welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. our top stories: the 12 boys and their football coach rescued from flooded caves in northern thailand are now being treated in hospital. officials say they are in good health and high spirits. translation: no-one thought we could make it, but we did. it was a first for the world. also ahead: president trump arrives in brussels for a key nato summit, and bashes europe again on its record of defence spending. and les bleues are through. france make it to the world cup final after beating belgium. hello and welcome to bbc world news. people in thailand are relieved and celebrating as the final four members of a football team

and their coach emerged from a flooded cave system. it was a perilous rescue. for three days, thai military and international divers guided the 12 boys in small groups to the surface, through narrow, flooded tunnels. they are now under constant medical observation while they recover from their ordeal. sophie long is outside the hospital in the thai city of chiang rai for us. thanks very much, ben. yes, i'm just outside the hospital here on the eighth floor. the final four footballers and their football coach will be waking up, for the first time in what must seem like a long time, in a nice comfortable bed. it was a massive operation. some people said it was too dangerous and two context to work, but they pulled it off, and now there are congratulations from around the world. there have been tweets from

the president of the united states of america, who sends congratulations on their behalf. he said it was such a beautiful moment, all freed, greatjob. theresa may, the british prime minister, has tweeted her last congratulations. when the last ambulance arrived last night there were cheers and applause from people who gathered in the streets, asjonathan head reports. would this be the day that saw all the boys and their coach out safely? with the sky darkening, it had to be today. helicopters in the afternoon told us they were getting ready. then, the tell—tale flashing lights. well, this is the second ambulance we've seen and, behind it, the third on this, we're hoping, the last day of this truly remarkable operation. and every ambulance we have seen so far has meant another life saved. inside the caves, dozens of divers have been working in wet,

claustrophobic conditions to support the rescuers. there hasn't been a cave rescue this big or this ambitious before. the boys were fed and treated underground by an army medic to strengthen them for the difficultjourney out. even so, some divers said it was too dangerous to try. only the threat of renewed flooding forced them to push ahead. cheering these men run the boys‘ football team. 17 days of worry, of ups when the boys were found, and downs when they couldn't get out, were over. translation: i want to hug them first. i want to cheer them on. i want to tell them how worried i've been. i don't know what to say. we had something else to tell coach nopparat. from manchester united. ah, man u? an invitation from manchester united to the rescued boys,

most of them man u fans, to visit old trafford next season. this is the man who has run the rescue operation from the start. thai bureaucrats rarely get this kind of reception, but he pulled off a rescue the whole country had longed for. translation: today thais, team thailand, the government, the private sector and the media have been supporting one another, while the international community has been providing us moral support. we accomplished a mission that was deemed by many as impossible. it was the first time in the world. cheering everyone involved in this huge and complex mission was celebrating. these are engineers who had been diverting streams to lower water levels in the caves. people came out to cheer the ambulances as they brought the last of the boys

into hospital safe and sound. only a week ago, when they were found, trapped and exhausted, who would have believed this was possible? jonathan head, bbc news, chiang rai, northern thailand. well, this always was a high—risk operation. elite divers, some of the best in the world, came here to chiang rai, and they said to the thai authorities they could do it. on sunday they were given the go—ahead, and thai authorities said yes, with the support of their parents. then the nation held its breath. on day one they brought out for boys safely. day two, another four boys but still it wasn't until last night we had a visual confirmation that all 12 boys had been brought out not only alive, but also relatively healthy, given their ordeal, that people could then celebrate.

you heard injonathan‘s report the cheers that rang out here last night. cavers and divers from around the world came together in chiang rai to help the thai authorities get the boys and their coach out. the bbc‘s lucy williamson has been speaking to some of the rescuers. congratulations. how are you feeling? exhausted. their elation hidden by exhaustion, erik, mikko and paire arrived back from the mountain tonight with barely the words or energy to tell their story. how did it go? good, very good. these are the men who won againsta mountain, heroes from all walks of life, all corners of the world, united not in a single act of bravery, but in dozens of them. earlier today, they were among the last divers to leave the mountain with the thai navy seals, the cheers marking the end of a crisis that gripped the world and took a global team to solve. their organiser — a thai rock singer who drew donations from her followers.

breathing tanks, regulators and hiking equipment. i asked her what she would do tonight. oh, celebrate! all countries, maybe all around the world celebrate for us, for the team, you know? for government, for everybody who has worked very hard. down the road, navy seals were celebrating. we've had to blur theirfaces. after weeks of holding its breath, tonight thailand is celebrating. they say faith can move mountains. thailand chose to put its faith in the men who venture inside them. lucy williamson, bbc news, chiang rai. well, all the wild boar teammates are now reunited on the eighth floor of the hospital behind me, and what a dramatic few weeks. they were stuck in a cave and waved goodbye to their teammates.

they are being given soft and digestible foods and first aid, and have seen their parents through a glass screen. health authorities are worried about infection. soon they can be in the same room as families, but they are going to have to wear protective clothing and be two metres away, which must be very difficult. one, 11 years old, has been away for so long and has been through such a traumatic experience. they also have so much to look forward to. they were invited to the world cup final. unfortunately it doesn't look like they will make that. doctors have been asked about that and just chuckled and said they will be probably watching it on tv. they will be kept in hospital for at least seven days but other invitations are there as well, one to old trafford. so, with the majority being man united fans, that is something that will make them very happy indeed.

president donald trump has been criticised after saying the solution to migrant children being separated from their parents was for them to not come into the country illegally. last month, a judge ordered the government to reunite 63 children under five years old with their families by 10 july, a deadline that has now been missed. andrew plant has the story. talking to reporters as he is marine one helicopter waited nearby, donald trump, with melania, questioned why the government had missed its deadline to reunite migrant children with their parents. well, i have a solution. tell people not to come to this country illegally. that is the solution. don't come to our country illegally. unlike other people do. come legally. —— come legally. illegally. unlike other people do. come legally. —— come legallym has fanned the flames of a burning issue. children separated from pa rents issue. children separated from parents and families of the us border and then taken to facilities like this one, sometimes for many weeks at a time. the issue has

sparked protests in america and elsewhere. last month, a judge ordered the government to reunite children underfive ordered the government to reunite children under five with their pa rents children under five with their parents by tuesday, and another 2000 miners by the 26th ofjuly. more legal action could now follow. we are extremely disappointed that the government looks like they are not going to reunify all the eligible children today, and that they have not even tracked down the removed pa rents. not even tracked down the removed parents. but we do think, said the judge became involved in the compliance process after this past friday, things have taken a real step forward. the government has now said it will only meet the deadline for around half of those children. mrtrump has for around half of those children. mr trump has now headed to europe, but will return to face more scrutiny from us courts on his zero tolerance immigration policy at home. president trump has arrived in brussels ahead of a wednesday's nato summit. he has been trying to persuade european nations to spend more money

on defence, making his point on twitter before he left and when he landed. but that prompted a rebuke from the president of the european council, who told mr trump to value his allies because he didn't have that many. from brussels, our europe editor katya adler reports. the united states' self—appointed dealmaker—in—chief has landed on european soil. long awaited but also kind of dreaded by his allies here, who wonder, after the iran deal and the climate change accord, will nato be the next transatlantic agreement to be trampled by president trump? his tweets this morning were not exactly encouraging. "nato numbers don't add up for us tax payers," he fumed. he is not wrong, in terms of domestic military spending. president trump points to europeans

as the worst offenders. the us always tops military spending charts. this year, seven european countries will hit nato's target of 2% of gdp. but a host of others come nowhere near, including three of the eu's biggest economies — germany, italy and france. forget decades of peace and transatlantic partnership. nato's secretary general has honed in on cash and flattery, ahead of tomorrow's summit, in the hope of persuading donald trump of nato's merits. nato is a good deal for all 29 allies. i have thanked president trump for his leadership on defence spending, and it is having a clear impact. all allies have stopped the cuts, all allies have started to increase, and more allies spend 2% of gdp on defence. donald trump's ambivalance towards nato and his general unpredictability has europeans spooked and feeling exposed. they have relied on the us for

security since the second world war, but feel now nothing can be taken for granted. fearing russia, cyber attacks and cross—border terror, the eu is now beginning, modestly, to boost its own defence capabilities. today, eu leaders signed a co—operation agreement with nato, with some blunt european words for the us president. dear president trump. america does not have and will not have a better ally than europe. today, europeans spend on defence many times more than russia and as much as china. dear america, appreciate your allies. after all, you don't have that many. at nato headquarters, a packed agenda awaits leaders tomorrow. but a show of unity is what really matters most. the question hanging heavy here —

will donald trump deliver? katya adler, bbc news, brussels. stay with us on bbc world news. still to come: france edges past its european neighbours belgium to secure a spot in the world cup final. 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 hosts 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. this is bbc world news. our main story this hour: divers have rescued all 12 boys and their football coach from flooded caves in northern thailand, 17 days after they got trapped underground by heavy rains. let's get more on that cave rescue in thailand. kasha ibrahim is a wilderness medicine instructor and shejoins us from victoria in australia. good to have you with us, kasha

ibrahim. what will be the initial things they are looking for, the medics who are treating and observing the boys? thank you for having me. initially the main things they will be looking for is treating any immediately life—threatening injuries and assessing the presumed hypothermia after such a long exposure down in the cave. but that can all be done relatively quickly, so those kind of assessments should be done within the first day after the boys come out and just looking at their vital signs and any injuries obviously that they have that could deteriorate. what about beyond that? what is the medium to longer term observation that they will be doing? so, in the next couple of days, and certainly up to the week, there will be some samples taken of bodily fluids to look for any signs of infections that are of concern.

sometimes it does take a little while for the laboratory to be able to grow any bacteria to be able to feed back to see if the children might be harbouring any bacteria. so that would be one thing. the other would be monitoring the progress as they start to eat normally again and to hopefully put on muscle mass and see how they're going with that progress. go on. iwas progress. go on. i was about to say that the other thing that would be initially assessed but that would have to be monitored later on would be the psychological response to this whole trauma. these boys have been faced with the prospect of death for simon lee days, and they potentially could see quite serious ramifications in the form of ptsd and behavioural abnormalities and then would have to be cancelled and watched carefully

—— counselled. potentially there would have been a weighing up exercise for the medics to carry out because we know that they were reluctant to let them have contact with, for example, families, because they were worried about contamination if the boys' immune systems contamination if the boys' immune syste ms ha d contamination if the boys' immune systems had been weakened, but presumably psychologically the sooner they can see their families, the better for them? certainly that's the case and you're right, there's always a weighing up, like there was when getting them out of the cave, when are they safe and when are they safe enough to have them extracted? when are they safe enough to have them extracted ? certainly when are they safe enough to have them extracted? certainly being linked back with their families is ideal. being treated together in the same area of the hospital as the boys are being kept is also beneficial for that. the teams will beneficial for that. the teams will be doing what they can and supporting them in what ways they can to still maintain safety for both the children and their families. kasia ibrahim, joining us live from

victoria in australia, thank you very much. football, and we now know the identity of at least one team playing in the world cup final. it's france, who beat belgium in the first semi—final in st petersburg, with samuel umtiti getting the only goal of the game. the bbc‘s tim allman watched the action. when you get to this stage of the world cup, anything seems possible. all chant: so we tell them. .. we're from belgium! spirits were high, the odd spirit was consumed, as fans looked forward to the match. whether you were in red or blue, you were hoping, hoping, hoping. translation: i think france have a good chance of getting to the final. after a slow start, we are getting stronger. we will beat our belgian neighbours, our belgian friends. then, a great party, and straight on to moscow. if we play in the final, we have to win the cup. we've come so far, now we have to do it.

we know that we have a really good team, in the past there was always something, and now is the moment to win the cup. perhaps unsurprisingly, this is what they would call a cagey game. but, when chances did come, both goalkeepers rose to the challenge. eventually, though, a breakthrough. early in the second half, samuel umtiti leapt up, putting the french ahead. that was all they needed — france back in a world cup final for the first time in 12 years. in paris, there was pandemonium. it felt like an entire nation had come out to celebrate. translation: we feel a lot of joy. we're really happy. we knew they were going to win. it was perfect. translation: i experienced this 20 years ago. i told my kids about it. now they're grown—ups. it's going to be my second final, and i hope my second victory. at the champs elysees,

a sea of supporters, all with dreams of glory. france will now be favourites for the cup. only croatia or england can stop them. tim allman, bbc news. for more on the build—up to that game, go to the bbc sport website. there'll be the latest from both the english and croatian squads as they try to reach the final. go to bbc.com/worldcup. let's get some of the day's other news. the number of people who've died in flash floods and landslides injapan has risen to 156. searches continue as dozens of people are still missing. downpours triggered mudslides and left homes flooded, hiroshima and okayama were among the worst affected. us secretary of state mike pompeo

has dismissed accusations by north korea that he engaged in gangster—like behaviour during a visit there. he's now in the vietnamese capital, hanol he's now in the vietnamese capital, hanoi, and said that denuclearise asian was a condition for dropping sanctions. he urged north korea to follow vietnam, saying vietnam helped to normalise relations for a path to prosperity. the british man poisoned by the novichok nerve agent has regained consciousness, two days after his partner dawn sturgess, who was also poisoned, died. doctors treating charlie rowley in a hospital in southern england say there's been a small but significant improvement in his condition. police are investigating a possible link to the case of russians sergei hollywood star george clooney has suffered minor injuries in a scooter crash in sardinia. the 57—year—old's scooter was hit by a car that failed to stop and he slammed into its windshield. clooney was taken to hospital, but is now recovering at home. 100 planes from the iconic spitfire

to the latest stealth fighter jet have flown across central london to mark the centenary of the royal air force. thousands gathered to watch the the biggest display of british airpower in over 30 years. the centrepiece, watched by the queen and other members of the royal family, was the largest ever formation of typhoon fighters, spelling out "one hundred" in the skies above the palace. our correspondent robert hall was there. telling a 100—year story with aircraft, from the sedate progress of wartime icons, to the thunder of today's sleek technology. months of preparation brought a procession from past to future. it was great, really interesting. really impressive. great to see so many. wonderful. i wish i was up there again, flying.

just to pay our respects and say — you know, to say thank you for everything that they've done over the years. the raf plan for this centenary was to commemorate, celebrate and inspire. at westminster abbey, the queen, whose father had flown with the fledgling raf in 1918, joined herfamily and the raf family to remember those who had served in the air and on the ground. i remember today my grandmother's brother, jock, killed in wellington bomber in 1943, my grandfather's brother, charles portal, who commanded the royal air force for much of that war, and my father, who flew low—level sorties in burma. i read his logbook again last week. how right and proper that we should each remember all who served. but this was also a day to celebrate the present.

as the crowds joined the men and women of a 21st—century raf, parading their new colours outside buckingham palace, the queen spoke of her own links with the service. that family tradition continues to this day. the duke of edinburgh, the prince of wales and the duke of cambridge have all earned their wings, and wear them with great pride. this journey has taken the raf from the first world war to space. its motto, "through adversity to the stars," lies at the heart of this spectacular birthday. robert hall, bbc news. that's it for the moment. see you soon. hello again.

yesterday's fresher weather brought an end to a run of remarkable heat, really. somewhere in the uk over the last six days has seen temperatures into the low 30s, with the exception of yesterday's maximum temperature, which was at chivenor, in devon. we only got up to 26 degrees celsius. so for most of us, yes, there was much less humidity around. it did feel a good deal fresher than recent days. and it was a beautiful end to the day. this was the scene of the setting sun there in lincolnshire. now, looking at the weather picture for the early risers today, we do have a weather front across western scotland that will threaten to bring some rain into northern ireland as well. otherwise, it's a dry start to the day, and a fresher feel to the weather, as well. now, this rain early wednesday morning is actually going to get a little bit heavier, particularly across south—west scotland. it might well just about scrape into antrim and down in northern ireland as well. but, although it turns heavier for a time during wednesday morning, it will then begin to ease off as the moisture gets spread out along the front, and probably bring

in a risk of a few showers across wales and south—west england as we head on into the afternoon. apart from that, really, it's a dry looking day, with the early day cloud tending to break up, with some spells of sunshine. again, it's not going to feel cold in the sunshine but it will continue to feel pleasantly fresh, really. temperatures reaching a high of around 25 degress celsius or so in the warmest spots. but underneath that thicker cloud in scotland and northern ireland, generally high teens to low 20s here, but it will get warmer over the next few days. now, if you're planning to watch the football later on this evening, should be a fine end to the day if you are at some of these outdoor venues, and temperatures holding up quite reasonably, as well. and actually, should be a comfortable night's sleep ahead as well. now, we'll look at the weather charts on into thursday, and we've still got our wiggling weather front out towards western areas of the uk, but it's a very weak affair. just really a zone of moisture lying down across the western side of the country, though it will provide the focus of a few

very isolated showers. the broad picture, though, is a lot of dry weather underneath a ridge of high pressure. so, yeah, quite a bit of cloud around again with some spells of sunshine coming through. probably more sunshine generally as we get towards the latter part of the week, and that will help boost the temperatures. so highs on thursday reaching around 27 degrees celsius in london, 25 in cardiff, then a 21 in edinburgh. but again, there will be a few isolated showers across these western areas. that theme continues on into friday. most of us having a dry end to the week, but there will be a few showers knocking around, before it turns warmer and sunnier into the weekend. that's your weather. this is bbc world news. the headlines: the 12 boys and their coach trapped in flooded underground tunnels in northern thailand have been receiving treatment in hospital. they were found by british divers last week. it is not known whether the coach, a former monk, will face negligence charges. the boys' parents have urged him not to blame himself. president trump has begun a week—long trip to europe by intensifying his criticism of america's european allies. he sent out a series of tweets as he crossed the atlantic ocean complaining that eu nations

were not spending enough on their own defence. mr trump will attend a nato summit later today. football, and we now know the identity of at least one team playing in the world cup final. it is france, who beat belgium in the first semi—final in st petersburg, samuel umtiti getting the only goal of the game. now on bbc news, it is hardtalk.