this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: a defining day for brexit. theresa may and her cabinet are set for crucial talks to try to determine britain's future relations with europe. a dangerous time for rescuers and the trapped boys. one of the navy seals involved in the rescue attempt has died. and for those with world cup withdrawal symptoms — football's back! after a two day break — we're set for the first two quarter finals. france take on uruguay and brazil face belgium. coming up in the business briefing: trump unleashes his long—threatened trade war on china, as sweeping import taxes come into force. beijing retaliates immediately. plus, they're as long as a shakespeare play and you need a degree

to understand them. so, are social media sites playing fair with their terms and conditions? a warm welcome to the programme. briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. tell us what you think, just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing britain's prime minister says her government has "a great opportunity, and a duty" to agree a plan for the uk's future

relations with the eu. theresa may was speaking before a crunch meeting with her ministers later today. under her proposal, britain would remain closely aligned to eu rules for industrial and agricultural goods, while the use of modern technology for customs would enable the uk to strike its own trade deals. here's our political editor, laura kuensburg. brexit secretary, are you happy with the plan? have you been stitched up? relaxed, not so much. is it bad enough to go over? number ten's next steps on brexit are not to the taste of brexiteers. a much closer connection to the eu after we leave than they had hoped. the slow motion clash between them and ministers like the chancellor, who are pushing for tight ties — has been under way for months. the prime minister desperately hopes she can pull them together tomorrow and is already trying to sell the plan abroad. i will be bringing my cabinet together to discuss and decide

a substantial way forward. "it is very important what the uk decides in the next few days", said angela merkel, who theresa may needs, as well as a cabinet. a different kind of negotiation was going on at home. rather than getting ready to rally ‘round the pm, seven brexit cabinet ministers have been gathering here at the foreign office, discussing their tactics and how they plan to push back. for true brexit believers, there is nothing to celebrate. the plan that would see the uk signup to a common rulebook with the eu would hardly be leaving at all. well that is not really brexit. it is losing the advantage of brexit. the thing is, brexit is a wonderfully exciting opportunity for this nation to break away from the failed economic model of the european union. a good day perhaps. a difficult one, almost certainly. theresa may is hurtling towards a defining day, for sure. with me is cornelia meyer ceo of mrl

corporation, a business consultancy. you are following this story closely, helmut pressure will be on theresa may? -- how much pressure. enormous, she gets it from both directions, from her cabinet from the brexiteers and the remainers, and she also gets it from the eu. look, we have voted plus or minus two years ago to lead the european union and we have not come up with a plan. and this really frustrates the eu chief negotiator, who says i need to know what i am negotiating on and it also frustrates business, over the last few weeks we have had jaguar say we cannot invest the 80 billion we were scheduled to invest over the next five years if we don't

know where we are going. we have bmw saying we need certainty. we had airbuses saying we need certainty or we cannot produce the wings for the a380 wins any more. and we also have other ‘s —— others saying we are go to ta ke other ‘s —— others saying we are go to take our design centres outside. businesses need to make decisions that they really need to know what the shape of our relationship will be. and at stake here is notjust the business community, but also her political future. absolutely. the business community, but also her politicalfuture. absolutely. but her political future is obviously very important to her and we need a good government. the business community from here on is until the next 50 years. whatever they are coming up with here, the compromise they are reaching, there is no guarantee that the eu will accept it. a lot of what i have seen from

the leaked documents is very much the leaked documents is very much the a la carte, we want to be closer on goods and agricultural goods and manufacturing, but we want to have more leeway on finance and the eu has always said there is no such thing as a la carte, you are either in or out. you think what the uk is trying to do is have their cake and eatit? trying to do is have their cake and eat it? that is not where the uk stands perhaps, but that is how the eu look at what the uk is trying to do. thank you so much for talking to us. in thailand, a former thai navy diver has died while delivering supplies to the 12 boys and their coach trapped in a cave. the diver, who had left the navy but came to help the rescue, lost consciousness on his way back from the boys cave and could not be revived by his colleague. there's still no decision on how to rescue the group, who've been trapped in a flooded cave for almost 2 weeks now. the children were found on a rocky ledge around 2 and a half miles from the mouth of the cave on monday. more than 128 million litres of water has been pumped out of the cave —

allowing rescue teams to walk further into the tunnel. but some parts are too narrow and more heavy rain is forecast. the boys are being taught the basics of diving. some need to be taught how to swim, but it's feared that option could be too risky. sophie long joins us now from tham luang nang non cave in thailand. what is the latest on the death of that diver? normally the regular daily press conferences here are at the cave's entrance are full of hope and anticipation that there might be and anticipation that there might be an announcement that a full rescue attempt might be made to. today was attempt might be made to. today was a different home and we had the news that a former thai navy seal died last night, he was 38 years old and

was helping to survive —— supply the cave with oxygen, he was making the journey back when he —— became unconscious and his colleagues tried to say but were unable to revive him and was taken to hospital in the early hours of the morning where it was confirmed that he had died. we are told that the king of thailand has expressed his sorrow and will be given a funeral with full military honours. we are also told that his collea g u es honours. we are also told that his colleagues are trained to work in high—risk environments and would not allow it to effect their mission or morale but it highlights how dangerous this operation is that they are considering to carry out an time is becoming ever more critical. we heard in today's press conference that the air quality in the cave where the boys remained trapped, been there for 13 days, is deteriorating and oxygen is now 50%. and they have spent the last five days pumping out thousands of gallons of water and looked, it is

now raining, well appears to be stopping. —— appears to be stopping. on monday we are expecting heavy rain and the fear is that it could bring water levels right back up, maybe even worse. so, we now know that the priority in terms of the rescue operation is to get a cable, are piped into the chamber or to supply oxygen and also communications. they have been indefinitely two weeks with no contact indefinitely two weeks with no co nta ct for indefinitely two weeks with no contact for their families, it is not just contact for their families, it is notjust physical contact for their families, it is not just physical health contact for their families, it is notjust physical health that is concerning them but also their mental health and their morale. there are hopes that they can speak to theirfamilies there are hopes that they can speak to their families and maybe see them and that would be a boost to them, but also oxygen is critical. time is a much running out for that option and it remains the only immediate way of getting the boys out. but thatis way of getting the boys out. but that is still flooded with water and as demonstrated by the sad death of as demonstrated by the sad death of a former thai navy seal last night, showing just how dangerous it would be if they do decide to take the

route. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the founder of a japanese doomsday cult, which carried out a deadly attack on the tokyo subway using the nerve agent, sarin, has been executed. japanese media say six followers of shoko asa ha ra — the leader of the group, aum shrinyiko — have also been put to death. thirteen people were killed in the subway attack in 1995. at least 19 people have been killed and a0 injured after an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in central mexico. the dead include at least one child, along with a number of emergency services workers who died trying to rescue people trapped inside. at least one person has died, and dozens more are missing, after a boat capsized off the coast of the thai resort of phuket. the boat was carrying nearly 100, mainly chinese, tourists when high winds and large waves caused the boat to overturn. the head of the us

environmental protection agency, scott pruitt, has resigned after months of controversy over his spending habits and conflicts of interest. his resignation follows a series of ethics scandals which have dogged his tenure. president trump announced it in his usual way — by tweeting. he said: more now from our correspondent, chris buckler. scott pru ett scott pruett was always a controversial choice, to lead america's environmental protection agency, this he questioned claims about climate change and stripped back relations and protections,

making him the target for the public angle of protesters. it wasn'tjust angle of protesters. it wasn'tjust an rest that he feared scrutiny, democratic politicians questioned his very appointment and concerns grew as the stories emerged alleging lavish spending and conflicts of interest. including in his renting ofa interest. including in his renting of a room from the wife of an energy lobbyists at well below market rate. it has been reported that at least five ukp please were reassigned, demoted or retaliated against a third they raised concerns about your spending. is that correct, yes oi’ your spending. is that correct, yes or no? i don't ever recall a conversation of that. four months, donald trump remained loyal, but many tabloid tales and a dozen official audits and investigations eventually proved too much. the decision for scott pruitt to clear his desk was welcomed by some of the

employees in a very agency which he ran. he was becoming increasingly harder and harderfor ran. he was becoming increasingly harder and harder for me ran. he was becoming increasingly harder and harderfor me to get ran. he was becoming increasingly harder and harder for me to get out of debt and come to work every day in an agency that is being run by someone in an agency that is being run by someone who has been sued i2 in an agency that is being run by someone who has been sued 12 times while serving as attorney general for oklahoma. president trump has already counted, ahead of congressional elections, decided that scott pruitt had become a distraction. but he will operate successor who also believes in policies that prioritise the interests of business and energy companies, even over some environmental concerns. so, let the battle commence. just around now the united states is due to impose tariffs on $34 billion worth of imports from china, as a dispute between the world's two biggest economies threatens to turn into a full—blown trade war. china has warned that it will immediately take retaliatory measures. the united states says it's taking the action to combat intellectual property theft by china. alpesh pateljoins me now.

let's talk about this trade war because it is now really kicking off. scary stuff to many. a trade war is where you start getting a decrease in trade, we are not seeing a decrease at the moment. it feels like a war. to the journalist. i think it has been over a good in that regard. the us stock market is up that regard. the us stock market is upfor that regard. the us stock market is up for the year, it is pretty small, 34 up for the year, it is pretty small, 3a billion is not that much money. we are not spook in asset management and are ignoring most of it.|j we are not spook in asset management and are ignoring most of it. i know it isn't a lot of money to now, however, if this escalates and we are looking at a certain amount of economic growth being wiped off in terms of global growth. not necessarily be good trade wars, if it goes into a full—blown, it is

predicting a factual and can get around the paris. the problem with ta riffs around the paris. the problem with tariffs are you a smacking yourself in the face, really. the americans are making it more expensive for americans to buy goods that americans to buy goods that americans want. but the thing is, it is spread out amongst so many things, the effective cost of it, it will be negligible and easy to avoid this topic harley—davidson may move to europe. it is notjust the economics, it is the political —— political isolation of trade. politically he is actually doing the right thing because he said he was going to this, he is doing it and has a solid electric bass which is economically illiterate and so they are more than happy with the politics of it all, which is hey, look at tough we are with the chinese but economically, you can see from the stock market and the fa ct see from the stock market and the fact that is this confidence figures don't show it is falling off any cliff, not least because the other things he is doing a completely

counteracting this, which is tax cuts on big corporate, encouraging them to bring money back and therefore build more factories in america. all of that cataracts is intact. this is an ineffectual policy, it makes great headlines but really ineffectual in terms of what it is supposed to do economically. politically, great for him because everybody feels they can beat their chests. good to talk to you. will have you on in a little while to talk to the papers. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: sky—high supporters of the world cup. the cosmonauts cheering on russia from the international space station. central london has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. police say there have been many casualties and there is growing speculation that al-qaeda was responsible. germany will be the host of the 2006 football world cup, they pipped the favourite south africa by a single vote.

in south africa, the possibility of losing hadn't even been contemplated and celebration parties were cancelled. the man entered the palace through a downstairs window and made his way to the queen's private bedroom, then he asked her for a cigarette. and on the pretext of arranging for some to be brought, she summoned a footman on duty, who took the man away. one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. education is the only solution. (applause) you're watching the briefing. our headlines: in what could be a defining day for brexit — theresa may and her cabinet are set for crucial talks —

to try to determine britain's future relations with europe. the controversial head of the us environmental protection agency has quit after just five months. scott pruitt‘s facing at least a dozen investigations here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up in vienna, european and iranian foreign ministers meet to try to salvage the nuclear deal two months after president donald trump announced a unilateral us withdrawal. then to porto in portugal, where former us president ba rack obama attends conference on climate change and after that its the annual san fermin bull—running festival in pamplona, spain. to the world cup now — and things are getting pretty serious. our correspondent, rajni vaidyanathan is in moscow. rajini. so much excitement over the past few weeks and plenty more to come this friday? indeed, today arguably most

important day in the world cup, not just because the quarter finals kickoff but because the teams in this half of the draw of all being tipped to take the trophy home. people will be watching closely to see how they perform. the first picture of the day sees france play uruguay. and now france is one of the favourites to win this world cup but uruguay have had a really strong performances so far in this tournament. we will see teenage sensation playing for france again, he wowed people in that last game they played with a beat argentina. it is only 19 and uruguay will also have suarez back on the pitch. the other fixture of the day sees brazil ta ke other fixture of the day sees brazil take on belgium, another team tipped to ta ke take on belgium, another team tipped to take the trophy but belgium have also had a very strong performance. it is worth noting that both belgian

and uruguay have won every one of their world cup matches so don't rule them out today either. let's look ahead to tomorrow where russia ta kes look ahead to tomorrow where russia takes on croatia. the head of the england game, , they takes on croatia. the head of the england game,, they have been speaking to rio ferdinand to get his ta ke speaking to rio ferdinand to get his take on the england squad. i think the first thing is definitely this squad does have a hangover from previous tournaments. they are all fairly young, they have come through together and they got a manager who really tries to make the whole process inclusive. that's the big difference between squads previously. more inclusive of what's going on. there is a real kind of feelgood buzz around this squad that is not been there before. it's been a depressive cloud surrounding the

england squad for some reason over years gone by that this squad seems like everyone is happy to be there and enjoying it, on the same wavelength. you see that in the performance and gareth has come with a clear message to his team, he wants to play a particular way and he's not going to deviate from that. it isa he's not going to deviate from that. it is a clear message. southgate has won plaudits that changing the culture around the team. what's he doing? he definitely needs to take all the credit. what is done in copper —— what he's done is, his learned from all the mistakes. almost kind of segregated the england squad from everyone else on the outside world. he's made it an inclusive squad. people might think is only talking to the press guys, the media guys, but that only takes away one element of negativity. as we said earlier, when russia is

in action tomorrow so this city and country will go wild. if it's anything like the celebrations we saw after russia won in the last match because of course, they started this tournament out right at the bottom in terms of rankings and they have shocked people getting this far in the quarterfinals. the bbc‘s this far in the quarterfinals. the bbc'sjohn bennett this far in the quarterfinals. the bbc‘s john bennett has this far in the quarterfinals. the bbc'sjohn bennett has been speaking toa bbc'sjohn bennett has been speaking to a russian cosmonauts to explain what it's like to cheer for russia from the international space station. translation: well, ithink translation: well, i think if russia will become the world champion, the world football champion, the effect will be not less than sending the first human into space. not bigger, but not less, for sure. it will be unexpected and totally unpredictable. can they win it? of course the majority of people in

russia expect just course the majority of people in russia expectjust the best result from our team but i think it is fair to say that the wells of hope helped the home team. a lot of russia's success depend on how it's being by fans. the nation is right behind this team so if you compare the support in the game, russia should win. there are two russians in space at the moment in the international space station. can they follow the game against croatia ? space station. can they follow the game against croatia? will they get updates down the line? what's it like to follow football in space? first of all, yes, two russian astronauts on board. first, the official board of the world cup was on the station. they played football. secondly, when we are on the station, we are not separated from earth. we have the possibility

to watch games live. the crew can select the games they want to watch so yes, we are watching a live and ourteam. we so yes, we are watching a live and our team. we watched the most important games in football and hockey. unfortunately, there were no world cups but i did watch the olympics while in space on the international space station. that is the view from space but what about on the ground? i remember that —— i remember before the world cup began, they were quite negative about the russian team's chances. have they changed ? about the russian team's chances. have they changed? in the sense that russia has defied all expectations ofa russia has defied all expectations of a host country is really getting behind their team. but also, the thing to note is really how there we re thing to note is really how there were a lot of negative perceptions about how this world cup might turn

out, given the diplomatic situation at the moment but really, there has been no real problems here in terms of violence or fans and it's really been one big party in one big celebration and i think that russia have gotte n celebration and i think that russia have gotten this far has helped boost the celebration. many from countries that grieving this world cup. they are getting into the spirit is well and i think the home tea m spirit is well and i think the home team does this that so we will see how they do tomorrow but for crucial teams in the draw today and let's see which to get through to the semifinals. you can let us know about all the talking points. a must, for now, thank you for watching. well, no surprises on the weather

front, is going to be another beautiful sunny day across most of the country. i will add, a risk of a downpour across the extreme south—east of england. we are talking about kent, sussex, we had that on thursday. many parts of the country have the clear skies. there we re country have the clear skies. there were a few showers developing and we have flash flooding. it was so hot, we saw big clouds developing. here isa we saw big clouds developing. here is a picture from east sussex with a picture of the downpours. the forecast for the early hours of friday morning, very quiet on the weather front, cloud and friday morning, very quiet on the weatherfront, cloud and mist friday morning, very quiet on the weather front, cloud and mist in some parts of eastern and northern britain but on the whole, it's quiet. temperatures pretty muddy, i7 degrees in london. and some parts of scotland. a relatively warm start

today and temperatures are shooting up today and temperatures are shooting up quickly across southern parts of the uk. it will be a little bit fresher across some parts of scotla nd fresher across some parts of scotland and northern ireland are not talking about whether the pleasa ntly not talking about whether the pleasantly warm, touching 30 degrees once again in central london and some southern parts of the country will get into the high 20s. what can i say, the high pressure is still there, weather fronts i say, the high pressure is still there, weatherfronts nowhere to be seen, maybe just seeking there, weatherfronts nowhere to be seen, maybejust seeking into there, weatherfronts nowhere to be seen, maybe just seeking into the extreme north—west of scotland. that will be may be approaching scotland later in the weekend but to the south of that, light winds and sunshine, temperatures upto 31 in london, rising through the weekend even as the mid—20s. remember, that weather front. a fresh appeal here. the heat really builds across the

country. 30 degrees is not out of the question. a hot day, on saturday and sunday, and very warm in northern ireland. beyond that, next week, little change, the heatwave continues. this is the business briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. trump unleashes his long—threatened trade war on china, as sweeping import taxes come into force. beijing retaliates immediately. plus, they're as long as a shakespeare play — and you need a degree to understand them. so are social media sites playing fair with their terms and conditions? we get the views of some younger users. and on the markets, shares are mixed across asia after a difficult week, for now. fears about the trade war appear to be priced into stock markets.