hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. two people "critical" after exposure to an unknown substance here in the uk, a few kilometres from salisbury where the former russsian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned. we are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of this incident, and will continue to work... new footage of the boys trapped in caves in thailand. rescuers say again they won't try to bring them out until it's safe, and that could be months. poland's chiefjustice turns up for work, in defiance of a law forcing dozens of seniorjudges to retire early. there are only two northern white rhino left in the world and they're both female, but scientists say they can save the species from extinction. we're expecting an update on a major

story here in the uk. counter terrorism police are investigating what's happened this is all relating to what happened to two people on saturday ina happened to two people on saturday in a house in wiltshire in the west of england. they have been identified as charlie rowley and dawn sturgess. they were found in the town of amesbury which is around 11km from salisbury. that's where former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent novichok in march. the two people who collapsed this weekend are in critical condition in the same hospital that

treated the skripals. the substance that may have made them ill is undergoing tests at a nearby chemical weapons research laboratory at porton down, that's the place that identified the nerve agent used against the skripals. we're expecting an announcement with more information on this any moment. here's the local police chief earlier. it was initially believed that the two patients fell ill after potentially using contaminated illegal drugs. however, further testing is now ongoing to establish the substance which led to these patients becoming ill. at this stage, it is not yet clear if a crime has been committed. our inquiries, supported by local

partner agencies in the counterterrorism policing network, are ongoing. these pictures are of the place where the two people were found. we also know that parts of amesbury in salisbury, where these two were known to go frequently, have also been cordoned off. this acquaintance of theirs described how much distress they were in. he was sweating loads, dribbling, and you couldn't speak to him, he was making funny noises. he was rocking backwards and forwards, like there was no response, he didn't even know i was there. it's like he was in a whole other world, hallucinating. jon kay is in amesbury. for the exactly this time four days ago, so saturday evening evening here in the uk, the emergency services were brought to the property here just down this cul—de—sac beyond where the officers are. a man and a woman in their 40s were taken from here, they're in salisbury district hospital.

now initially the police say they suspected this was some kind of drugs overdose, or maybe that they'd been exposed to some kind of contaminated batch of crack cocaine or heroin. but four days on, police issued a public message this morning to say that this had not been declared a major incident, that wiltshire police, the localforce is now working alongside the interpol to police in london and their anti—terrorism offices. and at the heart of this is theyjust don't know what the substance was that this couple have been exposed to, which has caused them to fall ill. because we're so close to salisbury, 6—7 miles which was the scene of a massive investigation when the skripals were poisoned four months ago. for that reason, police say they're keeping an open mind, but they're clearly taking this very seriously indeed. a police statement on the story is coming in 25 minutes. this is the latest video of the thai boys inside the cave where they're stuck. here you can see some of them

wrapped up in blankets to keep them warm. thai navy seals are with them, and we're told there least two navy personnel will be there at all times. and we know the boys and their coach have been given high energy gels to eat. remember, it was nine days before they were found. today medical teams stationed outside the cave entrance staged a drill. you can see them practising what they will do once the boys have been rescued. no doubt worth doing, but we should emphasise it may be weeks or months before that happens. needless to say there significant pyschological pressures at play here. here's one psychiatrist who knows the cave in question. being relatively young, they will very much be turning to the coach as the adult,

as the person in charge of the team to look up to, in terms of enthusiasm, in terms of motivation, and probably in terms of hope. what's likely to happen is at some point, their light will have gone out, and one thing unusual about the underground is when the light goes out, you can see nothing, not even your hand in front of your face. and that's a funny experience for most of us to be in, because there is normally some ambient light around in the rest of the world. their focus at the moment very much has to be to stay as a teen, this is a task, it is achievable no matter how hard it is, and they will get out. when people start to express anxieties about how this might not happen and they can go on for a long time, particularly for young people, that is likely to have a big influence on their ability to keep resilient. one of the challenges is at the moment, they will be in a period where everything is ok. but as the reality begins to dawn that they've got a huge amount to do, that will become more challenging for them. they are about likm inside the cave complex, and these are the obstacles that block their route out. you can see a full climbing gear is

needed here. a 30 metre dive is necessary here, some parts are to narrow for scuba tanks. there are plans to teach the boys to swim and scuba dive, but the local governor has said they will take no risks in rescuing them. here's jonathan head. the options confronting this rescue operation are just as tough as when they found the boys. they are healthy enough that they say giving them some basic diving training and pulling them through the flooded tunnels one by one is feasible. and yet we've spoken to sources inside the thai diving team who say that is still too risky, they may still have to leave those boys down there for the full 4—5 months of the raining season. we visited the class of the football team captain and mick,

both trapped in the caves. did they have a message for their classmates? "i want them to get healthy, be patient, and come back safely so they can be with us again." "come back quickly, there is lots of homework waiting for you." the big factor in this rescue is the weather. heavy rain caused the boys to get trapped. and as this is the start of the monsoon season further rain is certain to mean the cave will not drain any time soon. here's helen willets from bbc weather speaking to me earlier. they've had about double the rainfall they would normally see to the rainy season starting, january through may, they've doubled their annual rainfall. their average rainfall for that period, double

what we would normally see, and it's been a pretty wetjune. what we would normally see, and it's been a pretty wet june. is impossible to predict how a monsoon will be in the longer term through august into september was all of the monsoon rains are pretty normally reliable, they see less rain normally in the north. the rain comes more impulses, so we had the monsoon trough that gave flash flooding, severe devastation across parts of bangladesh the also brought some wet weather to parts of northern tyre —— thailand. some wet weather to parts of northern tyre -- thailand. is the wet season, so we northern tyre -- thailand. is the wet season, so we are northern tyre -- thailand. is the wet season, so we are likely to see more rain. it has been since the last week quite dry for the time of year, they've had some unusually sunny weather as it's been described. by the next couple of days hold the risk of some showers, and perhaps into the weekend and next week, something a little more persistent and torrential, because the heat and humidity comes down

quite at —— at quite a rate. the heat and humidity comes down quite at -- at quite a rate. this is not just another quantity of quite at -- at quite a rate. this is notjust another quantity of rain, but the speed with which it arrives. that's one of the reasons these boys got stuck in the first place. it's not absorbed, it just got stuck in the first place. it's not absorbed, itjust comes down to very quickly. you know what happens at this part of the world, there's so much energy to be released by the atmosphere. because it is a showery scenario, they are hit and miss, it's when we get these trust him again and it looks very developmental in the bay of bengal which feeds things in. we need to keep a close eye on it. the bbc will have a team at the cave entrance all through this rescue mission. french president emmanuel macron is in nigeria, in the capital lagos. and on immigration, this tweet from him sums up his message. nonetheless, it remains a political

story, particularly because there is a new government in italy that is taking a decidedly different approach. eu leaders have agreed to explore setting up micro processing centres in northern africa, no northern african countries have agreed to those yet. 0ur correspondent mayeni jones has spoken to president macron. it will, just as if this is under the african sovereignty, it means if this is a willingness of the government. if you create a centre with this kind of organisation, the big risk and fearfor a lot of governments is a pull factor effect. and i perfectly understand that. so what we have to do is to work, in order to increase security, in order to increase precisely our fight against smugglers in the regions. angela merkel says migrants will be held for a maximum of 48 hours

in transit centres to be set up along the border with austria. when you look at the border into britney will be, they will only be held there for 48 hours. that's part of a deal she made earlier this week to maintain her coalition government. her interior minister, who leads her sister party in bavaria, had threatend to quit over the issue. now while germany is a prefered destination for many migrants, the route they choose to take varies with circumstance. many are now making the journey through albania and montenegro to bosnia and then, if they can, into croatia. croatian border police have been trying to stop that happening, and thousands of people are now stuck in bosnia. the bbc‘s guy deluaney reports. they fled conflict and poverty to shelter in a war damaged building

thousands of miles from home. irony surely doesn't get much darker. bosnia barely saw any refugees during the crisis three years ago. but this year this has changed, and the country's woefully unprepared. we've met people here from syria, iran, iraq, and afghanistan. many of them have tractor albania and montenegro to get here, this bombed out a student dormitory in the bosnian city of the hutch. from here, they have had to reach nearby croatia, and thus the european union. tell us, why are you here in bosnia? because we want to go into germany. we just walked past this border and go to the goal country like germany, switzerland or someplace else. this situation is so terrible. you can see here, the air is like a toilet. but still they come. volunteers feed more here

every week, and the numbers are likely to increase further over the summer. likely to increase further over the summer. that's a big problem for bosnia, ape or ethnically divided country which can barely look after its own people. we now have more than 3000 refugees and migrants, and many of them don't have shelter. we have little kids and families that are sleeping in abandoned buildings, this is the proper conditions. this city is certainly struggling to cope. its offer of the war damaged, dilapidated dormitory was the best he could do for the recent arrivals. 0fficials he could do for the recent arrivals. officials say they have waited in vainfor officials say they have waited in vain for bosnia's central government to ta ke vain for bosnia's central government to take charge of the growing crisis. translation: i can only guess at what the government's motives are. i think they been caught off guard and have not understood the gravity of the situation regarding the city.

for now, this relic of a war which ended two decades ago is housing people fleeing the conflict of today. hosts and visitors alike are hoping for better times. stay with us on outside source. still to come. we have the latest from malaysia where former prime minister najib razak is charged with corruption. he spoke outside of court, we will bring you all the latest pictures. here, trawler crews have welcomed the government's new proposals on how it will manage fishing in british waters after brexit. ministers say that from 2020 they'll be able to negotiate access as an independent coastal state, allowing a fairer allocation of fishing opportunities. but others are warning of new barriers, to the eu market, for british fish. speaking in scotland, the environment secretary michael gove says leaving the eu will allow the uk to work as one. one of the good things about the way in which fisheries management works in the uk is that all the countries

of the united kingdom work together. and there'll be more power for the scottish parliament and government once we leave the european union to regulate fishing in order to make sure it's sustainable and we do things in accord with the environment. but we will also ensure that when we negotiate, we negotiate for the uk as a whole. and a majority of the fish that is caught and landed in the uk is caught and landed here in scotland. so leaving the european union is good news for the scottish fishing industry, and a particular opportunity for communities here in the northeast. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story. britain's chemical weapons research laboratory is investigating what caused a man and a woman to fall gravely ill, close to where a former russian spy was poisoned in march. we are expecting a statement on that

in the next 15 minutes. a married british lesbian has won the right to live and work in hong kong with her wife in a landmark ruling from the territory's top court. the decision to grant the woman a spousal visa, ends a long running legal battle in hong kong, where same—sex unions are not recognised. that's from bbc chinese. the indian government has asked whatsapp to take action to prevent false texts and provocative content that have led to a series of lynchings. false messages and videos about child abductors one of the most read stories on our website today, the co—founder and chairman of giant chinese conglomerate, hna group, has died in a fall in southern france. wang jen "accidentally fell" off a wall in provence, while on a business trip.

mr wang helped turn hna into one of the world's biggest companies, with assets in aviation, tourism and finance. malaysia's former prime minister najib razak has been charged with corruption. here he is appearing in court today. hundreds of people are there. they're taking photos. he's waving back. police push them out of the way. he's accused of stealing $700 million from a state fund that he created. he entered a not—guilty plea on three counts of criminal breach of trust and one of abuse of power. these crimes each carry a maximum jail term of 20 years. and he spoke after being released on bail. translation: at you know, i have

been formally charged today, like i had predicted, because it is the wish of the new government. if this is the price i have to pay after 42 yea rs of is the price i have to pay after 42 years of my service to the people and nation, then i am ready. mr najib here in kuala lumpur on tuesday and spent the night in detention. and he'd posted this video on twitter before his arrest. this is being watched hundreds of thousands of times. not all the accusations are true, he says. he says not to believe the reports and asks the public for a chance to defend himself. nearly half a million people have watched this video. it's a stunning fall from grace. just two months ago, he lost elections to mahathir bin mohamad. he came to power on a promise to reopen an investigation into a massive corruption scandal of state—fund known as imdb. it was set up in 2009 to turn

kuala lumpur into a financial hub. it's now at the centre of money laundering allegations. a number of countries, including the us, are investigating. funds skimmed were allegedly used to buy luxury assets and propety. this was some of what police seized from properties linked to mr najib. jewellery worth millions. he still has support, though. this was taken outside of court today. that hashtag, #freenajib. more now from karishma vaswani. this really underlines the current administration's focus on clamping

down on corruption in malaysia. all of this relating to a subsidiary unit of the state—run investment fund, one in db, which he remember set up. in particular to develop kuala lumpur, the malaysian capital into a financial hub. that never happened, what happened instead was that the fund racked up billions of dollars worth of debt, there were allegations that some of that money found its way to the former prime minister's personal bank account, something like $700 million, allegations that he has consistently denied and was able to shrug off both political protest on the streets and any criticism he may have a seat in the media as a result of some of the laws he implemented over the last few years. but now as a result of the new government that's in power, there has been a renewed focus on what happened at this fund, and now we have to see how these charges play out.

kamal ahmed is our economics editor. "world trade organisation warns on costs of escalating trade wars. trade restrictive measures have doubled in last six months." it says between the middle of october and the middle of may, the advanced economies known as the g20 applied 39 policies that restricted free trade. they affect more than $74 billion of trade, which up 50% on the same period a year before. however there was also good news for free trade advocates. the wto says 47 measures aimed at growing free trade were implemented in the same period. now kamal‘s clear on the wto's position because he's been speaking to the head of it. the economic impact on the global economy will be one on contraction

or slowing down. it's difficult to speculate on how big that impact will be, but it is going to be negative. we already see some forward—looking indicators pointing in that direction. is president trump to blame for the present movement towards a global trade war? i think what we have in terms of tensions, they come from political environments in many countries. and those new environments are structural, they're coming from structural, they're coming from structural changes in the global economy. i think president trump's idea and administration are a result of those tensions. these trade stats come from a bigger report by the wto. jonty bloom explain how all this fits in to the current trade tensions between the world's biggest economies. basically the world's biggest economies. this is a look at the trading basically this is a look at the trading relationships of the top 20

economies in the world. the eu, america, uk, china, countries like that. it's pointing towards a worrying trend as we saw, as he said, there has been an increase in the number of trade barriers put into place. they are increasing at twice the rate they were only a couple of months ago. the amount of free trade, the removal of trade ta riffs free trade, the removal of trade tariffs has happened in the same period. the wto is basically saying that this is a sign things are going in the wrong direction when it comes to freeing up world trade and encouraging growth. the wto says that it's only in the last few years that it's only in the last few years that world growth and trade has started to recover from 2008. it says that is definitely in jeopardy, and if you look at the escalating rent between america and china, america and the eu, and even canada and mexico, that will put constraints on world growth. the wto is firmly of the opinion and has been for decades that removing

barriers encourages growth, and putting them back will slow it down. if the terrorists continue at the rate they're going, it will take something like half of i% of world growth. it doesn't sound like a lot, but in terms of the whole world economy, that is a vast amount of money. let's stay with out top story, because we're expecting an update any moment now on a major story here in the uk. this is all relating to two people who live in wiltshire in the south of england close to salisbury, they we re of england close to salisbury, they were taken ill over the weekend. the police are now exploring whether a substance caused them to become ill and what that substance might be. we will update you in a moment.

taking a quick look at weather patterns around the world. across towards america, we have been keeping quiet close eye on this area of cloud. this is hurricane foggy of, moving slowly towards the west at the moment, but the united states across central and eastern areas, hot and across central and eastern areas, hotand humid across central and eastern areas, hot and humid areas of weather for many. thunderstorms on thursday particularly around coastal areas of texas, louisiana, some storms developing across the great lakes and into qu bec. a hot day here and in montr al, and also temperatures higher than they have been in los angeles, up to 36 celsius this weekend before the temperatures come down a little bit earlier next week. the tropics in africa continue to see some seasonal heavy showers. the heaviest of these is on thursday, looking to affect southern areas of nigeria and sierra leone, seeing

some pretty big stars. the monsoon continues in india, and over the next few days it will likely strengthen, causing some further localised issues. some of the heaviest rain will be in parts of content, but also in central areas. . . content, but also in central areas... there's the threat of some heavy rain in mumbai, and that rain tends to cause flooding when it falls heavily in the city, so that is something we could see over the next few days. speaking of heavy rain, across central areas of china, some heavy rain, and intojapan, lots of rainfall expected over the next few days, you could easily see 100-200 mm next few days, you could easily see 100—200 mm of rain on the risk of flooding. showers for northern thailand, that concerns the boys caught in the cave. but next week the reins to get much heavier here, so the reins to get much heavier here, so that you get other more serious of the situation. in australia, some fairly strong winds first into the big across southern parts of victoria and tasmania. plenty of

showers here. a cold front will be moving its way through, temperatures at 40-50... a moving its way through, temperatures at 40—50... a cold front will move its way across the skies of sydney, dropping the temperature is down to 18 degrees. not bad in the sunshine, just that the mornings will be that much cooler. quite unsettled in new zealand with some rain here, snow for the southern alps. in europe, we continue to see pressure build across western areas, meaning showers become a little bit less widespread generally, and i think into the united kingdom, we should see more in the way of sunshine on thursday. showers few and far in between, temperatures will be higher. heavy downpours around else, working into the over the next few days. temperatures will be increasing, should see highs in the united kingdom moving back into the low 30s. hello, i'm ros atkins, this is outside source. two people critical after exposure to an unknown

substance here in the uk, a few kilometres from salisbury where the former russsian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned. we are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances regarding this incident and will continue to work closely with partners to progress on inquiries. new footage of the boys trapped in caves in thailand. rescuers say again they won't try to bring them out until it's safe, and that could be months. poland's chief justice turns up for work, in defiance of a law forcing dozens of seniorjudges to retire early. what that we are expecting a

statement from the police. we understand that is now been pushed back by a few minutes. we think it will happen in 15 minutes, but to be honest the time he has been shifted for a last couple of hours. if it happens, we promise you will see it. in the meantime, we would like to update you on what is happening in serious. a government offensive in the south west of syria. the green on this map is government—held territory. the pink is rebel territory and that's the focus of the offensive. the area is close tojordan and to the israeli occupied golan heights. already 270,000 people have fled the fighting in the last few weeks.

these pictures show people receiving medical treatment along the border with jordan. but bothjordan and israel have closed their borders. the un said this today. we are deeply alarmed by escalation of hostilities in southwest syria. we have since 19th ofjune, more than 270,000 internally displaced people in this region. this is the largest displacement of people in the south since the beginning of the war. this area has been relatively peaceful since a non—aggression pact was signed between byjordan, the us, and russia. but given the syrian government is being backed by russia, that non—aggression pact looks finished. but then listen to the russian foreign minister today while he was meeting with jordan's foreign minister.

translation: as for the southwest syria, all syrian issues will most likely be discussed in helsinki. those already in agreement on this area. it was confirmed in the decisions that were made in the meeting between trump and putin in hamburg last year. injuly and in danang in november of last year. confusing. i asked bbc monitoring's andrea glioti whether the non—aggression pact was still in place or not. we are not actually underground. not at all, because there is a military offensive going on. the escalation zone, so the no aggression pact was supposed to include the southern regions, the southern province of syria, and at the moment it is pretty clear that the syrian government supported by russia is advancing and they are aiming to finally to achieve to take back most of the territories that are under control of the opposition. this has been, this following the same, it is the same

what happened in the beginning of this year, they are trying to take back all the regions control by the position, with the exception for the moment of those that are part of the talks, where there has been an agreement with turkey to preserve them under control of the position. of the south. it is clear there is no position for the us and they are going ahead with it. i was going to ask you about the americans. they were involved in that nonaggression pact, so how are they responding to this aggression? it is pretty clear that the strategic priorities of the us has shifted towards northeast of the syria where they have the military bases and with regards to this part of syria, the south assyria, it has been through thejordanian government, the us government, has sent some signals that they were not going to defend the syrian rebels that have been supported in the past.

for example in syria, they circulated a document which reportedly confirmed the us governor was not ready to support the syrian rebels against the syrian government, and they should not expect this position or military support so to behave. do not expect any military intervention by the us. whereas before, they officially threatened the syrian government. but then there was no action to follow the threads. i was mentioning that over a quarter of a million people have had to leave their homes in the last few weeks. but thatjordan and israel have both closed their borders, so where are these people going? for short is going to be a military disaster because neitherjordan or israel are willing

to accept refugees and in the case ofjordan, of course there are many serious refugees in the country, more than 600,000. they are not willing to open the border and they are just allowing the humanitarian corridors to be established, to deliver aid in the south assyria in the case ofjordan. so for sure, these people are left with, hostilities have resumed. the military oppression are ongoing. these people are going to be under shelling and they will not have anywhere to go. there is much more background on the conflict in syria on bbc news. this is poland's chiefjustice malgorzata gersdorf. a new law is forcing her into early retirement and tuesday was meant to be her last day at work. well this happened earlier. that's justice gersdorf in the middle, arriving for work in warsaw as usual.

as you can see she had supporters with her, they're chanting ‘we are with you'. this new law in poland lowers the retirement age forjudges from 70 to 65. that means almost 40% will be out ofjob soon. that'd mean 27 supreme courtjudges. the government argues this law will help fight corruption and cronyism because it will mean that judges who worked during the communist era will be fazed out. justice gersdorf doesn't see it that way. she says this is a purge. here's a clip of her yesterday. trnaslation: as far as my status is concerned, it has not changed after talks with the president. tomorrow, i will come to work. i have a six—year term in line with the constitution and i have to act in accordance of the constitution. i have appointed a judge, the president of the chamber of labour and social security, to perform duties during my absence, because i intend to go on vacation.

i think i deserve it. she's got significant support in poland. this was outside the supreme court on tuesday. hundreds of people turned out in support. many waved the european union flag. there were similar protests in other polish cities too. the reason for the eu flag is that its making clear its displeasure about this legislation. back in december it said there was "clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law". it also triggered what's called article 7, which is the start of a process that ends up with poland losing its eu voting rights. well, seperate to that, this week the eu additional legal action, saying that the law undermines judicial independence. there is a huge amount of pressure

and a huge amount of criticism. the guardian's christian davis would like a change in terminology. tweet @crsdavies "can we stop saying that the polish government is trying to "erode" judicial independence. erosion is a gradual process. a guillotine doesn't erode your head off." he's also written this piece for freedom house poland's prime minister is having none of this criticism. he even calls this ‘democratic enlightenment‘. here he is in european parliament. translation: respecting national identities is part of the trust that was been built in the eu. constitutional pluralism in article for the treaty is one of the great values of the eu and every country has a right to set up its legal system in line with its own traditions. this is one front page, it's reporting that the supreme court is being destroyed. here's another describing "the last

stage of taking over the justice system". this is an interview with a member of poland's ruling party. he says his country won't succumb to what he calls eu ‘political pressure'. i should point out that the right—wing party — which won elections with over 35%of the vote in 2015 — has strong support. what met a crowd of enthusiastic supporters came to welcome her as she turned up for work. in defiance ofa she turned up for work. in defiance of a new regulation which is effectively retired her from of a new regulation which is effectively retired herfrom her job. she thanked the crowd, who were chanting the words, free court, and constitution, and holding prince which is the one behind me, which says the word constitution in polish

on it. but she also said this was a battle for values. values such as the rule of law, values such as democratic checks and balances and she said the polish constitution guarantees her term in office until the year 2020 and she intends to see that term in office out. the premise or says it has introduced of the last two years will not erode the rule of law or the independence of the judiciary. they are aimed he says at making the digester aerate more efficient. and certainly most people here in poland would like to see a more efficient well running judiciary. what is not clear is whether the majority of people here in poland support the weight the government is going about it. stay with us on outside source. still to come... the northern white rhino is the most endangered species on earth with only two left, both females , but scientists say they can save them from extinction.

we will get the details from victoria gill. here in the uk, police investigating the deaths of 17 babies at the countess of chester hospital have extended their investiagation to a second hospital. liverpool women's nhs foundation trust say there is no suggestion that any of its patients came to any harm. a 28 year old nurse, lucy letby is being questioned on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to murder another six. judith moritz reports. lucy letby once said she enjoyed nursing babies, as she could see them progress and support their families. now she is suspected of murdering eight infants and trying to kill another six. today, police searches have continued at the nurse's home. forensic officers searching the house and taking items away for examination. detectives are still questioning the 28—year—old about the alleged murders and attempted murders.

police say that their investigation is focusing on what happened to 32 babies at the countess of chester hospital between march 2015 and july 2016. the babies were all on the neonatal unit, which cares for poorly and premature infants. managers here called in the police because they could not explain the unusual number of fatalities and babies who came close to death on the unit. now, the murder investigation has widened, beyond this hospital. during her training, lucy letby went on placement to liverpool women's hospital. today, the hospital confirmed that it is helping the police. they are reviewing what happened to babies on its neonatal unit during the nurse's time there and say there is currently no suggestion that any came to harm. since lucy letby was arrested, the police have also been at the home of her parents in hereford. tonight the children's nurse is still under investigation, being asked to explain what happened

to the babies in her care. judith moritz, bbc news, chester. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our lead story is? britain's chemical weapons research laboratory is investigating what caused a man and a woman to fall gravely ill, close to where a former russian spy was poisoned in march. what met we are still expecting a statement on that story. in the meantime, let's turn to a story we have covered before. scientists are using ivf to try and bring back the northern white rhino from extinction. these are the only two northern white rhinos left on earth. they live under heavy guard in a conservation park in northern kenya. and crucially, they're both female,

scientists say the species is functionally extinct. the last male of the species died earlier this year, he also lived in kenya. his name was sudan and they built this headstone to commemorate him. but he may not be the last male northern white rhino after all. researchers have created rhino embryos using sperm from now dead northern white rhinos. here's victoria gill. the northern white rhino is the most endangered mammal on the planet. it is actually functionally extinct, because the last mail of this subspecies is already dead and the last mail sudan dried at 45 early this year. there is no way this animal could reproduce naturally. long before sudan died, his international team of researchers working at zoos and conservation projects around the world have come

together to basically aimed to create an ivf rhino. an ivf northern white rhino. that is extremely complicated. partly because every stage of it is very risky. for one thing they have to extract an egg from eight two tonne rhinoceros, so in this case they actually used an 999 in this case they actually used an egg donor of a very closely related sub species. what the scientists have made our hybrid embryos. they are crossbreed embryos of the southern white rhino and a northern white rhino. to extract that egg, they had to use an ultrasound guided technique because the ovaries are two metres from the point in which these sets can go in to this animal and do the egg extraction. to use this tiny needle to extract a microscopic egg from his huge animal. once they have got those acts, they have to fertilise them and then the next compensated stage because they are fertilising them with sperm that animals that have been dead for years. one animal had

been dead for years. one animal had been dead for decades so they actually have to reactivate the sperm using electric pulses. it is a multistage process, and it has taken many years. what the site is now half is the technology to bring the species back from basically being extinct. they have these hybrid embryos and they can use the exact same technique to take eggs from a northern white rhino female and use sperm from a northern white rhino mailed to make a northern white rhino baby. they are claiming they would be able to have that baby on the ground within three years. conservationists make the point that it isa conservationists make the point that it is a sad case that we have to rely on such high—tech techniques to be able to bring the species back from the brink of extension. one of the lead researchers involved in this breakthrough, professor thomas hildebrandt, said this was a man—made extension. coaching is the reason all rhinos are threatened, said to be able to have the scientific techniques, the man—made techniques to create a test tube

rhinoceros and rescue the species from already being extinct essentially is something he felt he had a moral obligation to do. let's stay with out top story, because we're expecting an update any moment now on a major story here in the uk. you can see walter marked on the map there. if you go closely we have marked amesbury as well. just north of salisbury. we know two people we re of salisbury. we know two people were taken ill on the weekend initially the police thought this might be related to drugs. they are now saying they had been exposed to an unknown substance and in fact areas in amesbury and areas in salisbury had been cordoned off by the police. let's have a look at the live feed coming in right now because we think this police statement is about to start. it looked like it will be. this is an assista nt looked like it will be. this is an assistant commissioner for special operations. we are not sure if it will just be operations. we are not sure if it willjust be him speaking or we will also hear from other relevant

officials. we'll see in the next couple of minutes. good evening and thank you for your patience. i am assista nt thank you for your patience. i am assistant commissioner and the national leave for counterterrorism police. i am national leave for counterterrorism police. iam here national leave for counterterrorism police. i am here with the chief medical officer and to give you an update on the major incident we have heard about today in amesbury. following a man and woman are critically ill in hospital. earlier today, deputy chief constable from the worcester police gave an update of the situation. however i can confirm that there has been a significant development and that counter terrorism network is now leading the investigation into this incident. this evening, i have received test results that showed the two people have been exposed to the two people have been exposed to the nerve agent. at approximately 9:15am on saturday the 30th ofjune in the southwest ambulance service was called to a residential address in amesbury. a 44—year—old woman had

collapsed and she was subsequently taken to hospital. at around 3:30pm that date, the amulet service was called back to that same address where a 45—year—old man had also fallen ill. the man was taken to hospital and wiltshire police were then informed. from an initial assessment, it was thought the two patient had fallen ill after using drugs from a potentially contaminated batch. however, on monday the 2nd ofjuly, due to concerns over the symptoms of the man and woman on display, samples from both patients were sent to the labarre for analysis. from both patients were sent to the la barre for analysis. following from both patients were sent to the labarre for analysis. following the detailed analysis of those samples, we can confirm that the man and woman had been exposed to the nerve agent which has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated sergei skripal. belated update we have from the hospital is that both patients remained in critical condition. both are british

nationals and are local to the area. officers are still working to identify their next of kin. at this stage, and this is important, at this stage, no one else has presented with the same symptoms links to this incident. i have around 100 detectives around the characters of a resume, working solidly on this investigation alongside her colleagues from wiltshire police. we believe the two individuals visited in the period before they fell ill. this is a precautionary measure. while we continue to investigate how they came to be exposed to this substance. i do want to reassure the public that there is no evidence that even of this man or woman recently visited any of the sites that have been decontaminated

following the attempted murders of sergei skripal. looking ahead over the coming days, people and area can expect to see at an increased police presence which include officers wearing protective equipment as they carry out activities at a number of sites. this will look very similar to some of the activities you have all seen take place in salisbury earlier this year. and again this upper cautionary but necessary measure that allows officers to safely carry out the particulars and systematic searches for evidence that will support the investigation. this must be done with great care as you will appreciate. to ensure there is no outstanding risk to both those brave officers and the public at large. i appreciate there will be a great deal of speculation as to whether this incident is linked to those events in salisbury in march this year. i would add the complex investigation into the attempted murders of yulia and sergei remained

ongoing and can detectives continue to sift through and assess all available evidence. they are following every possible lead to identify those responsible that for what remains and reckless and barbaric act. however, i must say that we are not in a position to say whether the nerve agent was from the same batch they were exposed to. the possibility that these two investigations might be linked is clearly a line of inquiry for us. it is important however that the investigation is led by the evidence available and the facts alone, and we do not make any assumptions or indulge in speculation. therefore we are keen to hearfrom anyone indulge in speculation. therefore we are keen to hear from anyone who might have information that can assist the investigation. if you think you do, i would urge you to contact our police,. oh 800 789 321. the investigation team as it has donein the investigation team as it has done in march works closely with experts from public health england and will emphasise based on the

number of casualties affected, it is not believed there is a significant health risk to the writer public. but chief medical officer is with me and will update you on the very latest public health. after which we will be happy to take one or two questions. thank you. will be happy to take one or two questions. thank youlj will be happy to take one or two questions. thank you. i am professor sally davis, the chief medical officer brinkman and as you have heard, these two patients are in critical condition following exposure to the nerve agent. following advance in march, we have a well—established response to this type of incident and clear processes to follow. our priorities at this time are to care for the patients and to understand the circumstances surrounding how these two individuals became unwell, thus ensuring there is no further risk to the public health from this incident. as a country's chief medical officer i want to reassure the public the risk to the general public remains low. i understand that those in salisbury and its

surrounding areas will be concerned of this news, particularly those who have recently visited the areas now cordoned off by the police. my advice for any individual that may have been in any of the areas now cordoned off from 10pm on friday evening onwards is highly precautionary. as before, my advice is to wash her clothes and white down any personal items, shoes and bags with cleansing or baby wipes before disposing of them in the usual way. this is the same public health advice i gave during the previous incident. but now appraised a purchase. i should also warn the public to be careful as always picking up any unknown or dangerous objects. such as needles and syringes. you do not need to seek advice from a health professional unless you are experiencing symptoms as any individual would have been significantly exposed at the same

time would by now have symptoms. those people from the area and who are concerned should call nhs 111. i also want to highlight the areas of salisbury already cleaned and back and use are safe. i would like to commend the professionalism of our emergency staff as well as those that salisbury district hospital, particularly the intensive care unit. i want to reiterate the police are still investigating how this event happened and the public should continue to follow the police advice and that of public health england. we will ensure regular updates as we get further information. thank you. is there any indication as to whether or not these patients were intentionally, or come into contact?

that is a theory but is speculation. ido that is a theory but is speculation. i do not have any evidence there we re i do not have any evidence there were targeted. there is nothing in there background to suggest that. it is nothing but a theory. there is a possibility they may have become poisoned was the same batch which infected sergei skripal. it that is a possibility. it is the same agent. it will be up to scientists to return. have you yet found any items which might be the source of contamination of any of the locations you have cordoned off? discarded items? know we have not. we know what the nerve agent is. we know they have been exposed to it and clearly the line of inquiry is a very detailed examination of their movementsjust very detailed examination of their movements just like very detailed examination of their movementsjust like we very detailed examination of their movements just like we had to do with yulia and sergei. we know what the nerve agent is, and that is why

the nerve agent is, and that is why the professor advice is so pertinent because actually there should not be picking up anything, and we have no idea what it is. that basically because we have no idea what may have contained the nerve agent at this time. the general public, responding, how worried are you now that other members of the public may be contaminated? what the professor said, we have cordoned off areas where we know there are two dictums today and we will eat examining those meticulously. where we have decontaminated sites, we are happy that those sites are safe and the public should know they are safe. we'll continue the investigation as diligently as quickly as possible. it great care, when we are satisfied if anyone was exposed to that level of nerve agent, they would be showing symptoms. as i said, it is very important to no one has

presented with those so far. thank you very much for your time thank you. that we have, a statement from the police. he is live with us. we'll have 30 seconds. your impressions. this stunning top line with just these two members of the general public appear to be have been contaminated with a military grade nerve agent, obviously the police have not been able to join a direct line from sergei skripal contamination to these two people. but it doesn't look likely that is the case. thank you very much indeed. of course you will see further coverage of that in the coming minutes. with the nerve agent novichok.

the couple were found unconscious on saturday. officials have just confirmed that the substance was the same as the one used in the salisbury attack four months ago. the site — in the town of amesbury — is just a few miles away from the site of the russian poisoning in march. we can confirm that the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok which has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated both yulia and sergei skripal. we'll have the latest on the investigation. officials have released new information in the past half hour. also tonight... a public rebuke for the work and pensions secretary esther mcvey, who's had to apologise for misleading mps about the impact