this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at noon. 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 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. 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. more problems for the prime minister after borisjohnson strongly criticised her new plans for a brexit deal with the eu. the home secretary, sajid javid, visits salisbury, and says the city is open for buisness after the poisoning of a couple in amesbury.

and the click team head to massachusetts to find out more about the latest robotics research. that's in half an hour here on bbc news. good afternoon. divers have entered the cave in northern thailand at the start of a mission to bring the old boys under football coach out to safety. officials have described it as d—day, saying that the threat of rising waters means that they need to act now. these british drivers are part of the international rescue mission, which could take up to crack days, to bring all the boys and their coach the surface. that depends on the weather and in

particular the heavy rains. our correspondence sophie long sent this report 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. 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, and 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 that 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 from where the boys are 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 off 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. there are stops along the way where they can rest, dry places where they can breathe. there will be medical assessment, at a place called chamber 3 where the thai navy seals have been basing operations, 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. we can talk to bill whitehouse, who has been helping coordinate the rescue operation. do you feel the authorities have had no choice but to watch the operation now?m authorities have had no choice but to watch the operation now? it is looking that way. they have been

working on all sorts of other options for quite a long time now. the concern is that there is every likelihood that the weather will be closing in, and more rain coming. and while scoring parade by about option would not have been their first choice, the timescale and the fa ct first choice, the timescale and the fact that it is going to take some time to get all 13 of them out, then, yes, the problem they felt was that the time had come when a decision had to be made and they had to go for the diving option. when you talk about the dive out option, it's obviously difficult and dangerous. just talk us through how you think they are going to do it.” don't know, i heard you talking before i came on about how they were going to do it. that description might have been right. there are a number of ways it could be done. there was talk in earlier days about

teaching the children to use the diving equipment themselves and then diving equipment themselves and then diving out under escort. that is a big ask for children who have never dived before. you can't swim, we gather. certainly, diving in those conditions, this diving is extreme. nothing like open water diving. there are lots of problems and perils and things that can go wrong. the people going there, they are very experienced people. for them to do that as a first dived is pretty extreme. i would've thought they would be looking for another option. if you go to the other end, the option is to turn each child into an inner package by strapping them up, so inner package by strapping them up, so that they can't move and thrash about in the water, should they

panic and dislodge their own air supply or anything like that. fit them up with a full face mask and air supply, get their buoyancy correct so they are floating and not jamming against the roof of the passage, that sort of thing, and there was even talk of sedating them. that is the other end of the scale. and then floating them out, so scale. and then floating them out, so that they don't have to make any effort at all, they are just a package. they're all sorts of variations between that. but to get them through all of the obstacles, there are a number of long dives through to the small chambers are above the sections of the cave above the water, where it would be possible to change air bottles and check them over, before moving onto the next section. so they are are all sorts of ways they could be doing it. we are not there, we don't

know the detail, we don't know what the dive plan was, but it would be something like what i have said or something like what i have said or some permutation of that. but there are some very narrow some permutation of that. but there are some very narrow parts some permutation of that. but there are some very narrow parts in the water. visibility is going to be poon water. visibility is going to be poor, it is absolutely dark. and you can't get away from it. it is a very perilous operation, full of risks, and it's going on now. we keep our fingers crossed. let's hope it is going to be successful or stop one of those perils is the danger of the children panicking. a lot of people have mentioned this. clearly, some of these children are very young, only 11 years old, and as you mentioned, can't even swim. yes, indeed. we know that it is a long

journey out of there, that could take, what, several hours? yes, indeed. i know from talking to other divers after they found the boys, i asked them how long the bean and they said, for an experienced and properly equipped cave diver, just to go ona properly equipped cave diver, just to go on a trip and then out again, it is three hours or so, but that is just that diver. if you imagine the diver or pairof just that diver. if you imagine the diver or pair of divers have got to manoeuvre a child or get the child through all this it is going to take a lot longer. in the press conference this morning from the tyre authorities, they were saying something like —— thai authorities, they said don't expect any news until 3pm this afternoon. that sounds absolutely right. it depends

how well, and how they might find bits of it easier than they thought, they might find that other bits are more difficult. but that is as good an estimate as any. it is certainly going to be several hours. bill whitehouse of the british cave rescue council, thank you very much indeed for your analysis, and for your time. you're watching bbc news. it is 11 minutes past midday. england's world cup semifinal had a peak audience of 19 boruc 9 million, and an online record of 3.9 million users requesting to screen the game online. england's opponents in the semifinal and wet does they will be croatia. they beat hosts russia in a penalty shoot out last night. our

correspondent sarah raynsford is in samarra where the match yesterday 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 nuts, 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. it's coming home! a gareth southgate lookalike there in samara. a rescue operation has begun in thailand to save twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded cave for more than a fortnight. it's emerged the foreign secretary boris johnson strongly criticised the prime minister's new plans for a brexit deal with the eu during friday's cabinet meeting at chequers. the home secretary sajid javid has visited amesbury in wiltshire to reassure local residents after the poisoning of a couple

by the nerve agent novichok. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's john acres. 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. some news just some newsjust in, the spain manager at the world cup, fernando hierro, has stepped down after leaving his role as the sporting director of the national team. he took over after the original coach was sacked following his negotiators ——

negotiations to become real madrid boss. spain went out in the last 16. 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 today. 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 lewis hamilton today. he's already made history by claiming a record sixth pole position. he will be looking to turn that into a record sixth win today. he was pushed all the way by the

ferrari of sebastian vettel and kimi raikkonen. sebastian vettel will give them a good challenge. he looked like giving ferrari are pole position but hamilton pushed and pushed and pulled it out of the bag right that the last minute to get poon right that the last minute to get poor. —— to get pole position. it is, it means a much them to win this race and get that record and get a record fifth win in a row. and regain the championship lead from sebastian vettel. 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. i'll have more in the next hour. we will talk more about the world cup. joining us from samara isjim white, sports columnist at the telegraph. thank you very much for

being with us. where did you watch the game? i watched it in the stadium with a bunch of other england fans. but they were pretending to be journalists for the afternoon at! your eye in the press box. —— you are in the press box. how many england fans made it to the stadium? it is an awful long way and it costs a lot of money to get there. it did. i believe there was a charter flight from sta nsted there. it did. i believe there was a charter flight from stansted to samara, which must be an aviation first. i think there were about 5000-6000 first. i think there were about 5000—6000 england fans in there. they were small in number but they made a lot of noise. a magnificent atmosphere, they generated. and after such a party, are they still around orare after such a party, are they still around or are they nursing their hangovers in bed this morning? they will not be near where i am, if they have any sense they will be down by

the river volga, where there is a promenade and the beach and it looks a bit like the seaside. most importantly, there is a brewery that turns water from the volga by magic into lager and sells it for 75 ru bles into lager and sells it for 75 rubles for 1.5 litres, and sells it for that amount which is about 30p a pint. if they have any sense, they will be there. harry maguire was watching the england iceland game a couple of years ago as a fan himself. there is a real bond among them. gareth southgate has encouraged that. last evening i was in the press box for a good hour after the game had finished, the fa ns were after the game had finished, the fans were there, and the players we re fans were there, and the players were going over to them, taking selfies with them, swapping shirts, swapping stories, being part of them. it is very much an cars and then situation going on with england

this time. gareth has encouraged that. it is a big party. nobody was to go home. the fans don't want to go home and the players don't want to go home. what is your feeling? what is your sense about what is going to happen next?|j what is your sense about what is going to happen next? i think there was a blue momentum behind england. i get the feeling that these guys have bonded as a unit. there is a real tea m have bonded as a unit. there is a real team spirit. i think they will get to the final. whether they win it isa get to the final. whether they win it is a different issue. france or belgium is a much greater obstacle than any team they have faced so far in the tournament. butjust getting to the final itself will be such a jov- to the final itself will be such a joy. croatia is a big ask, in a sense, than the teams they played so far, including sweden and colombia. croatia have got some really top, top players, haven't they? they are an excellent site. nobody will

underestimate them, particularly not gareth southgate. people have done his homework, you will know what he has to do to beat them, what is required, and he will be saying to his players, there is a big obstacle on the way to the final. but croatia are beatable. let's not pretend it is any other way. and they will have been tired by yet another penalty shoot out. that's twice they've had to go the full distance. and that, mentally and physically, will have taken its toll. but they are a very good side that will take some beating. england will be hoping for the penalties. we are the penalty king is now, aren't we? we are the penalty king ‘s, and it is not too early to bestow on the goalkeeper jordan pickford the term "great". i think it'll be a struggle, but am confident. if you're confident, jim, we are confident! thank you, jim

white of the telegraph, in samara. you're watching bbc news. let's go back to brexit now. 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. i've been discussing this with our political reporter. he explained that the plan got their support of environment secretary michael gove, who has been speaking today. he was asked, is this really what people voted for?

and he answered unequivocally yes. he said it is not exactly what i and a lot of my pro—brexit colleagues wanted but there was a need for compromise. i think really that was the message from him. making the point that it is really important for a united cabinet at the moment. one of the great strengths the prime minister has is that she allowed us during the course of the day to share views, to share analyses, and to look at this proposal in detail. but at the end, collective responsibility reigns. and i think for the cabinet, all of us, our responsibility is to work together in order to ensure that we can get the best possible deal for britain. and of course it is absolutely critical as well that that deal respects, as the prime minister has been crystal clear, the referendum mandate to end free movement, to get us out of the ecj direct jurisdiction and to take back control of our waters and policy in the areas that matter to our economy. so michael gove, a prominent brexiteer of course. but what does the prime minister do with borisjohnson, especially after he has expressed

some pretty colourful language about this agreement? on friday he really went on the attack, we understand. he actually used colourful language and what he effectively said is you are asking us, prime minister, "to polish a turd" by pushing forward this plan for brexit. he described it as effectively the uk becoming a vassal state but ultimately he did sign along the dotted line. his allies are saying it is important he remains a part of the cabinet so he can carry on making the case for a harder brexit that they would like to see. but it is an issue for theresa may, just a day after she called for that term of collective responsibility, effectively saying, if you step out of line there will be consequences. labour have been talking about it all as well this morning. what have they had to say? the shadow brexit secretary keir starmer has been on the andrew marr programme as well this morning. he talked about the deal in pretty disparaging terms as well, saying it is good that, in his words, the prime minister

has rejected some of the fantasies of the hard brexiteers, but he said she has gone for a fudge. i am afraid it has got fudge written all over it. if you look at the facilitated customs arrangements at the heart of this, it is a re—badging of the partnership and it is based on the idea that at the border you can distinguish between goods that are going to stay in the uk and those going to the eu. it is unworkable, it is a bureaucratic nightmare. that is keir starmer. now the prime minister has sold it to her cabinet, sort of, she has now got to sell it to her backbenchers at the 1922 committee. that is right. briefings throughout the week, the big meeting of the 1922 committee tomorrow evening where she will continue to try to sell it. largely, i think the conservative mps are behind her on this. certainly the remain wing of the party is pretty happy with the way things have gone, but there are some murmurings coming out from the pro—brexit wing.

iain duncan smith, a former conservative leader, suggesting that the conservatives may be punished at the ballot box if it is being perceived as keeping britain in the single market and the eu customs union. andrew bridgend, another critic of the prime minister has come out and said today she should be replaced and jacob rees mogg should take her place. i cannot support this deal. the offer is so bad that i wouldn't be supporting it if the european union were paying us. if she sticks with this deal, i will have no confidence in it and if the prime minister sticks with this deal i will have the home secretary, savid javid, has visited the wiltshire town of amesbury, a week after two people fell critically ill after coming into contact with novichok. after meeting emergency workers and local residents, he sought to reassure people that the risk to the wider public was low. i want 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, visit and show your support. it is a lovely pa rt show your support. it is a lovely part of the country to visit. also, 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, and the clear advice of sally davies, the clear advice of sally davies, the chief medical officer, and finally, of course, for all of us, our thoughts are with the man and the woman impacted by this latest incident, who are still in hospital, still in critical condition, we are thinking of them and of course their family and friends. sajid javid, the home secretary, on a visit to wilshere, he visited salisbury and amesbury after that latest novichok incident. —— a visit to wiltshire. now it's time for a look at the weather.

there is something a little cooler on the way over the next few days but the rest of today brings lots more hot, dry weather with more sunshine, but the first hints of something cool are beginning to pushing across the north—west of scotland, with some extra cloud. further south, lots of sunshine, temperatures in the south—east up to 31, maybe 32 degrees. as we go on into the evening and overnight, you can see some of this cloud in northern scotland will work its way down the east coast. there could even be the odd spot of drizzle. clear spells further south, minimum temperatures in cardiff and london, around 18 degrees. tomorrow, some sunshine still in the forecast, particularly for western and southern areas, more cloud across the north—west of scotland, most places will be dry, but it is going to turn a little