. police and firefighters have been going from door to door — urging people to leave — while us authorities say the pilot of a water—dropping helicopter died after his aircraft crashed. the governor of california has declared a state of emergency. tanya dendrinos reports. this is the unmistakable roar of a firestorm. flames licking at the roadway.

an ominous orange glow across the blackened sky and residents scrambling to make it out. it took me a while to get out, so my husband was driving the car and he got burnt and he had to leave the car and it blew up so i was walking down by myself. i got all these flames on me and i lost my shoe, but i made it, god saved me. this couple among thousands forced to flee their homes between san francisco and sacramento as the infernos took hold. precious lives saved as structures were engulfed. from the air, the blanket of smoke reveals the sheer scale of the disaster. a wall of raging fire showcasing the intensity of this blaze and the battle at the hands of fire crews desperately trying to gain control. this is very difficult terrain to operate in, very steep. there's lots of dry fuels,

and of course we have very high temperatures and low relative humidities. all the forces aligned to make this a very challenging fight. with hundreds of fires burning across the state and many structures already destroyed, the governor of california has declared a state of emergency. we are experiencing fires the likes of which we haven't seen in many, many years. the totality when you consider 367 active fires that we are aware of all across the state of california. and for residents still on standby, the anxious wait continues. tanya dendrinos, bbc news. it's a battle between a father and his world famous daughter. lawyers for britney spears have been in court trying to prevent her dad from getting control over many aspects of her life and career — once again. aru na iyengar reports. what do we want? free britney!

dedicated fans making their voices heard, gathered outside a los angeles courthouse on a mission to free britney. i am here to support britney's freedom, i believe she deserves her basic civil rights and to be able to spend her money on her terms. she has been working since, i wa nt to terms. she has been working since, i want to say 11 years old, very hard, multiple tours, yet it is all about greed and power and she doesn't have the access and the rights to make her own decisions. it is sad. it comes her own decisions. it is sad. it co m es after her own decisions. it is sad. it comes after pop star britney spears asked the court not to return her father to a role which gave him control over many aspects of her life and career. jamie spears has been his daughter's legal conservator for 12 years because of concerns about her mental health. she wanted her affairs to be controlled by her manager who was made a temporary conservator in 2019

after her father suffered his own health problems, but failed to remove him on wednesday after the court made no immediate changes to the conservatorship, much to the dismay of fans who argue she is being kept prisoner. to bring you a little more information about the story that has broken in the last hour or so. the 55 year prison sentence handed down to the man convicted of the murder of 22 people in the manchester arena bombing, we have just had a statement in from the home secretary priti patel saying the terrorist attack at manchester arena inflicted unimaginable loss and suffering to victims and their families and it is right that the person responsible faces a lengthy sentence behind bars. today we must remember the victims and those whose lives are changed forever in may, 2017. thanks to the efforts of the outstanding police, justice has been delivered for them today. we will talk much

more about that sentencing after two o'clock. will post right now and catch up with the weather prospects. hello there. storm allen was across the republic of ireland and she bought gusts of wind in excess of 80 mph. low pressure is going to control the weather story over the next few days and that means we keep this unseasonably windy weather with a case of sunny spells and scattered showers. low pressure is drifting its way into the north—west, circulating around that low, we have a shower cloud moving in, that means there is a risk this afternoon out in the west of some sharp thundery downpours into northern ireland and the western fringes of scotland, wales and england. gusts of wind in excess of 50 miles an hour. continuing maybe more on exposed coast, but come further inland with some sunshine, in comparison

to yesterday, it will be a better afternoon. as we go through the night, that low pressure is going to continue to drift its way steadily east with a combination of high spring tides, gusts of wind in excess of 50 or 60 miles an hour, they could be the possibility of some localised coastal flooding, down into the south—west. it will be a mild start to our friday morning, mid teens, quite widely, and as we go into tomorrow, then winds will strengthen for many of us. in fact, we see that low pressure crossing, it will bring bands of showery rain, drifting its way steadily northwards and on friday, it is likely to be the day we see the windiest weather. we will see gusts of wind in excess of 30 or a0 miles an hour in scotland and northern ireland, but stronger winds for england and wales. widely a0 to 50, maybe as much as 60 miles an hour plus on those exposed coasts. sunny spells and scattered showers, not everybody will see the showers and if you catch some sunshine, it will still potentially feel relatively pleasant out there. the temperatures again into the mid 20s.

the low pressure is going to drift off into scandinavia and allow those isobars to open up just a touch on saturday, so perhaps not quite as windy, still a noticeable gusty wind out there and there will be some showers and longer spells of rain, particularly the further north and west you are, so it is going to be a windy afternoon, but if you dodge the showers, you see a little bit more shelter, the temperatures are still likely to peak into the low 20s and we are losing that humidity, so actually, for many of us, it will feel a little more pleasant. take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: hashem abedi is sentenced to at least 55 years for the murder of 22 people in the manchester arena bombing — the victims‘ families have been reacting outside the old bailey. although our lives have been deeply affected by what happened, we can 110w affected by what happened, we can now at least to put the trial behind us now at least to put the trial behind us and mentally prepare ourselves for the public enquiry. a big increase in the gcse pass rate in england — students' grades have been awarded by teachers, after coronavirus forced the cancellation of exams. i'm very proud of myself. ifeel like the grades i got i did deserve because i did work hard.