tonight at ten... as britain braces itself for a rise in the energy price cap tomorrow — calls for emergency help from the government. households and businesses are facing crippling bills, with many unsure of how they'll cope. it's frightening to be perfectly honest. i don't know what we're going to do, i'm just hoping somebody will offer a lifeline, maybe the government will help, who knows? we'll be asking how ministers might respond to what are becoming urgent cries for help. also on the programme... a "unique, chatty, nosy little girl" — the family of nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel say they are heartbroken at her death as the police pledge to bring her killer tojustice. we will not rest until we find you,

and we will find you. i passed english! joy and relief for some — but on gcse results day, there are major regional differences in how pupils performed. drought and sustained record temperatures in china threaten rivers and crops — putting several provinces on a national red alert. and a day of tumbling wickets at old trafford sees england end in a strong position against south africa. and coming up on the bbc news channel: novak djokovic is out of the us open as his covid—19 vaccination status sees him miss a second grand slam this year. good evening. people across britain will be waking up tomorrow to what are likely to be very steep increases in energy bills which will be charged from october.

the announcement sets the upper limit of what suppliers can charge per unit of energy in england, scotland and wales, known as the energy price cap. pressure has been building on the government for action to help households and businesses cope — with calls from a think tank for a universal 30% cut in bills and businesses saying ministers should bring in covid—style emergency grants to help firms. look at how things have changed injust 12 months. less than a year ago, a typical annual home energy bill was about £1,200. it's now about £2,000 and it's forecast tomorrow to reach £3,600 per year — and there are further increases expected in january. back in may, the government promised a £15 billion support package for households, but critics say this is not enough — and that it doesn't cover businesses. our business editor, simonjack reports. making the daily bread takes a lot of energy.

kneading machines and, of course, ovens are power—hungry and this bakery in suffolk is bracing itself for a crippling rise in bills when its current commercial deal ends. it's a threat many businesses are facing. we'll have no businesses left. i think there's so many locally that i speak to that will just close because they can't afford their electricity bills — i'm just hoping we won't be one of them. it's frightening, to be perfectly honest. i don't know what we're going to do. i'm just hoping that maybe somebody will offer us a lifeline, maybe the government will help. who knows? remember, companies�* energy bills are not limited by any price cap and business leaders want them to get more help and protection. energy prices are disproportionately hitting small and medium—sized businesses. we want to see emergency energy grants for smaller businesses, a reduction in vat from 20% to 5%, and more powers to ofgem to ensure businesses are getting the right fixed rate contracts. this bakery�*s customers will learn how much their incomes

will be squeezed tomorrow, when a new household price cap is announced. the price cap isn't really a cap at all — it's the amount of money energy companies are allowed to charge a household that uses the average amount of gas and electricity. now currently, that's £1971. but on october 1st, that will change and tomorrow, we'll find out to what. experts estimate it could exceed £3500. now, the support on offer is £400 off all bills come october, with people on qualifying benefits eligible for a further £650. but that support was set when bills were expected to hit £2800 this october. we are going to be well above that and there are estimates that bills could exceed £4200 in the cold months of january. little wonder that people in plymouth today were so concerned. we were talking about how worrying it's going to be. yeah. because it's like, you know, nobody earns loads and loads of money, so if it does double,

its quite a frightening situation. it is a concern but, _ unfortunately, there's not a lot we can do but wait and see what happens, isn't it? - just wrap yourselfl up like an eskimo! i do worry. i live on my own, sojust turning the oven on to cook one pie seems ridiculous to me but you've got no choice. this crisis is affecting all of europe. france has capped price rises at 4% but has fully nationalised the already state—controlled provider edf, meaning taxpayers are footing the bill. in germany, households get a 300 euro payment, plus an extra 100 for each child, while public transport costs have been slashed and public buildings are having thermostats and lights turned down to reduce consumption. ministers here insist more help is on the way. we won't know exactly what till we have a new prime minister, but tomorrow we will know more about the size of the problem. simon jack, bbc news. although prices are soaring, the energy price cap does provide a limit to how high they can go — but many rural homes use heating oil which is not subject to the cap.

campaigners say hundreds of thousands of families could find themselves in fuel poverty for the first time this winter — because of the high bills and old housing stock that's hard to insulate. ellie price reports from south derbyshire. rich shaw's heating oil tank ran dry months ago. he can't afford to fill it up. we've got no heating, we've got no hot water, so we've been having to bath the kids in the sink. it's not ideal. luckily, we've had a warm summer, but come the winter, if we can't have central heating, it's just going to get cold. rich is disabled and can't work. the family have received extra financial help from the government towards the cost of living as part of their universal credit but say it's not enough. it's getting gobbled up. we can't save it up and buy a bulk order of kerosene because we're spending more on everything. it makes me feel like i'm failing. i can't explain to the kids why they're cold. i don't want to have to do that. rich is getting help from rural action derbyshire, a

charity which bulk—buys heating oil so its clients can get the best possible price. this month, 500 litres cost them £450. an average family would use five times that in a year. hopefully we'll be able to get you a delivery of oil in september or october. occasionally, they can fill a tank forfree, and with heating oil prices more than double this time last year, they say more people are in need of their help. there is no regulator, there is no fixed price. it's hard for people to know how much they're going to be paying going forwards, and you don't pay monthly by direct debit — it's 500 litres is the minimum quantity, so you've got to find that money all in one hit. the end fuel poverty coalition protect by october this year, almost a third of rural homes will be in fuel poverty. in two years, that is more than doubled. but look how much it would cost to lift a household out of fuel poverty for some latest government figures are for 2020. in urban areas, it was £193.

a rural household would need £501 a year extra. but those figures are calculated before this year�* energy price hikes, so the reality is likely to be much higher. not only are they paying more for their energy in the first place because rural households tend to be more expensive to heat but also the cost of stopping fuel poverty and introducing energy fuel measures like insulation are far greater in rural areas than they are in towns and cities. rich says he will have to rely on hand—outs to keep his family warm this winter and tucked away in the countryside, he won't be the only one. ellie price, bbc news. our political correspondent ben wright is in westminster tonight. so urgent cries for help — what is the going on behind the scenes to come up with a plan? in12 in 12 days�* time we will have a new prime minister in place and they will be plunged straight into a

crisis over rocketing energy bills. tomorrow's price announcement will be shocking and frightening to millions of households and the government will come under intense pressure to come up with more support and fast. simonjack was support and fast. simon jack was saying this is support and fast. simonjack was saying this is a problem support and fast. simon jack was saying this is a problem that governments across europe are grappling with at the moment but here, there is a tory leadership contest under way and that has suspended decision—making over the summer. the two contenders vying for thejob summer. the two contenders vying for the job have so far been pretty coy at spelling out precisely what they will do to help people over the winter. there was a hosting in norwich this evening and rishi sunak again said he would cut vat from energy bills, he also said he would if he won provide more direct support to those on the lowest income and pensioners but hasn't spelt out how these sums will add up. liz truss will cut green levies from energy bills while emphasising she wants to see tax cuts first and

four most. she also said this wasn't a problem that could be sold in six months. both suggested there could be more support for business. behind the scenes there is work going on as brainstorming going on within the treasury, think tanks are churning out ideas, the business secretary has met with energy companies, the labour party has put forward its plan to freeze the price for six months at a cost of £30 billion and energy companies have come up with their own idea for freezing energy companies have come up with their own idea forfreezing bills for two years. frankly there are no easy solutions here but the next prime minister will have very little time to work out where to target extra help and how to pay for it. ben, thank you. there's more on bbc news online, including our cost of living calendar, which gives information of key dates — and lots more — that's at bbc.co.uk/news and by using the bbc news app. the family of nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel,

who was shot dead in her home in liverpool on monday night, have appealed for people to "do the right thing" to help find out "who took our baby away from us". merseyside police have said they will not rest until they find her killer. navtej johal is in liverpool now. all of the interest in this incident, it is important to remember that this is a family at the heart of heart of all of those who have lost somebody incredibly important to them. another member of that family, libya's mother left the hospital today and she and the rest of the family have issued a statement, theirfirst of the family have issued a statement, their first since the killing, paying tribute to olivia and speaking of their heartbreak over her killing. "a unique, chatty, nosy little girl who broke

the mould when she was born". that's how olivia pratt—korbel�*s family described the nine—year—old, whose death has shaken the country. paying tribute to olivia, they said she: they urged people to come forward with information, saying: it's a message that echoed the police�*s appeal in a news conference earlier. they also delivered a blunt statement to olivia's killer. we will come for you. we will identify you, and we will bring you to justice. i struggle to find the words to describe that individual and what they've done, and the fact that having found out, and they will know what they've done, they still do not have the conscience to come forward. on monday night, olivia's mother, cheryl korbel, had opened the door of her home after hearing a commotion outside. joseph nee, a convicted burglar

and intended target of the gunman, forced his way inside before he was shot, along with ms korbel and her daughter. nee and the gunman were strangers to the family. since then, the talk here in dovecote, where olivia lived and died, is of the frustration and the fear that has infected this community since her killing. how does it make you feel, does it make you feel afraid? when she goes home with her mum, i lock my door. i lock my door with the key. it's frightening. she is frightened, aren't you? i feel like i'm walking down the street and i have to look behind my back as well, you know what i mean? so it is a bit stressful. it is unsettling, really. it's scary. i feel so scared for the grandchildren going up today. following the tragic death of nine—year—old olivia pratt—korbel, our entire community needs to come together. olivia's death has punted a huge reaction. today, everton football club released this video

urging people to come forward with information. whose side are you on? the nine—year—old's fatal shooting was the third in the space ofjust a week in liverpool. the other victims were 22—year—old sam rimmer and 28—year—old ashley dale. police have made five arrests in connection with their killings. but they're continuing to appeal for information in a city desperate to see an innocent girl's killer brought to justice. police revealed today they have spoken to three men who were with joseph nee on the night of the killing, including two men who drove him to the hospital. this is a complex investigation by the police are grateful to the number of people who have come forward with information and cooperation that they have received from people in this area. they say that must continue if they are to find

olivia's killer. it's been an anxious day for hundreds of thousands of teenagers in many parts of the country — with gcse results for the first exams sat in person since the pandemic. as with a—level results last week, they reveal major regional differences. overall, the pass rate in england, wales and northern ireland has fallen since last year — where grades were determined by teachers. but the results remain higher than before the pandemic. just over 73% of gcses this year were the equivalent of a pass or higher — that is measured differently across the nations and so equates to grades 4 or c and above. more than 26% of gcses were awarded the highest marks — that is grades 7 or a and above. and of those top marks, london was 10 percentage points higher compared to yorkshire, the humber and the north east — from where our education editor branwenjeffreys now reports.

i'm more excited than i am nervous. like, the pressure still hasn't hit me yet. i couldn't sleep at all, it was a nightmare. i know, yeah. i was really nervous. so, friends came together to get their results. i passed! after their worries, real grades on paper. you tried hard in english. did i? you got a 5 and 4. that's cool! overall, there are fewer passes because of the return of exams. so across england, more will resit english or maths at college. the fact that i've come out with a 3 is really good to me because i know that if i do resit, then i can try again harder and i can get that pass. grace didn't know she'd get the grades she wanted. all the odds stacked against you, you've worked. so proud of you. it's been an emotional day for teachers too. they've kept this year group

going through covid. results here were as they expected, but today has been a reminder of a north—south divide in top grades. a lot of our children are very disadvantaged and have been disadvantaged throughout their entire school career. and when you look at that and you add to that the fact we've had a pandemic, there is a lot of work that is needed to support those young people. that's absolutely right that we do that, but it's very easy and it's very convenient sometimes just to look at those headline figures. the pandemic has led to more disruption, more lost learning in the north on top of a gap that already existed. to understand the difference in results, you've really got to look outside schools. of course there are wealthy people in the north, but there are also communities where childhood is spent mainly in poverty. where poor housing and a lack of money limit children's sense of opportunity. to help education recover, £5 billion is being spent

in england, mainly on tutoring, but initial take—up was twice as high in the wealthy south as in the north—east. so from this september, more cash for it will go straight to schools. but this is a time for many to celebrate whether collecting results in northern ireland... i did not expect to get what i did get, considering the year we've all had. ..or in wales, most 16—year—olds were firmly focused on their next steps. what we're going to do is fill out the application form, just ask a few really easy questions. at newcastle college, grace was using her gcses to sign up for a btec, with others getting advice on their options. there's nothing beats that real first—hand feeling that you get of talking to somebody and that's both to our subject specialist curriculum experts, but also our student services team, who provide a lot of information, advice around support, the financial assistance that some students require when they come to college. it is such a big step into theirfuture, with hopes they can leave the shadow of covid behind.

branwen jeffreys, bbc news, newcastle. china has been experiencing a record heatwave and drought in parts of the country this summer, threatening crops and drying up riverbeds. for 12 consecutive days, officials have issued a national red alert, which is when four or more provinces are experiencing temperatures of over 40 degrees for two days or more. take a look at this map. it shows where the worst of the drought is, here across the south. the ministry of agriculture says the drought here has already severely affected some crops like rice and corn. and water levels in the yangtze river are also currently at record lows. our correspondent stephen mcdonell has this report from beijing. in august, laoye temple is normally surrounded by water. this year, you can walk to it

across the dry bed of poyang lake. for 70 days, the yangtze river basin has been caught in a record heat wave, and low river levels have hit hydroelectricity production. one of the worst affected cities has been the inland metropolis of chongqing — home to tens of millions of residents. they've been riding underground trains in the dark because of power rationing. translation: this year, | you turn on the cold water tap for a few minutes, and yet it's still coming out extremely hot. the weather is so hot, i cannot sleep. then i wake up with the heat as well. environmentalists are opposing calls for more fossil fuel electricity to guard against future drought effects on hydropower. to ensure the energy supply of residents and industry is supposed to be the most priority thing

for china to do right now. but we're also concerned that this kind of narrative will, you know, give opportunity for more new coal power plants in the local provinces. china has been experiencing extreme high temperatures across vast swathes of this country for months on end, bringing climate change into sharp focus for people on the street. then, to make things worse, this turned into a drought, which is really hitting the economy. consumers across china could find certain foods harder to come by unless the drought breaks soon. what's more, if china can't rescue its autumn harvest and has to buy more food from overseas, this could have an effect on global supplies. crops are said to be under severe threat, according to chinese officials. so extra water has been diverted from neighbouring provinces to the driest areas. translation: with | water, there is hope. this water is coming all the way from hunan. even water for everyday use has been hard to come by in some communities. with river levels so low, previously submerged 600—year—old

buddhas have again become visible. they'll gaze out onto what humans have made of the world until the rains return, replenishing the water, which will eventually reclaim the relics. stephen mcdonell, bbc news, beijing. here, home office figures show that just a handful of foreign nationals have been removed from the uk under tougher asylum rules introduced after brexit. since formally leaving the eu injanuary last year, the government says claims can be ruled inadmissible if the asylum seeker arrived from a "safe third country". our home editor mark easton has been looking at the figures. what do they show? well, you will remember that these inadmissibility rules were hailed as the post—brexit solution to what the government calls asylum system.

in the first 18 months of the new rules, 17,000 asylum claimants were identified as being potentially inadmissible, but, as you say, just 21 people have ended up being removed, returned to countries like denmark, germany and ireland. how many have been returned to france, you might ask? the answer is none at all. it calls into question the policy because since brexit, we have seen 52,000 migrants crossing the channel in small boats from france — 23,000 already this year and around 1,300 crossing in a single day earlier this week, the highest daily figure recorded. next week, the home office is expected to do a deal with albania to fast—track returns there and allow albanian police to be stationed at ports in kent.

after the announcement of that deal overnight, we had hoped to talk to a minister about how this policy would work, not least because more than half of albanian asylum claimants are given asylum by the government and a record 117,000 people are already in the system awaiting an initial asylum decision, but the home office said they were unable even to accept our request for an interview. today, at least. mark, thank you. now a look at some other stories making the news today. the un's nuclear watchdog says electricity supplies have been restored to the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in ukraine after the russian—occupied site was disconnected from the national grid. ukrainian officials said fires had interfered with overhead power lines amid claims from kyiv that russia is trying to divert power from the plant to its own grid. president putin has signed a decree to increase the size of russia's army by about 10% from january next year. it's projected to rise to over 2 million people, just over half of them soldiers.

it's not clear whether army numbers will be boosted through volunteers or conscription. the russian military has suffered heavy losses in ukraine. pakistan's former prime minister imran khan has appeared in court in islamabad on terrorism charges. it follows a speech in which he claimed a close political aide had been tortured. during the address, its alleged he threatened a senior police officer and a female judge. imran khan claims he's being persecuted by the current government. he was bailed for a week. french politicians have accused the uk of negligence after last week's reports of untreated sewage being discharged into the sea. three members of the european parliament say the pollution could damage marine life in the north sea and the english channel. british water companies have said they are investing in solving the problem. the former yorkshire cricketer azeem rafiq says he's accepted a personal apology from his team—mate gary ballance

for using racist language towards him. ballance is one of a number of people, along with yorkshire county cricket club, who were charged by cricket's governing body for breaching its code of conduct following rafiq's allegations. tonight rafiq told the bbc the meeting was a significant step forward. look, it was very genuine, it was incredibly moving and it's been really helpful on a human level for myself, and i'm sure the same for gary as well, for us to start putting our lives back together. meanwhile, wickets tumbled on the first day of the second test at old trafford as england try to bounce back from their defeat in their first test against south africa. england ended on 111 for three in theirfirst innings — having started the day bowling. joe wilson was watching. who put the old in old trafford? well, certainly not him, he'll never end. james anderson is a sprightly 40.

edge of bat, catch and another batter baffled. that's the way he does it, playing here in his 100th test match on home soil. and that's unique territory. and then there's stuart broad. south africa's captain was dismissed here. dean elgar had chosen to bat first. no one lasted long. yeah, another wicket for broad here. in helpful conditions, england's captain was delighted to be bowling. in fact, when ben stokes saw aiden markram whack the ball up to the sky and down to the gloves, he could barely believe his luck. with a dash of anderson and a thump of lbw, south africa were soon all out. first part of the job was done. so having bowled south africa out forjust 151, all england had to do was come out and score some runs themselves. that's all. pretty simple. of course, it never is. ollie pope knows. south africa's bowlers are seriously good. have a listen now for joe root�*s, "oh, no."

oh, no. the catch was held and the game rushed on, too fast for comfort. but having lost three wickets quickly... jonny bairstow rebuilt steadily. that ball was going to the boundary and england will resume just 40 runs behind. zak crawley is out of form, but persevering, still there. yeah, well done, head up. still four days of opportunity — if required. joe wilson, bbc news, old trafford. and finally tonight, it became extinct in britain more than 40 years ago, but thanks to decades of conservation work, the large blue butterfly has now had a bumper summer. thousands have been recorded this year with the restoration of wild meadows where the butterflies thrive. the south west of england now has the world's greatest concentration. scientists say the success story shows how species at risk of extinction can be saved. time for a look at the weather.

here's tomasz. and some similarly good news, tomasz? , .., and some similarly good news, tomasz? , , ., tomasz? yes, i can barely hear you across the — tomasz? yes, i can barely hear you across the studio! _ tomasz? yes, i can barely hear you across the studio! some _ tomasz? yes, i can barely hear you across the studio! some good - tomasz? yes, i can barely hear you| across the studio! some good news. we had the rainfall last night in the south—east which we badly needed, but of course, too much rain in a short space of time is not good news. the weekend is looking much drier, but look at these values. we normally get 40 to 60 mil metres of rain at this time of year and a month, and we had that in the night. so this is the weatherfront that brought the storms. it's out of the picture now, sort of between weather systems. the skies had cleared and tomorrow promises to be a decent day, so some good news. just a few showers on the horizon, nothing to

stormy. first thing in the morning, there could be showers across western parts, maybe wales and the lake district, perhaps south—western parts of scotland. but generally clear, and then through the morning it will tend to cloud over, particularly across central parts of england. so from a sunny morning a bright afternoon. high pressure is expected to build during the weekend, this time from the north and sometimes around areas of high pressure, when the wind is coming from the north, it can really whistle around some of our coasts. so the coasts of lincolnshire, east anglia and the kent coast and the channel coast could be breezy at times. that means the warmth will be displaced towards the south—west, said cardiff could be the hotspot during the weekend. that was saturday, this is sunday. again, mid 20s possible here in the west or south—west. but only 16 on the

actual coast of england.