this is bbc news. lam iamjane i amjane hill. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. a bbc investigation has found that shamima begum — who left london at the age of 15 to join the islamic state group — was smuggled into syria by an intelligence agent working for canada. powering more thani million homes — the world's largest offshore wind farm goes into operation near the yorkshire coast.

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. many russians, including vladimir putin, blame mikhail gorbachev for what they believe was russia's loss of prestige and respect after the fall of the iron curtain. but in the west, he's lauded for ending the repression of communist rule — with us president biden calling him a "man of remarkable vision" who created a safer world, and borisjohnson saying that his courage and integrity

remain an example to all at a time of russian aggression in ukraine. with his assessment of a remarkable 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 ussr was looking more like a cemetery than a superpower. but in 1985, the youthful gorbachev took charge and tried to reinvigorate the soviet union with perestroika. at home, there were western—style walkabouts.

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 1989, the berlin wall came crashing down. crucially, gorbachev refused to intervene to prop up the iron curtain. it was mikhail gorbachev who 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. back home, though, 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. anatoly adamishin thinks that is unfair. he was deputy foreign minister under mikhail gorbachev. 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. on the streets of moscow, opinion was divided. "it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart," says victor, "and that

gorbachev failed to save it." "i respected him," says marina. "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.

remembering mikhail gorbachev, who has died at the age of 91. that report was from a russia editor, steve rosenberg, and he spent telling us more about the kremlin�*s reaction specifically to mr gorbachev�*s death. an today present prudence sent a telegram to mikhail gorbachev�*s family expressing his condolences and ., ., ., ., and noting that he had a huge impact on world history _ and noting that he had a huge impact on world history and _ and noting that he had a huge impact on world history and later— and noting that he had a huge impact on world history and later his - on world history and later his spokesman expressed that what he called gorbachev�*s romanticism of the idea of a rapprochement with the worst has been misplaced. certainly, putin has no romanticism about that, with his invasion of ukraine. putin and gorbachev, very different characters and there are different leaders. gorbachev someone who tried to open up the country, give his people more freedoms, freedom of speech and freedom to criticise the government. under speech and freedom to criticise the government. undeeradimir speech and freedom to criticise the government. under vladimir putin, critical voices have been silenced,

opponents of the authorities have been jailed, opponents of the authorities have beenjailed, democratic institutions are being suppressed. but don't get me wrong. robert off was no angel. he had feelings, he had faults and flaws. he didn't set out to destroy communism or the soviet union. that just happened. but i think he was sincere about wanting to make his country better, the lives of his people better and make the world a safer place. people better and make the world a safer lace. ,, people better and make the world a safer place-— safer place. steve rosenberg there with reaction _ safer place. steve rosenberg there with reaction in _ safer place. steve rosenberg there with reaction in moscow. _ safer place. steve rosenberg there with reaction in moscow. and - safer place. steve rosenberg there with reaction in moscow. and just l safer place. steve rosenberg there l with reaction in moscow. and just to tell you that at about 2:15pm i'll be talking to the man who was britain's ambassador to moscow in those key years we're really focused on, the late 1980s and the early 19905, on, the late 1980s and the early 1990s, so i be talking to him a later. meanwhile... 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 the sanctions that were imposed, following 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 of the country, 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 5 million anti—radiation tablets to ukraine, as fears grow of possible nuclear accident. 0ur correspondent, hugo bachega, is in kyiv. this team of inspectors is there. realistically, though, are they going to have much access? jane, we haven't been — going to have much access? jane, we haven't been given _ going to have much access? jane, we haven't been given lots _ going to have much access? jane, we haven't been given lots of _ going to have much access? jane, we haven't been given lots of details - haven't been given lots of details about what is being planned and

perhaps that shows how difficult this mission is going to be. now, the mission is there in the city of zaporizhzhia, which is a two—hour drive from the plant and the visit could happen as soon as tomorrow. that hasn't been officially confirmed. that has been reported by russian media. there has been some confusion about how long this visit is going to go for. we had raphael grassi, the head of the international atomic energy agency, saying that he expected a daylong mission to take place. then there was the local governor of the zaporizhzhia region, appointed by the russians, saying that any visit should last only one or two days. there is some confusion as well about how this team will get to this station, the hunter complex is located in russian —controlled territory, fighting has been happening there, so obviously there is the security element to all of this. and earlier today hidden and

in the last few days there has been a lot of claim and counterclaim from both russia and ukraine about the shelling in the region and the ukrainians yesterday accused the russians of shelling the route to be used by this mission to travel to the zaporizhzhia complex, so lots of questions remain and it seems that it is going to be a very difficult mission for these inspectors. yes. well, we will _ mission for these inspectors. yes. well, we will focus _ mission for these inspectors. yes. well, we will focus on _ mission for these inspectors. yes. well, we will focus on that, - mission for these inspectors. yes. well, we will focus on that, but also focus very much on an area we have been talking about a lot recently, of course, kherson, and reports of very heavy fighting there. what more do you know about that? , ,., ., there. what more do you know about that? , ., , ~ ., ., , that? yes, so that is the ukrainians claimin: that? yes, so that is the ukrainians claiming that— that? yes, so that is the ukrainians claiming that russian _ that? yes, so that is the ukrainians claiming that russian forces - that? yes, so that is the ukrainians claiming that russian forces have i claiming that russian forces have sustained significant losses in the last day. they say that more than 100 russian forces were killed. they say two dozen military vehicles were destroyed. and this is because of

this offensive by the ukrainians in the south of the country in the area of kherson, which is a city that has been under russian occupation since the very beginning of the war, one of the largest ukrainian cities in russian hands. now, it is really hard to independently verify the claims coming from this region and russia has rejected the allegations that the ukrainians are advancing in this area, so it is very likely that for the time being, for the next couple of days the claims and counter claims are going to continue. counter claims are going to continue-— counter claims are going to continue. ., ., ., ,, continue. hugo bachega, thank you ve much continue. hugo bachega, thank you very much for— continue. hugo bachega, thank you very much for now. _ continue. hugo bachega, thank you very much for now. you _ continue. hugo bachega, thank you very much for now. you go - continue. hugo bachega, thank you | very much for now. you go following everything for us there in kyiv, ukraine's capital. we will turn to domestic news now. 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's less than a week to go until we find out whether it'll be the foreign secretary, liz truss, or the former chancellor, rishi sunak,

who'll be moving into number 10. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, explained why the break in tradition. constitutionally it is the moniker invites the leader of the largest party in the house of commons to become the prime minister. in every previous occasion throughout the 70 years of the green's rain, 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? it is all to do with the queen's health. buckingham palace says very little on that subject, they will merely cite the episodic mobility issues, that phrase we have become rather familiar with. mobility issues, that phrase we have become ratherfamiliar with. they become rather familiar with. they want become ratherfamiliar with. they want certainty in terms of the diaries of the prime ministers, 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 i liz truss or rishi sunak, who will then of course have been elected leader of the conservative party, the largest party in the house of commons, they will sweep in and they will be impacted by the queen to form a new government. they will become the 15th prime minister of the queen's rain. they will then return to london and the normal arrangements, i am sure a speech on the steps of number 10 downing street will take place. £311" the steps of number 10 downing street will take place.— street will take place. our royal correspondent, _ street will take place. our royal correspondent, nicholas - street will take place. our royal. correspondent, nicholas witchell, there, talking about events next week. we have great coverage of course on monday when we will find out who the new leader will be and on tuesday the formal handover of power, so more on that next week. 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 walk—outs are planned. our business correspondent, caroline davies, has the very latest. what do you want? decent wage! when

do ou want what do you want? decent wage! when do you want it? — what do you want? decent wage! when do you want it? now! _ picket lines and pressure. this summer has seen strikes from rail to bin collections, and there are more planned. today the halls were nearly empty at sorting offices as 115,000 royal mail workers walked out again overpay. out again over pay. the company say pay rises have to come with changes. to pay more we have been very clear that royal mail needs to modernise and change and for the first three to four months of negotiations the cwe�*s position has been very unhelpful, in that they want an inflationary pay rise and they're not willing to talk about change. but the union says that is not true. we are a union that never faces away from change. we have agreed every bit of technology and automation, and we had an agreement 18 months ago setting out the future direction and strategy of the company. the company walked away from that. they were not the only ones on strike today. 40,000 bt and 0penreach workers

walked out for the second day in a row after rejecting the bt pay offer of £1500. many are especially angry that the offer is not higher, while the company is paying shareholders dividends. it is totally immoral at this time, what they're trying to do. if they were to have just given a penny off each dividend payment, that would have been enough to give every one of us a 10% pay rise. bt says the offer is the highest payrise for those on the front line in more than 20 years, and theirjob is to balance the demands of bt shareholders and managing the company in a challenging economic environment. but it is that environment unions say is a worry for members. the strikes this summer have not just been about pay, but that has often been a key factor, with unions saying the offers on the table do not reflect the rising cost of living. companies are pushing back on pay demands, with many arguing while they do want to offer pay increases, the pandemic means that needs to come with changes too

that many unions say are not acceptable. this summer may be fading, but the threat of strikes is not. caroline davies, bbc news. time is 2:16pm, just a reminder of todayheadlines... tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. 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. good afternoon to you. in terms of today's developments, explain what you have uncovered. the today's developments, explain what you have uncovered.— you have uncovered. the man who facilitated shamima _ you have uncovered. the man who facilitated shamima begum's - you have uncovered. the man who i facilitated shamima begum's journey through facilitated shamima begum'sjourney through turkey is called mohammed rashid. we have been able to get hold of a dossier of information about him. within that we have hundreds of pages gathered by law enforcement, foreign law enforcement and foreign intelligence is all about what he was up to and we can see he was part of a substantial islamic state people smuggling network, which was not only shamima begum, but other people from britain as well, but he was also keeping records of everyone he helped, so he

was documenting people's passports, id documents, things like luggage tags. he told authorities after his arrest he was doing this to provide information to canadian intelligence information to canadian intelligence injordan. we have been able to speak to a senior intelligence officer who has confirmed to us this man was indeed providing information to canadian intelligence. find man was indeed providing information to canadian intelligence.— to canadian intelligence. and let's 'ust to canadian intelligence. and let's just remind _ to canadian intelligence. and let's just remind ourselves _ to canadian intelligence. and let's just remind ourselves about - to canadian intelligence. and let's - just remind ourselves about shamima begum herself, she is what, early 20s now? . :: begum herself, she is what, early 20s now? , :: , ., , begum herself, she is what, early 20s now? , i: , ., , ., begum herself, she is what, early 20s now? , i: , ., ., , 20s now? yes, 20 years old at this oint and 20s now? yes, 20 years old at this point and she _ 20s now? yes, 20 years old at this point and she is _ 20s now? yes, 20 years old at this point and she is in _ 20s now? yes, 20 years old at this point and she is in north-east - point and she is in north—east syria. she has obviously had her citizenship removed, so she is in a detention camp in north—east syria and is unable to leave. she would like to come back to britain, her lawyers would like to argue in a hearing in november that when the government removed her citizenship they failed to consider that she was a victim of trafficking. so they failed to consider that she was a victim of trafficking.— a victim of trafficking. so you uncovered — a victim of trafficking. so you uncovered what _ a victim of trafficking. so you uncovered what you - a victim of trafficking. so you uncovered what you are - a victim of trafficking. so you - uncovered what you are describing about the trail, if you like. i assume you have put this to various countries involved here, what do they say about all this? we

countries involved here, what do they say about all this?— they say about all this? we have indeed, but _ they say about all this? we have indeed, but as _ they say about all this? we have indeed, but as is _ they say about all this? we have indeed, but as is the _ they say about all this? we have indeed, but as is the way - they say about all this? we have indeed, but as is the way with i indeed, but as is the way with stories of this nature, the canadian intelligence and indeed elements of the british government will not comment on anything pertaining to intelligence operations or things of that nature, so they have declined to comment at this time. 0k. josh, thank you. — to comment at this time. 0k. josh, thank you. the _ to comment at this time. 0k. josh, thank you, the podcast _ to comment at this time. 0k. josh, thank you, the podcast is _ to comment at this time. 0k. josh, | thank you, the podcast is available? series one is there and series two will be out in a few weeks. {lilia will be out in a few weeks. 0k, thank you _ will be out in a few weeks. 0k, thank you very _ will be out in a few weeks. 0k, thank you very much, - will be out in a few weeks. 0k, thank you very much, josh baker. america's justice department says donald trump may have concealed documents during an fbi search of his home in florida two months ago. 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." the time is edging up to 2:20pm and

as promised, we will talk more about the story dominating here today, the death of the former leader of the soviet union, the last leader, mikhail gorbachev, who died at the age of 91. let's talk to a man who met him many times and has detailed knowledge of the place and the period. very good afternoon to you, sir rodric braithwaite, thank you, sir rodric braithwaite, thank you very much for being with us on the bbc. britain's ambassador to moscow in those key years from 1988 to 1992. thank you very much for being with us. your memories of him, perhaps as a person, as well as politically, given that you met him? well, i met him on and off between 1984 and 2014 and i had of course official dealings with him, private dealings as well and i ended up liking him. ithought dealings as well and i ended up liking him. i thought he was a nice man, a warm—hearted man and not what you expect from the leader of the

soviet union, but that is what he was. and i think that needs to be remembered because it also played into his politics. he had a feeling for what motivated ordinary people, what ordinary people cared about. he was very much opposed to nuclear weapons, unlike his best friend, maggie thatcher. he thought they were a lunacy because we could blow ourselves and the whole planet to pieces with them, and that is a bit ridiculous. and these, i think, were genuine feelings. in the end, they... they were part of his downfall. he was too... he was not tough enough for the hard men in the soviet union, he wouldn't send in the tanks, he talked too much for ordinary people without delivering. he talked about how things would get better and in that they got much worse. so he ended up by being very badly regarded in his own country and in the west we tended to say,

well, after all he never intended to destroy the soviet union and he never got anything right. he didn't solve any problems, so he was a bungler. i think that is a very unfair misjudgment. i think it is an entirely wrong judgment, unfair misjudgment. i think it is an entirely wrongjudgment, impact, unfair misjudgment. i think it is an entirely wrong judgment, impact, for reasons can expand on. well. entirely wrong judgment, impact, for reasons can expand on.— reasons can expand on. well, there are several— reasons can expand on. well, there are several fascinating _ reasons can expand on. well, there are several fascinating points - are several fascinating points there, but the idea that he told people, as you say, that things would get better, but they didn't, they got worse, and we know about they got worse, and we know about the economic hardships that followed, was that naivety on his part, was it a misjudgment? what was going on that particular point? i don't think it was either of the two. he was put in place by a lot of very old—fashioned old —fashioned and very old—fashioned and very elderly leaders of the soviet union because they knew the place was going completely off the rails. they knew the economy was breaking down, they knew the politics were getting more and more fraught they hoped that this able, energetic, intelligent

young man, and orthodox communist, as they believed, could put it right. i believe the soviet union had reached a stage at that point where there wasn't anything could put it right, no one man could have solved the problem is, no one man could have put an alternative system in place. gorbachev started the process. i think the people who criticise him for his mistakes on the economy, for his failure to keep the economy, for his failure to keep the soviet union together, the way he let eastern europe depart from the alliance, people criticise him for doing all those things and they have no suggestions for alternatives, except the use of force on a massive scale and so, we should be very grateful to him that he had more sense. bud should be very grateful to him that he had more sense.— should be very grateful to him that he had more sense. and i mean, it was so striking. — he had more sense. and i mean, it was so striking, even _ he had more sense. and i mean, it was so striking, even right - he had more sense. and i mean, it was so striking, even right at - he had more sense. and i mean, it was so striking, even right at the l was so striking, even right at the beginning of what you said, when you said he wasn't what you would expect from a leader of the soviet union... was he taking a personal risk by

doing what he did, by talking about things in the way he did? how many people around him agreed with that approach? because he was so unusual for the time. approach? because he was so unusual forthe time-— for the time. well, i think by the time he came — for the time. well, i think by the time he came to _ for the time. well, i think by the time he came to power - for the time. well, i think by the time he came to power a - for the time. well, i think by the time he came to power a lot - for the time. well, i think by the time he came to power a lot of. time he came to power a lot of people had been asking questions, including people inside the soviet bureaucracy. they knew it wasn't working. and they asked the question which he famously, all said what he famously said to his wife on the night before he took power, we can't go on living like this. there was a great deal of agreements with that and that is why he was very popular at the beginning, because they fought under him weird they were going to be able to live differently, as if they were, the words a lot of my russian friends used, as if they were living in a normal country.— used, as if they were living in a normal country. sorry. no, not at all, i normal country. sorry. no, not at all, i am _ normal country. sorry. no, not at all. i am so — normal country. sorry. no, not at all, i am so interested _ normal country. sorry. no, not at all, i am so interested because i normal country. sorry. no, not at. all, i am so interested because you met him over a number of years, you said you last saw him around about eight years ago. can you talk to us

about his later years, how he lived his life, what sort of involvement and engagement did he still have with international affairs? weill. and engagement did he still have with international affairs? well, he continued to _ with international affairs? well, he continued to take _ with international affairs? well, he continued to take great _ with international affairs? well, he continued to take great interest. with international affairs? well, he continued to take great interest in | continued to take great interest in them. he travelled a lot until you became too ill. i mean, where i last met him was in berlin celebrating the 25th anniversary of the fall of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. but i regularly quote an anecdote, which i think illustrates things about his character. his wife died in 19 99, and it was a remarkably good marriage and he and she shared everything together. of course, he was rather despised by the macho old—fashioned russian leadership, who didn't believe in talking to women, they wanted to get them drunk instead, he didn't do any of that. when she died in 1989 he was

absolutely shattered. i went and called on him for some reason about three months after that and i went in and he was looking really miserable, so i went over and give him a hug and he said, you know, last night i dream does my wife. she was on the telephone. and i said, were you ringing from? and the went dead. and he looked very miserable. and then he said, but you know what i did last sunday? ifounded a new social democratic party. it didn't get anywhere, but he was irrepressible right to the end. and ifound irrepressible right to the end. and i found that very attractive, both aspects. 5ir i found that very attractive, both asects. ,, ., . �* ., ., aspects. sir rodric braithwaite, wonderful that _ aspects. sir rodric braithwaite, wonderful that you _ aspects. sir rodric braithwaite, wonderful that you could - aspects. sir rodric braithwaite, wonderful that you could spare| aspects. sir rodric braithwaite, i wonderful that you could spare the time, thank you, because your insight is very special indeed. thank you very much indeed, thank you so much for your time. sir rodric braithwaite was britain's ambassador to moscow from 1988

through to 19 92. and we will of course talk more about mikhail gorbachev and his legacy, as you would expect, over the course of the afternoon. now, let's turn to a story that didn't dominate earlier in the week because we will talk about nassur. 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. it isa it is a flight without humans on board. the un—crewed flight is the first step in the artemis programme, which aims to return humans, eventually, to the moon. so we will cover that on saturday and see what happens then. right now back at home let's find out what is happening with the weather. he was stabbed in nails. —— here is staff.

hello. that's the first day, meteorological autumn tomorrow. and it looks like things are set to turn decidedly unsettled, particularly by the end of the week. could be a bit of a shock to the system after all the dry, sunny, warm weather we've had, some areas could see quite a lot of rainfall and winds will become a significant feature as well. in the short term, though, high pressure continues to dominate. it's going to be mainly dry for the rest of today and into tomorrow. see variable amounts of cloud. the odd light shower through this evening, they'll fade away. stays quite breezy, though, across england and wales. clearerskies, lighter winds further north. so again, it could be quite chilly out of town across some of the scottish glens, but further south, 10 to 15 celsius. now as we head into thursday, it's a similar story of high pressure overhead, a lot of dry weather, plenty of sunshine around, too. could see the odd shower here and there, but later in the day start to see its first area of low pressure move up from the south. so it will turn increasingly cloudy with increasing showers here. quite breezy, too, but top temperatures around 24 degrees, a little bit fresher further north.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. a bbc investigation has found that shamima begum — who left london at the age of 15 to join the islamic state group — was smuggled into syria by an intelligence agent working for canada. powering more than a million homes. the world's largest offshore wind farm goes into operation near the yorkshire coast.

more to come on all of those stories. sport now and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's laura. good afternoon. british number one, emma raducanu says she is looking forward to starting with a "clean slate" after an early end to her us open title defence. after her fairy tale win in new york last year — it's a very different story 12 months on, as she was beaten in the first round at flushing meadows 6—3, 6—3 by france's alize cornet. despite the disappointing defeat, raducano hopes she can come back stronger. 0bviously really disappointing, really sad to live here. it is probably my favourite tournament. but, also, i mean, in a way happy

because it is a clean slate. i'm going to drop down the rankings, klein my way back up and yes in a way the target will be off my back slightly and ijust have another chance to crawl my way back up there. to football and there are five more games in the premier league tonight — one of which sees liverpool host newcastle. jurgen klopp's side go into the match on the back of beating bournemouth 9—0 at the weekend — but liverpool's manager insists he's not expecting a similar result tonight. it's a freaky one if you want, doesn't happen a lot or often and will not happen a lot because of our quality of opponents. but things can go that way because of a very good game. everything worked out that that afternoon, we don't expect that

freakish score again. elsewhere defending champions manchester city can extend their unbeaten start to five matches tonight — if they can beat newly promoted nottingham forest. city fought back from 2—0 down to claim a 4—2 victory at the weekend. city manager pep guardiola insists his defenders must improve — if they're to stay at the top. we are scoring well but at the same time we are conceding a lot and if we don't stop that it will be difficult. not all the time you cannot score four or five goals to win the game. you have to be better in that situation, especially this is so important and difficult. it's the transitions and if you don't control it we are going to suffer. a record global audience of more than 365 million people watched this summer's euro 2022,

while 50 million tuned in for england's victory over germany in the wembley final. tournament organiser uefa says the audience was more than double that for the previous women's euros in 2017. the audience for the final, where hosts england beat germany 2—1 in extra time to win their first european title, was more than three times the 15 million who watched the 2017 final. england's cricketers have named an unchanged 14—man squad for the third and deciding test against south africa at the 0val. which means captain ben stokes will be hoping to lead from the front once again — after hitting 103 and picking up four wickets during the second test victory. james anderson will also head to the oval with lots of confidence — after taking six wickets during the match at old trafford. the final test gets under way a week tomorrow. britain's simon yates has withdrawn from the vuelta a espana

after testing positive for covid—19. yates was fifth in the overall standings after tuesday's time trial and had been targeting a podium finish. yates is the first overall contender to be forced out of the race due to covid—19 but is the 13th rider to test positive in this year's race. that's all the sport for now. ill be back in an hour wth an update. more now on our main story, the death of the former leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev. tributes have been paid from around the world by many who saw gorbachev as a man of peace — and instrumental in bringing about the end of the cold war. borisjohnson was one of them. mikhail gorbachev was one of those people who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better. when you look at what he did to make europe free,

to give freedom to the countries of the former soviet union, it was quite an extraordinary thing. of course, mikhail gorbachev is one of those people who triggered a series of changes that perhaps he didn't anticipate. maybe he paid his own political price for it, but when history is written, he will be one of the authors of fantastic change for the better. here's what the german chancellor 0laf scholz had to say. translation: he was a courageous reformer and a statesman _ who dared to do many things. we will not forget that perestroika made it possible to attempt to establish democracy in russia and that democracy and freedom became possible in europe, that germany could be united and the iron curtain disappeared. the democracy movement in central and eastern europe also benefited from the fact he was in charge of russia at that time.

we know that he's died at a time when not only has democracy in russia failed — there is no other way to describe the current situation there — but also russia and the russian president putin are digging new trenches in europe and have started a terrible war against the neighbouring country, ukraine. and that is precisely why we remember mikhail gorbachev and know what significance he had for the development of europe and also of our country in recent years. but for many in russia, mikhail gorbachev remains a controversialfigure. here's some reaction to his death from the streets of moscow. translation: it seems that he did not realise i the gravity of his decisions. he did not fix his mistakes. he passed away without fixing them. and us, we are hostages of his stupidity. what can i say? god rest his soul, may god not judge him too severely.

translation: it seemed to us back then that he was a person _ who could change the soviet union for the better. but then, when his time was coming to the end, it turned out that he's a person who broke up the soviet union, broke up a vast country, which led to a large number of wars and civil unrest in the former soviet republics, between the people of the soviet union. that's why i don't have a high opinion of him now, of his life journey and his achievements. translation: l have a | negative view of mikhail gorbachev�*s time in power. he did a lot of damaging things to our country. we are the ones facing the consequences. i'm joined now by the permanent representative of the united kingdom to the united nations from 1998 tojuly 2003, sir jeremy greenstock.

thank you for your time this afternoon. the tributes, the praise internationally has been wide, it has been sincere. less so within the country itself, i guess we shouldn't be surprised by that. ida. country itself, i guess we shouldn't be surprised by that.— be surprised by that. no, i was exoecting _ be surprised by that. no, i was expecting that. _ be surprised by that. no, i was expecting that. and _ be surprised by that. no, i was expecting that. and their - be surprised by that. no, i was i expecting that. and their current leadership was also very hostile to what he had achieved for the soviet union, turning 15 states into 15 independent and sovereign nations which is very much the way the west wanted to see things going. i think we have to remember that mikael was not responsible for what followed in the 1990s to his giving the opportunity to the russian people to do things a different way from the stalin heritage of the communist party under the soviet union. he gave them that opportunity and they didn't take it. and that's a great

pity because russia should always be at least part of europe and part of asia as well, but it is a european state and needs to follow the european opportunities that have been provided by the tremendous work donein been provided by the tremendous work done in the rest of europe since the end of the second world war. president putin has turned his back on there and gone in a different direction, so the opportunity which mikhail gorbachev gave to the russian people has not been taken. in the propaganda now on the streets of russia and from russian leadership obscures and camouflages the fact that they have turned down an opportunity for freedom, the economic diverse location, for connection with the rest of the world and of close themselves another system. so, world and of close themselves anothersystem. so, it is world and of close themselves another system. so, it is a very clear division in the tributes and

criticisms of gorbachev from one side and the other. as there is a division between us and the russians at this moment.— at this moment. yes, indeed. but there was economic _ at this moment. yes, indeed. but there was economic hardship - at this moment. yes, indeed. but there was economic hardship for i at this moment. yes, indeed. but| there was economic hardship for a vast number of people in the wake of his changes, his reforms. was that something he misjudged, was that something he misjudged, was that something he misjudged, was that something he was simply unable to tackle? what were your thoughts on that, that period.— that, that period. what he was not able to do. — that, that period. what he was not able to do. he _ that, that period. what he was not able to do, he didn't _ that, that period. what he was not able to do, he didn't intend - that, that period. what he was not able to do, he didn't intend of- able to do, he didn't intend of course to end the soviet union. he wanted to give people a choice, and you gave for instance, the baltic states a choice as to whether they would pursue independence are not and he didn't want to step on their way. but he did not want to close the soviet union down, itjust happened that he lost control of the system and the system, with its

component parts produced a collective kleptocracy within the unions of the russian confederation which stole an enormous amount from the russian people and continue to do so. so the russian people wouldn't have been any better off if the soviet union had continued. the elite communist system would have been better off, but not the ordinary russian people. so i don't think you can blame gorbachev for the failure of the russian system to produce a better future for the whole of the russian people. like mac lets talk about the international community especially with your long background of the un, pictured everywhere today with him with margaret thatcher, ronald reagan, will help, assistance, advice did he want or seek, did you get from other countries, some of whom whose leaders will really liked and admired him? he wanted to

negotiate he wanted to communicate with other countries who could be the partners in certain respects of russia, of the soviet union as he saw it originally. and remember many of those discussions, particularly with reagan and thatcher were about to reducing the threat of nuclear war, reducing nucleararmaments. he did a tremendous amount to set up the arrangements particularly between the us and russia to make a nuclear war less likely in nuclear stockholding is less voluminous. so a lot of the business that margaret thatcher was doing with it was on that subject. but he also wanted an economic relationship with the rest of europe and the rest of the developed world, because he saw that as being in the interests of the russian people in the long term future. and that absence of an

economic relationship, with all the political surroundings that it needs is really causing suffering i think, to the un—diversified and basically failing russian economy if it weren't for very high haji clyburn prices keeping them afloat for this moment. —— hydrocarbon prices. and the russians will be left high and dry as this won't go on for much longer. dry as this won't go on for much loner. �* ., , longer. i'm wondering if this is someone _ longer. i'm wondering if this is someone you've _ longer. i'm wondering if this is someone you've occasionally l longer. i'm wondering if this is i someone you've occasionally saw longer. i'm wondering if this is - someone you've occasionally saw that events or conferences, what is thoughts were, how open was he on his thoughts on russia in later years, after his time there? i never had any direct _ years, after his time there? i never had any direct dealings _ years, after his time there? i never had any direct dealings with - years, after his time there? i never had any direct dealings with him, i | had any direct dealings with him, i wasn't dealing with russia directly on the jobs that i had at the foreign office. but of course i was observing what was going on and remembering him, you would need to ask that question i think of a

german contributor because germany gained more from mikhail gorbachev than perhaps any other single country in its reunification and its economic relationship with russia post the break—up of the soviet union. and it may indeed their regard gorbachev to be so slow and so late in realising the threat of putin's leadership of russia and the disconnect between where germany wanted to go and while russia was going. and it's the german story that perhaps you need to explore further. . ~ further. yes, well. when we will endeavour _ further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to _ further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to do _ further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to do so _ further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to do so late - further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to do so late in - further. yes, well. when we will endeavour to do so late in the i endeavour to do so late in the afternoon. thank you for your time. britain's permanent representative of the many years to the united nations up

until 2003 more tributes and reflections on the life of gorbachev after three o'clock but first we will talk about what domestic stories here today. stroke patients in northern ireland are at greater risk of serious disability or death than elswehere in the uk because of long delays in treatment and support — according to new analysis. the national target for specialist stroke treatment is four hours. but in northern ireland is almost triple that — at almost 12 hours. alasdair o'hara is the associate director of the stroke association northern ireland. hejoins me from belfast. thanks forjoining us. such a huge divide, what is going on? what reason is if you given as to why that timing is so long, 12 hours as terrifying as we know in the case of a stroke in particular. i

terrifying as we know in the case of a stroke in particular.— a stroke in particular. i think what these figures _ a stroke in particular. i think what these figures show _ a stroke in particular. i think what these figures show is _ a stroke in particular. i think what these figures show is that - a stroke in particular. i think what these figures show is that we - a stroke in particular. i think what| these figures show is that we need to do better, so the delay is three times greater than the rcp guidelines, it is a complex situation in terms of how we actually improve that. we know that there has been significant pressures on health and social care due to the pandemic, we know that there are ambulance pressures, challenges around discharge as well. if you look specifically at stroke services we had a strike action plan published recently but we haven't had the progress that we wanted in terms of introducing a single model of hyper acute stroke units here. so when you look at the solutions there are a number of them there but many of them are contained within the stroke action plan. we need to do is get on with angela has the priority that it deserves.— that it deserves. what reasons are ou liven that it deserves. what reasons are you given for _ that it deserves. what reasons are you given for why _ that it deserves. what reasons are you given for why it _ that it deserves. what reasons are you given for why it is _ that it deserves. what reasons are you given for why it is not - you given for why it is not happening? as it resources, is it communication? what's your assessment of the fundamental problems? i

assessment of the fundamental roblems? ~ . assessment of the fundamental roblems? ~ , , problems? i think it is complex. issues around _ problems? i think it is complex. issues around pressures - problems? i think it is complex. issues around pressures on - problems? i think it is complex. - issues around pressures on ambulance services, put on pressures in terms of community services at this charge, and obviously the issue around that we haven't made that model for hyper acute stress unit. and the one i would mean is that people are getting in quicker, they getting support their needs quicker, they getting into the acute stroke need quicker, but they also gain the support that they need in the community and getting less time in hospital as well. what we need is to address the pressures right throughout the pathway, and we do have the framework to do that. we just need to get on with delivering it. �* , just need to get on with delivering it. ~ , , just need to get on with delivering it. �* , , , it. and 'ust remind viewers why, in so it. and just remind viewers why, in so many cases _ it. and just remind viewers why, in so many cases timing _ it. and just remind viewers why, in so many cases timing is _ it. and just remind viewers why, in i so many cases timing is key. urgency is key isn't it? it so many cases timing is key. urgency is key isn't it?— is key isn't it? it actually is. the stroke is a _ is key isn't it? it actually is. the stroke is a medical _ is key isn't it? it actually is. the stroke is a medical emergency l is key isn't it? it actually is. the i stroke is a medical emergency and the quicker your stroke is diagnosed and you are treated the better your chance of a full recovery. northern

ireland has the second—highest stroke incidence in the uk. and that is projected to grow by 50% over the next decade. so this is an issue that we need to get ahead of now, we need to see these figures gain the right way as soon as possible. silk is what we are going to see is greater pressure in the future. we know that only one in three people in northern ireland who has a stroke gets the six—month follow—up. remind us why the follow—up is important as well. us why the follow-up is important as well. ., ., , , ., , ., well. the follow-up is really about beatin: well. the follow-up is really about beating people — well. the follow-up is really about beating people at _ well. the follow-up is really about beating people at the _ well. the follow-up is really about beating people at the centre - well. the follow-up is really about beating people at the centre of. beating people at the centre of their care, what we know from speaking to stroke survivors and our own research in northern ireland is that almost half of the people that left hospital after their stroke felt abandoned after doing so. providing the right support in terms of rehabilitation, long—term support is really critical in terms of ensuring people make the best recovery that they can. 0ccupational

recovery that they can. occupational therapy, physical therapy speak therapy. we need to look at that six—month wait at two whether there need to been met and ensure that we are supporting people to have that conversation after the stroke thing to be talking _ conversation after the stroke thing to be talking to _ conversation after the stroke thing to be talking to us. _ conversation after the stroke thing to be talking to us. just _ conversation after the stroke thing to be talking to us. just to - conversation after the stroke thing to be talking to us. just to tell you that we have had a statement from northern ireland's health department which says that it recognises there is much more to do to improve services, the department published it stroke action plan this summer which talks about how it wants to improve hospital and community stroke services. while arguments rage in the united states over the repeal of roe v wade, injapan — a much less noisy debate is going on over the legalisation of "medically induced abortions". in may a senior health official told parliament the ministry would approve

an abortion pill combination. from tokyo, rupert wingfield—hayes reports. this japanese woman became pregnant after her boyfriend repeatedly refused to use a condom during sex. she then had to ask his permission to get an abortion, which he didn't want to give. translation: it's strange that i had to ask him to use contraception. - and when he decided not to use a condom, i needed permission from him to abort the baby. i felt completely powerless. i couldn't make my own decision about my own body. japan was one of the first countries in the world to legalise abortion, all the way back in 1948, but it's always had this very paternalistic twist — japanese women must get the written consent of their husband or partner. now japan is finally set to approve the so—called abortion pill, something that's been available in france since 1988, and britain since 1991. but japan's health ministry says

women will still need the consent of their partner. it could be very expensive, as much as $700—800. this doctor spends most of his time treating women who want to be pregnant, but he will also prescribe the new abortion pill. he says there are good reasons for making it expensive. translation: in japan, - if you take the abortion pill, you have to be kept in hospital so we can monitor the patient. if we need to help you, it takes even more time than a surgical abortion. sexual health activists disagree — this woman has designed this kit to teach japanese schoolchildren how not to get pregnant. she says there is still huge resistance from japan's male dominated elite to women getting

proper sexual education, modern contraception and easy access to abortion. translation: it takes two people to get pregnant, and yet in japan, | it feels like the only person who is persecuted is the one with the ovaries. a lot of decisions are made by old men who will never carry a child. they need to listen to the voices of women. activists note it has takenjapan over 30 years to approve the abortion pill but tookjust six months to approve the male impotency pill viagra. they say japanese women will never have control of their own bodies while they must ask men for permission to end an unwanted pregnancy. a new study shows that switzerland's glaciers have lost more than half their volume,

in less than a hundred years — and this long hot summer has accelerated the loss of ice. the glaciers attract skiers and climbers — but they are also essential to europe's water supply. imogen foulkes reports , on the consequences to lives, and livelihoods. high in the alps, the mountains are moving. ancient ice caps are cracking and melting. richard — a guide like his father and grandfather before him — has to adapt. the permafrost on the mountains is melting off, and then you have more rock fall. you have more crevasses on the glacier because there is not enough snow from the winter. and it makes ourjob more challenging, i have to say. you have to think more about risk—management. across switzerland, rock falls triggered by melting permafrost have closed climbing routes — but the changes started long before this hot summer. since the 1930s, the glaciers have lost more than half their volume.

20 years ago, this glacier was actually much bigger. and you can see behind me, the rock is emerging where the ice has split apart in the last few years. and if you take a moment to listen... rushing. ..that rushing sound is the ice melting and pouring down into the valleys. so we're probably one of the first people walking here. the ground up here hasn't been seen for thousands of years. now the remaining ice has been wrapped up to protect it — a desperate sticking plaster on the wound of climate change. glaciers are tourist attractions, and the thaw threatens livelihoods. so when we constructed this chairlift, we had to dig in five, seven meters into the ice because the ice was on this level, and this was 23 years back. look in my back where the glacier is now. glaciers store the winter snow,

and release it gently in summer — water for europe's rivers and europe's crops. scientists say global warming is bringing that natural process to an end. end of the century, we will only have ice at the highest part — so above 3,500 meters that there will be still some ice in 100 years. but all what we see here, this mainly will be gone. if this ice is gone, there won't be any water any more. our world is getting warmer, and glaciers are especially latest predictions show keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees centigrade could save some of the ice. but achieving that will need a real effort to tackle climate change. without it, europe's glaciers could be gone in decades. imogen foulkes, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello there. it's been so settled, dry and largely sunny and warm

for such a long time now that by the end of the week, when we see something a lot more unsettled, it could come as a bit of a shock to the system. and it really will turn quite unsettled for some with gales and heavy rain, particularly across southern and western areas. in the short term though, we still have high pressure bringing fine and settled, seen certainly through today and into tomorrow. variable amounts of cloud around, maybejust a light shower here and there. most places will be dry, more of a breeze as well across the southern half of the country, but quite warm again up to the mid 20s further north. it's the mid to high teens. now through this evening and overnight it's going to be largely fine and dry. 0ne under that area of high pressure, more of a breeze again across southern areas could see a bit more cloud across parts of england and wales, clearer skies further north. so again, it could be quite chilly like it was the previous night. further south, though, 10 to 15 degrees. now, thursday looks to be fine and settled once again thanks to high pressure. could see the odd

shower here and there. a bit more cloud perhaps for the southern half of england into south wales. otherwise, it's mostly fine with some sunny spells. top temperatures again close to the mid 20s, 18 to 21 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. then as we move out of thursday, we start to see some changes two areas of low pressure begin to move in like a pincer movement across the uk which will start to turn things more unsettled as they merge. so friday, a windy day in the north, could see some heavy showers, maybe some thunderstorms across southern and western areas, perhaps the southeast of england escaping and staying dry again with temperatures again, 25 degrees or so. warm air coming off the near continent, but a little bit cooler further north and west then into the weekend. i mean, these details could change, but at the moment it looks like we could see this band of heavy thundery rain spreading northwards, followed by another area of heavy rain. pushing into more western areas could be quite wet for northern ireland, parts of wales and the south west. so temperatures not quite as high on saturday, but it'll still be quite warm despite the wet and windy weather. and then as we move

through the weekend, low pressure sits to the west of the uk. we could even see another deep area of low pressure development could bring a stormy spell for sunday across more western areas, particularly around irish sea coast. so it really will be turning unsettled through the weekend and even lasting into the start of the following week as well.

this is bbc news. i'm jane hill. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. russia has imposed a three—day shutdown on a major gas pipeline to europe. moscow says repairs are needed and denies it's taking retaliation for western sanctions over ukraine. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. a bbc investigation has found that shamima begum — who left london at the age of 15 to join the islamic state group —

was smuggled into syria by an intelligence agent working for canada. good afternoon. welcome to bbc news. 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. many russians, including vladimir putin, blame mikhail gorbachev for what they believe was russia's loss of prestige and respect after the fall of the iron curtain. but in the west, he's lauded for ending the repression of communist rule — with us president biden calling him a "man of remarkable vision" who "created a safer world,"

and borisjohnson saying that "his courage and integrity remain an example to all, at a time of russian aggression in ukraine." with his assessment of a remarkable 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 ussr was looking more like a cemetery 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 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. back home, though, 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. anatoly adamishin thinks that is unfair. he was deputy foreign minister under mikhail gorbachev. 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. 0n the streets of moscow, opinion was divided. "it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart,

victor say, "and that 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. he was the kind of russian leader the world had never seen.

mikhail gorbachev, who died yesterday at the age of 91. and steve gave us the kremlin's reaction to mikhail gorbachev�*s death. today president putin sent a telegram to mikhail gorbachev�*s family expressing his condolences and noting that gorbachev had had a huge impact on world history, and later, president putin's spokesman suggested that what he called gorbachev�*s "romanticism" around the idea of a rapprochement with the west had been misplaced. certainly putin'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 tried to open up the country, give his people more freedoms — 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. that just 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. steve rosenberg in moscowjust a little earlier today. russia has shut down gas supplies from a major pipeline to europe for the next three days. moscow had already significantly reduced the amount of gas it supplies through nord stream 1, which comes into the continent via germany. a kremlin spokesman blamed western sanctions against russia, a kremlin spokesman blamed western sanctions against russia, which he claimed prevented normal repair work. european leaders fear the kremlin could extend the suspension to try to further drive up energy prices — which have soared since the invasion of ukraine. 0ur berlin correspondent, damien mcguiness, said germany would be able to cope

with the three—day shutdown. over the last few months, germany has done a lot to fill up its gas reserves. so, until quite recently, things were looking quite bad here when it came to getting through the winter because of course, germany relies a lot on gas. before the full invasion of ukraine in february, the majority of german gas came from russia, but that has sunk drastically over the last few months. and what germany has been doing really, particularly recently has been pushing through some quite draconian savings measures. many public buildings now only have cold water and lots of public buildings not lit up at night, as well as going to other countries to get more gas reserves, from norway, from the netherlands, from belgium. and all of this means that germany's gas reserve tanks are now more than 80% full, which is a big increase. and germany has previously said that once you get to 85% of gas reserve tanks full, germany can get through the winter without extra russian supplies. so those gas reserves are being filled faster than expected.

so it's really quite a positive message coming out of berlin today, which is surprising because, of course, gas prices have been rising, as you say. but right now the government is meeting to push through a third package of measures to help households deal with rising prices. and the other positive message is that the german economy minister robert habeck, has said that gas prices could soon start falling in germany and that's because of those gas reserve tanks, it means that berlin no longer has to take the highest price. so a surprisingly positive message, and i think all of this, this sudden three—day shutdown of this major pipeline is not seen as a surprise in germany. i think since february, the german government has completely lost any illusions it might have had about russia. it doesn't believe what comes out of moscow when it comes to energy and believes that any kind of talk about repairs or slowing down because of supplies is simply a political weapon. and that's why germany has been frantically, since february, looking for other sources, but also filling up those gas supplies.

and it looks like now that's starting to workjust in time really for the winter. damien mcguinness fair in berlin. meanwhile, a team of inspectors from the united nations nuclear watchdog has arrived in the ukrainian city of zaporizhzhia, in the south—east of the country — 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 5 million anti—radiation tablets to ukraine, as fears grow of a possible nuclear accident. 0ur correspondent, hugo bachega, is in kyiv. he told us how much access the inspectors will have to the plant. now, the mission is there in the city of zaporizhzhia, which is a two—hour drive from the plant and the visit could happen as soon as tomorrow. that hasn't been officially confirmed. that has been reported by russian media.

there has been some confusion about how long this visit is going to go for. we had raphael grassi, the head of the international atomic energy agency, saying that he expected a daylong saying that he expected a days—long mission to take place. then there was the local governor of the zaporizhzhia region, appointed by the russians, saying that any visit should last only one or two days. there is some confusion as well about how this team will get to this station. the zaporizhzhia complex is located in russian—controlled territory, fighting has been happening there, so obviously there is the security element to all of this. and earlier today and in the last few days there has been a lot of claim and counterclaim from both russia and ukraine about the shelling in the region, and the ukrainians yesterday accused the russians of shelling the route to be used by this mission to travel to the zaporizhzhia complex,

so lots of questions remain and it seems that it is going to be a very difficult mission for these inspectors. hugo bachega there in ukraine's capital, kyiv. 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. what do we want? decent wage! when do we want it? now! picket lines and pressure. this summer has seen strikes from rail to bin collections, and there are more planned. today the halls were nearly empty at sorting offices as 115,000 royal mail workers walked out again over pay. the company say pay rises have to come with changes. to pay more, we have been very clear that royal mail needs to modernise and change and for the first three

to four months of negotiations the cwe�*s position has been very unhelpful, in that they want an inflationary pay rise and they're not willing to talk about change. but the union says that is not true. we are a union that never faces away from change. we have agreed every bit of technology and automation, and we had an agreement 18 months ago setting out the future direction and strategy of the company. the company walked away from that. they were not the only ones on strike today. 40,000 bt and 0penreach workers walked out for the second day in a row after rejecting the bt pay offer of £1500. many are especially angry that the offer is not higher, while the company is paying shareholders dividends. it is totally immoral at this time, what they're trying to do. if they were to have just given a penny off each dividend payment, that would have been enough to give every one of us a 10% pay rise. bt says the offer is the highest pay rise for those on the front line

in more than 20 years, and theirjob is to balance the demands of bt shareholders and managing the company in a challenging economic environment. but it is that environment unions say is a worry for members. the strikes this summer have not just been about pay, but that has often been a key factor, with unions saying the offers on the table do not reflect the rising cost of living. companies are pushing back on pay demands, with many arguing while they do want to offer pay increases, the pandemic means that needs to come with changes too that many unions say are not acceptable. this summer may be fading, but the threat of strikes is not. caroline davies, bbc news. tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral.

russia has imposed a three—day shutdown on a major gas pipeline to europe. moscow says repairs are needed. it denies it's taking retaliation for western sanctions over ukraine. it is 3:15pm. those were the headlines. we are going to talk more about some of those headline stories, we will talk more about the legacy of mikhail gorbachev in just a moment with a former foreign office minister. before that, let's pick up on the story we brought you pertaining to the conservative leadership race because... buckingham palace says the queen won't be appointing the next prime minister in london, but will instead stay in balmoral for the event. as i'm sure you know... there's less than a week to go until we find out whether it'll be the foreign secretary, liz truss, or the former chancellor, rishi sunak, who'll be moving into

number10. lets discuss the news from buckingham palace with our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell. has this ever happened before? certainly not in the queen's rain, no. but to put it into context, the appointment of the prime minister is one glass prerogative powers of the monarchy, not the words demonic does not act on the advice of ministers. she couldn't, really. in custom, she invites the leader of the largest party of the house of commons to form a government. that leader must have the confidence of the house of commons. 0n have the confidence of the house of commons. on every occasion during her 70 year reign previously, she has done this in buckingham palace. she not doing this now, though, because of health considerations. so next tuesday, the 6th of september, by which time we will know who is the leader of the conservative party, borisjohnson, the outgoing prime minister, will be at balmoral to tender his resignation and then the new leader of the conservative

party, either liz truss or rishi sunak, will arrive at balmoral, there will be an audience with the queen and the queen will invite them to form a government entity is from that moment that person is the prime minister, so they will return to london, i would minister, so they will return to london, iwould imagine minister, so they will return to london, i would imagine the raf will be quite closely involved with this, and i would imagine we will then get free speech in downing street and that person will then form their cabinet and there will be a meeting of the privy council on wednesday of next week. this will be done remotely, at which new ministers will be sworn in. that is how it is all going to shape up. why is this all going to shape up. why is this all happening? well, as i say, it is health issues, though buckingham palace of course says as little as possible on that particular subject. they merely hint at, we have become used to this phrase, episodic mobility issues. they want to have certainty, the outgoing and incoming prime ministers need to have certainty about what they need to do next tuesday, so it has been decided that they should all happen for the

first time at balmoral. fiiq that they should all happen for the first time at balmoral. ok. nicholas witchell, first time at balmoral. ok. nicholas witchell. our _ first time at balmoral. ok. nicholas witchell, our royal— first time at balmoral. ok. nicholas witchell, our royal correspondent, | witchell, our royal correspondent, thank you. and of course, full coverage of everything that nick was outlining their next monday and tuesday here on bbc news. monday is when we find out which of those two candidates as one maccabi race and then the formalities on tuesday that nick was describing, so that is all next week. before we move on to talk about mikhail billie mikhail gorbachev, i am just going to bring you some breaking news from the courts in the last few moments, we are just hearing that the jury from the ryan giggs trial has just been discharged. so ryan giggs, the formerfootballer, had pleaded not guilty to several charges, but the jury, we are told, has been unable to reach a verdict and therefore the jury to reach a verdict and therefore the jury has just been discharged. he jury jury has just been discharged. he jury was given a majority ruling a few days ago, i believe, but anyway, the decision there that ultimately the decision there that ultimately

the jury simply cannot reach a verdict on any of the three counts, three cats to be specific. this was the case at manchester crown court you might have been aware of over the last few weeks. so the jury discharged and we wait to see what happens there after that with the case. but that news just through from manchester crown court. asi as i say, let's talk more about our ministry, the new dominating today, the death of mikhail gorbachev, the last leader of a soviet union, the man who ended the cold war. he died yesterday at the age of 91. we can discuss his legacy with someone who met him, the former conservative cabinet minister, david mellor. he served in governments of both margaret thatcher and john major and was foreign office minister with responsibility for the soviet union in the late 1980s. david, good afternoon. tell us about your meetings with mikhail gorbachev, what you thought of him and made of

him as a person? i what you thought of him and made of him as a person?— him as a person? i think he was a treat him as a person? i think he was a great man- _ him as a person? i think he was a great man- a _ him as a person? i think he was a great man. a very, _ him as a person? i think he was a great man. a very, very - him as a person? i think he was a great man. a very, very great - him as a person? i think he was a i great man. a very, very great man, actually. i think he was the one who brought to an end 40 years of a cold war because he had the guts to recognise that this arms race was getting no one anywhere and was in particular making the soviet union impossible to run, effectively, because of the cost. and i am thrilled that some years after he left office, i was asked to do a vote of thanks to him at a big dinner at the guildhall and i was able to spend time with him and tell him that as far as i am concerned, he is one of the most extraordinary people i have ever met in my life and that remains very much my view today. a sad day, even though it has been some years now since mikhail gorbachev was able to play any kind of role in the increasingly dreadful politics of russia. that of role in the increasingly dreadful politics of russia.— politics of russia. that is interesting. _ politics of russia. that is interesting. how- politics of russia. that is interesting. how did - politics of russia. that is interesting. how did he l politics of russia. that is i interesting. how did he take politics of russia. that is - interesting. how did he take that compliment from you? filth. interesting. how did he take that

compliment from you?— interesting. how did he take that compliment from you? oh, we had a aood compliment from you? oh, we had a good conversation, _ compliment from you? oh, we had a good conversation, obviously - compliment from you? oh, we had a| good conversation, obviously through an interpreter. ifound him mellow and ifound him at that an interpreter. ifound him mellow and i found him at that point perhaps more relaxed than he later became. as it became obvious, you see, leaving about mikhail gorbachev was he really stopped the cold war because he didn't want to continue with an arms race. he wasn't prepared to shore up some of these also rickety communist governments in eastern europe that only held office because the russians were prepared to come in and save them, if necessary. he transformed europe. but unfortunately, in transforming europe, he made it almost impossible for a lot of people in the soviet union to believe, at least in the short term, that what he did was good because, of course, what happened with gorbachev was he was thought to have destroyed the power of russia and a lot of people who,

to this day, vicky destroyed the power of russia. and one of those, who has exploited that reputation that gorbachev had is mr putin, who takes a very different view of how russia should exercise its power. yes, and a number of people we have spoken to here today have made that point as well, former ambassadors and others have absolutely made that point. and i am interested that you used the word guts at the beginning, he had the guts to realise the arms race wasn't benefiting anyone. how much of his stance was just his sheer innate belief? hejust had that conviction? because did he have that conviction? because did he have that conviction? because did he have that conviction in the face of opposition from some, was a fundamentally grotty brave man because he was a very brave man. he: always had opposition and but what he was able to do was to look at the imperative in the soviet union, as it then was, to reform and to transform their economic performance

and to transform therefore the standard of living of its people. and the fact that he wanted to do that was much to his benefit. however, it was an almost impossible task he took on. i mean, i am delving back into history now. there was a time when people would remember the name of robert mcnamara, i'm not sure they do now, but he was a prominent american politician during the vietnam period, but i remember sitting down with him during this time that gorbachev came to meet ronald reagan and i said, can he do it? and robert mcnamara said, well, look at it this way. he has got a car that goes at 20 mph or 30 way. he has got a car that goes at 20 mph or30 mph way. he has got a car that goes at 20 mph or 30 mph and way. he has got a car that goes at 20 mph or30 mph and he way. he has got a car that goes at 20 mph or 30 mph and he wants to transform it into a vehicle that does 60 mph and he has to try to take the engine apart, was also still doing the 20 mph or 30 mph that will enable some degree of

confidence to be felt in his rule by the people of russia. and he said... this was before, of course, what happened to him. he said, i don't think he can succeed, desperately sorry that i am to say so. and i am afraid what robert mcnamara said is the right decision, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a very brave and appropriate decision to take because once he had let eastern europe go and all the other changes that he made, as putin is finding, it is actually quite difficult to put that genie back in the box. vladimir putin would like to recreate the old soviet empire, but he's not finding it very easy. soviet empire, but he's not finding it very easy-— it very easy. david mellor, very aood to it very easy. david mellor, very good to hear— it very easy. david mellor, very good to hear your _ it very easy. david mellor, very| good to hear your recollections. thank you so much. david mellor, former foreign office mr and former conservative minister of course, served under margaret thatcher and john major. it is 3:25pm, we are going to get more on that breaking

news from manchester crown court. the jury discharged in the trial of former manchester united footballer, ryan giggs. let's go straight to the court, our correspondent matt grayling has been following the explain what has happened. yes. explain what has happened. yes, welcome here _ explain what has happened. yes, welcome here to _ explain what has happened. 1a: welcome here to manchester crown court. thejury welcome here to manchester crown court. the jury were sent out to deliberate over three charges faced by the former manchester united footballer and after more than 20 hours of deliberation, there were 11 jurors left after one was sent home sick, so thejudge jurors left after one was sent home sick, so the judge called them jurors left after one was sent home sick, so thejudge called them in jurors left after one was sent home sick, so the judge called them in a bit earlier, as i say, after 20 hours of deliberation and the jury said they were unable to reach a verdict on any of the three counts. just a reminder, those three counts were won, a charge of an allegedly coercive and controlling behaviour against his former partner, kate, between 2016 and 2022. the other two charges were alleged assault on the first november 2020 against his former partner kate and also her

emma, at ryan giggs's home in manchester. as i say, after more than 20 hours of deliberation, the jury than 20 hours of deliberation, the jury were brought back in and they told the manchester crown court here that they could not reach a verdict on any of the three counts, sojudge hilary manley told the jury, you are now discharged from your duty. as i stand here now, we wait and are expecting the former manager to leave the crown court... i beg your pardon, and it will be up to the prosecution now to say whether they want a retrial for this case in the coming weeks. want a retrial for this case in the coming weeks-— want a retrial for this case in the cominu weeks. , . ., ., ., coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that. coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that- thank _ coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that. thank you _ coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that. thank you very _ coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that. thank you very much - coming weeks. yes. we wait to hear on that. thank you very much for i on that. thank you very much for now. that is matt grayling bear with the very latest from manchester crown court. america's justice department says donald trump may have concealed documents during an fbi search of his home in florida two months ago. in a court filing, officials say "efforts were probably 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." nasa says it 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 un—crewed flight is the first step in the artemis programme, which aims to return humans to the moon. much more coming up in the next half an hour. right now, it is where the time. —— it is time for the weather. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav danaos. hello. that's the first day, meteorological autumn tomorrow. and it looks like things are set to turn decidedly unsettled, particularly by the end of the week.

could be a bit of a shock to the system after all the dry, sunny, warm weather we've had, some areas could see quite a lot of rainfall and winds will become a significant feature as well. in the short—term, though, high pressure continues to dominate. it's going to be mainly dry for the rest of today and into tomorrow. see variable amounts of cloud. the odd light shower through this evening, they'll fade away. stays quite breezy, though, across england and wales. clearerskies, lighter winds further north. so again, it could be quite chilly out of town across some of the scottish glens, but further south, 10 to 15 celsius. now, as we head into thursday, it's a similar story of high pressure overhead, a lot of dry weather, plenty of sunshine around, too. could see the odd shower here and there, but later in the day we start to see the first area of low pressure move up from the south. so it will turn increasingly cloudy with increasing showers here. quite breezy, too, but top temperatures around 24 degrees, a little bit fresher further north.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader

who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. russia has imposed a three—day shutdown on a major gas pipeline to europe. moscow says repairs are needed it denies it's taking retaliation for western sanctions over the invasion of ukraine. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts he faced during the four—week domestic violence case at manchester crown court. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one day strike by postal workers halts deliveries.

more coming up on the stories later. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. british number one emma raducanu says she is disappointed but looking forward to starting with a "clean slate" after an early end to her us open title defence. raducanu stunned the world last year, winning the major as a teenage qualifier, but with a season punctured by injuries and coaching changes, her return to court at flushing meadows was less memorable, beaten in the first round 6—3, 6—3 by france's alize cornet. the defeat was raducanu's 16th in 29 matches this season, but the 19—year—old is hopeful she can come back stronger. 0bviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here, it's probably my favourite tournament. but also happy because it is a clean slate, i will drop

down the rankings, climb my way back up and i think in a way the target will be off my back slightly and i have another chance to crawl my way back up there. raducanu has found the transition to tour life full—time difficult and has faced criticism. some say she's focused more on her commercial and sponsorship opportunities than the tennis, but former british number one jo durie doesn't agree. her life is change so radically in the past year, at the moment where she is out, she is going to be ranked about 80 in the world. i think for a 19—year—old that is not a bad first year on the tour. i think we'll have to get over the fact that she is also a grand slam champion, she is still finding her feet, now she has played a whole year, she has played a lot of these tournaments. she has played a lot of different players, the players know

how she plays and they have got used to work. now she just has to build again. to football and there are five games in the premier league tonight — one of which sees liverpool host newcastle. jurgen klopp's side go into the match on the back of beating bournemouth 9—0 at the weekend — but liverpool's manager insists he's not expecting a similar result tonight. the scoreline is a freaky one if you like, doesn't happen a lot more often and will not happen a lot because of the quality of the opponents. but things can go that way because we played a good game. everything worked out the that afternoon, we don't expect a freakish scoreline again. staying with football, chelsea have completed the signing of wesley fofa na from leicester city. the french centre—backjoins

on a seven year deal for 70 million pounds plus add—ons. this breaks chelsea's club record spending in a window after spending £250 million this summer. a record global audience of more than 365 million people watched this summer's euro 2022, while 50 million tuned in for england's victory over germany in the wembley final. tournament organiser uefa says the audience was more than double that for the previous women's euros in 2017. the lionesses are in action with two world cup qualifiers in the next week... and the home game against luxembourg is already sold out as well as a friendly with usa in october. nikita parris says it's evidence of how much the game has grown. you know, sell—out crowds. usa game, when it sells and 24—hour as you know they are the type of movements that we want in the women's game. we don'tjust want that that we want in the women's game. we don't just want that for our country but for our clubs as well. there is

a new season about to kick off straight after this international window and we want to see the fans coming through the turnstiles there also. that's all the sport for now. jane. more now on our main story, the death of the former leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev. tributes have been paid from around the world by many who saw gorbachev as a man of peace — and instrumental in bringing about the end of the cold war. borisjohnson was one of them. he was one of those people who change the world and unquestionably changed it for the better. when you look at what he did to make europe hole, free, to give freedom to the countries of the former soviet

union. it was quite an extraordinary thing. of course mikael gorbachev triggered things he didn't expect. perhaps you paid political price for it, when history is written i think he will be one of the authors fantastic change the better. here's what the german chancellor 0laf scholz had to say. translation: he was a courageous reformer and a statesman _ who dared to do many things. we will not forget that perestroika made it possible to attempt to establish democracy in russia and that democracy and freedom became possible in europe, that germany could be united and the iron curtain disappeared. the democracy movement in central and eastern europe also benefited from the fact he was in charge of russia at that time. we know that he's died at a time when not only has democracy in russia failed — there is no other way to describe the current situation there — but also russia and the russian president putin are digging

new trenches in europe and have started a terrible war against the neighbouring country, ukraine. and that is precisely why we remember mikhail gorbachev and know what significance he had for the development of europe and also of our country in recent years. but for many in russia, mikhail gorbachev, remains a controversialfigure. here's some reaction to the death of mikahil gorbachev from the streets of moscow. translation: it seems that he did not realise i the gravity of his decisions. he did not fix his mistakes. he passed away without fixing them. and us, we are hostages of his stupidity. what can i say? god rest his soul, may god not judge him too severely. translation: it seemed to us back then that he was a person _ who could change the soviet union for the better. but then, when his time was coming to the end, it turned out that he's a person

who broke up the soviet union, broke up a vast country, which led to a large number of wars and civil unrest in the former soviet republics, between the people of the soviet union. that's why i don't have a high opinion of him now, of his life journey and his achievements. translation: l have a | negative view of mikhail gorbachev�*s time in power. he did a lot of damaging things to our country. we are the ones facing the consequences. we can speak now to victor balagadde, a former editorial director for the russian newspaper comma—sant. thank you very much forjoining us. your thoughts, your observations about a man who achieved a lot depending on your stance, what are your thoughts?—

your thoughts? well, i think overall mikhail gorbachev _ your thoughts? well, i think overall mikhail gorbachev is _ your thoughts? well, i think overall mikhail gorbachev is a _ your thoughts? well, i think overall mikhail gorbachev is a political - mikhail gorbachev is a political figure who will be taking his own place among the greatest russians in history. this is my personal opinion. and as all the great russian historicalfigures, they are all controversial figures. there are lots of positive but there are also negative sides and their biographies. if you look at mikhail gorbachev, obviously he is not appreciated as much as we appreciated as much as we appreciated him in the west, he is not a creature so met in russia. but he is the person who had courage to break up the soviet system. he brought freedom of travel, freedom of travel to millions and millions of travel to millions and millions of russians. unfortunately right now they do not appreciate that, they probably do not remember how

difficult it was to live in the soviet union, or in russia just 40 or 50 years ago. but today many russians are thankful, especially those russians who are in the west are very thankful for him for opening the borders for opening the society. at the same time of course, he struggled during the whole dissolution of the soviet union with keeping outskirts of the country at peace. that was his main struggle, may be people in russia and especially in countries like armenia or azerbaijan are blaming him for political violence which happen there during the dissolution. fiend there during the dissolution. and someone else's lady earlier in the days are trying to accomplish everything that you have just outlined, that was more than one

single person can achieve, you couldn't have the freedom and everything you have described but also be able to deal with the fallout and the economic fallout that we know about as well. is that a fair comment? yellow like it is a fair comment. even if you look at how the kremlin came about. putin himself acknowledged that mikhail gorbachev, his main creditor mikhail gorbachev, his main creditor mikhail gorbachev is the understanding of the soviet system, that the soviet system required reforms at that stage. when we look at russians today who are... that they are the cause of dissolution of the soviet union, that shows that many of them do not understand the whole system, the whole soviet system is about the colour and mikhail gorbachev had that courage to take responsibility and try to reform the whole system

and try to reform the whole system and the fact that the soviet union did collapse, did have some violence, there was some bloodshed, it wasn't as brutal for example in yugoslavia. 0bviously, mikhail gorbachev can be credited to the fact that he gave freedom to russians, but of course it was not as successful in his economical reforms like he was successful in his political reforms. really interesting to talk to you thank you very much.— really interesting to talk to you thank you very much. thank you had am .

with the time edging up we will talk to another major international story because let's go to pakistan. the united nations has launched an emergency appeal, to help victims of recent flooding in pakistan. more than a thousand people are known to have been killed — as roads, homes and bridges are washed away. 0ur correspondent pumza fihlani is in the southern sindh province. and we are on one of the busy roads here in sukkur in sindh province. it's one of the places where families who have been displaced have come and pitched tents for temporary shelter. it's a busy road and there are a lot of children running around. the parents are now speaking to them, say they are worried about how long they'll have to be in these conditions. they are out in the open in really hot weather. but also there isn't enough space for everything that they've come with. 0n the one side, just across, some people have brought their livestock that they were able to salvage when the flood waters came.

but because it's a busy road, they worry that either that will get run over or the children as they move in between the streets. they've told us that for days they can go without food because aid efforts here are still very erratic. and it's unclear when food is going to come. when it does come, people fight for it, they fight amongst themselves, children fight amongst themselves and adults also, too. and it's just creating an intense sense of desperation here on the ground. the country itself relies hugely on the road infrastructure to move goods when there aren't any floods. and because that has been destroyed, now they're having to think on their feet about how they will get aid to people. in the meantime, what that's meant is that whatever little supplies were already in communities, those are not enough to go around. and that's where that desperation and those fights then come from, because people know this, they see how little the food is when it comes. they see the spaces and the time it takes in between the next food delivery. so they do get a sense that

whatever is available is not enough for everyone, which is why people aren't willing, or they aren't willing to go without, and they're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that they get fed. let's ta ke let's take a few minutes to discuss the desperate situation facing so many people. i'm joined one of pakistan's most recognisable stars of film and television mehwish hayat who has volunteered as a penny appeal global ambassador since 2019 and is helping out with the relief effort effort in pakistan now. thanks forjoining us this afternoon. what are you hearing from friends, family, people you know, people in desperate situations. what are you hearing?— are you hearing? thank you for havin: are you hearing? thank you for having me _ are you hearing? thank you for having me on _ are you hearing? thank you for having me on the _ are you hearing? thank you for having me on the show. -

are you hearing? thank you for i having me on the show. basically, are you hearing? thank you for - having me on the show. basically, i have then obviously notjust hearing it but seeing it. as you and the viewers must have seen, the devastation being caused by the floods there. one third of the country is underwater. 50 million people are displaced, they have no shelter, 1500 deaths that we know. because like your correspondence said, there are that there are no bridges, no way to get the people that are affected because the agencies aren't being helped by not being able to get to them. the situation is really worse because people have no food, no shelter, no livelihood. their crops are all washed out. their livestock is all gone and there is little or nothing left with them. it is only going to get worse because this is just scratching the surface. so, plus the kind of waterborne illnesses there are the risk of them spreading and also the fact that winter is just

around the corner and in the northern areas it really becomes difficult. it is one of the toughest time in the airfor difficult. it is one of the toughest time in the air for people living difficult. it is one of the toughest time in the airfor people living in these areas. so imagine the kind of problem that exists right now was done i felt that i need to do more thanjust done i felt that i need to do more than just tweet about it, so i am working with penny appeal and i am launching this global appeal with them to get help wherever we can because this is going to take so much longer than you even imagine. the kind of damage that has... the lives that are... we need the world to help us right now which ever way we can. because right now the situation is really horrific. yes, the scale _ situation is really horrific. yes, the scale of — situation is really horrific. yes, the scale of this _ situation is really horrific. yes, the scale of this is _ the scale of this is incredibly upsetting, isn't it? we had a slight drop out with your line that i want to persist if we can. because we are talking about the help that is

needed. normally we would be talking about getting people into shelter, getting them food and medicine. some of these people can't even be accessed right now. so if people want to donate, if people want to help, how can any offer of help be used? how would any money be used? that is one of the problem is that we are facing. how to get to the people that are affected, how to get to the spaces, everything is just rounded water. so, even the food thatis rounded water. so, even the food that is being distributed through helicopters, even that gets destroyed or wasted. there needs to be away to make sure that help gets to the people where they are and where it is needed. that is why the whole world needs to come together because i think we clearly don't have the resources to handle this kind of destruction that has happened in the damage that has happened. i think that the more aid, the more help that we can get,

because now that we do have penny appeal on the ground helping 13 most affected areas, giving them drinking water, food and medical aid. but thatis water, food and medical aid. but that is not enough. so much more needs to be done. and honestly, we needs to be done. and honestly, we need to come up with some sort of a plan, a strategy to be able to get these people who need help because we have no idea how many people are right now, they need help, they are dying and the number of deaths, even if it is 1500 right now we really don't know. that is the number that we know of. there needs to be access to these places and these people, we really need a strategy. we really need all the kind of help in order to get these people to have shelter, to get these people to have shelter, to have food, drinking water. basic necessities at the moment. because it has been $10 billion damage

already. but it is going to take years to get back to normal, or get fixed. so at the moment this is the main priority and should be the main priority to get to the people, get to these affected areas that agencies are not being able to because of the destruction, because of the damage, because of everything being in the water. no bridges to get to them, no roads or nothing is visible at the moment. so people are reaching out, people are trying to get to these areas, but it is not an easy task and a lot of help is needed. a lot needs to be done about this. the whole world needs to rise to the challenge and help in whatever way they can. because 50 million people, i am speaking on behalf of them and i am the voice right now because they can't be sitting right here and talking to you and letting the world know about the devastation that they have

caused. so being the voice of millions of people of out there who don't have shelter, don't have food, don't have shelter, don't have food, don't have shelter, don't have food, don't have a livelihood at the moment and they really help and support. i really hope to be able to, through this global appeal, to help and i hope that things get better for these people who are dying right now. better for these people who are dying right now-— better for these people who are dying right now. thank you for your time. all dying right now. thank you for your time- all the _ dying right now. thank you for your time. all the best _ dying right now. thank you for your time. all the best to _ dying right now. thank you for your time. all the best to you. - dying right now. thank you for your time. all the best to you. start - dying right now. thank you for your time. all the best to you. start of. time. all the best to you. start of film and television talking about the urgent need, following the flooding in pakistan. a new study shows that switzerland's glaciers have lost more than half their volume, in less than a hundred years — and this long hot summer has accelerated the loss of ice. the glaciers attract skiers and climbers — but they are also essential to europe's water supply. imogen foulkes reports, on the consequences to lives, and livelihoods.

high in the alps, the mountains are moving. ancient ice caps are cracking and melting. richard — a guide like his father and grandfather before him — has to adapt. the permafrost on the mountains is melting off, and then you have more rock fall. you have more crevasses on the glacier because there is not enough snow from the winter. and it makes ourjob more challenging, i have to say. you have to think more about risk—management. that's all part of things we didn't have, like, across switzerland, rock falls triggered by melting permafrost have closed climbing routes — but the changes started long before this hot summer. since the 1930s, the glaciers have lost more than half their volume. 20 years ago, this glacier was actually much bigger. and you can see behind me, the rock is emerging where the ice has split apart in the last few years. and if you take

a moment to listen... rushing. ..that rushing sound is the ice melting and pouring down into the valleys. so, we're probably one of the first people walking here. the ground up here hasn't been seen for thousands of years. now the remaining ice has been wrapped up to protect it — a desperate sticking plaster on the wound of climate change. glaciers are tourist attractions, and the thaw threatens livelihoods. so when we constructed this chairlift, we had to dig in five, seven meters into the ice because the ice was on this level, and this was 23 years back. look in my back where the glacier is now. glaciers store the winter snow, and release it gently in summer — water for europe's rivers and europe's crops. scientists say global warming is bringing that natural process to an end. end of the century, we will only

have ice at the highest part — so above 3,500 meters that there will be still some ice in 100 years. but all what we see here, this mainly will be gone. if this ice is gone, there won't be any water any more. our world is getting warmer, and glaciers are especially latest predictions show keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees centigrade could save some of the ice. but achieving that will need a real effort to tackle climate change. without it, europe's glaciers could be gone in decades. imogen foulkes, bbc news. we will have the weather for you in a few moments. but before thatjust a few moments. but before thatjust a reminderfor a programme tomorrow morning. a reminder tojoin us tomorrow morning at 9, for a special edition

of your questions answered — broadcast here on the news channel and on bbc radio 5—live nicky campbell will be putting your questions to the labour leader, sir keir starmer, so do get in touch. get your questions in before then. here is the hashtag and you can e—mail us again as you can see there. nuttall kicks off here on the news channel here at nine and on five live as well if you are out and about and want to listen. that is all tomorrow morning and you can send your questions in now. right now it's time for the weather. hello there. it's been so settled, dry and largely sunny and warm for such a long time now that by the end of the week, when we see something a lot more unsettled, it could come as a bit of a shock to the system. and it really will turn quite unsettled for some with gales and heavy rain, particularly across southern and western areas. in the short term though,

we still have high pressure bringing fine and settled, seen certainly through today and into tomorrow. variable amounts of cloud around, maybejust a light shower here and there. most places will be dry, more of a breeze as well across the southern half of the country, but quite warm again up to the mid 20s further north. it's the mid to high teens. now through this evening and overnight it's going to be largely fine and dry. 0ne under that area of high pressure, more of a breeze again across southern areas could see a bit more cloud across parts of england and wales, clearer skies further north. so again, it could be quite chilly like it was the previous night. further south, though, 10 to 15 degrees. now, thursday looks to be fine and settled once again thanks to high pressure. could see the odd shower here and there. a bit more cloud perhaps for the southern half of england into south wales. otherwise, it's mostly fine with some sunny spells. top temperatures again close to the mid 20s, 18 to 21 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. then as we move out of thursday, we start to see some changes two areas of low pressure begin

to move in like a pincer movement across the uk which will start to turn things more unsettled as they merge. so friday, a windy day in the north, could see some heavy showers, maybe some thunderstorms across southern and western areas. perhaps the southeast of england escaping and staying dry again with temperatures again, 25 degrees or so. warm air coming off the near continent, but a little bit cooler further north and west. then into the weekend, i mean, these details could change, but at the moment it looks like we could see this band of heavy thundery rain spreading northwards, followed by another area of heavy rain. pushing into more western areas, could be quite wet for northern ireland, parts of wales and the south west. so temperatures not quite as high on saturday, but it'll still be quite warm despite the wet and windy weather. and then as we move through the weekend, low pressure sits to the west of the uk. we could even see another deep area of low pressure development could bring a stormy spell for sunday across more western areas, particularly around irish sea coast. so it really will be turning unsettled through the weekend and even lasting into the start

of the following week as well.

this is bbc news. iam i am clive myrie. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts he faced during the four—week domestic violence case at manchester crown court. violence case at manchester russia has imposed a three—day shutdown on a major gas pipeline to europe. moscow says repairs are needed and denies it's taking retaliation for western sanctions over ukraine. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral instead. royal mail apologises to customers, as a one—day strike by postal workers halts deliveries. international aid agencies are struggling to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced

by deadly floods in pakistan. a bbc investigation has found that shamima begum — who left london at the age of 15 to join the islamic state group — was smuggled into syria by an intelligence agent working for canada. 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. many russians, including vladimir putin, blame mikhail gorbachev for what they believe was russia's loss of prestige and respect after the fall of the iron curtain. but in the west, he's lauded for ending the repression of communist rule — with us president biden calling him

a "man of remarkable vision" who created a safer world, and borisjohnson saying that "his courage and integrity remain an example to all, at a time of russian aggression in ukraine." with his assessment of a remarkable 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 ussr was looking more like a cemetery than a superpower. but in 1985, the youthful gorbachev took charge and tried to reinvigorate the soviet union with perestroika. at home, there were western—style walkabouts.

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 1989, the berlin wall came crashing down. crucially, gorbachev refused to intervene to prop up the iron curtain. it was mikhail gorbachev who 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. back home, though, 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. anatoly adamishin thinks that is unfair. he was deputy foreign minister under mikhail gorbachev. 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. 0n the streets of moscow, opinion was divided. "it was a big mistake that the ussr fell apart," says victor,

"and that gorbachev failed to save it." "i respected him," says marina. "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.

and steve rosenberg gave us the kremlin's reaction to mikhail gorbachev�*s death. today president putin sent a telegram to mikhail gorbachev�*s family expressing his condolences and noting that gorbachev had had a huge impact on world history, and later, president putin's spokesman suggested that what he called gorbachev�*s "romanticism" around the idea of a rapprochement with the west had been misplaced. certainly putin'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 tried to open up the country, give his people more freedoms — 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. that just 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. that is steve rosenberg fair reporting for us in moscow. earlier, i spoke to our world affairs editor, john simpson, who interviewed gorbachev on several occasions. he described the legacy the former soviet union leader has left behind. well, i think the mistake comes from president biden to say that 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 vision. i think he stumbled into this, one thing after another. 0nce 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 the 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 and stopping it. hejust started to pull the bricks out one by one and not very long afterwards it all collapsed.— it all collapsed. foreign affairs editorjohn _ it all collapsed. foreign affairs editorjohn simpson _ it all collapsed. foreign affairs editorjohn simpson there. - i'm joined now by foreign policy expert and special assistant to president reagan, doug bandow. hello to you, thanks very much for being with us. i don't know if you heard whatjohn simpson said there, the suggestion that mikhail gorbachev was a man of vision, but

actually he set in train a whole series of events with perestroika and so on, but he simply could not control and in that he wasn't really a man of vision.— a man of vision. oh, i think he had a man of vision. oh, i think he had a vision in — a man of vision. oh, i think he had a vision in terms _ a man of vision. oh, i think he had a vision in terms of _ a man of vision. oh, i think he had a vision in terms of humanity. - a man of vision. oh, i think he had a vision in terms of humanity. but| a vision in terms of humanity. but was purposeful. the sense that torture should end, a vision of a society he thought would be true socialism, but it was a humane vision. i think the editor was absolutely right that gorbachev had no idea what he was unleashing. he hoped to save communism. what he managed to do was destroy it and open up other possibilities for people. the critical thing is he allowed that to happen and that made him such a pivotal thinker. i allowed that to happen and that made him such a pivotal thinker.— him such a pivotalthinker. i mean, lots of suggestions _ him such a pivotalthinker. i mean, lots of suggestions in _ him such a pivotalthinker. i mean, lots of suggestions in the - him such a pivotalthinker. i mean, lots of suggestions in the wake - him such a pivotalthinker. i mean, lots of suggestions in the wake of i lots of suggestions in the wake of his death on perhaps what he could have done was go down the chinese route, keep in place the mechanism of the communist party at the top, but allow economic freedom and that would have been something that might

have worked in order to keep the system going. that have worked in order to keep the system going-— system going. that might have worked, system going. that might have worked. but — system going. that might have worked, but if _ system going. that might have worked, but if we _ system going. that might have worked, but if we look - system going. that might have worked, but if we look at - system going. that might have worked, but if we look at the i worked, but if we look at the chinese system that required the repression that he wanted to get rid of. we have tiananmen square shortly before the fall of the berlin wall. china took a very different path and that required the repression that gorbachev, thankfully, wanted to get rid of, so i think we should be very happy that he chose his path and not the chinese path. [30 happy that he chose his path and not the chinese path.— the chinese path. do you believe that the feelings _ the chinese path. do you believe that the feelings that _ the chinese path. do you believe that the feelings that some - the chinese path. do you believe i that the feelings that some ordinary russians seem to have, and it is one of anger is probably the wrong word, but a sense that it was mikhail gorbachev who'd allow the back allowed the diminution of russia in global eyes, for it to fall from a pedestal of superiority, to a degree, is that mikhail gorbachev�*s fault or the fault of people like boris yeltsin and vladimir putin who

followed him? i boris yeltsin and vladimir putin who followed him?— followed him? i think those who followed him? i think those who followed him _ followed him? i think those who followed him share _ followed him? i think those who followed him share the - followed him? i think those who followed him share the blame, i followed him share the blame, indeed, it or a followed him share the blame, indeed, it ora much followed him share the blame, indeed, it or a much bigger share of the blame. the problem with the boris yeltsin years was you saw essentially economic collapse and an economy would that was carved up, the rise of the oligarchs. average russians faced a much worse life, in many ways, pensioners and others, so you can understand their frustration. i think that is why they looked to putin and unfortunately putin gave them back repression. he did succeed in reconstituting the country in a certain way, but only through in a sense the older soviet method and not a democratic method, which would have been the direction to take on. what went wrong in 1989, 1990? i think many things, the problem was i think many things, the problem was i think many things, the problem was i think many in the west end i would number myself among those underestimated the difficulty of making thejump underestimated the difficulty of making the jump from capitalism and

democracy, orto making the jump from capitalism and democracy, or to capitalism and democracy, or to capitalism and democracy from totalitarian communism. i think the role of western financial institutions, the political objectives in the west to keep boris yeltsin in power, no matter what, the way the economy was privatised that basically handed the economy to oligarchs, to the wealthy and the well connected, all of those together, plus boris yeltsin, though himself a decent man, proved not to be the kind of person who could offer leadership into the future to have a strong country, but a decent and democratic one. he wasn't able to deliver. ., ., ,, . ., to deliver. you were a special assistant _ to deliver. you were a special assistant to _ to deliver. you were a special assistant to president - to deliver. you were a special| assistant to president reagan. to deliver. you were a special - assistant to president reagan. he seemed to get on pretty well with mikhail gorbachev and i wonder if you have any personal reflections on the man himself? i you have any personal reflections on the man himself?— the man himself? i think what is critical is that _ the man himself? i think what is critical is that they _ the man himself? i think what is critical is that they needed - the man himself? i think what is critical is that they needed each | critical is that they needed each other. both of them were absolutely critical. reagan was the hard—line anti—communist, had the credibility

to bring an end to the cold war, to make the deals with gorbachev, as he did, to trust gorbachev, while gorbachev was necessary that you needed somebody to keep the red army in the barix, somebody on the soviet side who wanted to end the military build—up and end the repression. i think they found each other and to each of their credit, they recognised in the other something they could deal with and came to trust each other and we should be very thankful to both of them coming in at the right time.— in at the right time. indeed. it is aood to in at the right time. indeed. it is good to get _ in at the right time. indeed. it is good to get your _ in at the right time. indeed. it is good to get your perspective. i in at the right time. indeed. it is i good to get your perspective. doug bandow bear, former personal assistant to ronald reagan reflecting on the life of mikhail gorbachev. many thanks. i did a bit of breaking news for you just coming to us. the unite union is saying that train drivers who are members of aslef will walk out at 12 train operating companies. this is on thursday the 15th of september in

their dispute over pay, so another train strike. we know the post office workers on strike today, well office workers on strike today, well over 100,000. we have seen strikes by refuse collectors in edinburgh and across scotland and we are now seeing more walk—outs from train workers. members of aslef, they are going to walk out at 12 train operating companies. this is on the 15th of september and that dispute, as you well know, is over pay conditions and so on. so more bad news for hard—pressed commuters. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts he faced during the four—week domestic violence case at manchester crown court. matt graveling is at manchester crown court. much, just take us through what

happened today. much, just take us through what happened today-— much, just take us through what happened today. yes, clive, this trial has lasted _ happened today. yes, clive, this trial has lasted three _ happened today. yes, clive, this trial has lasted three and - happened today. yes, clive, this trial has lasted three and a i happened today. yes, clive, this trial has lasted three and a half. trial has lasted three and a half weeks now with the jury at the end of that deliberating for more than 20 hours over three counts faced by the former manchester united footballer, ryan giggs, but about an hour ago thejudgejudge hilary hour ago the judgejudge hilary manley hour ago thejudgejudge hilary manley called them into court to to ask if they had reached a majority verdict on any of the three counts faced by the former player, to which they said they have not. they have since been discharged now. as a reminder, ryan giggs faced three charges. 0ne reminder, ryan giggs faced three charges. one was about controlling behaviour towards his former partner, kate greville, between the dates of august 2017 and november 2020. the other two charges were assault charges, which allegedly occurred on the 1st of november 2020 at the former wales manager's house in manchester on the 1st of november 2020. this was against kate greville and also her younger sister, emma. it is important to say that ryan

giggs denies all the charges, but for a number of weeks now the jury has been hearing evidence from various different witnesses and you may remember even sir alex ferguson came down here, the former manager of ryan giggs and he gave his account at the player's behaviour in the witness box. however, as i say, after more than 20 hours of deliberation, a bit earlier the jury's foreman stood up in court here at manchester crown court and judge hilary manley asked him if he had reached a verdict and the jury on any of the three counts and he said no. he was also asked by the judge whether or not he was given a more time, whether there was a realistic expectation that the jury would be able to reach a verdict, to which he also said no. so the judge thanked them for their time, discharged thejury. and now thanked them for their time, discharged the jury. and now the prosecution has around seven days to decide whether or not to bring this case back to trial and if they choose to do so it is believed the earliest date it will be heard is in

june of next year. fiiq earliest date it will be heard is in june of next year.— june of next year. ok. matt graveling. _ june of next year. ok. matt graveling, many _ june of next year. ok. matt graveling, many thanks i june of next year. ok. matt graveling, many thanks for| june of next year. ok. matt i graveling, many thanks for that. matt graveling at manchester crown court. you're watching bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts he faced during the four—week domestic violence case at manchester crown court. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. russia has shut down gas supplies from a major pipeline to europe for the next three days. moscow had already significantly reduced the amount of gas it supplies through nord stream 1, which comes into the continent via germany. a kremlin spokesman blamed western sanctions against russia, which he claimed prevented normal repair work.

european leaders fear the kremlin could extend the suspension to try to further drive up energy prices — which have soared since the invasion of ukraine. 0ur berlin correspondent, damien mcguiness, said germany would be able to cope with the three—day shutdown. over the last few months, germany has done a lot to fill up its gas reserves. so, until quite recently, things were looking quite bad here when it came to getting through the winter because of course, germany relies a lot on gas. before the full invasion of ukraine in february, the majority of german gas came from russia, but that has sunk drastically over the last few months. and what germany has been doing really, particularly recently has been pushing through some quite draconian savings measures. many public buildings now only have cold water and lots of public buildings not lit up at night, as well as going to other countries to get more gas reserves — from norway, from the netherlands, from belgium. and all of this means that germany's gas reserve tanks are now more than 80% full, which is a big increase. and germany has previously said that once you get to 85%

of gas reserve tanks full, germany can get through the winter without extra russian supplies. so those gas reserves are being filled faster than expected. so it's really quite a positive message coming out of berlin today, which is surprising because, of course, gas prices have been rising, as you say. but right now the government is meeting to push through a third package of measures to help households deal with rising prices. and the other positive message is that the german economy minister, robert habeck, has said that gas prices could soon start falling in germany and that's because of those gas reserve tanks, it means that berlin no longer has to take the highest price. so a surprisingly positive message, and i think all of this, this sudden three—day shutdown of this major pipeline is not seen as a surprise in germany. i think since february, the german government has completely lost any illusions it might have had about russia. it doesn't believe what comes out of moscow when it comes to energy and believes that any kind of talk about repairs or slowing down because of supplies is simply a political weapon. and that's why germany has been

frantically, since february, looking for other sources, but also filling up those gas supplies. and it looks like now that's starting to workjust in time really for the winter. damien mcguinness reporting from berlin. meanwhile, a team of inspectors from the united nations nuclear watchdog has arrived in the ukrainian city of zaporizhzhia, in the south—east of the country, 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 5 million anti—radiation tablets to ukraine, as fears grow of a possible nuclear accident. 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's less than a week to go until we find out whether it'll be the foreign secretary, liz truss, or the former chancellor, rishi sunak, who'll be

moving into number 10. 0ur royal correspondent, nicholas witchell, explained why the break in tradition. constitutionally it is the monarch who invites the leader of the largest party in the house of commons to become the 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 health. buckingham palace says very little on that subject, they merely cite the episodic "mobility issues," that phrase we have become ratherfamiliar with. they want certainty in terms of the diaries of the prime ministers, they want certainty in terms of the arrangements, so next tuesday, 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 of course 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 the normal arrangements, i am sure, a speech on the steps of number 10 downing street will take place. nick ritual there. —— nicholas witchell there. 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 walk—outs are planned. our business correspondent, caroline davies, has the very latest. what do we want? decent wage! when do we want it? now! picket lines and pressure. this summer has seen strikes from rail to bin collections, and there are more planned. today the halls were nearly empty at sorting offices as 115,000 royal mail workers walked out again over pay. the company say pay rises have

to come with changes. to pay more we have been very clear that royal mail needs to modernise and change and for the first three to four months of negotiations the cwu's position has been incredibly unhelpful, in that they want an inflationary pay rise and they're not willing to talk about change. but the union says that is not true. we are a union that never faces away from change. we have agreed every bit of technology and automation, and we had an agreement 18 months ago setting out the future direction and strategy of the company. the company walked away from that. they were not the only ones on strike today. 40,000 bt and 0penreach workers walked out for the second day in a row after rejecting the bt pay offer of £1500. many are especially angry that the offer is not higher, while the company is paying shareholders dividends. it is totally immoral at this time, what they're trying to do. if they were to have just given

a penny off each dividend payment, that would have been enough to give every one of us a 10% pay rise. bt says the offer is the highest pay rise for those on the front line in more than 20 years, and theirjob is to balance the demands of bt shareholders and managing the company in a challenging economic environment. but it is that environment unions say is a worry for members. the strikes this summer have not just been about pay, but that has often been a key factor, with unions saying the offers on the table do not reflect the rising cost of living. companies are pushing back on pay demands, with many arguing while they do want to offer pay increases, the pandemic means that needs to come with changes too that many unions say are not acceptable. this summer may be fading, but the threat of strikes is not. caroline davies, bbc news. international aid agencies are struggling to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by deadly floods in pakistan. flash floods and landslides along

the indus and kabul rivers have left more than 1,000 dead and 1,600 injured — with the southern districts of balochistan and sindh worst affected. the un is calling the floods in pakistan "a monsoon on steroids," as flood waters continue to rise in some areas. these are the latest pictures we have from the swat valley. as you can see, the streets are rivers. key infrastructure has crumbled and almost half of the country's cotton crop has washed away. we can speak now to abdullah fadil, the unicef pakistan representative, who has spent the last few days visiting the areas affected by severe flooding. hello, thank you very much indeed forjoining us. what have you seen on your visits to those areas that have been so badly hit? i on your visits to those areas that have been so badly hit?- on your visits to those areas that have been so badly hit? i have seen that the station, _ have been so badly hit? i have seen that the station, i _ have been so badly hit? i have seen that the station, i have _ have been so badly hit? i have seen that the station, i have seen - that the station, i have seen communities that are completely uprooted, i have seen mothers with small children who are struggling to cope, i have seen children who have

not eaten for a few days and i have seen families who are living in makeshift shelters. it is really devastating to see a third of the country submerged, livelihoods destroyed and children actually after covid, two years of not learning, again going through this and lose their learning abilities in schools. . . and lose their learning abilities in schools. , , . ., ., schools. yes, is there much aid that is actually getting — schools. yes, is there much aid that is actually getting through _ schools. yes, is there much aid that is actually getting through to - schools. yes, is there much aid that is actually getting through to these i is actually getting through to these communities or are some still very much cut off?— communities or are some still very much cut off? actually, many are cut off, but with — much cut off? actually, many are cut off, but with whatever _ much cut off? actually, many are cut off, but with whatever resources i much cut off? actually, many are cut off, but with whatever resources we | off, but with whatever resources we have had, we have immediately deployed them in balochistan, the hardest hit, and sind province. we have delivered drinking water, medical supplies, have delivered drinking water, medicalsupplies, bed have delivered drinking water, medical supplies, bed nets and food, but more is needed. we are concerned about especially small children, who are already malnourished, but now becoming even more malnourished, so

we are providing therapeutic foods, but more is needed. where houses are empty, the infrastructure of the country is completely destroyed and as the secretary general said, this is a climate crisis, so we are hoping the international community, the world would respond generously, as it did in ukraine and in other parts of the world.— as it did in ukraine and in other parts of the world. yes. the un launched that _ parts of the world. yes. the un launched that appeal _ parts of the world. yes. the un launched that appeal yesterday | parts of the world. yes. the un i launched that appeal yesterday for £140 million to deal with the aid effort. ijust wonder if £140 million to deal with the aid effort. i just wonder if the situation is going to get worse, not necessarily because more rain could fall, but because of the possibility of waterborne diseases spreading as a result of the crisis.— a result of the crisis. exactly, and that is our— a result of the crisis. exactly, and that is our biggest _ a result of the crisis. exactly, and that is our biggest fear, _ a result of the crisis. exactly, and that is our biggest fear, frankly. i that is our biggest fear, frankly. so far about 350 children have died, but where the waterborne disease hits with diarrhoea, cholera, dengue fever, malaria, that is where it can

really impact children's lives and thatis really impact children's lives and that is why we want to position already supplies and, you know, the winter is only eight to ten weeks away in northern pakistan, so that is another concern we have. indeed, thatis is another concern we have. indeed, that is why the un asked for this £140 million, of which unicef is asking about 37 million and we really need this money now so that we can respond immediately. already this weekend we are having to chartered flights come in to deliver supplies in sindh province and balochistan.— supplies in sindh province and balochistan. and the particular effects of this _ balochistan. and the particular effects of this crisis _ balochistan. and the particular effects of this crisis on - balochistan. and the particular. effects of this crisis on children? enormous. as i said, from a learning perspective, these communities were already vulnerable in balochistan, in sindh and now in southern punjab, so the hardest hits parts of the country are those communities that are already vulnerable, so that is why we are asking for this immediate

reply and response. and, you know, another issue that is always a critical element of this is children's mental well—being and mental health. so we are actually also responding, creating facilities and child friendly spaces so that we can address through social workers and social support delivery of services. ~ ., ., . ,, and social support delivery of services. ~ ., ., a ., and social support delivery of services. ~ a ., , ., services. ok. well, good luck to you and the other— services. ok. well, good luck to you and the other workers _ services. ok. well, good luck to you and the other workers out _ services. ok. well, good luck to you and the other workers out there i and the other workers out there trying to help in this desperate situation. abdullah fadil, the unicef pakistan representative, thank you forjoining us. we are going to get more in a few minutes, but the is time for a look at the weather have the details here for you. thank you very much. good afternoon to you, we have a couple of quiet days with tomorrow the weather we have seen for such a long time of the high pressure here, but low pressure will be moving in late on thursday and into friday, making things are very unsettled for the

weekend. this evening most places will be dry, still quite a breeze across urban areas, that will stop temperatures falling much below 11 degrees, whereas further north lighter winds, could be quite chilly out of town in scotland, so tomorrow chilly in the north, thanks to high pressure better in the south. the odd shower dotted around here and there, increasing amounts of showers for southern and south—west of england is that where the fun starts to move north, but again feeling quite warm in the mid 20s through the afternoon. through friday into the afternoon. through friday into the weekend this area of low pressure develops almost in situ across the uk and then sits to the rest of the uk through the weekend, even into the start of next week, so heavy rain at times, it likely will be windy and gales across the country, so stay tuned for the forecast. hello. this is bbc news. the headlines: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war,

who has died at the age of 91. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on three counts of domestic violence. he denies the charges. the aslef union says train drivers at 12 rail companies will strike on the 15th of september — in a long—running dispute over pay. russia has imposed a three—day shutdown on a major gas pipeline to europe. moscow says repairs are needed and denies it's taking retaliation for western sanctions over ukraine. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's kassa. good afternoon... the jury in the trial of former manchester united player ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the three counts he faced. the 48—year—old denied

headbutting his ex—partner kate greville during a row at his home in november 2020. he also denied controlling behaviour, as well as assaulting ms greville's sister emma. the jury at manchester crown court had failed to reach a verdict on any of the three charges against him after deliberating for almost 23 hours. any retrial will not take place until at least 5june 2023, thejudge said. emma raducanu says she is disappointed but looking forward to a "clean slate" after an early end to her us open title defence. raducanu shocked the world last year by becoming the first woman in history to win a major after coming through the qualifying rounds. no such performances this year — as the number 11 seed was comfortably beaten in the first round by france's alize cornet 6—3, 6—3. 0bviously really disappointing, really sad to leave here, it's probably my favourite tournament.

but also, in a way happy because it is a clean slate, i will drop down the rankings, climb my way back up and i think in a way the target will be off my back slightly and i have another chance to claw my way back up there. manchester united boss expects cristiano rinaldo will stay on. he was the top scorer last season with 24 goals in all 12 petitions and had said he wanted to leave the old trafford side this summer. we need quality players and you need more to cover all of the games, to keep the consistency going. that is what we strive for. staying with football,

chelsea have completed the signing of wesley fofa na from leicester city for £70 million plus add—ons. the french centre—backjoins on a seven—year deal. it means chelsea have spent a club record of 250 million pounds this summer. a record global audience of more than 365 million people watched this summer's euro 2022, while 50 million tuned in for england's victory over germany in the wembley final. tournament organiser uefa says the audience was more than double that for the previous women's euros in 2017. the lionesses are in action with two world cup qualifiers in the next week. and the home game against luxembourg at stoke is already sold out as well as a friendly with the usa in october. nikita parris says it's evidence of how much the game has grown. you know, sell—out crowds. stoke game, usa when it sells out in 24 hours though is the type of

movements we want in the women's game. we don'tjust want that movements we want in the women's game. we don't just want that for our country but for our clubs as well. this season is about to kick off straight after this international window and we want to see the fans coming through the turnstiles there also. to some cricket because the pressure is on in the hundred where there are two games in both the men's and women's tournaments today. northern superchargers needed to win and better their run rate in order to qualify from the group. and while they managed to win against the southern brave — the margin of victory, 20 runs, wasn't big enough to go through... manchester 0riginals also need a big win in order to qualify — they are playing against the oval invicibles right now — you can follow that one on the bbc sport website. 0r watch on iplayer... that's all the sport for now. more now on our main story, the death of the former leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev. tributes have been paid from around

the world by many who saw gorbachev as a man of peace — and instrumental in bringing about the end of the cold war. borisjohnson was one of them. mikhail gorbachev was one of those people who changed the world and unquestionably changed it for the better. when you look at what he did to make europe whole, free, to give freedom to the countries of the former soviet union, it was quite an extraordinary thing. of course, mikhail gorbachev is one of those people who triggered a series of changes that perhaps he didn't anticipate. maybe he paid his own political price for it, but when history is written, he will be one of the authors of fantastic change for the better. here's what the german chancellor 0laf scholz had to say. translation: he was a courageous reformer and a statesman _ who dared to do many things.

we will not forget that perestroika made it possible to attempt to establish democracy in russia and that democracy and freedom became possible in europe, that germany could be united and the iron curtain disappeared. the democracy movement in central and eastern europe also benefited from the fact he was in charge of russia at that time. we know that he's died at a time when not only has democracy in russia failed — there is no other way to describe the current situation there — but also russia and the russian president putin are digging new trenches in europe and have started a terrible war against the neighbouring country, ukraine. and that is precisely why we remember mikhail gorbachev and know what significance he had for the development of europe and also of our country in recent years. i'm joined by the former conservative cabinet minister under prime ministers margaret thatcher and john major, lord peter lilley. thanks to being with us. what are

your recollections, reflections on the life of nick al gore —— mikhail gorbachev. i the life of nick al gore -- mikhail gorbachev-— the life of nick al gore -- mikhail gorbachev. , . ., gorbachev. i remember when he came over with his — gorbachev. i remember when he came over with his government _ gorbachev. i remember when he came over with his government and - gorbachev. i remember when he came over with his government and we i gorbachev. i remember when he came over with his government and we had i over with his government and we had a day of talks between our government and hits. he was immensely impressive. the way his ministers spoke like a conductor controls an orchestra. i am my wife and john major went out to dinner, that was fascinating because as the dinner went on he relaxed in the became very frank. talking about the problems that we have about controlling our capitalistic economy during a recession. he was talking very frankly about the almost impossibility of running a communist

control economy. he told me a wonderfuljoke about it which is too long for me to review on bbc. the extent to which he was disillusioned with the underlying system he had operate. he with the underlying system he had 0 erate. . . �* with the underlying system he had oerate. �* ., ., operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about — operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about to _ operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about to set _ operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about to set in _ operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about to set in train - operate. he wasn't cognisant of what he was about to set in train really i he was about to set in train really was he? ., ~ ., ., was he? no. although the war did come down _ was he? no. although the war did come down and _ was he? no. although the war did come down and the _ was he? no. although the war did come down and the eastern i was he? no. although the war did i come down and the eastern european countries did gain their independence. we all assume that the soviet union would continue for quite some time. as it was hopefully becoming more democratic, we didn't i think, many of us anticipate that it would suddenly implode that way it would suddenly implode that way it did in year or two later. but that goes to the heart, frankly, doesn't it? of the kind of man that he was. because he fully understood that if he was going to keep the soviet union together at that moment

in history, at that particular time. you would have to send tanks and all of those republics and he simply wasn't willing to do that. yes, and thatis wasn't willing to do that. yes, and that is a wonderful thing. and the world and those in the former soviet states should be very grateful to him for that and ultimately the people in the remaining russian federation should be very grateful that you didn't try to perpetuate an untenable empire with all the ghastly problems that would have involved, like france trying to hold down nigeria at the end of the colonial period. he was a very great man. and a very charming and obviously nice and humane man to meet. ~ , ., , ., ~' obviously nice and humane man to meet. ~ , ., i. ~ ., meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have — meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have spoken _ meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have spoken to _ meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have spoken to on _ meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have spoken to on the - meet. why then do you think, roshan sue we have spoken to on the streets| sue we have spoken to on the streets of moscow today, they don't look back on him fondly. and they are not blaming the current woes and russia's loss of prestige on the international status, they are not

blaming it on, they are blaming him. why do you think that it's? i can understand _ why do you think that it's? i can understand that _ why do you think that it's? i can understand that they _ why do you think that it's? i can understand that they look i why do you think that it's? i can understand that they look back, the way we all do, you forget about the evils of the past and you remember the grandeur, and their case to soviet union and its wonderful record during the second world war. and then to see it dissolve was painful and difficult. and the person who was there at the time gets blamed. he should however be praise that he didn't try to withstand the inevitable with a terrible bloodshed that it would have involved. and people looking back forget that that was the alternative, the alternative was to try to hold together by for something which could no longer be held together by failed idiotic. ——

ideology. and as a result sure that the legacy? we did do quite a lot with people forget in the immediate aftermath there was a threat of famine. so we had a task force to help overcome these huge problems through distribution storage, preservation and averted a famine. the things that don't happen, don't get remembered. but the fact that that famine didn't materialise as very much due to western british help. very much due to western british hel. ., ., very much due to western british hel _ ., ., ., ., very much due to western british hel. ., ., ., ., help. you are at the right to point out, i help. you are at the right to point out. i would _ help. you are at the right to point out, i would also _ help. you are at the right to point out, i would also wander towards| out, i would also wander towards that push to capitalism, was it too quick? we know that bankers from all over the united states were over there trying to push this new idea

of russia at the end of the war and ijust wonder if of russia at the end of the war and i just wonder if that was a mistake, that the pace to try and make that change was simply too quick? i probably was. i don't think it was forced on russia by the worst, and there were people he wanted to do in a single stroke and there were people trying to do in a single stroke one and they hadn't prepared for it simply opened up opportunities for gangsters and counts to camper listeners to replace communism. whereas a more measured gradual approach might have made them to have proper free markets rather than gangster monopolies. i markets rather than gangster monopolies-— markets rather than gangster mono olies. ., , ., monopolies. i mean your dinner with norman major— monopolies. i mean your dinner with norman major and _ monopolies. i mean your dinner with norman major and john _ monopolies. i mean your dinner with norman major and john major - monopolies. i mean your dinner with norman major and john major and i norman major and john major and mikhail gorbachev, it must have put into perspective, i suspect, the

economic problems that you are having to deal with at that time hit in the uk. . �* having to deal with at that time hit in the uk. , �* ., in the uk. yes, he didn't gloat at all about the _ in the uk. yes, he didn't gloat at all about the fact _ in the uk. yes, he didn't gloat at all about the fact that _ in the uk. yes, he didn't gloat at all about the fact that we - in the uk. yes, he didn't gloat at all about the fact that we had i all about the fact that we had problems about the fact that he had problems. we were thoroughly frank about the fact that there is never an entirely smooth cast to prosperity. and we were going through difficult days day as it turned out when through a much more difficult phase. putting behind you a total communist state was more difficult than in our case putting behind us a heavily socialised free market economy.— behind us a heavily socialised free market econom . ., ,, , ., , . market economy. thank you very much for “oininr market economy. thank you very much forjoining us- — market economy. thank you very much forjoining us. peter— market economy. thank you very much forjoining us. peter lilley _ market economy. thank you very much forjoining us. peter lilley there - forjoining us. peter lilley there with his reflections.

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 the journalist who interviewed her in syria for the bbc podcast, �*i'm not a monster,�* told us about the findings. a dossier, which is hundreds of pages of information gathered by foreign law enforcement andintelligence on him. and within that dossier we can see he was part of a substantial islamic state people smuggling network. he was moving not only shamima, but other people from britain as well to syria. but also within that document we can see that while he was doing this he was gathering information about the people he was helping, so copies of passports, bag tags, anything he could get on them. he told authorities that he was doing this because he was passing information to canadian intelligence in jordan.

we have been able to speak to a senior intelligence officer who has confirmed to us mohammed rasheed was indeed providing information to canadian intelligence. 0k. well, what is the latest now with shamima begum herself? she is still trying to challenge her loss of citizenship here? as it stands today, she is in a detention camp in north—east syria. as you say, she doesn't have citizenship, so she is not able to come home. so for the time being, she is stuck there, but later this year there will be a hearing on the status of her citizenship and whether the government should reconsider its removal. the headlines on bbc news: tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on three counts of domestic violence. he denies the charges in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week. it'll take place at balmoral.

museums say they'll struggle to provide the public with a warm space "warm banks" planned for people priced out of heating their homes, because their own soaring bills are threatening their abilty to open. the museums association says that the cost of living crisis risked being a bigger blow to the sector than the pandemic and that many museum directors are in despair about how to pay for energy bill increases of up to 500%. let's talk to sharon heal, the director of the museums association. just explain how cute the problem is. just explain how cute the problem is, ., , just explain how cute the problem is, .,, i, just explain how cute the problem is. so, as you indicate a lot of museum _ is. so, as you indicate a lot of museum directors _ is. so, as you indicate a lot of museum directors are - is. so, as you indicate a lot of museum directors are coming is. so, as you indicate a lot of. museum directors are coming to is. so, as you indicate a lot of- museum directors are coming to us and saying that they are really despairing when they see the forecast energy bills for the winter period. a few of them has said that

this is going to be worse in the pandemic. 0bviously, during co—that we had government support through the furlough scheme and the recovery scheme. that prevented the permanent closure of some of our institutions right across the uk. what we're seeing now is a crisis on par with that in terms of the impact on the business of the museums, but no support from government and we need recognition that museums have a role to play in helping communities around this crisis, that they need support and investment we are to do that. �* �* . , support and investment we are to do that. �* �* ., , , , ., that. aren't there many museums that are out she run — that. aren't there many museums that are out she run by _ that. aren't there many museums that are out she run by local— that. aren't there many museums that are out she run by local councils? i are out she run by local councils? and they have got to pick up the tab? . . and they have got to pick up the tab? ., , ., , tab? that is part of the problem. local authorities _ tab? that is part of the problem. local authorities themselves i tab? that is part of the problem. | local authorities themselves have come under pressure in terms of their finances, come under pressure in terms of theirfinances, they come under pressure in terms of their finances, they have come under pressure in terms of theirfinances, they have had come under pressure in terms of their finances, they have had the loss of revenue during the covert and a squeeze on their funding from central government. that is meant that they have got less to give to

services such as museums, and so there is a squeeze on their funding from local authority. there is a kind of double impact, the covert impact now there is a cost of living in a fuel impact on the energy price rise. what we're is that we want the new prime minister to take a look at what our museums and galleries do throughout the uk, the amazing services they provide, the fact that they can be warm safe spaces during they can be warm safe spaces during the winter and give us the investment date we need to see us through that period. itruihat investment date we need to see us through that period.— through that period. what is it you like the government _ through that period. what is it you like the government to _ through that period. what is it you like the government to practicallyl like the government to practically do? we know that over this week the pub sector is talked about extending the energy price cap from ordinary households to businesses so that they are helped. nurseries are saying a similar thing as well. as a sort of thing that might work for you? sort of thing that might work for ou? . . ., , ., sort of thing that might work for ou? . .., , ., , sort of thing that might work for ou? . ., , , you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector. — you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector. i _ you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector, i think _ you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector, i think we _ you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector, i think we need - you? price cap would be usefulfor the sector, i think we need to i the sector, i think we need to understand why the museum sector is

quietly different, often museums and historic buildings and they are difficult to heat, difficult to retain heat in those spaces. there has to be environmental controls to look after the collections and also the need to be safe and comfortable places for staff and to visitors. so for a host of reasons we need to be able to support those institutions to provide those spaces for the public. to do that we need price caps and all a continuation of the cultural recovery fund so that we can make sure that those spaces remain open. 50 can make sure that those spaces remain open-— remain open. so extending that financial help _ remain open. so extending that financial help that _ remain open. so extending that financial help that was - remain open. so extending that financial help that was given i remain open. so extending that i financial help that was given during the pandemic, extending that through this cost of living crisis? that cultural recovery _ this cost of living crisis? that cultural recovery fund - this cost of living crisis? t'isgt cultural recovery fund stopped museums and closing permanently. i am afraid that what we are going to see over the winter is a prospect museums either reducing their hours

or closing... some of our most prestigious venues with amazing collections are saying that they won't be allowed to open on the same basis over the winter if this energy price rise hits them in the way that they are expecting it to do. a combination of investment in our public services and a cap on those energy bills for institutions would be really useful. thank you forjoining us. 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 coastline last year. government scientists say natural algae in the water was responsible, but the fishing community fear it was a chemical incident. 0ur north of england correspondent fiona trott reports. expectation. what lives beneath these waters will make or break fishermen like paul. we've got four fleets in the really

shallow water and they've been sat there for three days now. we're just going to go and see what we've got in them. there's the first pot. there's nothing in them. no, it's not normal at all. after a whole day at sea, they brought back seven lobsters. compare that to three years ago. they were able to catch 50 times as many. it's costing them £1,000 a day. this is the only environmental disaster i've ever seen, and i don't want to see no more of them. i mean, it's hit us now. 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're convinced a chemical called pyridine was released into the water. they want the mayoral authority to test for it before new dredging work begins for an offshore wind development in september. it's notjust pyridine, 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 and they're 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 want jobs and they want money in their pocket to look after themselves and their family. down the coast here in whitby, fishermen and women say they're also feeling the effects of last year's die off. and they, too, want more tests for pyridine. but the department for the environment, food and rural affairs say tests have already been carried out. it believes algae was the most likely cause. marine biologistjoe

redfern says the fishing community needs more proof. we are pursuing a judicial review and that will basically force the agencies such as defra and cefas to explain all their actions and allow the courts to then judge whether the investigations were performed in a lawful and thorough manner. forfishermen likejohn, any new evidence will come too late. they're not crab pots any more. they might as well be plant pots because the grass is just going to grow through them all. the drastic drop in shellfish is forcing him to sell his boat. it's really worrying. you just sit there with your in your hands thinking, am i in the rightjob? but i'm too old now to find anotherjob, so i'm just going to stick to this. and if it comes to where it's got to be chopped up or decommissioned, bring a decommission in for us. chop them up, pay us.

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. a reminder tojoin us tomorrow morning at 9am, for a special edition of your questions answered — broadcast here on the news channel and on bbc radio 5—live. nicky campbell will be putting your questions to the labour leader, sir keir starmer, so do get in touch. now it's time for a look at the weather with stav. hello there. it's been so settled, dry and largely sunny and warm for such a long time now that by the end of the week, when we see something a lot more unsettled, it could come as a bit of a shock to the system. and it really will turn quite unsettled for some with gales and heavy rain, particularly across southern

and western areas. in the short term though, we still have high pressure bringing fine and settled, seen certainly through today and into tomorrow. variable amounts of cloud around, maybejust a light shower here and there. most places will be dry, more of a breeze as well up to the mid 20s. further north, it's the mid to high teens. now through this evening and overnight it's going to be largely fine and dry. 0ne under that area of high pressure, more of a breeze again across southern areas could see a bit more cloud across parts of england and wales, clearer skies further north. so again, it could be quite chilly like it was the previous night. further south, though, 10 to 15 degrees. now, thursday looks to be fine and settled once again thanks to high pressure. could see the odd shower here and there. a bit more cloud perhaps for the southern half of england into south wales. otherwise, it's mostly fine with some sunny spells. top temperatures again close to the mid 20s, 18 to 21 degrees for scotland and northern ireland. then as we move out of thursday, we start to see some changes

two areas of low pressure begin to move in like a pincer movement across the uk which will start to turn things more unsettled as they merge. so friday, a windy day in the north, could see some heavy showers, maybe some thunderstorms across southern and western areas. perhaps the southeast of england escaping and staying dry again with temperatures again, 25 degrees or so. warm air coming off the near continent, but a little bit cooler further north and west. then into the weekend, i mean, these details could change, but at the moment it looks like we could see this band of heavy thundery rain spreading northwards, followed by another area of heavy rain. pushing into more western areas, could be quite wet for northern ireland, parts of wales and the south west. so temperatures not quite as high on saturday, but it'll still be quite warm despite the wet and windy weather. and then as we move through the weekend, low pressure sits to the west of the uk. we could even see another deep area of low pressure development could bring a stormy spell for sunday across more western areas, particularly around irish sea coast. so it really will be turning unsettled through the weekend and even lasting into the start of the following week as well.

this is bbc news i'mjane hill. the headlines at 5pm... the jury in the trial of ryan giggs has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on any of the charges he faced during the four—week domestic violence case at manchester crown court. tributes are paid to mikhail gorbachev, the soviet leader who ended the cold war, who has died at the age of 91. liz truss and rishi sunak head to wembley this evening, for the final hustings in the conservative leadership race, to become the new prime minister. in a break with tradition, the queen won't appoint the new prime minister in london next week — instead, it will take place at balmoral. a bbc investigation has found that shameema begum — who left london aged 15 to join the islamic state group —