today at one... preparations are being made for the funeral of mikhail gorbachev, the last leader of the soviet union, who has died at the age of 91. he helped bring down the iron curtain, ending the cold war. it's a legacy lauded in the west. but for some of his own countrymen and women he is now viewed as the architect of russian decline. translation: it seemed - he could change the soviet union for the better, but it turned out he was the person who broke it up. he did a lot of damage, and we are the ones facing the consequences. we'll be assessing the life of one the most important figures of the 20th century. also this lunchtime... in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it will take place at balmoral.

royal mail apologises to customers as a one—day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. powering over a million homes. the world's largest offshore wind farm goes into operation near the yorkshire coast. and big disappointment for emma raducanu as the defending champion is beaten in the first round of the us open. and coming up on the bbc news channel... with one day to go until the transfer window deadline, five teams are playing in the premier league tonight, with liverpool and manchester city both in action. good afternoon. mikhail gorbachev was one of the most consequential leaders of the 20th century, and now preparations are being made for his funeral.

the last leader of the soviet union died yesterday at the age of 91. but thoughts on his death vary wildly. many russians including vladimir putin blame him for what they believe was russia's loss of prestige and respect after the fall of the iron curtain. yet in the west, he's lauded for ending the repression of communist rule. president biden says he was a "man of remarkable vision" who created a safer world. and borisjohnson says his courage and integrity remain an example to all at a time of russian aggression in ukraine. with his assessment of a remarkabale life, here's our russia editor, steve rosenberg. the world had never seen anyone quite like mikhail gorbachev, a soviet leader who actually smiled. and who achieved almost pop star status in the west for ending the cold war. before he came along,

soviet leaders didn't tend to stick around long. with kremlin old—timers coming and going in quick succession, the usr was looking more like asymmetry than a superpower. but in 1985, the youthful gorbachev took charge and tried to reinvigorate the soviet union with perestroika. there were western—style walkabouts at home. abroad, he charmed an iron lady and a us president. together, gorbachev and reagan slashed their nuclear arsenals. with a reformer in the kremlin, eastern europe saw a chance to break free from moscow. in kremlin, eastern europe saw a chance to breakfree from moscow. in 1989, the berlin wall came crashing down. crucially, gorbachev refused to intervene to prop up the iron curtain.

it was mikhail gorbachev became the terminator of the 20th century, who ended the cold war, who ended domination of the soviet union over the central and eastern europe. he dismantled this domination in the most willing and peaceful way, he let them go. most willing and peaceful way, he let them 90-— let them go. back home, though, there were _ let them go. back home, though, there were ethnic _ let them go. back home, though, there were ethnic conflicts, - there were ethnic conflicts, economic chaos, even an attempted coup by communist hardliners. it collapsed, but soon after, so did the soviet union. many russians still blame gorbachev for letting a superpower slip away.

this person thinks that is unfair, he was deputy foreign minister under mikhail gorbachev. translation: mikhail gorbachev. tuna/mom- mikhail gorbachev. translation: ., , ., ., translation: he was a great reformer. — translation: he was a great reformer. he _ translation: he was a great reformer, he used _ translation: he was a great reformer, he used peaceful. translation: he was a great - reformer, he used peaceful means, gorbachev showed that you can live a good life in this world, a peaceful life, without wars. fin good life in this world, a peaceful life, without wars.— life, without wars. on the streets of moscow. _ life, without wars. on the streets of moscow, opinion _ life, without wars. on the streets of moscow, opinion was - life, without wars. on the streets of moscow, opinion was divided. | of moscow, opinion was divided. translation: it of moscow, opinion was divided. translation:— of moscow, opinion was divided. translation: it was a big mistake that the ussr _ translation: it was a big mistake that the ussr fell _ translation: it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart, _ translation: it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart, and - translation: it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart, and that l that the ussr fell apart, and that gorbachev failed to save it. | gorbachev failed to save it. i respected him, says this lady, to me, he represented hope and freedom, i am grateful to him. as for gorbachev�*s legacy, much of that has been destroyed. the arms race and geopolitical tension are back. gorbachev will be remembered for at least having tried to end the rivalry between east and west. but i will remember him for this. after

one interview, he had invited me to play his piano while he sang the favourite songs of his late wife. it was a surreal but special moment that showed the warm, human side of the russian leader who had struck a chord with millions around the world. the former soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev, who's died at the age of 91. steve, that was a lovely moment at the end of your piece there, but i just wonder how lovely the russian people are feeling at the moment, in terms of their attitude towards mikhail gorbachev?- terms of their attitude towards mikhail gorbachev? ,. , ., mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction- let — mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. let me _ mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. let me tell— mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. let me tell you _ mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. let me tell you what - mikhail gorbachev? gambling a mixed reaction. let me tell you what the - reaction. let me tell you what the kremlin is thinking. today president putin sent a telegram to mikhail gorbachev�*s family expressing his condolences and noticing that gorbachev had a huge impact on world history, and later, president

putin's spokesman suggested that what he called gorbachev�*s romanticism about the idea of a rapprochement with the west had been misplaced, and certainly put in�*s russia has no romanticism about that, particularly after russia's invasion of ukraine. putin and gorbachev, very different characters, very different leaders, gorbachev, someone who try to open up gorbachev, someone who try to open up the country, to give his people more freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to criticise the government, while under vladimir putin, critical voices have been silenced, opposition people have beenjailed, democratic institutions have been suppressed. but don't get me wrong, gorbachev was no angel, he had failings, he had faults and flaws, he didn't set out to destroy communism or to destroy the soviet union, thatjust happened. but i think he was sincere about wanting to make his country better, make the lives of his people better, and make the world a safer place.—

the world a safer place. steve rosenberg. — the world a safer place. steve rosenberg, our _ the world a safer place. steve rosenberg, our russia - the world a safer place. steve| rosenberg, our russia editor, the world a safer place. steve - rosenberg, our russia editor, many thanks for that. our world affairs editor, john simpson, is here. steve talks about mikhail gorbachev having failings and flaws but a man who was genuine and sincere in wanting to improve the conditions of millions of people for whom he was responsible. you interviewed him on several occasions, i wonder what your impressions are of his legacy now? ~ ~ , ., ~ your impressions are of his legacy now? ~ a , now? well, i think the mistake comes from president _ now? well, i think the mistake comes from president biden, _ now? well, i think the mistake comes from president biden, to _ now? well, i think the mistake comes from president biden, to say - now? well, i think the mistake comes from president biden, to say he - from president biden, to say he was a man of great vision. i don't think, for all his lovely qualities as a person and his high intelligence, in many, many ways, i don't think he was a man of good vision, i think he stumbled into this, one thing after another. once, when i saw him, he told me how his grandfather had told him stories about being tortured by the equivalent of the kgb under stalin.

and i think that does seem to have had quite a big effect on him, he was determined to stop all that kind of stuff. he knew what he didn't like, he didn't like the monolithic structure of a soviet union which stop people doing what they wanted, and enslaved people right across the continent. i don't think he knew really what he was doing in stopping it, hejust really what he was doing in stopping it, he just started to pull the bricks out one by one, and not very long afterwards, it all collapsed. an accidental, perhaps, consequential leader. don simson, our world affairs editor. russia has interrupted gas supplies to europe via a major pipeline saying repairs are needed. the state—owned energy firm gazprom says the restrictions on the nord stream 1 pipeline, will last for three days. russia rejects accusations it's trying to force up the price of gas by restricting supplies, as a way of punishing western

nations for sanctions imposed over the invasion of ukraine. a team of inspectors from the united nations nuclear watchdog has arrived in the ukrainian city of zaporizhzhia in the south—east to inspect a russian—occupied nuclear power plant. moscow and kyiv have blamed each other for recent shelling in the area which forced the facility to shut down for the first time ever earlier this month. the eu is giving more than five million anti—radiation tablets to ukraine as fears grow of possible nuclear accident. our correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. first of all, the inspectors are on their way, first of all, the inspectors are on theirway, hugo, they first of all, the inspectors are on their way, hugo, they may even have arrived by now, one wonders how much access they are going to have given that it access they are going to have given thatitis access they are going to have given that it is the russians who control this plant? that it is the russians who control this lant? ., �* , this plant? clive, we haven't been civen this plant? clive, we haven't been given details— this plant? clive, we haven't been given details about _ this plant? clive, we haven't been given details about what - this plant? clive, we haven't been given details about what is - this plant? clive, we haven't been given details about what is being l given details about what is being planned, and perhaps that shows how difficult this mission is going to be. the inspectors are now in the

city of zaporizhzhia which is located two hours from the plant, but it is still not clear when the inspections will start. there is also some confusion about how long the monitors will be allowed to stay at the plant, and we still don't know how they will get there but rafael grossi, the head of the international atomic energy agency, said security guarantees had been given for this trip to go ahead. the plant is in russian—controlled territory, where fighting has been intense, and where russia and ukraine have repeatedly traded accusations about shelling in the area. elsewhere in the south, ukraine says russian forces have sustained significant losses in the area of kherson as the ukrainian military goes ahead with an offensive in occupied territories. the military here says more than 100 russian soldiers have been killed. it is hard to verify those claims.

russia has dismissed reports of any ukrainian gains in the area, so, for now, claims and counterclaims are to continue. ., p. ., continue. hugo bachega, live in k iv, continue. hugo bachega, live in kyiv. thank— continue. hugo bachega, live in kyiv, thank you. _ buckingham palace says the queen won't be appointing the next prime minister in london but will instead stay in balmoral for the event. there is less than a week to go until we find out whether it will be the foreign secretary liz truss or the former chancellor rishi sunak who will be moving into number 10. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell is here. so, why the break with tradition? clive, constitutionally, it is the monarch who invites the leader of the largest party in the house of commons to become prime minister. now, on every previous occasion throughout the 70 years of the queen's reign, that has taken place at buckingham palace, but not this time. this time it will take place at balmoral, where the queen is spending her summer break. why? well, of course, it is all to do with the queen's help. buckingham

palace says very little on that subject, they recite the episodic mobility issues, that phrase that we have become rather familiar mobility issues, that phrase that we have become ratherfamiliar with, have become rather familiar with, they have become ratherfamiliar with, they want certainty in terms of the diary of the prime minister, they want certainty in terms of the arrangements, so, next tuesday, the 6th of september, the outgoing prime minister, borisjohnson, will go up to balmoral and he will tender his resignation, whereupon, shortly after that, either liz truss or rishi sunak, who by then will have been elected leader of the conservative party, the largest party in the house of commons, they will sweep in and they will be invited by the queen to form a new government. they will become the 15th prime minister of the queen's reign, they will then return to london and normal arrangements, i'm sure, on the steps of downing street, will take place. hick street, will take place. nick witchell. — street, will take place. nick witchell, many _ street, will take place. nick witchell, many thanks. - as the conservative party leadership race nears a conclusion, the final hustings takes

place this evening. our political correspondent leila nathoo is at westminster. this is the last of the hustings, there have been 12 in total, the voters have had a good look at the candidates, the suggestion is in some quarters that this race is over, but it isn't, is it? in theory. — over, but it isn't, is it? in theory, there is still all to play for, there is a 5pm deadline on friday for conservative members to vote, but it is robbie farah to assume a decent chunk of members members have already voted, the conventional wisdom is that liz truss is in front and on course to win, but rishi sunak supporters will say it is a lot closer than the polls have been suggesting. but i think we are in a strange position of having the two candidates still in campaigning mode, trying to pitch and persuade, rishi sunak stressing that he would tackle inflation as a priority, liz truss wanting to talk about tax cuts that she would bring in, what she would do for london, which is where the final hustings are tonight. but also both of the candidates will be aware that for one of them, tonight is in effect

their swansong, while for the other, they are less than a week away from being handed the keys to downing street, immediately having to assemble a cabinet and get to grips with the spiralling cost of living, a problem which has been massively growing in urgency during the course of this leadership contest. i think it is unlikely that we are going to get any big revelations from either candidate on that front tonight, both have been reluctant to get into detail. but tonight is the final yes! forthem detail. but tonight is the final yes! for them to try to convince tory party members that they are the ones who should be in charge. we will find out on monday who has done enough. will find out on monday who has done enou:h. ., will find out on monday who has done enou:h. . ., ., ., ., will find out on monday who has done enou:h. . ., ., . , , enough. leila nathoo at westminster, thank ou. more than 115,000 royal mail workers are taking part in a second day of industrial action in less than a week. it's the biggest strike of the summer, and more walkouts are planned. our business correspondent caroline davies has the very latest. picket lines and pressure. this summer has seen strikes from rail to

tampon collections with more planned. royal mail workers have walked out over a dispute on pay. to walked out over a dispute on pay. trr pay more we have been clear that royal mail needs to modernise and change and for the first months of negotiations the position has been very unhelpful in that we want an inflationary pay rise and they're not willing to talk about change. the union says that is not true. we are union that never faces away from change _ are union that never faces away from change and _ are union that never faces away from change and we have agreed every bit of technology and automation and we had an_ of technology and automation and we had an agreement 18 months ago setting _ had an agreement 18 months ago setting out the future direction of the company and the company walked away from _ the company and the company walked away from that. the}r the company and the company walked away from that-— away from that. they were not the onl ones away from that. they were not the only ones on _ away from that. they were not the only ones on strike _ away from that. they were not the only ones on strike today. - away from that. they were not the | only ones on strike today. 40,000 away from that. they were not the . only ones on strike today. 40,000 bt workers walked out for the second day in a row after rejecting the bt

pay offer of £1500. many are especially angry with the offer is not higher while the company is paying shareholders dividends. it is immoral at paying shareholders dividends. it 3 immoral at this time what they're trying to do. if they had just taken a penny off each dividend payment we would all have got a pay rise. ibt would all have got a pay rise. bt sa s would all have got a pay rise. bt says the payoff is the highest for those on the front line in years and their demands must balance the demands of shareholders and the company. but the environment is a worry for members. the strikes have notjust been about pay but that has often been a key factor with unions saying the office on the table did not reflect the rising cost of living. companies are pushing back on pay demands with many arguing why they do want to offer pay increases they do want to offer pay increases the pandemic means that needs to come with changes that many unions say are not acceptable. this summer may be fading but the threat of

strikes is not. caroline davies, bbc news. our top story this lunchtime... mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, has died in moscow at the age of 91. and still to come... fishing crews take legal action, after thousands of dead shellfish washed up along a stretch of coastline. coming up on the bbc news channel. emma raducanu's us open title defence falls at the first hurdle after she is beaten 6—3, 6—3 by france's alize cornet. the world's largest operating offshore wind farm becomes fully operational today. hornsea two is located 55 miles off the yorkshire coast and when the wind blows it will generate enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes. our environment correspondentjonah fisher reports from grimsby. in the midst of an energy crisis, there's at last some positive news.

55 miles off the yorkshire coast, the world's largest offshore wind farm is now on stream, covering an area more than four times the size of manchester. hornsea two consists of 165 monster turbines, each more than twice the height of big ben. this is fantastic news for the british consumer, for everybody in the uk. a single turn of these enormous turbines will produce enough power to power a home for a day or to drive an electric car for something like 75 miles. we'll see what it's like in the morning... this is the control centre where the output from each of the individual wind turbines can be monitored in real time. the bigger these wind farms get, and they are huge, the cheaper the power that they produce becomes. and in the long term, that's good news for all of us and our electricity bills. but big offshore wind projects like this take time.

and with energy prices soaring, some argue we should be looking at quicker options on land. onshore wind actually can be produced and start generating within a year. we're not doing that at the moment because the planning process allows for a single person to object to an onshore wind farm and that closes the whole thing down. so we really need government to take action and put our country's energy needs first. the renewables boom has also meant newjobs for grimsby, a port town brought to its knees by the collapse of the fishing industry. probably never been more important to get these really wind farms up. bridey is helping her dad patrick pack smoked fish, but she's turned her back on the family business and will work as a technician on the new wind farm. today we're just doing service and routine maintenance, topping up grease and just checking

it's all running perfectly. for patrick the wind farms have brought notjust a job for his daughter, but new hope. green energy is vital for the planet. for the country, and it's no less vital for grimsby. hornsea two won't be a world beater for long. even bigger wind farms with even larger turbines are already being built nearby. these wind farms are part of the government strategy to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. the targets are ambitious and the amount of offshore wind we produce will have to more than quadruple by 2030 and we will need to have even more if the targets to decarbonise the energy generation in this country completely is to be reached by 2035. if we are to get to

that point than the link between gas prices and electricity bills will be broken so at the moment the advantage is that offshore wind is the cheapest form of power available and the more and more wind farms we have on stream less vulnerable we are to global variations in the very high price of gas. jonah fisher, thank you. a bbc investigation has found that shamima begum, who left london to join the islamic state group when she was 15, was smuggled into syria by an intelligence agent working for canada. she travelled via turkey with two other british girls. she's now challenging the removal of her british citizenship, and expected to argue that she was a victim of trafficking. josh baker is the journalist who interviewed her in syria for the bbc podcast �*i'm not a monster�* and he's here with me now...

what did you find out? so the man is called mohammed rashid and he facilitated herjourney to syria through turkey. within a dossier compiled on him we can see he was part of the substantial islamic state people smuggling network moving people to syria. also in that document we can see while he was doing this he was gathering information about the people that he was helping sell copies of passports, any details he could get. he told authorities he was passing the information to canadian intelligence injordan. we've been able to speak to a senior intelligence officer who confirmed to us mohammed rashid was a source for canadian intelligence. 50 to us mohammed rashid was a source for canadian intelligence.— for canadian intelligence. so what is the latest _ for canadian intelligence. so what is the latest now with _ for canadian intelligence. so what is the latest now with shamima i for canadian intelligence. so what - is the latest now with shamima begum herself, she still trying to challenge the loss of citizenship? she is now in detention camp in

north—east syria and is not able to come home as she has no citizenship. so for the time being she is stuck there but later in the year we will have a hearing on the status of her citizenship and whether the government should consider its removal. , w a ~ government should consider its removal. a ., , government should consider its removal. ., , ., fishing crews in the north east of england, have launched a legal campaign against the government, after thousands of dead shellfish washed up on the coast last year. an investigation commissioned by the department for the environment, food and rural affairs, suggested algae was to blame, but new research seen by the bbc, challenges that conclusion. our north of england correspondent fiona trott has the story. expectation. what to lives beneath these waters will make or break fishermen like paul. there's the first pot for absolutely nothing. after a day at sea, they brought back seven lobsters. look at what they used to catch. the north sea die off is costing them £1,000 a day. this is the only environmental

disaster i've ever seen. it's going to be... six, seven, maybe ten years before we get fishing back to normal. here's why. thousands of dead shellfish were washed up on the northeast coastline last october. the fishing community blamed dredging work in the river tees. they believe a chemical called pyrimidine was released into the water. they want the mayoral authority to thoroughly test for it before new dredging work begins for an offshore wind development in september. there's notjust that, and they think that it's agent orange apparently from secret factories in the second world war. we've also been told that it was russian submarines trying to cause problems for the uk government. so i'm sure you're not suggesting that we should be doing testing for those types of completely conspiratorial ideas, because if we do that, we'll never get this development under way and finished. and that's equally as damaging to the local people who in our local

area wantjobs and they want money in their pocket to look after themselves and their family. the department for the environment, food and rural affairs says tests for piridine have already been carried out. it believes that algae was the most likely cause of the die off. but now researchers at newcastle university are challenging that conclusion. the bbc has seen a preliminary report which suggests that piridine is highly toxic to shellfish, even at low levels. and the researchers believe that the initial testing was carried out too late and didn't go deep enough into the sea bed. the full report is due to be published later. well, you've got crab pots and lobster pots. for fishermen likejohn any new evidence will come too late. they're not crab pots anymore. they might as well be plant pots. the drastic drop in shellfish is forcing him to sell his boat. it's really worrying. you just sit there with your head in your hands thinking, am i in the rightjob? but i'm too old now

to find anotherjob. what next for the fourth generation of this hartlepool fishing family? defra says the die off is a complex area of research and it's working with universities and other experts to understand it better. fiona trott, bbc news, teesside. america's justice department says donald trump may have concealed documents during an fbi search of his florida home injune. in a court filing, officials say "efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation". it's alleged agents were "explicitly prohibited" from searching a storage room, at mr trump's mar—a—lago mansion, and other records were likely "concealed and removed." south african actress and model charlbi dean, who starred in award—winning film triangle of sadness and tv series black lightning, has died at the age of 32. she had a breakout role opposite woody harrelson in triangle of sadness, which won the top prize, the palme d'or, at this year's cannes film festival. in black lightning, based

on dc comics characters, she appeared as syonide. the actress's representatives said her death in hospital from a sudden unexpected illness was "devastating". britain's tennis number one, and defending us open champion, emma raducanu, has been knocked out of this year's tournament in the first round. but fellow brits cameron norrie and dan evans are through. our sports news correspondent, laura scott, reports from flushing meadows, in new york. back in the big apple, the scene of her stunning success. but those who mentioned pressure did so at their peril. in the eyes of emma raducanu, this was a chance to start from scratch and gain experience against a player whose part of the furniture at grand slams. this alize cornet�*s 63rd consecutive major.

reflexes were razor sharp. the magic is still there. and just as this flew past raducanuo, so did the first set in the face of relentless french resistance. soon, nothing seemed to be going her way. and she was going out. obviously really disappointing, you know, really sad to to leave here. it's probably my favorite tournament. but also, i mean, in a way, happy because it's a clean slate. tumbling out of the tournament, raducanu will also tumble down the rankings from 11th in the world to around 80th. disappointing for her, but elsewhere it has been a positive start for the brits. there was no actual breeze when cameron norrie took to the court, but he at least enjoyed a metaphorical one. the in—form seventh seed faced no contest against the frenchman, benoit paire, and raced to a swifter victory than he'd expected. while don evans also coped well with the conditions, making similarly light work to come

through his opening match in straight sets. with those confident, convincing wins there are five british players through to round two, the joint most since 1981. they'll be flying the flag while the reigning champion flies home. laura scott, bbc news, new york continues for. nasa is hoping to launch its giant new moon rocket this saturday, after aborting lift off earlier this week.. one of four engines on the vehicle wouldn't cool down on monday, but the problem seems to be under control. the uncrewed flight is the first step in the artemis programme, which aims to return humans, to the moon. time for a look at the weather. here's stav daneos. good afternoon. some weathered to talk about particularly for the end of the week. through today and tomorrow we are expecting scenes like this but big changes for later

in the week.