:00:00. > :00:08.This is BBC World News Today. Maracana this
:00:09. > :00:18.Throughout the day, the Olympic torch has been
:00:19. > :00:21.making its way through the city to the Maracana stadium.
:00:22. > :00:27.We'll be getting a taste of how the atmosphere is building at one
:00:28. > :00:31.of the many fan zones in Rio where thousands are gathering
:00:32. > :00:38.And here in London, I'm Tom Donkin, here are our other headlines:
:00:39. > :00:42.Months of scandals take their toll on South Africa's governing ANC -
:00:43. > :00:45.they've suffered their worst ever poll results.
:00:46. > :00:49.And we speak to the survivor who became the face of the Brussels
:00:50. > :01:10.As well as the excitement around what the Olympic
:01:11. > :01:17.we are live at the art stadium. It is less than three hours to the
:01:18. > :01:22.official start of the games. The Opening Ceremony is set to begin in
:01:23. > :01:31.the stadium behind me and as you can see, a lot busier now than it was an
:01:32. > :01:36.hour ago. Fans, spectators, ticket holders, they are waking -- making
:01:37. > :01:43.their way through and flanked, of course, by heavy security. It is a
:01:44. > :01:46.huge police operation here. There are browned about 85,000 police and
:01:47. > :01:56.army that has been deployed on the streets. There are around about 80
:01:57. > :02:01.5000. All the bags of the checked, all the tickets are being checked.
:02:02. > :02:06.It is only authorised access here at the stadium. You do get a sense of
:02:07. > :02:13.the anticipation and the excitement building. The atmosphere is very
:02:14. > :02:16.regulated, a little bit dampened down at the moment and I wonder
:02:17. > :02:20.whether that will change as we approached the Opening Ceremony in
:02:21. > :02:26.the hours to come. This Olympics has been marred in the build-up by an
:02:27. > :02:29.number of issues. Zika virus, the pollution of the waterways, the
:02:30. > :02:37.Russian athletes, you may render God we got the decision from the IOC
:02:38. > :02:43.yesterday, clearing the way for at least 271 Russian athletes to take
:02:44. > :02:46.part in these games. Added to that, the issues of security and
:02:47. > :02:52.transportation and whether or not this city is ready to play host the
:02:53. > :03:16.impact games -- to the Olympic Games.
:03:17. > :03:21.The two books are expensive for us but the games have brought good
:03:22. > :03:26.things for the city and for us to live here. His daughter Stephanie
:03:27. > :03:32.who is an umpire in the track and field events can barely contain her
:03:33. > :03:38.enthusiasm. I'm with excited. I can't wait for it to start and be
:03:39. > :03:43.part of it. After a marathon journey around this vast culturally diverse
:03:44. > :03:49.three, the Olympic Torch visited some of Rio's most famous landmarks.
:03:50. > :03:53.There has probably never been a more stunning backdrop for an Olympic
:03:54. > :03:57.Games. This is the first time the games have taken place in South
:03:58. > :04:02.America. A proud moment for the continent and for many Brazilians.
:04:03. > :04:08.Public support for the games has sometimes felt patchy with many
:04:09. > :04:14.areas having little investment. The question is, who are these Olympics
:04:15. > :04:19.for. There has been plenty of infuse yes, some protest and a lot of
:04:20. > :04:22.security. 85,000 troops have been deployed in the streets and there
:04:23. > :04:28.have been rumours of more demonstrations outside tonight's
:04:29. > :04:34.ceremony. Health, health, shouts one protester. Amid real anger that the
:04:35. > :04:40.billions have been spent staging the Olympics when Rio has arguably more
:04:41. > :04:44.pressing priorities. This is a city undoubtedly transformed by the
:04:45. > :04:49.games. Some new infrastructure and urban regeneration. There have been
:04:50. > :04:56.missed opportunities in a city with high levels of inequality, the MPEG
:04:57. > :05:01.-- the Olympic Games not providing so much impetus for change as had
:05:02. > :05:05.been promised. Looking over my shoulder here, it is
:05:06. > :05:11.all about security here and the checks that are being carried out
:05:12. > :05:17.for the thousands of people. 80,000, we're expecting to be in total in
:05:18. > :05:21.that stadium including athletes, officials, 45 heads of state and
:05:22. > :05:29.spectators as well. Let's discuss the security issues in detail. We
:05:30. > :05:33.have with us a security expert. Welcome. It is all about security.
:05:34. > :05:44.We knew that would always be the case. Yes, this is the most games
:05:45. > :05:46.with security in history. You've got thousands of municipal guards,
:05:47. > :05:51.thousands of private security, it is really about protecting the pics
:05:52. > :05:58.from a major terrorist attack or major crime. Brazilians have never
:05:59. > :06:01.seen anything like this before. Nor have they seen terrorism, which is
:06:02. > :06:07.of course what the global headlines have been about. They have seen big
:06:08. > :06:10.events come and go and what they are concerned about is that when all of
:06:11. > :06:15.this comes to an end, what will be left for the city and the state?
:06:16. > :06:21.What is your assessment of what you think will be left? You have been
:06:22. > :06:26.looking at this in detail. At the moment, you get a sense of
:06:27. > :06:31.excitement. The locals are pretty excited about staging this event but
:06:32. > :06:37.does that show perhaps don't worry run deeper? There has been a lot of
:06:38. > :06:40.apprehension in the lead up and with event finally happening tonight,
:06:41. > :06:45.most people are relieved that we got here. You've got the Rio that a lot
:06:46. > :06:48.of the foreigners will be seeing and you've got the other Rio with the
:06:49. > :06:55.poor and impoverished population live. For them, they are not X here
:06:56. > :06:59.in thing this big surge in security the way that foreigners are. They
:07:00. > :07:02.are getting less security than you might expect because all the police
:07:03. > :07:08.have been moved to the big Olympic venues. The big concern when it
:07:09. > :07:15.comes to an end is well innovative police practices continue? Will
:07:16. > :07:20.people -- police continued to protect the poorer people? We are
:07:21. > :07:25.looking at pictures of the heavy security here which has been
:07:26. > :07:30.epitomised by the army that are in the street here. We are getting
:07:31. > :07:34.reports that 85,000 police and army have been deployed. The largest
:07:35. > :07:41.military operation in prison in history. Some may find that presence
:07:42. > :07:46.reassuring, others may say intimidating, but it is a necessity,
:07:47. > :07:52.do you think? There is an expression here in Brazil, for the English to
:07:53. > :07:57.see. And a lot of the police presence is about calming the
:07:58. > :08:04.international presence. For sure, there is a risk, it is read below.
:08:05. > :08:08.The real concern now is organised crime, violet homicide, robbery, not
:08:09. > :08:14.necessarily in the streets but outside in the low income areas.
:08:15. > :08:18.After the Olympics, we have elections at the governor level, at
:08:19. > :08:24.city level, and nobody really knows whether there will be sufficient
:08:25. > :08:34.resources to maximise security into 2017. Thank you so much for joining
:08:35. > :08:40.us. Enjoy the Opening Ceremony. Here, all about heavy security as
:08:41. > :08:43.these ticket holders make their way through to the stadium. There was a
:08:44. > :08:47.part of Rio which is already celebrating with a bit of Samba and
:08:48. > :08:59.who better than to show us it than in one of the biggest fan zones in
:09:00. > :09:05.downtown Rio is Peter Kochi. I'm in the old fort area of Rio.
:09:06. > :09:09.Just before I described the place to you, I was here two years ago during
:09:10. > :09:13.the World Cup and it is unrecognisable. There was a lot of
:09:14. > :09:17.traffic flowing through here at that time but they have cut all that out,
:09:18. > :09:21.it is for pedestrians to come and enjoy themselves and that is what
:09:22. > :09:27.they are hoping to do here tonight. It is a huge square in the old port
:09:28. > :09:33.area. A huge screen has been mounted here today. You can hear music from
:09:34. > :09:37.thousands of fans milling here today, hoping to catch the Opening
:09:38. > :09:45.Ceremony on one of the big screens here at Square. We have heard today
:09:46. > :09:48.that the Opening Ceremony will probably not be the most expensive
:09:49. > :09:55.in the history of Olympics but it will be the coolest one because who
:09:56. > :09:59.puts up a better party than the Brazilians? And that cool vibe is
:10:00. > :10:04.already resonating here at the square today. People playing
:10:05. > :10:09.football, roller skaters, people running their bicycles, couples
:10:10. > :10:13.trying to soak in the atmosphere just as we are. They are just hoping
:10:14. > :10:19.that all the problems in the lead up to these games will just melt away
:10:20. > :10:22.once the Opening Ceremony starts at his the kind of atmosphere that they
:10:23. > :10:30.are trying to build here in Rio today.
:10:31. > :10:34.Indeed. Peter, you get the best gigs, because you were at the World
:10:35. > :10:39.Cup and now you are here again. Thank you very much. More from Peter
:10:40. > :10:45.and the team in the fan zone as we build up to the Opening Ceremony
:10:46. > :10:50.just a few hours away. 11,000 athletes, they will be taking centre
:10:51. > :10:55.stage here. A lot of the spotlight will be on who is carrying the flag
:10:56. > :11:22.is and what they are going to be wearing.
:11:23. > :11:25.Let's take a look at some of the outfits causing a stir.
:11:26. > :11:27.South Korea's outfits have gone down fairly well.
:11:28. > :11:29.They have been infused with insect repellent designed
:11:30. > :11:32.Here's Team China in a colour combination which critics have
:11:33. > :11:35.The official Olympic outfit for Georgia prompted thousands
:11:36. > :11:37.of Georgians to sign a petition calling for
:11:38. > :11:41.But possibly the most controversial was the Iranian outfit.
:11:42. > :11:44.However, such was the public backlash that they've had
:11:45. > :11:56.It's still unclear just what exactly they'll be wearing tonight.
:11:57. > :12:05.Last but not least, the home team outfit. As you would expect, those
:12:06. > :12:09.traditional Brazilian colours. We will be assessing who is wearing
:12:10. > :12:14.what and if they are wearing it well. Look out for Team GB's outfit,
:12:15. > :12:21.designed by Stella McCartney. We will take you to all the news in the
:12:22. > :12:30.build-up to the Opening Ceremony. Two hours away. Back to you in the
:12:31. > :12:35.studio. You can follow bad beta. And you can get all of the action of the
:12:36. > :12:37.website. Let's take a look at what else
:12:38. > :12:41.is making news around the world. The East African regional body
:12:42. > :12:43.I-GAD says the government in South Sudan has agreed to allow
:12:44. > :12:45.in an international protection force to try and salvage
:12:46. > :12:48.the country's peace deal. There's no clear timeline yet
:12:49. > :12:50.for the deployment of Lawyers for the US-based Turkish
:12:51. > :12:54.cleric, Fethullah Gulen say they fear that there could be
:12:55. > :12:57.an attempt on his life. The Turkish government has blamed
:12:58. > :12:59.Mr Gulen for masterminding the recent failed coup there,
:13:00. > :13:01.an accusation he denies. The government has submitted
:13:02. > :13:05.evidence to the US in preparation At least 13 people have been killed
:13:06. > :13:12.when suspected militants opened fire at a market place in the Indian
:13:13. > :13:16.town of Kokrajhar. Police have blamed the attack
:13:17. > :13:19.on an insurgent group called the National Democratic
:13:20. > :13:21.Front of Bodoland. They say they have killed one
:13:22. > :13:25.militant. The death toll from the Bastille Day
:13:26. > :13:28.lorry attack in Nice has risen to 85, after a 56-year-old man
:13:29. > :13:30.seriously injured in The death was confirmed on Twitter
:13:31. > :13:36.by President of the French Riviera He offered condolences to the family
:13:37. > :13:47.of the latest victim. In South Africa, the governing
:13:48. > :13:50.African National Congress has just recorded its worst ever electoral
:13:51. > :13:53.performance in local elections. The ANC has admitted defeat
:13:54. > :13:55.in the key battleground of Nelson Mandela Bay which includes
:13:56. > :13:58.the city of Port Elizabeth. Nomsa Maseko has this
:13:59. > :14:17.report from Johannesburg. The governing ANC has been handed it
:14:18. > :14:22.first major election setback since 1994. This is the first time the
:14:23. > :14:26.party of Nelson Mandela won less than 60%, an embarrassment and a
:14:27. > :14:32.major psychological blow, even though it still commands huge
:14:33. > :14:39.support and rewired. Other issues have affected them but broadly, the
:14:40. > :14:45.ANC has done well against all odds. But infighting, court cases and a
:14:46. > :14:48.host of corruption scandals, some involving the president, are widely
:14:49. > :14:54.seen as the reason for the ANC weakening support. What I would say
:14:55. > :14:58.to the ANC is the need to learn from the opposition, they need to take
:14:59. > :15:04.the citizens of South Africa very seriously. The municipal election
:15:05. > :15:08.results show that the ANC power and influence is slowly declining. The
:15:09. > :15:12.party is coming to the realisation that it can no longer take it for
:15:13. > :15:20.granted that the country's black majority will follow it blindly. The
:15:21. > :15:24.official opposition and ceded the ANC in Nelson Mandela Bay, an area
:15:25. > :15:32.with rich history of anti-apartheid struggle. We are very happy with the
:15:33. > :15:37.results so far. 95% counted and we are still waiting for results. But
:15:38. > :15:41.indications are that it looks like we will do very well in both those
:15:42. > :15:45.disabilities. But none of the parties have one and out my
:15:46. > :15:59.honourable gentleman Jarecki in fiercely contested cities including
:16:00. > :16:04.Johannesburg and Pretoria. Essentially, the people of South
:16:05. > :16:12.Africa gave us keys to the classroom on an historic lesson in humility.
:16:13. > :16:17.We will be opening it to put the ANC in it so they may learn once and for
:16:18. > :16:22.all never again to think that they are indispensable. They must learn
:16:23. > :16:31.to respect the people's power, to respect the people's mandate. These
:16:32. > :16:37.municipal elections have proven that South Africa's political landscape
:16:38. > :16:42.is maturing into a competitive multiparty democracy.
:16:43. > :16:53.Still to come, this woman became the face of the Brussels track. She has
:16:54. > :18:02.spoken to the BBC for the first time.
:18:03. > :18:04.The latest headlines: The Olympic torch has arrived
:18:05. > :18:11.The opening ceremony is now just hours away.
:18:12. > :18:14.Months of scandals take their toll on South Africa's governing ANC.
:18:15. > :18:20.They've suffered their worst ever poll results.
:18:21. > :18:32.China has sentenced another human rights activist after a week
:18:33. > :18:35.The woman who became the face of the attack on Brussels in March
:18:36. > :18:37.has given a special interview to the BBC.
:18:38. > :18:40.35 people died and more than 300 others were injured in blasts
:18:41. > :18:41.at the city's airport and a metro station.
:18:42. > :18:44.Nidhi Chaphekar, was featured in one of the most shared images
:18:45. > :18:47.and she told the BBC in Mumbai that her children saw their mother's
:18:48. > :19:02.The first time that I saw the picture, my eyes were struck by my
:19:03. > :19:07.face. It showed how helpless I was at that particular time, how
:19:08. > :19:15.frightened I looked, the agony, the pain. I spoke to Mike kids because I
:19:16. > :19:21.was worried, I have a son who was 14 years old. Seeing his mum who was
:19:22. > :19:29.half covered in clothes, my daughter, she is ten, my mother is
:19:30. > :19:35.being exposed to the world. I said, are you ashamed? They said, we were
:19:36. > :19:38.looking at your strength. Even in this condition, you are still
:19:39. > :19:56.wanting to be alive. It was a blast like a ball of fire
:19:57. > :20:04.it hit a sound. On form -- full volume. Next, I found myself way
:20:05. > :20:09.away as if someone had kicked me from that place and I was on the
:20:10. > :20:14.ground. Those cries of grief of people, those who were asking, where
:20:15. > :20:25.is my child? I'm calling for my child. I'm asking for help. People
:20:26. > :20:32.were crying because of pain. We have to live, we have to go on, life has
:20:33. > :20:38.to move. If you can do something better for someone, I think you have
:20:39. > :20:45.gained something. Everybody has to think that is it.
:20:46. > :20:48.That was the story of Nidhi Chaphekar, whose image
:20:49. > :20:50.in the aftermath of the terror attack on Brussels last
:20:51. > :20:55.year was shared and seen around the world.
:20:56. > :20:58.China has sentenced another human rights activist after a week
:20:59. > :21:01.of trials that have caused a great deal of concern around the world.
:21:02. > :21:03.Go Hong Gwor, who was given a three-year suspended sentence,
:21:04. > :21:06.was one of those caught up in a large-scale crackdown last
:21:07. > :21:24.Our correspondent John Sudworth has been in Tianjin this week.
:21:25. > :21:33.The authorities have been at pains to insist the trials are open and
:21:34. > :21:37.transparent. And, yet, I'm some distance away from the court because
:21:38. > :21:42.any attempt to film in the vicinity is very quickly squashed with both
:21:43. > :21:48.family members of those involved and journalists being kept well at bay.
:21:49. > :21:53.Foreign media is told instead it must cover these court cases from
:21:54. > :21:57.this media reception centre, complete with the big screen showing
:21:58. > :22:02.photographs from inside the court and a transcript of the proceedings
:22:03. > :22:06.though there is no way of verifying the accuracy of any of it. The
:22:07. > :22:10.ultimate irony is that having been stopped from filming outside the
:22:11. > :22:18.courts, being put on a bus and brought here, the government has
:22:19. > :22:24.been publishing photographs of inside this media reception centre.
:22:25. > :22:30.The message, the foreign media art being given every assistance and
:22:31. > :22:34.welcome. Being involved in human rights in China has never been an
:22:35. > :22:39.easy path to tread. What is different this time isn't just the
:22:40. > :22:44.scale, with 300 people detained last year, nor within the fact that
:22:45. > :22:47.amongst the 20 remained in custody ever since, there are some prominent
:22:48. > :22:53.lawyers. What is interesting about what is happening here and for many
:22:54. > :22:59.people deeply troubling is that the prosecutions are being linked to an
:23:00. > :23:08.increasingly fervent national narrative, neatly summed up by this
:23:09. > :23:13.video. It has been posted on the website of china's National
:23:14. > :23:18.prosecution service. Chinese human rights lawyers are at the centre of
:23:19. > :23:24.an international conspiracy, the video argues, that aims, through the
:23:25. > :23:27.motion of democracy and freedom, to bring the kind of chaos and
:23:28. > :23:32.instability in China that we can see elsewhere in the world. Now that the
:23:33. > :23:37.trials for this week have finished, the security is gone and we are once
:23:38. > :23:42.again free to film outside the court, the purpose to all this seems
:23:43. > :23:45.very clear, to send a very chilling message to anyone who dares to
:23:46. > :23:50.challenge the authority of the Communist Party, even if it's --
:23:51. > :24:02.even in its own party run courts. Let's return to the greater show on
:24:03. > :24:10.earth. For the first time, athletes from Kosovo will compete under the
:24:11. > :24:13.MPEG flag. He was a judo athlete who will be competing at the games. --
:24:14. > :24:35.under the Olympic flag. My name is Marina. I do judo in the
:24:36. > :25:28.under 52 kilograms. It is going to be very scarce -- very special...
:25:29. > :25:38.One judo player story. I want to bring you some live pictures from
:25:39. > :25:45.Rio de Janeiro. These are some protesters who are attempting to
:25:46. > :25:48.block the journey of the flames as it wakes six way to the stadium.
:25:49. > :25:53.These Olympic Games haven't been without controversy. A lot of people
:25:54. > :25:56.argue that the money spent on these games should have been spent on
:25:57. > :26:00.infrastructure and to lessen the massive poverty gap within Rio and
:26:01. > :26:04.around the country. Good night.