welcome to bbc news — broadcasting to viewers in north america on pbs and around the globe. my name is nkem ifejika. our top stories: a brexit breakthrough. the british prime minster says cabinet ministers are backing her plan for leaving the european union. this is a proposal that i believe will be good for the uk and the european union, and i look forward to it being received positively. the us and north korea agree to set up a joint working group on denuclearization after mike pompeo‘s latest trip to pyongyang. divers in thailand succeed in getting an air line to the cave where 12 boys and their football coach are trapped. but conditions still aren't right for a rescue attempt. china retaliates after the us imposes tariffs worth $34 billion accusing washington of starting the "largest trade war in economic history." hello and welcome to bbc world news.

the british prime minister, theresa may, says her cabinet has reached a collective agreement on the basis of the uk's future relationship with the uk's future relationship with the eu post—brexit. it has set out plans for a free trade area between the uk and the eu which it believes will prevent a hard border in ireland. look close. then closer. look through the haze. there's the cabinet, deciding theirfuture. and, more importantly, all of ours. the prime minister, in purple, gesturing to boris johnson. what do you think his body language is saying back? theresa may's allies desperate to get him and the other brexiteers on board.

inside there were, and likely still are, profound disagreements about life outside the eu. theresa may argued for a model where we're snugly tied to the eu in many ways, but it seems, at least in her mind, a deal was done. well, in detailed discussions today, the cabinet has agreed our collective position on the future of our negotiations with the eu and our proposal will create a uk—eu free trade area, which establishes a common rule book on industrial goods and agricultural products. this will maintain high standards but we will ensure no changes can take place without the approval of our parliament. as a result, we will avoid friction in trade. that will protect jobs and livelihoods and also meet our commitment to northern ireland. we've also agreed a new business—friendly customs model with freedom to strike trade deals around the world. but if it was easy, theresa may wouldn't have had

to call her ministers to her retreat. suggestions brexiteers might quit after plotting last night, so alarmed atjust how close a relationship number 10 has design. be clear, what theresa may says has been agreed is a tighter rather than a looser relationship with the rest of the eu after we leave. yes, immigration as we know it will come to an end, but she wants to sign the uk up to following many eu rules. so was today the day she faced down her reluctant brexiteers? right now we just don't know if they rolled over or are guarding their angerfor another day. in recent times, the animals here have been better behaved than the political creatures in the tory party. the prime minister's been struggling between eurosceptics and former remainers almost impossible to tame. after the cabinet, she'll have to sell her plan

to those grumpy mps and then, on the opposite side of the table, to the rest of the eu. they're unlikely to accept everything wholesale but listen, perhaps a tiny chink of light. the uk has started to engage with us on all these topics. this is welcome and i look forward to further clarity from the uk. a long day's talks in the country have produced something, something that's acceptable to a majority of the cabinet? yes. something the tory party can live with? perhaps not everyone. something that talks with the eu can build on? maybe so. a leap forward for theresa may? certainly, yes, but we can't know where that leap will land. earlier our political correspondence

weighed in on the document but he says the fine print will worry some leaders. the meeting when offered 12 hours only breaking up in the last hours only breaking up in the last hour or hours only breaking up in the last hourorso, hours only breaking up in the last hour or so, nearly 1130 on a friday night, not a conventional time for breaking british little news. and it is happening tonight. this is the statement released by the government. they call it the chequers statement. they acknowledge there has been a substantial and pollution in the british position as far as these negotiations are concerned. they want a free trade area between the eu and the uk. they talk about having a common rule book between the uk and the eu on goods including agro food. they are happy to commit that by treaty so there will be ongoing harmonisation on goods. 0n services, the substantial chunk of the british economy, they do say they will strike a separate arrangement and recognise, as a

result, because the u.k.'s leading the single market and the customs but that will mean the level of market access that each of the groups gets is not as good as it is 110w. groups gets is not as good as it is now. we have not yet heard from some of the big brexiteers around the cabinet table who have signed up to this but that is not to say that they are not unhappy with a. you would not even hit the screens if that was the case given the length of the driveway at chequers. some of the language around brexit is difficult but this is the softest form of a hard brexit the prime minister could propose. interleaving the single market and the customs union but with caveats that will worry union but with caveats that will woi’i’y some union but with caveats that will worry some lead campaigners. the us secretary of state, mike pompeo, has wrapped up his ‘make—or—break‘ meeting with the north korean leader's right hand man, kim yong—chol. this is his third trip to pyongyang, and the first since the historic summit between president

trump and kimjong—un. mr pompeo is expected to meet the north korean leader on saturday before he leaves for tokyo. let's speak to the bbc‘s mariko 0i, who's in seoul. what is going on? what do we know about this meeting between these two men? as you mentioned, mike pompeo arrived on friday afternoon and he met with kim jong—un‘s right—hand man. that was the only meeting as far as we know that took late yesterday. it wrapped up around 7:30pm local time and they spoke about three hours before breaking for dinner. apparently the mood appeared relaxed. mike pompeojoked that this was his third time and then —— that if he came and other time he would start to pay taxes to make. to which the right—hand man suggested that the more he came the more trust could be built. this morning his first meeting was scheduled at 9am local time, about one hour ago. we still do not know

who he is meeting with. as you can imagine, the information is only trickling in. i'm basically following some journalists who are accompanying mike pompeo to pyongyang as far as i could tell they are not updating regularly. yesterday, all of a sudden, just as the meeting wrapped up we started to get a lot of tweets from mike pompeo and the journalist but as far as we know they have now set up a working group to nail down some of the details of the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula which was agreed between president trump and kim jong—un agreed between president trump and kimjong—un in agreed between president trump and kim jong—un in singapore agreed between president trump and kimjong—un in singapore last month. that as all we know for now. since we don't know very much, i am at a loss about what to ask you. i will still try to probe. what do we think denuclearisation of the peninsula means? is that just denuclearisation of the peninsula means? is thatjust north korea orders that mean north korea and the us? that is the big question. ever

since that declaration at the singapore summer. that meeting between the sitting us president, president trump, and kim jong—un was historic and symbolic. but they agreed ina historic and symbolic. but they agreed in a vague term that they are both committed to the denuclearisation of the korean peninsula. that word, denuclearisation, mean somewhat differently if you are asking of koreans or americans. us wants north koreans or americans. us wants north korean is to give up all of its nuclear weapons. i don't think that is exactly what mr kim has in mind because since then we have had us intelligence agencies saying that they have evidence that the country continues working on the infrastructure for not just continues working on the infrastructure for notjust nuclear programmes that missile once as well. because the declaration was so vague it does not necessarily mean that kim jong—un has violated anything he has committed to.

0bviously anything he has committed to. obviously it adds to speculation as to whether he is really sincere and genuinely committed to peace talks as well. same mike pompeo is under a lot of pressure to come back from this trip with at least some kind of concrete action or detail, notjust words of commitment from the north korean leader. thank you very much. plenty to talk about despite their not being much to say, if you know what i am talking about. authorities in thailand say an oxygen line has been installed successfully in the cave where twelve boys and their football coach have been trapped for two weeks. there had been concern about falling oxygen levels before a rescue operation could get underway. the regional governor told journalists that the boys had enough strength to walk, but couldn't yet swim to safety. jonathan head is at the entrance to the caves in northern thailand. throughout this week since they found those boys there has been a debate here amongst officials about what they should do with them. many of the divers who are being going in to see them has said that the route

out is just too dangerous to risk and they should be looked left where there. that thinking is clearly changing. the impending monsoon makes staying where they are unviable. they could be there for months, they may lose their only dry spot. we are hearing today about preparations to take them out. they cannot swim, they are being taught now and they have been practising wearing masks. a lot of consultation is going on, particularly with british cave divers who are still playing a leading role in the rescue. it does seem now that it is not imminent but authorities have decided at some point they will have to ta ke decided at some point they will have to take a chance on the perilous route out with the divers. how many of you? their discovery on monday had seemed miraculous. but their rescue has confounded those trying to help them. now the authorities believe they have no choice. tonight, the local governor said they would have to risk taking the boys out the same way as the divers,

and soon, because of expected rain next week. it will rain heavily and the situation is not good. supplying the situation is not good. supplying the boys is a long and exhausting job involving dozens of thai and foreign divers. this is the easy pa rt foreign divers. this is the easy part of the route. the last part ta kes part of the route. the last part takes six hours and needs six heavy airtanks takes six hours and needs six heavy air tanks breached either to get there and back. —— for each diver. it was when returning from laying these extra tanks that a former navy seal diver passed away. this is him a week ago as he boarded the plane to come here and help. now he is being flown back to his hometown, to a hero ‘s funeral. his commander

acknowledged that time was running out. translation: we had thought the children could survive there for a long time but everything has changed. we have quite limited time. and that is because the torrential rain that drove the divers out of the cave last week is expected to return. and could go on for weeks, or months. the death of this diver has brought home just how difficult it will be to try to pull these 12 week and the boys and their coach through flooded passages which one diver described as being like in darkened water told being battered by water. the agonising truth confronting authorities now is that leaving them where they are free rainy season that may well cut off their supply lion could be much riskier. the past week of little rainfall has given authorities a window. they have used it to pump as

much water as possible out of the caves. and to try and stop more water from caves. and to try and stop more waterfrom going in. but that window is closing. and now it will only get harder to attempt a rescue. here in britain, investigators wearing protective suits have entered a hostel in salisbury, as they search for the item contaminated with a nerve agent which poisoned a couple. police believe charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were exposed to novichok after handling an unknown object. the pair remain in a critical condition in hospital. june kelly has more. key sites have been sealed off and this afternoon the decontamination process began. a team in special protective suits arrived at the hostel where dawn sturgess had been living in salisbury. these suits are resistant to nerve agent. eight miles away in amesbury, emergency vehicles moved in en masse

to the estate where charlie rowley lived, ahead of the decontamination operation here. residents saw scenes like this in other parts of the county four months ago. now they're faced with disruption on their own doorstep. one week on, dawn sturgess and charlie rowley remain in a critical condition as doctors are once again fighting to save novichok victims. tonight, new details emerged of their movements. last friday afternoon dawn sturgess was seen on cctv shopping in salisbury. later the couple visited queen elizabeth gardens, and then both went to dawn stu rg ess' gardens, and then both went to dawn sturgess' hostile. at gardens, and then both went to dawn stu rgess' hostile. at 10:30pm gardens, and then both went to dawn sturgess' hostile. at 10:30pm they both declared us. at 10:15 the next morning, dawn took ill. at 6:20 that evening, charlie collapsed. during the afternoon he had been to a church event and a branch of boots. fellow residents from the hostel had described how they had been tested for novichok poisoning.

i had a scientist from porton down take a blood test and take information down about what room i was in, or what how close i was, asking me several different questions. it is still not known where the couple came across and handled the abandoned nerve agent. there is still unanswered questions about novichok and its potency. we have previously thought that even in a container it will remain highly toxic for possibly 4—6 months. outside a container that could be less. this is one of the questions we want answered. they do know the details, the russians, they made the stuff. scotland yard is leading the investigation. tonight they describe it as complex and fast moving and they warned it is expected to take months to complete. all the community here thought the poisoning episode was over. meanwhile, the families of the couple who collapsed here have to endure the torment of the wait for news.

stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: we've all the latest from another thrilling day in russia, as brazil are knocked out of the world cup. and we'll look ahead to the much anticipated england—sweden match. 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 favourites 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 this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: following a day of intensive talks, the prime minster says cabinet ministers have reached agreement on uk relations with the eu after brexit. emergency workers in thailand have set up a supply of air to a group of boys trapped in a flooded cave, but they say they're not yet ready to begin a rescue operation. china has imposed retaliatory tariffs on american goods,

after accusing the us government of igniting the biggest trade war in economic history. the chinese commerce ministry said the measures would match $34 billion worth of us tariffs which came into force on friday. it's a bitter pill to swallow forfarmers in the us, especially those who grow soybeans and have seen their fortunes drop. the bbc‘s nick bryant has travelled to alabama for this report. these have become the golden battlefields of a trade war that's fast engulfing the world. farmers in the american heartlands sown with soya bean crops are now hit with 25% import duties by beijing in revenge for us tariffs on chinese goods. china is the biggest export market for american soya beans and josh 0gle has seen the price plunge to a nine—year low. but he voted for donald trump and backs the president's protectionist fight. he's a businessman and he knows how to negotiate and do things. i've got faith in what he's doing's going to work.

now, is it going to work in the end? time will tell. but this trade war is going to hurt your business? it could, it's very possible it could hurt our business. it's according to how long it lasts and how long it takes to negotiate it out. nearby huntsville, alabama is the fastest—growing tech hub in america, a silicon valley of the south. and the home to high technology campuses now caught in the no man's land of this tit—for—tat conflict. this company manufactures communications equipment and its product lines use 1300 components imported from china that have now been hit by us tariffs. its costs have increased, its global supply chains have been disrupted and its ceo says they are being punished for manufacturing in america. if i buy the individual pieces, the individual chips and components and resistors and bring them into the us so i can manufacture here, we're slapped with a 25% tariff so i think that's going against what we want to have done. that policy is penalising american companies? those that actually manufacture here in the us, yes it's a problem. the us economy is thriving,

many talk of a trump bump. and a recent poll suggested for the first time in his presidency, a majority of americans approve of his handling of the economy. a trade war could jeopardise all of that. this america first protectionism is already hitting american commerce. supporters likejosh believe the trade war will be short and sharp and america will end up on top. but that faith in the president could easily turn into frustration, even fury, if this summer of tariffs turns into an autumn and winter of economic pain. pakistan's former prime minister, nawaz sharif, says he will go home and appeal against his 10—year prison sentence for corruption. he's currently in london. he's been facing corruption allegations over his family's ownership of property in london. mr sharif‘s daughter and political heir, maryam nawaz,

was sentenced to seven years. 0ur correspondent secunder kermani explains more about this case. this is a hugely important political moment in pakistan. let me begin by giving you the background to this case. it revolves around four flats in central london and where the money to buy them came from. the sharif‘s family's links to be properties was revealed in the panama papers in 2016. that resulted in an investigation in pakistan which saw no was sharif disqualified from office last summer and sent for trial in this anticorruption court. —— nawaz. today a judge sentenced him to ten years injail and also sentenced his daughter, his political heir, it seems, marion was, to ten years in jail political heir, it seems, marion was, to ten years injail and political heir, it seems, marion was, to ten years in jail and fined them £8 million and £2 million respectively. marion was and sharif now was respectively were not in court, they are in london, because nawaz sharif‘s white is currently in

hospital they are in a critical condition. but this is all crucially important impacts on, because in a few weeks time pakistani will be holding general elections. —— important here. and be two parties vying for control of the countries are nawaz sharif‘s party on one side, and on the other side, cricketer turned politician imran khan. he has been the one who has led the way in championing these corruption allegations against the sharif family. mr sharif has consistently denied any wrongdoing. he and his supporters have effectively said he is the victim of a conspiracy by the pakistani military establishment, with whom he has often clashed. at the opposition political parties here say that is not true. they say the corruption charges are a victory of accountability in a country that has really seen huge corruption problems in the past was up —— of the past. let's get all the world cup action. the five—time champions, brazil,

getting knocked out, you think the world cup is always a poorer place without them, but they just haven't been very good. they have been getting better, but belgium are a side who have looked really strong. ipaid a side who have looked really strong. i paid a lot of attention to them, because they were in england's group. they are now unbeaten. they did have a wobble against the japanese. but they are looking fantastic. they went into—0 at half—time. it was an own goal from fernandinho and an absolute thunderbolt from kevin de bruyne. brazil did come back, they pulled back a goal late on through augusto and neymar. he was diving around, a huge histrionics. perhaps they would should —— perhaps they should have won a penalty through gabrieljesus, at brazil is going on. in a world cup of shocks, that will rank amongst them, but it is not a very big shock because belgium migrated side indeed. theirfirst world cup semifinals as 1986. we are now looking forward to belgium against

their neighbours, france. france also look at. they were the 1998 champions, captained by didier dish romp, and he is now the head coach. can —— two. they beat uruguay very easily. a fluky goal from antoine griezmann. he hit it from a long way out. it's worth a little bit. uruguay keeper mucked it up, spooning it into his own net. france against belgium in saint petersburg next tuesday, i think. and of course, there's plenty more world cup action on saturday when sweden take on england before the hosts, russia, meet croatia in their quarter—final matches to decide who else will advance to next week's semi—finals. we will, of course, be bringing you all of the action here as well as online. you can reach me on twitter. i'm @nkem|fejika. for many of us it will be another hot day with temperatures exceeding

30 degrees across the south and temperatures reaching 31 on friday and we will easily make that on saturday. having said that, there will be a little more cloud around during the course of the weekend. some areas may be overcast from time to time. the atlantic weather system is away to the north of us, still closer to iceland so that is why we are still dry. there is no change as far as the eye can see, at least through the weekend into most of next week indeed the whole of next week. bad news for gardens and parks. a lot of scorched grass out there at the moment. these temperatures first thing in the morning. 17 in london, 13 in newcastle. and then the temperatures shoot up rapidly. a lot of sun around but it will be cloudy from time to time, particularly around north—western and eastern areas, picking up cloud, and cloud is also developing across midland. 30 degrees of least in london, i suspect temperatures could reach 31 also. in the north of the country,

closer to the mid—teens. high—pressure front with us through the weekend however a cool front nudges into scotland and that means a little more cloud here for the north—west of scotland and the western isles in general. may be some spots of rain and these atlantic fresh winds. across the north—west here it will be quite a bit cooler on sunday with temperatures perhaps in the teens whereas to the south of that it will be hot to very hot. temperatures across the south could peak at around 32 celsius on sunday, reaching 90 fahrenheit. newcastle will be the pleasant 2a celsius. not much change on the way next week, staying dry, but it will not be quite as hot. it looks as though the heat will be pushed back into europe and we will see slightly cooler air riding around this high pressure because the wind around the high—pressure blow in a clockwise direction.

this air will be pushed back into the uk which means we will see more and more northern parts of the country with slightly fresh air. still mostly in the 20s, we're not talking about it necessarily cooling off a great deal. on monday it is still in the high 20s across the south. it is only when we reach tuesday or wednesday that we get back down to the mid—20s. in the north we are closer to the teens. that is it for me. bye— bye. this is bbc world news.

the headlines: the british prime minister, theresa may, says a day of intensive talks with cabinet ministers has produced an agreement on future relations with the eu after brexit. the deal proposes continued free trade in goods between britain and the european union. but it says the current free movement of people will end. the us and north korea have agreed to set up a joint denuclearisation committee. rescue teams in thailand say an air supply line has been installed in the cave where twelve boys and their football coach have been trapped for two weeks. there had been concern about falling oxygen levels as rescuers try to work out how to bring the boys to safety. now on bbc news, the week in parliament.