especially across the north—west of scotland, perhaps northern ireland, too. the best of any sunshine in the east. it stays largely dry and mild for new year's eve on monday. pretty cloudy skies for most places, a bit of brightness in the east. a chance of some rain across northern parts of scotland hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the immigration minister has been sent to dover — as the home secretary cuts short a family holiday to deal with the rising number of migrants crossing the channel in small boats. he's on his way back, and he will be at his desk on monday, but yes he's taking control of the situation, and i'm in regular contact with him, and we had a conference call just yesterday. one person has died and 23 others have been taking to hospital after a minibus overturns on the scottish borders. more than £100 million is to be spent chartering extra ferries to bring in vital supplies in the event of a no deal brexit. the new years honours

list is announced. they include the british divers who rescued a young football team from a cave in thailand, twiggy, who is made a dame — and michael palin, who is knighted. now on bbc news, the summer's world cup in russia saw england make a memorable journey to the semi—finals. the bbc‘s olly foster was there and reports on the highs and lows of the tournament in review 2018: football fever. france, champions of the football world! this is the stuff of brilliance. absolutely extraordinary! he has only gone and done it!

blast in by musa! coutinho! 0h! modric. great goal! oh, it's a scorcher! saved by pickford. dier does it! world cup '18 has exploded with surprises. # right here, right now a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. that was churchill's russia 80 years ago. vast, impenetrable. what of russia in 2018? a country criticised for its human rights within its borders, and strained political and sporting relations around the globe. entrusted with the 21st fifa world cup, what hosts would they be? well, for one month this summer, they opened their arms. the largest country to stage the tournament had a welcome to match, a mighty bearhug for the thousands of fans

who journeyed to the 11 cities stretching across four time zones. it was ambitious. it was brilliant. party central was moscow. this was their opening offering at the luzhniki stadium. ronaldo was a reminder of world cups past, and robbie williams went retro, too, an englishman unexpectedly taking centre stage. that would be a theme. # so come on, help me # entertain you... vladimir putin talked about love, making friends, world peace and the power of football to do all that. ah, the football. not much the president could do about his team being the lowest—ranked at their own world cup, but this was the perfect start — thrashing saudi arabia 5—0. two fine strikes from denis cheryshev put the hosts firmly on track for a run to the quarterfinals. and putin was working on those diplomatic skills by the full—time whistle.

england were the only home nation in russia — home being their destination too soon, too often at recent major tournaments. they didn't get out of their group in brazil at the last world cup. hope's always there, but not the hype this time. not yet, anyway. the base was in repino, just outside st petersburg. and this young squad, this young manager were making all the right noises. the players of the past and the opportunities of the past are gone. this team is looking at things in a different way, trying to play in a different way. they have a hunger, they have a desire, we have better technical players than we've had in the past coming through our academies. there's a real enthusiasm and they‘ re looking forward to getting going. matchday five, and england were itching to get started. they came prepared for swarms of arctic mosquitoes in volgograd. but what about tunisia? ashley young with the clip across. clawed away! put in now, though! and put in by captain kane!

it was actually a good save from the goalkeeper. stones' header, great header. just gets a fingertip to it. and there he is, the big man. fantastic start for england. dylan bronn‘s ball in... and the referee's pointed to the spot! sassi steps up. and he scores! right in the corner! trippier with the ball across. maguire went for it. and it is in from harry kane again! two goals for the captain! that could make a huge difference to the way this world cup goes for england! that's what these games are about. it's the world cup. you go until the last second. yeah, absolutely buzzing. turns out kane was just getting started, as debutantes panama were about to find out in nizhny novgorod. maguire‘s showing the referee just how he's being held. that's a headerforjohn stones that's gone in! lingard in behind. and it is a penalty! 0h! how emphatic was that?

jesse lingard. jesse lingard! and it's across for sterling! and now it's in for number two forjohn stones! and the referee's given it. yeah, it was a penalty. it's harry kane. he's being held the whole time. same place. this is unbelievable! england 5, panama 0. loftus—cheek. shot deflected! harry kane's got another goal! he's got a hat trick in the world cup for england. played in. and it's scored. panama have their goal! england will have much tougher tests than this to come. and england have passed this one with flying colours. england 6, panama 1. everybody, over the last four weeks, what they've put into it, is really rewarding to see how they're playing, how they're enjoying their football. and i'm sure everybody at home has enjoyed it as well, which is great. well, it's been a very,

very positive few days for england. you can see all the players are in tune with each other, they've got belief in their manager, belief in the system they're playing. and they do really seem as if they're loving it. their biggest world cup win secured their place in the knockout stage with a game to spare. nothing says happy camp like an inflatable unicorn. the feel—good factor showed no sign of bursting. the players engaged with the media, taking them on at darts, bowling. and as they opened up like never before, so did an easier path towards the final. but to make sure they got on it, they'd have to lose their last game against belgium. a dilemma. we've not won a knockout game since 2006. why we are starting to plot which would be a better venue for our semifinal is beyond me, really. fatigue, from playing, past experiences, plays a big part. it's brutal. if you're going to go deep into this tournament, i think fatigue is a real important part. gareth will think, "right, i'll put the strongest team in order to deal with belgium. "

that's it. that's all he'll be thinking. and he's right. winning mentality. but changes were made. eight for england, nine for belgium, who were in the same position. it's an out of the ordinary city for a game that might also feel out of the norm. but what is the best way to go for? well, adnanjanuzaj secured a winning result in kaliningrad, belgium the winner1—0. the fans seemed happy, but would this result come back to bite them? and it's belgium who've won this group, whether they wanted to or not. a reality check or a lucky break, or both, for england. well, that will be talked about. bring it on. good to give the other lads a runabout. we probably would have preferred to keep the momentum going, but, you know, understand what he's done and hopefully the boys come straight back in the team and go for it in the team and go for the next game. today, he gave other players a chance. 0nwards and upwards! on to moscow we go! the defending champions,

germany were very un—german. beaten by mexico, they saved themselves in injury time against sweden, meaning they just had to beat south korea. but as they pressed for a winner, korea capitalised. two goals in injury time and... germany are out of the world cup! they became the third holders in a row to depart in the group stage, but this was a first for germany. and it really hurt. the hunger‘s not the same, the desire‘s not the same, the fire is not as hot as it was, you know, when you go through winning a world cup. and i think they were just... they were complacent. 0ur three matches, and... we lost. they were arguing and... it's no unit. if unity‘s what you're after, look no further than croatia, dismantling argentina and soon earning that dark horse's tag. topping the group with

three wins out of three. to join them in the knockout stage, the south americans just needed some messi magic. scooped forward by banega. messi collects! messi scores! argentina were five minutes away from going out after nigeria equalised. marcos rojo avoided some red faces. the 2010 champions spain also made things difficult for themselves, but even before they kicked a ball, head coachjulen lopetegui hadn't lost a single match in charge coming into the tournament but then... deal was done. it's just been announced that the spain coach, julen lopetegui, will take over at real madrid at the end of the fifa world cup. just two days before their opener, lopetegui sacked. fernando hierro took over. and what a match to test spain's resolve. cristiano was in town. a penalty and a david de gea blunder gave ronaldo and portugal a head start. spain responded with three of their own. easy, this management lark.

hang on in there, lads! just don't give away any silly free kicks on the edge of the box in the last minute. 0h, he's done it! he has only gone and done it! considering what's happening, or what happened in the last 48 hours, i think we'll take that. they did qualify — just. another draw and a win was enough for them to progress as group winners. portugal went through with them with the same points. ronaldo just couldn't stop scoring. from the world's best to the world's most expensive — with arguably the lowest pain threshold ever seen on a football pitch. neymar rolling, and rolling, and rolling his way into the headlines. it's a bad example, but you can't take away his quality. douglas costa. and neymar! brazil weren't at their best in group e, but when he did stay on his feet, neymar helped drag them through, with a little help from his friends. coutinho! 0h! what a superb strike from phillippe coutinho for brazil! moments like this got everybody talking.

the video assistant referee, used for the first time at a world cup. 0fficials able to refer to the men with the monitors. that led to more penalties being given. france scored the first var goal from the spot against australia in kazan. there's one for the pub quiz. later that day, peru were over the moon at its introduction. sadly, christian cuevas's penalty was too. they lost to denmark. getting the option to go there and have a look at to decide then, i think that's the clear way to go, i think. listen, at the end of the day, at match pace, it's so difficult to see every decision and call it right at that time. to get the chance to see it i think is the right way. france needed little help in breezing through their group with the danes. peru and their colourful contingent would go no further. senegal would also be missed, but what a way to be eliminated. not because of their final defeat to columbia, but they picked up too many yellow cards through the group stage. they were level in every way with japan, so that inferior disciplinary record was the tie—brea ker.

and when news filtered through to the blue samurai, they played keepball for the last 15 minutes, even though they themselves were losing to poland. it's actually embarrassing. it's just an absolute farce. they were booed, but through. no african team would reach the knockout stages. mo salah carried egypt, and the continent, on his shoulders. trouble is, one of them was injured. he was helpless to prevent their exit, as uruguay and the hosts russia made it out of that group. so after a fortnight of nonstop football, 32 became 16. 0n the left, portugal, france, argentina, brazil and the belgians in the mix. england's half of the draw had less stardust. croatia and spain appeared

to be the main obstacles, but the key now was not to look too far ahead, even though that was difficult. it had been 12 years since england last won a major tournament knockout match, but gareth southgate‘s constant message to his players was for them to create their own history. and the nation believed, too. a heatwave and football fever, the english summer was hotting up. millions made plans for the match. the thing i want more than anything else is for the players to continue to attack the tournament as we have. of course there were nerves in moscow, nerves everywhere. but football was coming home, wasn't it? we'll do. i think we've got enough to beat them. maybe 2—0. i'm praying that it doesn't go to extra time and penalties, that's for sure. can england take the next step on theirjourney by winning a knockout game at a major tournament? and england have a penalty! brilliant harry kane.

ice cool harry kane! mina heads it! mina heads it in! two and a half minutes into injury time! it's going to be a penalty shoot—out. nobody needs reminding what happened in the previous three. and dier does it! england win a world cup penalty shoot—out for the first time ever! maybe times are changing! this team is changing things! to go again, extra time and a shoot—out. .. it's been terrible for us over the years, and of course we know that.

yeah, to step up when it mattered and do what we did, i'm so proud of everybody involved. now we have a tough challenge, because we're high as a kite and we've got two days to prepare for a really, really tough game. england's next opponents would be sweden after a slice of fortune against the swiss. chance to shoot! it's in! sweden ahead in this second round game! croatia—denmark provided plenty of drama. honestly. 1—1, it went to penalties, and the croats went through. russia didn't think they'd get this far. they went the distance against spain. more spot kicks. igor akinfeev, the host's hero. there was some party in moscow that night. neymar was in pain again, although he might have had a point this time. once more, he got his revenge. also set up another goalfor good measure. put in by firmino! it's two! they're through! mexico out. it would be belgium next for brazil,

but they needed nacer chadli's 94th minute winner to end japan's brave resistance. it was over and out for ronaldo. his portugal beaten by a brace from uruguay‘s edinson cavani. and there was a cracker in kazan. what a strike! what a strike from angel di maria! pavard hits it! it's another glorious goal! seven goals. individual brilliance epitomized the france—argentina game, before teamwork won it. end to end. two goals for kylian mbappe. france's teenage star was rising. messi shone all too briefly. to samara, and sweden for england. a place in the semifinals at stake. this was big. really big. it would also be really routine. england against sweden for a place in the semifinal of the world cup.

relaxed? no, i didn't think so. maguire, kane, stones. now they break. and it's headed firmly in. harry maguire got his head to it! if one harry doesn't get you, the other one will! a string ofjordan pickford saves preserved england's lead before dele alli stretched it. trippier. in from lingard! in from dele alli! this is the stuff of dreams from the three lions! and england will be in the world cup semifinal! it was fantastic today. it was a difficult game. sweden made it tough. long balls, different to what we faced so far. set pieces, crosses in the box. yeah, we're buzzing. this is amazing. we have not done it for so long, have we? that is the best thing i've ever witnessed in following this country all over the world. come on, england! england — world cup semifinalists. and they would face croatia —

possibly a weary one after more extra time and penalties. this was a match too far for russia. at least they didn't have too far to get home. as for brazil, beaten by belgium and de bruyne. might have a go here. does! it's a scorcher! the first semifinal for them for over 30 years. france looked to be peaking atjust the right time, although a uruguayan flap flattered the french. they fully deserved their place in the last four. there was an all—european line—up in the semifinals, france and belgium both claiming to have a golden generation. two teams packed with stars, going head to head for a place in the world cup final. it should be an absolute cracker. it wasn't really that in st petersburg, not that france minded one bit. in goes the corner. into the net from samuel umtiti! france strike first in the semifinal! just the one goal decided it.

france now one match away from football's greatest prize. but who would they meet? the moment has come. england are about to take on croatia in the world cup semifinal here in moscow, their biggest match for more than a quarter of a century. where were you? one of the lucky ones with a golden ticket? thousands scrambled to moscow to say they were there. italia '90, the last time this level of hope and fervor was felt. 1990, i rememberjust being with my dad and being in tears. now, 28 years later, i'm with my son. it's just... it's just priceless. and back home, those fan parks, packed pubs, living rooms. where were you? # it's coming home! # football's coming home! # it's coming home! it's coming home! tripper will have the chance.

and kieran trippier has scored for england! in the game of their lives, it's the start of dreams. what a cross, and it's turned in! perisic came into score! there's mandzukic! is that the goal that has finished off england's world cup? journey's end? for now, yes, but we might have seen enough here in russia to suggest that this is reallyjust

the start of one. we should've won tonight, man. we should've beat them tonight. and we could've won this world cup. but, next one. i think a lot of us thought we'd go out — maybe quarters. but, you know, i'm really proud of the team, how they performed. you're so close to something which we never thought, really, was probably going to be possible. and maybe, just in this game, just a reminder that we've still got a little bit to go as a team. england had to pick themselves up for one more match, the one no team wants to play. they could still say they made it to the final weekend. and it was another chance to put

on one more show for the fans, especially the new ones who were won over — notjust by the russian 0dyssey, but the promise of the good times to come. everyone was disappointed. and ifeel now, that love is back there again. you can build on this, no doubt. this was a tournament for england to grow. pickford and trippier coming of age. harry kane won a trophy, the golden boot, although he couldn't add to the six he'd already scored as they lost to belgium in st petersburg. england finishing fourth, but not falling short. i think the biggest thing for me is the ethos that the players have now, in terms of how they work every day and their desire to get better, their understanding that we've done well but we've still a bit to do to be considered a really top team. the country has fallen back in love with england again, and football again. plenty of positives and plenty to look forward to. heads held high, england were finally coming home, but two teams had just one more sleep before the big one. it's the final we all wanted.

well, almost. july 15, back where it all started — the luzhniki stadium, centre of the football world. there was entente in the stands. it was intense on the pitch. the prize, so close now. a tournament that had us gripped needed a fitting final. it got one. and welcome to the final act of a month of superb sporting drama. nothing can top this moment for the players of france and croatia. griezmann delivers. looking for the flick, and there was one! france have the lead! perisic. brilliant! ivan perisic with a super strike! very steady, griezmann looks composed.

and he was! he was super cool! france regain the lead! pogba. and again, pogba! france have room to breathe! paul pogba has the biggest goal of his career! and now mbappe with a shooting chance! he's done it again! despite their defeat — 11—2 in the end after a blunderfrom hugo lloris — croatia, at only their fifth world cup, were feted as heroes on their return home. but this was france's time. didier deschamps — a winning captain in 1998 — now their triumphant coach. champions once more, they reign again. france are crowned world football champions! allez les bleus! good evening. another largely dry

and cloudy day across the country. this picture was taken by a weather watcher in shropshire earlier in the day. there were some glimpses of sunshine around. that story isn't going to change much over the next few days. for the last few days of 2018, high pressure keeps things mostly dry, cloudy and mild. some rain, especially over the northern half of the uk. that's down to this weather front moving to the east. patchy rain over parts of england

and wales, perhaps the odd spot in east anglia. the south—east will see the lowest temperatures with clear spells holding on the longest, so frost is possible in the south—east. most of us will be frost free on sunday morning live a lot of cloud and drizzly outbreaks. through the day, it should brighten up in most parts. the best sunshine in eastern england and eastern scotland. the rain lingering for the northern isles. some drizzly rain in north—west scotland and perhaps the hills of western england and wales. temperatures, 10—12, still pretty mild. new year's eve on monday, high pressure still with us. we've got weather fronts to the north which will bring windier conditions in parts of scotland. some rain likely in the north—west. patchy rain pushing further south into the evening. for much of the country it is looking dry. still cloudy

conditions and reasonably mild. temperatures on new year's eve, ten 01’ temperatures on new year's eve, ten or 11 degrees. we hold onto the dry and settled weather for most of us overnight so if you have plans to see in the new year, for most places it will be dry. a chance of rain in parts of scotland. fairly cloudy sky if you expect to see fireworks. new year's day on tuesday, high pressure still with us. a weak front which may bring some rain. for most of us a dry and mild day before things turn colder and more wintry as we head into the new year. bye, bye. this is bbc world news today. i'm martin stanford. our top stories... houthi rebels in yemen begin pulling back from a key port — as part of a un—backed ceasefire deal aimed at delivering vitalfood aid. two years later than scheduled — with a run—up

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