this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley and these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world: mourners pay their respects to the last soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev, ahead of his funeral. i'm glad people are paying tribute to the man who changed russian history because russia has a very bad record of commemorating people who were so important. moscow blames maintenance problems forfailing to resume the main pipeline that transports gas from russia to europe after a three—day closure. more than half of manufacturers in the uk say they may have to cut production or close down completely because of rocketing energy bills. ready for lift—off again. nasa prepares to make a second attempt later to launch its most powerful rocket to the moon — five days after technical problems

scuppered the first. we'll be live in florida with our correspondent rebecca morelle. and, millions of people in england and scotland will be invited for their autumn covid booster vaccine from monday — with care home residents first in line for the jab. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. mourners in moscow are paying their last respects to mikhail gorbachev, the last soviet leader who brought the cold war to a peaceful end. he died on tuesday at the age of 91. later today, he will be buried in the city's largest cemetery next to his wife, raisa.

russian president vladimir putin is not attending the funeral. the kremlin says mr putin has no space in his schedule. these are live pictures from moscow. we arejust outside we are just outside the hall of columns, the building where many russian leaders over the years have gone on public display after their death where people can pay respect. people have been walking quietly and respectfully around the open casket in which mikhail gorbachev was my body has been allayed with his family watching beside him. there were several hundred people passing through and showing their respects to the former soviet leader. putin is not one of them, we are told he made his respects to the family early in the week and there won't be a state funeral but there is a state guard of honour. one person attending is the premise of hungary,

victor orban, who has maintained relatively close relations with russia, despite the ukraine warm and is perhaps one of the most energy dependence to the european —— of the european union nations. some of them had been banned anyway from going to moscow. none of them others would have wanted to go because of the situation with ukraine. victor orban is the only eu leader attending although he won't be meeting mr putin. let's talk to our correspondent who has been looking back at mikhail gorbachev�*s life. mikhail gorbachev, a leader who will be remembered for overseeing enormous changes. mr gorbachev took power in 1985. he introduced political and economic reforms to kickstart the country's economy and he helped to end the cold war. to the west, he was a hero. he charmed on the international stage. here, meeting the then—prime minister margaret thatcher,

on his first visit to the uk in 1984, before he became leader. he also opened up the soviet union to the world, but he was not able to prevent its slow collapse. many russians blamed him for the years of turmoil which followed. in his last years, mr gorbachev had been in poor health. more recently, he was said to have been unhappy with president putin's decision to invade ukraine. he was shocked, bewildered by what was happening. for all kinds of reasons, of course. he believed in, notjust in the closeness of the russian and ukrainian people, he believed that those two nations are kind of intermingled. earlier this week, president putin expressed his deepest condolences

but the russian leader will not attend mr gorbachev�*s funeral today. the kremlin says he has not got room in his schedule. his absence is widely seen as a snub. among the tributes this week to mr gorbachev have been that he opened the way for a free europe and that his legacy is one that will not be forgotten. helena wilkinson, bbc news. we can speak to our eastern europe correspondent, sarah rainsford. you were based in moscow for a long time, what is your assessment of how mikhail gorbachev was regarded in the putin years? it’s mikhail gorbachev was regarded in the putin years?— the putin years? it's interesting that a man _ the putin years? it's interesting that a man who _ the putin years? it's interesting that a man who was _ the putin years? it's interesting that a man who was so - the putin years? it's interesting that a man who was so revered | the putin years? it's interesting i that a man who was so revered in the putin years? it's interesting - that a man who was so revered in the west by so many people for what he did to change the world, to make it

a more peaceful and safe place in terms of disarmament, in terms of helping to end the cold war, that same person in russia is seen in a far more nuanced and negative way he is seen by many russians as the man whose reforms led to the collapse of an empire they now feel the pain of losing. russians liked to feel themselves as a superpower and they don't have that status any more and there is this nostalgia for those days when russia was great and the soviet union was great on the world stage. even many people is associated with that loss, also the humiliation many they feel after the collapse of the soviet union, the economic chaos that followed and the difficult period for many russians. i remember when i went to the village where mikhail gorbachev is from in the south of russia, the

taxi driver that took us there, when he found out where we were going, he said that village for him was coated in shame. it was a really strong reaction but again it was because of that nostalgia for the time when he felt his country was a strong anti—felt mikhail gorbachev is the man to blame —— make and he felt. for now, thank you very much. let's hear from vladislav zubok, professor of international history at the london school of economics. we spoke a couple of hours ago when we spoke about the funeral arrangements, we spoke about the political consequences of mikhail gorbachev. let's speak about economics, because reform of the soviet system, a kind of centrist economic model that, frankly, if

head at ever delivered, certainly wasn't delivering by the late 1980s. what followed was a system where many got rich are very quick and many got rich are very quick and many became poor very quick and at the same time they lost in the via prolix is an reliability is that had made their lives unbearable. what response ability do you think rests on mikhail gorbachev for the chaos that followed? he on mikhail gorbachev for the chaos that followed?— that followed? he was a central fi . ure that followed? he was a central figure and _ that followed? he was a central figure and that _ that followed? he was a central figure and that aspect _ that followed? he was a central figure and that aspect of- that followed? he was a central figure and that aspect of his - that followed? he was a centralj figure and that aspect of his red legacy is least praised. back in 1990 when he received the nobel peace prize, peoplejoke, if only he could receive a peace prize in economics. of course, gorbachev admitted he does know a thing in economics. he was trained in law, he was trained in other things but not economics. he came from a rather

agricultural region of the soviet union. that was a conundrum and people often compare what happened to the soviet union to what happened in china and i'm sure debate will go on about what happened, gorbachev wanted to keep the soviet economy socialist, that is in the hands of, what he called, workers. workers collectives. at the same time, he decentralised that economy, he gave so much autonomy to so—called state enterprises and cooperatives and that doomed the existing system. a stopped and said, he could not stop the slow collapse of the economy. my take is different in my book, he triggered very rapid disintegration of the soviet economy and undid the rouble in the financial system. he did it naturally quite unwittingly but in fairness the advice he got was very mixed and gorbachev himself

should not be blamed alone for this. but since he is a centralfigure, of course his successor, yeltsin and putin basically blamed it on him. just a rather than boris yeltsin who followed, arguably who has to take his share of the blame but ended up giving a state funeral and all the honours the state could possibly throw at him. yes, mikhail gorbachev, he gets the guard of honour, but he is noticeably denied a state funeral and arguably his family have been snubbed by president putin, the kremlin would say otherwise, would say the president has no room in a schedule, but frankly, leaders always make room in their schedule of funerals and their predecessors, and if they don't is always interpreted as a statement of hostility. it don't is always interpreted as a statement of hostility.- statement of hostility. it was clearly subterfuge _ statement of hostility. it was clearly subterfuge not - statement of hostility. it was clearly subterfuge not to - statement of hostility. it was i clearly subterfuge not to attend statement of hostility. it was - clearly subterfuge not to attend the funeral and not to give the status of a state funeral. boris yeltsin

was reviled by the vast majority of the russians who blamed him for the economic misery, because he started the he was given all of those honours, nevertheless. my question is, to those who voted for boris yeltsin in 1991, elected him, and the russian president, 56 1991, elected him, and the russian resident, ~ ., ., ., president, 56 million voted him at the time, president, 56 million voted him at the time. do _ president, 56 million voted him at the time, do they _ president, 56 million voted him at the time, do they realise - president, 56 million voted him at the time, do they realise they - president, 56 million voted him at| the time, do they realise they carry responsibility for the collapse of the soviet union in a sense? that is a very good — the soviet union in a sense? that is a very good question. _ the soviet union in a sense? that is a very good question. nobody - the soviet union in a sense? that is| a very good question. nobody wants to take responsibility, _ a very good question. nobody wants to take responsibility, they - a very good question. nobody wants to take responsibility, they always i to take responsibility, they always look for someone to blame, scapegoating. i look for someone to blame, scapegoating-_ look for someone to blame, scapegoating. look for someone to blame, sca-aueoatin. ,, ., scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways _ scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways be _ scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways be a _ scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways be a factor _ scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways be a factor of - scapegoating. i guess that may in some ways be a factor of having l some ways be a factor of having competitive elections where candidates actually said something different, was still a novelty for them. we will speak more about that later, for now, thank you very much. plans to reopen a key gas pipeline to europe have been scrapped by the russian energy giant, gazprom. the company claims it can't

restart nord stream 1 because of an oil leak in a turbine — and that it will remain closed for an indefinite period. however, the eu has accused russia of using gas as an economic weapon. britain's new prime minister will be announced on monday and easing the cost of living crisis will be top of the agenda at downing street. the crisis threatens business and is projected to affect 60% of manufacturers in the uk. there are fears many may have to cut down on production or close altogether. verity davidge is the director of policy at make uk — which supports manufacturing businesses. i think we are very much moving towards that point and that is what our latest research shows. 40% of manufacturers told us they have seen their energy bills increase by over 100% in the past 12 months. and 50% expect them to increase again by 100% in the next 12 months. in fact, some of the companies i have been speaking to have said we are getting

close to 300% increases. as a result of this, 60% of companies and i was telling us energy costs are threatening businesses, to put that into scale and the speed of this struggle right now, when we ask that question four months ago, it was just 8%. we have gone from 8% of companies telling us this is threatening to 60%. what we seeing now is companies really to take action, so while they are looking at adjusting their business practices, insulation the buildings, they are beginning to look at changing production, avoiding production at peak times, looking at shorter production. for me, the real worrying trend now is the 12% of companies that told us they have made job cuts as a direct result of the increase in cost of energy. what we need now is real interventions

from the government. otherwise we will be moving towards the state of more shutdowns and more job cuts. so we need to see a quick intervention from government to really support manufacturing to avoid that from happening. from monday, millions of people in england and scotland will be invited for their autumn covid booster vaccine — with care home residents first in line for the jab. although infections have been falling since earlyjuly, health bosses are predicting a resurgence of covid and flu this winter — and are encouraging those eligible to get vaccinated. let's get more now with peter openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at imperial college. here we are again, the start of another autumn and another ultimate living with covid. will this vaccination programme be different this time? yes vaccination programme be different this time? , , ., , this time? yes it will be a bit different in _ this time? yes it will be a bit different in that _ this time? yes it will be a bit different in that there - this time? yes it will be a bit different in that there are - this time? yes it will be a bit - different in that there are modified vaccines on the way which are going to update what is in the vaccine to

try to match the current strains, the omicron and that looks as though it will induce a good immune response. we don't know yet if it will be a big advantage in terms of protecting people. that will have to wait and see until the vaccine has eventually been used in large number is a people. we eventually been used in large number isa --eole. ~ ., eventually been used in large number isa --eole. ~ . , ., ., is a people. we have 'ust had a flash is a people. we have 'ust had a flash from t is a people. we have 'ust had a flash from the _ is a people. we have just had a flash from the medicines - is a people. we have just had a flash from the medicines and i is a people. we have just had a - flash from the medicines and health care regulatory agency, from the reuters news agency in the last few minutes saying that pfizer's new vaccine has been approved. these are vaccines that had both a of the original infection and a bit of the latest version so they are supposed to be particularly effective in a given protection of the new variants, but not everybody is getting at, are they?- variants, but not everybody is getting at, are they? know, that is riuht. i getting at, are they? know, that is right- i would _ getting at, are they? know, that is right. i would reassure _ getting at, are they? know, that is right. i would reassure people - getting at, are they? know, that is right. i would reassure people thatj right. i would reassure people that if they are offered the previous version of the boost stir, that still gives a very good protection

over the ensuing six months or so, increasing protection from around 50% up to about 85% anyway. so i wouldn't be too concerned if you get offered one of the old versions rather than one of the new versions. one however the new versions are expected to give a better antibody response in any case. what expected to give a better antibody response in any case.— response in any case. what about flu? flu is— response in any case. what about flu? flu is a _ response in any case. what about flu? flu is a real— response in any case. what about flu? flu is a real worry _ response in any case. what about flu? flu is a real worry because . response in any case. what about| flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had _ flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had much _ flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had much flu _ flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had much flu around - flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had much flu around at - flu? flu is a real worry because we haven't had much flu around at all| haven't had much flu around at all for the past three years and in australia they have had a very nasty flu season which has gone on for a long time and which has caused a lot of hospitalisations. we think the amount of immunity people have because of circulating flu and because of circulating flu and because of circulating flu and because of vaccination has dropped off very significantly and i really would urge people to have their flu vaccines if they are offered them. it is very important in the run—up to this current winter. it’s it is very important in the run-up to this current winter.— to this current winter. it's fair to say covid. _ to this current winter. it's fair to say covid, both _ to this current winter. it's fair to say covid, both because - to this current winter. it's fair to say covid, both because it - to this current winter. it's fair to say covid, both because it was l to this current winter. it's fair to l say covid, both because it was an

unknown factor for so long but also people were developing innovative treatments, but also in terms of the impact it has had, a big impact on the health service, it was one of the health service, it was one of theissues the health service, it was one of the issues that was contributing to problems during the winter and it has lagged now. how worried are people about the winter this time, given we have the vaccine cover we didn't have, at least to prevent most people getting more serious infections that require hospitalisation? i infections that require hospitalisation? infections that require hos - italisation? ~' , hospitalisation? i think there is enormous _ hospitalisation? i think there is enormous worry _ hospitalisation? i think there is enormous worry about - hospitalisation? i think there is enormous worry about what - hospitalisation? i think there is| enormous worry about what will happen this winter. it's so important that we get the vaccines into people, because it is the best measure we have at the moment are trying to reduce the winter surge. we are already in an almost crisis situation in the nhs and it's only going to get worse as the cold weather draws on. i would also say there is a big concern about longer covid or post covid symptoms and the

strain that will place on the nhs. there is a lot of complications of covid which are causing, it seems, an increase in the need for health care and also in deaths in people due to other things like heart disease. ., ~ , ., , . the boss of the train operator avanti west coast, has announced he is stepping down — after facing criticism for introducing a reduced timetable that has caused chaos for passengers in recent weeks. it comes as the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, threatens to call for the company to be stripped of the franchise — as our business correspondent, marc ashdown, reports. overcrowded and chaotic. that's one verdict on train services between london euston and manchester piccadilly right now. a few weeks ago, the operator, avnti west coast, introduced a reduced timetable — three trains an hour down tojust one — and passengers have faced daily issues. i've come from london euston and two

trains were cancelled, so there are three lots of passengers coming on the one train, so you were standing or sitting on the floor. you don't know whether you're going to get to places on time. very often you have got to stand and... it's an uncomfortable journey. prices and the reduction in services is pretty appalling, isn't it? - when you compare it i with the rest of europe. the labour mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, said he's heard of dangerous stampedes as passengers clamour for trains, and claims there are issues with the availability and pricing of tickets. after giving the company a deadline of yesterday to sort things out, he's now calling on the government to step in. i have flushed out this management failure and now they need to respond to that with me and come up with a plan to put it right. and if they can't, then, of course, you've got to remove the contract and we've got to go to a different situation to get those trains back. this is so critical to our economy. this is the national infrastructure of our country. it's not working at the moment. and we urgently need to get around the table

and come up with a solution. avanti says it can only run a full timetable and carry out essential training if drivers do overtime. it claims members of aslef have been refusing — something the union strongly denies. last night, avanti's managing director, philwhittingham, announced he was stepping down. a spokesman said... "we apologise for the enormous frustration and inconvenience. "our customers deserve a dependable train service, so we're currently working hard to rebuild our timetable in a resilient and sustainable way. "we would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding." it's completely understandable that people are frustrated about this, this lack of certainty about what's going on. passengers want the reduced timetable to be reliable. they want much better information. they need a firm plan as to when the services are going to be put back together. it may take a bit of time to do that, but let's have a plan, at least. the department for transport said it is in regular contact with avanti

regarding its performance and that people should have confidence their train will run on time. mark ashdown, bbc news. meanwhile the transport secretary, grant shapps, has announced a £two cap on bus fares across england. the move could save people around 30% on the average fare. the government is providing up to £60 million to subsidise the scheme, mr shapps said ministers hoped it would help people cope with the rising cost of living: we are announcing £2 maximum cap on bus fares. buses are the most used form of public transport, this will help with millions ofjourneys through the winter months when we know things will be tough. and i think it will help attract people to the bus, particularly at a time when fuel costs are so high. that is what we are doing, very simple, £2 cap on a bus fares through the winter. you are proposing _ a bus fares through the winter. you are proposing this forjanuary to march, — are proposing this forjanuary to march, when you initially suggested

it the _ march, when you initially suggested it the proposal was supposed to run for 12_ it the proposal was supposed to run for 12 months, why has it been reduced — for 12 months, why has it been reduced to _ for 12 months, why has it been reduced tojust a for 12 months, why has it been reduced to just a quarter of that? to make — reduced to just a quarter of that? to make things we wanted to do, festival, test whether it works, in other words, festival, test whether it works, in otherwords, is festival, test whether it works, in other words, is it bringing people back to the bus, how do people respond and we will get a lot of informational data by running it through those winter months. and then, secondly, there is a change in our pram and a step back to take place, i think it's right to not time their hands into the next financial but this is a measure helping people in the shorter term and the next prime minister can decide what to do with it from there. in the coming hours, nasa will once again attempt to launch its most powerful rocket ever, after technical problems hampered plans to get the artemis 1 mission off earth on monday. engineers have spent the week reviewing their data and now believe they can achieve a clean countdown. these are live pictures from the kennedy space center in florida ahead of this second

attempt to launch the rocket. it's the first mission in the artemis programme, which aims to put people back on the moon by 2025. rebecca morelle it at the kennedy space center. rebecca, good morning to you as it is there in florida, we were saying it is the most sophisticated rocket, yet it what's covered in the moments before countdown. you can make it as sophisticated as you like but the whole process of getting a rocket up is actually quite fraught isn't it? that's right. these things have thousands of moving parts and this is the most powerful rockets that nasa has ever built so it's not unusualfor nasa has ever built so it's not unusual for technical issues and delays to upset a launch attempt. but everything is looking ok at the moment, the weather is a bit cloudy here at the moment but that is not unusualfor here at the moment but that is not unusual for this time of year in

florida and the rocket has been fuelling this morning. we have heard the fuelling has just stopped because there is possibly a little bit of a hydrogen leak so they are stopping to assess before they start refuelling. what happens here, the team troubleshoot through these issues in an attempt to get things up issues in an attempt to get things up and running, but it does seem to be going fairly well so far this morning. it is a difficult process, but everybody is willing it to go up here today. the engineers have said the problems caused on monday, an issue with an engine and a valve and a possible crack on the rockets, they think they have been resolved, some fixes at the launch pad. so they are ready to go and we are too, everyone is willing this thing to go up everyone is willing this thing to go up in the next few hours. it’s everyone is willing this thing to go up in the next few hours.— up in the next few hours. it's an important _ up in the next few hours. it's an important shift, _ up in the next few hours. it's an important shift, isn't _ up in the next few hours. it's an important shift, isn't it - up in the next few hours. it's an important shift, isn't it in - up in the next few hours. it's an important shift, isn't it in nasal important shift, isn't it in nasa thinking isn't it? the first moon landings were about does make was almost a product of the cold war, we got there first we got to the moon

first stop this is notjust going there and planting a flag but potentially staying?- there and planting a flag but potentially staying? yes, that is ri . ht, this potentially staying? yes, that is right. this is _ potentially staying? yes, that is right, this is different _ potentially staying? yes, that is right, this is different in - potentially staying? yes, that is right, this is different in several| right, this is different in several ways from the apollo missions and it has been 50 years since the last moon landing. it has been a long time. firstly, this isn'tjust about nasa, this is about mass outworking with other space agencies too, the european space agency for example has built the service module, that the is the part sitting on the bottom of the orion spacecraft which is the part which is going to go to the moon and back around again, working with companies, working with different countries too. it's more of a collaborative approach than it was 50 years ago. but it is also not just about fleeting visits, it's about making a permanent base there and this is really vital for checking the technologies should get even further, to mars and beyond. thank you very much. let us leave

you with pictures with live from moscow. these are of the funeral leaving, it hasjust left moscow. these are of the funeral leaving, it has just left the cat my whole of columns where may will be buried. you are watching bbc news. —— rack where mikhail gorbachev will be buried. hello there. chaotic skies this weekend. it really is a very mixed picture. there will be some sunshine, some warm sunshine, mainly across the eastern side of the uk because further west, this is where it's going to be wettest. some heavy rain and the wind picking up as the weekend goes on as well. the reason for this very mixed picture is a big area of low pressure that's just sitting there to the west of the uk and around it we're pushing in these bands of showers or longer spells of rain and some freshening breezes as well. so we do have some sunshine across eastern areas through the rest of today, but maybe picking up some heavy thundery showers as we head

through the afternoon. wetter weather out towards the west into western parts of england, wales, affecting south—west scotland and northern ireland. these areas particularly wet and cold too, 15 or 16 degrees in northern ireland, probably making the low 20s in northern scotland and the mid 20s in east anglia and the south—east where there should be very few showers. we've got more rain though, continuing into tonight, again pushing northwards across more of scotland and returning into northern ireland over the irish sea into western parts of england and wales. southerly breeze tends to pick up overnight so it's going to be quite a warm night and temperatures in the south no lower than 16 or 17 degrees. but tomorrow we're going to find some rain this time across northern parts of scotland and we start wet in northern ireland. that rain gets pushed further north into scotland. and as the breeze picks up, we're going to find some showery bursts of rain affecting some western parts of england, wales again, looks pretty dry for eastern areas of england. so temperatures here again reaching the mid 20s. but after the early rain in northern ireland, we should see some sunshine. so it's going to be a warmer day than today. but that low pressure is not really

going anywhere at all. it continues to spiral around to the west of the uk early next week, continuing to dominate our weather. the details are going to change a bit, but we look like we're going to have some heavy rain, perhaps thundery pushing northwards into scotland. the winds picking up here in the south—west. gales are quite possible and this rain will turn heavy and thundery. there'll be some sunshine around elsewhere, maybe a few sharp showers breaking out as well. but because it's a southerly breeze, it's quite warm air for this time of the year. temperatures the low to mid 20s, but with low pressure dominating through the rest of next week, it's still unsettled. some showers, longer spells of rain, some sunshine. and slowly it will be turning a bit cooler.

hello. this is bbc news.

i'm shaun ley and these are the headlines. mourners pay their respects to the last soviet leader, mikhail gorbachev, ahead of his funeral. moscow blames maintenance problems forfailing to resume the main pipeline that transports gas from russia to europe after a three day closure. more than half of manufacturers in the uk say they may have to cut production or close down completely because of rocketing energy bills. ready for lift—off...again. nasa prepares to make a second attempt later to launch its most powerful rocket to the moon — five days after technical problems scuppered the first. we'll be live in florida with our correspondent rebecca morelle. and, millions of people in england and scotland will be invited for their autumn covid booster vaccine from monday — with care home residents first in line for the jab.