he was 81. the government says its confident there's no risk to energy supplies for customers, amid soaring gas prices and warnings more businesses could go bust. sir ed davey says only the lib dems can deprive borisjohnson of a majority, at the next election, and he urges activisits to reach out to voters, in traditional tory heartlands. a volcano has erupted in la palma in the canary islands — spewing out lava, ash and a huge column of smoke. now on bbc news...in our world, jenny hill takes us on a journey through. ..merkel�*s germany. she's one of the world's most influential leaders. after 16 years as german chancellor, angela merkel is standing down.

she has shaped european and global politics. what of her own country? what is angela merkel�*s germany? summer in berlin, and the end of an era. for the class of 2021, school days are done, new lives lie ahead. for germany, too, change is coming.

angela merkel, the only leader these youngsters have ever known, will no longer be running the country in which they've come of age. we don't have a perfect democracy but i think we have a good democracy. every german citizen knows the common problems and i think in other countries, that is not the case. i love germany. it is, like, in my heart- and i never want to leave it. this country has changed significantly since these youngsters were born. come with me on a journey through merkel�*s germany. we'll explore the country she's shaped and the country she leaves behind. germany today, one of the world's economic giants. this is the land that makes cars, chemicals — even a covid vaccine. angela merkel�*s predecessors must

take credit for some of this wealth, but under her leadership, the country has prospered. good times for the kettererfamily, who have been brewing beer since 1877. germany's best—loved export has never gone out of fashion. anke is the next in a long line of ketterers to inherit the secret recipe and take on the family firm. did she have a choice, i asked? husband philip shares her passion for beer and took the ketterer surname when they married.

germany is a rich country. its wealth depends on family businesses just like this one — the so—called mittelstand. and the world's changing, fast. german companies are trying to keep up.

but germany's sense of security was shattered earlier this summer. angela merkel�*s last months in office dominated by the worst floods in living memory. the woman once hailed as the �*climate chancellor�* under pressure to do more to mitigate the effects of climate change.

merkel�*s germany has reduced emissions, invested in renewables. but its current targets, many argue, aren't strict enough, and germany's still burning coal — in part because chancellor merkel abandoned nuclear power after the disaster at fukushima. a new generation of voters is turning green. but, deep in the german forest, the damage is already done. they're cutting down acres and acres of dying woodland. these trees took 60 years to grow.

they're down in just six seconds. forester hans showed us the problem. these bugs bore into the heart of the tree and kill it. they like warmer, drier weather, and climate change is weakening the tree's natural defences. all hans and his colleagues can do is destroy the affected trees to try to stop the spread.

they're trying to replant, using other types of tree, which they hope will prove more resistant to a warmer, drier climate. germany's fairytale forests won't disappear, hans told us, but they will look very different in the future — and so will german society. today, more than a quarter of people living in germany have a migrant background. for years, this country has relied on migration to filljobs, keep the economy going, rejuvenate an ageing population. but in september 2015, angela merkel welcomed refugees to germany simply because she thought

it was the right thing to do. dramatic days at the munich railway station. almost1 million people would come to germany in the months which followed. for some, an enthusiastic welcome. but there was fury too. "wir schaffen das," said angela merkel, as she tried to reassure a nervous country and a bewildered europe. "we can do it." six years later, many here would argue she was right. the sense of crisis has long passed. but that autumn has redefined german politics, german society. for those of us who were here in september 2015,

it felt as though we were witnessing something extraordinary. for many of the exhausted men, women and children arriving here, it was, of course, the start of a new life, but for germany, too, it was the beginning of profound change. i first met megan earlier this year, when i went to get a filling repaired. she's an apprentice here and plans to train as a dentist. hard to imagine now, that this confident young iranian nearly died five years ago as she and her mum fled to germany. even now, some germans — a minority — are still furious

with angela merkel. they point to migrant crime, terror attacks. a far right anti—migrant party now sits in the national parliament, fuelled by lingering resentment, which is particularly strong in places like gorlitz in the former communist east. this is one of germany's most beautiful cities. you might even recognise parts of it — it's often used, sometimes even by hollywood, as a backdrop for historical drama. but behind the facade,

this place and many others like it in the former east, have a serious problem. when the iron curtain fell, people here were promised blooming landscapes. but 30 years on, opportunities are still fewer, salaries and pensions lower than the rest of the country. it's still hard to convince young people to stay. i came to talk to hannelore and herfriends. they all support germany's far—right party, afd.

merkel�*s germany, her decisions, didn't always go down well with her european or her global counterparts. but, under her leadership, the country has wielded considerable influence. asjean—claudejuncker knows only too well... hello, nice to meet you. as a former president of the european commission, he worked closely with angela merkel

through turbulent years. financial crisis, greek debt crisis, migrant crisis and brexit. she was...not easy to deal with. because, as a scientist, she was always reasoning in perspective. germany today is seen as a very peaceful, peace—building country. merkel had, to some extent, an added value. she developed a kind of — in the noble sense of the word — a european feeling. she has, as a legacy, something people don't know, because after angela merkel, they will be no other german chancellor not being pro—european. everyone knew that germany was the biggest amongst member states and that the german economy was, to some extent, predominant. she never said, contrary to others coming from bigger member states,

she never said "i'm telling you as the german chancellor, that..." she never gave inside the european union the impression to others that she was the big boss on board. she never did that. so, she was not the queen, but she's a nice princess. is the eu better place for having had angela merkel as part of it? i think so. europe is a better place to be after having had her as a german chancellor. perhaps angela merkel�*s greatest struggle came at the very end of her chancellorship. germany, like every other country in the world, learning now to live with covid. after one—and—a—half years, gemany�*s artists are getting

back on their feet. was the corona crisis one of those rare times when people got the opportunity to see where germany's priorities lie? every country in the world, the priority was on economics and also i understand that. anyway, economics and society, vaccination, medical help this and all that, and then after a long list, culture. for the feeling as an artist who needs an audience, it is frustrating, yes. gabrielle describes other challenges, too. how, for example, should artists deal with the past when it's as troubled as germany's? of course, with our history, germany has always a problem to identify himself. i think this is the challenge for germany in the future. never to forget what has happened, and, kind of, to educate the whole population. we need, kind of...

to settle up and to handle up and appreciate our long history, even before, before the nazis, and everything is in, like philosophy, drama, poems, the music and so on. i see proudness in a lot of country, all over the world. but in germany it's very difficult to be proud, so it's not good. when the historians of the future opened the merkel files, how will they assess her time in office? does german society reflect her values? after 16 years of angela merkel, what does it mean to be german today?

it's a present—day characteristic that people do not reflect on this too much because they are aware that it doesn't bring anyone anywhere, to think about national identities. the main legacy of angela merkel is to have represented this rational, pragmatic, solution—orientated development in the german society. she is representing this sort of thinking in the world, which — have a look at donald trump, have a look, maybe, at borisjohnson... it is more shaped by people who have nationalistic or irrational or narcissistic or populist approach. in germany, i think most people would say that this rational, scientific, analytical approach, in the long run, promises to be more efficient —

hideous german efficiency. will angela merkel be remembered as a great chancellor, do you think? i think so, yes. and, in the long run, people will see that these 16 years have been, if you sum it up, quite successful. not only economically, but also in shaping the country towards preparing it in the european and global sense for a future which will not be easy. that future, and its challenges, will fall to the new generation of politicians. and they, in turn, must listen to the voice of a new class of voters. now we have to stand up and say, "0k, stop driving cars, stop flying to holiday," because we need to reduce the emissions, which is right, but we should have also already done this, like, 50 years ago and notjust now, so i think it's our turn to act and our turn to,

yeah, take action. but it's not all our faults. do you feel as a younger generation that you have been listened to? that your ideas have been taken on by the government? yes and no. so i think, yes, they are listening to us, but i don't think that they take us serious, or enough serious. but i think in the last years, we've seen that the politician system is moving more and more in our direction. germany is good but the migration system, like, i everyone has, like,| a chance to live here and to achieve his, get his dreams. viewed from afar, the world of german politics can often look rather boring.

it's all about compromise, consensus, continuity... in that sense, angela merkel has given her country what it expects from a leader. in a turbulent and shifting world, the voice of calm.

hello. september so far has certainly had more of a feel of some of the know about it and that is partly because the temperatures have been well above what we expect that this time of year, temperatures as much as three if not more degrees above normal in scotland and england and wales and it has been drier than normal. that could change as the strengthening jet stream and nav of low pressure works its way eastwards, not only bring in some awesome gales, particularly towards the savvy, heavy rain here as well but as a close eastwards drop in temperature two, certainly abiding. ridge of high pressure building on a monday but the weather front which pulled rain across eastern parts of england on sunday still there, producing some showers, east anglia, south—east. at a semi—static bouts of western scotland, northern ireland, lots more cloud and rain, weakening weather fronts, ireland, lots more cloud and rain, weakening weatherfronts, pushing weakening weather fronts, pushing its weakening weatherfronts, pushing its way eastwards, narrowing what will be a significant section of

england, wales and eastern scotland the time it should feel a little bit warmer in these areas for sunday. two monday night, we can weather fronts continue to push their way southwards and across much of england and wales. low cloud, drizzle particularly over the hills and these will keep temperatures up higher than we have seen through sunday night and into monday but there is that weather front is going to tuesday, pushing into an area of high pressure. high pressure, descending air tends to kill it off. it will disintegrate into nothing more than cloud, maybe one or two isolated afternoon showers, a good deal of dry, bright and sunny weather is a england and wales, good part of scotland who, but western scotland, northern ireland, like we will see on monday, increasing amounts of cloud, drizzle, weather fronts. temperatures still below 2 degrees above what we should be for the time of year. particularly potent lows east of iceland far enough away from us to have direct impact were close enough to throw these weather fronts away producing some heavy rain across scotland and northern ireland. it is the autumn

equinox, good gales to go with it, writing up later, feeling cooler and that rain band get south with a little bit of a? at the moment with much of england and wales been trying and bright with sunny spells and temperatures widely to the 20s, maybe 2324 fourmaux supercity is throwing to thursday will see that heavy of low pressure put across the north, it might heavy rains, gales as well, particularly northern half of the country and then pulling in colder air than we have had so far during weeks of the state is going to go fight would show in the sunshine. fair bit about. most of the rain of nike for a few showers dotting in the morning, continuing to the dais and then pulling in colder air than we have had so far during weeks of the state is going to go fight would show in the sunshine. fair bit about. most of the rain of nike for showers dotting in the morning, continuing to the dais in north—east scotland with some sunny spells. as i said, pleasant in that strong september sunshine but out of it you will notice how cool it feels, particularly for scotland, 12 or 13 degrees here. we should be at 15 to 18 in the uk in a state of the year. another area of low pressure pushing its way to the north, and assist potent as the one we seem to thursday but overnight rain craving

for sunny spells for many, lots of plywood to southern and western coasts, chance a few showers, temperatures closer to the seasonal norm. then as we finish the weekend and go into the weekend and beyond and go into the weekend and beyond and goes into thejet and go into the weekend and beyond and goes into the jet stream and from this massive trough to the rest of us. within that, we will get a slow—moving broad area of low pressure close by. this is going to feed in mainly west and south westerly wind, temperature is about average, but be prepared for a much more changeable 0ttoman conditions. —— autumnal conditions.

a fresh warning on food supply chains — this time because of a shortage of carbon dioxide. used to package fresh produce and in meat production, its availability has been badly hit by the temporary closure of two plants. by the middle of next week, so ten days�* time, we would see a really, really big hit to poultry production, to pig producers and probably, increasingly, in the other sectors. the cause is the rising price of wholesale gas, increasing costs for businesses as well as homes. ministers say gas supplies are not threatened. we'll be exploring the link between the uk's energy supply and what we see in our supermarkets. also tonight: farewell to a footballing great — jimmy greaves, legendary goal scorerfor his clubs and for england.