daniel sandford, bbc news. with us on social media. now on bbc news, sport today. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: the open championship tees off at carnoustie in scotland in the coming hours, and jordan spieth heads out as defending champion. britain's geraint thomas is the new overall leader at the tour de france, after an impressive victory on wednesday's11th stage. and is this the world's most expensive goalkeeper? brazil's alisson moves closer to a record—breaking transfer to liverpool. hello and welcome to the programme, where we are nowjust hours away from the year's third golf major of the year, the open championship at carnoustie in scotland. americans hold all four major titles at present, and jordan spieth is the defending 0pen champion. but what odds of a return to grand slam success for the rest of the world? four years ago rory mcilroy lifted the claret jug, winning by two strokes from rickie fowler and sergio garcia, and the northern irishma

daniel sandford, bbc news., has announced his retirement from rugby union at the age of 29. the former wales captain hasn't played since leading the lions to a historic series draw in new zealand last year. he recently returned to training following knee and neck surgery, but said he could no longer perform to the high standards he'd set throughout his career. carnoustie is hosting the 1a7th open golf championship this week. the best players in the world begin battle for the famous claretjug tomorrow. 0nce dubbed "carnasty", many consider this the toughest course on the open circuit. katherine downes reports from there. john vandevelde's barefoot burn—out. a lasting image of dreams shattering ona a lasting image of dreams shattering on a course nicknamed 0pen. at the mercy of coastal winds, carnoustie has bested those competing for the claret jug. has bested those competing for the claretjug. but has bested those competing for the claret jug. but there has bested those competing for the claretjug. but there has

daniel sandford, bbc news.an commission, in relation to its android mobile operating system. the european commission says google unlawfully favoured its own internet search service, denying rivals the chance to compete and consumers the right to choose. google says it will appeal, as our technology correspondent rory cellanjones explains. if you believe in innovation from everyone, then welcome to android. it sees itself as a benevolent giant that just wants to help us communicate. the eu has a different view. google has engaged in illegal practices to cement its dominant market position in internet search. google's android operating system runs on three quarters of europe's mobile phones. it is free for phone makers, but the eu says that google applies conditions which promote its own interests at the expense of rivals.

daniel sandford in new scotla nd this evening.is newsday. a reminder of the breaking news this hour. british police have confirmed a couple who were critically ill in hospital in the city of salisbury we re hospital in the city of salisbury were exposed to a novichok nerve agent, the same toxin used to poison sergei skripal. antiterrorism officers are leaving the enquiry. they say there is no evidence the couple were deliberately targeted. the government would chair an emergency session chaired by the home secretary, sajid javid, on thursday. stay with us. we will have more to come with this breaking é hello. 29 degrees celsius was the high yesterday. that was in northern ireland. there will be a dramatic dip in the temperature here during the day ahead. we had and will have a dramatic drop in temperature for pa rt a dramatic drop in temperature for part of scotland. you can see we had a few shallow clouds yesterday. a few light showers across the southern half of the country. a smattering of rain for some of the gardens. we will

daniel sandford, bbc news.e minister. naa'imur rahman was arrested after a major undercover operation involving m15, the police and the fbi. he had planned to blow up the gates to downing street before attacking heavily armed police with pepper spray and a taser. rahman had claimed his plans were a fantasy, but a jury found him guilty of preparing acts of terrorism. the captain of the british and irish lions, sam warburton, has announced his retirement from international rugby union, at the age of 29. the former wales captain hasn't played since leading the lions to a notable series draw in new zealand last year. he recently returned to training following knee and neck surgery, but said he could no longer perform to the high standards he'd set throughout his career. the latest official crime figures in england and wales, due tomorrow, are expected to show a rise in violent offences. one man in east london thinks he has a solution, stephen addison works to combine sport and faith. 0ur religion and ethics editor

laura: a brief time ago daniel sandford joined me from scotland yard. how significant is the nouncement tonight? daniel: i think it is incredibly significant, because at one n int we had a single incident that happened backrch ryen a former russian mili spy had become contaminated with an nerve agent, as had his daughter and a police officer investating the incident. since then it has been investigating who carried out the attacknd decontaminating the sites that that couple visited on the day they became ill. enly several months later we are in a situation where two ordinary members of the public, british citizens with no apparent connections to the intelligence services or the police or to russia or anything like that have become critically ill after being contaminated on saturday by the same kind of nerve agent, the novichok nerve agent.o that leadso options -- either some area of contamination they were not aware of that these people have come across or some item in circulation which these two people have become cnated from, or there has been a fresh

the bbc‘s daniel sandford reports.s again, gathering possible evidence of the nerve agent attack. the focus on this occasion, a large plastic container which was taken away for examination. it is now more than four months since sergei skripal and his daughter yulia fell ill, not long after leaving his home, here in a quiet cul—de—sac, where they had become contaminated by a russian—made military grade nerve agent, a novichok, that had been smeared or sprayed on his front door. the cnn network in the united states suggested today that detectives have used cctv and facial recognition software to isolate pictures of two suspects seen leaving britain soon after the attack, though it is not known if they are russian and it's not clear they have been fully identified. counterterrorism detectives refused to discuss the reports, leaving only the russian ambassador to comment. unfortunately, we don't have official statements of the british side. i want to hear that from the scotland yard or the foreign office. a lot of versions

daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury.m ‘if‘ — in a stand against what they say is his racist work. students at manchester university replaced the poem with a piece by maya angelou. 0ur education correspondent elaine dunkley has the story. students at the university of manchester painting over the poem if, one of rudyard kipling's most famous works. it's been replaced with still i rise by the african—american author and black civil rights activist, maya angelou. you may write me down in history... with your bitter, twisted lies... you may trod me in the very dirt... but still, like dust, i rise. i felt angry, i felt a very strong emotional reaction. these students say it's about challenging ideas about historical figures, celebrated on campuses. we want to make sure those brown and black voices are heard, and we want... that's literally what our students want, so that's why we decided to take this stance as a whole team. is this sanitising? you can see physically on the wall, we made the decision not to completely raise ki

daniel sandford reports. in gas masks again, gathering possible evidence of the nerve agent attack. the focus on this occasion — a large plastic container, which was taken away for examination. it is now more than four months since sergei skripal and his daughter yulia fell ill, not long after leaving his home here in a quiet cul—de—sac, where they had become contaminated by a russian—made, military-grade nerve agent, a novichok, that had been smeared or sprayed on his front door. the cnn network in the united states suggested today that detectives have used cctv and facial recognition software to isolate pictures of two suspects seen leaving britain soon after the attack, though it is not known if they are russian, and it is not clear they have been fully identified. counterterrorism detectives refused to discuss the reports, leaving only the russian ambassador to comment. unfortunately, we don't have official statements of the british side. i want to hear that from the scotland yard or from the foreign offi

daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. let's look at some of the day's other news stories.all of its remaining stores. the chain went into administration last month, but has been unable to sell its assets. a total of 5,000 jobs will be lost. the fashion label burberry destroyed unsold clothes, accessories and perfume worth more than £28 million last year. it says it was done to prevent the products being stolen or sold cheaply, and it denied allegations that the process wasn't environmentally friendly. comcast is now the firm favourite to win a lengthy takeover battle for sky. the bbc has learnt that rupert murdoch's 21st century fox is thought unlikely to outbid the us giant for the uk and europe's biggest pay—tv company. if the deal goes through, it will end the murdoch family's long and sometimes controversial pursuit for full control of sky. the government chief whip in the house of commons, julian smith, is facing calls to resign following allegations that he used underhand tactics during this week's parliamentary votes on brexit. the conservative party chairman brando

daniel sandford, bbc news. in which he sided with president putin over his own intelligence services over claims of russian meddling in the us presidential election. yesterday, he told reporters that he'd got his words wrong, saying, — when he meant, "why wouldn't they?". today, he claimed no president had been as "tough" on russia as he has. is russia still targeting the us? is russia still targeting the us, mr president? thank you very much, no. we are doing very well. we're doing very well, probably as well as anybody has ever done with russia. and there's been no president, ever, as tough as i have been on russia. all you have to do is look at the numbers. look at what we've done. look at sanctions. look at ambassadors not there. look at, unfortunately, at what happened in syria recently. and i think president putin knows that better than anybody, certainly a lot better than the media. he understands it and he's not happy about it, and he shouldn't be happy about it, because there's never been a president a

sniel sandford reports. daniel: in centrisbury this afternoon, troops in gas masks again, gathering possible evidence of the nerve agent attack. a large plastic container was taken away forxamination. it is now more than four months since rgei skripal and his daughter yulia fell ill after leaving his home in a quiet cul-de-sac where they had become contaminated by a russian-made nerve agent, novichok smeared or sprayed on his front door. the cnn network in the united states suggested today that cctv thdetectives - detectives used cctv and facial recognition software to isolate pictures of two suspects seen leaving britain after the attack. eit is not known if they russians and it is not clear if they have been fully identified. counterterrorism detectivescu refused to d the report, leaving only the russian ambassador to comment. >> unfortunately we do not have an official statement of the british side. i want to hear from the foreign office. a lot of versions we hear are not supported by the statements of t foreign

laura: daniel sandford, thank you. do stay with the bbc for all the latest developments on this story. the 12 boys trapped in the cave in northern thailand have been learning h to breathe through scuba masks, while divers consider whether it is possible to swim them out. right now it is too dangerous to movehem through the dark passages. storms are forecast this week, and that could make the operation even harder. the rescue options are being reassessed every hour. the bbc's jonathan head is at the scene with the very latest. jonathan: no longer alone. the trapped boys now have anea smy doctor trng them. fey even manage amile. they have been givl hiankets to keep them warm. they are painfully the food is coming, promises one ofhe divers. upon the surface, they have been rehesing for the scenario everyone here is hoping for, getting the boys out and off to hospital. but it won't happen soon. >> we need to be 100% confident in order to get the boys out, and they don't have at the same time. are assessing the situation, a

daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. jane: a look at some of the day's other news. french prosecutors have opened an investigation into one of president macron's senior aides for allegedly assaulting a demonstrator. video footage emerged of a man wearing a policeman' hitting a protester during may day demonstrations. he has been identified as an assistant to president macron's chief of staff.co supremt justice in spain has withdrawn european arrest warrants issued against the former n leader in several figures involved in catalonia's push for independence. but german court ruled earlier that he could not act extradited to face the spanish charge of rebellion over catalonia's push for independence. luxury fashion label burrry says it destroyed clothes and access three's worth more than $36 million last year. it said the aim was to ptect its brand by preventing the eing stolen or sol cheaply. waserry says the process environmentally friendmp, but green gners are angry about the waste. right now it seems all the focus isp' on president t's summit with russia, but it wa

the bbc‘s daniel sandford was at scotland yard for that press conference, here's his take on it.march, there was a reason and a motive for attacking sergei skripal and his daughter became contaminated. the police officer that was investigating them became contaminated and after that it was trying to work out who had done it. suddenly, four months on they find themselves in a situation where it doesn't appear to be contained. two new people who have been named in the media as charlie rowley and dawn sturgess became contaminated on saturday by what appears to be the same nerve agent, though police cannot be certain it was from the same batch — and that leaves police facing two possibilities. one is that there is some other area that they didn't decontaminate that they were previously unaware of, where some kind of object or some part of the environment is still contaminated with this nerve agent and that these people became contaminated from that — or — perhaps less likely and more unnervingly, the possibility that they has been some kind of second attack to muddy the waters around

our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford is at scotland yard.ime ago. detectives are in a position where they thought they had a contained area in march, there was a reason and a motive for attacking sergei skripal and his daughter became contaminated. the police officer investigating them came in contaminated and after that it was trying to work out who had done it. suddenly, four months on they find themselves in a situation where it doesn't appear to be contained. two new people who have been named in the media became contaminated on saturday by what appears to be the same nerve agent, so saturday by what appears to be the same nerve agent, so police cannot be certain it was from the same action and that leaves police facing two possibilities, one is that there is some other area that they didn't decontaminate that they were previously unaware of, were some kind of object or some part of the environment is still contaminated with this nerve agent and these people became contaminated from that, all, perhaps less likely and more unnerving will

the bbc‘s daniel sandford was at scotland yard.yard suddenly find themselves in a very uncomfortable position, they had this extraordinarily unusual attack back in march. in which sergey skripal was attacked, his daughter too. he was a former russian intelligence officer who turned to the british. his daughter may have been attacked by accident or part of the attack. the policeman who investigated that became contaminated. it was reasonably contained. four months later and two ordinary members of the public with no obvious motive for them to be attacked have suddenly gotten ill from being contaminated with what is the same nerve agent but not necessarily the same batch of that nerve agent. detectives now have to work out whether there is an area of contamination they were not aware of. perhaps a parkland or a bench or some object — a glove, some of the equipment, and they may have to find it. perhaps less likely but more unnervingly, some kind of second attack, this time not on somebody with a motive, but on two ordinary members of

our home affairs correspondent, daniel sandford, is at scotland yard.test on the police response. we heard about the statement, what more can you tell us about what police are saying? the assista nt about what police are saying? the assistant commissioner from the counterterrorism unit only finished making that statement as you came on airand he said making that statement as you came on air and he said indeed making that statement as you came on airand he said indeed best making that statement as you came on air and he said indeed best people had been contaminated with the same kind of nerve agent that sergei and yulia skripal were contaminated with a novichok agent, but it was not possible to tell if it was from the same batch at this stage. there is no evidence that these two people who have been freshly contaminated had visited the sites which had previously been decontaminated after the attack on the skripals is that leaves the police with two options. one is that somehow some leftover knob attack from the attack on the skripalfamily had knob attack

daniel sandford, bbc news, salisbury. to have you with us. if they have these images of what they suspect to be russians, given what happened during previous investigations into the investigations into the investigation that was mounted several years ago, into the poisoning of... alexander litvinenko? i had forgotten his name, i knew that it was there somewhere! what does it tell us about how likely it is to pin down the russians and get hold of them?” think we have identified who it was who attacked alexander litvinenko, the russians turned round and said they hadn't, arrest warrants were produced. even if individuals are identified, i do not think there is hope of them being brought to justice in courts in the uk or anywhere else in the west. if you know the identity, could you link them with, perhaps, the kremlin or vladimir putin? when the identity is known, the links will be exploited a little bit, that could link them with the kremlin and president putin. the biometric and facial identity will be put into facial rec