welcome to newsday, on bbc. i'm rico hizon, in singapore. the headlines: a dam that collapsed in laos, killing at least 20 people. developed a fault the day before the accident. the ballot boxes arrive for a crucial election in pakistan but what role will the military play in the nation's day of democracy? i'm babita sharma, in london. also in the programme: the worst wildfires for a decade hit greece around the capital athens, leaving devastation and more than 70 people dead. tackling mortality rates — we report on the important steps being taken in india to cut down the deaths of new mothers. live from our studios in singapore and london, this is bbc world news — it's newsday. good morning.

it's 8am in singapore, midnight in london and 6am in laos, where it's emerged that the dam that collapsed had developed a fault the day before the accident. at least 20 people died in the floodwaters when the dam burst. a spokesperson for a south korean firm, helping build the hydro—power station, said workers unsuccessfully tried to repair the damage. he said the authorities were told and evacuated the area before the dam burst. more than 100 people are still missing. nick beake reports. the torrent of water that crashed through this countryside offered little chance of survival. in time, the full, grim picture will be revealed. for now, the world of the survivors is turned upside down. they cling to safety on the roof of their homes.

children and the elderly carried towards dry land, the few possessions people had time to salvage hauled through the muddy floodwater. families who have lived in this corner of laos for generations are now homeless. forced out by the destruction unleashed by a newly built dam on their doorstep. its developers say torrential rain in recent days caused a fracture which they tried to fix. they sent out an evacuation warning, but it was too late for many. international aid agencies are racing towards the six villages most affected. but their path is damaged, obstructed, and, in some places, submerged. local teams have been able to give out some supplies, but they desperately need more food, water, clothes and medicine. with more than 6500 people without shelter,

it is a daunting challenge. the laos government had embarked on a ambitious dam—building scheme in recent years, to become the battery of asia, but it has failed badly here, and it has cost so many lives. nick beake, bbc news. our other top story: pakistan has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops across the country, to secure polling stations ahead of wednesday's general election. it's only the third since the end of military rule. over 100 million people are eligible to cast their ballot. secunder kermani has more from islamabad. this school is one of 85,000 polling stations across the country. between 80 and 6pm the votes will be cast. depending on where they live there will be four provincial assembly to

be voted for one general. three and a half thousand candidates for the 372 directly elected seats. security has greatly improved but in recent weeks we have seen a number of deadly attacks by militant groups. more than 370,000 soldiers deployed across the country including inside and outside polling stations. key issues include the economy as well as competing allegations of corruption and military interference. imran khan is one of the candidates. we hope to have one of the results by thursday morning. also making news today: syria has accused israel of shooting down one of its warplanes over syrian territory. earlier, israel said that it had brought down the aircraft for carrying out surveillance in its airspace. the syrian government has denied

that its planes were over israeli territory. reports from the united states say the pop singer demi lovato is in hospital in los angeles following a suspected a drug overdose. the celebrity gossip website tmz says the singer, who is 25, was found in her hollywood home on tuesday morning. lovato has struggled with substance abuse for years, and appeared to relapse in recent weeks. she's said to be in a stable condition. donald trump has unveiled a $12 billion bailout plan to protect us farmers being hurt by the escalating trade war. the us president has been heavily criticised by farmers, but they form an important part of his support base. on tuesday, donald trump told farmers in kansas city, they'll be the biggest beneficiary of the trade disputes. the man poisoned by the nerve agent, novichok, in wiltshire last month, has described how his partner, who died, sprayed it onto her wrists believing it was perfume. charlie rowley says the substance was in a glass bottle in a cardboard

box and he'd given it to dawn sturgess as a present. ivanka trump is closing herfashion brand, a year after she stopped working with the company to serve in herfather, donald trump's administration. she said she was hoping to avoid any potential conflicts of interest in the future, and planned to focus on her role in washington. ms trump launched the brand in 2014, but faced shopper boycotts after her father was elected as us president. cyclists competing in the tour de france found themselves caught up in a protest by farmers. police sprayed tear gas to disperse the protesters, but it ended up blowing in the face of the riders and the race was briefly halted. having negotiated their way through barricades of hay bales, the teams eventually got underway again. as we've been reporting for several days now,

japan is experiencing a record—breaking heatwave. in fact it's so hot, the government's weather agency is calling it a natural disaster. officials say 65 people have died this week. more than 30,000 people were admitted to hospital in the past two weeks suffering from heat exhaustion. 0ur correspondent rupert wingfield—hayes sent us this report from tokyo. this is really very unprecedented. yesterday we had the absolute highest temperature at ever recorded injapan in a town north of tokyo and in western japan, another record, seven days ‘unbroken‘ of temperatures above 30 degrees. this is because a large area of low pressure is sitting over the top of japan since the beginning of the month and it is not moving. modern buildings are well equipped, air

conditioning is normal, then it is not a huge problem but lots of old building, particularly schools and older houses are not equipped to this sort of hit and hit in the summer this sort of hit and hit in the summer it up in two the mid— 30s but only for a day or to any calls. it is not just only for a day or to any calls. it is notjust the height of the hit that it is notjust the height of the hit thatitis is notjust the height of the hit that it is going on and on. —— hit. people are not getting a chance to cool down at night and that is having a dangerous effect particularly on old people's health. half of those who have died or are over 65 years old. of course the big fear with extreme heat is fire. so when a fire started on monday near athens in greece it spread fast. at least 7a people haved died and that figure is expected to rise. firefighers have been battling outbreaks both to the west and east of the capital, but it is the coastal area of mati which has seen the most deaths. in many cases people were trapped in their homes and cars. mark lowen reports

like a vision of hell, mile upon mile smothered, suffocated by flames. as one was put out, another roared, 47 simultaneous fires ripped through the greek hills. they fled for their lives, hundreds ran into the sea, rescued by the coastguard. but for dozens more, it was too late, killed by the worst wildfires greece has seen in over a decade. as morning fell, the mountains still burned, 60 miles an hour winds fanning the flames. and even as some were extinguished, the acrid smoke billowed, choking those caught in its grip. it was as if a wall of fire surrounded anyone who tried to confront it, feeding on the vegetation, spewing out thick plumes.

for hours, it was futile to battle it. with the trail of destruction, an almost apocalyptic scene. street in the seaside town of mati near athens looked like a bomb had hit. many died in their cars, asphyxiated, or burnt alive. we found panagiotis tangalos badly burnt and searching for clues in the spot where he last saw his wife, poppy. i took my baby and ran towards the sea. but my wife, i don't know what happened. i think she burned herself here. from the skies, man fought nature. cyprus and spain helped with equipment and firefighters. this peaceful holiday resort has been virtually destroyed. many were here at ththeight of the tourism season, like konstantinos.

as the flames consumed his car, he and his family ran into the sea. we went directly on the sea, up to here, to save ourselves. and the fire was still coming, because... ..it burnt everything. it was coming more and more and we sank into the deep, just to save us. as the flames came crashing down the hill, devouring everything in their wake, one of the most tragic incident happened just over here. some 25 people ran towards the sea to try to take refuge but they were too late and they were trapped. when their bodies were discovered, the remains of the parents were found hiding the children. were found hugging the children. the greek prime minister, visibly shaken, announced a state of emergency in the athens region and three days of national mourning. translation: there are no words to describe the feelings

of all of us at this hour. the country is living and untold tragedy. dozens of human lives have been lost. for the rescuers, the fear of discovering more bodies. what nightmares are hidden? the picturesque has turned to horror. greece is blessed by its climate, its coast, its lush forests. tonight, it feels cursed. also on the programme: the thai cave boys begin their first day inside a monastery to heal the mental wounds of their trauma. 0k, coming down the ladder now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

a catastrophic engine fire is being blamed tonight for the first crash in the 30—year history of concorde, the world's only supersonic airliner. it was one of the most vivid symbols of the violence and hatred that tore apart the state of yugoslavia. but now, a decade later, it's been painstakingly rebuilt, and opens again today. there's been a 50% decrease in sperm quantity, and an increase in malfunctioning sperm, unable to swim properly. thousands of households across the country are suspiciously quiet this lunchtime, as children bury their noses in the final instalment of harry potter. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon, in singapore. i'm babita sharma, in london. our top stories: it's emerged that a dam that collapsed in laos, killing at least 20 people, had developed a fault a day before the accident. pakistanis go to the poll in a few hours to choose their next prime minister, while hundreds of thousands of troops across the country have been deployed to secure polling stations. the extreme weather is making headlines around the world. let's take a look at the front pages. the financial times reports on the devastating wildfires in greece, which have killed at least 7a people. it shows a picture of a woman searching for her dog at a village near athens. the japan times has more on the heatwave gripping the country. it's reporting on concerns about the country hosting the next olympic games at this time of year in 2020.

the paper says that's why the international olympic committee has already approved a plan to hold some events early in the morning to avoid the heat. and the south china morning post showcases hong kong's new bank notes, which have new advanced security features to prevent counterfeiting. the paper says designs will be in portrait showcasing cantonese culture, including cantonese opera. those are the headlines of the top publications around the world. most of the thai boys rescued from a flooded cave after being trapped for two weeks have taken part in a buddhist ceremony as they prepare to spend

time reflecting on their experience. they'll spend nine days in a monastery to honour the people who helped them survive. and the divers and doctors from the uk and australia who helped the boys out of the caves have been enjoying the official limelight. chi chi izunda reports. it's just one of a series of ceremonies of thanks the rescued thai boys will now participate in. in thailand, 11 have become novice buddhists. as is customary, the boys have had their head shaved. for nine days, a thai lucky number, they will meditate, pray and clean their temple as well as pay tribute to the diver who lost their life trying to save theirs. how many of you? 13? the coach and 12 boys spent two weeks trapped in the cave network before a constipated mission to free them was launched. this afternoon at downing street, the british rescuers were honoured at the reception by the prime minister. rick was counting.

i asked how many there were. we were very pleased but i think we were both aware that there is a big difference being alive inside of a cave and being alive outside the cave and that is why it took a week or so to make that happen. they are great heroes. john said they are not heroes, but i think every one of them is a hero. selflessly courageous. superbly, professionally confident. in australia, medals for the divers who described their cave diving hobby as odd. this doctor, the last man out of the cave, his job was to sedate the boys, something he says was the scariest part of the rescue. it was an experiment, in a way. i have never done it in the back of a cave on malnourished, skinny, dehydrated thai kids before. that for me was the most frightening part of the week. reluctant heroes as they may be, these boys will forever be grateful. chi chi izundu, bbc news. every day around the world, just over 800 women die

from ilnesses and complications relating to pregnancy and childbirth. the causes are entirely preventable, but for various reasons, especially in developing countries, expectant mothers just aren't getting the care they need. india is one country, however, that has made significant leaps in tackling its maternal mortality rate. the latest figures show an improvement of 22% from 2013 to 2016. yogita limaye sent this report from mumbai. the basics of giving birth, that is what these pregnant women are being taught. this awareness programme is run bya taught. this awareness programme is run by a charity that works with the government in the slums of mumbai. it isa government in the slums of mumbai. it is a small step in a long journey towards insuring women have healthy pregnancy. translation: we get a lot of information here. they tell us

what kind of fruit and vegetables to eat. earlier i did not know any of this. i would eat anything at any time. my haemoglobin levels were low. i found out about that when i came here. they helped me seek medical help and get pills to improve them. in india earlier pregnancy was not thought of as a condition that required any special care. that is something which has changed a lot over the last two decades. this is a government health centre where pregnant women are given medicine and information about a safe delivery. and centres like these have been set up across india. they are part of the government's multi pronged approach to insure maternal safety. it is an approach that seems to be working. government numbers show that the maternal mortality rate has been falling rapidly. and the percentage of women giving birth in hospitals rather than at home has doubled over the past decade. this social worker says

the government's attitude towards maternal mortality has changed too. the government has taken it very seriously, that is the big change i have seen. whether things have gone wrong, what could have been done much better to save this being done? this has built accountability in the system where at least we will not tolerate if a mother dies when she has given birth. the system has shown this. this doctor works at a government hospital. he says that in rural parts of india a lot more is needed. the measures are not enough. the situation has improved a lot. more needs to be done. the number of medical staff in the field needs to be increased. people need to be educated more about health. india is still a long way off from achieving

goals set by the united nations, but it seems to be moving in the right direction. the story of jamestown, virginia, the first permanent english settlement in the united states goes back four centuries. a key character is sir george yardley, who introduced the rule of law to jamestown in 1619, a decade after it almost collapsed because of starvation and cannibalism. now, after years of searching, archaeologists think they've found sir george's remains. jane 0'brien has more. 400 yea rs 400 years old and the sky is looking pretty good. just as well, because those bones are needed to provide the dna that will hopefully confirm what everybody here thinks, that this is sir george yardley. what i am interested in doing is getting a bone or to its ample to take away to do dna analyses. i want to analyse

dna from the skeleton to see if it matches that of a known relative. to check him out myself i have to provide my dna as a control. all you need to do is breeze on the remains and you put your dna all over it. i am really worried about contamination. i want you to spit up to that line. it will take you longer. that is a lot. it will take you a long time to do. it has a buffer in it that will keep the dna nice and happy and i will take it back to do an analysis. nice and happy and i will take it back to do an analysislj nice and happy and i will take it back to do an analysis. i am going to do this over here. take your time. once we are tested and suited up time. once we are tested and suited up we enter the great site to look for tea. it is amazing. look over here, it looks like a tooth here, another one on the here and so it is looking good. it looks like we have some teeth here to do dna analysis, amazing. to make sure they were digging in the right place scientists used ground penetrating radar. this is the first time that we have imaged a human skeleton with

ground penetrating radar. it is a really big deal because it is not supposed to be possible. it is going to open a lot of doors for new research, for noninvasively looking at archaeological remains and potentially not having to disturb them at all. but why does anybody ca re them at all. but why does anybody care about sir george yardley? and this is where sir george yardley presided over the first general assembly that established the rule of law in america and the principle of law in america and the principle of representative government. but there is a dark side to the story because sir george yardley was also one of the first english slaveholders in the colonies. when george yardley set foot in jamestown in the summer of 1610 the colony was on the brink of collapse, barely 60 settlers survived the winter and some had resorted to cannibalism. a decade later sir george yardley was in charge of a settlement that offered rich rewards. in 1619 they also managed to get hold of the

first enslaved africans who arrived in this colony which was about the same time as the general assembly and sir george became one of the largest of the slave owners. there are 1000 other graves at jamestown, each with a story to tell. and with every discovery emerges a more com plete every discovery emerges a more complete history of the origins of modern america. and just a reminder of the main news, the collapsed dam in laos that has killed at least 20 people. our south east asia analyst told us of the impact on local populations. governments in the region including in laos, cambodia and vietnam need to spend more time and effort to study the damage, the possible impact, that these projects can cause, and all of the government actually have a process to evaluate, to do the visibility study and,

finally, to construct projects, how thorough it is is still in question, because in developing countries, there are many loopholes that can actually happen when the governments plan and develop something that big. you have been watching newsday. stay with us. great to have you with us. we'll be looking at the prospects and economic challenges facing pakistan as people get set to cast their votes in a crucial election. we've been reporting on the extreme weather that's sweeping the globe and the devastating wildfires in greece. more than 70 people have been killed and almost 200 others have been injured. the flames have ripped through coastal resorts near athens at the peak of the holiday season. hello. tuesday brought significant

contrast in weather conditions across the uk with south—east england and east anglia once again having a dry and sunny day with a top temperature of 31 in suffolk. northern west there was a lot of cloud around thanks to a weak weather front which brought low temperatures and patchy, light rain. if we look at the satellite picture, look at this cloud in the atlantic. this is a significant area of low pressure which is going to reach our shores by the end of the week and bring some of us significant rainfall. back to here and now and for the early hours of wednesday it is looking largely dry across the board. 0ne is looking largely dry across the board. one or two showers for western scotland. more of a breeze, too. elsewhere dry and muggy in south and south—eastern parts of the country. then on into wednesday and i think generally on the whole it will be a dry and bright a format of the uk. that sunshine up towards scotland, northern ireland too.

showers in the western isles and maybe the odd shower developing through the heat of the day across east anglia. you can see the orange colours extending further northwards and westwards, temperatures reaching the low 20s in the afternoon in scotla nd the low 20s in the afternoon in scotland and northern ireland, high 20s for england and wales with a few locations in the south—east seeing 30 or 31 degrees. into thursday this is the pick of the heat. the heat will be spreading northwards and westwards. in fact a good—looking day with the odd shower developing from the heat in the day in the afternoon. more of a breeze in northern ireland and western scotla nd northern ireland and western scotland ahead of the area of low pressure as it makes inroads. notice the red and orange colours widely across england and wales. temperatures rage ranging from 32, 34, maybe 35 somewhere in the south—east. then the low pressure comes in, initially across western areas for northern ireland and western scotland, western parts of england and wales and then ahead of it it will be at cost of heavy

showers and —— showers and thunderstorms developing, quite intense in the midlands, into northern and eastern england, perhaps with some hail mixed in as well. across the south—east it is going to be another hot one, 33, maybe 34 celsius, turning cool and fresh further west. into the early hours of saturday, the rain, the thunderstorms, pushing on into the north sea, one or two showers following behind, but slightly cooler and fresher feel do things. and that's how the weekend is shaping up. cooler and fresher across—the—board, largely dry with some good spells of sunshine, with the odd shower, and temperatures a little bit more comfortable than where they have been. i'm babitas sharma with bbc news. our top story: it's emerged that a dam that collapsed in laos killing at least 20 people developed a fault the day before the accident. the south korean firm, helping build the hydro—power station, said workers unsuccessfully tried to repair the damage and did make attempts to evacuate the area. pakistan is going to the polls in a national election.

it's a battle between the party of the former cricketer imran khan and supporters of the jailed former prime minister nawaz sharif. cyclists competing in the tour de france found themselves caught up in a protest by farmers. police sprayed tear gas to disperse the protesters, but it ended up blowing in the face of the riders and the race was briefly halted. the teams eventually got underway again. that's all. stay with bbc world news. now on bbc news, hardtalk‘s stephen sackur speaks