28/11/2011 GMT with George Alagiah

first polls since Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February. First steps on

the road to democracy, the Muslim Brotherhood starts off with the

best organised campaign. This is the beginning of a new era in Egypt,

democracy in action. Not in theory, Welcome to GMT, I'm George Alagiah

with the world of news and opinion. Also in the programme: Thousands of

Syrians show their support for President Assad a day after the

Arab League approved sweeping sanctions against the country.

Floodwaters in Australia cut off thousands of homes. The search is

on for a missing three-year-old. It is lunchtime in London, early

morning in Washington at 2:30pm in Cairo where voters are taking part

in the first polls since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in February. The

election pitches the organisational prowess of the Muslim Brotherhood

with the newer parties and candidates from the pro-democracy

movement. Will the election a share in the New era at that the Tahrir

Square generation hoped for. We will be like in Cairo, but first

this report. It has turned into a chaotic

celebration of democracy. At this polling station in Cairo we found

Egyptians fighting to have their voices heard, determined to have a

say in how their country is rebuilt. Many more are queuing patiently,

waiting for hours to get into the polling stations. After years of

virtual one-party rule almost everyone here is voting for the

first time. My first parliament and I am so happy to see something like

that and all people are connecting with us. I want to save my country,

so I have to vote because I have a voice, I have to use it. Some of

the queues had been caused by mislaid ballots and polling

stations opening late. But no one here seems to care too much. The

last election I covered a year ago under Hosni Mubarak the polling

stations were deserted. Now they are having to fight them off.

Follow me around the corner and you can see that you goes on and on

down the street and around the block and merges with acute in the

neighbouring police station. People are seizing the opportunity with

both hands. Once they get inside they are faced with a bewildering

choice. In this polling station voters have to select from 146

candidates. Then they have a second ballot paper on which to choose

from 15 party lists. The whole process will take more than three

months. The heavy turnout appears to be a snub to the protesters

still in Tahrir Square. Many of the demonstrators are Boycott and what

they believe is a flawed process. But many, perhaps most, Egyptians

are saying they prefer an election however flawed to none at all.

I'm joined from outside the polling station in Cairo by Khaled

Ezzelarab, the BBC Arabic correspondent. We have just heard

in that report that perhaps the voters are snubbing the pro-

democracy activists because they did not want his election to take

place and yet people have been voting. Yes, definitely, a lot of

people have been voting. Some observers say the Internet has

exceeded expectations. Word is that the turnout will be huge on this

day. The Tahrir Square demonstrations have not affected

negatively the turnout for these elections. We are here at a polling

station a few hundred yards away from Tahrir Square. The security

situation has been fine, but turnout has been hired. There have

been some irregularities, but so far the general picture is fine.

you think the Tahrir Square generation are out of touch with

the rest of Egypt? Well, the demonstrators in Tahrir Square are

divided, but many of them have said they will participate in this

election. Some have boycotted, but others said the protest in Tahrir

Square is one line of political action, participating in the

elections is another part of guaranteeing the military council's

rule will come to an end quite soon. All the indications are that the

Muslim Brotherhood, the justice and democracy Party, is going into this

election the best organised. Yes, it seems so. Events in displays

which is one of the elite suburbs of Cairo and it is not considered

to be one of that strong points of the Muslim Brotherhood. The only

organised group at the polling stations have been the Muslim

Brotherhood and other Islamic groups. They have been telling

people where their names are in the polling stations. They haven't been

facilitating the traffic in front of the polling stations to ensure

that the turnout is high. This is in a part of Cairo where they are

not that strong, so you can imagine how they are in other parts.

mention some of the hit is around the country. Give us a round-up of

as far as you know how it is going around the country. Well, we have

been receiving reports from very early in the morning that there are

a lot of polling stations which have failed to open on time. Some

of them have been hours late. Some judges have not appear at the

polling stations where they are supposed to supervise the process.

There have been irregularities, we are getting reports of incidents of

violence between people going to the elections in front of their

stations, but nothing as bad as what people feared. We are still at

midday and things could develop and another way, but so far the general

picture seems to be fine. Khaled Ezzelarab, thank you very much.

More on the elections and you can head to the website. You can get

all the latest information and analysis. Lyse Doucet also speaks

to Egyptian youth about what elections mean to them.

Some of the other stories making headlines: Iran's Guardian Council

has given its final approval to a decision to downgrade ties with

Britain. Iran's parliament approved the measures on Sunday in

retaliation for fresh British sanctions. They are accusing the

Iranian banks of facilitating the nuclear programme.

The main Pakistani Association that delivers fuel to NATO forces in

Afghanistan says it has no plans to resume supplies. Many shipments to

NATO forces in Afghanistan arrive via Pakistan, but they came to a

halt after 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed at a border post on

Saturday in what appears to have been an 80 air strike.

Three people have been killed and more than 20 injured after a

suspected bomb explosion at a hotel in that Philippines. It started at

the fire in Zamboanga which was full with guests from a wedding

party. Police suspect Islamic militants are to blame.

Averting is under way in the Democratic Republic of Congo for

president and parliament. It is the central African's country's second

election since the Civil War ended eight years ago. The run-up to the

election has been marred by violence and concerned the

Electoral Commission is not ready to hold the event.

In a country that is nearly the size of Western Europe this is an

election on a huge scale. Even the ballot papers are like small

newspapers. There are 11 presidential candidates and more

than 18,000 people running for seats in the National Assembly. It

is thought it could take the average voter seven minutes to vote.

President Joseph Kabila, who is seeking another term, cast his vote

in Kinshasa. Analysts say his track record over the last five years has

been relatively poor, but he has benefited from greater resources

than any of his opponents, including the main challenger. In

the past few days there has been a frantic scramble to get all the

voting materials distributed around the country. This was the scene in

an Eastern city soon after the polling stations opened. All is

well, said this man, even though we started with a bit of a delay a

process is transparent. But hundreds of observers, including

many from abroad, are watching with anxiety. There have been outbreaks

of violence. The Democratic Republic of Congo has so often

proved to be a country that is not governable. This will be an

important test of her stable it really is.

In Australia thousands of people have been stranded by floodwaters

in the northern part of New South Wales. Many of them could be

isolated for up to a week and the Government has been flying

emergency supplies to the area. The flooding has claimed the lives of a

three-year-old boy as Duncan Kennedy in Sydney reports.

Australia is entering its summer season, but look at this. Vast

areas of north-west New South Wales under water. The flooding has been

building over the past few days and thousands of acres of land have

been deluged. Some of the major routes through the region have been

cut off and whilst bigger vehicles have made it through, others reveal

the depth of the rising waters. Towns and settlements like these

have faced the worst flooding. But it is Wee Waa when nearly 2000

residents have been stranded. Only Ariel drops are keeping it

connected to the outside world. do not expect further evacuations,

however those floodwaters can remain in the area for up to 10

days and there is more rain predicted in the middle of this

week. Rescue teams have been searching for a three-year-old boy

who was swept away by the powerful waters. Other people are trying to

get out themselves. Emergency services have received 900 calls

for help. As everybody in this community what is the weather and

the water. The French foreign minister Alain

Juppe has said time is running out for the Syrian President after the

Arab League agreed sanctions against Damascus. In an

unprecedented move unsung day including an asset freeze and an

investment embargo work approved over Syria's crackdown on pro-

democracy protests. Jim Muir is watching the events in Syria from

neighbouring Lebanon. We are expecting to hear the foreign

minister any minute now, are we? The line broke up. That was my

fault. We are expecting to hear the foreign ministers speaking any

minute now. That is right. We are waiting for that. It was supposed

to have happen some time ago, but in the meantime the Syrian

television screens are four of the thousands and thousands of people

who are out in the squares in Damascus and other cities around

Syria. It is hardly spontaneous, but it is a very big state-

supported demonstration denouncing the Arab League moves. The they

want to show this is a very unpopular thing as far as many

Syrians are concerned, certainly as far as the regime's supporters are

concerned. The people are being quoted as saying it is all the

Syrian people of all classes throughout the country who are

targeted by these moves. Of course, the Arab League is trying to be at

pains not to hurt ordinary people, but to isolate and pressurise the

regime. We are looking at some of these protests, stage managed or

not, tell me how unprecedented visit for an organisation like the

Arab League to move in this way against a country like Syria?

completely unprecedented and has not happened before. The Arab

League has been synonymous with lethargy and apathy and not doing

anything, but now it seems under its new Secretary General to have

decided it wants to be in the forefront of change in the Arab

world, not lagging behind or even a obstructing it as it was in the

past. They have rather startlingly taken this move against a fellow

member of the Arab League, isolated it and pressurising its and it has

not been done before. From the Syrian perspective what they are

saying is the Arab League has simply fallen into the hands of the

West and has become an instrument for carrying out a Western-backed

conspiracy and slinking back with the situation on the ground which

they say is also the work of outside forces, manipulating local

Still to come... A wake-up call as delegates gathered for the UN

Climate Conference. The stakes are high, but will they manage to kick

that talks on a global deal back Now let's get the business news.

Lots of reports on the situation and the economic crisis in Europe.

The latest one is from the OECD. The organisation of co-operation

and Development, they released their biannual global economic

outlook. Surprise, surprise, it makes for pretty gloomy reading. It

is a very stark warning for governments and policy makers

around the world to be prepared for the worst. The eurozone crisis...

That's a quote from the board. Absolutely. The eurozone crisis is

at the centre of their worries. They say but have a very big and

negative impact. It will hit the US economy harder than expected. It

will even hit China. Let's listen to the chief economist from the

OECD. Confidence is weakening. Confidence both in households and

in companies. Business and consumer confidence is dropping. And why is

that happening? We think that most of the cause of that confidence

drop, of which turns into low activity, is itself the result of

what is seen as to be an inadequate policy response. Inadequate policy

response. He's not only talking about European politicians, he also

mentions US politicians. I should also throw-in that the OECD is

predicting the British economy will slip back into recession in the

next coming few months. Maybe George Osborne got a sneak preview

because he is due to announce some big spending on infrastructure.

Very ambitious plan. �30 billion to push into the economy. It's really

about big infrastructure projects to get people back to work and to

get growth in the economy. Rail and road schemes, about 40 projects

which have been earmarked. The question is, how do we pay for it?

A lot of money coming from big British pension funds, Chinese

investments, 5 billion coming from areas where the government have

already cut budgets. Given a serious state of our finances, can

we really afford it? We are finding the resources in difficult times to

build the roads and railways. Here, we are talking about an extension

of the tube line which could create 25,000 jobs on this side. We are

doing the scenes -- these things because Britain has got to get away

from the quick fix of debt solutions that got us into this

mess. We got to lay the foundations for a stronger economic future.

We've got to make sure that British savings and things like pension

funds are deployed here and the British taxpayer's money is well

used. The markets, a bumper of a day at the moment. They are all

high off the back of the swimmers at the weekend that the IMF was in

talks with Italy to bail it out. The IMF deny it but the markets are

still hoping. Do we know what's happening here? The FTSE is up as

This is GMT. On main stories this hour. Egyptians of voting at

polling stations and their first elections since the fall of Hosni

Mubarak in February. It follows a week of mass protest against

military rule in the country. Syria is shunned by its allies. Flights

from Arab capitals to Damascus are halted under sweeping sanctions.

The annual UN Conference on Climate Change has opened in the South

African city of Durban. Sharp differences between governments

expected to frustrate efforts to agree a new global treaty. Europe

and poorer countries are already affected by the impact of climate

change are pressing for a new deal to reduce emissions as soon as

possible, other rich countries, including Japan and Russia, they

There is plenty of passion for tackling climate change amongst

those directly threatened by it. Activists in Durban say only swift

action now can prevent the Earth's temperature is rising to dangerous

levels. They are trying to persuade delegates to promise more money to

help the poorest nations Cup. Ladies and gentlemen, this

conference needs to reassure the Honourable, all those who have

already suffered and all those who will continue to suffer from

climate change, that tangible action is being taken for a safer

future. Both in adaptation and in mitigation. At the core of the

summit is a new climate agreement that the UN wants to have finalised

by 2015. But India and Brazil are joining rich nations, such as the

US and Japan, in delaying a legally binding deal. Poorer countries want

a binding deal as soon as possible. That is because they are affected

most by the more extreme weather provoked by climate change. They

say voluntary agreement just aren't enough to get the necessary de cuts

and carbon dioxide emissions. Adding urgency to the need for

action, a new UN report shows that a quarter of the world's farmland

is now highly degraded. South Africa's President, Jacob Zuma,

arrived with the message that a deal was vital and should be

possible with sound leadership. most people in the developing world

and Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death. Europe is

pressing for firm action, but there are major doubts over whether other

rich nations, with their economies struggling, can summon up and a

political and financial world. -- financial world. Joining the is

Richard Black. Emily picked up on this, India and Brazil dragging

their feet. They are basically behaving in the way, for the same

reasons they used to criticise the big countries, America, Japan and

so on. There is this concern that they share with those countries

like the US and Japan that constraining carbon emissions will

Compact their economic growth. They are going up against a number of

blocks, like the EU for example, which see an economic future in

developing green and clean. And against some of the small island

states who can't really afford to ask that question. They simply see

in 20 to 30 years' time the waters lapping over their shores.

Maldives. Absolutely. We should be hearing from some of those later in

the conference. It will be interesting to see whether they

openly criticise countries such as India and Brazil. And some of the

small island states said if they are going to name and shame the

likes of India and Brazil, who was supposed to be in many ways

countries that lead the developing world. That's right. This whole

mass of developing world Block, the G77 China, it now has 131 countries

in it. They tend to behave as a monolith of for all sorts of

reasons. They do share common interests, but it will be

interesting to see whether world leaders from the small island

states do name and shame. That is what is being set behind the scenes

but we will wait to see if it materialises. One of the enduring

means of this is some of the rich countries of the West putting

pressure on the smaller countries. But some of that pressure is coming

from the big, developing world players as well. It is his right,

Brazil and India dragging their feet, America, Japan and Russia and

so on, more or less where they've always been, a reluctant partners,

this thing is dead in the water, isn't it? It's difficult to see how

it can develop anything that goes anywhere near meeting the goals set

out by scientists, who say that in order to have a reasonable chance

of keeping the global temperature rise below two Celsius, you need to

be peaking emissions and having them decline around about 2020,

certainly no later. You can do it later than that but it becomes much

more expensive. If you don't have even talks on a new global deal

beginning until 2015 or later, it's difficult to see and you can meet

that target of beginning to curb emissions by 2020. Rapidly growing

economies mean many Asian countries have encouraged their young workers

to abandon the field and prop to the city's in search of their

fortunes. In Japan, the bloom in the migration took place decades

ago. But for the past 20 years the economy has been in stagnation. As

Roland Buerk reports, some younger people are now leaving the cities

behind to return to the countryside. Bright Lights, Big City. For

decades Tokyo has been a draw. Bringing in people from the

countryside. Now other Asian nations are following suit, a race

to urbanisation. But for some young Japanese the city is losing its

appeal. Like millions of others, this woman can't find a permanent

job. The salary man lifestyle enjoyed by earlier generations has

passed her by. TRANSLATION: I never know if I'm

going to lose my job. Financially my anxiety levels are very height.

I wouldn't know what to do. That's why some young Japanese are looking

for an alternative. This is no ordinary bus trip. These are not

tourists. Instead, they are city dwelling people who've come to the

countryside for the day to see what life would be like as farmers. They

are all considering a radical change of career. This woman has

joined the tour. It's organised by local officials. The average

Japanese farmer is now more than 65, so they are looking for new

recruits. TRANSLATION: There are more people

that want to be farmers now. The numbers are increasing. More people

from the city want a rural life. Here, we want to help them. At 86

years old, this man needs help to look after his cucumbers. And now

he has an apprentice. A young man who gave up his office job in

Yokohama. TRANSLATION: I was really fed up

with my life in the city. I was too busy working every day. I wanted to

change, so I had a slower life. I wanted to become a farmer. His farm

is on the tour. This woman has decided it's what she wants to do,

too. Joining other young Japanese who are rediscovering the way of

life their grandparents left behind. We are coming to the end of GMT.

Before we go, a reminder of our main story. Egyptians are voting in

the first parliamentary elections since the toppling of President

Mubarak in February. Long queues formed at polling stations around

the country. That despite calls from some of the pro-democracy

activists that these elections should be boycotted which, as our

correspondent pointed out when we spoke to him, raises a question

about the extent to which the pro- democracy activists that we've