this is bbc news withjoanna gosling with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. as schools prepare to restart in england, labour call forfor next year's a—level and gcse exams to be pushed back, to help pupils cope with the impact of covid—19 — the government says it's too soon to decide what will happen. it is far to early to be saying we're going to postpone things or cancel things, as the labour party seem to be saying. i think that is the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment is focusing on getting our schools back in the saddle, running again, so young people can resume their education. it isa it is a complete aberration of the responsibilities of it will create

uncertainty for students and even more uncertainty for universities. the first commercial flight from israel to the united arab emirates has taken off from tel aviv — an important step in the normalising of relations between the two countries it's five years to the day since the german chancellor declared that her country could absorb vast numbers of migrants, we look back at what happened next and the week that changed europe. the airline tui launches an investigation , as nearly 200 passengers on a flight from zante to cardiff are told to self—isolate after a number test positive for covid—19. and after 64—million government subsidised restaurant meals were served in the uk in august, the eat out to help out scheme ends today, with many businesses calling for an extension

hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world 7 and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. here in the uk, labour has called for next summer's a level and gcse exams in england to be delayed — by up to two months — to allow pupils more time to catch up on lost teaching time after schools were closed during the pandemic. the shadow education secretary, kate green said pupils have a ‘mountain to climb‘ to prepare for exams after months away from the classroom. the uk government have insisted exams will go ahead next year, whatever the timings. our political correspondent helen catt reports. it has only been a few weeks since this year's students got theirfinal grades, but what to do about next year's exams is a question that's already testing politicians, and it's one they're under pressure not to flunk. labour's answer, delay gcses and a—levels in england until at leastjune to make up for lost teaching time. it says otherwise pupils

will have a mountain to climb. it's really important we put young people first when planning for next yea r‘s people first when planning for next year's assessments and that means giving them the longest time possible to make up for the disruption i've already suffered a new school year we've just had and one i hope there will not be description in the coming year and we have to accept it is quite possible that there may be periods when children might have to be out of school again for a time. quual has made some changes to what students have to do for subjects such as english literature and geography, to allow more flexibility. and it has already consulted on pushing back exams, but hasn't yet made a decision. the reality is, we want to get schools back and we want students to be sitting their exams as normal next year. the precise timing and the approach of that will be something that obviously the department for education, quual and others will decide, working with schools. it is far too early to be saying

you are going to postpone things or cancel things, as the labour party seem to be saying. i think that is the wrong approach. what we should actually be doing at this moment is focusing on getting schools back in the saddle, running again, so young people can resume their education. the scottish government is also consulting on possible changes to highers and nationals. whatever decisions are made, the pressure is on for plans to be put in place quickly so that pupils know what they are working towards. helen catt, bbc news. with me is our political correspondent, tony bonsignore. a lot of pressure on the government again and a lot of desire from the government for people to act quickly. what are they saying? they are saying it's far too early to make the decision but they have talked about it publicly before, something gavin williamson has spoken about with the possibility of a delay if it comes to it. theyjust say we are not at that position yet. i suspect they think there is political opportunism here from

labour and of course rememberfor labour, the other point is they can keep talking about what happened in august, saying today that they cannot repeat the fiasco we saw, particularly with a—level results. the story seems to be moving towards when the decision is made, so conservative saying is far too early, the labour government saying make the decision now and others saying we need to make it so it's interesting to hear today from robert halfon and this is what he had to say today about that decision. they have missed six months of learning, but i think a proper assessment needs to be made. it may be that exams are delayed for a few weeks, but i think the assessment should be done first to find out exactly how much catch—up is needed — extra tuition, extra mental health and wellbeing support. how is the government catch—up programme — the £1 billion — being used to help pupils? once we find all that out, i think a decision should be made

for shore by october. so, makea so, make a decision quickly, robert halfon is saying and his committee, the education committee, will be quizzing senior executives from the exams regulator quual on wednesday so we exams regulator quual on wednesday so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by then. so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by thenm so we might get a better idea what they are thinking by then. it is not just westminster making the decisions, devolved nations are as well and they've previously not worked together which has put pressure on the government. worked together which has put pressure on the governmentm worked together which has put pressure on the government. it has and remember schools have already gone back in scotland and we saw what happened with exams in scotland repeated a short while later, in a matter of weeks later in england. and it's another complication, another very difficult situation because of the government to delay exams, that has a knock—on effect on university admissions, employers who need to get enough markers in place. there was a lot for the government to think about before they make that decision was watch as certainly

heard robert halfon saying is make the decision quickly, which is what they were set as well. —— which is what labour said as well. geoff barton is the general secretary of the association of school and college leaders. should they be delayed?” should they be delayed? i certainly think it would be good to have that decision. you have teachers planning the scheme of work for the year and young people in year 11 or 13 wondering what their exams would be like andi wondering what their exams would be like and i think to say let's build more teaching time in four teachers would be really reassuring and eve ryo ne would be really reassuring and everyone would think that was a good idea. doesn't go to the heart of the issue which is what if there is a local lockdown next year. we would be exactly where we are now. the concept of at... we could do something more radical and make sure something more radical and make sure some of the assessment young people will do at the end of their course could be being done during the course. they could sit some of the assessments and even if not used, they would have some under their belt in the case of a local lockdown

if we have to be a bit more radical in ourthinking and if we have to be a bit more radical in our thinking and not let young people down in the way they've been let down this year. do you have simply with the government saying you need to take time to get this right? how do you see the balance between taking the time and also obviously the need for those stu d e nts obviously the need for those students who are facing so much uncertainty to try to get some clarity? i think sympathy is draining away in terms of making decisions. on friday night, just as we go into bank holiday weekend, finally, weeks and weeks after asking what happens in the case of a local lockdown we finally see those details and this is a decision frankly which could be made right 110w frankly which could be made right now and what it would do is say to young people that hopefully the exams will run for all of you next year and we will make them three or four weeks later so your teachers have more time to prepare you and we will try to make sure they that the exa m will try to make sure they that the exam marking process is done more quickly so you then get your grades but we've also got some thinking to do in case you cannot do the exams next year so you're not left in the

position that your brothers and sisters might have been this year. that just seems to sisters might have been this year. thatjust seems to be good leadership. making those decisions that can be made now. kids from an environment where there are more resources , environment where there are more resources, whether it is a private school or in a home that has more support in all the different aspects that kids need in life, they will be ina that kids need in life, they will be in a stronger position than those in disadvantaged situations. is there any way the playing field can be levelled between now and next summer when they will all be having to face the same exams or the same system? there is a couple of things to that. there is a couple of things to that. the first and most important is that we de—clutter education and recognise the most important thing that will start happening as teachers assessing where children are, looking at the curriculum for them and relentlessly teaching, and for the majority of young people, thatis for the majority of young people, that is precisely what they need and to the government's credit, they put some additional resources so we can

do additional teaching for some people buy them at lunchtimes or after school, weekends and so on, which will help narrow some of that 93p- which will help narrow some of that gap. ido which will help narrow some of that gap. i do think there are other things the government could be thinking about and one is could be learn lessons from this year about whether having a system which places so much emphasis on a gcse designed ina so much emphasis on a gcse designed in a different era is what we need in the long term and could be not have more varied forms of assessment, and think about children trying to apply to university after getting the result so longer term thinking as well as immediately thinking as well as immediately thinking how we narrow the gaps is precisely what we should be doing right now. what you're talking about they are now is going back to more assessment through the years is where we were before which is all changed around. it was and i think we all have a huge frustration that all of those changes have not done a great deal to narrow those gaps. you still have a third of young people ina still have a third of young people in a normal year when the sit exams, a fo rg otte n in a normal year when the sit exams, a forgotten third of young people

who came out with a grade three, a great one and it's not deemed a standard pass. the government to talked about levelling up need to have a look at what we can do particularly for the constituencies they've picked up now that feel let down by education and what we can do in terms of qualifications and curriculum so every young person comes out with the dignity and feeling your education has prepared them to take place as a citizen. thank you very much. a commercial flight has left israel bound for the united arab emirates — it's a first, after the two countries agreed to normalise relations. the word peace has been freshly painted on the side of the plane ? in arabic, english and hebrew. an israeli delegation is onboard, as well as us aides who helped broker the agreement. one of which is president trump's son—in—law.

—— president trump's son in law and middle east adviserjared kushner. our correspondent, sameer hashmi, is in dubai. it is the first commercial flight between israel and the uae and it happened swiftly because the deal was announced in august and today, within three weeks, we have a flight carrying top us officials and israeli officials heading to the uae to formalise these ties. once they land in abu dhabi, which should be one hourfrom now, they will kick start discussion to formalise that relationship which means they will be discussing various facets, including opening embassies on in both countries. and opening tourism visas, investing in trade and business, and also looking at cultural ties, so a white rate of the looming range of issues will be discussed and in that sense, it is a pretty historic day and remember the invited arab emirates is the third

country to formalise ties with israel so from israel's point of view, a truly historic day as well. as you say, just over two weeks ago this process was announced. what does it take to get to that point? why did that happen at that time? that is interesting. if you look at the right united arab emirates and israel, they have... they didn't have formal ties but they had informal connections over the last few years business grade even diplomatic level discussions, which had been happening for a while. why did they choose this moment? there are two reasons. the united arab emirates says the reason they chose this moment was because they want to stop the annexation of certain west bank territories by israel at which it was planning, so according to them, this deal ensures the israelis would not go ahead with their plans

to annexes territories however israel has maintained that this is a temporary halt and they might pursue those plans in the future, so that is the two official positions taken by the respective countries but if you look at the region, the middle east region, what all this do in terms of diplomatic ties between the two countries? the emma are hoping this will strengthen their position in the region. —— the emirates are hoping. it also opens up a path of opportunities, business opportunities, business opportunities between the two countries. the uae has a lot of the wealthy individuals that can invest in israel's start—up and tech sector, and vice versa, israeli businesses can look at opportunities here whether it's a space and science exploration because that is an area that has been opening up, so there has been a huge room for both countries in terms of trade or business and cultural. and that's what they are hoping they can achieve in the coming years once

they are able to establish proper formal diplomatic ties. thank you. tui says it has launched a full investigation into claims that its cabin crew didn't follow coronavirus guidelines on a flight that's been linked to at least 16 confirmed cases of covid—19. the airline has insisted its staff are trained to the "highest standards." all 100 and 93 people on the flight from zante to cardiff have been told to self—isolate with some other passengers now reporting symptoms. stephanie whitfield was a passenger on the flight, she spoke to bbc breakfast about her experience. it was quite scary, to be honest. as soon as we boarded we realised that many of the passengers hadn't really been educated about the wearing of facemasks. many of them were wearing them around their chins and underneath their noses. they were taking them off to talk to fellow passengers and walking down the aisle with their mask off to speak to others.

and was anybody raising concerns about that on the flight, and what were the cabin crew doing? the cabin crew, obviously they were offering a limited cabin service due to the pandemic. so they weren't as present as perhaps they might have been on a normal flight or during normal times. but they did raise it with a couple of people. but i was sat next to a gentleman who had the mask around his chin for the duration of the flight. cabin crew did not raise it with him. so what was the response of — obviously you are a bit distressed, knowing what you know now about that flight. have you developed any symptoms since coming back? i know a number of people have tested positive for the virus and everybody from that flight has been told to self—isolate. yes. we've developed very mild symptoms and we're taking a test tomorrow. my husband and i decided during the flight that we would self—isolate anyway regardless of government advice. we decided that prior to the news breaking. we're glad now

obviously that we did. we're hoping we've just got a cold at the moment. but as i said, we are taking the test tomorrow just to be on the safe side. the charge on single use carrier bags in england is to double from sp to 10p from next april, and all shops will have to charge for them. the government says it's part of a renewed drive to be greener, and cut unnecessary waste. our chief environment correspondent justin rowlatt has the details. at the moment, the 5p levy only applies to single use carrier bags in large stores, those employing more than 250 people. but, from next april, the charge will double and will apply in all shops. the government says the initiative aims to protect sea creatures by reducing plastic pollution in the ocean. it claims that since the charge was introduced in 2015, there has been a 95% reduction in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets. you know, not long ago the supermarkets were issuing around

7 billion carrier bags a year. that has now been reduced by 95%. now we want to extend this approach to other retailers as well, who between them probably issue at the moment over 3 billion bags a year. we think we can have a similar impact to reduce further the issuing of plastic bags and extend what has actually been a very successful policy, supported by the public. but environmental campaigners dispute that. they say we're just buying billions of thicker so—called "bags for life" instead. the environmental campaign group greenpeace says the government should go further and set targets for reducing all single—use plastics by supermarkets. this is just a small step when we should be taking big strides. we know the scale of our

plastic pollution crisis. the government is well aware of the kind of action they need to take, including on things like bags for life, which contain more plastic. but ultimately, if we're going to make people, customers, you or i, pay more, surely producers, the people who make the plastic in the first place, should be paying more as well, and that's what we want to see from the government as soon as possible. but the move has been welcomed by the association of convenience stores, which represents small retailers. it says the charge is an effective way of reducing plastic waste. justin rowlatt, bbc news. the summer and autumn of 2015 saw hundreds of thousands of migrants from syria, afghanistan, iraq and many other countries make their way to europe. many of the migrants were hoping to find shelter from war and terror and looking for new opportunities for a better life; but thejourney was difficult and dangerous. mass migration led to profound changes in the receiving countries: economic, social and political. it's been five years since germany opened its doors to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and angela merkel‘s decision

still divides opinion today. 0ur berlin correspondentjenny hill was in munich in 2015 as migrants began to arrive. she's been back to meet some of those who came to germany to find refuge. applause. "we can do this", said angela merkel. it's five years since germany opened its doors and its arms to tens of thousands of people. many more would follow, hoping for the same warm welcome. i was proud of germany because germany did not hesitate to help the refugees. carmen, who speaks arabic, was among the many volunteers who came to munich station to help. when we look back and the situation today, all the doomsday scenarios did not become true. we could not have closed our doors. and it brought change to every part of germany.

in abensberg, a conservative bavarian town, they had to accommodate and integrate around 200 refugees. translation: i still think it was a bit much for someone to sit in berlin and say we could manage, knowing full well it was up to each and every local mayor to have to manage. if other eu countries had shared the burden, we would not have had this level of political tension. if i could turn back time, i would ask much more of europe. instead, anger, fear in the german streets, fuelled by high—profile migrant crime, the sexual assault of women in cologne, or the terror attack on a berlin christmas market. as angela merkel battled a backlash, the far right flourished. it is now an established part of german politics. but during that time, mohammed, who arrived in 2015, built a new life. he learned german, got a job, had a family. translation: it is like my home.

everything is good. we have residency, like normal people. we have work. it is a good country and we have good neighbours. i like it a lot. but the story is not over — not for those still trying to come to europe, and not for those we met in this specially—built refugee home on the edge of the city. javid tells us he was 16 when he arrived in germany. he is 21 now and still waiting permission to stay. "i don't want to leave," he tells us in german. "my future is here." what we witnessed here in 2015 was extraordinary. the euphoria, the drama, the anger have now faded, but you can still feel the consequences of that moment. it changed politics, it changed society, and many of the people who arrived back then have begun to put down roots and they too will shape this country's future.

let's speak now to yagoub matar, a sudanese migrant who settled in the uk in 2017. why did you come here in 2017? what was your story? thank you for giving me this opportunity and getting to represent people like me who may have came through the same path. i came through the same path. i came through because i felt that sudan was a through because i felt that sudan wasa regime, through because i felt that sudan was a regime, and i had been staying in egypt for almost a year and then came to the uk. as part of that programme. why did you decide to come from egypt in 2017 to the uk?

because my risk in egypt's... because my risk in egypt's... because i was so active in communities and multicultural issues, i faced many communities and multicultural issues, ifaced many dangers by the sudanese border agent security who would be chasing me in different areas, they perceived my work is helping refugees as a pressing sudanese people or egyptian people living in sudan. then i came to the uk because of the risk of dangers in egypt. how hard was it to leave behind what you knew and start again at that point in your life? so

difficult to adapt to a new life, so difficult. there is many challenges that face you when you come from a specific environment to another environment in terms of culture and in terms of new life to new people. when i came to egypt, it took me five years to adapt my life for people there are other egyptian, from the sounds of language and culture, similar to sedans. size came to the uk with high expectation to be very quickly integrated in the community and i found to be very quickly integrated in the community and ifound it to be very quickly integrated in the community and i found it difficult at first challenges. either the first thing i was faced with was a language barrier because i found yourin language barrier because i found your in manchester, the mancunian accent is so difficult for me to understand but other things in the system itself which are so difficult to be navigated in terms of how to

find work, how to normalise your life, is so difficult to find the issue. meanwhile, it was an extensive, massive experience that i worked throughout the years, i found it so difficult your to find work. i have other qualifications but because the system itself is so restrictive. you need uk experience and don't recognise the transfer of skills to be accepted by the employer and likewise many refugees have the same problem. like mick we have the same problem. like mick we have to say goodbye to viewers watching around the world, which includes yourself, thank you for watching is a good buy for your watching is a good buy for your watching is a good buy for your watching is elsewhere around the world. thank you for watching. the eat out to help 0ut scheme ends today in the uk. it's been enormously popular with 64—million half price meals dished up in 84,000 restaurants and cafes across the uk. the idea was to help the hospitality industry get going again after the lockdown. the discount applied monday

to wednesday throughout august, and there have been calls for it to continue — as our business correspondent katy austin reports. trade has been sizzling this august at the olive cafe in bournemouth. its owner and chef credits the eat out to help 0ut scheme for being fully booked monday to wednesday. trade is well up onjuly. people are more comfortable coming out, eating and enjoy themselves. we do our best to make them happy. happy with their half—price breakfast on wednesday were this family, visiting bournemouth for a few days, and it is not the first time they have used the discount. we have done breakfast, dinner, breakfast, dinner. so, yeah, four times now. we had to book all the restaurants before we left home to be able

to get the availability, because it is so popular, yeah. they are not the only ones who have taken advantage more than once. over the course of august, yeah, probably ten times. by lunchtime, this pubjust out of town was filling up. it has been much busier than expected. the challenge has been getting the ordering right, obviously, and getting the team levels right, 0k? but it feels good to have our pubs packed. especially after lockdown, you know, i did not feel that confident of actually going out, but this has encouraged us, you know? industry body uk hospitality says a third of bars and restaurants have yet to reopen. this is our outdoor terrace and it has been busy like this pretty much constantly. but back in central bournemouth, the boss of this south african restaurant says the scheme has worked. he has recouped some of his lockdown losses. trade is record—breaking at the moment. it's a false bubble so we're not getting too excited about that, but monday, tuesday, wednesday are probably up 100%. the week is up probably 50%. thursday has pivoted, so thursday is the new monday. slower weekend trade

is not a problem for andy. he says a vat cut has provided a further lifeline, but wants eat out to help 0ut to return to avoid an autumn slump. give september that breathing space, let the schools open and bring it back in october and november where predominately, it is going to be the quietest part of the year — and that is where the biggest worry is. the boom in visitors and people on staycations that bournemouth has seen this summer helps to explain why restaurants and pubs in the town have seen such a big boost from the government discount scheme. that's not the case everywhere, though. location is key in determining how successful the past month has been for businesses. pub giant greene king has 3,000 pubs and restaurants. it says while it has seen a benefit overall, city centre venues lacking their usual office workers and tourists are struggling. well, a lot of our businesses were 50%, 70%, 90% up year on year. london, or central london, was about 30% down year on year. so it is pretty stark.

i have called for government to think about maybe doing a similar scheme for city centres and for london. you know, we need to get people back into our city centres, and particularly into central london. the government does not plan to extend the scheme, but said it's helping the hospitality sector in other ways, too. this london cafe is one of a number carrying on a discount. trade has been tough since reopening, so a half—price offer in september, funded by the landlord, is designed to lure more people back. now we're telling everybody that we continue, so you can see people are extremely happy and i think it will help us a lot for the trade. and as well, we can are going to have a lot of people who are back to work in the offices. with the furlough scheme coming to an end in october, businesses like these hope people's interest in eating out will still be on the menu come the autumn. katy austin, bbc news.