:00:00. > :00:10.This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.
:00:11. > :00:13."An historic day", or "theatre written with the blood of Syrians"?
:00:14. > :00:16.Syria goes to the polls - and for the first time in decades,
:00:17. > :00:19.there's more than one name in the running for president.
:00:20. > :00:22.The US steps up its commitment to Europe's defence -
:00:23. > :00:24.announcing a one billion dollar fund to increase military
:00:25. > :00:30.Also coming up - Fears about the spread of Ebola in West Africa, as
:00:31. > :00:35.a British firm becomes the first to fly its people out of the region.
:00:36. > :00:39.And how one US art collector helped to keep alive an African art
:00:40. > :01:00.Hello and welcome. After 3 years of civil war,
:01:01. > :01:01.tens of thousands killed, and millions displaced, presidential
:01:02. > :01:04.elections are being held in Syria. Voting has been extended
:01:05. > :01:07.in what officials have called a There is little doubt
:01:08. > :01:12.President Assad will win For the first time
:01:13. > :01:17.in decades though, there are other But Maher Hajjar
:01:18. > :01:21.and Hassan al-Nouri are hardly known and critics say they've been unable
:01:22. > :01:25.to campaign on anything like And large parts of Syria did not
:01:26. > :01:31.take part in these elections. No votes were cast
:01:32. > :01:34.in opposition-held areas seen here Quite a contrast to the government
:01:35. > :01:40.controlled parts of the country seen here in red, where officials set up
:01:41. > :01:44.more than 9,000 polling stations. The BBC's Middle East Editor,
:01:45. > :01:58.Jeremy Bowen, has this report. There's a serve decorated some of
:01:59. > :02:07.the buses the water company used to bring workers to this polling
:02:08. > :02:10.station in Damascus. -- posters. If anybody supported anyone else they
:02:11. > :02:14.were keeping quiet. Everyone I spoke to said they would be voting for the
:02:15. > :02:18.head of the family that has run Syria for more than 40 years. This
:02:19. > :02:23.man scratched his bum so he could fold in blood. He was not the only
:02:24. > :02:27.one doing it. For the first time in more than 50 years there was a
:02:28. > :02:32.choice in the presidential election. Proof, according to officials, that
:02:33. > :02:37.this was real democracy. She said how happy she was to be voting for
:02:38. > :02:44.President Assad. But the election has been denounced as a sham by
:02:45. > :02:51.opponents abroad. Britain called it a parody of democracy. For all the
:02:52. > :02:56.savage criticism of this election it is important to remember that
:02:57. > :03:00.President Assad does have genuine support. Some of them have started
:03:01. > :03:07.chanting outside. He would not have got to where he has been without
:03:08. > :03:12.that kind of support. As far as he is concerned, this is good politics.
:03:13. > :03:19.President Assad is certain to win the vote. He cast his ballot with
:03:20. > :03:22.his wife, who grew up in London. In the parts of Syria are controlled by
:03:23. > :03:27.rebels the election has been ridiculed as much as condemned. This
:03:28. > :03:34.artist painted rubbish skips to look like ballot boxes. There is no
:03:35. > :03:38.voting in rebel held areas. Back in Damascus, this is a former minister,
:03:39. > :03:44.one of the rival candidates. Before the vote he said his own family had
:03:45. > :03:49.found the campaign was fear by Syrian standards but not, as he put
:03:50. > :03:58.it, from all points of view. One single person who believes in me
:03:59. > :04:04.would not have the guts to put a poster of me signing his name. Even
:04:05. > :04:12.your relatives might be scared to put up posters? Not scared,
:04:13. > :04:16.reluctant. They are reluctant because they never believed there
:04:17. > :04:22.would be an election in Syria and suddenly they have three candidates
:04:23. > :04:26.competing for the president of the Syrian republic. Look at this big
:04:27. > :04:30.change. Thousands of his posters have been up in Damascus. Questions
:04:31. > :04:36.about the future have always been parried with, it is up to the Syrian
:04:37. > :04:39.people. Whatever his opponents say about this controversial election,
:04:40. > :04:48.once his victory is announced he can tell them he has a new seven-year
:04:49. > :04:57.mandate. Joining me now from Westminster is the Conservative MP
:04:58. > :05:05.Brooks Newmark. Welcome. Let us assume that President Assad wins,
:05:06. > :05:09.how should the UK and the US react? I think there should be no change at
:05:10. > :05:20.all. Everybody recognises that this election is a complete farce, he has
:05:21. > :05:26.found useful idiots who have been preapproved. There was a process in
:05:27. > :05:33.Geneva which was about a transition. This throws that out. President
:05:34. > :05:43.Assad is responsible for butchering and gassing and torturing a of his
:05:44. > :05:51.own people. -- 150,000. This is one of the worst managerial crisis --
:05:52. > :05:58.humanitarian crises in history. The election has no bearing on reality.
:05:59. > :06:02.What should the West do given they don't want to inflict military
:06:03. > :06:07.strikes on the regime and given Russia is in little mood to
:06:08. > :06:13.cooperate? I think we need to put as much pressure on President Assad as
:06:14. > :06:18.possible, and that means providing genuine support for the Free Syrian
:06:19. > :06:24.Army and coalition, who represent the moderate majority of Syrians. At
:06:25. > :06:30.the moment what we've got is a bunch of terrorists on one side in the
:06:31. > :06:35.form of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, doing the fighting
:06:36. > :06:40.effectively for President Assad, and then on the other extreme side we
:06:41. > :06:42.have those fighting in the north-east, and copper in the middle
:06:43. > :06:48.of it is the vast majority of Syrians. -- trapped in the middle.
:06:49. > :06:51.Instead of supporting the moderate majority we are letting the
:06:52. > :06:56.radicals, the terrorists, if you will, who did not exist in Syria two
:06:57. > :07:04.years ago, gets stronger and stronger. We need to bolster the
:07:05. > :07:13.moderate majority and that is what they must do. You think your
:07:14. > :07:16.government is minded to do that? I mean, certainly, there is an
:07:17. > :07:23.appetite. People are recognising that because we're not supporting
:07:24. > :07:31.the moderate majority, there are about 15,000 terrorists. Where they
:07:32. > :07:35.did not exist two years ago they are growing and growing because we are
:07:36. > :07:45.not arming sufficiently the moderate majority. The only way to bring him
:07:46. > :07:49.to the negotiating table is through force. Through force, he recognises
:07:50. > :07:53.committee will then come to the negotiating table. On the absence
:07:54. > :07:59.force he will do things like he is doing today. I am afraid he
:08:00. > :08:01.recognises one thing, which is strength and might and the only way
:08:02. > :08:09.to deal with them is through that. President Obama has announced
:08:10. > :08:11.plans to increase the US military presence in eastern Europe.
:08:12. > :08:15.The move is a response to the crisis in Ukraine, and what the
:08:16. > :08:17.US president described as Russia's 'provocation' in the region.
:08:18. > :08:20.He's earmarked one billion dollars to pay for greater US participation
:08:21. > :08:23.in training and exercises, to rotate troops into the region
:08:24. > :08:26.and to provide naval deployments in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.
:08:27. > :08:30.With me is Nicholas Burns - former US Ambassador to NATO, now
:08:31. > :08:43.Thank you for coming in. Is this enough? It is the right move by the
:08:44. > :08:47.President of the United States and by the NATO alliance, because
:08:48. > :08:51.President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron have been very clear, they
:08:52. > :08:55.are not going to have a military confrontation risk war with God
:08:56. > :09:01.you're putting over Ukraine. We have no security commitment with them. --
:09:02. > :09:09.brisk walk with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. But is story and Latvia are
:09:10. > :09:15.former republics, Babe Ruth -- they both have significant ethnic Russian
:09:16. > :09:20.population. The theory is if there is not a strong announcement,
:09:21. > :09:23.Vladimir Putin will not respect the Alliance and might think he has more
:09:24. > :09:27.running room in Eastern Europe than he thinks. It is prudent, it is
:09:28. > :09:35.wise, we will not see a major build-up. The danger is it will be
:09:36. > :09:42.seen as a provocation. Vladimir Putin is many things but he is not
:09:43. > :09:47.irrational. He understands power, just like President Assad. He needs
:09:48. > :09:54.to be shown that NATO will live up to Article five, which is that an
:09:55. > :09:57.attack on one is an attack on all. This reinforces the chance to
:09:58. > :10:03.maintain stability in Eastern Europe as a result of what happened in
:10:04. > :10:06.Crimea. Do you see a future in which Ukraine becomes a member of the
:10:07. > :10:13.European Union and NATO? Not any time soon. I think it should have
:10:14. > :10:17.representation in Brussels, certainly in the form of a trade
:10:18. > :10:21.agreement, it is a partner of NATO, it has been training with them, but
:10:22. > :10:24.to bring them into the alliance any time soon, I don't think you would
:10:25. > :10:27.have the unanimity that would require and that might be the kind
:10:28. > :10:33.of provocation that would be very unwise. Friendship towards Ukraine,
:10:34. > :10:37.economic and political support, maybe even helping them build a
:10:38. > :10:42.military, that is as far as you will see the US and Europe go. How do you
:10:43. > :10:47.assess the approach of Vladimir Putin towards the separatist in the
:10:48. > :10:53.east of Ukraine? He is pulling back troops from the border. He says he
:10:54. > :10:58.is. He is actually quite devious and it is a highly cynical policy. He
:10:59. > :11:01.says he is not interfering and yet when some of these ethnic Russians
:11:02. > :11:05.have been killed the remains have been shipped back to Russia. It
:11:06. > :11:08.stands to reason as many governments have been saying that the Russian
:11:09. > :11:12.government is actually directing some of these operations, and agents
:11:13. > :11:16.of the Russian government are helping to form these bands of armed
:11:17. > :11:23.brigands. That is what they are. They are trying to take over the
:11:24. > :11:25.legal authorities that are the responsibilities of the Ukrainian
:11:26. > :11:30.government. I don't think we should believe flooding are put in when he
:11:31. > :11:36.says his intentions are benign. You think there will be a problem
:11:37. > :11:41.getting this programme through Congress? I don't. I think they are
:11:42. > :11:47.urging the president to show a little more strength on Ukraine. He
:11:48. > :11:53.did that today. He is to be commended for that. He will have
:11:54. > :12:00.congressional support for that. On another issue, we're hearing in
:12:01. > :12:06.Egypt's that -- we're hearing the results of election. Can they do
:12:07. > :12:11.business? They will have no choice because each are so important in the
:12:12. > :12:16.effort to contain Iran, to maintain the support of the moderate states
:12:17. > :12:21.of the Middle East. There will be a lot of misgivings because it is a
:12:22. > :12:34.return to military dictatorship and Egypt's highly divisive politics
:12:35. > :12:43.will be difficult to deal with. Very good to speak to you. As we were
:12:44. > :12:47.saying, Egypt's former army chief has been confirmed as the next
:12:48. > :12:54.president, winning by a landslide with more than 96% of the vote. The
:12:55. > :12:58.right spread -- result was expected. We will get more now. This was
:12:59. > :13:06.expected but tell us more about the figures, the voting figures and the
:13:07. > :13:13.turnout figures. A landslide victory for the Field Marshall, more than
:13:14. > :13:21.96% of the votes. His opponent got less than 4%. We have other figures
:13:22. > :13:30.to consider. The turnout was around 47% only. Less than 50% of eligible
:13:31. > :13:38.voters took apart. More than 50% chose to stay away. They do not
:13:39. > :13:45.believe in this political process, so Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has some
:13:46. > :13:50.steps to take to convince these people he will be a president for
:13:51. > :13:55.all Egyptians, not only those who voted for him. He is now addressing
:13:56. > :14:00.a nation with a severely divided political landscape, polarisation in
:14:01. > :14:07.the political scene, so he has lots of challenges that lie ahead. His
:14:08. > :14:10.inaugural ceremony will be next week, after that he has lots of
:14:11. > :14:14.problems to take care of and he has to point out what his plan is to
:14:15. > :14:18.address all these lingering problems. In fact, in a speech that
:14:19. > :14:24.he gave a while ago, he thanked the Army, the judges, the media, and
:14:25. > :14:29.there has been lots of concerns about media restrictions in the
:14:30. > :14:32.period to come, given the fact that the man comes from a military
:14:33. > :14:38.background. Some media groups and human rights groups are afraid there
:14:39. > :14:44.will be lots of restrictions on freedom of speech. Perhaps he
:14:45. > :14:47.intended to give some assurance that the period to come will not be a
:14:48. > :14:50.period of restriction. He's one of Pakistan's most powerful
:14:51. > :14:53.politicians but he is now in police custody in London, arrested
:14:54. > :14:57.on suspicion of money laundering. Altaf Hussain,
:14:58. > :15:00.leader of Pakistan's third largest party the MQM, has been living
:15:01. > :15:04.in the UK in self-imposed exile In the party's powerbase,
:15:05. > :15:10.Pakistan's largest city Karachi, police are on the streets
:15:11. > :15:13.and thousands of supporters have Here in London, the BBC's Richard
:15:14. > :15:29.Galpin has been to Altaf Hussain's Plainclothes police officers moved
:15:30. > :15:36.in this morning, to arrest Altaf Hussain here at his home in a
:15:37. > :15:41.wealthy area of north London. The result of an investigation lasting
:15:42. > :15:45.at least a year. But this police operation was not just about
:15:46. > :15:50.arresting him. It was also to try to find more evidence. The police had
:15:51. > :15:54.been searching his house here for hours. And it's not the first raid
:15:55. > :16:00.here. There have been many others in the past. There are also other
:16:01. > :16:03.allegations against Mr Husain, not just the allegation of
:16:04. > :16:07.money-laundering. He is also accused of inciting his millions of
:16:08. > :16:12.supporters in Karachi to violence. He denies all the allegations.
:16:13. > :16:21.Although based here in London for more than 20 years, Altaf Hussain
:16:22. > :16:25.still controls the MQM in Pakistani. Delivering firebrand speeches over
:16:26. > :16:30.the telephone to the party faithful in Karachi. Including what seems to
:16:31. > :16:41.be clear threats against the MQM's opponents and critics.
:16:42. > :16:47.So, no surprise then that news of his arrest has already led to
:16:48. > :16:53.trouble in Karachi, the MQM's heartland. His supporters taking to
:16:54. > :16:58.the streets in angry protests, sparking fears, not least for
:16:59. > :17:04.British citizens living in the city. British citizens have already been
:17:05. > :17:07.moved from Karachi to Islamabad, especially the dramatic stuff, and
:17:08. > :17:14.they have also asked the British people who are working over there to
:17:15. > :17:18.take extra care -- especially Telematics staff. There may be a
:17:19. > :17:28.direct threat to them. -- diplomatic staff. The situation is extreme.
:17:29. > :17:32.Already many people have fled to the safety of their homes, with shops
:17:33. > :17:36.and other businesses locked up. Many fearing the worst.
:17:37. > :17:38.Now a look at some of the day's other news.
:17:39. > :17:41.Spanish politicians have been outlining what happens next with
:17:42. > :17:44.the abdication of King Juan Carlos and the accession of his son
:17:45. > :17:48.On Monday the king announced that he would step down after
:17:49. > :17:52.Thailand's ruling military council says it will lift a curfew
:17:53. > :17:55.in some tourist areas, including the popular beach resorts
:17:56. > :18:02.The curfew from midnight to 4am was imposed after the military took
:18:03. > :18:27.Nigeria's interior minister has said that several people have been found
:18:28. > :18:33.guilty of providing weapons to Boca have run militants, welcoming the
:18:34. > :18:40.move. What is gladdening if the military high command has been able
:18:41. > :18:49.to use it intelligence operations to identify people. Having found them
:18:50. > :18:50.as early as this is gladdening to everybody who is concerned about
:18:51. > :18:54.ending this insurgency. Staff at a British firm in
:18:55. > :18:56.Sierra Leone have left the country following an outbreak
:18:57. > :18:59.of the deadly Ebola virus. London Mining is
:19:00. > :19:02.the first company to speak publicly There are already
:19:03. > :19:05.about 50 suspected cases in Sierra There have been more than 100 deaths
:19:06. > :19:10.in neighbouring Guinea where the outbreak started,
:19:11. > :19:12.with cases also reported in Liberia He's Professor of Infectious Disease
:19:13. > :19:30.Epidemiology at the London School You have been studying it polar for
:19:31. > :19:34.more than 40 years. And you know how quickly it can spread. -- you have
:19:35. > :19:43.been studying the Ebola virus. How easy is it to spread? It transfers
:19:44. > :19:45.through blood from one person to another, sometimes through vomiting
:19:46. > :19:51.or coughing on another person, and it has to be close contact. Those at
:19:52. > :19:56.greatest risk are the health professionals. Is it wise to get
:19:57. > :19:59.workers out of a dangerous field? I do not understand what the
:20:00. > :20:04.considerations were in moving this people out, it is just because of
:20:05. > :20:09.simple issues such as insurance, possibly, which tells the complete
:20:10. > :20:14.to remove the Patriots. I cannot answer the question. There is very
:20:15. > :20:16.little risk that they would be effective if they are not in close
:20:17. > :20:22.contact with a patient with the Ebola virus. I was introducing the
:20:23. > :20:28.story, I gave the viewers some number, but there could be others
:20:29. > :20:33.who do not know about. It is difficult to find cases because they
:20:34. > :20:37.are hidden in many times, there is a stigma sometimes against the cases
:20:38. > :20:41.and families do not want to identify it. It is systematically searching
:20:42. > :20:48.from village to village that people are found, managed in a hospital and
:20:49. > :20:52.released. So who does that, is it health workers putting themselves at
:20:53. > :20:55.risk? Health workers are at greatest risk, most outbreaks occur because
:20:56. > :20:58.patients into a hospital where practices are not being done which
:20:59. > :21:06.will protect the health workers. The best procedures are wearing gloves,
:21:07. > :21:10.wearing a mask and making sure there is no contact directly with body
:21:11. > :21:12.secretions. So there needs to be a lot of training for the
:21:13. > :21:18.professionals who are expected to go out there and monitor and contained
:21:19. > :21:21.the Ebola virus? Absolutely, it is vital, it is important for this
:21:22. > :21:24.virus and many other hospital infections as well. The training
:21:25. > :21:29.should be done on a regular basis, not just when there is an outbreak.
:21:30. > :21:34.One of the concerns that some of the families have is that their loved
:21:35. > :21:37.ones are in hospitals. We have had reports that infected patients have
:21:38. > :21:41.been taken out because families want them treated by traditional healers.
:21:42. > :21:45.Is that something you have heard? I have heard the same thing, this
:21:46. > :21:48.often happens. Those at greatest risk now will be the traditional
:21:49. > :21:53.healers who will be working with these patients and the family
:21:54. > :21:57.members who are in contact with them. This is common, people wants
:21:58. > :22:02.to take their sick ones home and Ebola virus patients are very sick.
:22:03. > :22:04.Thank you for speaking to us about this.
:22:05. > :22:08.It's 50 years since the first museum dedicated to African art opened
:22:09. > :22:12.It was founded by Warren Robbins, a career diplomat who had never
:22:13. > :22:15.visited the continent when he started his collection.
:22:16. > :22:17.But he strongly believed that appreciating the art of Africa could
:22:18. > :22:20.foster greater understanding between white and African-Americans
:22:21. > :22:26.His collection eventually became the National Museum of African Art
:22:27. > :22:29.and moved to the heart of the nation's capital.
:22:30. > :22:38.The traditional art of Liberia and Sierra Leone convey a culture
:22:39. > :22:43.These ceremonial masks and carvings, dating from
:22:44. > :22:47.the 15th century to modern times, are part of a major exhibition at
:22:48. > :22:55.We have got the joy of helping people to rethink how
:22:56. > :23:03.This is only one aspect of African art, often mistakenly described
:23:04. > :23:09.But half a century after America's first dedicated African art museum
:23:10. > :23:13.opened its doors in Washington, perceptions are changing.
:23:14. > :23:20.What I really feel excited about is that we no longer, I hope, have to
:23:21. > :23:28.go to Europe or to the United States to justify the beauty, the
:23:29. > :23:42.We can understand it because of its own aesthetic standards.
:23:43. > :23:45.The 50th anniversary of the National Museum of African Art is also
:23:46. > :23:50.Warren Robbins was a cultural attache working
:23:51. > :23:56.One day in the late 1950s, he walked into an antique store
:23:57. > :24:02.and bought a wooden carving, the start of a world-class collection.
:24:03. > :24:05.And here we are at Warren Robbins' home.
:24:06. > :24:07.Back in Washington, he turned his house
:24:08. > :24:13.into a museum and used his African art as a vehicle for civil rights.
:24:14. > :24:20.He created a space that was extraordinarily rare at the time.
:24:21. > :24:25.Which is someplace that appreciates where African-Americans came from,
:24:26. > :24:28.remember, we're talking about the United States in 1964, the
:24:29. > :24:33.peak of the civil rights movement, and before it had triumphed.
:24:34. > :24:36.So in that sense, it was a major move forward.
:24:37. > :24:40.And as the museum has developed, that has only strengthened.
:24:41. > :24:43.Robbins was also very well connected.
:24:44. > :24:46.Hollywood stars such as Gregory Peck and Elizabeth Taylor flocked to
:24:47. > :24:53.his exhibitions, raising the profile and understanding of African art.
:24:54. > :24:57.I think Warren's legacy was to establish something that created
:24:58. > :25:08.But what he always wanted was a museum that was living.
:25:09. > :25:13.Today's museum, now part of the Smithsonian Institution, showcases
:25:14. > :25:18.historical and contemporary works, helping visitors understand how
:25:19. > :25:32.the art of Africa is as rich and diverse as the continent itself.
:25:33. > :25:38.An expert scientific panel here in the UK has given its backing to a
:25:39. > :25:41.fertility treatment that would allow genetic material from three people
:25:42. > :25:45.to create a baby. The aim of the three parent IVF technique is to
:25:46. > :25:49.prevent couples from passing on severe disabilities to their
:25:50. > :25:53.children. The ground-breaking procedure, which involves replacing
:25:54. > :25:58.40 part of the mitochondrial DNA, is still at research stay, but it could
:25:59. > :26:02.be available for patients within two years if draft legislation is passed
:26:03. > :26:09.into law. And we have shown you some -- and
:26:10. > :26:13.here are some more unusual pictures of a black bear relaxing in the
:26:14. > :26:17.Florida sunshine. This was in Daytona Beach, who said that there
:26:18. > :26:20.looked like he was on vacation. He has been spotted around the
:26:21. > :26:25.neighbourhood over the past few days, opening up bins and looking
:26:26. > :26:28.for food. All good things must come to an end, the bins have been taken
:26:29. > :26:55.away and the hammock removed on safety grounds.
:26:56. > :27:01.As he had to the course of the night and area of low pressure will push
:27:02. > :27:04.up from the south, and using a lot of rain to the country. That takes
:27:05. > :27:07.over tomorrow, which will be relatively cool. Cooler than what we
:27:08. > :27:08.have been used