this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at 11am. a rescue operation is under way in thailand to save 12 boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave for more than two weeks. translation: there is no other day thatis translation: there is no other day that is as right as today. if we don't start the extraction on the day be most benefit from, we may lose this window of opportunity. a day of rest for england's footballers after making their first world cup semi—final in nearly 30 years. more than 19.5 million people tuned in to watch the three lions beat sweden 2—0 in samara. further problems for the prime minister after borisjohnson strongly criticised her new plans for a brexit deal with the eu. and the brexit meeting at chequers and president trump's upcoming uk visit. all analysed in dateline london

in half an hour here on bbc news. good morning. an operation has begun to rescue the 12 boys and their football coach from the flooded cave in northern thailand where they've been trapped for the last for the last fortnight. these british divers are part of the international rescue mission which could take four days to bring all of the boys and their coach to the surface, and that is dependent on the weather. our correspondent sophie long sent this from outside the cave complex. for the past week, rescue workers have done all they can to prepare, and today is d—day. 13 international expert divers have started to bring the boys out.

translation: there is no other day that is as right as today. if we don't start the extraction on the day we most benefit from, we may lose this window of opportunity. this whole operation is a war against water. it's monsoon season here and there is much more of it on the way. the boys are stuck in a cave deep inside that mountain, and look above, rain clouds. soon there could be water gushing down those slopes, so they need to get the boys out of the cave before water levels start rising quickly again. the boys are fit, the governor says, and their hearts are strong and determined. their families have been told, and are fully supportive of the mission. each rescue will take at least 11 hours. there will be stops for medical evaluations along the way. it is an unprecedented operation and the risks are high. 13 young lives at stake in a rescue attempt that has already cost an expert diver his life.

i've been getting the latest from sophie with conditions deteriorating as the rescue gets under way. the governor of chiang rai province who's been leading this rescue operation has said that this is a war against water. it has always been a race against time, it's monsoon season, their great fear is that when the rain comes down very hard, which they have done last night and throughout the course of the day, when they come down very hard, the fear is that the cave that the boys have been sheltering in the past two weeks now could reflood and potentially flood even worse than it did in the first place. it was dry when they went in there, very quickly filled up with water, cutting them off. their parents did not even know they were alive for nine days. the operation is under way, it's been going for six hours. it will be many hours before we know if it has been successful at all. we are told each child,

it'll take at least 11 hours to get them out. even for expert divers, it is a long five hour dive to get out to where the boy is in the cave to the cave's mouth. the boys are very young. the youngest was just 11 years old, many of them cannot swim, certainly none of them have diving experience, and it is a long route out. some of it very difficult indeed. we're looking at how they will do this. two divers for each child. a guide rope, some of the corridors, the passageways are so narrow, too narrow to go through wearing scuba equipment. they will have to take the tank of the boy's back, and one of the expert divers will roll it along, the other one will guide the boy until they can put the tank back on. these are kind of things they will have to go through, through an 11 hour journey. they are stops along the way where they can rest, dry places where they can breathe. but 11 hours at least

for each child. we have also been told that the weather could pause the operation as well. it is going, the conditions are not perfect but it was felt by the thai authorities that they are not going to get any better than they are now. earlier i spoke to andy eavis, the former head of the british caving association. he told me the most important thing for the rescue was that the boys do not panic. i should point out straightaway that diving in caves is considerably different from diving in open water and it was very important to get cave divers out there, people who have the right mindset to be able to operate in these types of conditions, no visibility, tight spaces and no airspace above. they have got a team now of international cave,

and i repeat, cave divers, and that is the key to this. they are the masters of the profession. they are experienced in this sort of operation before and they have the best chance of anybody on earth of getting these guys out. your reporter there had a lot of the problems very clearly defined. we were just seeing pictures of those two british divers who found the boys in the first place. this is incredibly difficult and dangerous work and obviously all of the families, the eyes of the world on this rescue operation now. it is going to take time, isn't it, to get them out? yes, like we said, they can only bring them out one at a time. there's now quite a number of experienced cave divers capable of safely going in there and coming back out again, and they have got a wonderful back—up from all the other

authorities and so on to get all the gear in there, the communications in there and everything else. but they will come out gently. the whole word here to avoid is the one word — panic. and there has been a lot of positives. the boys themselves did not panic when they were in the dark for nine days. they are pretty cool, calm and collected about it now. the authorities are not panicking, and i know the cave divers are also not panicking. the whole thing is they mustn't panic. and the boys, when they put them in the water with scuba gear on, the only real danger is panic. if they can get them used to being underwater and breathing underwater, they will get them out safely. andy eavis there, talking to me earlier.

england fans are continuing to celebrate the fact that their team are just one win away from the world cup final, after their comfortable victory yesterday against sweden. the bbc has announced that the game was watched by a peak audience of 19.9 million. the match also brought a new online record for live viewing on the bbc with 3.9 million users requesting to stream the game online. england's opponents in wednesday's semifinal will be croatia who beat the hosts russia in a penalty shoot out last night. our correspondent sarah rainsford is in samara where yesterday's match took place. some extremely dedicated england fans we have been meeting over the past couple of days in samara, but they are pretty pleased that they made the investment because for a lot of people, they did not think england would get this far. as soon as they were sitting on the sofa or in the pub back home watching england progress and watching the team perform, a lot of them started scrambling to get tickets, as you say, to spend a small fortune to get here and to experience the moment.

but the moment i think has been well worth it, they would say. in fact, they have been saying it. huge, jubilant crowds here at the stadium itself. extremely pleased with the performance. this morning in samara, i think it is fair to say a fair few bleary eyes and sore heads as the celebrations went on well into the night. you know, amongst those england fans, there was one rather unusual person, a man who bore more than a striking resemblance to perhaps the most popular person among england fans and probably a lot of people in england these days. a few people have been telling me over the years and then finally, mr southgate, or gareth, has got into this new position where he's just delighting the whole country. i thought, "well, why not wear the waistcoat and the tie and have a bit of fun?" i was going to say, you are working the look. it is an extremely popular look. apparently these waistcoats are really taking off. yeah, they are selling. i mean, i had to go to a few different branches of that particular department store to go and find one but yeah, i mean, he's got a new sartorial elegance,

who would have thought? you don't have the message embroidered just yet but tell me about the team, the performance. are you fancying england's chances now, your team perhaps to bring the trophy? well after that iceland game, when we lost a couple of years ago, who would have thought we would be in this position? he's managed to turn it around and the country is going bonkers for it and he's doing some wonderful things, isn't he? he's really changed our perception, i think. you enjoyed the game, presumably. tell us about the atmosphere in the stadium. oh, well, it was great, really. i managed to get into the england end with all the fans and we've got some amazing songs, now, singing about southgate and drinking vodka and being in russia. it's just a carnival atmosphere, really. after all the years of hurt, like the song goes, who would have thought we would be here now? very quickly, semifinals now, can southgate's team really do it? well, we've got this far. yeah, it's open. we were pretending to cheer for russia yesterday but now it's croatia, it makes it a bit easier to get there, get tickets. yeah, why not? let's go for it. france or belgium in the final might be tricky but let's do this. great exclusive interview with the

england manager there, well done! they are all trying to get tickets for the semifinal now. they are, you know, and neil rowe there was saying they were watching that russian game, kind of hoping, cheering for russia but hoping they wouldn't win, one of the key reasons is that because if russia had one, the luzhniki stadium in moscow bid out of russian supporters, of course. for england fans were not yet got tickets in the hope is that there will not be quite so many enthusiastic russian supporters in the ground, and perhaps that means more tickets for england fans. throughout this tournament there have been lots of russians backing england well. even yesterday, the

majority of people there were rations. loads of them had painted the saint georges flag on their faces and they were backing england. i asked why and they said, we love english football, they watch the premier league and british footballers all of the world, and they have been backing england, despite the bad state of politics between other two countries. at the moment politics have been put to one side and the focus is on the football, and for the fans, there is nothing that stands between them. let's reflect on the tournament. there were so many dire predictions about hooliganism and races in russia, but obviously, england are celebrating their success on the pitch, but it has been a fantastic tournament all around, hasn't it?|j think it has. it has been a showcase for the very best of russia. of course those problems are there, of course those problems are there, of course hooliganism and racism are problems in russia but for the moment, it seems like this is a com pletely moment, it seems like this is a completely different country. it is a month when people from all over the world are coming here and seen the world are coming here and seen the friendliest and best side of this country. and that is deliberate. it is what the

politicians wanted but also about the people wanted. they keep coming up the people wanted. they keep coming up to the forerunners and saying, you seen russia for how it really is. i would say that there are many other size of russia they are not seeing at the moment, and perhaps russians are seeing a side of their country that they have not seen for a long time. it is a country where for a month at least they are helping people to their homes rather than policing in a very brutal fashion. it is all change, and how long that lasts after the competition is an open question, or perhaps not an open question at all! donald trump's visit to the uk this week will put "unquestionable pressure" on forces according to the police federation. the american president will spend time in london, chequers and windsor during the two—day working visit. thousands are expected to protest and forces from across the country have been asked to send officers to assist. let's ta ke

let's take you straight to amesbury, the home secretary is there after that novichok incident. let's take you there. thank you and good morning. this morning i'd visited urgency workers that responded to both the original incident and the incident in the past couple of days. i want to put on record my thanks for their professionalism, dedication and all of their hard work. i've had a walkabout in salisbury and now we're in amesbury. i've been meeting local people and local businesses. i want to reassure local businesses. i want to reassure local people and businesses that we will continue to do everything that we can, working with local leaders, and what we can do nationally, to support them. i want to remind eve ryo ne support them. i want to remind everyone that salisbury and amesbury is open for business are they want to say to anyone listening now, this

isa to say to anyone listening now, this is a beautiful part of the country to visit, so if you want a good day out, why not come down and show support, at the same time as having fun with your family? it is a lovely pa rt fun with your family? it is a lovely part of the country to visit. i want to ta ke part of the country to visit. i want to take the opportunity to say to everyone, especially local people, that the risk to the public remains very low. that is the clear advice of public health england. it is the clear advice of the chief medical officer and finally, of course, all of us, all of our thoughts are with the man and the woman impacted by this latest incident, still in hospital in critical condition. we're thinking of them, and of course theirfamily we're thinking of them, and of course their family and friends. police said they were looking for rate container or receptacle. have they found it? police are still trying to work out exactly how these individuals came across the nerve agent. we don't want to jump to any conclusions. they have a number of working theories. we want to make

sure that the police get the time and space they need to do their work. this investigation into new areas, has it thrown up any new leads, in terms of the wider investigation into what happened when the skripals were poisoned? the working hypothesis of the police is that this is connected with the original incident. i use that phrase simply because we don't want to pre—conclude anything, we must find the evidence. what i am confident about, with the amount of police work that is going on, support of the wiltshire police and more than 100 officers from the counterterrorism network involved as well, that they will eventually, one way or the other, get to the bottom of this but at a time like this it is important to give them the time and space to do that work. any plans for further sanctions against russia? there are no current plans. again, we do not want tojump to conclusions, but we have already

determined, our expert scientists have determined that the nerve agent in this incident is the same exact nerve agent that was used back in march. we know back in march that was the russians, we know that it was the russians, we know that it was a barbaric and inhuman act by the russian state, but again, from this particular incident, we need to learn more, and let the police do their work. you are insisting that salisbury is safe, was secrecy prioritised over safety, at all? both with the first incident and now it is correct to listen to the experts, to public health england and the chief medical officer, we have set then and now the risk level at low, and there is no evidence that the two individuals hurt by this incident visited any of the areas that the skripals were connected with. those areas have been decontaminated and they are open again to the public. there is

no evidence that the two are connected. everyone would want to listen to the advice of the professionals in this, and make sure that we take precautions, as the chief medical officer has set out, just as she did with the original incident. thank you all very much for coming. the home secretary, sajid javid, on a visit to amesbury in wiltshire. both amesbury and salisbury, after those novichok incident are still open for business and part of the home secretary's mission there is to support local business. he was saying there, it is a beautiful part of the country to come and visit, so why not come and visit wiltshire, amesbury and salisbury in particular? police investigation still continuing into how that couple, charlie rowley and dawn stu rgess were how that couple, charlie rowley and dawn sturgess were exposed to novichok. it seems when they were

visiting salisbury last friday, they had left the flat in amesbury where they had been, flat number nine, and headed to salisbury and it seems that, there, they did get exposed to novichok. let's talk to alison freeman, our correspondent. something of a morale boosting visit from the home secretary, accompanied by the local mp. as i mentioned, that part of the country is still very much open for business, despite what has happened in the last few weeks. alison freeman, if you can hear me, can you bring is up—to—date on the home secretary's visit? he has just worked up to the area are the police been carrying out investigations. he wasjoined by the police been carrying out investigations. he was joined by the chief constable of wiltshire police as well as the local police and

crime commissioner. he gave a brief interview to the waiting media. in it, he thanked the professionalism and dedication of all those people involved in this investigation. before coming to amesbury, where those two people fell ill, he was in salisbury. he met business leaders and local people, just to talk to him about how they had been affected. one of the points made about at the end of his interview was that people should come to salisbury, two wiltshire, and to support the people that live here. he says that the novichok involved was the exact same as that used on the skripals who were poisoned back in march, and the described the actions of the russians as barbaric and inhumane. he said there were no plans for sanctions but the government would continue to work with local people, local leaders, to find out exactly what happened here, and to offer support to the community. thank you very much, alison freeman, reporting from amesbury. sport and for a full round up,

from the bbc sport centre, here's john acres. good morning. there is only one place to start and thatis there is only one place to start and that is with england. the former england captain, alan shearer, says gareth southgate should "respect, but not fear" croatia ahead of their world cup semi final on wednesday. england of course through thanks to that quarter—final win over sweden in samara yesterday. shearer‘s confident that this current squad can continue to make history in russia. it is an incredible opportunity for gareth and for all of his staff and all of his players. they deserve to be in this position. they have been absolutely magnificent in everything they have said and everything they have done. they are enjoying it. they look as if they are having fun, which is great to see. and they are not ready to go home, yet, which for all of us, is an incredible opportunity. we're all enjoying it,

as well. we certainly are. standing between england and a place in the world cup final is croatia after they knocked out hosts russia on penalties. it all started so well for russia, taking the lead through this cracker from dennis cherysev. croatia equalised, and then took the lead in extra time before russia equalised in the last few minutes. penalties then, and it was down to ivan rakitic to score the final spot kick that takes croatia through to their first world cup semi—final since 1998. no tennis at wimbledon today — they're on a rest day before it all kicks off again tomorrow. kyle edmund won't be there though. the last brit left in the singles draw was knocked out yesterday by the three—time champion novak djokovic. joe wilson was watching. just as footballers returned to their changing room in russia, kyle edmund came out to play at wimbledon. centre court knew the football score. and for a while, edmund was inspired by his big occasion, at the top of the screen on his way to the first set.

novak djokovic looked a little lost. but the former champ rediscovered himself to win the second set 6—3. the match had turned. edmund lost the third 6—2, making mistakes. listen how this one was greeted by djokovic. he roars he simmered with the crowd and the umpire, but overpowered edmund 6—4 in the fourth set. this win took everything. well, centre court will be maintained and come back to life in the second week when we'll have djokovic, federer, serena and so much in between. as for british interest — well, there's the doubles. right now, centre court feels a little empty without kyle edmund. joe wilson, bbc news, at wimbledon. no wimbledon. no world cup. so it'll be down to lewis hamilton to capture our attention this afternoon. he starts on pole for the british grand prix at silverstone, where we can find our reporter azi farni and, azi,

history beckons for the briton. yes, it's a lovely day here at silverstone. just behind me in the circuit, in less than three hours' time, lewis hamilton will be hoping to turn a record sixth pole position into a record sixth win for any driver here at the british grand prix. he will start as favourite. ferrari and hamilton have traditionally been strong here. hamilton has won the last four years ina hamilton has won the last four years in a row. after that double retirement for the team at the austrian grand prix last weekend they will not be taking anything for granted. and the ferraris will be hot on his tail, that qualifying yesterday was so dense, with sebastian vettel going ahead in the first session, then hamilton in the second session then sebastian vettel, his championship rival, the

championship leader, putting in a lap that looked like it was the fastest, only for hamilton to come in with his final lap and get pole position by four hundredths a second. it is going to be very close, here, in less than three hours' time. just time to remind you that day two of the tour de france starts in around an hour's time, chris froome hoping for better day after a crash yesterday. you can follow it live on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more in the next hour. more signs of tension have surfaced in the conservative party over the prime minister's brexit plan, agreed with her cabinet on friday. the foreign secretary, boris johnson, is understood to have used colourful language at the meeting to criticise her proposals before later giving them his backing. critics say the plan would be "unworkable" and could cost the conservatives the next election.

however, theresa may insists it would ensure brexit is delivered. let's return to the thai cave rescue which is under way in chiang rai. we can now get the thoughts of anmarmirza, who's the co—ordinator for the american national cave rescue commission, a volunteer group dedicated to training and supporting cave rescuers. anmar has personally been involved in around 140 rescue missions and joins me now from bloomington, indiana. thank you so much forjoining us. just give us an idea of how difficult you think this rescue mission is going to be in thailand. it's going to be incredibly difficult. the mere fact that the best cave divers in the world have a

difficult time even getting to where they are tells you that it's going to be very difficult. the challenge, of course, is going to be to get them all out safely. they are not going to be able to do that, immediately or quickly, but it is a long, difficult journey immediately or quickly, but it is a long, difficultjourney to get out. it is six hours one way to get in, with a healthy person. these kids are not in the best of shape right now because they've had nine days of starvation. not in the best of shape and some of them can't even swim, but they have been given some rudimentary training, we understand, in how to use diving equipment. sure, they have spent the last few days drilling and drilling to use the equipment, to trust the divers they are with, to be able to operate in the environment that they will be in. building that trust relationship with the person that is going to be

with the person that is going to be with them on the dive is absolutely critical to this. and in my opinion will probably be the thing that really makes this successful. so, they have to put all of their faith in individuals who are taking them out and, importantly, they mustn't panic. absolutely. that's the biggest challenge they face. if they panic, you do not have any margin of error, when you are in a very tight place and it is completely filled with water. no margin of error. they have to be able to stay calm, they have to be able to stay calm, they have to be able to stay calm, they have to go through and allow themselves to be moved through by themselves to be moved through by the experienced divers. these are some of the most experienced cave divers in the world. is there any doubt in your mind that this is the right time to mount this rescue operation? because there had been some talk of leaving the boys in there for months until the end of there for months until the end of the rainy season. initially there we re the rainy season. initially there were three options. we have been

exploring, i say we, those who are on the ground, have been exploring these options. the problem is they we re these options. the problem is they were not good options, they all had bad points to them but they were different bad points. the biggest advantage they have right now from the diving option is that they managed to pump the water down to an astonishing degree. and the fact that the water is down, it will make it easier than it would've been if the water was up and if they have waited, that might have been a better option, but with the monsoon rains coming in, and the area that the boys were in may not have been a safe place any more. so it is the lesser of two evils at this point. good to talk to you, thank you for your analysis. the coordinator for the american national cave rescue mission. now it's time for a look at the weather. here is ben rich. i'm in the studio.

we have some sunny skies overhead for most today. not quite the story for most today. not quite the story for everyone. we have some clout of the north—west of scotland, fringing into northern ireland. the small chance of the odd shower across the south of scotland and northern england. further south, sunny skies all the way through the afternoon, with some patchy, clear whether cloud at times. and temperatures as high as 32 celsius. always cooler towards the north—west. this evening and tonight, cloud across northern scotland, which will make progress down the east coast, giving the odd spot of drizzle at times, with the best of the clear spells further south. it will be a burden, muggy night whether you are. tomorrow, quite cloudy start with some drizzle across north—east scotland and england. some of that cloud will