this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at four. dozens of fire crews continue to tackle an aggressive moorland fire near bolton. lancashire fire brigade say they expect the blaze to continue for days. a major incident has been declared. it is a dangerous area at the moment. in terms of public safety, the advice would be to simply stay off anywhere around the moorland of winter hill. a young girl has died after she was reportedly thrown from an inflatable on a beach in norfolk. an investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding her death. the head of nhs england says extensive planning is under way to prepare the health service for a no—deal brexit at the start of a crunch week for brexit, 30 conservative mps demand the prime minister takes a tough line with eu negotiators. the communities secretary says he is "confident" cabinet will agree a common position later this week. i think there is no doubt that there are strong views on either side and that's what i would expect as we lead into the discussions on friday.

polls open across mexico after a campaign marred by the worst political violence in decades. extra security measures have been taken, after more than 130 candidates and political workers have been killed since campaigning began last september. and russia score to equalise with spain as both sides try to take a place in the world cup quarterfinals. and this month on witness: why britain expelled 90 soviet diplomats in the early 1970s and how an australian town killed its residents. good afternoon and welcome to bbc

news. more than 100 fire fighters are working in what's being described as "extremely testing conditions" this afternoon at the scene of a huge moorland fire in lancashire. yesterday strong winds led to two fires merging — the result now covers several square miles. officials say it could take at least a week to put out the flames. 0ur correspondent sarah walton has this report. the fires are still burning. pockets of the north west of england are now covered by smoke and ash as the landscape is tinder—dry with strong winds fanning the flames. this is a blaze thatjust refuses to be beaten. the fires at winter hill started on thursday near a major tv transmitter that serves nearly 7 million viewers. three days on, more than 100 firefighters are still tackling it. this fire is over quite an extensive area, on two faces of winter hill. so we've got two areas in the region of about four square kilometres each so significant fire fronts. so there's aggressive fire fighting

going on in areas to stop it spreading towards the forestry and further areas of vegetation. crews on the ground are getting help from helicopters and trenches have been built to try to protect nearby buildings. people are being told to stay away and to keep doors and windows closed. a 22—year—old man from bolton has been arrested on suspicion of arson. 30 miles away, 100 soldiers are still helping crews fight a separate fire at saddleworth moor. they are expected to be there for another 2a hours. what is really needed here is rain and lots of it but there's none forecast for days. sarah walton, bbc news, winter hill. and sarah walton sent this update on the conditions the firefighters are facing. it is really tough going. the heat is very strong at the moment, about 27 degrees in the sunshine. so that, with the flames

and the protective gear that the fire crews are having to wear, they are dealing with really intense heat. they've been joined by fire crews that have come from as far away as south wales and also warwickshire. what they're having to deal with with the fire on the far side of that hill is pockets of flames that are spreading notjust over the land on the grass, which is very dry, but also under the ground, because the soil is very peaty here. so they are finding that they will put out one bit of fire, but it is so hot underneath the ground that five or ten minutes later, that same patch of ground is on fire again. the fire crews are taking regular breaks because it is very hard work. they are coming back down to this area, which is the control centre. they are finding when they get here that there are lots of donations from people in the local area who have given food, drinks and water. they say they are grateful for that. it is really helping the morale here. but they have an important message. they are asking people not to bring

donations here directly. it is just not safe. they are saying stay at home with your doors and windows closed. if you do want to give food or drinks or water for the fire crews here, they have their training centre in chorley which is open until four o'clock this afternoon. they are asking people to take donations there. a young girl has died after she was reportedly thrown from an inflatable on a beach in norfolk. police and paramedics were called to gorleston and the girl was taken to hospital where she died. an investigation has been launched to etablish the circumstances surrounding the incident. a missing eight—year—old boy from kent has been found safe and well. toby drury was found a short while ago at longfield railway station. he had been missing since 11 this morning after last being seen in nearby new ash green. the head of the nhs in england has revealed that the health service is preparing for the possibility of a no deal brexit. simon stevens says there's been extensive planning to make sure the uk continues to get the medical supplies in needs in "all scenarios."

meanwhile the communities secretary james brokenshire has said he's confident the cabinet will reach an agreement on brexit, when it meets at chequers this week. tom barton reports. how does the nhs ensure it can get the staff, equipment and medicine it needs if britain leaves the eu without a trade deal? that's the question nhs organisations are grappling with, according to the man responsible for running the health service in england. there is extensive work under way now between the department of health, other parts of government, the life sciences industry, pharma companies, so nobody is pretending this is a desirable situation, but if that's where we get to, then it will not have been unforeseen. but while the nhs is working out what to do if the government can't reach a deal with the eu, ministers insist theirfocus isn't on preparing for no deal, but on getting a good one. we are preparing for all eventualities. the point, though, is that our focus, our attention, all of that detail and effort,

must be about getting that deal. that is what is in the best interest of our country. but of course, we must be prepared and we will be. the cabinet is badly split on what that deal should look like, with several ministers making their personal views publicly known over the last couple of weeks. infighting that today has drawn scorn from the labour leader. you get the feeling that every time somebody in the government thinks, "we really should get an agreement," we get cabinet ministers going off on a tangent. and also, the white paper on the objectives, well, goodness, the referendum was two years ago and the white paper is only going to come out after apparently a weekend party at chequers for the cabinet. and that meeting at chequers this friday is key and a big challenge. finding proposals for the future relationship with the eu that every member of the cabinet can sign up to. i spoke to tom barton a little earlier, and he started by explaining why friday's cabinet

meeting is so crucial. they are there to discuss just one key question which is how close should britain be to the eu after brexit? that is a key question because frankly, cabinet is incredibly divided, deep divisions and very public divisions. just yesterday, we saw michael gove letting it be known that he had physically ripped up a report which suggested, a government report which suggested he backed theresa may's preferred option of a customs partnership and we have had borisjohnson being publicly denounced by ministers who supported remain at the referendum for using, how can i put it, a dismissive expletive when talking about business. but ultimately, all of these ministers need to line up behind a government policy. 0n how to get out, this is a position where it's not going to be possible to maintain the idea you can have different views, you've got to sign up to a common position? yeah, and that's the issue,

up to now there's been a breakdown in discipline because nobody, because they are tussling to set what the government position is. this meeting on friday, they are going to lock them in a room at chequers and say, "no one is coming out until you can agree, until you can find a position that you all agree on". to be a fly on that wall! absolutely. that position will become a white paper, a formal government document and will form the basis for the next round of eu negotiations about the future relationship. so let's be clear with people, we've agreed with the eu when we are leaving, the end of march next year. we have agreed the sort of transition, broadly, and some elements to be finalised but essentially, the terms for a year 01’ more while we are getting out, while we adjust but this is the next negotiation, exactly what our relationship with the eu will be when we are no longer a member of the eu and when the transition period is finished.

exactly right, the end of march next year, we leave the eu but actually, for a period of time up to a couple of years, the end date is still slightly movable, there will be a relationship which is almost identical to how it is today. but during that time, the government needs to agree what it is going to look like after that period and at the moment, they can't agree among themselves what it should be. never mind with the eu. exactly and at some point, they have to agree and friday is about getting them to agree amongst themselves and then the process of getting that agreed by the eu begins. a bit of lobbying by one of the big unions ahead of this important meeting this week. they released a poll, i think. this is the unite union, the biggest affiliate union of the labour party, the biggest donor to the labour party, and this is the union themselves the labour party, and this isn't the union themselves but the people's vote campaign, the campain for a vote for a second referendum essentially to approve whatever deal the government agrees with the eu.

or not. right, but this campaign have done a poll of members of the unite union which is significant becausejeremy corbyn is very clear he does not back a second referendum under any circumstances. interestingly, so does the unite union and yet this poll shows that its membership disagrees with both the union and the labour leadership. there's been a lot of debate around jeremy corbyn‘s position, a suggestion that he is in a different place to the majority of his membership. that is something the people's vote campaign are very keen to highlight and i think they are using the poll to make that very point. the rail operator govia thameslink could be stripped of its franchises unless its services in the south—east of england start to improve. passengers who use its thameslink and great northern trains are also set to be offered compensation equivalent to a months free travel. hundreds of thousands of people have faced weeks of disruption following the introduction of new timetables in may. the mayor london sadiq khan hasjust

tweeted that after months of chaos for passengers, he supports any move to strip the franchise. city hall will push for tfl to take over more commuter routes so they can provide londoners with a better service. that is something incidentally that the transport secretary chris grayling has opposed, giving the mayor power over the commuter lines because he is concerned about the impact on those wide outside of london. sadiq khan clearly sees an opportunity for tfl to take over. people renting homes in england could be given more security under government proposals to introduce a minimum tenancy term of three years. eight out of ten tenants currently have contracts of six or 12 months. ministers say longer agreements would strengthen communities. the polls have opened in mexico, after an election campaign marred by some of the bloodiest political violence in the country for decades. security has been tightened with more than 130 candidates

and political workers killed since september. voters are electing a president as well as members of congress, senators, governors and mayors. 0ur correspondent will grant is in mexico city. earlier he explained why today's election is such a turning point for the country. mexico has been through at least two administrations of the military—led drug war against the cartels in the country. but really, some of the things that have the electorate so angry, go even beyond that, decades worth of inequality, corruption, impunity and of course, the drug violence, too. taking all of those things together, it makes for a very, very difficult picture for ordinary mexicans who really, you know, feel they have had enough and they want the country to be taken in a different direction economically, politically and the frontrunner, andres manuel lopez 0brador, the former mayor of mexico city,

is trying to offer that, saying that the time is now to take mexico in a new direction and that he is the man to do that. is the violence a reflection then of his credibility as a candidate? in other words, is this evidence of the cartels trying to fight back or is it not as simple as that, is it more complicated, the victims and the political workers who have been killed in the last few months, do they all come from one side? well, you know, i lived in mexico for three orfour years, and now i am back and forward constantly between here and elsewhere in the region, and i don't think i have seen it as fractured as it is now. it is hard to pinpoint a single cartel in the way that you used to be able to. there are so many different groups that have broken up since their main heads have been arrested or killed. it is a very complicated mosaic of violence and different competing interests. added to that, the state institutions are so tightly

associated with the cartels, that might be the police in places, the military, the mayors of small towns, it is a really difficult picture. what is in front of the next president is going to be extremely difficult to break that down and sort of pacify the country a bit but that is definitely what the electorate want from andres manuel lopez 0brador if he goes on to win. the polls have opened already and we can see voting going on around mexico under tight security already, to protect voters and obviously the poll workers. when are we likely to get indication of whether or not 0brador has managed to win the election? i think by the very end of the night here, early morning in the uk, we should start getting a very clear picture of who has won. up until this stage, mr lopez 0brador has been somewhere

around 20—25 points ahead of his closest rival. his supporters believe it is done, that this is a coronation, really. of course it is more complicated than that, you need those people who are so confident to actually turn out and not rest on their laurels and of course the opposition have not been completely decimated so far. they have still got loyal supporters. it is not a decided thing yet. but by about that time, early morning in the uk on monday, we should know who the next president of mexico is. the headlines on bbc news. dozens of fire crews continue to tackle an aggressive moorland fire near bolton. lancashire fire brigade say they expect the blaze to continue for days. a major incident has been declared. a young girl has died after she was reportedly thrown from an inflatable on a beach in norfolk. an investigation has been launched to etablish the circumstances surrounding the incident. the head of nhs england says extensive planning is under way

to prepare the health service for a no—deal brexit. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh. it was 1—1 between spain and russia, was it still now? good afternoon. 2010 winners spain are hoping to find some real form at the world cup and with it ruin the dreams of the host nation russia. the two sides meet in moscow and it's spain who took an early lead. sergio ramos tussled with sergei ignashevich, which led to an unfortunate own goal from the russian. spain dominated possession throughout the half, but this handball by gerard pique resulted in a penalty for the hosts. artem dzyuba put away for the equaliser and his third goal of the tournament. it's still level with half an hour to go. you can watch the conclusion on bbc one or on the bbc sport website and app.

coming up a little later, croatia look to emulate their world cup exploits of 1998. they face denmark for a place in the last eight. it's a game you can listen to on radio 5live or the sport website and app. england's last 16 match against colombia is three days away and gareth southgate feels his team have created a fresh air of excitement among england fans. it's only ten months since bored fans were throwing paper aeroplanes on to the pitch at wembley, as world cup qualification was secured by beating slovenia. but southgate says the players have managed to change people's perceptions about the way an england team plays. and according to forward jesse lingard, the manager's been a big part of that. it feels like, you know, a new

revolution. the manager has come in with great ideas and a great idea of the way he wants us to play. you know, the formation suits us perfectly. you know, as a group of lads, it is a useful squad but we still have them experienced players in theirand you still have them experienced players in their and you know, the team spirit is amazing at the moment and eve ryo ne spirit is amazing at the moment and everyone has come together and really bonded and we are excited, enjoying the world cup and looking forward now. it's been an awful day for britain's lewis hamilton at the austrian grand prix. the mercedes driver had to retire from the race and now loses his lead in the drivers' championship. well, the problems started for hamilton when his mercedes team made a tactical error in this early pit stop. hamilton had been leading when he went in the pits, but he came out in fourth and never recovered. he slipped down the field when sebastian vettel, his championship rival, overtook him, but then hamilton had the ultimate setback — a powerfailure in the later stages of the race meant he was forced to bow out and end a run of 33 straight races

where he's taken points. the win instead went to red bull's max verstappen, to the delight of the watching dutch supporters at the aptly—named red bull ring track. vettel takes the overall championship lead. he's a single point ahead of hamilton. spain's marc marquez has won today's dutch motogp in assen. the repsol honda rider managed to break clear in the closing laps and stays top of the current standings as he targets a fifth championship title. britain's cal crutchlow finished back in sixth spot. the next race is in germany in a fortnight. the final day of the british athletics championships in birmingham are taking place today. in the men's 800 metres, elliot giles managed to retain his british title after a burst of pace over the final 20 metres helped him fend off daniel rowden in second. and laura muir took the title in the women's 800 as she pulled away from the rest of the pack on the home straight to achieve

a personal best of 2 minutes and 1.22 seconds. england's cricketers are taking on new zealand in the final of their twenty20 tri—series at chelmsford. the white ferns won the toss and chose to bat and that seemed an excellent decision as they raced to 55—0 in five and a half overs. but when captain sophie devine went for 31, it triggered a collapse that saw new zealand lose eight wickets for 64 runs — seeing them finish with 137—9 from their 20 overs. follow england's innings on radio five live sports extra. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. millions of people who book their holidays online will be protected under new eu rules which come into force today. until now, trips booked via websites like expedia and on the beach did not have the same protection as traditional package holidays from travel agents.

our business correspondent joe lynam has more. expedia, lastminute.com, ebookers and on the beach are all popular websites for booking holidays. but they are intermediaries. it means if things go wrong, they are not directly responsible. that ends today. more and more people are buying their holidays online, but they don't get the same protection as they would have got from a traditional travel agents. so, thanks to these changes today, anybody who buys a holiday and, for instance, there's an ash cloud, or the hotel isn't up to standard, or the airline goes bust, they'll be protected thanks to these new directives. 83% booked a holiday online last year. most of that was through booking sites. but only half of those holidays were financially protected if the hotel, airline or car rental company failed. that will change. but if you book each component part of your holiday separately, you won't get the new protections, as that's not considered

a package holiday. when we book our holidays, we usually go online and just look for certain companies, making sure it's, like, atol protected. there's a lot of websites where you can get really good deals for holidays. i know we've been looking into a few, but ijust feel a bit cautious going forward with that because the deals are so good that we don't know if we're going to get the same protection. when i'm sort of looking at protection for a holiday, i don't really think that much about it. ijust usually, you know, find a kind of cheap insurance deal. the new protections — which are eu—wide — only apply to holidays bought from today, so if you've purchased already online and haven't travelled yet, you won't be covered. in that respect, travel insurance is always recommended. joe lynam, bbc news. the pakistan army has rescued two british mountaineers from the ultar sar peak in the hunza valley. the army said the climbers' tent had been hit by an avalanche. bruce normand and timothy miller were rescued by pilots at around 19,000 feet above sea level. another climber, from austria, died in the avalanche. a notorious career thief in france

has escaped from prison... in a helicopter. 46—year—old redoine faid, who is one of france's most wanted criminals, escaped from jail near paris this morning. it's believed that he was helped by a number of heavily armed men. it's faid's second jailbreak. in 2013 he blasted his way out of a prison using dynamite and was on the run for six weeks. seven out of ten council leaders in england believe income tax needs to be raised to fund adult social care. that's according to research by the local government association, which says more money is needed now. the department of health and social care says it will publish its proposals in the autumn. 0ur reporter simonjones has more. with an ageing population and a squeeze on council budgets, the strains on care services can no longer be ignored — that's the message from the local government association, which supports local authorities, ahead of its annual conference next week. although councils in england have been able to increase council tax in recent years to help meet

the cost, many say it's not enough. it's the overwhelming concern of council leaders across the country that the crisis in the funding for social care is becoming more and more acute. the nhs will fall over unless councils get extra money to help people keep in their own homes. all chant: no nhs cuts! this weekend, thousands of people marched through central london to protest at what they say is the underfunding of the health service. the prime minister has pledged billions more for the nhs in england but councils are asking — what about social care? a survey of council leaders and cabinet members suggests 96% believe there is a major national funding problem in adult social care. 89% think national taxation must be part of the solution. 70% say increases to income tax should be considered. just over half of english councils which provide adult social care responded to the local government association survey.

here at the department of health and social care, they say they recognise the social care system is under pressure and they are committed to introducing reforms to ensure it's sustainable for the future. in the autumn, a consultation document will be published with proposals for debate. but the local government association says bold and radical political decisions are needed now. simon jones, bbc news. the search for 12 young boys and their football coach, trapped in a flooded cave in thailand, has entered its ninth day. rescue teams have been trying to reach deeper into the chambers of the tham luang cave in the hope of finding the children, who are all aged between 11 and 16. there has been no contact with the group since they were reported missing. howard johnson reports. water, gushing out of the tham luang cave complex.

earlier this week, engineers began pumping it out from a flooded cavern. other teams have also worked to divert streams from flowing into the area. what we are seeing here is parts of a new superjet pump being delivered. it's hoped that when it's fully operational, even more water will be pumped out of the cave complex to the right of me here. the falling water levels have galvanised search and rescue teams. last night, thailand's elite navy seal divers returned to a chamber around a kilometre away from the pattaya beach, a high sandbank where many hope the missing boys and their football coach are sheltering. the team will now use fixed ropes and stockpiled air tanks to attempt to push further into the cave. but downstream from the pumping operation, paddy fields are being inundated with water. this village chief says more than 16 farmers have been affected, but his message to the community is simple — the priority is to save the missing 13. 0ne villager said the fate of the children is more important than her livelihood. translation: authorities

need to release water onto our rice paddy. if it's to save the kids, we say, no worries. just let the water out to save their lives in the cave. and so as the rescue operation enters a critical second week, the people of thailand continue to support it with everything they have. howard johnson, bbc news. peter firmin — the co—creator of the clangers — has died aged 89. in a career spanning over six decades, he created basil brush, as well as helping devise bagpuss, ivor the engine and noggin the nog. in 1999, bagpuss was voted the most popular bbc children's programme ever made, and in 2014 peter firmin received a bafta lifetime achievement award. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina jenkins. for most, the heat and

the sunshine continues. for others, some welcome rain. a yellow warning for storms across south—west england that extends into parts of wales and we could see of you pushing further eastwards this evening into the home counties and maybe towards london. more cloud for northern ireland and north—west scotland. in the sunshine, still a lot of it and temperatures widely in the mid to high 20s, 30 or 31 for some. still the chance of thunderstorms across central, southern and south—west england this evening and overnight. elsewhere, dry with more cloud for scotland but any rain will have fizzled out by this stage. muggy and humid across central and southern england, temperatures not much lower than 18 or 19. we do it all again tomorrow. for most, a dry and very sunny day again, very warm if hot. again, very warm if not hot. more cloud across parts of scotland, somewhat cooler here and once again, eastern coasts cooler with the breeze off the sea but where we have sunshine, lots of it again with temperatures close to 30.