03/06/2014 BBC World News

This is BBC World News. We are bringing new special coverage of a

press conference in Warsaw with the Polish president, President

Komorowski, speaking with President Obama, who has announced a billion

dollar security initiative for Europe to increase troop deployments

in eastern Europe and around the Baltic states. We are just waiting

for President Obama to speak. I am afraid we have not got Polish

translation here. Mr Obama will also be meeting leaders of several

central and Eastern European countries. But top of the agenda is

the crisis in Ukraine and Russia's annexation of Crimea. That has

sparked this announcement by the United States of $1 billion to be

spent on bolstering troop deployments and equipment for

Europe. Our defence correspondent is with me. Are people going to say

this is enough, the Eastern Europeans? They are the ones who

want to see reassurance. Particularly the Baltic states. How

worried are they? I was there recently in one of the military

exercises where British troops were up and the White House has said that

this billion dollars will not come at the expense of the Asia-Pacific

deployment. Let's listen to President Obama. I want to thank you

for welcoming me back to Poland today. It is an honour to be here to

celebrate 25 years of freedom. Mr President, on my last visit to

Warsaw, you said that dreams come true when we have courage and

determination. Thanks to the courage and determination of you and so many

Poles displayed over the decades, we have a free democratic and

prosperous Poland that is not a dream any more, it is a reality. The

American people have connections to Poland. I hometown in Chicago has

especially deep connections to Poland. It makes it that more

special for me to be part of this moment. I also want to thank you for

welcoming me on the eve of your birthday. I have come here first and

foremost to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to the security

of Poland. As NATO allies, we have an Article five duty to our

collective defence. As President, I have made sure that the United

States is upholding that commitment. We are on track with missile defence

programming, including interceptor sites here in Poland. As we saw this

morning, our American aviation detachment here is the first regular

presence of US forces in Poland. We continuously rotate additional

personnel and aircraft into Poland and the Baltics, and

personnel and aircraft into Poland to the NATO air patrols over the

Baltics. Today, I am announcing a new initiative to bolster the

security of our NATO allies in Europe. Under this effort and with

the support of Congress, the United States will reposition more

equipment in Europe. We will be expanding our exercise and training

with allies to increase the readiness of our forces. I know

President Komorowski is a champion of the effort to modernise the

Polish military, and we welcome the announcement he just made about an

even greater commitment. We will increase the number of American

personnel, army and air force units, continuously rotating through Allied

countries in central and eastern Europe. We will be stepping up our

partnerships with friends like Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia as they

provide for their own defence. I am calling on Congress to approve up to

$1 billion to support this effort, which will be a demonstration of

America's commitment to our NATO allies. Poland is a leader in the

alliance when it comes to investing in our collective defence. We have

seen that again today. Poland's resolve in the initiative, I am

proposing as a reminder that every ally needs to carry their share and

invest in the capabilities of the alliance that are needed for the

future. Of course, President Komorowski and I have focused mostly

on the situation in Ukraine. Poles know perhaps better than most how

precious freedom truly is. Your president displayed outstanding

leadership in recent months. We agree that further Russian

provocation will be met with further costs for Russia, including if

necessary additional sanctions. Russia has a responsibility to

engage with the Ukrainian government in Kiev to prevent the flow of

militants and weapons into eastern Ukraine. Russia also need to be

using its influence with armed separatist to convince them to stop

attacking Ukrainian security forces. They should leave buildings they

have seized, lay down their arms and enter into the political process.

The US will continue to support Ukrainians as they embark on

political and economic reforms. We will help facilitate dialogue

between the Ukrainian government and representatives of separatist

regions, and I look forward to discussing this with the

President-elect tomorrow. Finally, President Komorowski and I discussed

a range of issues critical to our shared prosperity, including the

transatlantic trade and investment partnership, which would boost trade

between the US and Europe, including facilitating potential energy

exports from the United States into Europe. We agreed that more steps

can be taken to diversify Europe's energy sources. That is important

not only for Europe 's economy, but also for its security. That is a

topic I will focus on later today, when we meet with other central and

eastern European presidents. So thank you again for your partnership

and hospitality. I could not be more grateful to have the opportunity to

join tomorrow's celebration in Castle Square and have a chance to

address the Polish people. STUDIO: well, with me is our defence

correspondent. That was confirmation by the ayes have it, the ayes have

it that he will be asking Congress for up to $1 billion -- confirmation

by President Obama. He mentioned a few countries, Ukraine, Moldova and

Georgia. I am just waiting to see if we have any questions in English

that we can dip into. TRANSLATION: We will be speaking with the new

President-elect. Thank you for my birthday wishes from the President.

It is thanks to my mum, rather than me. One thing is for certain. Poland

achieved freedom 25 years ago tomorrow. When it comes to the

question about a relationship with Russia, the whole Western world as

well as Poland are very interested in creating the best relationship

with Russia and dig into new working together with Russia. Poland is very

interested in continuing an easy process and also unifying the

painful and bloody history of the countries. At in order to work

together so that we can work with Russia, it is essential for Russia

to stop using force against its neighbours. It needs to respect its

other countries. We are expecting a full working relationship with the

free Ukraine and accepting the presidential election results. And

we are waiting discussions about better relations between Russia and

the Ukraine. Well, on the importance of maintaining good relations with

Russia, but not sacrificing principle in pursuit of good

relations, the fact of the matter is that Russia is a sick African

country -- a significant country with incredibly gifted people,

resources and an enormous landmass. And they rightfully play an

important role on the world stage and in the region. For what we have

learned from our history, and nobody understands that better than the

Poles, is that basic and supporters of territorial integrity and

sovereignty and freedom, the ability for people to make their own

determinations about their country's future is the cornerstone

of the peace and security we have seen in Europe over the last several

decades. And that is threatened by Russian action in Crimea and now

Russian activity in eastern Ukraine. So we have said consistently that

not only do we seek good relations with Russia, but we expect Ukraine

to have strong relations with Russia. We don't believe Ukraine has

to choose between good relations with Europe and good relations with

Russia. We think Ukrainians should make their own decisions about the

future of their country, without interference or armed militias being

financed from the outside trying to disrupt the effort of Ukrainians to

reform themselves, strengthen their democracy and improve their

economy. As a consequence, we will continue to support Ukrainian

efforts. The fact that there has been an election on May the 25th and

we now have a President-elect, I think gives us momentum to build on

as we move forward. The President-elect of Ukraine has

indicated his willingness to work with all regions of Ukraine to

create a constitutional order that is representative of all people. And

he has said he is interested in pursuing good relations with

Russia. But he is right to say that the sovereignty of Ukraine should

not be sacrificed in that effort, and we support him in that. And

NATO's relationship with Russia will be one in which, if Russia is

observing basic international law and principles, there should be

cooperation between Russia and NATO. Where Russia violates international

law, NATO will stand firm in asserting those principles. STUDIO:

President Obama there, making it clear that the United States is

continuing to support Ukraine and other countries in the east of

Europe, praising Russia and its people, but saying people must be

free to make their own determination. That is a cornerstone

of peace and security, and if that is threatened, that is a problem.

That is the reason that President Obama is now calling for this huge

$1 billion of funding from Congress to bolster security in Europe. All

very reminiscent, of course, of the Cold War tensions that we all

thought we had left behind. We will keep across that for you and let you

know if anything significant comes out of that press conference.

We move now to another part of the world embroiled in conflict. Three

years of brittle civil war, thousands of dead and nearly 3

million refugees. Despite all that, today Syria is holding a

presidential election. President Bashar al-Assad has cast his vote.

These were the pictures that came into us a few hours ago with his

wife. He is expected to win a third seven-year term in office. The first

time in decades, there is more than one candidate

time in decades, there is more than one on the ballot, but the Western

backed opposition has dismissed the vote as a sham. The BBC's down rebel

and has more from Damascus. The buses have in coming and going

all morning to this polling station. This is the national water company.

These men all say they work for the water company. There have been a few

women as well. They get ushered straight in to vote. Everybody have

that he or she is going to vote for President Bashar al-Assad. This

election has been savagely criticised both by Syrians who have

taken up arms against the president, and also by Syrian politicians in

exile. It has also been criticised by Western leaders. The British

Foreign Secretary William Hague called it a parody of democracy. The

people I have spoken to around the regime say that actually, it is

democracy. People are voting in secret, and here is a ballot paper.

Two candidates as well as President Assad, and this is all the promise

of a better life. President Assad does have genuine support. He would

not have weathered everything he has gone through since the war started

without that. And they buy those arguments, so as far as the

president is concerned, this is good politics.

Much more to come on BBC World News. We will hear from the co-founder of

Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, as he takes up a new role as an adviser to

Google. We often have stories about huge

creatures at the end of news bulletins, but hedgehogs are

increasingly becoming household pets in the United States, it seems, but

they are not for everyone. They may not be the most cuddly of

companions, but having a hedgehog as a pet might just be the newest

trend. Although skittish, they require a lot less maintenance than

dogs or cats, and are kinder on the nose than rodents or rabbits. They

do not smell very much, they are not usually against rental conditions

for apartments. The popularity of hedgehogs as increased hugely in

recent years. I have been breeding them for 19 years, and when I first

started, I had a waiting list of five people. 19 years later, I have

a waiting list of 500 people. You to environmental concerns, they are

restricted in at least six US states. Veterinarians warn it is not

just stroking them which is potentially hazardous. Especially

people who are older, or who are younger than five years of age, need

to be careful, as they can catch some and love from hedgehogs,

sometimes not even by touching them, but from just them being in the

household. This extraordinary 91-year-old lady

is proof that age knows no bounds, because she completed a marathon in

San Diego. She ran her first marathon in 1999, to help raise

money for leukaemia research, and this latest one took her a mere

seven hours to cross the finishing line. Extraordinary.

This is BBC World News. The top stories - Syria's president casts

his vote in an election which is expected to give him a third term in

office. And President Obama is in Poland, with the promise of an extra

$1 billion to strengthen NATO security in eastern Europe.

A Cabinet meeting is taking place in Spain to draw up plans to change the

constitution to allow King Juan Carlos to abdicate in favour of his

son. The king and his son has just arrived at a monastery just

north-west of Madrid for a military ceremony. King Juan Carlos announced

yesterday that he would step down after almost 40 years on the throne.

He is widely credited with smoothing Spain's transition to democracy

after the death of General Franco in 1975. Those are the pictures which

have just come into us. Police in London have arrested one

of Pakistan's most powerful politicians, Altaf Hussain,

on suspicion of money laundering. Mr Hussain is the leader of the MQM

party which commands strong support He has been living in self-imposed

exile in London for 22 years. He is the leader of the MQM party,

which has strong support in several urban areas. He has been living in

exile in London for 22 years, controlling the party from there.

Now, his party is seen as a victim, as well as a perpetrator of violence

in the city of Karachi. It has dominated the city's politics for

three decades, it has won every single election it has contested in

the last three decades, and Altaf Hussain was facing charges of

money-laundering in London. There are now reports that he has been

arrested. London police want to know the source of his income, because he

does not really work there. They want to know how his party has built

properties in the UK, huge sums of money in bank accounts. That is the

charge he is facing. The Pakistani authorities have apparently been

worried in the past that any sort of arrest like this could spark

problems in Karachi - has there been any reaction yet? Yes, the last

couple of hours, there is tension in the city, there is panic. Shops and

businesses have started to shut down, people are heading home, there

are reports of massive traffic jams in the city of Karachi, shootings

are reported from other cities in the province where women host has

support. -- where MQM has support. This kind of violent reaction had

been predicted. There is expected to be a news conference to decide the

future course of action. So, so far, there is panic, not many reports of

violence yet, but the people of Karachi know that when something

like this happens, it is safer for them to head home. What exactly do

the people fear? Well, as I was saying, MQM is a party which claims

to represent middle class, educated people in Karachi, especially all do

speaking people, who are descendants of migrants from India, at the time

of partition in 1947. But the party is also accused of militant

activity, of controlling the city through fear and terror. It is for

that reason that the people of Karachi fear that the party, or its

elements, could resort to violence. Ukraine's Interior Ministry says

fighting is taking place on the edge And local residents are reporting

heavy artillery barrages. Pro-Russia separatists say they have

shot down a government helicopter, but this has been denied

by the Ukrainian military. Thailand's ruling military council

says it will lift a curfew in some tourist areas,

including the popular beach resorts The curfew - from midnight to 4am -

was imposed after the military took Thousands of people across Europe

have taken the first steps to exercise their

new-found "right to be forgotten". A recent EU court ruling allows

people to ask for embarrassing or out-of-date information to be

removed from online searches. Today, data protection regulators

are meeting to discuss Since Google put a form online last

Friday morning, it has received It's up to regulators

and internet companies to decide how to strike a balance between privacy

and freedom of information. Jimmy Wales,

co-founder of Wikipedia, says the EU ruling has created big problems

for companies such as Google. He is also an adviser to Google.

People talk about the balance between privacy and freedom of

expression, but in this case, the court has ordered Google to take

down a link to a news story which was legally published, which was

true, which was published by an order of a court about a matter

which is clearly of public interest, I would say. It means that

Google is now in a very difficult position as to figuring out how they

can possibly know when something should be deleted or not. We are

talking about the Spaniard, Mr Gonzales, who had had the debt

problems, and complained that every time you put his name into Google,

this problem came back, and it was hampering him from starting a new

business, is that fair enough? No. The first request that I got

following this was from a serial convicted fraudster, who has a very

good reason for wanting to be removed from Wikipedia. But there is

a very strong public interest in knowing about people, particularly

if they are holding themselves up to do business. It is important. If he

wanted to respond to that, he has ample opportunity. I think the more

difficult question is weather we should be asking Google to make

these kind of determinations, weather something is legally

published, you are not allowed to link to it etc. A number of huge

issues which nobody seems to have thought about before they passed

this ruling. Are you or other people involved in this with Google

planning to legally challenge this? That will not be up to Google, but

as I understand it, there is no direct legal challenge, this is the

final court of. There is nothing they can do about it. Was a bit of a

shocker of a decision. The next step I think would be to say to the

European Parliament, this is a real mess, this decision is confusing, it

is going to impact the freedom of newspapers, people are going to say,

you cannot link to that article. There are various questions about

privacy and data in the modern world, but we need to do it in a

more modernised way, we are implemented in 20-year-old

regulations about data processing in a world where freedom of expression

is impacted by many factors. We were just watching that report on the

Spanish monarchy, and people in the public eye can often be

misrepresented on the internet, can they not? That is certainly true,

but people can be misrepresented in the newspapers, and in all kinds of

ways. But people forget newspapers, that is the point. Not necessarily.

There is something which has fundamentally changed, which is that

people have access to information for a much longer period of time,

much deeper. We may want to go back and we consider that. In this case

the Spanish court ordered the publication of the notice of this

debt issue, that his house had been taken away, or whatever, do we want

to do that any more? I think there are some real serious problems with

that. Questions about transparency and governance of. I think a better

approach would be to say, we need to look at, what are the penalties for

leaking data if you are a company which has agreed to keep data

private? But we should not start with, let's start censoring the

newspapers. Just to remind you of our breaking

news from this hour, President Obama in Warsaw, with the Polish

president. President Obama has announced a $1 billion security deal

for Europe. Cold War tensions still very much evident.