this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines... results day in england, wales and northern ireland — as top a—level grades fall in the first exams since covid — but university admissions are at a near—record high. it was amazing, because not only did i prove to, like, my future uni i can do this, but i've also proven to myself that i can do this. so i'm happy about that. leeds university expresses deep concern for one of its students who faces 3a years of jail in saudi arabia over social media tweets. we'll talk live to a human rights group who's taking up the case. rail workers are on strike once again in their dispute over pay — lots of disruption on the network

across england and wales. the un secretary general is in lviv for talks with president zelensky and turkey's recep tayyip erdogan. a 44—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal stabbing of thomas o'halloran on a mobility scooter in west london. and "wonky vegetables" could soon be on the menu as farmers warn the drought and hot weather have affected how their crops grow. i like a wonky carrot — don't we all? also, i like fruit and veg that makes you smile. and often apples that are slightly misshapen, you know, if the plant has been under stress, sometimes they taste a bit better.

hundreds of thousands of students across england, wales and northern ireland have been receiving their exam results today. a level, t—level, and btec students have all been marked based on exams — for the first time since two years of covid disruption. compared with 2019, when exams were last sat in—person, there's been a i9% increase in students gaining a place at their firm or insurance choice university. the proportion of students in england, wales and northern ireland getting top a—level grades has fallen since the record high of last year, but is higher than 2019. around 36.4% of pupils have achieved a* and a grades. and for the new t—level exams — where students split time between classroom learning and industry placements — the overall pass rate is 92%. our education correspondent sean dilley reports. this...

..is what success looks like. the profound relief and celebration clear for all to see. many here are among just over 36% achieving top grades in their a—levels in england, wales and northern ireland. and a good yearfor many btec students, too. and for those taking t—levels — a new technical qualification in england that is equivalent to three a—levels, where students split their time between the classroom and on placement within industry. for others, angst. disappointed not to have got the grades they wanted. we always had a plan. we wanted to get the grades back towards the levels that we saw pre—pandemic, and we have taken a big step in the right direction. they are still a little bit higher than they were in 2019, but they are down on last year. that is right and proper. it is all part of a plan, they say, to return to pre—pandemic testing. in 2020 and 2021, a—level and as students were awarded grades

based on assessments by teachers. not so this year. some concessions have been made, with advanced revision information being made available in some subjects, and more lenient grade boundaries introduced. for those who may not have hit the marks they planned for for their future education and employment, plenty of reassurance. there is a lot of help and support out there. all colleges have got careers advisers, councillors that can help you. also, talk to the universities, look at clearing. look at different universities, look at additional courses, apprenticeships — there are paths there to get you where you want to be. 71% of t—level students who applied for higher education have been successful. a bit nervous about what it would be like, obviously, being the first year. but it's amazing. i'm thrilled. university clearing, how can i help? aside from the traditional university clearance services, ucas is advertising 3700 apprenticeships and jobs. employers are also capitalising

on the reality that many will be looking to start work now. the key message, though, is that this year's exams were designed to result in fewer students achieving top marks. it's an important first step, the government says, to return the education system to normal. sean dilley, bbc news. it's been a nervous wait for many students hoping to get the exam results they've worked for. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley has been speaking to four students at a college in west bromwich who hope today's grades will help them achieve their dreams, despite the challenges of studying during the pandemic. wait, wait. 0h! the right result. joy, after years of disruption. emmanuela wants to study business and finance at york university. today, she's secured her place. i got distinction,

distinction, distinction. yeah, i'm really passionate about business. so i'm just happy i got into the course. over the summer, emmanuela has been for a look around the city and the campus. when i saw students graduating, i was thinking, that's going to be me, hopefully. because i've got into uni, i've got to go through the years, and i can hopefully graduate. i'm looking forward to just experiencing uni, being independent, student life. two as and a b. well done! thank you. going to university isn't the only option. abigail wants to combine marketing with her love of motorsport. she is pleased with her grades, but is still on the lookout for an apprenticeship. at the moment, i've been shortlisted for two apprenticeships, but that doesn't mean it's confirmed. it is really competitive for degree level apprenticeships, because it isjust one place per company. so, it is quite competitive. so i'm definitely still looking and just putting my cv out there. for many young people, there are big decisions ahead. that's not really heavy.

praise is going to defer going to university. she wants to be a nurse in the raf. the stretcher will i come onto the back. the pandemic has taken its toll, but it hasn't taken away childhood dreams. being at home in front of the computer and just not having that kind of engagement really affected me. because ijust didn't feel a lot of motivation. i got two bs and a d�*. getting my results today has changed everything, i've proven that i can do this. sion has got a place to study art at university in birmingham and says today isn'tjust about results, but knowing there is hope, whatever the outcome. sometimes i can't put into words how i felt. so i created art to feel those emotions for me. focus on the dreams that you want to do, because it's your passion, people who inspire you who'll get you there. oh, my god, i'm shaking. elaine dunkley, bbc news.

navtej johal has spent the day at the ucas headquarters. busiest day of the year for these guys. they think about it here as almost their christmas day, the one that they look forward to, the one that they train for throughout the course of the year. there are 270 members of staff here dealing with inquiries on the phone, on social media, speaking to students, often students who may not have got the results that they were hoping for. dealing with those emotions — the highs and the lows — that's the job of these guys today. and there are 20,000 people who are expected to call or send inquiries via social media to these folks. and across the board, there are 27,000 courses available for those people who will need to go through clearing. so, lots of options out there, and the key message has been today, time and time again, look, stay optimistic and stay flexible. let's find out a little bit more about how today's working and also this whole process by speaking to courtney shephard from ucas. thank you forjoining us.

tell me, first of all, how many calls, how many inquiries have you had today? and what has been the most common inquiry that you've had from students? very exciting day for us here, as you said. we've had just over 7000 queries, which is a good number. you know, lots and lots of people who are getting in touch, who need that help, and we've been supporting them with their options. the most common thing is, predictably, it's about students wanting to understand what their university decisions mean, particularly those who maybe didn't get the grades or still waiting for the university to confirm their place. so, those are the ones who need the most help, and helping those students navigate the whole suite of choice and options they have. is it really true that you do have students calling in every year who have got the results they need, but almost want confirmation from you saying that, look, are my results correct? have i actually got that place at university i've always wanted ? yeah, you absolutely do. and on occasion, you have people in the background with champagne popping and cheering and all sorts. you hear champagne corks popping? yeah, it happens. and you go from that, where it's an absolutely wonderful call to have.

i mean, the system does tell students that you've gotten in and it is correct. but sometimes people just want a human being, a reassuring voice on the end of the phone, and it's great you can share that excitement with them. you used to be a call handler yourself here. what's it like for these guys behind us who deal with these calls, the high emotions and the low emotions? what's it like for them speaking to students on the other end of the line who maybe aren't feeling very happy or feeling, to be honest, quite disappointed by what's happened? well, firstly, it is a massive privilege and i always talk to the staff before today and say that the opportunity to help so many students on their next step is a real privilege for us at ucas to help. so, what's it like? it's a whole plethora of emotions that you go through, from somebody with champagne in the background, and the very next call might be somebody who's really, really upset and anxious about what it is that they need to do. so you've got to regulate your own emotions, keep hydrated, look after yourself and look after your colleagues to make sure that you're there on your best form to support those people who are calling through.

results dropped at 8am, what is the advice? what should students who maybe haven't gotten the results they were hoping for, what should they were hoping for, what should they do? how should they go about today? for they do? how should they go about toda ? ., w they do? how should they go about toda ? ., ., , , , today? for those students were thin . s today? for those students were things haven't _ today? for those students were things haven't gone _ today? for those students were things haven't gone according i today? for those students were | things haven't gone according to plan, that may have changed their mind as well, you've got time. that's the important message to give now. the decisions you make up the next 20 minutes or an hour is not going to influence the rest of your life. considerwhat going to influence the rest of your life. consider what you are doing, do your research, get all of the facts and make an informed decision can speak to the universities you are interested in and have all your information. once you have spoken to a few and you've settled on your choice, that's when you add that clearing choice. at choice, that's when you add that clearing choice.— clearing choice. at three o'clock toda , clearing choice. at three o'clock today. after— clearing choice. at three o'clock today, after having _ clearing choice. at three o'clock today, after having maybe - clearing choice. at three o'clock today, after having maybe gonej today, after having maybe gone through the process of speaking to an alternative university and looking at alternative courses, you will have the chance if you are

looking at your options now to submit that new choice after having that verbal offer via clearing. so that verbal offer via clearing. so thatis that verbal offer via clearing. so that is the option, a very busy day in store for these guys, 7000 because, 7000 inquiries already, many more to come and it will be a very busy day here. train passengers are suffering more disruption today with only 20% of rail services running because of strike action. workers have walked out in a dispute over pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions. today's action means half of britain's railway lines have closed with a strike by more than 40,000 staff. there's similar action on saturday, with disruption likely to spill over into sunday morning. and tomorrow, a separate strike over pay and pensions will hit the london underground and overground. 0ur correspondent carrie davies reports another day, another strike. this is the fifth day of national rail strikes this summer, causing disruption around the country.

this was a rather quiet leeds station. due to the strikes it is extremely unreliable these days. i'm finding i'm having to drive and park, and pay a lot more. i am 100% behind the strikers, completely. i used to work in retail, i have worked in bad jobs with low pay, and i'm very much in favour of them. they need higher wages. less than a quarter of train services were running today, like this packed london 0verground train, as members of the rmt, tssa and a small number from unite walked out. the rmt are blaming the government for the stalemate. there is a deal to be done. i spoke to a senior negotiator for network rail this morning, on this picket line. he came along and said hello. we have got a decent relationship with them. we could build a solution if we were allowed to. but at the moment, the politics of the conservative party leadership election, i fear, is stopping this dispute being resolved. the transport secretary has criticised the strikes and urged the unions to get off the picket

line and back to the negotiating table. unions say they have been negotiating, but they won't back down without a pay deal that reflects the higher cost of living and protects conditions. network rail say that politicising situation is making it worse. i think the problem is that we have a very good deal on the table, that gives a guarantee ofjobs for everyone that wants it, that deals with a lot of the long—standing issues and is an 8% pay rise over two years. but that hasn't been put to my staff. the rmt have refused to put that to a referendum. that's the problem, if they had a chance to vote on that, we believe they would accept it. the dispute continues — another strike is planned for saturday. 0ur transport corresondent katy austin told us more about the disruption from great yarmouth station. she gave us more in detail. this is one of the places around the country where there are no trains at

all today come in the station behind me is completely closed. a few more routes are running in scotland today than the last time there was a national scale strike like this, but the overall picture is that about 20% of usual services are able to run today, and they will finish a lot earlier than normal. the last train on some long distance routes will actually to depart mid afternoon. some people can now work from home who would normally commute, but it is not an option for everybody and a lot of leisure plans are being disrupted as well by this latest in the series of walk—outs we have not seen on the railways this summer. so are we any closer to a resolution in these ongoing disputes? the tone of interviews by key players this morning was very much one of frustration in the sense that not very much progress has been made toward agreements recently. network rail does want guarantee union to put an offer that it rejected last month to its members to have their say, but generally union leaders are still saying that

they will push for a pay rise that reflects the increased cost of living in that they say job security and conditions need protecting. the headlines on bbc news... results stay in england, wales or northern ireland as top a level grades fall in the first exam since covid. university admissions are at a near record high. leeds university expresses deep concern for one of its students who is facing 3a years in jail its students who is facing 3a years injail in saudi arabia from a social media to eat. we will speak life from human rights group who has taken up the case. rail records have been on strike again in their dispute over pay. plenty of disruption on the network across england and wales today. leeds university has expressed deep concern for one of its phd students who has been jailed for 3h years in saudi arabia over

social media tweets. salma al—shehab, a saudi citizen and mother of two, was arrested in 2021 while on holiday in the kingdom. before the trip she had called for reforms and the release of activists. lina alhathloul, is from alqst, an independent organization that supports human rights in saudi arabia. she's also the sister of loujain al—hathlou, a saudi women's rights activist and political prisoner. she gave her reaction. it is outrageous. it is unprecedented. we have seen that the saudi government has been selling the narrative of empowering women and improving women's rights, and this sentence, after my sister's, is an illustration of it only being words. we had warned at the beginning that

rehabilitating the crown prince in the international community would pave the way for more repression, and after borisjohnson�*s visit to saudi arabia and a visit to france, we clearly see they are doubling down on repression and still imprisoning anyone criticising the regime. and in the case of salma al—shehab, in your opinion, how much of this unfortunately she gathers all the criteria that really frustrates the saudi regime, someone that expresses her opinion, someone who has been expressing solidarity and part of the shi'ite minority. this is why it has been unprecedented and very harsh. for those who don't know huge amounts about your sister, let's discuss this a little more now with bethany alhaidari, is the saudi case manager at the freedom initiative, which is a nonpartisan human rights organisation.

she's been working on salma's case since last year and joins me from washington. this sentence is quite extraordinary. 3a years for tweeting and social media. and it is an incredibly tough sentence even by saudi arabia's standard. that incredibly tough sentence even by saudi arabia's standard.— saudi arabia's standard. that is correct. i have _ saudi arabia's standard. that is correct. i have been _ saudi arabia's standard. that is correct. i have been working i saudi arabia's standard. that is correct. i have been working in| saudi arabia's standard. that is - correct. i have been working in this field for over a decade specifically on saturday and i've never seen this except for in the last week. what except for in the last week. what can be done _ except for in the last week. what can be done about _ except for in the last week. what can be done about it _ except for in the last week. what can be done about it in _ except for in the last week. what can be done about it in terms - can be done about it in terms of international pressure, if anything? i think that any time we have a case for international pressure is a raised, especially amongst politicians, investors, athletes that are partnering with saudi arabia, i think that there is a greater likelihood of someone being released if their case is raised. 0ften released if their case is raised. often times they are told to stay silent and to find solutions behind closed doors. in our experience, thatjust closed doors. in our experience, that just doesn't work. closed doors. in our experience, thatjust doesn't work. the

closed doors. in our experience, that just doesn't work. thatjust doesn't work. the saudi crown prince. — thatjust doesn't work. the saudi crown prince, the _ thatjust doesn't work. the saudi crown prince, the de _ thatjust doesn't work. the saudi crown prince, the de facto - thatjust doesn't work. the saudi crown prince, the de facto ruler. thatjust doesn't work. the saudi l crown prince, the de facto ruler of saudi arabia. he's been credited with some reforms, lifting the ban on women driving and the requirement to a headscarf, but he's also pretty tough on women activists, isn't he? first and foremost, i would like to correct that for anybody that is attributing that to him. i would think that any progression in women's rights such as women driving is due to strong activism for generations that has been led by saudi women on the ground to have fought and literally risked their lives just to call for these rights. he was sort of forest in a corner and had to make those changes at this point in time, but that was led by women, so many that have been doing it for generations of saudi women. it is not his credit to take.

he has argued that he is trying to modernise the kingdom, and yet there is this contradiction, isn't there, where mean people like in this case, facing this horrific terrifying sentence of 3a years in prison for being on twitter. it is sentence of 34 years in prison for being on twitter.— being on twitter. it is completely contradictory- — being on twitter. it is completely contradictory. you _ being on twitter. it is completely contradictory. you cannot - being on twitter. it is completely contradictory. you cannot say - being on twitter. it is completely| contradictory. you cannot say you will be leading the world and bringing progress to this futuristic city just a bringing progress to this futuristic cityjust a couple weeks ago and now you're in sentencing women's rights activist 234 years in prison over tweets is it's contradictory and shows that this is not true reform. it is just a tactic to make the international community be quiet over these violations.— international community be quiet over these violations. when we talk about the international _ over these violations. when we talk about the international community, j about the international community, we just about the international community, wejust had a about the international community, we just had a visit from joe biden. do you think countries and international leaders, should they boycott saudi arabia? should they treat it like a pariah? 0r

boycott saudi arabia? should they treat it like a pariah? or should they engage? that's often the argument that it's only by engaging that you get change in human rights. i think diplomatic solutions have their limitations sometimes, but when things at that's out of hand and this chaotic, we are talking about undermining the security in the region commanded continues to happen, notjust with how human rights activists are treated but the entire were in yemen being led by the prince that is an absolute disaster. i don't think it's in the best interest of the united states to continue the relationship as it has been. they have set and indicated that they will do a reset with the kingdom, and this is not a good indication that that is going in any direction that is favourable for either the united states or saudi arabia, especially for the people on the ground in saudi arabia. , , ., ..,, people on the ground in saudi arabia. , ., , people on the ground in saudi arabia. , ., ., , arabia. just to cope back to this case in particular, _ arabia. just to cope back to this case in particular, originally- arabia. just to cope back to this l case in particular, originally given a six year sentence and then that has been massively extended as we have just been hearing 34 years. but

there is, i gather, the possibility of an appeal within 30 days. do you think there is a chance that could be reduced again? i think there is a chance that could be reduced again?— think there is a chance that could be reduced again? i hope they will do the right _ be reduced again? i hope they will do the right thing, _ be reduced again? i hope they will do the right thing, i _ be reduced again? i hope they will do the right thing, i really - be reduced again? i hope they will do the right thing, i really do, - be reduced again? i hope they will do the right thing, i really do, but| do the right thing, i really do, but right now, thejudiciary in saudi arabia is an absolute mess. it's chaos and things have been changing so quickly that i don't know what will happen. and he will say that our organisation was made aware of your details today, we read to her defence, and she had reported that she was forcibly and intention of the drugs with sleeping pills and antidepressants during her interrogation session. she called for investigations to happen into how she was mistreated. she was denied access to a lawyer. she reported that her interrogators trying to force her to say that she sympathised with the muslim brotherhood. reported discrimination on being a shi'ite muslim. they never investigated this. this feels like this case all over again, but now we are dealing with 34 years. i hope something will change, but so far they have made a lot of mistakes

and i really hope that they fix them because this is unacceptable. thank ou ve because this is unacceptable. thank you very much. _ because this is unacceptable. thank you very much, the _ because this is unacceptable. thank you very much, the saudi _ because this is unacceptable. thank you very much, the saudi case - you very much, the saudi case manager at the freedom initiative working on the case since last year. just to say we did contact the saudi arabian embassy here in london for a comments and what has happened to her. so far no response from the saudi embassy. nobody�*s come back to us on that. the head of the united nations is meeting ukraine's president this afternoon in the city of lviv, to discuss ways to try to end the war. ukraine's armed forces have been talking of launching a counter—offensive in the south, and now a senior military officer has told the bbc they aim to recapture the city of kherson within weeks. the bbc�*s abdujalil abdu—rasulov joined one drone unit on the front line.

shouting. gunfire. the war in ukraine is the war of artillery. in the south, ukrainian forces intensify shelling of the russian positions, ahead of their counteroffensive. and groups like these help them to direct fire. they are a part of ukrainian special forces. theirjob is to identify targets, with the help of drones, and pass their coordinates to artillery. this is the target they have chosen. the russians are trying to hide it in the trenches with a net. "fire when you're ready", he tells the artillery unit. the first shot misses the target. they keep trying. this one is closer, but still a few metres off target. then the russians respond. loud boom. that's the sound of russian

artillery firing nearby. it's not clear what they are trying to target, but they are hitting the forest that is behind us. moments later, it's clear we are the target. loud bangs. the unit is under attack. the russians may have realised a drone team was directing the artillery fire. shells and rockets rain down around us. senior officers believe that, in the very near future, perhaps within weeks, kherson will be taken back. translation: over the past ten days, in the kherson area alone, _ we have destroyed more than 20 ammunition depots, lots of command and control centres and strategic

targets, including bridges. the pilots lose the signal to one of the drones. they suspect the russians are jamming it. it doesn't make it back to base, but they are happy that no one is injured. these soldiers are ready to risk not just theirjobs but even their lives in order to win the war. abdujalil abdurasulov, bbc news, mykolaiv region in southern ukraine. a quick update on those talks between the ukrainian president in the us secretary turkish president saying he discussed possible ways of ending the war between ukraine and russia. that trilateral meeting. he said they discussed using the positive atmosphere created by the un brokered grain export dl to try to get a lasting peace. mr zelensky

also saying that the leaders discuss their russian occupation of that nuclear power plant, so plenty of food for those discussions and those talks. hannah shelest is a military analyst and director for security programmes at the foreign policy council, an american think tank specialising in us foreign policy and international relations. shejoins us now. thank you she joins us now. thank you for being with us. those talks, first of all, there have been quite a lot of talks throughout this war but no crucial talks in the sense of direct talks, which in the end might be the key one day to stopping the fighting. key one day to stopping the fiuuhtin. ,., key one day to stopping the fiuuhtin. , ., ., key one day to stopping the fighting. yes and no, because oriainall fighting. yes and no, because originally in — fighting. yes and no, because originally in march, _ fighting. yes and no, because originally in march, if - fighting. yes and no, because originally in march, if you - fighting. yes and no, because - originally in march, if you remember early march, there were negotiations on the territory of belarus and later in istanbul between designated ukrainian and russian delegations.

unfortunately, at that time, the russian delegation is not doing any compromises because they turned back to me ukraine was ready to say that let's return to discussions of crimea and the occupation of the east of ukraine, so something like february 2022. now the situation is much more difficult and we see the rhetoric of the russian side became much more ultimatum style, even comparing to what we had in march and negotiations failed and they failed especially when we started to move more with what the russian forces are doing on the ground. those talks did fail, as you say, mr zelensky has said he wants face—to—face talks with mr putin which he has rejected. mr zelensky saying today the ukrainian president negotiations with russia are only possible if russian forces leave

illegally occupied territory in ukraine, and that is not going to happen anytime soon, is that? you know what's. _ happen anytime soon, is that? ym. know what's, probably three months ago people would say that russians well take care of and let's remember how many european leaders are giving ukrainejust how many european leaders are giving ukraine just three days, so how many european leaders are giving ukrainejust three days, so in how many european leaders are giving ukraine just three days, so in this world never say never, and we see how the situation on the ground is changing almost daily if not hourly, so when we speak about leaving the territory of ukraine, that means the newly occupied territories for sure. something that has happened in the last months. how they were leaving the territories in the north of the country. we see that ukrainian armed forces managed to capture seven territories, so probably in a week or two, the situation on the ground will be even more different, but unfortunately, that is why we see also the intensification of the artillery work from the russian side

because they would like to secure or at least by the destruction those territories that they are not able to control in terms of what support from the people. the russians wanted a referendum back in spring because they occupied the city in the beginning of march, and what we see in the last month, the increase of the activity and resistance on the ground. the activity and resistance on the round. , , . w' the activity and resistance on the round, , ., a ., the activity and resistance on the round. , ., ., ., ground. just a quick thought about the nuclear— ground. just a quick thought about the nuclear power— ground. just a quick thought about the nuclear power plant, _ ground. just a quick thought about the nuclear power plant, that - ground. just a quick thought about the nuclear power plant, that was | the nuclear power plant, that was discussed again by those leaders at that trilateral meeting, the turkish president, the ukrainian president and the un secretary—general, and this has been a long source of concern, but now more than ever. that concerns her because of two issues. first of all because previously they'd occupied the territory and reset the official representative there, but the last month we see the increase of the

military activities at the territory of the nuclear plant. approximately 500 military personnel and military machines are different types, some of them inside of the building, so thatis of them inside of the building, so that is quite dangerous and that is out of all international conventions regarding the nuclear security being told by their respective representatives in the latest security council meeting, the second concern, the russian representatives today, especially in social network started to spread gossip that tomorrow some activity, some provocation or some accidents can happen, and we also know for the work of the station. so that gives our intelligence services quite a wary sign that unfortunately some provocations can happen within the next days. provocations can happen within the next da s. . ~ provocations can happen within the next da s. ., ~ , provocations can happen within the next da s. ., ~ i. , . provocations can happen within the next da s. . ~ , . ., next days. thank you very much for our next days. thank you very much for your time- — next days. thank you very much for your time- and _

next days. thank you very much for your time. and thank _ next days. thank you very much for your time. and thank you _ next days. thank you very much for your time. and thank you for - next days. thank you very much for your time. and thank you for being | your time. and thank you for being with us. sums artist lifted temperatures of 29 celsius. patty rain in england and wales, some sharp showers in northern ireland will continue to push eastward across scotland before fading away. what's left of this cloud and rain moves to the southeast of england, clear skies will follow, meaning you may be able to see the northern lights tonight in scotland, northern ireland and northern england where temperatures will be 11—12 c. another warm night across the southeast of england, there could be some rain first thing on that with the front, moving away. low pressure to the north of the uk will push in some blustery showers. many places will start the day try tomorrow, blustery showers moving into northern ireland than scotland. some

sunshine as well, the odd light shower further west across england and wales, plenty of sunshine in the east and in that sunshine, temperatures will be into the mid—20s once again. could make 20 celsius across eastern parts of scotland and also the eastern parts of northern ireland with some sunshine. hello, this is bbc news, i'm ben brown. the headlines... it's been a result stay in england, wales and northern ireland as top a level grades fall in the first exam since covid. —— a level. at university admissions are at a near record high. it university admissions are at a near record high-— university admissions are at a near record hirh. .,, ., ., , , record high. it was amazing because not only did — record high. it was amazing because not only did i _ record high. it was amazing because not only did i prove _ record high. it was amazing because not only did i prove to _ record high. it was amazing because not only did i prove to my _ record high. it was amazing because not only did i prove to my future - not only did i prove to my future you need that i could do this, i've also proven to myself that i could do this, so i'm happy about that. leeds university has expressed deep concern for one of its students who

is facing 34 years in jail concern for one of its students who is facing 34 years injail in saudi arabia over social media tweets. we've been talking live to a human rights group who've taken up the case and are calling for that sentence to be ended. rail workers are on strike again in their dispute over pay. there's been lots of disruption across the network in england and wales. a44—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal stabbing of 0'halloran, on a mobility scooter in west london. the un secretary—general has been in lviv, in ukraine for talks with ukraine's president and the turkish president erewhon.

captain ben stokes has picked up two wickets of his own. this was the big one, removing 473. south africa currently 200 for five 35 runs ahead. jack laugher has won gold at the european aquatics championships in italy. the world silver medallist and commonwealth games champion in the one metre springboard competition added the european title to his collection, beating italy's lorenzo marsaglia by 17 points. fellow briton and commonwealth games bronze medallistjordan houlden finished in fifth place. alongside the aquatics championships, the european championships are being held concurrently in munich. and plenty of strong performances on the track today.

britain's 15 hundred metre world championjake wightman qualified fastest for the 800—metre semi—finals with a commanding run and a season's best. wightman will be aiming to add to his world championship gold and commonwealth bronze medals. great britain's ben pattison and daniel rowden willjoin wightman in the semi—finals. fellow briton keely hodgkinson, one of the favourites for the women's 800—metre title, also advanced with ease in her heat. hodgkinson is attempting to land a first senior gold after 0lympic, world and commonwealth silver medals. i feel like heats are always a little bit uncomfortable, you don't know what pace people will go, but i ended up taking control of the race and got thejob done. happy days. it's been a very long season, my body is feeling it but the semis tomorrow and hopefully the final we'll give it all we've got. how have you be managing your body? just trying to sleep, to be honest. we are doing the best we can.

we will see what happens. the sheer amount of sport is starting to catch up with some of the athletes. great britain's daryll neita has withdrawn from the 200—metre and 4x100 metre relay. she took bronze in the 100 metre from these championships despite suffering from cramp just before the race. team mate deena asher smith has also suffered with cramp at these championships. with the commonwealth games and the world championships — the competition in munich is the third major championship in one summer. in cycling — colombia's nyro kintana has withdrawn from the bwelta espana which gets under way tomorrow, after his disqualification from the tour de france for taking a banned pain medication. because it's a first offence by kinntana, he's still eligible to compete, but he says he'll spend the next ten days working on his defence. british businessmanjim ratcliffe has emerged as a contender to buy english premier league side manchester united. the news follows a bloomberg report

that the glazer family are willing to sell a minority stake in the club. ratcliffe — on the left here — is the majority shareholder of chemical group ineos and a boyhood fan of manchester united. he's one of the uk's wealthiest people owning the french ligue un side nice, and the swiss club lausanne—sport. and staying with manchester united — their latest transfer pursuit is real madrid's casemiro. the brazilian defensive midfielder�*s been the subject of an approach by united in a deal that could be worth up to 60 pounds. -- £60 —— £60 million. he's been with real since 2013. that's all the sport for now. we'll have more for you in sportsday at 6.30pm. thank you very much, see you later. a woman who says she was raped by benjamin mendy, has told a court she repeatedly told the manchester city footballer to stop as he tried to have sex with her. mr mendy faces multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault — he denies all the

charges against him. 0ur correspondent nick garnett has been following the case at chester crown court — and you may find some of the detail in his report distressing. the jury today has been hearing from a police interview that a woman gave to the police in macclesfield police station in 2020, and she claimed that the attack that she claimed happened was the longest day of her life. the interview was recorded in november 2020 and in it, she explained how she had gone to a nightclub, a bar in cheshire, which is a fairly well—to—do part of the county, and a number of bars and nightclubs are in that area. on another table was the footballer jess lingard, and she was on a table with mr mendy, and some of his friends and they got invited back by mr mendy to his house in mottram st andrew and when she got there, she said

that she had her mobile phone taken from her and mr mendy said she could not take any photographs inside the house because if the managerfound out, he would be heavily fined for being on social media and having a party. she tried to get the phone back and was taken upstairs. she walked upstairs with mr mendy to a bedroom and was then attacked on the bed, she was raped in three different ways, she said. she said that mr mendy then tried to say to her, not to worry about it, that things would be ok, he had slept with 10,000 women and would be invited back any day that she wanted as long as she did not say anything. she then left the property and the next day went to a hospital and shortly after reported the attack to the police, which is one of the reasons that we are at this stage we are today. she said that "the hardest thing and what makes me most upset is how

many times i said no, i said i did not want to have sex with you, i was very clear and was not listened to." she said that has been hard to get her head around, it could not be misinterpreted in any way. she went on to say that when she wanted to get out of the house she said, "i don't know where i am, i don't know if he has a knife or a gun, i told him i did not want to have sex with them and ijust thought, get dressed and he would let me go. he was very strong, really calm, not swearing and he kept saying it's fine. it feels like the longest day of my life." this afternoon, the woman was cross—examined by the legal team of mr mendy, going through minute by minute the events that she says happened in the house that night. the lawyers for the footballer revealed in court that this was not the first time mr mendy had held a party during lockdown and there were restrictions only allowing six people to be allowed in a property at a time and in fact, he had already been fined by his club, man city. his team have been questioning the woman as to whether or not she had been taking pictures which he had asked her not

to and that part of the proceedings are still going on behind me. mr mendy and another man both deny all of the charges against them and the case continues. the latest from ukraine, the three leaders, secretary antonio guterres, president zelensky and erdogan, they're talking notjust how to end they're talking notjust how to end the war, but also the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. he says... and all neighbouring areas, and remove its military equipment from the plant. there's been a real concern that that zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is endangered by the fighting, and

the three leaders have been discussing that. mr zelensky said he agreed to the parameters from the atomic energy agency to the nuclear plant at these talks today, and these talks in lviv, the western city in ukraine, mr zelensky again said russia must immediately withdraw its forces from zaporizhzhia and stop shelling from the nuclear power plant, as well. that plant is in the south of ukraine, these leaders in the west of ukraine where they've been holding talks to try to stop the fighting, work out possibly some route to a peace deal, but it doesn't seem likely almost six months after the russian invasion of ukraine. a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the stabbing of a pensioner on a mobility scooter

in west london. thomas 0'halloran, who was 87, died at the scene in greenford after being attacked on tuesday afternoon. police are questioning a 44—year—old man. greg mackenzie reports. forensic teams searching for evidence. in the distance, a blue crime scene tent, which marks the exact spot where 87—year—old thomas 0'halloran succumbed to his stab injuries. locals say he was a well—known and friendly face in the community. i've seen him going through here, you know, lots of times. this is a great tragedy for the family and for us, also. very, very sad. he was a really nice, friendly guy. ijust don't know who could ever do something like this. it's absolutely horrendous, and sickening. police say they arrested a 44—year—old man this morning, following an appeal yesterday and the release of cctv images.

he was detained in southall, not too far from this location, in the early hours of this morning. the family of the 87—year—old, who was originally from county clare in the west of ireland, is being supported by specially trained officers. it is heartbreaking, and it is a shock. that an 87—year—old grandfather, mr 0'halloran, has been killed the way that he was yesterday. here was an elderly man in a mobility scooter, stabbed to death in daylight. a public meeting will be held this evening at a local community centre, organised by the metropolitan police, in a bid to reassure the community over safety fears. greg mackenzie, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news...

its results day as top a level grades fall. university admissions are at a near record high. leads university has expressed deep concern for one of their students who is now facing 34 years injail in saudi arabia over social media tweets. railworkers in saudi arabia over social media tweets. rail workers are on strike again in their dispute over pay. there's been disruption on the network across england and wales. ambulance services across england and wales are booking taxis to take tens of thousands of patients who call 999 to hospital. figures obtained by the bbc show the practice is increasing, as trusts struggle with rising call volumes and handover delays. nhs trusts says the most life threatening cases are prioritised and the proportion of patients affected is small. nikki fox reports.

ambulances queueing outside busy hospitals to off—load patients. an increase in demand and lack of social care means scenes like this are becoming more common, and the consequence, fewer are on the road to respond to other urgent calls. when andrew weeds developed excruciating stomach pain, his wife dialled 999. i wanted help. i was in so much pain, wracked in pain, vomiting too. i vomited several times during the evening. i didn't know if it was appendicitis, i didn't know what it was. i felt terrible, thought i was dying. the 73—year—old from norwich was told it could be 15 hours until an ambulance arrived. the trust says it was classed as a less urgent call, but andrew says the clinician

on the phone told him he needed

emergency ambulances are sent to life—threatening calls, and taxis are only used to transport other patients when it is clinically appropriate. while the welsh ambulance service added, a taxi is only used for red calls after an ambulance resource has arrived at the scene and clinically assessed the patient. i was gobsmacked, really, to think, in this day and age, they are using taxis to transport emergency cases to hospital like that. if that's the only resource that they have got now, yeah, it's not great at all, is it? as services are stretched, prioritising ambulances for the most

life—threatening patients is important, but those like andrew are worried that even if it is assessed as being safe, there should be enough resources to send to any case that is classed as urgent. nikki fox, bbc news. an mp has pleaded guilty to breaching covid rules in september 2020. margaret ferrier, who was elected to represent the snp in rutherglen and hamilton west, and now sits as an independent — admitted that she exposed the public to coronavirus by travelling around glasgow and the surrounding area and by taking the train to london when she had been told to self—isolate. at least 38 people have been killed in forest fires in northern algeria. many of the worst blazes are in and around the town of el tarf, near the border with tunisia. hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes. in spain, firefighters continue to battle wildfires that have

led to the evacuation of thousands of residents. in one instance, a train service running between valencia and zaragoza narrowly avoided being engulfed by fire. sylvia lennan—spence reports. shouting flames rip through the land as firefighters shout "run, run", scrambling for their lives. the might of mother nature here in spain combined with the impact of climate change presenting a terrifying threat to communities facing the flames. as the fire spread, north—west of valencia, ten passengers were hurt, three seriously when they tried to escape a train caught up in a sweeping fire. this thermal image showing flames encroaching on the tracks. translation: when they came out of the tunnel, they found the fire i was coming in front of them so the driver stopped the train.

the injured were in bad condition, the passengers were scared, we gave them water and did everything we could for them. hundreds of homes have been evacuated, with more than 2,000 people moved from the region. firefighters fear as much as 6,000 hectares of land has been ravaged by the fire. another blaze, also near valencia, started by lightning late on saturday has devastated an area twice as large. more than 25,000 hectares left smouldering, a reminder of the power of the flames. but while this fire may be out, the summer fire season still has several months left to go. sylvia lennan—spence, bbc news. an example of how the hot, dry weather has caused havoc around europe, from wildfires to damaged

crops in fields after suffering hot and scorching temperatures. but animals are finding it tough too — not only to survive during the heat but also to find enough water to hydrate themselves. 0ne farmer in suffolk is so worried, she's been putting out trays of water and even caught some visitors on camera. debbie tubby reports. this hare is wary, but thirsty. it normally wouldn't drink out of a container, but there is no moisture in the grass. this jay is trying to cool off. a badger, brazen about enjoying a possibly life—saving drink. even a fox has come to this man—made watering home. i kind of thought it might be a goshawk, and i've never seen one to photograph. i didn't know they were on the farm. which is really nice. all of them have been caught on camera by sue cross, who is so concerned about their welfare after weeks of no rain she has been putting water out for them to drink. i think the wildlife needs water. 0ur ponds have dried up, the river is very low. and they are using the water trays that are out, so it obviously

is making a difference. she lives on a 600—acre farm near bury st edmunds. just go over there. there's probably about three on the other side of this hedge here. she now spends all day every day refreshing and refilling 70 trays of water for the wildlife which calls this farm home. she is a farmer, but her hobby is wildlife photography. her priority now is keeping them alive and capturing them instead on hidden cameras. oh, wow, this is a first. a tawny owl. that's amazing. you see things you haven't seen before. a camera card full every day to get through and see it, but it's a nice thing to do in the evening. some are so desperate for water they don't mind who they drink with. this rat is possibly dinnerfor this polecat, once on the brink of extinction, but it needs a drink first. we've got to do things differently.

things have got to change. without water and moisture — it is moisture which is the main thing we need — things are going to struggle.

he said it was a dream come true to present his favourite television programme. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren. what will it be like? laughter that's the tricky question, isn't it? can i phone a friend? that's the wrong programme. a big change in the weather today, the thunderstorms and torrential rains in southeastern aires yesterday pushed away, instead we have the sunshine coming through, meaning temperatures got up to 27 celsius. some rain today, it's been quite patchy as it pushes into england and wales. we follow that with a few sharp showers and northern ireland, pushing to western scotland, and those heavy air showers will push their way eastwards before moving away. then we see what's left of that rain sinking down to the southeast of

england, bringing with it more cloud, clear skies will follow through much of the country and those temperatures will be lower as well, 11—12 c for many northern areas. that cloud still there across east anglia and the southeast, and this weather front here could bring some rain, moving away, and we will see some blustery showers towards the northwest. some rain to clear the northwest. some rain to clear the extreme southeast of england first thing, then the sunshine follows. some build—up of cloud, then blustery showers coming into northern ireland, particularly scotland, 1—2 showers for england and wales but many places will be dry. another warm day, like today, for england and wales with the highest temperatures were as the southeast and east anglia at 25-27 c, southeast and east anglia at 25—27 c, could make a 20 celsius in scotland and northern ireland. saturday we see rain and northern ireland, then a narrow line of rain pushes into parts of england,

followed north by a few showers, the odd shower for england and wales but still some sunshine. temperature is not changing a great deal over the coming few days, warm in the sunshine particularly across england and wales. all our weather is turning to come in from the atlantic, looking behind me here, more weather fronts pushing atlantic, looking behind me here, more weatherfronts pushing in atlantic, looking behind me here, more weather fronts pushing in from the west during sunday. they are slowing down a bit, which means the weather will be a bit better for most of us on sunday with some dry weather and sunshine. and some warmth for eastern areas in particular. 0ut warmth for eastern areas in particular. out to the west, this is where we will see the cloud coming in more quickly. most of the rain holding on until later in the day, most of the rain coming in across the uk on sunday night to clear away on monday morning. but tonight, i mentioned some clear skies across northern parts of the uk — last night you might have been able to see the northern lights, the aurora borealis, but there was too much cloud. deny across scotland and northern england, clear skies may mean you can take some fantastic

pictures. send them in to us. today at six. it's results day for hundreds of thousands of pupils across england, wales and northern ireland — at stake are coveted apprenticeships and university places. she has done it. i've done it! relief for many — although top grades have fallen since last year, two—thirds of a level students have got their first university choice. idid i did criminology and got an a. that's all i needed. i i did criminology and got an a. that's all i needed.— i did criminology and got an a. that's all i needed. i have smashed it. we'll be looking at the results and at how the pandemic has