this is newsday. i'm babita sharma in london. the headlines: british police confirm that a couple who became critically ill have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok. the pair were found unconscious on saturday in amesbury in south—west england close to where the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter were poisoned by the same nerve agent in march. i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore. also in the programme: footage of the boys trapped in a flooded cave system in thailand appears to show them in good spirits as the mission to get them out continues. and the us secretary of state mike pompeo is heading back to north korea, for another meeting with kim jong—un live from our studios in singapore and london, this is newsday. we start with breaking news from here in the uk

where within the last few hours british police have confirmed that two people who've fallen critically ill have been poisoned with a novichok nerve agent. the couple were discovered in the town of amesbury in south west england —— the town is a few kilometres from where the former russian spy, sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, were poisoned in march. police say the substance had been identified by chemical weapons research experts. counterterrorism police are now involved in the investigation. in a moment, we'll get analysis with richard lister here in the studio but first this report from duncan kennedy. four months to the day after the salisbury attack, and dawn sturgess and charlie rowley have become the new victims of nerve agent poisoning in britain. the couple were taken ill from their home on saturday are now critically ill in hospital. this is the moment the emergency unfolded on saturday night. the bbc has been given these phone images of the fire and ambulance services at the property.

this man says he is a friend of the couple and saw what happened. he was sweating, dribbling and he couldn't speak and was making funny noises and was rocking back and forwards, there was no response, he didn't even know i was there. it was like he was in another world, hallucinating. the nerve agent was identified in porton down near amesbury in the same place used to identify the novichok liquid in march. tonight the metropolitan police counterterrorism unit confirmed the latest findings. following the detailed analysis of those samples, we can confirm the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok, which has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated both julia and sergei skripal. the latest update we have from hospital is that both patients remain in a critical condition. for the past four months, salisbury has been a scene of massive decontamination, after the poisoning of sergei

and julia skripal and a police sergeant. a number of sites were handed back to the public, but the cleanup is still going on in the places with the highest concentrations. everyone had assigned-that of the contamination story, so the revelation tonight there is a fresh nerve agent incident will come as a shock to many people. although public health england have stressed again today that the risk to the public remains low. wiltshere police say five sites are being investigated in this latest novichok incident, including this church in amesbury and this park in salisbury. both of which, it is thought, the couple caught up in this latest poisoning had visited. they are being treated in the same salisbury hospital as the skripals were, dawn sturgess and charlie rowley now receiving world—class care to fight this

deadliest of substances amid an extraordinary twist in this potent sequence of events. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in amesbury. joining me now here in the studio is our correspondent, richard lister. blackwell, the police are saying a priority is to establish how the couple came into contact with the nerve agent, they are trying to read please —— retrace their steps to see if they have leads into what it was they touched or ingested and there isa they touched or ingested and there is a chance that might give them more clues as to what happened with the skripals because it is entirely likely the novichok used was a remnant of that used in the attack against the skripals. the two cases are just a few kilometres apart. ten, 11 kilometres between the two sites and although

the police have said they have nothing apart from the novichok to link these two incidents, it is clear there must be some relationship between them, given that such a rare chemical has been deployed. what do we know about the couple that this has affected? dawn stu rg ess couple that this has affected? dawn sturgess and charlie rowley are both in their40s, sturgess and charlie rowley are both in their 40s, local residents. neither of them are employed and there doesn't seem to be anything in their background to make them likely to be targeted specifically, no connection with the skripals and no connection with the skripals and no connection to espionage either in russia or the uk so it's entirely unclear why this couple would have come across novichok in the first place. so many unanswered questions at the sour. we know this has become at the sour. we know this has become a counterterrorism operation, it's been widened. as we remember with the skripals back in march, theresa may, the british prime minister,

strong condemnation from her towards the russian authorities there and putin is saying they need to be held accountable. the fallout from that might well happen now. the russians deny any responsibility whatsoever from what happened to the skripals andi from what happened to the skripals and i am sure if pressed, they would deny having anything to do with this but the government here is clear there is no other plausible explanation for what happened to the skripals other than that attack originated somewhere in russia. if it wasn't a government led plot, it was, says the british government, a case of the government in moscow control of its chemical nerve losing control of its chemical nerve agents manufactured during soviet times so in some way russia is responsible. giving you have the same contamination of the soviet era nerve agent, the finger again is only going to point in one direction. this is going to the higher level. we now know the

british government is going to meet, chaired by the home secretary, tomorrow to discuss this further. that will happen on thursday. we have had other meetings of that cobra emergency committee at official level, a few times on wednesday, but there will be wondered by the home secretary and this is all ramping up a notch. analysis on that breaking news. we'll have plenty more coming up in the next few minutes and more about novichok itself to find out exactly what that nerve agent is. the other major news today — in thailand, attempts to rescue a group of teenage boys and their coach continue. 10,000 litres of water an hour are being pumped out of the flooded cave complex where they are trapped. and above ground, medical teams have been rehearsing their role in the rescue effort. thai officials have stressed they do not intend to take any risks with the safety of the group, as our south east asia correspondent, jonathan head, reports. no longer alone.

the trapped boys now have an army doctor treating them. they even manage a smile. they're being given foil blankets to keep them warm. they are painfully thin. "the food is coming", promises one of the divers. up on the surface, they've been rehearsing for the scenario everyone here is hoping for — getting the boys out and off to hospital. but it won't happen soon. translation: we need to be 100% confident in order to get the boys out, and they don't have to come out at the same time. we are assessing the situation

and if there is a risk, we will not move them out. the options confronting this rescue operation are just as tough as when they found the boys. they are healthy enough, but 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's still too risky, that they may still have to leave those boys down there for the full four to five months of the rainy season. we visited the class of dom, the football team captain, and mick — both trapped in the caves. translation: i want them to get healthy, to be patient, and to come back safely so they can be with us again. "come back quickly, there's lots of homework "waiting for you!"

singing. other school friends have been down to the cave entrance to see the rescue effort and to sing them good wishes. spirits are high here. but the task of the divers, either in extracting the boys or sustaining them underground, is formidable. they will need all the help they can get. jonathan head, bbc news, tham luang caves, northern thailand. the bbc‘s sophie long is in tham luang outside the cave entrance and she joins us now. we can see the rescuers, the round—the—clock efforts and the latest video showing them smiling and laughing but it doesn't detract from the gravity of the situation that there are many challenges in trying to rescue them. the challenge

is people are facing in terms of getting those boys are enormous. it's just really coming to life. i heard you talk about the water that is being pumped out. 10,000 metres every hour. pumped out a bit further into the fields down below so they are trying to reduce the water levels because the ideal way to get the boys out is to bring the water levels out and they can come out of the way they came in. there was huge euphoria. you think about the emotional rollercoaster that families have been on, nine days they spent not knowing if their children were alive but quickly, attention turned to what next? really, we are still at that stage. they are looking at all possible options. 0ne they are looking at all possible options. one of them is to drill into the cave but even to do that, that would take heavy machinery

getting a peer on risky roads so it's very time consuming but getting them to swim and dive out, we are talking about very young children, many who can't swim and don't have any diving experience. you say it's time—consuming but time is of the essence because the rainy season has only just essence because the rainy season has onlyjust begun. essence because the rainy season has only just begun. it essence because the rainy season has onlyjust begun. it is a race against time, isn't it? it is, really. we heard from the thai authorities that their main priority is the safety of the boys and they are not going to attempt to bring any of them out. we talk about whether it is crucially important. we are expecting rain this afternoon. i am told, big we are expecting rain this afternoon. iam told, big rain we are expecting rain this afternoon. i am told, big rain at the end of the week. a lot of waterfalls very quickly can create flash flooding conditions. it is very, very dangerous. they are

trying so hard to bring it down. 0ne thing we are taking about at the moment is the mental impact on employees. even the coach is just 25. one thing they are going to try to do is try to get a line of communication, telephone lines, so at least they can speak to the families. haven't spoken to them for two weeks now. they spent their 12th night in the cave. it is cold, dark and wet. trying to keep warm. given food and protein so they can build—up their strength. if and when any rescue attempt can be made, they will be a healthy and strong enough to do that. let's just give you a recap of some of the day's other stories and analysts say the death of the wang jiang, the head of china's vast hna conglomerate, will complicate the group's attempts to restructure.

mr wang was in france on a business trip when he fell off a ledge while posing for a photograph. he was behind a $50 billion dollar spending spree that the group has recently been trying to pay off, under pressure from beijing. also making news today: rescue teams in indonesia are continuing their search for survivors after a ferry sank in bad weather near sulawesi island. at least 29 people are known to have died. the accident comes just a few weeks after another indonesian ferry sank on lake toba — one of the worlds' deepest volcanic lakes — with the loss of more than 200 lives. the french president, emmanuel macron, says the eu's plans to set up centres in north africa to process asylum claims won't work unless the countries there lead the initiative. on a visit to nigeria, mr macron told the bbc that solutions had to come from the continent. you're watching newsday on the bbc.

still to come on the programme: we'll have more on the anti terror investigation in southern england, where it's been confirmed that two more people have been exposed to the nerve agent which poisoned 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 the record that had stood for 34 years. and there was no hiding the sheer elation of richard branson and his crew. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm in singapore. i'm in london. our top stories: breaking news. british police say two people who've fallen critically ill were exposed to the same type of nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a former russian spy and his daughter. footage of the boys trapped in a flooded cave system in thailand appears to show them in good spirits, as the operation to get them out safely continues. us secretary of state, mike pompeo,

will make his way to pyongyang later, as work towards north korean denuclearization continues. the white house confirmed mr pompeo will meet north korean president kimjong un to "continue consultations and implement the forward progress" following last month's summit in singapore. meanwhile, north and south korea have come together for a friendly basketball game as a show of goodwill amid the diplomacy. there is quite a lot of pressure on the us secretary of state to get some kind of concrete actions because all we have got so far is words. north korea's commitment to dig —— denuclearisation. pictures show them a be continuing their

programme. there have been many bits of pressure on mike pompeo. we have people likejohn bolton in the administration saying that it will get done in a year when mike pompeo does not want to seem to want to put a timeline on it. quite a lot of pressure. we do not know if he will be accompanied by a foreign journalist like was last time. he is leaving washington, dc today so he will be arriving in pyongyang tomorrow. because of this accompanied journalist last time we had some information. it may be that this time the first time we will hear from this time the first time we will hearfrom him. he will meet this time the first time we will hear from him. he will meet with the japanese and south korean foreign minister is. the top story. british police have confirmed that two people who've fallen critically ill have been poisoned with a novichok nerve agent. so, what do we know about this toxic nerve agent, and what risk it poses to those who come in contact with it?

michelle carlin is a senior lecturer in forensic and analytical chemistry at northumbria university. shejoins me now. thank you forjoining us on the programme. what is novichok?‘ series of nerve agents. it is a new type of nerve agent. we do not know much about novichok like other nerve agents. we have seen it recently in relation to the skripal nerve agent case. what impact does it have on people in contact with it? direct contact, well, nerve agents work by blocking a signal. we end up with eight —— a compound. it stops

muscles working as they should. people have issues with breathing, salivation, movement, and things like control of their bladder and bowels. we saw that with the sergei skripal case, and this daughter, they made a full recovery. how would you describe the adequate treatment that may be required for somebody who has been affected by it? as we mentioned in the case, and especially with this case, we have identified the agent very quickly. we know that the hospital has treated the skripals successfully before. they. be able to treat before. they will be able to treat these people quicker than the

skripals. what is the lifespan of the nerve agent? i do not know if él—fi 557—555 %£££é’:‘ 2.4.5 554 lr;;,.,;~'4~~ . ..... is even the right way to that is even the right way to describe it. in terms of how long it can lingerfor. describe it. in terms of how long it can linger for. the thing is i do can linger for. the thing is we do not actually know. in terms of other nerve agents, they are short acting. because this is a new type and we have only seen the case of the skripals, we do not have much information to go on. when you compare it to the other ones, you said short time, what kind of timeframe? a lot of the time with things like v agents, we know they are liquid and turned to a gas, vapour, and washed away easily with water. if it was cleaned up it would happen very quickly. with these ones, we do not know as much. 0k,

thank you so much for coming on and talking us through that. we had a news conference with the police. this is what they said. we can confirm the man and woman have been exposed to the nerve agent novichok which has been identified as the same nerve agent that contaminated the skripals. the latest update from the hospital is both patients remain in critical condition, both are british nationals and locals to the area. 0ffices nationals and locals to the area. offices 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 linked to this incident. priority for the investigation team now is to establish how these two people have come into contact with this nerve

agent. i have people working on this alongside colleagues. that was a news conference a short time ago. daniel sandford was there. this is his analysis. detectives in scotla nd this is his analysis. detectives in scotland yard suddenly find themselves in a very uncomfortable position, they had this extraordinarily unusual attack whack in march. sergey skripal. his daughter too. he was a former russian intelligence officer who turned to the british. his daughter may have been attacked by accident or part of the attack. the policeman who investigated that became contaminated. four months later and

two ordinary members of the public with no obvious motive for them to be attacked have suddenly got an ill from being contaminated with what is the same nerve agent but not necessarily the same batch of that nerve agent. detectives now have to work out whether there is an area of contamination day were not aware of. —— they. perhaps a park or a bench or some objects, a glove, some of the equipment, and they may have to find it. perhaps less likely but more unnervingly, some kind of second attack, this time not on somebody with a motive, but on two ordinary members of the public. so it isa ordinary members of the public. so it is a very significant element in this investigation. it is making detectives feel quite uncomfortable this evening. daniel sandford in new

scotla nd this evening. daniel sandford in new scotland yard with breaking news. this is newsday. a reminder of the breaking news this hour. british police have confirmed a couple who were critically ill in hospital in the city of salisbury we re hospital in the city of salisbury were exposed to a novichok nerve agent, the same toxin used to poison sergei skripal. antiterrorism officers are leaving the enquiry. they say there is no evidence the couple were deliberately targeted. the government would chair an emergency session chaired by the home secretary, sajid javid, on thursday. stay with us. we will have more to come with this breaking é hello. 29 degrees celsius was the

high yesterday. that was in northern ireland. there will be a dramatic dip in the temperature here during the day ahead. we had and will have a dramatic drop in temperature for pa rt a dramatic drop in temperature for part of scotland. you can see we had a few shallow clouds yesterday. a few light showers across the southern half of the country. a smattering of rain for some of the gardens. we will see a little bit more during the day ahead. the change in scotland and northern ireland was brought about by this and of cloud. the odd spot of drizzle. noticeable changes. for many of us, temperatures are higher wednesday morning. aided a bit than wednesday morning. aided a bit more comfortable for sleeping, i am sure. this weather system is not bringing much weather. a line of cloud. most of the rain is further north. it is bringing the fresh atlantic. you can see the delineation between the hot air. that is why temperatures in scotland

and northern ireland could be 10 degrees lower than those yesterday. there should not be much weather on that system. more cloud as it goes east through the day. things will brighten up. cloud is building for the south to be a few showers in the pennines. more likely in the southern half of the uk, parts of wales in southern and central england. there could be heavier than yesterday. thunder. it looks like the heat will be higher on the temperatures by a degree or two for the bulk of england and wales to be a contrast after the 29, only 18 or i9 a contrast after the 29, only 18 or 19 during the day ahead. there will bea 19 during the day ahead. there will be a refreshing sea breeze around the coast. the change in the wind on thursday today should see the low cloud shift away from the east coast more quickly. early—morning mist will burn away. a lovely day. the odd shower in the east. temperatures are gradually starting to recover in

scotla nd are gradually starting to recover in scotland and northern ireland as we lose the atlantic influence, building by the day and therefore by night. uncomfortably hot. many of us once again with temperatures in central and southern areas getting towards 30 degrees. high pressure makes sure lots of dry weather through the weekend. the fly in the ointment is more cloud at times producing patchy rain. weak weather front is towards the north and west. hot further south. refreshing sea breezes around the coast. strong sunshine. fine weather into the early pa rt sunshine. fine weather into the early part of next week. 0ur i'm babita sharma with bbc world news. our top story: anti—terrorist police have been called in to a small english town near the site of the skripal poisonings after two more people were exposed to the nerve agent novichok. the victims — a local couple in theirforties — are critically ill in hospital. the metropolitan police assistant commissioner said anti—terrorism officers were now leading the inquiry. footage of the boys trapped in a flooded cave system in thailand appears to show them in good spirits, as the operation to get them out safely continues. the us has been celebrating the 11th

ofjuly, independence day, in traditional style, with parades and parties and for one man, spray—painting the stars and stripes onto his front lawn. it took arthur mccann about two hours to complete the work of art in massachusetts. that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with sarah montague.