nasa is hoping to launch the first mission of its artemis project which will ultimately send astronauts back to the moon. the giant uncrewed rocket will spend six weeks flying around the moon and back. and i am at the kennedy space centre, where we are waiting to hear of the team can resolve multiple technical problems and launch. in our other news this lunchtime... floods in pakistan... the country's foreign minister describes it as a "catastrophe" on a scale he has never seen before. new research shows that there are farfewer shops closing on high streets and town centres across the uk. and hundreds of thousands of revellers are expected at the notting hill carnival in london.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. nasa is hoping to launch its most powerful rocket yet in a launch window which begins in just over half an hour for an un—crewed mission, the first step in taking astronauts back to the moon. hundreds of thousands of people have gathered near cape canaveral in florida to watch the launch of artemis i. the craft will orbit the moon before returning to earth in six weeks�* time. if successful, the plan is for astronauts to be on board the flight in two years�* time. our science editor rebecca morelle is at kennedy space center in florida. rebecca, however things looking for this launch? ~

rebecca, however things looking for this launch?— this launch? well, it is a big day here and as _ this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you _ this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can _ this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see - this launch? well, it is a big day here and as you can see behindl this launch? well, it is a big day - here and as you can see behind me, the weather is looking pretty perfect, but the team has been beset by technical problems. and we are waiting to find out if, when or if, they are going to go ahead with the launch. currently we are filling that liquid oxygen tank. final preparations early this morning. standing on launch pad 39 b, the same one used by the apollo missions, the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built is getting ready for liftoff. the first step in returning humans to the moon for 50 years. we talk about moon shots as things 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 and so this is our generation. like, we get to say we did it. if we do this successfully on monday, we have sent something like that, a human radio spacecraft to the moon. for its maiden launch the rocket will push a capsule called orion 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 a lot 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 isjust 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 off early to bag the best spot. hundreds of thousands are expected in the area. i'm really excited because it is, 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. been watching this stuff ever. since the space landing of '69. all eyes will be on this rocket to see if it really can get off the ground today. yes, well, that is the issue, and overnight, the team has been dealing with multiple technical problems. first of all, the weather, there was lightning in the area, that delayed fuelling. then a hydrogen leak wasn't spotted. after that, just a few hours ago, we heard about a possible crack in one of the connectors. that doesn't seem to be a problem now. but one of the four huge engines at the bottom of the rocket is facing problems. so, the countdown clock has been paused, it is on t minus a0 minutes at the moment, while the team see to see if they can resolve this problem, and

we are waiting to see if the launch will go ahead this morning. it certainly won't make the beginning of its launch window, which is 1.3 3p, but it has got two hours to go up. so we are trying to find out from the team whether they can overcome the problems, and whether we will see this huge rocket flying today. but i have to say it is probably not looking good at the moment. rebecca, we will have to keep waiting and hoping, thank you very much, and if it does go ahead, live coverage begins on the news channel straight after this programme, and you can follow the story on the bbc website. pakistan's climate change minister has said a third of the country is under water right now, calling the flooding a "crisis of unimaginable proportions". the disaster has killed more than 1,000 people and affected 33 million. international help has begun to arrive, but water is still surging down the indus river and will flood the low—lying sindh province even more over the next few days. azsadeh 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. 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. "flooding" doesn't quite seem to encapsulate the ongoing devastation and disaster that we're still witnessing. this is what rajanpur, in pakistan's punjab province, looked like before the flooding. its homes and fields were clearly visible. this is the situation now, overrun 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 1% 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. united nations nuclear inspectors are on their way

to the russian—occupied zaporizhzhia power plant in southern ukraine. members of the iaea group will monitor the security and safety of the plant. kyiv and moscow have repeatedly traded accusations of shelling at the plant, and its operator has warned of the risks of a radioactive leak. the institute for fiscal studies think—tank has labelled some of the economic proposals of conservative leadership front—runner liz truss as "simplistic" and "worrying". her campaign team say she will "boost growth rates in the long term". let's talk now with our political correspondent david lockhart wallace. and pressure seems to be growing on liz truss to say more on the energy and cost of living crisis? there is. liz truss says nothing is off the table in terms of helping people, we know that she believes the best tool is tax cuts so she is promising to reverse a recent rise in national insurance, she wants to scrap a planned rise in corporation tax. it is also understood that in

her team there are discussions about cutting vat and potential changes to income tax. pauljohnson, the director of the institute for fiscal studies for click respected economic think—tank, has been speaking to the times newspaper and he has warned this could not all be done without in his words completely crushing the public finances. he added it is simplistic to say that cutting taxes leads to economic growth and he says that all of these policies are quite worrying at a time of high inflation and big deficits. liz truss's campaign has responded, a spokesperson saying her policies will tackle the economic orthodoxy, they say they will boost growth rates in the long term. paul johnson's criticism is notjust for liz truss. when it comes to rishi sunak, the other contender, he says both candidates don't have adequate plans to deal with the current economic situation. we will have a new prime minister one week today, i'm not sure if the two candidates have been listening to the former labour chancellor alistair darling, who was chancellor during the 2008 economic crash, who has been on the

radio this morning, says the two candidates have been coming up with small measures he says they need to act quickly and they need to go further than anyone expects you to do, in order to shore up confidence in the economy. we don't have a full plans from either candidate yet. 0ne plans from either candidate yet. one of them will be going into downing street one week today, and when they do, there will be pressure to spell exact out exactly what they mean to do. new figures show that chain store closures have dropped by 30% in the first six months of this year compared with the previous 12 months. but there are fears the cost—of—living crisis could send this recovery into reverse. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. here is a high street that's seeing more openings than closures. from a new pizza chain, a furniture shop, and around the corner, cozy club has just arrived. a once empty unit getting a new lease of life. we believe we can open up pretty much on every high street across the uk. this business is motoring,

and now able to nab the best spots. we're moving from 25 new site openings a year to 30 new site openings a year, and one reason we're able to do that is because of the property market and because it has become more tenant—friendly and we are finding better opportunities right in the middle of high streets. you're brave? i don't think we're brave, it's all about discipline, ultimately. so, we are in a good position, but i think there are many, many other operators who won't be in such a strong position. in this city, there are still some big gaps to fill. the pandemic tipped many of our high streets into crisis. more than 1,000 clothing shops disappeared in just the first six months of last year alone, as a wave of retailers went under, like this one, or restructured. but there are now some signs of improvement. new figures show that in the first half of this year, 6,1a6 chain stores shut, including everything from retail to restaurants and gyms.

that's 30% down on a year ago, and the lowest number of closures for seven years. 0penings, though, are still sluggish, atjust under a,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, the 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 tides ahead? but storm clouds ahead? well, inflation is going to affect what we have to spend. it is going to affect costs of 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. wildfires, heatwaves and droughts have hit much of europe this summer, with scientists saying it's on track to become the continent's driest

season in 500 years. spain has been particularly affected, with the impact of climate change driving up food prices. 0ur southern europe correspondent mark lowen reports from andalucia. a harvest not reaped but wrecked. the flowers that worship the sun need the blessing of rain as well, but it's nowhere. sunflowers that many here planted to make up for those for those lost in ukraine, wiped out by spain's worst drought on record. farmers are unsure if they can go on. translation: if it doesn't rain by the end of the year, - it makes no sense to plant more. that would be like throwing money at the land for no harvest and there is no rain forecast for now. spain's rich farmland is being impoverished.

supplying half of all olive oil, the world's biggest producer has trees almost bare. parched soil giving little fruit, the yield is down by at least a third. the country's green gold, as it is called, is now even more prized. in this factory that exports to the uk, production is dropping by half, pushing up prices amidst a global food crisis. as the flow becomes a trickle, they worry here that this vital sector is in danger. translation: shoppers| are already paying a third higher than last year, but the drought will increase that even more. with the downturn we may have to lay off some workers. another year like this would be a complete catastrophe. now, spain is turning to its shores to help, expanding plants that desalinise sea water to ease the shortage. this one, which purifies enough for a small city,

will increase its supply by a third in the next four years. the main problem here is clearly the drought, but there is another issue as well. half of the water coming out of this plant goes towards irrigating the fruit and vegetables growing in these kinds of greenhouses, spain producing the most in the eu, but perhaps with our climate heating this country can just no longer afford to be the garden of europe. it is a picture repeated nationally as some scientists say water management needs a radical rethink. we have increasing water demands mainly because the expansion of irrigated land during the last decades in spain and actually irrigating the lands consume around 85% of total available water resources in spain. so we need a water transition in spain to adapt to climate change.

with parts of spain the driest in 1200 years, this dystopian vision of a once bountiful land is a glimpse into ourfuture. mark lohan, bbc news, andalusia. up to two million revellers are expected tojoin in europe's largest carnival in notting hill in london this bank holiday weekend. it's the first time the event is taking place following the pandemic, as celestina olulode has been finding out. well, we are giving you a front seat of the action. look at this behind me, people are coming along one of the main routes of the carnival. they are dressed in their bright, colourful costumes. you can see that many of these costumes take a while to make and they cost quite a bit too. what is happening is they are marching further down to the stage where they will be judged on their costumes. and then further down in other

streets there are big sound systems, a big staple of the carnival, and lots of caribbean food on sale as well. time for a look at the weather, here's matt taylor. vibrant colours at notting hill, bank holiday blues in abundance through parts of south wales, south—west england this lunchtime. we've got the clearest of the skies here for the rest of monday, and the highest temperatures. there is quite a bit of cloud elsewhere, particularly in the midlands, up towards scotland, with a few showers, but many spots staying dry. quite a keen breeze across southern areas. the onshore breeze further north means temperatures will be lower. this evening and overnight, a lot of the cloud will dissipate, there will still be cloud in parts

of scotland and one or two showers continuing, with a few showers developing towards the south later on. a fresh night, rural areas down into single figures. as for tomorrow, cloudy start for scotland, one or two showers. still with that breeze. robert leota it more sunshine around tomorrow, especially for northern ireland, western england and wales. the highest temperatures once again will be down in the south—west. in the middle part of the week, we have a drier weather and a bit more sunshine. temperatures across scotland and northern ireland starting to pick up, but if you are after some rain, it will be towards the end of the week and at the weekend. a reminder of our top story. engineers are racing to fix last—minute issues with artemis,

nasa's most powerful rocket hoping to launch later today. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are. you're watching the bbc news with joanna gosling. let's get more now on those devastating floods in pakistan. as we've been hearing one of the worst affected areas is sindh province. our pakistan correspondent pumza fihlani has been to a community living

in a make—shift 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. uk 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