03/06/2014 World News Today

This is BBC World News Today with me, Philippa Thomas.

"An historic day", or "theatre written with the blood of Syrians"?

Syria goes to the polls - and for the first time in decades,

there's more than one name in the running for president.

The US steps up its commitment to Europe's defence -

announcing a one billion dollar fund to increase military

Also coming up - Fears about the spread of Ebola in West Africa, as

a British firm becomes the first to fly its people out of the region.

And how one US art collector helped to keep alive an African art

Hello and welcome. After 3 years of civil war,

tens of thousands killed, and millions displaced, presidential

elections are being held in Syria. Voting has been extended

in what officials have called a There is little doubt

President Assad will win For the first time

in decades though, there are other But Maher Hajjar

and Hassan al-Nouri are hardly known and critics say they've been unable

to campaign on anything like And large parts of Syria did not

take part in these elections. No votes were cast

in opposition-held areas seen here Quite a contrast to the government

controlled parts of the country seen here in red, where officials set up

more than 9,000 polling stations. The BBC's Middle East Editor,

Jeremy Bowen, has this report. There's a serve decorated some of

the buses the water company used to bring workers to this polling

station in Damascus. -- posters. If anybody supported anyone else they

were keeping quiet. Everyone I spoke to said they would be voting for the

head of the family that has run Syria for more than 40 years. This

man scratched his bum so he could fold in blood. He was not the only

one doing it. For the first time in more than 50 years there was a

choice in the presidential election. Proof, according to officials, that

this was real democracy. She said how happy she was to be voting for

President Assad. But the election has been denounced as a sham by

opponents abroad. Britain called it a parody of democracy. For all the

savage criticism of this election it is important to remember that

President Assad does have genuine support. Some of them have started

chanting outside. He would not have got to where he has been without

that kind of support. As far as he is concerned, this is good politics.

President Assad is certain to win the vote. He cast his ballot with

his wife, who grew up in London. In the parts of Syria are controlled by

rebels the election has been ridiculed as much as condemned. This

artist painted rubbish skips to look like ballot boxes. There is no

voting in rebel held areas. Back in Damascus, this is a former minister,

one of the rival candidates. Before the vote he said his own family had

found the campaign was fear by Syrian standards but not, as he put

it, from all points of view. One single person who believes in me

would not have the guts to put a poster of me signing his name. Even

your relatives might be scared to put up posters? Not scared,

reluctant. They are reluctant because they never believed there

would be an election in Syria and suddenly they have three candidates

competing for the president of the Syrian republic. Look at this big

change. Thousands of his posters have been up in Damascus. Questions

about the future have always been parried with, it is up to the Syrian

people. Whatever his opponents say about this controversial election,

once his victory is announced he can tell them he has a new seven-year

mandate. Joining me now from Westminster is the Conservative MP

Brooks Newmark. Welcome. Let us assume that President Assad wins,

how should the UK and the US react? I think there should be no change at

all. Everybody recognises that this election is a complete farce, he has

found useful idiots who have been preapproved. There was a process in

Geneva which was about a transition. This throws that out. President

Assad is responsible for butchering and gassing and torturing a of his

own people. -- 150,000. This is one of the worst managerial crisis --

humanitarian crises in history. The election has no bearing on reality.

What should the West do given they don't want to inflict military

strikes on the regime and given Russia is in little mood to

cooperate? I think we need to put as much pressure on President Assad as

possible, and that means providing genuine support for the Free Syrian

Army and coalition, who represent the moderate majority of Syrians. At

the moment what we've got is a bunch of terrorists on one side in the

form of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, doing the fighting

effectively for President Assad, and then on the other extreme side we

have those fighting in the north-east, and copper in the middle

of it is the vast majority of Syrians. -- trapped in the middle.

Instead of supporting the moderate majority we are letting the

radicals, the terrorists, if you will, who did not exist in Syria two

years ago, gets stronger and stronger. We need to bolster the

moderate majority and that is what they must do. You think your

government is minded to do that? I mean, certainly, there is an

appetite. People are recognising that because we're not supporting

the moderate majority, there are about 15,000 terrorists. Where they

did not exist two years ago they are growing and growing because we are

not arming sufficiently the moderate majority. The only way to bring him

to the negotiating table is through force. Through force, he recognises

committee will then come to the negotiating table. On the absence

force he will do things like he is doing today. I am afraid he

recognises one thing, which is strength and might and the only way

to deal with them is through that. President Obama has announced

plans to increase the US military presence in eastern Europe.

The move is a response to the crisis in Ukraine, and what the

US president described as Russia's 'provocation' in the region.

He's earmarked one billion dollars to pay for greater US participation

in training and exercises, to rotate troops into the region

and to provide naval deployments in the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.

With me is Nicholas Burns - former US Ambassador to NATO, now

Thank you for coming in. Is this enough? It is the right move by the

President of the United States and by the NATO alliance, because

President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron have been very clear, they

are not going to have a military confrontation risk war with God

you're putting over Ukraine. We have no security commitment with them. --

brisk walk with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine. But is story and Latvia are

former republics, Babe Ruth -- they both have significant ethnic Russian

population. The theory is if there is not a strong announcement,

Vladimir Putin will not respect the Alliance and might think he has more

running room in Eastern Europe than he thinks. It is prudent, it is

wise, we will not see a major build-up. The danger is it will be

seen as a provocation. Vladimir Putin is many things but he is not

irrational. He understands power, just like President Assad. He needs

to be shown that NATO will live up to Article five, which is that an

attack on one is an attack on all. This reinforces the chance to

maintain stability in Eastern Europe as a result of what happened in

Crimea. Do you see a future in which Ukraine becomes a member of the

European Union and NATO? Not any time soon. I think it should have

representation in Brussels, certainly in the form of a trade

agreement, it is a partner of NATO, it has been training with them, but

to bring them into the alliance any time soon, I don't think you would

have the unanimity that would require and that might be the kind

of provocation that would be very unwise. Friendship towards Ukraine,

economic and political support, maybe even helping them build a

military, that is as far as you will see the US and Europe go. How do you

assess the approach of Vladimir Putin towards the separatist in the

east of Ukraine? He is pulling back troops from the border. He says he

is. He is actually quite devious and it is a highly cynical policy. He

says he is not interfering and yet when some of these ethnic Russians

have been killed the remains have been shipped back to Russia. It

stands to reason as many governments have been saying that the Russian

government is actually directing some of these operations, and agents

of the Russian government are helping to form these bands of armed

brigands. That is what they are. They are trying to take over the

legal authorities that are the responsibilities of the Ukrainian

government. I don't think we should believe flooding are put in when he

says his intentions are benign. You think there will be a problem

getting this programme through Congress? I don't. I think they are

urging the president to show a little more strength on Ukraine. He

did that today. He is to be commended for that. He will have

congressional support for that. On another issue, we're hearing in

Egypt's that -- we're hearing the results of election. Can they do

business? They will have no choice because each are so important in the

effort to contain Iran, to maintain the support of the moderate states

of the Middle East. There will be a lot of misgivings because it is a

return to military dictatorship and Egypt's highly divisive politics

will be difficult to deal with. Very good to speak to you. As we were

saying, Egypt's former army chief has been confirmed as the next

president, winning by a landslide with more than 96% of the vote. The

right spread -- result was expected. We will get more now. This was

expected but tell us more about the figures, the voting figures and the

turnout figures. A landslide victory for the Field Marshall, more than

96% of the votes. His opponent got less than 4%. We have other figures

to consider. The turnout was around 47% only. Less than 50% of eligible

voters took apart. More than 50% chose to stay away. They do not

believe in this political process, so Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has some

steps to take to convince these people he will be a president for

all Egyptians, not only those who voted for him. He is now addressing

a nation with a severely divided political landscape, polarisation in

the political scene, so he has lots of challenges that lie ahead. His

inaugural ceremony will be next week, after that he has lots of

problems to take care of and he has to point out what his plan is to

address all these lingering problems. In fact, in a speech that

he gave a while ago, he thanked the Army, the judges, the media, and

there has been lots of concerns about media restrictions in the

period to come, given the fact that the man comes from a military

background. Some media groups and human rights groups are afraid there

will be lots of restrictions on freedom of speech. Perhaps he

intended to give some assurance that the period to come will not be a

period of restriction. He's one of Pakistan's most powerful

politicians but he is now in police custody in London, arrested

on suspicion of money laundering. Altaf Hussain,

leader of Pakistan's third largest party the MQM, has been living

in the UK in self-imposed exile In the party's powerbase,

Pakistan's largest city Karachi, police are on the streets

and thousands of supporters have Here in London, the BBC's Richard

Galpin has been to Altaf Hussain's Plainclothes police officers moved

in this morning, to arrest Altaf Hussain here at his home in a

wealthy area of north London. The result of an investigation lasting

at least a year. But this police operation was not just about

arresting him. It was also to try to find more evidence. The police had

been searching his house here for hours. And it's not the first raid

here. There have been many others in the past. There are also other

allegations against Mr Husain, not just the allegation of

money-laundering. He is also accused of inciting his millions of

supporters in Karachi to violence. He denies all the allegations.

Although based here in London for more than 20 years, Altaf Hussain

still controls the MQM in Pakistani. Delivering firebrand speeches over

the telephone to the party faithful in Karachi. Including what seems to

be clear threats against the MQM's opponents and critics.

So, no surprise then that news of his arrest has already led to

trouble in Karachi, the MQM's heartland. His supporters taking to

the streets in angry protests, sparking fears, not least for

British citizens living in the city. British citizens have already been

moved from Karachi to Islamabad, especially the dramatic stuff, and

they have also asked the British people who are working over there to

take extra care -- especially Telematics staff. There may be a

direct threat to them. -- diplomatic staff. The situation is extreme.

Already many people have fled to the safety of their homes, with shops

and other businesses locked up. Many fearing the worst.

Now a look at some of the day's other news.

Spanish politicians have been outlining what happens next with

the abdication of King Juan Carlos and the accession of his son

On Monday the king announced that he would step down after

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

Nigeria's interior minister has said that several people have been found

guilty of providing weapons to Boca have run militants, welcoming the

move. What is gladdening if the military high command has been able

to use it intelligence operations to identify people. Having found them

as early as this is gladdening to everybody who is concerned about

ending this insurgency. Staff at a British firm in

Sierra Leone have left the country following an outbreak

of the deadly Ebola virus. London Mining is

the first company to speak publicly There are already

about 50 suspected cases in Sierra There have been more than 100 deaths

in neighbouring Guinea where the outbreak started,

with cases also reported in Liberia He's Professor of Infectious Disease

Epidemiology at the London School You have been studying it polar for

more than 40 years. And you know how quickly it can spread. -- you have

been studying the Ebola virus. How easy is it to spread? It transfers

through blood from one person to another, sometimes through vomiting

or coughing on another person, and it has to be close contact. Those at

greatest risk are the health professionals. Is it wise to get

workers out of a dangerous field? I do not understand what the

considerations were in moving this people out, it is just because of

simple issues such as insurance, possibly, which tells the complete

to remove the Patriots. I cannot answer the question. There is very

little risk that they would be effective if they are not in close

contact with a patient with the Ebola virus. I was introducing the

story, I gave the viewers some number, but there could be others

who do not know about. It is difficult to find cases because they

are hidden in many times, there is a stigma sometimes against the cases

and families do not want to identify it. It is systematically searching

from village to village that people are found, managed in a hospital and

released. So who does that, is it health workers putting themselves at

risk? Health workers are at greatest risk, most outbreaks occur because

patients into a hospital where practices are not being done which

will protect the health workers. The best procedures are wearing gloves,

wearing a mask and making sure there is no contact directly with body

secretions. So there needs to be a lot of training for the

professionals who are expected to go out there and monitor and contained

the Ebola virus? Absolutely, it is vital, it is important for this

virus and many other hospital infections as well. The training

should be done on a regular basis, not just when there is an outbreak.

One of the concerns that some of the families have is that their loved

ones are in hospitals. We have had reports that infected patients have

been taken out because families want them treated by traditional healers.

Is that something you have heard? I have heard the same thing, this

often happens. Those at greatest risk now will be the traditional

healers who will be working with these patients and the family

members who are in contact with them. This is common, people wants

to take their sick ones home and Ebola virus patients are very sick.

Thank you for speaking to us about this.

It's 50 years since the first museum dedicated to African art opened

It was founded by Warren Robbins, a career diplomat who had never

visited the continent when he started his collection.

But he strongly believed that appreciating the art of Africa could

foster greater understanding between white and African-Americans

His collection eventually became the National Museum of African Art

and moved to the heart of the nation's capital.

The traditional art of Liberia and Sierra Leone convey a culture

These ceremonial masks and carvings, dating from

the 15th century to modern times, are part of a major exhibition at

We have got the joy of helping people to rethink how

This is only one aspect of African art, often mistakenly described

But half a century after America's first dedicated African art museum

opened its doors in Washington, perceptions are changing.

What I really feel excited about is that we no longer, I hope, have to

go to Europe or to the United States to justify the beauty, the

We can understand it because of its own aesthetic standards.

The 50th anniversary of the National Museum of African Art is also

Warren Robbins was a cultural attache working

One day in the late 1950s, he walked into an antique store

and bought a wooden carving, the start of a world-class collection.

And here we are at Warren Robbins' home.

Back in Washington, he turned his house

into a museum and used his African art as a vehicle for civil rights.

He created a space that was extraordinarily rare at the time.

Which is someplace that appreciates where African-Americans came from,

remember, we're talking about the United States in 1964, the

peak of the civil rights movement, and before it had triumphed.

So in that sense, it was a major move forward.

And as the museum has developed, that has only strengthened.

Robbins was also very well connected.

Hollywood stars such as Gregory Peck and Elizabeth Taylor flocked to

his exhibitions, raising the profile and understanding of African art.

I think Warren's legacy was to establish something that created

But what he always wanted was a museum that was living.

Today's museum, now part of the Smithsonian Institution, showcases

historical and contemporary works, helping visitors understand how

the art of Africa is as rich and diverse as the continent itself.

An expert scientific panel here in the UK has given its backing to a

fertility treatment that would allow genetic material from three people

to create a baby. The aim of the three parent IVF technique is to

prevent couples from passing on severe disabilities to their

children. The ground-breaking procedure, which involves replacing

40 part of the mitochondrial DNA, is still at research stay, but it could

be available for patients within two years if draft legislation is passed

into law. And we have shown you some -- and

here are some more unusual pictures of a black bear relaxing in the

Florida sunshine. This was in Daytona Beach, who said that there

looked like he was on vacation. He has been spotted around the

neighbourhood over the past few days, opening up bins and looking

for food. All good things must come to an end, the bins have been taken

away and the hammock removed on safety grounds.

As he had to the course of the night and area of low pressure will push

up from the south, and using a lot of rain to the country. That takes

over tomorrow, which will be relatively cool. Cooler than what we

have been used