this is bbc news with the latest headlines. a catastrophe on a scale never seen before. pakistan's foreign minister assesses the flooding that's swept across his country. the flooding doesn't quite seem to encapsulate the ongoing devastation and disaster that we are still witnessing. mission to the moon — america prepares to test—launch a rocket, heralding a new era of space exploration. the head of the institute for fiscal studies labels some of liz truss�*s tax cutting policies as "worrying" and inadequade for dealing with rising energy costs. new figures show that chain store closure in the uk dropped by 30% in the first half of this year, compared to the same period last

year, but could the recovery be short lived due to the cost of living crisis? pakistan will launch a global appeal to help it deal with the flooding catastrophe that's killed more than 1,000 people and affected 30 million. un member states will be asked to contribute. pakistan's foreign minister has estimated the financial impact at 4 billion dollars. bilawal bhutto—zardari said he hoped the international community would grasp the sheer level of devastation in his country. and it's not over yet — water is still surging down the mightly indus river and will flood the low—lying

sindh province yet further over the next few days. azaday moshiri reports. a young boy stranded on a rock as raging waters surround him. you can see a rescue worker edging out of the helicopter, lifting him up to safety. out of the helicopter, it's but one of the countless rescue efforts that are happening as pakistan faces one of the worst floods in years, with more than 1,000 people dead and millions affected. i find it very difficult to put into words. the phraseologies that we're used to, whether it's monsoon rains or flooding, doesn't quite seem to encapsulate the ongoing devastation and disaster that we're still witnessing. these satellite images show the sheer scale of the flooding. this is what rajanpur in pakistan's punjab province looked like before the flooding. its homes and fields clearly visible. this is the situation now. 0verrun and overwhelmed.

stepping away from the political turmoil surrounding his government, prime minister shahbaz sharif was seen distributing relief items. while poor planning and infrastructure has played a role in all this, climate change is also to blame. pakistan only produces i% of global emissions, yet the country is dealing with some of its worst consequences. facing monsoons and floods that are far more frequent and severe than the norm. sindh province has seen nearly nine times its usual august rainfall. so, the country is urgently asking others for help. we're working with 35 donors right now. but, you know, the responses are in principle very, very positive. but we do need technical assistance. we need a lot of mobilisation on the ground. pakistan was already facing an economic crisis. so, these floods are coming at a difficult time.

and with some areas bracing for torrents of water from swollen rivers, the damage is not over yet. azadeh moshiri, bbc news. as we've been hearing, one of the worst affected areas is sindh province. 0ur pakistan correspondent pumza fihlani has been to a community living in a makeshift shelter on the outskirts of sakkur. the floods have been cruel to the people of pakistan. they've been especially devastating for those who had little to start with. the people in this community usually worked as extra pairs of hands on farmland. a lot of that farmland has been destroyed, so, many of them are now out of work. they've travelled for kilometres to try and get to higher ground. this is where they've settled for the time being, for about two weeks, some of them say they've been living here out in the open on the side of the road, they have not received any relief, they have not received any aid. there are many children and they don't know what they are going to feed them.

these floods have been devastating because they've taken whatever little means of survival they had and laid that completely to waste. they say they don't know how long they will be here... car horn blares. ..and they don't know if help is even coming. and i will be speaking to one of the charities operating in the flood—hit areas shortly. nasa is to launch a new era of moon exploration. later today the most powerful rocket ever built will blast off from the kennedy space center in florida. the artemis test flight will orbit the moon and it is hoped it will help pave the way for a manned mission to the lunar surface in three years. 0ur science editor, rebecca morelle, reports. it's almost time. standing on launch pad 39b, the same one used by the apollo missions, the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built is ready for liftoff. the rocket is simply enormous. and it's only when you're standing

here that you really get a sense of its size. and this is the last chance we'll see it up close. the launch pad is closing and fuelling is about to begin. because in just a few hours�* time, this will be blasting off. the first step in our return to the moon for 50 years. we talk about moonshots as things that humans can do when we put our differences aside and we focus on the mission and do great things together. well, now we're going to have our own moonshot, right? and so this is our generation, like, we get to now say we did it. if we do this successfully monday, we have sent something like that, a human rated spacecraft to the moon. for its maiden launch, the rocket will push a capsule called 0rion into deep space, where it will go into orbit around the moon before it returns to earth. no astronauts will be on board this time. this is a test flight. with such new technology, there are lots of things that could go wrong. we have done so much testing on this rocket. we've been through integrated testing.

we've tested everything from the smallest material to every system. we've done everything we can do on the ground to eliminate the risk. from here, it'sjust a matter of testing it in flight. so much is riding on this. the next step is to get astronauts on board, and nasa's ultimate plan is to land the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface. along the causeways around cape canaveral, people are getting ready to watch the launch, setting up early to bag the best spot. hundreds of thousands are expected in the area. i'm really excited because it's like one of the biggest rocket launches in 50 years. it's the largest so far that's going to be going up and it will be extremely loud. i've been watching this stuff ever since, well, i i watched the space landing of '69. so we live pretty close to where it's going to be launching. so we're probablyjust going to climb up on our roof and watch it from there. the weather might have other ideas, though. above the launch pad, the storms keep on coming. nasa will need a break in the clouds

to get this rocket off the ground. rebecca morelle, bbc news at the kennedy space center, florida. newspaper editors have expressed alarm at police guidance which has not been released publicly telling officers to declare any relationship with a journalist in the same way they would disclose links with a criminal. the advice was issued by the college of policing several years ago, but has only recently come to light. let's get more on this with our correspondent sean dilley. so, just explain, sean, what this means, and what the background is to get? means, and what the background is to .et? ., , means, and what the background is to net? . , , , , means, and what the background is to uet? . , , , get? certainly, because there is a context and _ get? certainly, because there is a context and history _ get? certainly, because there is a context and history which - get? certainly, because there is a context and history which is - context and history which is important. we think in terms of anticorruption, line of duty, in real life, the ac 12 department is called professional standards, but basically, it is lumped in as a term to combat attentional corruption. 0r to combat attentional corruption. or some might say conflicts of interest. to this is that her

majesty's inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services had done a report into the metropolitian police investigation into the daniel morgan murder in 1987. he was a private detective. if you follow that web, it is very tangled, but very much of the actions of private detectives, journalists and corrupt police officers in south london in particular were very much under the spotlight, and it was in the context of that where the report that her majesty's inspectorate had said that they recommended that the metropolitan police require officers to declare associations with journalists and extremist groups, and that is something i have apologised for, and now something which newspaper editors are concerned about paphos what are the concerns of newspaper editors? so, the crime reporters association and the crime reporters association and the society of editors have written to the chief executive of the couege to the chief executive of the college of policing, they have something called an authorised professional practice and this is

for england and wales, we should say, they don't cover police scotland, or the police service of northern ireland, although obviously they will have their own procedures. they have said concerned that this lumps journalists in with others and that it equates journalists to the kind of corruption that they themselves, the journalists, of corruption that they themselves, thejournalists, would of corruption that they themselves, the journalists, would want to root out. the college of policing say will listen say they will listen to representations that the media have and that they are working with the national police chiefs council, but one thing which is fairly indisputable, there is a historical tension between the media, scrutinise power, and policing, who obviously do the job that they do, sometimes in difficult circumstances, of course. sean dille , circumstances, of course. sean dilley. thank — circumstances, of course. sean dilley, thank you. _ united nations nuclear experts are on their way to the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the south of ukraine. members of the iaea group will monitor the security and safety of the plant, which has been occupied by invading russian forces, since early march. kyiv and moscow have

repeatedly traded accusations of shelling at the plant, and its operator has warned of the risks of a radioactive leak. it was forced to run on generators at one point but electricity has since been restored. our correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv and told us what we know so far. we have a tweet from rafael grossi, who is the head of the international atomic energy agency, saying that the mission is now on its way. he said he was proud to lead this mission, which will be in zaporizhzhia later this week. he also said, we must protect the safety and security of this nuclear facility. he posted a picture of himself with 13 colleagues of the international atomic energy agency. now, we haven't had reaction from the ukrainians, we haven't had reaction from the russians as well. we understand that negotiations to allow this visit to happen were complex, complicated. but it seems that this is confirmation that this visit is going ahead, and this could mark a deescalation

in this crisis, because for weeks we've been talking about tensions there, russia and ukraine trading accusations about who's to blame for shelling the complex, and obviously, these tensions have raised fears of a possible nuclear catastrophe. police believe a teenage boy who died after collapsing at the leeds festival had taken ecstasy. the 16—year—old fell ill on saturday night and died yesterday in hospital. west yorkshire police is investigating whether he had taken a particular type of ecstasy tablet described as a grey or black oblong. the former manchester united footballer paul pogba has told french police he's the victim of a blackmail plot. the midfielder who left united forjuventus this summer claims he's being targeted by an organised gang. it comes after his brother posted a video online in which he promised to publish "great revelations" about the player. french police are investigating.

a week after nine—year—old 0livia pratt—korbel was fatally shot, police have issued a warning to anyone withholding information that they are protecting her killers. 0livia was killed last monday evening when a gunman fired into her home. his intended target was another man who had forced his way into the house in liverpool. yesterday, 0livia was remembered at church services across the city. in recent years, we've become used to hearing about high street shops closing. well, that trend appears to have slowed down. chain store closures in the uk dropped by 30% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. that's according to new figures. however, there are fears this recovery could be short—lived as the cost—of—living crisis starts to bite. our business correspondent emma simpson has been looking into this. in canterbury, a new pizza chain has

hit the high street. cosy club opened here in the last fortnight, as well. and round the corner, a new furniture store in the shopping centre. we have seen, coming out of the pandemic, that national retailers are really looking at new space. they are keen to come in and open stores. we've also seen retailers who are already here who are investing in their space and spending money, refurbishing their stores and looking for other opportunities. shoppers are noticing the changes as well. yeah, the shops are a lot better, they are more vibrant, there's more people about, more people spending money obviously which is a good thing. yeah, for a high street it's looking pretty good. there are still gaps to fill in this city. the pandemic hit many high streets hard as a wave of businesses collapsed and restructured. but there are now signs of improvement. new figures show that in the first half of this year, 6,146 chain stores shut, including everything from retail to restaurants and gyms.

that's 30% down on a year ago, and the lowest numbers of closures for seven years. 0penings, though, are still sluggish, atjust under 4,000, meaning a net decline of more than 2,000 shops. well, there are still more closures than openings but the nature of the closures has changed. they now tend to be more banks, betting shops, travel agencies, those sorts of things that you can do online rather than in person. whereas the things that are opening, restaurants, dining out is very different. you can't do that at home. but storm clouds ahead? well, inflation is going to affect what we have to spend, it's going to affect costs for all shops everywhere. so, there could be more closures to come. a cost of living crisis is the last thing high streets need when there are finally some green shoots being seen. emma simpson, bbc news, canterbury. the headlines on bbc news... a catastrophe on a scale never seen before —

pakistan's foreign minister assesses the flooding that's swept across his country. mission to the moon — america prepares to test—launch a rocket, heralding a new era of space exploration. the head of the institute for fiscal studies labels some of liz truss's tax cutting policies as "worrying" and inadequade for dealing with rising energy costs. good morning. rory mcilroy has became the first player to win the tour championship three times after success last night in the pga's tour championship. it's the northern irishman�*s most significant victory since he last won it three years ago and as a result he's now over £15 million richer. with the story of mcilroy�*s historic day here's nick parrott. a souvenir from a special day. little did this young fan know he was about to witness history. when rory mcilroy teed off

for his final round, he was six shots behind scottie scheffler. catching the world number one was going to be a huge task — but one the northern irishman was more than up for. fortunately for him, the american was giving him a helping hand by dropping shots on the fourth and sixth holes. while mcilroy was on song — a hat—trick of birdies, and he was finally level with scheffler. the pair swapped the lead more than once — this was going to be about who could hold their nerve in this intense battle. rory could. scheffler couldn't. that bogey on the 16th handed mcilroy a one—shot lead he wouldn't surrender. in the end, one of his hardest days had the easiest of finishes to secure a place in the record books. nick parrott, bbc news. so, rory mcilroy picks up over £15 million but his win wasn't all about the money for him.

he's been one of the pga tour's most vocal advocates during the ongoing power struggle with the new controversial liv golf series, and had this to say after his victory. i hate what it's doing to the game of golf. i hate it. i really do. imean... it's going to be hard for me to stomach going to wentworth in a couple of weeks' time and seeing 18 of them there — like, thatjust... itjust doesn't sit right with me. so... yeah, i feel strongly. i believe... i believe what i'm saying are the right things. and i think when you believe that what you're saying is the right things, you're... you're happy to stick your neck out on the line. on to formula 1 and it looks like max verstappen is heading towards a second consecutive world championship following his victory at the belgian grand prix yesterday. red bull's verstappen led before the halfway point and stayed

there to claim his ninth win in 1a races as he heads into his home race in zandvoort this coming weekend. meanwhile, things have gone from bad to worse for mercedes and lewis hamilton. he crashed out of a race for the first time this year. it prompted some harsh comments from former mclaren teammate fernando alonso who called him an "idiot" who "only knows how to drive when starting first". after the incident, hamilton took responsibility for the crash. got up alongside him, a little bit ahead of him. i thought that i left enough room and i didn't. and... and i paid the price for it. so it's my... it's my fault and... i'm just really sorry to my team, really. the us open begins today and is set to be a farewell to 23—time grand slam champion serena williams. williams announced last month she is "evolving away" from the sport. she'll face montenegro's danka kovinic in the first round late tonight, but is also teaming up with sister venus in the doubles.

the tributes are already coming in. i honestly think that she is the biggest force in the sport. and that's not intentionally trying to make federer and nadal smaller, i just think she is the biggest thing that will ever be in the sport, and it's just really an honourjust that will ever be in the sport, and it's just really an honour just to watch her play. that's all the sport for now. let's go back to our top story and those devastating floods in pakistan. it's estimated that 15% of the country is now affected by it, 33 million people, and the foreign minister has said that the word flooding does not seem to encapsulate the devastation and disaster. joining us now from lahore

is shahid iqba, secretary general of of the alkhidmat foundation which is providing flood relief in the region. thank you forjoining us. tell us what you are able to do right now? thank you very much for asking me to say a few words on this latest catastrophe. as you know, the flood situation is getting worse, due to inaccessibility of some areas of by lukeis inaccessibility of some areas of by luke is down, and some areas of sindh. so that is now a major hurdle, although the government agencies and others are striving hard to get in touch with people and to rescue them. —— baluchistan. the situation is that there is inundation of many roads and bridges, thousands of kilometres of roads are washed away, hundreds of bridges are no more no. so, that's why the rescue and relief operation is a little bit tough. like our

foundation, our volunteers are in the field and we are working hard to reach the population, to help them out or to help them to get some relief. it out or to help them to get some relief. , , ., ~ relief. it must be gruelling work t in: to relief. it must be gruelling work trying to provide _ relief. it must be gruelling work trying to provide port _ relief. it must be gruelling work trying to provide port to - relief. it must be gruelling work trying to provide port to people| relief. it must be gruelling work. trying to provide port to people in such desperate circumstances and not being able to deliver as much as you would want to be able to? yes. being able to deliver as much as you would want to be able to?— would want to be able to? yes, the situation is — would want to be able to? yes, the situation is that _ would want to be able to? yes, the situation is that if _ would want to be able to? yes, the situation is that if someone - would want to be able to? yes, the situation is that if someone hasn'tl situation is that if someone hasn't got food in the last seven or eight days, you can better understand and feel what they are feeling, and what their situation will be. so, all of us are trying their best, and we hope that the international community will also come forward to help relieve this situation. there is a dire need of, you can say, specialised rescue operations to make contact with the people, so, the situation on the ground is quite

tough and you were rightly saying that it tough and you were rightly saying thatitis tough and you were rightly saying that it is quite gruesome. find that it is quite gruesome. and obviously _ that it is quite gruesome. and obviously it — that it is quite gruesome. and obviously it is _ that it is quite gruesome. and obviously it is every _ that it is quite gruesome. and obviously it is every aspect, it is the search and rescue, it is providing shelter, it is providing food and water and it's also looking to where their next issues might arise, for instance, waterborne diseases?— arise, for instance, waterborne diseases? , ~ ., diseases? yes, like, it has already been reported _ diseases? yes, like, it has already been reported from _ diseases? yes, like, it has already been reported from sindh - diseases? yes, like, it has already been reported from sindh and - been reported from sindh and balochistan that there are waterborne diseases, especially among women and children. in our foundation, there, medical camps in those areas, and one more thing is that in the northern areas, there is also a pressure building in the rural river kabul, and the river swat, and we are having a close eye

on that as well so, that is also a developing situation, and we are keeping an eye on that as well. thank you very much forjoining us and talking to us about their vital work that you're doing, abdus shakoor, thank you. the head of the institute for fiscal studies has criticised as "simplistic" and "worrying" some of the tax—cutting policies being put forward by the conservative leadership candidate, liz truss. pauljohnson says neither ms truss nor her rival, rishi sunak, have proposed adequate solutions for dealing with rising energy bills. let's get more on this with our political correspondent david wallace lockhart. scrutiny from a very important source, so tell us more about it? that's right. liz truss is a saying that no options are on the table when it comes to dealing with the current situation, but we know her big policy is on tax cuts, she is

going to reverse a recent rise in national insurance if she becomes prime minister, she wants to cancel a planned increase in corporation tax and we are hearing from her team that she is even thinking of the idea of cutting vat across the board. we have heard today from the ifs, the respected economic think—tank, their director paul johnson has spoken to the times and he says it is a simplistic mantra to think that tax cuts automatically produce economic growth and he talks about it being a time of big deficit and high inflation and says there those policies are quite worrying. and in a separate piece he has written for the times, he says that neither liz truss nor rishi sunak are coming up with adequate solutions for rising energy gusts. rishi sunak of course wants to cut vat on energy bills and he has promised more targeted support for the most vulnerable but no figures on exactly what he will be offering yet. pauljohnson goes on to say energy gusts will be a problem for those on modest incomes and he says that whoever becomes prime minister will realise that there are hard

choices that need to be made, and sometimes they can involve raising taxes. we know that is something liz truss, who appears to be the front—runner, is not planning to do, she believes you avoid recession by cutting taxes and growing the economy. we have also heard this morning from the former chancellor alistair darling who was in the treasury in the 2008 crash, and he says what you need to do for a crisis like this is first of all to act quickly, and secondly to do more than people expect you to do, in order to get confidence back in the economy. 0ne order to get confidence back in the economy. one week today, we will have a new prime minister, they may not agree with alistair darling on much, but we will see if they that advice when they are in no 10. {line advice when they are in no 10. one week to wait- _ advice when they are in no 10. one week to wait. it _ advice when they are in no 10. one week to wait. it has been a long time coming. it's the final day of the notting hill carnival, europe's largest. it's always a huge party but this year's event has been extra special as it's the first since the pandemic. let's speak now with our reporter at notting hill, celestina 0lulode.

hello and welcome to the second day of the notting hill carnival. the warm—up was yesterday, now it's time for the adults party. this is a europe's biggest street party, and it is back, and i am going to introduce you to one of the stewards taking part, looking after things. tell me what you will be doing today, elle? tell me what you will be doing today. elle?— tell me what you will be doing toda , elle? ., , today, elle? today we will be coming toaether today, elle? today we will be coming to . ether to today, elle? today we will be coming together to keep _ today, elle? today we will be coming together to keep the _ today, elle? today we will be coming together to keep the community - today, elle? today we will be coming | together to keep the community safe, providing _ together to keep the community safe, providing water, providing safe places — providing water, providing safe places for people to go to and enjoy themselves and have a jolly time at themselves and have a jolly time at the carnival. we are here to ensure that people — the carnival. we are here to ensure that people know what points of access _ that people know what points of access to — that people know what points of access to come to if they feel vulnerable, we want them to know that if— vulnerable, we want them to know that if they — vulnerable, we want them to know that if they don't feel safe they can always come to us and have a chat with — can always come to us and have a chat with us — can always come to us and have a chat with us and have a merry time. and what— chat with us and have a merry time. and what does the carnival mean to you? to and what does the carnival mean to ou? ., . ., ., and what does the carnival mean to ou? ., .. ., , and what does the carnival mean to ou? ., ., , ., you? to me, the carnival is an opportunity — you? to me, the carnival is an opportunity for— you? to me, the carnival is an opportunity for everybody - you? to me, the carnival is an| opportunity for everybody from different islands, all the islands, to get— different islands, all the islands, to get together, to celebrate the differences, the struggles, the piece. — differences, the struggles, the piece, and all of that, all the

richness _ piece, and all of that, all the richness of all of those different islands, — richness of all of those different islands, that is what we are here to do today _ islands, that is what we are here to do today. and that's why it's really important — do today. and that's why it's really important for me as member of the jamaican _ important for me as member of the jamaican and brixton community, to represent! _ jamaican and brixton community, to represent! can jamaican and brixton community, to reresent! ., jamaican and brixton community, to reresent! . ., , ., jamaican and brixton community, to reresent! . ., ., represent! can get a shout out, then? whistle blows. they shout. there you have it, carnival is back! there you go. carnival is back! there you go. carnival is back! it is coming right through the screen, thank you very much, celestina 0lulode, and everybody else, enjoy the carnival. a statue of the late comedian bobby ball has been unveiled in the lancashire town of lytham st annes.

he died in 2020 at the age of 76 after contracting coronavirus. his comedy partner and friend tommy cannon was at the unveiling of the statue, which shows bobby doing his trademark move, twanging one of his braces. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. over the next couple of days, high pressure remains in charge of our weather, so things stay fairly settled. but by the end of the week, things turn more unsettled as low pressure moves in. today, we've got variable amounts of cloud, thick enough for some showers, the occasional sharp one possibly with a rumble of thunder across the highlands. 0ut towards the west we've got the best of the sunshine, especially the south—west, and this is where we will see the highest temperatures. along the north sea coastline and the english channel coastline for the next few days, there will be a brisk wind which will peg back the temperatures. tonight, still a fair bit of cloud across northern and some eastern areas, still producing some showers, travelling south across scotland, and these are the overnight lows, between 9—13, but it could be lower than that in some sheltered areas. tomorrow we start off with cloud across scotland and eastern england. some showers will push inland, so, once again it is the west that is best in terms of sunshine.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines... a catastrophe on a scale never seen before — pakistan's foreign minister assesses the flooding that's swept across his country. the flooding doesn't quite seem to encapsulate the ongoing devastation and disaster that we are still witnessing. mission to the moon — america prepares to test—launch a rocket, heralding a new era of space exploration. the head of the institute for fiscal studies labels some of liz truss's tax cutting policies as "worrying" and inadequade for dealing with rising energy costs. now on bbc news weather world.