good evening and welcome to bbc news. in a moment, we'll bejoined by bbc one viewers for a full round—up of the day's news with jane hill. but first, more on one of our top stories. and for the second time in a week, nasa has called off its attempt to launch a powerful rocket — part of a mission aimed at eventually putting humans back on the moon. the artemis rocket was due to blast off earlier this evening but technical problems forced the team to call for another postponement. earlier, i spoke to adam baker who is a rocket engineer and visiting fellow at cranfield university's astronautics and space engineering course. i asked him how worried nasa will be about the apparent hydrogen leak. if you were riding on a rocket, it would be because for concern, you would absolutely want it fixed before you were willing to take a ride to the moon, but, of course, this is an unmanned rocket. hydrogen leaks, they happen, it is a tricky rocket

propellant to deal with. nasa has been working with that since the 1960s, since the original moon programme. i'm sure they will fix it, it is a question of time, and asjonathan said, it is a big, complicated system, it really is the biggest rocket that nasa or anyone has ever built, so there are a lot of things to get right. but, you know, nasa is probably the organisation to do it, but it will take some time. some people will say, they have had 50 years. it was quite a while since we last went to the moon, we have done this before, why all the publicity and the fanfare and it still not be working properly? well, that is a really good point. first time for a human mission round the moon since 1972. has the technology really advanced since then? fundamentally, no, perhaps except that the capsule is a bit larger and the electronics are modern, but they are still using, for example, incredibly outdated and environmentally unsound rocket boosters, they are still having difficulties with hydrogen, which although by far are the cleanest propellant

you could use, it is probably not the best fuel for the big core stage. but what really surprises me is the sheer gust of this, somewhere between $4 and $8 billion per rocket, depending on whether you factor in the cost of the development work. i'm sure there must be a better way of doing this. well, i just want to ask you, what is that? is there a cheaper way that this could be done? or should it not be done at all? no, i wouldn't say it shouldn't be done at all, i think humanity has got a place to go out to the moon and go beyond, sustainably, into the solar system, but i think finding a way to do it more sustainably, making more use of robotic small space missions to pave the way to land on the moon to solve some of these tricky problems like can you get hydrogen to really work, and ultimately to explore ways of doing it with smaller launches. we have a launch programme in the uk that could be paving the way to send a series of small missions to the moon, to help nasa get it right, get it quick and do it on time. i'm sure nasa will say when we hear from them a little later, this is science, it is alive, we've got to put safety

first and everything, but there must be a little bit of embarrassment. yes, i think so, they've got the eyes of the world on them, they know the clock is ticking. they are some of the best engineers in the world but they are not necessarily used to doing this, it has been 50 years, and perhaps they have forgotten some of that key knowledge. and, again, we've got to train and bring up a new generation of rocket engineers who maybe have to relearn some of the hard lessons from the main programme era.

thousands of people queue in moscow to pay their last respects to mikhail gorbachev, the man who brought the cold war to an end. the last leader of the soviet union wasn't given a state funeral — and vladimir putin didn't attend.

nasa postpones the launch of its new artemis rocket for the second time in a week. tributes pour in as serena williams waves goodbye to a remarkable 23 year career. and the lionesses will be playing in the world cup after beating austria to qualify for next year's tournament. good evening. the funeral of the last leader of the soviet union, mikhail gorbachev, has taken place in moscow. the 91 year old, who helped to end the cold war, died on tuesday.

thousands of people queued to file past his coffin, which was flanked by a guard of honour — but he wasn't given a state funeral, and president putin didn't attend, saying he didn't have time. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports from moscow. in the columned hall of the house of unions, a last farewell to the man who changed the world. mikhail gorbachev had let the iron curtain crumble and ended the cold war, but saw his own country, the soviet union, fall apart. there was a guard of honour, but no state funeral. a sign that vladimir putin's kremlin has little interest in honouring mr gorbachev�*s legacy. president putin didn't even come today. many russians blame gorbachev for the collapse

of their superpower, but out on the streets, muscovites young and old were queueing up to pay their respects. gorbachev had given many here their first taste of freedom and democracy. in today's russia, both those things are under attack. these people who came to gorbachev to thank him, to say "thank you, mr gorbachev." you gave us a chance and we lost this chance. the end of an era. we hear that phrase so often, don't we? its meaning has almost been diluted. but the death of mikhail gorbachev really does mark the end of an extraordinary era in history. a rare period when russia was opening up to the world, when people here were being given freedoms and when east and west pledged to live together in peace. as mr gorbachev�*s coffin

was carried from the building, a final round of applause before his finaljourney. most soviet leaders were buried in red square, but for the last leader of the soviet union, his final resting place is this moscow cemetery. mikhail gorbachev�*s wish was to be buried beside his wife, raisa. he loved power but he loved her more. gorbachev was not perfect and he could be indecisive and he made mistakes, plenty of them, but he was sincere in wanting to make the lives of his people better and watching his coffee being lowered into the grave today, it felt as if this extraordinary period of russian history, this period of perestroika and glasnost, openness, and closer

cooperation with the west, it felt as if this has now been buried for good —— watching his coffin being lowered. good -- watching his coffin being lowered. ,, ., ., ., lowered. steve, thanks for “oining us. president putin has been accused by the eu of using energy supplies to blackmail europe, as the war in ukraine continues. a key gas pipeline which runs from russia into europe remains closed — nordstreami had been due to reopen today, after what russia claimed was three days of maintenance work. our correspondent, jessica parker, joins us from brussels. the eu is insisting it can cope, but how much anxiety is there? every day that there is less gas flowing into europe the greater the squeeze on supply which threatens to hit the pockets of people, the economy, notjust here but in the uk, and the russian pipeline operator said an oil leak has led to the prolonged closure, although they do not believe that here, the eu has

tried to build up its gas reserves over the summer but there has been an added sense of urgency in the last 2a hours as governments look at a way to protect people and businesses from the worst effects of this energy crisis. energy ministers are meeting in brussels next week to look at ideas around market reform, gas price caps, but not everybody is of one mind, and the eu knew this winter would be a collective test of its resolve to support ukraine and its resolve to support ukraine and it feels like that test is already under way but it is only early september. under way but it is only early september-— under way but it is only early setember. ,, ., ~ ., september. jessica parker, thanks for “oininu september. jessica parker, thanks forjoining us- _ for the second time in a week, nasa has called off an attempt to launch its biggest ever rocket. technicians discovered a fuel leak on artemis one — which had been due to blast off this evening, as part of a mission to one day return humans to the moon. our science editor rebecca morelle is at the kennedy space centre in florida. what is the latest? there is a real

sense of disappointment - what is the latest? there is a real sense of disappointment here - what is the latest? there is a real sense of disappointment here but| what is the latest? there is a real - sense of disappointment here but the problems started early on, and when the rocket was being fuelled, a large hydrogen leak was spotted, and several workarounds were tempted but these troubleshooting attempts did not work and the launch was postponed. in the last few hours the team has been poring over the data and they have just announced that extensive repair work is needed. this might take place at the launch pad but a more likely option is the rocket is going to have to be rolled back into its engineering workshop. either way this will mean a delay of weeks or even months, and it is important to remember, though, that this is a new rocket. it is a complex machine with thousands of moving parts, so it is not unusual to experience setbacks and delays. but it does appear that nasa's return to the moon is going to take

a little while longer.— a little while longer. rebecca, in florida, thanks _ a little while longer. rebecca, in florida, thanks for _ a little while longer. rebecca, in florida, thanks forjoining - a little while longer. rebecca, in florida, thanks forjoining us. i from monday, millions of people in england and scotland will be invited for their autumn covid booster vaccine — with care home residents and staff among the first to receive it. a recently approved moderna vaccine will be the first to be used — and today the uk health regulator has approved another, made by pfizer—biontech. one of the world's greatest athletes has said an emotional goodbye to professional tennis, after being knocked out of the us open. serena williams, at the age of 40, looks likely to retire, after winning 23 grand slam singles titles. tributes have poured in from the world of sport and beyond — as laura scott reports from new york. a final farewell wave and one last twirl as the curtain came down on a glittering career that will never be repeated.

it was only fitting that it finished with an epic, on an electric, enthralling, emotional night in new york, serena left it all on the court, giving everything until the end. these are happy tears, i guess. i don't know! i'm just so grateful to every single person who has ever said "go serena" in their life. i'm just so grateful because... cheering yeah, you got me here. under the direction of their father richard, serena and her sister venus sacrificed and succeeded. their story so remarkable it was recently made into a motion picture starring will smith. they broke down barriers in a sport that had been dominated by white, wealthy competitors, where men were the megastars. at times in her career, serena was the only woman in the top 100 best paid players in the world. it was 1999 when she burst onto the scene, a teenager with beads in her hair,

and won the us open. she would win five more in new york, seven at wimbledon. she finishes with 23 major singles trophies, not enough to break the record she so longed for. but she did so much more than win titles, she transformed and transcended the game, inspiring people to play, dream and never shy away from who they are. all week, herfans haven't really been here to say goodbye, they've been here to say... thank you.| go, serena! and what of the players who feel privileged to have shared the court with her? i think i lost the first six or seven times i walked on court with her — she was just so strong, powerful, athletic. some of those paying tribute included former first lady michelle obama who said... and olympics gymnastics champion simone biles tweeted...

leaving the stage was never going to be easy but all good things must come to an end, and so must the great ones. laura scott, bbc news, new york. it's been a busy day of sport in new york and elsewhere — here's lizzie greenwood—hughes at the bbc sport centre. thanks, jane. good evening. i'll have more on the tennis in a minute — but england's new european football champions have now qualified for next year's women's world cup. they beat austria 2—0 to book their place at the tournament with a game to spare. our correspondent natalie pirks reports from wiener neustadt. at the euros, quarterfinalists austria may have won new fans, but england won the trophy — albeit fans of the lionesses were a rare breed in wiener neustadt. after the summer we've completely fallen in love

with women's football. we're lucky, we live here, so there might a few of us here, but i doubt there'll be many. i would have preferred it to be in the big stadium in vienna because i think the lionesses deserve a bigger crowd. yes, this tiny stadium was a far cry from wembley, and that wasn't the only difference. unlike her super sub role in the euros, alessia russo was on from the start. her finish wasn't half bad either. but austria almost pounced immediately on a collector's item, a lucy bronze mistake. her team—mates rushed to her aid, as hickelsberger—fuller fluffed her lines. some mistakes had crept in — this was a let—off. england needed to buck their ideas up, and fast. butjust eight minutes after she'd come onto the pitch, nikita parris took up the perfect position, and georgia stanway found her with the perfect pass. england's winning streak goes on — 70 goals injust nine world cup qualifiers. obviously, we had an amazing summer,

but you have to move on quite quickly, and now to have that all sealed up and ready to go, we're really excited for australia. well, that wasn't england's best performance, but fans won't mind a bit. they can now happily book their flights to the world cup. oh, how the european champions would love to add that trophy to their cabinet. natalie pirks, bbc news, austria. there are highlights of the day's league action on match of the day and sportscene in scotland — after the news. erling haaland extended his extraordinary goal tally to ten in six games but his manchester city team missed—out on going top of the premier legaue — held 1—1 by aston villa. the merseyside derby was goalless. manchester city missed out on going top of the premier league — held to a 1—all draw by strugglers aston villa. the merseyside derby ended goalless. the was also a derby in glasgow, where celtic won the old firm 4—0, to go five points clear of rangers at the top of the scottish premiership. well, as serena williams bowed—out at the us open tennis — victory there for cameron norrie today means britain will have at least one player in the 11th round of the men's singles after he reached the last 16 in new york for the first time.

dan evans is on court now. onto rugby union and england won a record 24th consecutive test match when they thrashed the usa in a warm—up for next month's women's world cup. an experimental side cruised to victory in exeter 52—111. there was a nail—biting finish in the men's hundred — won by the trent rockets with two balls to spare. the women's title went to the oval invincibles for the second year in a row. joe wilson reports from finals day at lord's. did that get your attention? it's supposed to. the hundred is cricket seeking new audiences. well, the product always depends on the players. here is south african shabnim ismail bowling, fast, for oval invincibles. and the woman with the catch was her. outstanding. bowling next, english teenager alice capsey — faint touch, catch, and southern brave madejust 101 from their 100 balls. in reply, experienced marizanne kapp urged composure.

she led, emily windsor followed. her winning runs came with six balls to spare, and over 20,000 watching. oval retained the title — in that sense, invincible. well, back—to—back matches are a feature of the hundred, so no delay, bring on two new teams for the men's final — trent rockets and, batting first, manchester originals. big build—up, this was often the result. manchester made just 120. 100 balls for trent rockets to chase that. fireworks, djs, boundaries — it's all appealing to families, organisers are convinced of that. you can't beat a tight finish. rockets needed 11 off the last five balls and got there with two balls to spare. now, that's entertainment. joe wilson, bbc news, lord's. there's much more on the bbc sport website — but that's it from me. back to you, jane. and before we go, just a word

from laura kuenssberg about her new programme, which launches in the morning. i've come to kyiv in ukraine — the conflict in this country one of the causes of the crisis that confronts us all. i've been speaking to the first lady, olena zelenska. and also live in the studio tomorrow rishi sunak and liz truss — one of them will be our new prime minister on monday. join me tomorrow at nine on bbc one. you can see more about all today's stories on the bbc news channel — but from the team here tonight, goodnight. where you've got the sunshine,

hello, this is bbc news with

lewis vaughanjones. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, has warned the train operator avanti west coast that it's in the last chance saloon after it made significant reductions to its timetable. yesterday, the firm's managing director resigned, after criticism of the disruption to services. juliet phillips reports. rail passengers travelling between manchester and london have faced weeks of disruption since avanti west coast reduced trains to just one per hour. greater manchester's mayor welcomed the news that the company's managing director has stood down, but says the government must now step in to ensure services are restored. the new prime minister needs to instruct the transport secretary to sit down with the mayor of london, to sit down with myself, the company and the unions to sort this out. i would rather get the trains back as quickly as possible, and if they are prepared to do that, then they're in there in the last chance saloon, but they're going to have to show that they can do that. but if they can't, then they should have the contract removed.

it's as simple as that. avanti has said drivers who are members of the aslef union have been refusing to do overtime, which has put pressure on services. the union denies this, accusing the company of a lack of recruitment. rail expert tony miles says there's no quick fix. there's a fundamental problem. the railways, right back to british rail days, have relied on train crew working overtime to make up the numbers. if they want to do away with that, it's going to take years to recruit additional workers. if they want them to work their overtime, at the moment, that means the government's going to have to get involved in sorting out the industrial disputes. for passengers on avanti trains they'll be hoping the issues can be solved sooner rather than later. we've been hearing a lot from passengers about avanti in the last few days. they're talking about crowded trains having to stand for two hours plus. avanti west coast has apologised to customers and said that they're working hard to restore the timetable in a sustainable way. the department for transport has said it's in regular contact with the company regarding its performance.

juliet phillips, bbc north west tonight, manchester. time for a look at the weather with alina. hello. it is a mixed forecast this weekend, warm sunshine for some, warm sunshine for some, heavy rain for others, _ warm sunshine for some, heavy rain for others, the heavy rain tied in with_ for others, the heavy rain tied in with a _ for others, the heavy rain tied in with a slow_ for others, the heavy rain tied in with a slow moving area of low pressure — with a slow moving area of low pressure which stays with us as we io pressure which stays with us as we go into_ pressure which stays with us as we go into the — pressure which stays with us as we go into the new working week and we start sunday with heavy rain across northern _ start sunday with heavy rain across northern ireland and northern england. _ northern ireland and northern england, pushing eastwards across scotland. _ england, pushing eastwards across scotland, reaching the northern isles— scotland, reaching the northern isles later in the day.— scotland, reaching the northern isles later in the day. showers will fade through _ isles later in the day. showers will fade through the _ isles later in the day. showers will fade through the morning, - isles later in the day. showers will fade through the morning, heavy i fade through the morning, heavy showers is across south—west england for the afternoon, showers almost anywhere, heavy and thundery where we see them but well scattered, east anglia, south—east england staying mainly dry. breezy, particularly on the irish sea coasts, but a warm day for most of us, especially across

east anglia and south—east england where we see the best of the sunshine, 2a, maybe 26 celsius and the low to mid 20 celsius for many of us. sunday night, heavy rain pushes up from the south, likely to affect a large swathe of the uk, heaviest across england and wales, not reaching the finals of scotland until later in the night. again, a warm, muggy night, temperatures not much lower than 1a or 15 celsius. we start with the new week with low pressure to the —— notice the squeeze on the isobars, still some stronger gusts of wind, vertically across south—west england and for irish sea coasts and further showers on monday. rain heavy in scotland, easing the way, and behind it some sunshine but showers propping up and where we see them they could be heavy and thundery, somewhat hit and miss, are largely dry and warm day,

again temperatures in the low to mid 20 celsius as we start the new working week. this area of low pressure isn't going to go away through much of next week, slow—moving eastwards across the uk and that will bring showers or longer spells of rain on most days, some much—needed rain but we need to keep an eye on the south of england because we could see heavy rain here through the week. most of us will see showers and longer spells of rain in the week ahead and the temperatures will be slowly coming down, too. bye—bye.

hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are benedicte paviot from france 2a and eleanor langford from politics home. hello to both in a moment but first a look at those front pages.

writing in the sunday express, borisjohnson calls on his mps to end in—fighting and back his sucessor, who'll be announced on monday. the observer says front runner liz truss is being warned not to pack her cabinet with borisjohnson loyalists, if she wins the leadership race. truss tells the telegraph she'll do away with sticking plasters on the ecomomy and the energy crisis. the front page picture is of our bbc colleague george alagiah, speaking to paper about his cancer. the sunday times reports on president zelensky saying the energy crisis is a price worth paying to avoid world war. and finally the sunday mirror, says some tory mps are plotting to �*bring back boris�* over a lack of confidence, particularly in leadership candidate liz truss. if she wins the leadership race. welcome to you at home and welcome to you both, a lot of politics on the pages as you would imagine given what is coming up next week. that start with the sunday telegraph

eleanor,