Your morning Briefing: Ace divers bring four Thai cave boys out of darkness

Welcome to your morning digest of the top stories of the day.

Hello readers and welcome to your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.

In this undated photo released by Royal Thai Navy on Saturday, July 7, 2018, Thai rescue teams arrange water pumping system at the entrance to a flooded cave complex where 12 boys and their soccer coach have been trapped since June 23, in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. The local governor in charge of the mission to rescue them said Saturday that cooperating weather and falling water levels over the last few days had created appropriate conditions for evacuation, but that they won't last if it rains again.. (Royal Thai Navy via AP)

Four rescued

Expert divers have rescued four of 12 boys from a flooded cave in northern Thailand where they were trapped with their soccer coach for more than two weeks in a dangerous and complicated mission.

In the mission to save the Thai boys, rescuers could only feel their way, laying guide ropes and making sketches as they went, reports James Hookway.

“I confirm again that we have successfully rescued four and it has been our masterpiece work. I thank all operation units. We have many thousands people working on this and everyone is so happy. The divers who took the kids out hugged them, as you may have seen on TV.”

Narongsak Osaththanakorn, Tham Luang rescue chief

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View of the SRC F-35 jet from above. Picture: SUPPLIED

Corrosion strikes

Ten of the Royal Australian Air Force’s new multi-million-dollar strike fighters have corrosion ­issues after the manufacturer ­failed to use a protective primer when painting the F-35s. And F-35 pilots could face such debilitating ear pain or sinus ­injury from internal pressure changes that they could crash during complex manoeuvres, a US Government Accountability Office report has warned.

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Current Chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell is announced by PM Malcolm Turnbull as the next Chief of the Defence Force with Defence Minister Marise Payne and current Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin at a press conference, Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

SAS lessons

SAS officers are being given ­additional training in ethics, ­morality and courage in leadership as the army braces itself for a potentially damning report ­expected to find that a small number of troops may have committed war crimes during the decade-long fight in Afghanistan. With the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force due within months to hand down his report into ­alleged battlefield atrocities committed by Diggers, The Australian can reveal that the SAS Regiment has been quietly instituting a series of reforms ahead of the findings.

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ASIC Chair James Shipton appearing at a House of Representatives standing committee on Economics, at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Banks should ‘go bush’

Revelations at the royal commission of companies swindling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including potential criminal offences by a notorious funeral insurer, have driven the corporate watchdog to call on senior bankers to break out of their city bubbles to better understand remote communities. The new chairman of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, James Shipton, who attended hearings for the banking royal commission in Darwin last week as part of a broader visit to the Northern Territory, said the inquiry had highlighted the threats from “totally unacceptable” behaviour from certain parts of the financial sector.

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England's Harry Maguire, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side opening goal during the quarterfinal match between Sweden and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Samara Arena, in Samara, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

England march on

England celebrated reaching the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in a generation as Russia came to terms with a heartbreaking exit from their own party. Gareth Southgate’s young team swept Sweden aside 2-0 in Samara, sparking scenes of unconfined joy in London and around the country as World Cup fever reached new heights with England sweltering in a summer heatwave.

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Kudelka’s view

Jon Kudelka Letters page cartoon for 09-07-2018Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.