you're watching bbc newsroom live. it's11am and these are the main stories right now. an emergency landing — after this rocket carrying two crew members to the international space station malfunctions on take—off. the emergency is the failure of the booster. two people are killed and half a million homes in florida and georgia are without power after hurricane michael hits the region. i was in a bunker and just prayers and how this just missed us, i have no godly idea. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap — under plans put forward by the government. former prime minister sir john major's warning over universal credit — he says it could prove as damaging to the conservative party as the poll tax.

a warning over the struggle to access vital nhs services across england — we look at the areas worst affected. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. i'm joanna gosling. a russian soyuz rocket has made an emergency landing in kazakhstan after suffering an engine malfunction shortly after blasting off. the spacecraft was due to take two new astronauts, one russian and one american, to the international space station. the crew sustained no injuries during emergency landing. here's a nasa translation of a recording of the mission control at the moment the boosters failed. emergency of the booster, two minutes, 45 seconds. the emergency is the

failure of the booster. failure of the booster. our correspondent, andy moore, is with me. everyone is ok, but how dramatic was theirs? this was dramatic. it is not supposed to happen. normally these launches of russian rockets to the space station pass without comment. it is like bus, basically. wejust ignore it and it goes on very smoothly. what happened here was that as a problem, about three minutes after the launch. the launch itself was fine. as we heard on the audio, there was a problem with the booster rocket. soon after that, decision was made to abort the launch to the space station, i was not going to happen. they were going to make an emergency ballistic defence. this is where the two astronauts separate from the rest of

the craft, come back down to earth at some speed, about eight ge. rough landing, according to astronauts who've been involved with this operation before. it is good news that we have heard that the russians have parachuted to the launch site, the crew were on the ground on their own, possibly for up to an hour before the rescuers could get to them. we have heard in the last few minutes that according to russian doctors, they are ok, they are without serious injuries. you say they normallyjust without serious injuries. you say they normally just take without serious injuries. you say they normallyjust take off like buses, will it mean the programmers don't have to be grounded for a bit while they work out what has gone wrong? in the meantime, the astronauts and the international space station have to stay there for a bit longer. these two arsenal on board, one american nick k, —— astronauts. it was his first time in space, short and a rough ride to him. the

russian, his second time as an astronaut. the rationales will have to stay on the space station for the time being, a bit longer. no drama there. the bigger problem is the russians will want to get to the bottom of what happened with this launch, why the booster rocket failed and until they have a decent idea of what went wrong here, i do not think they will be in a hurry to lodge any more soyuz rockets in the next few days. —— launch any more. thank you, handy. two people have died after the most powerful storm in decades to hit the southeast of the united states made landfall. hurricane michael brought storm surges of up to three metres to north—west florida, ripping up trees and tearing roofs from buildings. our north america correspondent chris buckler reports. hurricane michael came crashing into the florida coastline with extraordinary strength. at their height, the winds reached speeds of around 155 miles an hour, easily exceeding early expectations,

and making it close to the most powerful category of storm. you see what it did around here. it snapped trees like they were toothpicks. it was nothing to it. i'm glad i'm still here, glad i survived, glad the car made it. in florida's mexico beach, where hurricane michael first reached land, homes were lost in the surge of rising water. and across this state, the fierce wind and rain has been causing huge difficulties, bringing down trees and power lines. hurricane michael is the worst storm that the florida panhandle has ever seen. and one of the worst power storms ever to make landfall in the united states. the warm waters off the gulf coast saw the speed of hurricane michael's winds intensify over the last few days. even as the storm moved inland, it still had considerable force. oh, my god! this water is knee deep back here.

this is my backyard. it used to be fenced in. used to be. here's the fence. florida may have been on the front line but there are states of emergency in place in georgia and the ca rolinas. and it's obvious where michael has already been. clearing the debris and repairing the damage of this latest destructive storm will take a considerable amount of time and money. chris buckler, bbc news. the meteorologist and storm hunter mark robinson is in panama city, in florida, and he explained what it was like at the height of the hurricane. well, you know what? it was one of the most intense storms i think i've ever been through. i've been through 20 hurricanes now. the only one that i can come close to comparing this to is hurricane katrina. at the height of it, we were in the western eye wall in panama city beach

and the winds were unlike anything i'd ever seen. you almost couldn't see 50 feet in front of you out of the parking garage that we were in because of the speed of the wind and how much it was picking up in terms ofjust the rain, it turned it into a high—speed fog. it was just an absolutely mind blowing experience. what you have to do is you have to treat these storms with respect. you know what they can do. and you haven't got time to be scared because i've got a job to do and try to document this storm as best i can to show everybody what it is like to be in the heart of these storms, and to try and show people why evacuation is a good choice when something like this is coming towards you. louise lear from the bbc weather centrejoins me now. a good sense of how bad this was, a record—breaking storm. a good sense of how bad this was, a record-breaking storm. it developed

such as speed, i was working on sunday night into monday morning, at that point it was a tropical storm. we were expecting it to develop it into a hurricane but the ingredients we re into a hurricane but the ingredients were just right. derry, into a hurricane but the ingredients werejust right. derry, warm into a hurricane but the ingredients were just right. derry, warm waters in the gulf of mexico that time of year and just went to get that regulation going but not too much when to disrupt it. i really power. and. a couple of miles of being a category five storm. category format, and very strong storm indeed. it was interesting that mark said he had not seen anything like this since katrina, it was the third strongest hurricane to make landfall in the us. katrina was behind in terms of pressure. that is how powerful. it is quite interesting, although it is now a tropical storm. let us look at where it is going to go. they could produce them issues with flooding rains today. as it pushed its way across the north carolina, another interesting point

that i've been reading about this morning was it actually state as a category three for almost 12 hours across georgia. they have not seen a category three hurricane in line since 1988 and that is unusual, we talk about what it does make la ndfall talk about what it does make landfall it will weaken. this data of the powerful hurricane for quite some time. that was because it is very hot and humid across the gulf state at the moment. and every low—lying areas so there was nothing to does from the storm. that is what he calls so much of an issue and in georgia, it was the wind strength that they would issue, rather than the rate. if we take a look again, it will move through at really quite a pain. it will bring some flooding rains across the carolina, denbigh moved to georgia. if you take a look at the bottom, it is of out into the arctic on friday. it clears very very quickly indeed. good news.

u nfortu nately, very quickly indeed. good news. unfortunately, a lot of power outages and we were talking about heat and humidity that we have had coming in of the gulf of mexico. the husband is some real temperature contrast in the states in recent days. das right that has been. it is only one degree in winnipeg today. the blue tones are pushing further south. we will see temperatures probably peeking from 23 celsius to around 11 or 12 over the next couple of days where they have got power outages, the coldest weather they have seen since may. just add insult to injury, the weather situation is not going to be very pleasant over that over the next few days. i'm sure there will be a lot of devastation that they are going to have to try and cope with. thank you. schools inspectors in england will put more emphasis on what is taught rather than exam results, under changes being announced by the government. ofsted's chief inspector, amanda spielman, says league tables have increased the pressure on teachers and pupils at the expense of a broader education.

new york prosecutors have charged a man who planned to blow himself up on the day of the us mid—term elections next month. according to the authorities, paul rosenfeld built a 90kg explosive device at his home and planned to kill himself to draw attention to his belief in a political theory called sortition. a british couple who were among ten people killed by flash floods in majorca have been named locally as anthony and delia green. they're believed to have been in their 70s and were on holiday on the island. spanish newspapers say their bodies were discovered inside a taxi which had been swept away by a torrent of water. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap under plans put forward by the prime minister. theresa may has launched a consultation on whether mandatory reporting will help address disparities between the pay and career prospects of minorities. she acknowledged that minorities often "feel like they are hitting a brick wall" at work.

the move follows the decision to make firms reveal their gender pay gaps. matthew fell is from the confederation of british industry. hejoins me now. thank you for coming in. after the gender pay gap transparency, is there any reason for it not to be extended to ethnicity? diversity in the workplace is hugely important and beneficial for businesses. the workplace is hugely important and beneficialfor businesses. at the time whether our challenges in finding the right skills and talents, it is important we find that from as many, many places as possible. having a diverse range of groups involved is important. also the thing to say is diversity brings so the thing to say is diversity brings so many the thing to say is diversity brings so many new the thing to say is diversity brings so many new ideas, innovations, great food the workplace. diversity isa great food the workplace. diversity is a great thing. the lesson we have learned is the power of transparency and shining a spotlight on the

issues can be a real catalyst for action for business to do even more than they are doing at the moment. i think this was a positive development. is there any reason why companies would not want to do it? in principle, not. ithink companies would not want to do it? in principle, not. i think the key thing now, it is great to see the government consulting and taking a range of ideas on this, just to get the detail right. ethnicity is a bit more complex than gender because of the range of different groups it involves. it is important to get the detail right for businesses, that they are wary they are correcting they are wary they are correcting the right data and so on in order to be able to report. but also it is important for the employees themselves because particularly in smaller companies where sample sizes are small, we want to make sure that we do not inadvertently encroach on any confidentiality or make it so intrusive people as well. it is important to get the detail right but the principle is this is a good development and something firms will be keen to do. the power of transparency is good, how much of a change has the gender

publication made? we are on a journey and i will not sit every time we have got is clap because we have started reporting on it. transparency is the first step along the journey, one of the actions that you take to make progress on it. what it has done is instigated and acted as a catalyst for firms to say, ok, we need to make more progress on this. what is a sensible action plan of things we're going to do? for example, i'm looking at the right shortlist when i'm recruiting and filling vacancies? is my interview panel and the selection techniques that i'm using, i'm making sure that i'm not inadvertently filtering out any diverse groups, for example. a lot of things that employers can do to make sure that every step on the way they are being is open to a larger group of diverse groups as possible. some will fear the prospect of positive discrimination and companies doing things to perhaps tells people out and get others in

to make sure that the published figures look better than perhaps they might the first time they come out. it is important to make sure that we use the data in the way that informs what you do next and informs your thinking and it informs your position processors from now on. it is not about the number in its own right, it is important to focus on that but it is the action and the next steps that grow from that and the decision—making that is the important thing, not just the decision—making that is the important thing, notjust chasing them, getting the follow—up actions. matthew, thank you. thank you. sirjohn major has strongly criticised the government's introduction of universal credit, warning that it could prove as damaging to the conservatives as the poll tax. the former prime minister told the bbc‘s political thinking podcast that voters would see it as unfair, that low income families risked losing several thousand pounds. downing street says three billion pounds has been set aside to ease the introduction of universal credit, which is designed to bring together and replace a number

of existing benefits. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. good morning. mounting pressure on the government over the roll—out of universal credit. we saw mrs may challenged on it out by mr‘s questions yesterday, former labour minister callings for it to be abandoned, gordon brown. at the weekend, john macdonald saying labour would scrap it and now the former conservative prime minister, sirjohn major, stepping in, raising two concerns. one deeply uneasy about the pace of the roll—out and the amount of resources set aside because at the moment, universal credit has only been extended to new claimants. but from next day, all existing claimants will have to tra nsfer existing claimants will have to transfer on the universal credit. that is all 7 million existing benefit claimants. that is a much more complex task. but although sir john major was concerned about the impact on low income families,

following research by various organisations like the institution for fiscal studies that suggested for fiscal studies that suggested for example to 3 million families could be worse off to the tune of £1800 a year. sirjohn warned of a backlash against the conservatives. have a listen. in order to introduce something like the universal credit, you need to look at those people who are in the short term going to lose and protect them, or you will run into the sort of problems that the conservative party ran into with poll tax in the late 19805. so, the principal has a great deal to commend it. but it isn't workable if there aren't the resources to introduce properly. and to find someone on a very low income suddenly losing £2400 a year is a substantial amount and the argument that it is to encourage people to get into work isn't an argument that runs to me. what is interesting is that sirjohn

major did mention that many conservatives also appeared uneasy about the roll—out, the tory mp nigel mills saying in the past hour that he thought the roll—out should be paused. the chairman of the committee frank field joins me now. do you think universal credit is south orbital or should be scrapped? —— salvageable? south orbital or should be scrapped? -- salvageable? it helps nobody now, speaking against it. what the committee is done is wrote to the person called the controller, this is the most independent of sources on how government programmes are working and would he advise on the commission to the house what the minimum conditions the government has now fulfil in the working of this scheme before it continues with the roll—out. we will await his

reply and i hope the week after next, the committee will get a backbench debate with a motion, including his chance when the house i hope will commit the gunmen to those terms. just expand on that, you want the controller —— commit the government to those terms. before the times, what with the conditions the? the last report, the controller gave to the house was it isa controller gave to the house was it is a disaster to go back and a disaster to go forward. we are trying to build on that and to say to him, what are the minimum reforms, changes the government must make before it is safe to roll this out for all of our constituents who are on, as he said everywhere, practically every benefit on the welfare state. we will be seeking a debate and i hope in over a week in the house of commons, i hope that

mission will be carried, committing the government to meet the co ntroller‘s the government to meet the controller's terms in terms of safety before they continue the roll—out. it is your instinct that the roll—out should be halted until they sort of safety nets in place. roll—out should be halted until they sort of safety nets in placelj sort of safety nets in place.|j think any sensible government would now the, i do not want to drive them into the corner by calling it, they canjust get into the corner by calling it, they can just get on and make whatever the reforms are that the controller lays down. when the controller is satisfied, they have met those reforms, then it will be safer the government to continue. and i think that the house of commons with backs out. until then, i that the house of commons with backs out. untilthen, i believe that the house of commons with backs out. until then, i believe the house of commons when it gets an opportunity of a committee debate, saying this is what we believe the government should do, they will actually vote overwhelmingly to bind the government to this approach. what has been the impact on your

committee has heard evidence about this, what has been the impact on benefits so far? mps only get the difficult cases but they are mounting up and in my constituency, for example, we knew anyway this was planned. it is not a computer problem. but people on special disability payments could be losing well over £120 a week. so these are massive, massive cuts that were actually planned in the process and i would have thought all the pressure now on the tory benches must be on the chancellor to restore the cuts in the system that have played a very crucial part, but not the only part, of the £37 billion cuts which, after this point in time, the library in the house of commons gave me the information, have suffered in cuts in benefits. they have paid, overwhelmingly, for what the government calls the

success of their austerity programme. it is all been on the wea ker programme. it is all been on the weaker shoulders and they now need to rethink. the government say that the roll—out has been largely successful. £3 billion has been set aside in transitionalfunding. billion has been set aside in transitional funding. the cases that you cite, are they notjust a minority because the government seems to be suggesting that most of this is going well? well, if it is all going so well, why when the sexual state come out and give you an interview? —— secretary of state. tell us how well it is going but my constituency and elsewhere, more and more people are using food banks and more and more people are actually being pressed and pushed into destitution. if that isa and pushed into destitution. if that is a successful roll—out, god help when it is not a success. is there an argument for saying, all right, let us just abandoned the whole project. let us forget it.

let's stick with tax credits or have the government gone too far down this road now the reverse universal credit? i would wait for those terms from the controller, if i was secretary of state, but i must fulfil to ensure they stay for some of our poorest in society to be transferred to this new benefit. i would then be thinking very hard at how i keep those, what i call legacy benefits, the tax credits and so on, all in placejust in benefits, the tax credits and so on, all in place just in case benefits, the tax credits and so on, all in placejust in case i need a life raft to get onto. john major talked about the poll tax, he was not predicting rights but he says they have the potential to become an emblematic political moment. do you think it has a potential?” emblematic political moment. do you think it has a potential? i have beenin think it has a potential? i have been in the house so long now i have seen lots of these reforms going pear shaped. and all of a sudden,

tory mps are getting this in their constituencies in their postbag and then they come into the house. if then they come into the house. if the government hasn't suddenly made adjustments and they tear the government apart, mrs may has got the option, does she go down the road than mrs thatcher faced when housing benefit changes, web badly introduced, cutting benefits? where the tory mps were overwhelmed by people coming into their surgery. they were angry on their behalf. that was shown on the floor of the house of commons. do they say is that way of making changes and being like her, i did not know anything like her, i did not know anything like this was happening. do they say today that they will meet the terms that the committee has asked from the controller and from within the project there will be more money pumped into the system so that people do not face up to 2000 a year wipe—out of their legal living

standards. thank you very much indeed. the architect of universal credit who was on the radio earlier suggesting that the government should abandon its manifesto commitment to increase the tax threshold for lower income taxpayers and put the money instead into universal credits. so, pressure building on the chancellor ahead of the budget at the end of this month. separately more pressure on the government over brexit. the dup now threatening to break down the budget potentially. sorry, we are speaking to howard in a moment. normal and the —— nominees back. the picture changed. you did not know that. the cabinet is meeting tonight, what is the message likely to be? we are told the cabinet meeting will be an update on the brexit negotiations. i think the likelihood is mrs may will want to try and bind in key players in the cabinet to the sort of brexit deal that she hopes

to negotiate. it comes, as you say, the dup strike an increasingly threatening pose because their greatest fear is that they are going to see some sort of brexit sell—out and which would see some sort of border checks, even if it is only four regulations between northern ireland and great britain. what is interesting, they are not waiting to vote down the budget, this morning they were all things suggesting they could vote down welfare reform legislation, they could vote down other brexit legislation, other domestic legislation. they really are threatening the government's ability to carry on on a day—to—day basis. thank you very much norman. some breaking news to bring you about the issue with the flight up to the international space station. we are hearing that the russian deputy premise that is saying that manned space flights have been halted

pending an investigation into what happened. the capsule had an issue with its engines just after take—off, just a few minutes after take—off. this take—off, just a few minutes after ta ke—off. this is take—off, just a few minutes after take—off. this is mission control we are seeing here. i malfunction on take—off and an emergency landing was made in kazakhstan. they had them taken off a six—month mission at the international space station will stop rescue workers have reached the us and should not nick haig and the russian astronaut. they are absolutely fine. they landed safely. there are the pictures of them and they have been found. they we re them and they have been found. they were on their own for about an hour or so while they were waiting to be rescued. as a result, they want to work out exactly what it is that calls the issues and that led to that emergency landing. the manned

space flights have been halted while that investigation gets under way. the struggle to access vital nhs services across england is a growing "care injustice" which needs to be tackled immediately. that's the warning by health regulator, the care quality commission, in its annual report. the commission also highlights growing hospital waiting lists, delays at a&e, and record levels of dissatisfaction with gps. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. in this room there are nurses, physiotherapists, charities and others, all working together to keep people who are at risk healthy and out of hospital. mr and mrs robinson have recently moved into an extra care scheme in our area following a house fire. they arrange for an occupational therapist and social worker to visit an elderly couple who need some extra help. so i've got eric with me. hello. how do you do? the care quality commission report picks out this scheme in wakefield as a positive example. it also says most people across england generally do get good care. but this comes with a stark warning about a growing care injustice. in some parts of the country,

people are just less likely to get the care they need and that's what we mean by a care injustice. we think the way to fix that is to make sure that funding streams all align, so that all providers are all pointing in the same direction in the best interests of people. the report says this can be most visible in overstretched a&e departments, but it also highlights mental health and care for the elderly. it says that there's now an urgent challenge for all parts of the health and social care system to work together, like in wakefield, and that a long—term funding plan is also vital. the department of health and social care says it will set up a £2110 million fund for adult social care to ease pressures over the winter. catherine burns, bbc news. i'm joined now by ruth thorlby, the assistant director of policy at the health foundation — which describes itself as an independent charity committed

to bringing about better health and health care for people in the uk. welcome and thank you forjoining us. there's a long list of what's going on, and going wrong with the health service and care according to this latest report. it's a familiar picture. how much worse is it getting, what's your analysis? it's interesting, because when we look at individual organisations, as a whole, they have generally slightly better. that's one of the m essa g es slightly better. that's one of the messages with putting across. they are starting to look more and more about how these organisations work together. that's why they've put a warning around, there are some areas in which failing services can be clustered together. this is very difficult for patients who are trying to access services. it's really about saying how

interconnected a lot of these services are. it's no good having a fantastic hospital if your social ca re fantastic hospital if your social care services aren't working. if your gps care services aren't working. if yourgps are under care services aren't working. if your gps are under pressure. it's trying to encourage policymakers to look at how these organisations work together. so it's shining a light on something that's always been there, but very specifically, because it's saying, this is how we are changing our focus. that's right. that's what patients and families experience. we aren't really a ble and families experience. we aren't really able to travel very far for care. you need to use your local gp, your district nurse, good community services, in some areas they are wonderful. and there are brilliant exa m ples of wonderful. and there are brilliant examples of general practice is understood nurses, in others they are understood nurses, in others they a re really understood nurses, in others they are really struggling. district and community nurse numbers have fallen dramatically over the last ten yea rs. why is there that geographical difference? why do some areas struggle more than others.

there are a combination of factors. staffing and attracting staff, can bea staffing and attracting staff, can be a real problem. for instance, in the social care sector, if housing prices are high, and it costs a lot to travel, care workers aren't paid very much so in areas where there are those financial pressures, if a supermarket opens on the road they lose ca re supermarket opens on the road they lose care workers. if a hospital sets up its own social care service, and doesn't think about weyrich will get its staff from it pulls staff out of the social care sector. those problems are all linked up. the spokesperson for the department of health and social care has said we wa nt to health and social care has said we want to be the safest health care system in the world, we need to ensure every single patient receives the highest quality of care, no matter where they live. there is investment going into health service that will mean extra £20 billion per year, in real terms, that will mean extra £20 billion per year, in realterms, by that will mean extra £20 billion per year, in real terms, by 2023. we are

shortly going to be getting the ten year plan, outlined. are we on track for that ambition? i think the extra investment is welcome from the nhs. there are big questions about where the money ought to be spent. if you look at the rising number of people who have increasingly more than one condition, if you look at the costs about rising the nhs. that increase will be soaked up to keep us where we are. there's not much extra to invest. the other big gap, of course, is funding for social care. we still don't have a long—term solution for social care. while that happens, why we are still pushing ca re rs happens, why we are still pushing carers to the limit of what they unable to do, looking after loved ones, and local authorities, really struggling to fulfil statutory duties, there is no point fixing the nhs if social care is threadbare. thank you very much for coming in.

some sad news to bring you, we are hearing that the former aston villa and chairman sir doug ellis has died aged 94. the club havejust announced that sir doug ellis has died at the age of 94. i am sure they will be more on that coming up shortly. right now let's catch up with the weather. here's simon. some sunshine across eastern parts of england at the moment, it's all holding on to the warmth we had yesterday. temperatures up to 22 celsius. some blue skies towards eastern areas. not quite like this in the west, rain moving eastwards through northern ireland. that gradually eases eastwards, up into scotland. eventually, it will clear way, these southern anne western areas will cooler compared to yesterday. 16 or 17 celsius. it's in the east you hold the warmer

conditions. tonight the rain continues to move to the north—east. then we've got this next batch of rain. it's going to move in and give a strong winds throughout friday. also some heavy rain in northern anne western areas. that continues into saturday. we have an amber warning for south wales, where there could be in part because of heavy rain. the headlines. hello this is bbc newsroom live.. the headlines.

a russian cosmonaut and american astronaut have landed safely in kazakhstan after the soyuz capsule meant to take them to the international space station malfunctioned shortly after take off. two people are confirmed dead and half a million are left without power after hurricane michael, one of the most powerful storms in history batters the coast of florida. the prime minister has suggested big companies may be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap in an attempt to improve career prospects for minorities in the uk the former prime minister, sirjohn major, has said the governemnt‘s plans for universal credit are being rushed and says the conservatives could run in to problems similar to those faced during the poll tax and the queen is giving out another round of honours today. they will include a posthumous award for ignacio echeverria who was killed confronting terrorists in the london bridge attacks. let'sjoinjohn for the

let's join john for the sport. let's joinjohn for the sport. more on the sad news that sir doug ellis has died. that's right. doug ellis was chairman of the club in two spells, from 1982 through to 2006. having made his money in package holidays he became life president and was knighted in 2012 for services to charity. tributes will be paid when aston villa play their next home match against swansea in two weeks' time. john terry, one of the most decorated footballers of his generation, has been appointed as the asistant manager of aston villa. it's his first managerial role, following his recent retirement from playing, his last club was aston villa, so he's not going far. he'll work alongside dean smith, who's left brentford. smith a life long villa fan has extensive knowledge of working

in the championship, whil terry is known for his leadership qualities. will that suit him as a number two? ? villa fans hope it'll be a winning combination, it will certainly make for an interesting dynamic. all of the home nations are preparing for international matches in uefa's nations league — tottenham defender danny rose and southampton goalkeeper alex mccarthy have both withdrawn from the england squad for upcoming matches with croatia and spain. both players arrived in camp with pre existing injuries, and returned to their respective clubs before the team departed. england face croatia tomorrow in rijeka and spain in seville on monday. scotland play israel tonight, but manager alex mcleish is not underestimating a team ranked 55 places below. his squad are in haifa, having won their opening game in the competition against albania, but mcleish expects a tricky test if they're to make it two wins from two.

they haven't won in a wee while, but i know the manager is trying to stamp his personality. we saw the russians in the world cup, they were seven games before that without a victory and all of a sudden they blitz their own world cup. it's difficult enough facing spain at the best of times, but wales will have to do it without star player gareth bale who's out injured. but wales boss ryan giggs hopes he might be back for the nations league match against ireland next week. britain's number one kyle edmund is a step closer to a first atp tour title after reaching the quarter finals of the shanghai masters. edmund, who is ranked 14th in the world, took a tight first set on a tie break before taking the second set 6—2 to beat chile's nicolas yarry. but a tough test awaits if he's to reach the last four, he faces the world number five alexander zverev.. rafael nadal has been away from the court,

trying to restore some normality on his home island of majorca after the flash floods there. nadal, who lives six miles from the worst hit area in saint lourenc, joined other volunteers in trying to clear mud and water that remained following the flooding on tuesday night. he said on twitter, my sncerer condolences he offered the use of his facilities for all those affected at his tennis academy in manacor. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you, john. more now on the destruction caused by hurricane michael, one of the strongest storms in history. the hurricane has now been downgraded, but storm surge warnings are still in place for exposed coastal areas. cbs correspondent nikole killon

is in panama beach city on florida's gulf coast. how king michael is leaving behind trail of damage and destruction. we've got this tree down, we got some pieces of tens stuck on these wires, and because of all of this damage and devastation, local authorities have imposed a curfew here. until the sun comes up they wa nt here. until the sun comes up they want people to stay off the roads, so they have time to clear up some of this debris in terms of power we understand that utility companies may not be able to restore four days. perhaps even weeks. the governor of the state, rick scott, said that his response will be aggressive, and he will do everything possible to try and help these devastated communities. the govenor of florida rick scott who you saw in that report gave thanks for the support his state has

recieved as the storm hit. the entire nation and world have watched does this monster storm devastated the north coast. the love and support we've received from so many has been overwhelming. we really appreciate all the resources and prays that have been offered. on behalf of the gulf coast and the great state of florida, i thank the nation for your prayers. following the storm we must come together and work together. during disasters people in florida take care of each other. we've seen this before. we are strong, we are resilient. we will recover, and we will do it together. florida is unbreakable and we will get through this together. hurricane michael cannot break florida. hurricane michael cannot break florida. we've had a fairly warm autumn so far but with winter looming, health chiefs in england are urging children, pregnant women, older people and those with certain health conditions to have a flu jab. but this year there's a special

focus on another group, nhs workers, who are more likely to be exposed to flu. those who refuse it could be moved to roles away from patients. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. the laundry room at royal blackburn hospital, not a part of the nhs that many of us think about, but the staff here do vital work to keep the hospitalfunctioning. 100,000 pieces of washing are dealt with here each week. so, if this team is hit by flu, it can really throw a spanner in the works. so, you're ok to go ahead? yes. that's why becky and her colleagues are encouraged to take the flu jab... lovely. ..with nurses coming to them to make it easier. last year i got a flu really bad, so i definitely advise to have it done. it's not nice when you have the flu, is it? i couldn't get out of bed. last winter was the worst flu season in a decade and sickness among staff added to the pressure on the nhs. in england, just 64% of health workers took up the offer of a free flu vaccination.

which arm do you want? left arm? this year all front line staff are expected to have the flu jab. excuse me, lads, we are doing the flu injection, have you had yours? it's not compulsory, but those who don't will be asked to explain the reason. the flu jab for me is the most important thing we can do in the nhs, because we are not only looking after the staff, we are looking after the families, the patients we serve and helping to prevent hospital admissions at the front door. the idea behind encouraging every single member of staff at the nhs to have a flu jab is to shore up the health service ahead of what could be a pretty tough winter, by reducing sickness rates. now, as it happens, here at the royal blackburn they have a pretty good record when it comes to encouraging staff to have the jab. more than 90% are expected to do so. but across the country it's a very different picture. vaccinating staff in a single hospital is one thing, but what if your teams work

across thousands of square miles and are always on the road? last year the east of england ambulance service struggled to reach even half of their workers, so this year there are more clinics in more places to try and encourage crews to get vaccinated. health care professionals not getting immunised can increase the risk of patients getting the flu, so absolutely one of the things we want our staff to consider is the impact on their vulnerable patients, especially if they choose not to have the flu jab. look out for your left arm. some people can't be vaccinated, they might have an allergy, for example, but nhs bosses are urging those who can, especially health co—workers, to get a jab, protecting themselves and their patients. dominic hughes, bbc news. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... the soyuz rocket —— carrying two crew members to the international space station has made an emergency landing

after malfunctioning on take—off. two people are killed and half a million homes in florida and georgia are without power — after hurricane michael hits the region. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap — under plans put forward by the government i'm victoria fritz in the business news the treasury is finalising plans to overhaul tax rules which allow self—employed people to avoid paying national insurance. wh smith continues to be a business of two halves. in the year to 31 august trading profits in its travel division — stores in airports and railway stations — rose by 7% to £103 million. on the high street the picture is less rosy with trading profits european stocks were sharply down in early trade after concerns about a trade war and higher us bond yields stoked global

investor concerns. it isa it is a business of two halves. i'm not talking about football, i'm talking about wh smiths. when was the last time you went in there, was it in the high street, a train station, or report? the answers to those questions will help you understand what's going on with its profits today. profits are down about 4% overall. in its travel division, a ports, and railway stations, profits or up by about 7%. this is where the stationery thinks there future is. people on a train, looking for something to read, they go there instead. if you look at the other side of the business, things aren't looking great. profits are

down 3%, not a surprise that the retailer is choosing to close some high street stores and review the whole side of the business. looking into this is the chief market a nalyst into this is the chief market analyst at cmc markets. shares down 1296, analyst at cmc markets. shares down 12%, its taking a pummelling, but should we be surprised? good morning, i don't think we shared. i think 12% is understating it. whsmith management have really, i think, been benign in their neglect to the retail business. when you look at them on the high street, where you find them, the company has been voted by which earlier this year, the uk's worst retailer. there is reason for that. underinvestment in the high street retail part of the business. i think they need to decide what they want to do with their business. they are focusing on their business. they are focusing on the international side of it, opening new shops in airports like

madrid and realtyjunior, but ultimately, i think they are doing that to the exclusion of their high—street business and it shows. the market is punishing them for that. a 15 million share buy—back, a rolling share buy—back, and i can't help thinking the money would be better spent on revamping their retail. speaking about things under pressure, we've seen a real global sell—off, haven't we, with the stock markets, right across the world. what's going on? is it president trump saying interest rates, and the federal reserve has gone local? is that what's behind it? what should we be reading into this? that is a simplistic interpretation, people are citing president trump's marks, that the federal reserve is... we start with bmw. it's taking to the wheel of a previous joint venture in

china. it's going to pump a lots more cash into production capacity there. this is amid china's plans to relax rules forforeign car is amid china's plans to relax rules for foreign car companies. how is amid china's plans to relax rules forforeign car companies. how do you fancy buying a newspaper? if you got a spare 220 million lying around, you get more than 200 titles, including the yorkshire post, and the scotsman. just a slip! johnston press has put itself up for sale. there are significant problems with the business. would you like to spend 19 hours uninterrupted on a flight, spend 19 hours uninterrupted on a flight, aviation geeks can because singapore airlines has launched the world's longest nonstop flights between singapore and new york. its 15,000 kilometres, you'll need deep pockets, the flight has only got first and business premium seats. and more and more youngsters are

falling prey to the money scammers. identity fraud is now up 24% in a single year. most cases involve debt, store and credit cards. let's have a look at the markets, if we can... you can see the ftse is down, 134 points at the moment. she is in the south african owner of pound land, steyn half international, they are down about 10% at the moment, after regulators announced they are investigating possible market fraud. there are reports that the former boss advised his friends to sell off this dog days before shares collapsed. you can see what's going on with whsmith. they are getting a pummelling after a difficult trading environment. and they are restructuring. and johnston press shares, i'vejust had a quick look, and they are up about four and a half percent. it seems investors are sceptical about the move to sell the

business, but, good news if you are an owner ofjohnston press shares at the moment, they have risen a little bit in value. 20 more coming up later on, i'll see you soon. (pres) it was the battle which became a by—word for the carnage of the first world war. a million lives were lost at the somme in 1916, and the bodies of more than 72—thousand commonwealth troops were never recovered. british artist rob heard has dedicated five years to creating a unique tribute to those men — a shrouded figure for each life lost. but until recently he had never been to the battlefield. for the first time, the shrouds of the somme lie here on the grounds in northern france that inspired them. and, for the first time, the artist working with that inspiration is here. forfive years i've brought the somme to my living room, and... yes, to actually be standing on this ground is an amazing feeling, the idea that we're standing

on the soil that these men are actually in, you know, when i've dealt with it for so long, thinking about this, and the idea in some way of bringing them back from here, in a small way, it's so positive. it could easily — people could think it's morbid, but it's not. back home in somerset, rob heard creates each and every shroud by hand, matching them to name of the official record of those missing in the somme. he came up with the idea after a car crash, after seeing images of the dead and wounded returning from afghanistan. you ask the question why, why are you doing this, self funding? and it's always been a struggle. but, like this, you really do understand. you really do understand, deep down, what the point of this was. and these are just small figures. it's nothing like the real thing, obviously. but i think, once you do this, you do understand what all that effort and all that time and those

years was for. next month, there will be 72,396, the number of commonwealth troops who died at the somme, but whose bodies were never recovered. their names, known to rob, are immortalised in stone on this memorial. these are obviously displayed with their comrades from their regiment, so i assume this is how they would have been on the day. you know, they would have been next to each other. and, from the top, you get a sense of the battlefield in its place in history. if you look here, you can at least see some german graffiti. during the second world war, the germans occupied this area, and someone obviously came up the top. it was a sniper post and an observation post, and they have left their mark. the battle of the somme for many of us has come to define the horrors of the first world war, and if you look over the battlefields today, you see the cemeteries of the commonwealth war commission almost on every corner. so it is a battlefield that still resonates with us, even today, 100 years on.

rob lays one last shroud, an unknown warrior, on a flag that once draped a coffin returning from afghanistan. his is a mammoth task of creating 200 figures a day — yet another number. but his work turns these numbers into lives, giving them a human form, helping us to at least try to make sense out of so much senselessness. a chinese intelligence officer has appeared in a court in the us — charged with spying. the us justice department says yanjun xu was extradited from belgium on tuesday. peter bowes has more from los angeles. according to us officials, this goes back to 2013. mrxu

mr xu was working for the government. according to prosecutors. he invited experts from overseas to visit china, perhaps under the guise of speaking to a university, but it was really to find out technical information about what they were working on. this specific case relates to a company in cincinnati, in ohio, and aeronautics company that makes jet engines, and has a special technique for making them, there was a meeting in china involving one of the engineers, but the fbi got involved. he was essentially lured to belgium for another meeting where he was eventually arrested. clearly, lured away could be arrested, and then taken to the united states. that's just happened, and he has appeared in court accused of stealing spying on the united states, especially in nordics companies, making specialist equipment. in a moment the weather,

but first let's look at some of the most striking images of the day. veteran bbc foreign correspondent kate adie has been awarded a cbe for her services to media at buckingham palace. the 73—year—old was presented with the award by the queen. you will soon be able to get your paws on new coins featuring the nation's most famous pair, paddington. two 50p coin designs featuring the bear from deepest darkest peru will enter circulation this month. the release coincides with the 60th anniversary of the character who was first introduced to the nation in 1958, in the book a beer called paddington, by michael bond. those are some of the pictures of the day. you are watching bbc newsroom life. live. now it's time for a look at the

weather, with simon. thanks, we had a very warm day yesterday. across eastern parts of england and scotla nd eastern parts of england and scotland you hold onto that warms. blue skies, sunshine at the moment. in the west, some cloud and rain moving in. into wales, the west midlands, northern ireland, it continues to push its way through. it will clear with some sunshine coming through. a little bit cooler compared to yesterday. 16 or 17 degrees. in the east, bright skies, sunshine and feeling pretty warm. the rain continues to clear away tonight. eventually it clears. then another batch of rain moving. this is all to do with the storm, it's not going to give us just strong winds, it will also bring heavy rain

into saturday. we have an amber rudd be prepared warning for parts of south wales, there could be some impact associated with that. —— we have an you're watching bbc newsroom live. these are today's main stories. two astronauts make a safe emergency landing — after a rocket carrying them to the international space station malfunctions on ta ke—off. the emergency is the failure of the booster. the third strongest storm in recorded history to hit the us mainland continues to sweep across the south east of the country. i was in a bunker and just prayers and how this just missed us, i have no godly idea. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap — under plans put forward by the government. a british student has been held in solitary confinement

in the united arab emirates for five months after being accused of spying. matthew hedges' wife says she is shocked more is not being done to free him. and heroes of the london bridge terror attack were among those to receive honours from the queen at buckingham palace today. for confronting armed terrorists in order to protect others, at london bridge, the george medal to be decorated, constable charles the great courage. good morning. welcome to bbc newsroom live. two astronauts have landed safely in kazakhstan after the russian soyuz rocket they were in, suffered an engine malfunction shortly after blasting off. the spacecraft was due to take two new astronauts — one russian and one american — to the international space station.

the crew sustained no injuries during the emergency landing. here's a nasa translation of a recording of the mission control at the moment the boosters failed. emergency of the booster, two minutes, 45 seconds. the emergency is the failure of the booster. failure of the booster. our correspondent sarah rainsford is in moscow. they were absolutely fine, picked up after an emergency landing. but how dramatic was this? well, extremely dramatic. of course as you we re extremely dramatic. of course as you were hearing that the launch at the

beginning was going smoothly, it was only two minutes, 45 seconds into that blastoff from the cosmodrome in kaza khsta n that blastoff from the cosmodrome in kazakhstan at the accident happened. what you heard there was the nasa feed from the road. the russian fleet, the commentary cut off and norman greene in ely —— immediately after emergency was pronounced. anyone listening to the russian feed would not know what had happened next. we know that the soyuz rocket decoupled from the launcher and it began as dramatic and very, very fast descent. a ballistic dissent is how nasa described it, it comes in is extremely steep angle. anyone coming in one of those capitals, a planned landing is an extremely difficult ride. —— those capitals. it is extremely uncomfortable, very tense until we heard word from the russian space agency that conduct had been made with the two on board, that they had landed safely. some

600 commenters away from the law in the position and that rescues were on the way. they have now been recovered, they are said to be fine. it is an extremely fast and uncomfortable ride down i think in an emergency landing procedure like that, they liked that russia has not seen for a long time. what will happen now in terms of future flights and getting to the bottom of this? there are a lot of huge questions now offer both russia's space industry bill because the international space station because for some years now, these soyuz rocket, the russian space as has been the only way up to the international space station. that is ever since the americans stopped their shuttle programmes. all international astronauts currently rely on russian rockets, russian launch system. there's a big question about whether this means a pause in bunches while those over the investigation into what went on and goes on beyond that. —— a pause

in launches. the biggest zombie safety of the astronauts left. ashe is currently in orbit on the international space station. the two rationales were heading up there to relieve them. still questions as to what happened next. certainly investigation has been launched. i should say, the soyuz is an extremely reliable rocket. it has been launching into space for many decades and in fact the last time there was an accident on launch with cruise on—board there was an accident on launch with cruise on—boa rd with there was an accident on launch with cruise on—board with 35 years ago. i think this is a big blow to russia, to its beef industry. thank you very much. -- to its space industry. two people have died after the most powerful storm in decades to hit the south—east of the united states made landfall. hurricane michael brought storm surges of up to three metres to north—west florida, ripping up trees and tearing roofs from buildings.

a category four storm. one of the stronger storms ever to hit america. florida has been battered. sustained winds of more than 250 kilometres an hour have left a trail of destruction. those who chose to stay put were lucky to get out alive. they just came flying lucky to get out alive. theyjust came flying through the roof, i heard all the trees snapping and everything. it sounded like a tornado. they abdicated in and everything happened so quick. my brief came in from the top part. everything has gone. i from the top part. everything has gone. lam from the top part. everything has gone. i am glad we made it out safely because i thought i was going to get trapped and not get out. look at this school, the roof has been ripped off like a tin of sardines. camper vans tossed around like toy cars. hundreds of thousands of homes

without electricity, with power lines torn down. manyjust cannot believe their eyes. whole neighbourhoods are underwater, after a storm surge of up to three metres. live on the coast, this is what you get. it is just a matter of picking up get. it is just a matter of picking up the pieces and putting them back together. get our lives back together. get our lives back together. we made it, baby! that might be true, but it will take months to rebuild and the cost to the state could run into billions of dollars. following the landfall i've requested that president trump instruct a national... to flow into the impacted communities. overnight, the hurricane passed over georgia having weakened slightly and satellite images show the eye of the storm now heading towards south carolina. it will take days to

assess the full extent of the damage and hurricane michael has some way to run. the meteorologist and storm hunter mark robinson is in panama city, in florida, and he explained what it was like at the height of the hurricane. well, you know what? it was one of the most intense storms i think i've ever been through. i've been through 20 hurricanes now. the only one that i can come close to comparing this to is hurricane katrina. at the height of it, we were in the western eye wall in panama city beach and the winds were unlike anything i'd ever seen. you almost couldn't see 50 feet in front of you out of the parking garage that we were in because of the speed of the wind and how much it was picking up in terms ofjust the rain, it turned it into a high—speed fog. it was just an absolutely mind blowing experience. what you have to do is you have to treat these storms with respect. you know what they can do. and you haven't got time to be scared because i've got a job to do and try to document this storm

as best i can to show everybody what it is like to be in the heart of these storms, and to try and show people why evacuation is a good choice when something like this is coming towards you. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap under plans put forward by the prime minister. theresa may has launched a consultation on whether mandatory reporting will help address disparities between the pay and career prospects of minorities. she acknowledged that minorities often "feel like they are hitting a brick wall" at work. the move follows the decision to make firms reveal their gender pay gaps. matthew fell from the confederation of british industry said this move was welcome. diversity in the workplace is hugely important and beneficial for business. we know at a time when there are challenges in finding the right skills and talents, it is important we find that from as many, many places as possible. so having a diverse range of groups involved is important. and also the thing to say

is that this diversity brings so many new ideas, innovations, great for productivity in the workplace. diversity is a really great thing. the lessons we have learned from the gender pay reporting is the power of transparency and shining a spotlight on these issues can be a real catalyst for action for business to do even more than they are doing at the moment. i think this is a positive development. is there any reason why companies would not want to do it? in principle, not. i think the key thing now, it is great to see the government consulting and taking a range of ideas on this, is just to get the detail right. ethnicity is a little bit more complex than gender because of the range of different groups it involves. it is important to get the detail right for businesses, so that they are aware of it and they are correcting the right data and so on in order to be able to report. but also it is important for the employees themselves because, particularly in smaller companies or where sample sizes are small, we want to make sure that we do not inadvertently encroach on

any confidentiality or make it feel intrusive for people as well. it is important to get the detail right but the principle is that this is a really good development and something that firms will be keen to do. tell us more. you said that the power of transparency is good, how much of a change has the gender publication made? we are on a journey here and i will not sit here and pretend we've got this cracked because we have started reporting on it. i think transparency and shining a light on the issue is the first step along the journey, but the more important thing is what are the actions that you take to make progress on it. and i think what it has done is instigated and acted as a catalyst for firms to say, ok, we need to make more progress on this. now, what is a sensible action plan of things that we're going to do? for example, am i looking at the right shortlists when i'm recruiting and filling vacancies? is my interview panel and the selection techniques that i'm using, am i making sure that i'm not inadvertently filtering out any diverse groups, for example. so a lot of things that companies can do to help to make sure that at every step on the way they're being open to as diverse a range

groups as possible. some will fear the prospect of positive discrimination and companies doing things to perhaps turf some people out and get others in order to make sure that the published figures look better than perhaps they might the first time they come out. it is important to make sure that we use the data in a way that informs what you do next and informs your thinking and it informs your decision processors from there on. it is not about the number in its own right, it is important to focus on that but it is that action and the next steps that flow from that and the decision—making that is the important thing, notjust chasing them, but in its own right, so getting the follow—up action's the critical bit. matthew fell. schools inspectors in england will put more emphasis on what is taught, rather than exam results, under changes

being announced by the government. ofsted's chief inspector, amanda spielman, says league tables have increased the pressure on teachers and pupils, at the expense of a broader education. new york prosecutors have charged a man who planned to blow himself up on the day of the us mid—term elections next month. according to the authorities, paul rosenfeld built a 90kg explosive device at his home and planned to kill himself to draw attention to his belief in a political theory called sortition. a british couple who were among ten people killed by flash floods in majorca have been named locally as anthony and delia green. they're believed to have been in their 70s and were on holiday on the island. spanish newspapers say their bodies were discovered inside a taxi which had been swept away by a torrent of water. more on today's main stories coming up on newsroom live here on the bbc news channel, but now we say goodbye

to viewers on bbc two. that includes sirjohn major's criticism of universal credit. matthew hedges was arrested. his collea g u es matthew hedges was arrested. his colleagues believe he was accused of buying. we can go live to our correspondence who is in newcastle. what is the latest on his situation? the latest that we have is real concerns about his welfare. we have information from his wife and she reportedly has said that she is extremely worried about his mental health and she says that she just

wa nts to health and she says that she just wants to come home safely and come home as quickly as possible. she has said this, she said she went to the uae specifically for academic research purposes and she says he has been charged without for five months on his right style violated ona months on his right style violated on a daily basis. he has a ph.d. student at durham university. his research includes middle east politics and civil military relations. we have a statement from durham university, it says they are seriously concerned about his welfare and that they continue to offer full assistance in efforts to bring him home safely and swiftly. they have raised these concerns that they have with the foreign office. the foreign office today confirming that the foreign secretary has personally raised matthew hedges case with mrt counterparts and we

understand that matthew hedges himself is due to in court later this month. thank you very much. we have pictures from inside the rocket. right at the moment of everything going wrong. these pictures look a lot more dramatic than the pictures that we we re dramatic than the pictures that we were showing you earlier, which were of the actual take—off. this was back inside, a repeat of the moment when you can see the rockets started to move, presumably pretty erratically in the air is one of the engines failed. the pictures that we saw earlier will just of engines failed. the pictures that we saw earlier willjust of the moment when the rocket actually took off, it had looked like everything was going smoothly will stop it did for a few minutes and then suddenly something happened with one of the best rockets. nick hague and alexey

ovchinin were forced to abort the mission and they had to make an emergency landing in the kazakhstan airport. sorry, the desert. they we re airport. sorry, the desert. they were there for about an hour or so while it took time for the emergency services to get to them. but now an investigation is under way into exactly what it is that happened, the cause that mission to go wrong just a few minutes into the launch. they were heading for the international space station, it means that the two who are currently on the international space station will have to stay there for a bit longer because they were heading there to relieve the two who are currently down. we are hearing from mission control that the international space station crew do have enough supplies and that changeover of the crew will not affect operations. it is unclear at the moment when it will be that a new rocket is going to be ok to head

back up because they want to work out exactly what went wrong. two astronauts have made a safe landing after the rocket malfunction just a few moments after take—off. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap — under plans put forward by the government. a british phd student has been held in solitary confinement in the united arab emirates for five months after being accused of spying. matthew hedges' wife says she is shocked more is not being done to help him. she is shocked more is not the former aston villa chairman has died at the age of 94. two spells in that role, the most recent from 1982, the 2006. he made his name in

the holiday business and he was also made a life presidents, was knighted in 2012. services to charity. they have posted their condolences and thanks to alice in a statement describing him as a man he gave his life to the club. the silence will be held at the next match atjust swa nsea. john terry is aston villa's new assistant manager. his first coaching row following his retirement from playing last week. he will work alongside dean smith. smith is a lifelong villa fan. terry captain villa last season. when they lost to fill. the tottenham defender have both withdrawn from the england squad for the national league matches against nature ‘s league matches against croatia tomorrow in spain next week. both plays a rout dunn arrived in

camp with injuries and return to their respective clubs before the dimming that they departed from croatia. they faced them tomorrow before closed doors. spain in seville on monday. kyle edmund as a step closer to his first atp tour title after reaching the quarterfinals of the shanghai masters. he took a tight first set ona masters. he took a tight first set on a tie—break before taking second 6-3. a on a tie—break before taking second 6—3. a tough test awaits rim, the number five seed. rafael nadal has been away from the court helping in the clean—up operation on his home island of majorca, devastating flash floods have killed nine people. six miles from the worst hit area is his hometown. hejoined other from the worst hit area is his hometown. he joined other volunteers following the flooding on tuesday night. he said on twitter... he offered the use of his tennis

academy as a shelter for those affected. that is also now. thank you very much. sirjohn major has strongly criticised the government's introduction of universal credit warning that it could prove as damaging to the conservatives as the poll tax. the former prime minister told the bbc‘s political thinking podcast that voters would see it as unfair, that low income families risked losing several thousand pounds. downing street says £3 billion has been set aside to ease the introduction of universal credit which is designed to bring together and replace a number of existing benefits. our assistant political editor, norman smith, is in westminster. how is this intervention being seen? his intervention seems to have prompted a flurry of calls from mps in different parties for the chancellor to use the budget later this month to pump billions more into universal credit, even the architect of the universal credit

scheme, iain duncan smith calling this morning for philip hammond to scrap the party's manifesto pledge to raise the tax threshold for lower rate taxpayers and to use that money instead to go into universal credit, to make good some of the cuts planned by george osborne. call echoed also by the chair of the work and pensions committee, frank field. sirjohn's intervention though comes ata sirjohn's intervention though comes at a profoundly awkward time for mrs may because she of course made central to her conference speech this pledge to end austerity and what critics are saying is that simply does not stand if she pushes ahead with universal credit, which some organisations like the institution for fiscal studies say could mean cuts in benefits of up to £1800 a yearfor could mean cuts in benefits of up to £1800 a year for round 3 million families. sirjohn also issued a warning about a possible backlash

against the conservatives if they press ahead with universal credit. in order to introduce something like the universal credit, you need to look at those people who are in the short term going to lose and protect them, or you will run into the sort of problems that the conservative party ran into with poll tax in the late 19805. so, the principal has a great deal to commend it. but it isn't workable if there aren't the resources to introduce properly. and to find someone on a very low income suddenly losing £2400 a year is a substantial amount and the argument that it is to encourage people to get into work isn't an argument that runs to me. now, downing street say they have set aside around £3 billion to ease the introduction of universal credit and that when it is rolled out to all existing claimants from next

year, that it will be done gradually to try and learn from any glitches or difficulties in the system and that so far, the roll—out has gone well. i have to say, it is a very different story from some mps in terms of the sort of cases they are getting raised in their constituencies. have a listen to the chair of the work and pensions committee, frank field. the mp5 only get the difficult cases but they are mounting up and in my constituency, for example, we knew a nyway constituency, for example, we knew anyway this was planned. it is not a computer problem, but people on special disability payments could be losing between well over £120 a week, so these are massive, massive cuts that were actually planned in the process. iwould've cuts that were actually planned in the process. i would've thought all be pressure on and on the tory benches must be on the chancellor to restore the cuts the system.

mr field's committee have also written to the national audit office asking them to carry out an enquiry before universal credit is rolled out to existing claimants and they have demanded that the work and pensions secretary appears before them. the stakes are really very high, notjust them. the stakes are really very high, not just for claimants but for the government because you see with successive attempts to reform welfare and to cut benefits, the price governments can pay is enormous. thank you very much. senior cabinet ministers are meeting theresa may this afternoon to be updated on brexit negotiations. the dup has warned the prime minister it could withdraw support for the government if it disagrees with any deal. every day here on newsroom live we'll be checking in with our reporter adam fleming, who is tracking the negotiations from brussels for us. how much does all of this and the

pressure that is being put on the government over the various aspects that are so difficult to negotiate better, how much does it all filtered through to what is happening in our? it filtered through that it is consumed by the brussels bubble as we await news from the negotiating room. i imagine in the room where the officials are still talking, it is all about the text in front of them and the outside world is a distant thing that they are not really thinking about, although they do know any deal they have to come up with has to get to the british parliament and the european parliament. two things to bring you this morning, yesterday michelle gildernew did a speech. there was a problem —— michel barnier. it made a lot of people think he had said the deal was about to be done, there was a problem with the translation. we have confirmation that there has not been any breakthrough yet and the

technical talks, officials talking about the text of the brexit treaty, they are continuing. do not get the champagne out just yet. they are continuing. do not get the champagne outjust yet. also there isa champagne outjust yet. also there is a meeting tomorrow night in luxembourg of all the eu 27 countries ambassadors where they will get an update. an agenda has been published and it contains the words d raft been published and it contains the words draft withdrawal agreement and d raft words draft withdrawal agreement and draft agreement on the relationship in the future. it's sort of suggests that the ambassadors will be discussing those two documents. i am told it is a draft agenda, lots of the use of the word draft and it may be they do not like the latest edition of the brexit treaty and they do not look at the latest thinking of the political declaration the negatives have not produced it yet. we are waiting. —— the negotiations. it feels like simon mccoy waiting for the royal baby, actually. thank you. the struggle to access vital nhs services across england

is a growing ‘care injustice' which needs to be tackled immediately. that's the warning by health regulator, the care quality commission, in its annual report. the commission also highlights growing hospital waiting lists, delays at a&e, and record levels of dissatisfaction with gps. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. in this room, there are nurses, physiotherapists, charities and others, all working together to keep people who are at risk healthy and out of hospital. mr and mrs robinson have recently moved into an extra care scheme in our area following a house fire. they arrange for an occupational therapist and social worker to visit an elderly couple who need some extra help. so i've got eric with me. hello. how do you do? the care quality commission report picks out this scheme in wakefield as a positive example. it also says most people across england generally do get good care. but this comes with a stark warning about a growing care injustice. in some parts of the country, people are just less likely to get the care they need and that's

what we mean by a care injustice. we think the way to fix that is to make sure that funding streams all align, so that all providers are all pointing the same direction in the best interests of people. the report says this can be most visible in overstretched a&e departments, but it also highlights mental health and care for the elderly. it says that there's now an urgent challenge for all parts of the health and social care system to work together, like in wakefield, and that a long—term funding plan is also vital. the department of health and social care says it will set up a £240 million fund for adult social care, to ease pressures over the winter. catherine burns, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello, all tunnel feeling picture behind me because we have got some more autumnal weather on the way. we

have a storm heading our way, as we go through the rest of the afternoon we have bands of rain beavering away northwards and eastwards. it is still quite warm in the sunshine. that is the taster really of what is to come. by the end of the night, the rain is quite steadily across many western areas with gale force winds blowing. it is all courtesy of storm callan, named. the met office haveissued storm callan, named. the met office have issued an amber weather wasn't for the risk of flooding because of the heavy persistent rain in south wales —— issued a weather warning. this is how the murray is looking. once the rain arrives across wales and northern england, southern scotland, it stays put the rest of the day. we will see the gales mostly across the sea area in the north and west, we will have almost gale force wind blowing for all of us. even if we see 21, attempted a little by the strength of that wind. —— tempered. hello, this is bbc newsroom live.

i'm joanna gosling. the headlines... a capsule carrying two crew members to the international space station has landed safely in kazakhstan after their soyuz rocket malfunctioned shortly after take off hurricane michael, a category four storm with winds of 155 miles per hour, has killed two and left half a million people without power after it made landfall in north—west florida. big companies may be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap. theresa may hopes exposing disparities in pay will improve career prospects for minorities in the uk. and the parents of spanish national ignacio echeverria have picked up the george medal for bravery from the queen. it awarded to him posthumously after he was killed confronting terrorists in the london bridge attacks. sirjohn major has strongly criticised the government's

introduction of universal credit —— warning that it could prove as damaging to the conservatives as the poll tax. the former prime minister told the bbc‘s political thinking podcast that voters would see it as unfair, that low income families risked losing several thousand pounds. downing street says three billion pounds has been set aside to ease the introduction of universal credit —— which is designed to bring together and replace a number of existing benefits. (pres) in the last hour, the labour mp and former shadow work in the last hour, the labour mp and former shadow work and pensions secretary, debbie abrahams has raised the issue of universal credit in parliment. what did you say, exactly?” what did you say, exactly? i asked the leader of the house, given the intervention by sirjohn, whether she would reveal exactly when the new draft managed migration regulations were going to come to the house for debate. and also, whether they would be debated on the

floor of the house. it's notjust sirjohn major, you probably remember gordon brown also raised concerns about this. this is on top of several reports that have been scathing about universal credit. not achieving any of its objectives. and causing harm to people who have been known to have been put onto it. the government says there will be transitional protections during the roll—out. well, the charities that i have spoken to over the last week also said that those actually work. we are asking the government to really think again. first of all, to poll the regulations, this is due for implementation from january and will affect 2 million people. and we know that after they have a deadline, which they have to reply for universal credit, if they don't meet the deadline, or their money will be stopped. this is for people who are

out of work, but people who are in work as well. you know, long—term labour want to do something different. we want to stop this and have something new. at this moment in time, the regulations should be poles, and we should revert back to existing legacy benefits. how significant do you think it is when you've got sirjohn major comparing this to the poll tax, and what happened for margaret thatcher's government. i am hopeful, there are many, government. i am hopeful, there are any government. i am hopeful, there are many, many tory mps who have similar concerns. i am many, many tory mps who have similar concerns. iam hopeful that many, many tory mps who have similar concerns. i am hopeful that with a bit of pressure, these regulations can be there is no management about this whatsoever, and i hope that these regulations will be poles. it will give us a chance to manage what is effectively, having such a devastating impact on so many people. £24 million already in rent

arrears, from people already on universal credit. it's got to stop. it's been described as the most radical reform to welfare since the second world war. it means that there are six means tested benefits all rolled into one payment. john major says the principle is good, but he said it's the way it's being rolled out, that is causing the problems? do you agree? we have always fed, when it was first introduced in 2012, that the principles, around reducing property, trying to simplify the system, also, to always make work pay, so that you are better off in work when you are on social security, those principles are sound. but what we have seen, particularly in the last year, is that it just isn't particularly in the last year, is that itjust isn't working. seven scathing report this year alone, including from the national audit office, showing that it is failing

to meet objectives. they need to think again. the national audit office said in june think again. the national audit office said injune that stopping it now would be too complex, and there is no option, no practical choice, but to keep on with the roll—out. i disagree with that. there are 7 million more people, potentially, who could be put onto universal credit by 2022. we need to look at not just credit by 2022. we need to look at notjust in terms of the issues around the delay in the first payments, there are still five weeks before you get the first payment, but also the adequacy of payments as well. as the secretary of state, herself, as said, people will be an average £200 a month worse off. £200 ona average £200 a month worse off. £200 on a low—income is a huge amount. people should be allowed to stay on legacy benefits as they exist, and for those on universal credit i would say they should be switched

back on to them while labour want to do something completely different if we we re do something completely different if we were in government. if the government are still in place over the next few years they need to think again. thank you very much indeed. we are going to speak to the minister in charge of this a little later. a russian soyuz rocket has made an emergency landing in kazakhstan — after suffering an engine malfunction shortly after blasting off. the spacecraft was due to take two new astronauts — one russian and one american — to the international space station. the crew sustained no injuries during the emergency landing. here's a nasa translation of a recording of the mission control at the moment the boosters failed: emergency of the booster, two minutes, 45 seconds. the emergency is the failure of the booster. failure of the booster. our correspondent andy moore

explained what an extraordinary event this is. normally, these launches of russian rockets to space stations pass without comment. it's like a boss, basically. we ignored it and it goes very smoothly. what happened here was that there was a problem, about three minutes after the launch. the launch was fine, then as we heard there was a problem with the booster rocket. soon after that the decision was made to abort the launch to the space station. and they were going to make an emergency ballistic dissent. this is where the two astronauts separate from the craft, come back down to earth at speed. about eight g. it's a very rough landing according to astronauts who

have been involved in this sort of operation before. good news that we have heard that the russians have parachuted to the launch site, the crew we re parachuted to the launch site, the crew were on the ground, possibly forup to an crew were on the ground, possibly for up to an hour before rescuers could get to them. we have heard that according to russian doctors they are ok. they are without serious injury. that's the good news. what will it mean, you say they normally take off like buses. will it mean that the programme will be grounded for a better? certainly be grounded for a better? certainly be astronauts will have to stay there for a bit longer. these two astronauts, an american, naked, and they were showing, alexey, nick haig was experiencing his first time in space. a short and rough ride for him. the russian is in his second job as an astronaut. they will have to say on the space station for the time being. no drama there. i think

the biggest problem is the russians will want to get to the bottom of what happened with this launch. why the rockets failed. until they have a decent idea of what went wrong they want to be in a hurry to launch anymore soyuz rockets in the next few days. more now on the destruction caused by hurricane michael, the third—strongest storm in recorded history to hit the mainland us. the hurricane has now been downgraded, but storm surge warnings are still in place for exposed coastal areas. cbs correspondent nikole killion is in panama beach city on florida's gulf coast. hurricane michael is leaving behind a trail of damage and destruction. we've got this huge tree down, a power pole down and some pieces of ten stuck on these wires. because of all of this damage and devastation local authorities have imposed a

cu rfew. local authorities have imposed a curfew. until the sun comes up they wa nt curfew. until the sun comes up they want people to stay off the roads, so they have time to try to clear some of the debris in terms of power. utility companies say they may not restore power for days, perhaps even weeks, the governor of the state power brick scott said that his response will be aggressive, and that he will do everything possible to try to help these devastated communities. reporting from panama city beach. the parents of a man who died in last year's london bridge attack have collected a posthumous award for their son at buckingham palace. 39—year—old ignacio echeverria died trying to help a woman who was being attacked. his father, joaquin, and mother collected the award on his behalf. three police officers who responded to last june's attack also collected awards. you get past the stage of survivor

‘s guilt, and once you get past that you realise that i'm lucky to be alive, and i did the best i could with what i had in front of me. it wasn't just about me, with what i had in front of me. it wasn'tjust about me, i managed to help, as many people as possible. we've had a fairly warm autumn so far but with winter looming, health chiefs in england are urging children, pregnant women, older people and those with certain health conditions to have a flu jab. but this year there's a special focus on another group — nhs workers, who are more likely to be exposed to flu. those who refuse it could be moved to roles away from patients. our health correspondent dominic hughes has more. the laundry room at royal blackburn hospital, not a part of the nhs that many of us think about, but the staff here do vital work to keep the hospitalfunctioning. 100,000 pieces of washing are dealt with here each week. so, if this team is hit by flu, it can really throw

a spanner in the works. so, you're ok to go ahead? yes. that's why becky and her colleagues are encouraged to take the flu jab... lovely. ..with nurses coming to them to make it easier. last year i got a flu really bad, so i definitely advise to have it done. it's not nice when you have the flu, is it? i couldn't get out of bed. last winter was the worst flu season in a decade and sickness among staff added to the pressure on the nhs. in england, just 64% of health workers took up the offer of a free flu vaccination. which arm do you want? left arm? this year all front line staff are expected to have the flu jab. excuse me, lads, we are doing the flu injection, have you had yours? it's not compulsory, but those who don't will be asked to explain the reason. the flu jab for me is the most important thing we can do in the nhs, because we are not only looking after the staff, we are looking after the families,

the patients we serve and helping to prevent hospital admissions at the front door. the idea behind encouraging every single member of staff at the nhs to have a flu jab is to shore up the health service ahead of what could be a pretty tough winter, by reducing sickness rates. now, as it happens, here at the royal blackburn they have a pretty good record when it comes to encouraging staff to have the jab. more than 90% are expected to do so. but across the country it's a very different picture. vaccinating staff in a single hospital is one thing, but what if your teams work across thousands of square miles and are always on the road? last year the east of england ambulance service struggled to reach even half of their workers, so this year there are more clinics in more places to try and encourage crews to get vaccinated. health care professionals not getting immunised can increase the risk of patients getting the flu, so absolutely one if you of the things we want our staff to consider is the impact on their vulnerable patients,

especially if they choose not to have the flu jab. on their vulnerable patients, especially if they choose not to have the flu jab. look out for your left arm. some people can't be vaccinated, they might have an allergy, for example, but nhs bosses are urging those who can, especially health co—workers, to get a jab, protecting themselves in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news... two astronauts make a safe emergency landing after a rocket carrying them to the international space station malfunctions on ta ke—off. companies could be forced to reveal their ethnicity pay gap — under plans put forward by the government. a british phd student has been held in solitary confinement in the united arab emirates for five months after being accused of spying. matthew hedges' wife says she is shocked more is not being done to help him. it was the battle which became a by—word

for the carnage of the first world war. a million lives were lost at the somme in 1916, and the bodies of more than 72,000 commonwealth troops were never recovered. british artist rob heard has dedicated five years to creating a unique tribute to those men, a shrouded figure for each life lost. but until recently he had never been to the battlefield. the bbc‘s john maguire went with him... for the first time, the shrouds of the somme lie here on the grounds in northern france that inspired them. and, for the first time, the artist working with that inspiration is here. forfive years i've brought the somme to my living room, and... yes, to actually be standing on this ground is an amazing feeling, the idea that we're standing on the soil that these men are actually in, you know, when i've dealt with it for so long, thinking about this, and the idea in some way of bringing

them back from here, in a small way, it's so positive. it could easily — people could think it's morbid, but it's not. back home in somerset, rob heard creates each and every shroud by hand, matching them to name of the official record of those missing in the somme. he came up with the idea after a car crash, after seeing images of the dead and wounded returning from afghanistan. you ask the question why, why are you doing this, self funding? and it's always been a struggle. but, like this, you really do understand. you really do understand, deep down, what the point of this was. and these are just small figures. it's nothing like the real thing, obviously. but i think, once you do this, you do understand what all that effort and all that time and those years was for. next month, there will be 72,396, the number of commonwealth troops who died at the somme, but whose bodies were never recovered. their names, known to rob, are immortalised in

stone on this memorial. these are obviously displayed with their comrades from their regiment, so i assume this is how they would have been on the day. you know, they would have been next to each other. and, from the top, you get a sense of the battlefield in its place in history. if you look here, you can at least see some german graffiti. during the second world war, the germans occupied this area, and someone obviously came up the top. it was a sniper post and an observation post, and they have left their mark. the battle of the somme for many of us has come to define the horrors of the first world war, and if you look over the battlefields today, you see the cemeteries of the commonwealth war commission almost on every corner. so it is a battlefield that still resonates with us, even today, 100 years on. rob lays one last shroud, an unknown warrior, on a flag that once draped a coffin returning from afghanistan. his is a mammoth task of creating 200 figures a day — yet another number. but his work turns these

numbers into lives, giving them a human form, helping us to at least try to make sense out of so much senselessness. let's get more now on one of our main stories. benefit changes coming into force next year have been compared to the poll tax — the policy that helped end margaret thatcher's time as prime minister. mrs thatcher's successor as pm, sirjohn major, told the bbc that universal credit was being rushed in without enough funding. we can speak now to the work and pensions are resistant political editor joins us are resistant political editor joins us from westminster. that rob an

assistant political editor.” us from westminster. that rob an assistant political editor. i have the current work and pensions secretary with us. what did you make of sirjohn major's warning? do you think is right to suggest that the introduction of universal credit could be as damaging for your government does the poll tax was for mrs thatcher? as somebody who knows more about noon universal creditjohn major. i'll tell you what it is doing for the vast majority of people. it is working better than the old system, most people don't know that the old system most people don't know that the old syste m ke pt most people don't know that the old system kept people out of work and stop them having the dignity of work. the 16 hour rule. 30 rule. it stop people having dignity. what we've got to do, we've got to make sure it's fair to everyone, hence, that's what we are doing. making sure there is transitional protection. where we need to make changes, we will. we have been doing

so. a big package of money went in last year. more is coming in this year. that's what we've got to get, therefore the most vulnerable. do you accept that some claimants on universal credit could be hundreds of thousands of pounds worse off. this country made tough decisions in 2015 so they could be? i am coming to the point. the welfare act went through in 2016 and the country voted for those changes. some people could be worse off. how much? what we also know, we have done, 1000 people every day since 2010 have gone into work. let me just clarify what you're saying about the loss of income. did you tell cabinet ministers that some people could be up ministers that some people could be up to £2400 a year worse off? won't

say what i said in cabinet, because ifi say what i said in cabinet, because if i was going to i would invite you into cabinet. what i will say they had an open conversation with my collea g u es had an open conversation with my colleagues how we support people, so 1 million disabled people will get significantly more on universal credit. i'm asking you about glass. you will know that reputable organisations like the institute for fiscal studies have suggested that up fiscal studies have suggested that up to fiscal studies have suggested that upto3 fiscal studies have suggested that up to 3 million claimants could be around £1800 a year worse off. is that right? we made tough decisions. is that right? hang on. under the old system. 700,000 people didn't get £285 a month, so they didn't get the money they were old. under the old system the most vulnerable inciting weren't getting as much as we will now give them. as i said,

what we've done is, not that the whole benefit system, how we get people into work. 1000 people every day, those people will be an less benefit by the sheer nature that they are now in work. let me put this to you. i'lljust put a due if i may, the prime minister at party conference said austerity is ending. how can it be ending of some of the poorest families in our society are facing cuts of their income of around £1800 a year? are you disputing that? hang on a second. they will be £3.1 billion with transitional protection, so those that have been moved onto universal credit. you say moved on, but are you disputing they are losing that many? as a country we've made decisions because we want to make sure work paid. what we've done, for the first time ever, if people can work they will lose benefits, but they will get work. work will be

paid. the wage will be increasing. they will be in work, which is what is lost in this discussion. you are looking at benefits shrinking, but not looking at wage is going up. or not looking at wage is going up. or not all of them will be able to get into work. the institute for fiscal studies a 3 million, 3 million people, could lose up to £1800 a year. how does that marry with the idea of ending austerity? we talked about changing the benefit system, because the old system had people on tax rate of 90%. they were locked in unemployment without the dignity of work. now we've got 1000 people each and every day into work. what i have also said, champions and done, is when it isn't going to work, or where we need to change and get more support, which everybody has said let's do it, we've brought in

significant support. everybody agrees on the principle of universal credit being the most vulnerable. let mejust ask credit being the most vulnerable. let me just ask you, while i've got you, there was a cabinet meeting later today on brexit, which you, as i understand it, have not been invited to, are you comfortable and supportive of the prime minister's chequers deal? i am completely supportive of the prime minister, as she knows, what they want to do is speculate, was. it's a straightforward question, do you support the chequers deal or not? do you support it or not? i will get the best deal for this country. lots of you are conspicuously refusing to back the chequers deal. you'll cry will not add into speculation as the prime minister goes into the most

important negotiations of her time. iam behind important negotiations of her time. i am behind the prime minister get the best deal for this country. thank you very much for your time. the government's view following remarks from john major head of that important meeting this afternoon. ina in a moment we have the lunchtime news, first an update of the weather. we've seen some rain already today. but then we've got trouble brewing tomorrow. this mass of cloud is already looking like a signature storm. that area of clouds develops into this carmen. tightly packed isobars pushing to the west of scotland. the met office have issued an amber weather warning for heavy rain for south wales. it will affect other areas. because we see that rain stagnating there is concern. we see some rain ahead of that. this morning in south wales it

pushes its way northwards. by tea—time it will be sitting across parts of western scotland. some early sunshine in the east, clears for most of us overnight, ahead of the next weather system pushing more rain. this is the rain from the big storm starting to arrive in northern ireland, wales and the southwest. a mild, wetand ireland, wales and the southwest. a mild, wet and windy night for the west. the wind is quite a feature for scotland and northern ireland. the irish sea coast could see gusts up the irish sea coast could see gusts up to 70 mph. into friday the rain hangs around. it starts to fall across the south—west, wales, into northern england and southern scotland. to the east, mostly financed right, but a steady gale blowing for many areas. to the north—west, largely financed dry. this area will get a soaking. still warm in the sunshine, but storm calum is going to bring a lot of rain. potentially double that over

the hills, and some of the strongest winds could bring down the tree. through friday and saturday, here's the problem. bad weather system hangs around, further pulses of heavy rain. this is the setup for saturday. we still have that area of rain pushing further northwards. it still hangs around in wales. it could drive up some sunshine further south and ease, possibly into the mid—20s again on saturday. by sunday it starts to push further southwards and eastwards. it will depend how quickly it clears, but much fresher it comes in behind it. all the warnings are available on our website. the third—strongest storm in recorded history to hit the us mainland continues to sweep across the south east of the country. michael, which made landfall as a category four hurricane, is heading for south carolina. two people, including a child, have been killed.

i was in a bunker, and just prayers. and how half of this missed us i have no godly idea. we'll have the latest from florida, where storm surge warnings are still in place. also this lunchtime... two astronauts make an emergency landing in kazakhstan after their soyuz spacecraft, bound for the international after their soyuz spacecraft, bound for the international space station,