this is bbc news. i'm nkem ifejika. our top stories: exit polls from mexico's presidential election suggest the left—wing candidate, andres manuel lopez obrador, is heading for victory. germany's interior minister threatens to resign because of differences with the chancellor angela merkel over immigration policy. the us national security advisor says he believes most of north korea's nuclear programme could be dismantled within a year. and in the world cup, penalty dramas deliver a surprise win for russia and a narrow victory for croatia. hello, and welcome to bbc world news. in mexico, polls have now closed in the presidential and parliamentary elections, and the country is thought to be on the cusp of a decisive political shift. the frontrunner in the presidential

race is the left—wing former mayor of mexico city, andres manuel lopez obrador, who's pledged to clean up politics. it follows a campaign plagued by violence, with more than 130 candidates and party members killed. will grant, in mexico city. in the last two minutes, they have said they would concede. it is now a question of how much amlo won by. he was always ahead, going in 25 points ahead at the most. it was almost impossible for other candidates to defeat. it is difficult to read opinion polls before the votes. it

is always worth keeping the outside possibility something might happen. we have seen strange things happen in mexican elections before, especially with amlo who lost in 2006 by a narrow margin. but it looks like not this time. both the opposition candidates have conceded. that leaves it clear for amlo, opposition candidates have conceded. that leaves it clearfor amlo, the left—wing former mayor of mexico city, to be the next mexican president. so, he has talked about cleaning up politics. what does that mean? his whole focus throughout this campaign has been on corruption, stamping it out in the state institutions, stamping it out in medical classes, business elites, and using it to divert towards the poorest. he wants to abandon certain

projects already under way that are well over budget. he wants to focus on the whole chains of command in different entities, police, water management, anywhere with corruption. if he does even part of what he is talking about it will make an impact on the way mexico is run. and looking to the neighbour in the north, i think you have to look at what happens in relation to the us. is that on the agenda? of course. certainly now, president trump knows who his new neighbour will be. that is significant. how well the two men get along, that is a question many will ask in the coming time. we will get an indication of this soon. beyond

that, there are so many things they have to thrash out, whether it is cross—border migration, the drug issue, nafta, there are many, many difficult issues. it will be interesting to see if they can get on well enough to work something out oi’ on well enough to work something out or if they will be at loggerheads from the very start. thank you. and just to clarify, the two other candidates in the presidential elections in mexico have both admitted defeat and it looks like andrew manuel lopez obrador, the former mayor of mexico city, is going to be the new president. the german interior minister, horst seehofer, has offered to resign, creating more instability for angela merkel‘s coalition government. mr seehofer has been pushing for a tougher approach to asylum seekers, and was reported to be unhappy with last week's european union deal on migration. andrew plant reports. he is part of chancellor merkel‘s coalition government,

but has become one of her loudest critics as well. now, horst seehofer, leader of the christian social union party, and the interior minister of germany, has offered to resign over mrs merkel‘s approach to migration. at a summit in brussels last week, an agreement was made among eu leaders to share migrants more evenly across the european union and build new reception centres too. the talks were prompted by italy and malta turning away rescue boats that had picked up migrants crossing into europe from north africa. angela merkel‘s ideas for building migrant processing centres were already a much harder stance to her previous opendoor approach, but the proposals hammered out in brussels proved a tougher sell back at home. horst seehofer had already threatened to order border guards to turn migrants away

unless angela merkel got tougher, saying reception centres would be less effective than simply closing the door. that would have forced her to fire him from government and caused chaos in her coalition. it is not yet clear if horst seehofer‘s offer to resign will be accepted. chancellor merkel, though, will be keen not to weaken her coalition and avoid new elections, which some fear could embolden the country's far—right and lead to political instability, both in germany and the rest of europe as a whole. andrew plant, bbc news. we've been following the story of the 12 boys and their football coach who're trapped in a flooded cave in thailand. it's now been nine days since. china is sending robots to assist with the search as divers continue their efforts to save them. but nobody knows which part of the cave they're in, or even if they're still alive. jonathan head sent this report from the site. we are now at the end of the eighth

day of this gruelling search for the 12 missing boys and their football coach. and here at the base for this operation, it is a lot more organised than it was, a lot less chaotic, and they are restricting the number of vehicles that come up and those that do are entirely dedicated to bringing in what is needed to keep the search going. now, there are still climbers looking around the mountain for other possible access points but everything at the moment, the biggest hope, is centred here and that is because behind these yellow lines — they weren't here before but they are restricting access here — this is where the divers go in to the main entrance to the cave and they have been making much more progress today than in previous days. it hasn't rained heavily for a couple of days. the water levels are down. there is pumping going on 2a hours a day, to try and reduce those water level. and the divers are telling us that they have now reached a third chamber. they have built a base there and they are moving on towards the area where they think the boys are. this is an area called pattaya beach, it is a high, dry area.

no one knows if they are there. there are around two kilometres of underwater tunnels that they will have to manage if they are going to reach there but they are making progress and they have a small window of opportunity right now. weather forecasters are saying we may have heavy rain again in three days time so there's a tremendous sense of urgency not just because of the amount of time the boys have been there but also because we've got this spell without too much rain. police in india say more than a0 people have been killed when their bus fell into a gorge. the accident happened in the himalayan state of uttarakhand. at least three people have been taken to hospital with injuries. anbarasan ethirajan reports. the passenger bus veered off a slippery road and fell into a deep ravine. it tumbled down for nearly 200 metres before smashing into the ground.

the vehicle was travelling through a mountainous region in india's northern uttarakhand state when tragedy struck. there was no chance for most of the passengers. the mangled remains of the bus shows the power of the impact. it took hours for the emergency services to recover the bodies. the unusually high number of casualties has raised questions. translation: it's a remote area and it's being noticed that overloading is a norm in these areas. that is definitely what we have received in terms of information, that the bus was double what it could accommodate. i have ordered an enquiry into the matter and whoever is guilty will be punished.

the 28 seater bus was carrying 58 passengers. fatalities and road accidents are not uncommon in india. most of the accidents happen on poorly maintained roads and vehicles with reckless driving. india registers the highest number of road fatalities in the world. the country has enacted a number of laws to improve road safety, but they are hardly enforced. the high number of casualties in the latest accident is a wake—up call for the authorities. anbarasan ethirajan, bbc news. the us national security advisor, john bolton, says he believes the bulk of north korea's nuclear programme could be dismantled within a year. mr bolton told a us tv show the trump administration knew there was a risk that pyongyang could drag out negotiations in order to prolong weapons development, but said north korea would benefit from dismantling its nuclear programme quickly so that sanctions could then be lifted. 0ur our experts have devised a programme that with north korean corporation

and full disclosure of all of their chemical and by nuclear programmes, we can get, physically, we would be able to dismantle the overwhelming bulk of their programmes within the year. —— bionuclear. earlier, i spoke with 0livia enos, who is a policy analyst in the asian studies center at the heritage foundation. i began by asking if dismantling the program in a year was realistic? i think dismantling north korea's nuclear programme in a year is very overly optimistic. most nuclear experts have put that estimates that it may be possible to dismantle, thatis, it may be possible to dismantle, that is, freeze testing, of the nuclear programme in north korea after a year, but the likelihood of it being shut down entirely in a year is highly impossible. they estimate it could take between six and ten years, perhaps 15 years, the fully dismantle the programme. it seems like a very optimistic estimate in terms of the possibility

to get north korea dean —— denuclearised. whether or not north korea is actually several stages of what have to happen. audio issues. all of this ta kes happen. audio issues. all of this takes time and money as well.|j think the estimates are in the billions and billions of dollars in order to completely denuclearise north korea. even some of the short—term programmes are quite expensive. for example, getting inspectors in to verify not korea is

in fact denuclearising, installing cameras in nuclear sites to verify they're taking steps. the reality is there are many indications that north korea is not serious about this. there there are reports about them continuing to develop missile launches and even support systems for medium—range missiles. beyond that, us intelligence is saying north korea may even have some secret nuclear sites not yet disclosed to the international community. there are many signs that north korea may have come to the table in singapore but the promises made were minimal at best and not made were minimal at best and not made with sincerity. just briefly, do you think the us has given way to much before any concrete steps were taken by north korea? i think that it was concerning that the us was willing to give upjoint it was concerning that the us was willing to give up joint military exercises at the summit. that really blindsided allies and made them concerned the us was not committed to the long—term security and stability of east asia. there is

concern in that regard that we gave up concern in that regard that we gave up too much too soon. it is critical that right now the us should be clear it will maintain maximum pressure and sanctions against north korea until it shows signs of denuclearising, and frankly, and com pletely denuclearising, and frankly, and completely denuclearises at all. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: a helicopter prison break. one of france's most notorious criminals is sprung from prison and goes on the run. china marked its first day of rule in hong kong with a series of spectacular celebrations. a huge firework display was held in the former colony. the chinese president, jiang zemin, said unification was the start of a new era for hong kong. the world's first clone has been produced of an adult mammal. scientists in scotland have produced a sheep called dolly, that was cloned in a laboratory using a cell from another sheep. for the first time in 20 years,

russian and american spacecraft have docked in orbit, at the start of a new era of cooperation in space. challenger powered past the bishop rock lighthouse at almost 50 knots, shattering a record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: votes are being counted in mexico's parliamentary and presidential elections. polls suggest the country could get a left—wing president for the first time in decades. let's get more on the mexican elections. joining me now live from mexico city

is christopher wilson, deputy director of the wilson centre's mexico institute. the two are the main candid at have said we have lost and it looks like andres manuel lopez 0brador will be crowned winner? it does indeed, the other two candidates, really, crowned winner? it does indeed, the othertwo candidates, really, it crowned winner? it does indeed, the other two candidates, really, it was impressive how quickly they recognise the victory of andres manuel lopez 0brador. to me it is a good sign of a maturing mexican democracy, willing to recognise the will of the voters and not leave it up will of the voters and not leave it upfor will of the voters and not leave it up for dispute, ebay but ready to move on. “— up for dispute, ebay but ready to move on. —— debate. they said they would be there to support the future president but also to be a strong opposition to him and that is what a

strong opposition party should do. in 2006, andres manuel lopez 0brador came very close but it is a long time in quite a while that a left—wing candidate has made it. how sick the ticket is it? it is a huge change and that is what the mexican voters have been looking. it is not since the 1970s since someone from the left will become president of mexico and this represents the fact that mexican citizens were fed up with the vidigal class, with how the pad and —— pan and pity our did not deal with corruption and security. there were two types of supporters

for andres manuel lopez 0brador, some the true believers, who think it represents the type of change mexico needs, represent those left behind and fight corruption but others voted to him more because they were not going to vote with either of the other main parties, they are so fed up with them. they we re they are so fed up with them. they were willing to take some level of risk in terms of voting for a candidate they are not quite sure about. maybe six or for dieselgate they may have voted against him but now i willing to give him a chance. is that making the populist in this election? i think he absolutely was the populist. his policy proposals are quite populist in that many are symbolic, he talks about things like reducing the number of high—level officials in all government

ministries stop it talks about taking away at pensions, lowering pensions forformer taking away at pensions, lowering pensions for former president. things that in terms of the budget of mexico probably would not make a difference but they are powerful symbols, that he is going to govern ina symbols, that he is going to govern in a different way, and that he will change things. 0ther in a different way, and that he will change things. other things like talking about the fact that mexico should grow all of its food rather than import foods, these are populist policies but they will have to match reality and see how much the pragmatic side of him comes out as well because mexico cannot detach itself from the global economy, it is tightly integrated through dafter in the northern american economy. he is, toa in the northern american economy. he is, to a certain extent, forced to recognise that but there is a contradiction in many of his

policies which will have to be resolved over the next several months or at least when he takes office in december. hopefully the mexicans did not come too far down with a bump when they play football. football and this is becoming a world cup of big upsets. we've already said goodbye to germany, argentina and portugal. now spain have been knocked out and it was by the hosts russia. in the day's other match, croatia beat denmark on penalties. james burford watched all the action. they can hardly believe it. germany's groups stage exit was the shock of the tournament, that was until now. ranked a full 60 places below spain, few thought russia could cause any sort of damage to the 2010 champions. and perhaps for a time, the story played out that way. an own goal and spain off the mark. a plot twist, russia's blushes spared from the spot.

extra time came and went, without a dent in the defence, all meant to produce this chance. liftoff. russia in the quarter—finals of the world cup for the first time in nearly half a century. and so to nizhny novgorov, where denmark threw themselves ahead with the fastest goal of the tournament so far. 57 seconds whenjorgensen took the lead. but this is a world cup packed with drama and mario mandzukic was denmark's villain just moments later in fortunate fashion. luka modric had the chance to win the match in extra time, but kasper schmeichel stood firm, much to his father's delight. another penalty shoot out then, and croatia having spurned the earlier chance, this time took their opportunity. so it is russia, not spain, that await in the last 8. russian firms are pretty happy.

steve rosenberg was with them. rossiya! hope springs eternal in the shadow of the luzhniki, they experienced euphoria. translation: it is a great, we will be the champions. from the way they are celebrating here, he might think

that russia had just won the world cup but is a joy is understandable because a quarter—final place is a huge achievement for a side that went into this tournament the lowest ranked team and russia is notjust winning matches, it is winning hearts and minds as well. winning matches, it is winning hearts and minds as welllj winning matches, it is winning hearts and minds as well. i am from australia. it is nothing like they say, russia is one of the nicest places, and i have been to 20 countries in the world. and that is a victory for president putin. he sees us as a a victory for president putin. he sees us as a victory. they were able to get the cup but, against all predictions to the country, they made a very successful. tonight, the whole of russia is out partying. russians are brimming with pride and a daring to dream of world cup glory. french police are searching for a notorious gangster who escaped from jail by helicopter. redoine faid had been serving

a 25—year sentence for a failed robbery during which a police officer was killed. richard lister has the details. a career criminal, inspired by gangster movies. redoine faid is now on the run. his escape from this present in the paris suburbs had all the hallmarks of a film script. as he waited in a visiting area, two accomplices in a hijacked helicopter landed in the grounds. using smoke bombs and heavy tools, they broke through to faid, bundled him onto the helicopter and flew him away. the helicopter was later found 60 kilometres from the prison. its pilot had been seized as he waited to give a lesson. after flying faid and his accomplices out, he was released unharmed. redoine faid had a measure of fame after writing a book about his life of crime during a previous jail term. he revealed how hollywood had affected his robbery technique. in the book and in the documentary that followed he explained that he was fascinated by the cinema, that he used to see hollywood movies with robert de niro. also french movies that talked

about the spectacular attacks and spectacular escapes. but french police say his crimes often involve heavy weaponry and brutal violence. faid was serving a 25—year sentence of this policewoman was killed in 2010 in a raid he organised. this is actually his second jail break. last time, he used dynamite to blast off the prison doors and was on the run for six weeks. another manhunt is under way. richard lister, bbc news. you could not make it up. you can reach me on twitter and once in a while i do sweet interesting stuff but most of the time it is boring staff. bye—bye. hello there, good morning.

we turned up the heat again on sunday, 32 celsius, 90 fahrenheit in hampshire. if you are looking for rain you will be out of luck. 0n the whole it will be out of luck. 0n the whole it will be dry. the first day ofjuly dropped some rain towards the south—west of the uk from that area of cloud. those earlier showers and thunderstorms have pretty much moved away and out into the english channel over towards the near continent so it will probably be dry on monday. some slightly cooler air in scotland. sunshine to and the date for most areas. 0vernight, a

little more cloud through the north sea coast area. more mist across southern parts of england and wales. it will feel rather humid for a little while longer. more sunshine on tuesday. a small chance of hitting up late shower towards the far west —— south—west. hardly a breath of wind around. strong sunshine and temperatures beginning to lift for scotland and northern ireland as well. high pressure is sort of in charge of our weather but it is not a particularly dominant area. hardly a breath of wind again on wednesday. cloud through the north sea. sunny skies and fairweather cloud developing and few if any showers towards the north—west. heat continues to arrive. a little bit of a change

perhaps add a fly in the ointment as we move into thursday. that weather front is a very weak and it will bring a band of cloud towards scotla nd bring a band of cloud towards scotland and northern ireland. for the south, likely to be dry with long spells of sunshine. the heat is certainly still there and temperatures in the high 20s in the very least. a very quiet week ahead and it looks like a dry at first week in london at the wimbledon tennis championship. elsewhere it likely to stay dry with some more sunshine. this is bbc world news. the headlines: votes are being counted in mexico's general election, the biggest in the country's history. thousands of political offices are being elected, but the main focus is the presidency. the front—runner going into the vote was the left—winger, andres manuel lopez 0brador, who campaigned on a message of radical change. reports from germany say the interior minister horst seehofer

has offered to resign because of his differences with chancellor merkel over immigration policy. mr seehofer has been pushing for a tougher approach to asylum seekers, and was reported to be unhappy with this week's european union deal on migration. russian football fans have been celebrating their team's unexpected triumph over spain in the world cup. russia won the match in moscow in a penalty shoot—out, eliminating the former champions. in the quarter—finals, russia will face croatia, who beat denmark, also in a penalty shoot—out. now on bbc news: dateline london.