i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore, the headlines: the death toll in the london tower block fire rises to 17, but is expected to increase further. specialist teams are now working inside to secure parts of the building. seven people have died in an explosion outside the gates of a kindergarten in the chinese province ofjiangsu. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme: democrats and republicans unite. the annual congressional baseball game goes ahead a day after the shooting that saw steve scalise seriously injured. and with brexit talks due to begin in days, the duke of york tells newsday how british business can look beyond europe to asia in a bid to flourish. those who have looked over the garden fence have gone, ooh, the grass isn't quite as dark and

unforgiving as you might expect and getting over the fence, there might be some fresh grass out there. live from our studios in london and singapore. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. a full public inquiry has been ordered into the devastating fire at a tower block in west london. the number of people known to have died has risen to 17, but that figures is expected to rise as many more are still missing. our home editor mark easton reports. slowly, inch by painstaking inch, fire officers continue their grim and dangerous work. amid the soot—blackened shell of what was once home to hundreds are some who did not make it out. exactly how many, we do not know, but police today said they hoped the final death toll would not be in three figures.

the scale of this tragedy is yet to become clear. the brother of these two syrians was one of those who lost his life. mohammed alhajali was an engineering student seeking a better life in britain. omar was with him as firemen tried to evacuate the blazing building but the pair got separated. i looked behind me, i didn't not see my brother. i said, my brother, my brother, where is he? they were ignoring downstairs. then i went outside. i called him. he said, where are you? i said, i'm in the flat. i said why didn't you not come? no—one brought us outside. he said why? i didn't leave! i thought they took

him outside with me. they didn't. they left him. relatives of five—year—old isaac paulos confirmed today that the little boy was among those who died in the fire. the agony of a wounded neighbourhood is written on a wall, the desperation of people searching for family and friends. prayers and solace from near and far. for the last two days, jason garcia has been searching for his 12—year—old cousin jessica urbano. we feel helpless really. we're hoping that, by putting up posters, sharing her image on social media, and talking to people like yourself, that maybe someone with information will get in touch. hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come... this evening, jessica's parents and friends gathered together in a community that is craving answers but complains of delays and evasion.

at the moment we're grieving, but there's a bubbling anger underneath and we want to see somebody held accountable for this. the love and generosity that's poured into north kensington in the last couple of days cannot make up for the numbing sense of loss. the prime minister made a private visit to the scene today, speaking to emergency workers before announcing there will be a full public inquiry into what went wrong. this tower block fire looks just like north kensington. those of us who have been around for 30 years or more have never seen

a fire develop in this way. in my 29 years in the london fire brigade, i have never seen a fire of this nature, and i have seen many high—rise fires. attention in australia focused on cheaper plastic fibre—backed cladding rather than mineral fibre backed. the same distinction is being made about grenfell tower, although the authorities insist building regulations were followed. london mayor sadiq khan was heckled by a small group of people on a visit to grenfell tower today. what's he gonna say? i don't want to hear this rubbish. feelings are running high. understandably, the residents are very angry and concerned and have genuine questions that demand answers and so whereas... someone needs to be held accountable. residents at trellick tower, who can see grenfell tower from their balconies, now have a constant and disturbing reminder of the risks of high—rise living. mark easton, bbc news, north kensington. another devastating story, this time in china, where officials are investigating the cause of a blast outside a kindergarten in the easternjiangso province, which killed at least seven people. the explosion took place as parents were gathering to take their children home from the nursery.

our beijing correspondent john sudworth sent this update: photographs from the scene showed both adults and children lying on the ground, some of them leading heavily. the police said the explosion happened at around 4:55pm. the time of course in china, in which many parents would have been picking up their children from school. unconfirmed eyewitness reports being reported by local media suggest at this stage that the explosion may have been caused by a cooking gas canister at a local food stall. china of course has a relatively poor record when it comes to industrial or public safety. and indeedin to industrial or public safety. and indeed in the past there have been a number of incidents in which there

have been deliberate violent attacks on schools by individuals bearing a grudge. but it is too early to speculate in this case. while the hospitals continue to treat the injured, the police say they are investigating the cause. also making news today: the father of an american student who was detained in north korea for 17 months has accused pyongyang of brutalising his son. otto warm—beer, who was jailed for trying to steal a propaganda banner, was returned to the us this week on humanitarian grounds. doctors say otto has a severe neurological injury and has extensive loss of brain tissue. his father is relieved to have his son back. we are proud of the fact that our families are basically happy, positive people and we're going to stay that way and we're thrilled our son is on american soil, at the school that he thrived in and i'm

able to talk to you on auto's the half and i'm able to wear the jacket that he wore when he gave his confession. —— otto's. the judge in the bill cosby sexual assault trial has instructed the jury to keep trying to reach a unanimous verdict. thejurors told thejudge they were in deadlock, despite 30 hours of deliberations. the comedian denies drugging and assaulting a woman at his home near philadelphia in 200a. russia's president vladimir putin has offered the fired fbi chief james comey political asylum during his annual question and answer phone—in on russian state tv. he said mr comey, who'd been looking into russian interference with the us presidential election, had things in common with edward snowden, the us intelligence analyst who took refuge in moscow after leaking classified information. now, take a look at this. this

performer attaching herself to a helicopter is a woman who is about to fly over niagara falls on the border between the us and canada where she performed a routine which included hanging from a chord gripped only by her teeth. as you can see, she has put on quite a show for the crowds and she comes with a bit of history, her husband, mick, walked a tightrope across five years ago and he was there when she came back down to the landing site safe and sound. let's return now to our main story, the fire in the london tower block. the uk government says it's started talking to local authorities and housing associations about how they will ensure that the homes they're responsible for are safe. but there are still questions about how ministers have responded to previous fires in tower blocks. our science editor david shukman has been looking at some of the safety issues that have been raised in the past

and reports on the future of tower block safety. the london fire has triggered concern right across the country. in belfast, fire safety leaflets are being handed out by the housing authority. suddenly there's intense scrutiny at every detail of the arrangements to cope with the fire. there are now questions about safety in all tower blocks, but with a particular focus on the ones that have been fitted with cladding. experts point to fires like this one, in southampton, in 2010, where two firefighters died, and where the installation of sprinklers might have made all the difference. people don't die in sprinkler buildings. a single death in a sprinkler building is a very, very rare event anywhere in the world. multiple death is almost unheard of. one of many tragic aspects of this tower block disaster

is that for years experts have warned of the dangers of fire. back in 2013, a coroner called for sprinklers to be fitted to existing council tower blocks. a fire in south london had killed six people, but the recommendation wasn't followed and sprinklers are usually only installed in new buildings. next, having just one staircase, like in grenfell tower, has repeatedly been criticised as a hazard, limiting the chance for people to escape and for firefighters to get in. and there have long been concerns about cladding, the panels fitted outside the buildings. these are usually metal with a layer of insulating material. back in 1991, the rules about them were tightened, but regulations do not require that the panels should never burn. some critics say the current system of testing them doesn't go far enough. the cladding at lakanal house in south london was judged to have intensified a blaze eight years ago. six people died here. it was hoped back then

that out of this tragedy would come a turning point, leading to safer the conditions in all tower blocks. but promised reforms never happened and the lawyer who represented the victims‘ families says that this time the authorities must respond, and quickly. we don't want the same situation as in lakanal house, where things dragged on and on and on and then itjust fell off the public agenda and then the public enquiry didn't happen. it was only an inquest and then nobody listened. this time the government must listen, and maybe, as others have said, maybe heads need to roll too. tonight in north london, a tower block, fitted with cladding by the same company, rydon, that worked on grenfell tower. it said again today that it followed every building regulation. even so, people here are worried. we don't know what the cladding is made of, but everybody now is concerned and very paranoid since what's happened at grenfell tower.

we're worried about what is going to happen to us as well. last night i couldn't sleep very well. i'm very shocked with my mum and my kids as well. it may be that the horror at grenfell tower will bring real change, but this involves challenges that will be expensive and controversial. among them, getting more money to local councils, reviewing how towers are renovated and overhauling the system of inspections. david shukman, bbc news. we have a dedicated website on that fire so do check that out. well let's cross live to washington, where leading us politicians are making a statement by taking to the field for the annual congressional baseball game. the background of course is the attack on a group of republicans as they were practising on a field in virginia on wednesday.

four people were injured, including the house majority whip, steve scalise. he's undergone a third operation in hospital. the attacker, james hodgkinson, died from shots fired by capitol police. the contest at nationals park is an annual tradition, republicans and democrats take a break from the turmoil for an evening to play baseball. it's one of the last vestiges of old washington, where politicians on both sides of the ideological divide put aside their partisan differences and socialise together. it's a bit of an old tradition but of course this one is now in the backdrop of what happened during that attack. this game raises funds for charity and there is still going

to bea for charity and there is still going to be a winner, there is a side that will be a winner, but of course the backdrop to this is that attack and of course steve scalise, who has undergone that third operation in hospital after being shot. q 0a q a watching news day. still to come, the duke of yorkjoins me and has his say about life after brexit. the day the british liberated the falklands and by tonight british troops had begun the task of disarming the enemy. in the heart of the west german capital, this was gorbymania at its height. the crowd packed to see the man who, for them, had raised great hopes for the end of the

division of europe. michaeljackson was not guilty on all charges. the screams of the crowd testament to his popularity and theirfaith in his innocence. as long as they'll pay to go see me, i'll get out there and kick 'em down the hill. what does it feel like to be the first man to go across the channel by your own power? it's pretty neat. feels marvellous, really. this is newsday on the bbc. i'm sharanjit leyl, in singapore. i'm kasia madera, in london. our top stories: the death toll in the london tower block fire rises to 17, but is expected to increase further. seven people have died in an explosion outside the gates

of a kindergarten in the chinese province ofjiangsu. and this athletics footage has gone viral over the past few hours. this is blessing okagbare of nigeria competing in the women's long jump at the diamond league meeting in oslo. her first round effort will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as her hairpiece came lose as she landed. her leap was 6 metres 21 — about a0 centimetres further than her hair! let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the singapore—based strait times leads on a row amongst the island's first family, the lees. the paper reports that the prime minister, lee hsien long has raised serious questions about the way his father, lee kwan yew‘s last will was altered to reintroduce a clause to demolish his house. the gulf news front page carries a photo of supplies being collected for those made

homeless by the london tower block fire. but a report in the paper quotes the united arab emirates foreign minister as saying qatar will be isolated if it fails to address the grievances of the gulf nations the philippines star looks at the public absence of president duterte since monday. it quotes a presidential palace spokesman as saying the president is fatigued not ill, after 23 days on the road. one south african doctor has an ambitious goal — to provide affordable, high quality medical care on a global scale. every country is challenged with how to care for its people, and dr nthabiseng legoete may have found the answer. she's the winner of this year's inspired leadership award that recognises up—and—coming leaders

who reinvent the way business is practiced. dr nthabiseng legoetejoins me now. first of all, congratulations. we are breaking it on the show that you are breaking it on the show that you are the winner of this important award. how ambitious is this project? it is incredibly ambitious and it has to be because problems in healthcare is a global phenomenon. most if not all developing nations are grappling with it. even developed nations are grappling with how to do it more cost effectively because at this rate it is unsustainable. it is a project close to my heart but actually believe has global significance and relevance. interesting you say it is there. it is like a conveyor belt in

healthcare which some people might think, we do not want cost cuts in healthcare but it works? it absolutely works and it is a concept that i picked up in india and what they do very well there in terms of healthcare is applied the production line mentality and the rationale with that is minimise the time spent by our most expensive resource and secondly to break that down into such easily implementable parts that you have a steep learning curve so people tend to become faster and better at performing that particular shot and become more efficient. better at performing that particular shot and become more efficientm could seem to be a good approach. absolutely. what are the similarities between india and the insta nce similarities between india and the instance that part of south africa you are working in? the similarities are in the population cannot afford

what the is currently charging. the cost due to not applying value —based healthcare cost due to not applying value —based healthca re and cost due to not applying value —based healthcare and not having found a way to make a defect if and cost efficient. the similarities we re cost efficient. the similarities were these huge population— not as big as india — at that needs healthcare delivered so you can push the volume through. it is looking at how similar we the volume through. it is looking at how similarwe are the volume through. it is looking at how similar we are to the indian market in that way. they seem to have found a way to make it work. in bangalore, in particular, they have applied that too specialised care. interesting to see that play out. once again, congratulations on this award and thank you forjoining us in the studio. it's extremely rare for members of the british royal family to comment on politics — so our next item is something of a scoop. i've been talking to the duke

of york or prince andrew as he's also known right here in the newsday studio. he's been visiting singapore for a commonwealth science conference. he was also here to promote the programme he runs for entrepreneurs, which is called pitch@palace. i was able to get his thoughts on a number of things, including, just three days before negotiations are due to start — brexit. i think that the changes that are going to happened to the uk because of article 50 instigation, the negotiations over the next couple of yea rs, negotiations over the next couple of years, there is going to be uncertainty. we live in an uncertain world, as we have seen recently, and it is getting more uncertain, but a suspect over time most people will begin to understand exactly what is happening and how it is going to happen. i am just as much in the

dark as anybody else. i think that the sentiment might well actually it should return because the underlying fa ct should return because the underlying fact is our still stable, good, growing. —— factors. because we have been concentrating on 27 countries, if you take that as an internal market, there is an external market which is a lot bigger and many businesses have not looked over that garden fence to some extent and in my experience recently businesses to look over the garden fence have gone, the grass is not quite as dark and unforgiving as you might expect and unforgiving as you might expect and getting over the fence, there might be some fresh grass there. what are the most important parts of

the world fall brand uk? the world is your oyster. i think what we are seeing is the rara number of businesses that are looking towards the common wealth —53 countries that use the same legal system — i suspect there are a lot of opportunities in there. the uk is looking at that for a more holistic approach, anyway. you have the whole of asia. china is very, very important and is growing in importance. we are only export the choice. i suspect there are opportunities for international markets looking at the uk in a way that they may not have looked at it before. the prime minister of australia has

poked fun at donald trump is a political dinner that was meant to be off the record but a clip show that this... funny, indeed. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. we take you to kazakhstan to find out how the country aims to generate half its energy needs from renewable sources. and before we go, let me bring you these pictures... a young black rhino doing a turn for visitors at tallinn zoo in estonia. the female calf is already giving her mother kibibi the run—around, despite being born just two weeks ago. very cute, she's, too.

it looks predominantly drive for the uk and temperatures are rising. yesterday we lost temporarily some of the heat, freshening up the hind: front. the fresh atlantic air brought showers continuing into the evening. easing away overnight as high pleasure hills in. very weak weather fronts coming in across parts of northern ireland and western scotland. more comfortable end to the night but cloudy again. cloud going further south is the name of the game. bright with some spells of sunshine. for the west of scotland, and the islands, fairly damp and oblique. is the gambians, we can sit 19 degrees and 20 across northern ireland with afternoon

sunshine. varying amounts of cloud with decent breaks in the cloud across south wales and the south—west. temperatures at degree 01’ south—west. temperatures at degree or two down. strong sunshine and very high levels of uv, u nfortu nately. as very high levels of uv, unfortunately. as we go through the coming night, misty low cloud through the day. in western scotland. across the coast and inland. saturday, the high—pressure starting to build in again pushing weather fronts north. in starting to build in again pushing weatherfronts north. in the starting to build in again pushing weather fronts north. in the far north—west of scotland hanging on but essentially a fine day. more than the day ahead. northern ireland, still cloud around and scotla nd ireland, still cloud around and scotland the best will be the east of scotland. a little warmup for northern ireland. and so for england

and wales as we start to build the war. sunday we pick up a southerly, losing the misty low cloud but the west of scotland looking as if it could be persistently cloudy with rain at times. if you are finding the prospect of temperatures approaching a stifling, the sea breezes will be refreshing. the sun will be just breezes will be refreshing. the sun will bejust a breezes will be refreshing. the sun will be just a strong, regardless of the temperatures. i uv levels. the heat increases particularly in the south at the start of next week. i'm kasia madera with bbc world news. our top story this hour: the grim task of finding bodies after the london tower block fire. so far there have been 17 confirmed fatalities, but that number is expected to rise as many are still missing. the last of the fires are being dampened down and specialist teams are now working inside the tower to secure parts of the building. prime minister theresa may has

ordered a full public inquiry into the fire, saying people deserve answers as to why it spread so rapidly. the mayor of london, sadiq khan, said the judge chosen to lead the inquiry should publish an interim report this summer. doctors treating otto warmbier, the american student the annual us congressional baseball match is now under way. players paid tribute to the house majority whip, steve scalise, and three other people who were injured on wednesday in an attack on a group of republicans who were practising for the game. we are now continuing our special coverage of the aftermath