american express can help protect you. with intelligent security that learns your spending patterns, and can alert you instantly to an unusual charge. so you can be a member of a more secure world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. i'm tim willcox. europe's continuing illegal immigration crisis. hundreds of migrants forcing their way through razor wire barriers into spain's enclave of melilla. nearly 1,000 migrants have cleared from a camp in the french town of calais. they say they don't know where to go. just hours before a major foreign policy speech, president obama announces nearly 10,000 u.s. troops will stay in afghanistan. but only for one more year. also on the program, aaron is here.

and the pressure intensifies on britain's gsk. >> tim, the drug giant glaxosmithkline would use some painkillers. it's now facing a criminal investigation here in britain for its sales practices in countries ranging from iraq, poland and lebanon. it's already in trouble in china for allegedly bribing doctors and hospitals to prescribe its drugs. hello. it is midday here in london. 7:00 a.m. in washington, 1:00 p.m. in the french port city of calais where riot police are currently clearing about 800 illegal migrants from makeshift camps there. french authorities claim an outbreak of scabies and the lack of running water is posing a health risk and the site needs to be shut down. but the migrants say they don't know where to go. the illegal camps cropped up after the french government closed down the official red cross refugee center in 2002.

more illegal camps were cleared in 2009. but it didn't stop the migrants from coming back. now there are several camps in calais, mostly with political and economic migrants from asia, the middle east and africa. paul adams was at one of those camps as police moved in. >> reporter: so the police have been here about an hour now. they're just starting to make their second sweep through the camp. this is the syrian camp right next to the port. and the police are working their way through tent by tent. they're looking inside, seeing who's in there. there's been announcements on a loud speaker telling people that they need to move on. no one, frankly, knows where they're supposed to go. there's some buses parked just on the road behind the camp. no one seems to know where those buses are going to take them. but in the meantime, the police, quite quietly, it has to be said, are just working through, you can see here, looking in the tents, checking to see if anyone's still in there.

then at some point we expect this whole camp to be bulldozed. that could happen later today. here again. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: so basically she's saying that they have to do this immediately. have to go immediately. but, again, there's this terrific uncertainty about where people are supposed to go. some of the migrants are huddled by a feeding station just the other side of the road. they think maybe they can stay there safely. again, those buses are simply waiting there. but in the meantime, this slow, steady process of clearing out the camp, which has been expected for the last couple of days, continues. this isn't the first time this has happened. we've had the clearing of the camp back in 2002. other camps, makeshift camps

around calais have been erected and then demolished over the years. this is the latest in a whole series of repeating episodes. this camp has expanded dramatically in the last few months to the point where the authorities clearly believe that it poses a danger to public health. there's this talk about an outbreak of scabies. we've seen people being treated for that. but the authorities feel that the time has come for this large camp to be removed and any of those health agents to be removed with it. with that operation comes this terrific level of uncertainty. >> paul adams there at calais. farther south around 1,000 migrants have tried to storm the border between morocco and spain's enclave of melilla. the spanish authorities say 400 people managed to climb a fence and enter the spanish territory. they celebrated on the streets after arriving as you can see from these pictures. they'll now stay at an

immigration center there. let's go live to madrid, the spanish capital. our correspondent there, tom burridge. tom, this has happened before. what's there inside melilla, what they are guaranteed some form of accommodation? >> reporter: they are, tim. so we were in melilla a matter of weeks ago. what will happen to those migrants who successfully scaled the fence this morning is that they'll be housed in a temporary immigration center. they'll then be a quite lengthy process, a lot of bureaucracy, inevitably, about their claim. some of them will be claiming asylum. some of them will be shipped to the spanish mainland. because that immigration center in melilla is running at about five times its capacity. only designed to hold about 480 migrants. we believe there are 2,000, 2,500 migrants there now. authorities in that part of spain really struggling to deal with this ongoing problem. >> but are they beefing up security there? i have to say, i know last time this happened was just in march, wasn't it? hundreds of people breached that

same fence. is there any eu help for spain like italy is demanding with the illegal immigration flash points? >> reporter: well, spain gets money from the eu to try and control that border. but it says it needs a lot more money. we went up into the mountains in morocco near melilla. and there are makeshift camps there. and there are tens of thousands of migrants living there in pretty poor conditions. but they are incredibly determined, all of them, to scale that fence. the fence itself is up to six meters high in one point. it's got barbed wire on it. but as you say, we've seen this happen on numerous occasions over the last few weeks and months where hundreds of migrants in large groups essentially storm the fence. and inevitably, quite a few of them are successful. the authorities there seem unable to really control this problem. despite spain and morocco investing more resources, more reinforcements on that border fence. >> tom burridge in madrid, thanks very much, indeed.

we hope to go to paris in a few moments' time. let's just move on before we do that. because in thailand, the army says it has now released 124 leading politicians, activists and academics who were taken into custody after last week's coup. 76 people are still detained, most from the red shirt movement who support the ousted government. those who have been released were told to avoid political activity and to notify the military of any travel. jonathan head reports from bangkok. >> reporter: thailand's military rulers have been losing the propaganda war. so for the first time, they've been showing video evidence of their detainees. these are leaders of the pro-government red shirt movement in captivity, saying that they're being well treated. now they've apparently been freed. these are the activists with the ability to mobilize opponents of the military. none have yet been able to speak

publicly about their detention. nor is it clear what conditions the military imposed for their release. some detainees are refusing to accept any conditions. former education minister, who was arrested yesterday, is one. he's being prosecuted for failing to hand himself over to the new authorities. he faces two years in prison. and the military is tightening its censorship. hundreds of websites have disappeared from thai screens. the ministry in charge of regulating the internet says much harsher measures could follow. >> translator: this is an order. it's like the law for us. the military wants us to monitor two issues. one, anything that portrays the monarchy in a bad light. and, second, anything that threatens unity and stability. we don't want the country to break apart, for people to fight

each other. >> reporter: there are thais who have welcomed the military's intervention. the army will be grateful for these supportive images. but in reality, they've thrown this country into uncertainty. the cost of their coup is hard to gauge. but it could be high. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. >> with me now is legal adviser and political commentator. thank you for joining us. there is the argument, isn't there, that the military, even though this is undemocratic, needed to get involved, to break the political deadlock? >> well, in my opinion, there is no argument or necessity for the coup. as long as we are under the democratic framework. and while i understand that there may be some justifications on the part of the military, i don't think it's sustainable. we have to first of all admit that this is not the first time

it has happened. this is probably the 18th, 19th attempt. and the vicious cycle will continue as long as we have these lack of respect in thailand. political crisis must be solved through a political means. >> history shows that is impossible. go back to 2006. go back to the coup there which, perhaps, spawned the red shirt movement. there seems to be no way of breaking that political impasse. >> we haven't really tried to our best attempt. we haven't really put our faith in the electoral process, at least. we tried to push for the election. but for whatever reasons the constitutional court and certain of the constitution seem reluctant to move ahead with the election. that's the problem. the problem is not with the process but the faith we have in the process. >> yingluck shinawatra has been released. thaksin, her brother, is abroad. is there a suggestion they may try to form some sort of

government in exile. >> i've heard rumors of that. i think it's not impossible for them to attempt to do that. although it would be quite difficult given that the military has now almost effective control in thailand. i have to say this. let's say that if there is, indeed, a government in exile, it's not really the government in exile that will be -- that will matter. it's the people in the streets in thailand who are now going to look to some form of legitimate government out there somewhere. i think that will be a very interesting development. >> you look at social media in thailand, and it is interesting. there seems to be a lot of support for the military intervention. >> well, let's have to say that we have about -- almost 70 million people in thailand. i don't think all of them have access to social media. >> i'm not saying that at all. this is not -- it might have been coordinated, i'm sure all political parties do this. but there does seem to be a body of support. >> a lot of this would be the majority of people who have convenient access to facebook and twitter is who control the

conception on social media on -- >> that has been closed down, i think. >> some time ago. shortly. actually, middle class, middle class in major cities, in the attempt to overlook the actual feelings of the people on the ground, the actual people, especially in rural areas who voted the government just ousted from this coup -- >> very briefly. is there a problem, though, that is the king and royal family seems to have sanctioned this? people are very faithful and obedient to that traditional power structure within the country? >> it is very unfortunate that i could go to jail if i speak too much about the monarchy in thailand. i have to say this. i think as long as we do have the -- we can't really have any discussions regarding the monarchy and democracy. >> i'm afraid we'll leave it there. thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on "gmt." let's go back to our main story. that is the illegal immigration crisis affecting europe at the moment. a camp of illegal migrants in

calais, in the french port city there, being cleared today. some 800 people, french authorities saying people are malnourished and suffer from scabies. it also coincides with overnight a stampede over the wire fence into the spanish north african enclave of melilla. some 400 migrants have now made it to a center there. let's go to paris and speak to william spindler, spokesman for the u.n. high commission for ref j -- refugees. these are flash points which seem to be hit every few months now. what is the way to actually stop this without erecting very serious barriers? >> well, people who are fleeing war and persecution and human rights violations are very determined, and they will continue to arrive and try their best even at the risk of their own lives to reach safety. so in our view, the answer is

not to -- to try to stop them. but to deal with the causes that make them flee in the first place. >> yes. but aren't a number of these people, mr. spindler, though, economic migrants? >> some of them are, undoubtedly. but many of them are also fleeing war, persecution and human rights violations. even those who are fleeing poverty, they're -- their needs need to be addressed in terms of long-term development. but, of course, in the short term, we need to counsel those people who might be in need of protection. and we need to ensure that they receive it. some of these people are, as you say, economic migrants. but many of them are basically fleeing for their lives. some of them are minors. they need also to be treated accordingly. we don't think that closing borders is the answer.

we recognize this is a very serious, difficult issue. and europe needs to deal with it as a whole. it's a problem that is manifested in places like calais, melilla, also greece, bulgaria. >> of course. but how can europe, which is either coming out or still in recession, afford to take people like this? not just economically, but also sociologically, given the european elections and the results we've seen in the past 24, 48 hours there? >> yes. that's why we say that we need to look at the situation more close closely, to the countries where they come from. most refugees, the immense majority, stay close to the countries of origin. and it's countries that -- neighbor syria, for instance,

that are getting the brunt of syrian refugees. these are the countries that really need our help. because if refugees don't find the protection that they need close to home, they will take these long journeys at the risk of their lives and try to find safety wherever they can. so it's in the interest of europe to help countries like lebanon, like jordan, like egypt, like turkey, that are receiving the most refugees from syria. but also countries in north africa that are receiving sub saharan migrants. and try to help them so that they don't need to come to europe. people will always try to come to europe as well. so europe cannot share its responsibilities. but we think that we need to look at this in a global way. and look for solutions closer to the countries of origin of these migrants and refugees. >> william spindler from the u.n. high commission for refugees. thank you for joining us on the program. you're watching "gmt." in other news, leaders of the european union say they will

reassess their priorities after the electoral success of euro spectic parties. french president francois hollande said the eu must become more efficient unless interfering. on the british front david cameron said the eu is too bossy, adding it could no longer be business as usual of the european parliament. leader of pro-russian separatists in eastern ukraine says he doesn't know the whereabouts of four missing monitors from the european security organization. osce say they hope the monitors will be allowed to return to their base as soon as possible. u.s. state department has warned american citizens in libya to leave the country immediately, saying the situation there is unpredictable and unstable. the u.s. has already announced it's deploying an amphibious assault ship for any possible evacuation of american embassy personnel. stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come, a pregnant woman in pakistan is stoned to death by her family for marrying for love.

♪ show 'em the curve. it's beautiful. it's more than that... ...it's perfect. introducing curved ultra high definition television from samsung.

you're watching "gmt" with me, tim willcox. a line out of washington just coming into us on the associated press wires. ahead of a major foreign policy speech by president obama in a few hours' time, u.s. secretary of state john kerry has just announced that there will be a 5 billion u.s. dollar terrorism partnership fund to help other countries push back against radical extremists. john kerry said that president obama would announce that fund during his speech later today at the u.s. military academy in west point, new york. now, there has been more anti-world cup protests in brazil. just over a fortnight before the football tournament begins. latest demonstrations were in the capital brazilia. about 1,000 people marched oen

the city's world cup stadium. our correspondent sent this report. >> reporter: around 1,000 homeless workers and indigenous groups from central brazil marched towards the huge stadium in the capital brazilia. dressed in traditional costumes, some with bows and arrows, the protesters were met in the middle of the highway by armed riot police. clad head to toe in armed body armor. the troops opened fire with tear gas and stun grenades. the protestered scattered. some turned to fire their primitive weapons a z they fled. the world cup game to be played in the brazilia stadium. the most costly of brazil's 12 venues. which according to some reports has cost $900 million to build. that's money, say protesters, that should have been directed elsewhere. to social housing and other

projec projects. brazilia doesn't even have a major football team to use the stadium after the cup. more worrying for the brazilian government, these events perhaps confirm their concerns there will be relatively small, but prosif rouse protests during the cup itself. how brazil military police deal with these commdemonstrations u the gaze of the world's media is a big question. rio de janeiro. a pregnant pakistani woman has been stoned to death by members of her own family for marrying the man she loved. 25-year-old farzana parveen was killed in front of a courthouse in lahore. her father has been arrested in the attacks. watched by a crowd of onlookers who did nothing to stop it. these are common in pakistan. but so publicly, is this rare?

>> it's been quite a shock for the nation. i mean, these cases, according to statistics by some human rights organizations, have been almost 1,000 of such honor killings in pakistan. but the shocking fact is that this has happened in the heart of lahore. it's one of the safest cities in the country. and it happened right at the courthouse steps. just a few steps away from justice, this complete violation of justice. >> the woman's father apparently has been arrested. in terms of justice, the fact that this has happened in a major city, do you think this will make pakistan confront this issue more seriously? >> you know, this is not the first time such a case has happened in lahore. if you remember, in 1999, there was a very high profile case of honor killing of a woman killed in her lawyer's office. she was seeking a divorce. we've seen a very sort of laxity in the justice system when it comes to honor killings. it's technically supposed to be treated like any other homicide. but the concept of a woman as

property is so deeply entrenched in the social fabric that even police officers do not seem to take it very seriously. even with this case, there were almost 25 family members who were present. they stoned her to death in front of a crowd of onlookers. only the father has come forward. and the police keep saying, well, we can't find the rest of them. we know that the family is -- we haven't seen any action from the police. >> the victim's family can normally plead -- that's turned on its head when you have an honor killing committed by -- >> yes. i think that's very ironic in pakistani law. we have the concept of blood money there and where the victim's family can forgive. in these cases, it's actually the victim's family that are the killers. often what we see in these cases, it's a morality issue or a girl is destroying her reputation or their honor as they perceive it. they just nominate a family member to conduct this killing. then they find a way to forgive. that's the problem with the

legal system. there has been no recourse to justice in such cases. >> where do clerics stand on this in large cities in pakistan? presumably, i don't know. you tell me. will they take a different line from perhaps in more rural areas zbr whenever we see cases of gender based violence, honor killings, reduce the lot of opposing to the gallery, we do see a lot of con tem natiodemna front of tv cameras. in actuality, most often clerics have a right wing way of thinking. we don't really see them uniting and trying to change the narrative in pakistani society, to try to explain to them that honor killing is un-islamic or something that should be condemned. we don't really see them coming out and being proactive against this issue. >> thank you very much indeed. on that shocking case of the young woman being stoned to death in front of the courthouse in lahore. you're watching "gmt."

coming up in the next half hour, barack obama prepares to deliver his foreign policy agenda. we take a look at what we can expect from the american president. will it be a new chapter for the u.s. and its engagement in the world? we've already heard that there will be a $5 billion anti-terror fund. stay with us. we're back in a few minutes' time. ahh, nothing like the peace and quiet of a beach escape. funny, there was no mention of hail in the weather report. go & smell the roses. [ woman ] thanks. the dealership reviews on cars.com made it easy, but... [ man ] we thought it might be a little more tense. you miss the drama? yeah. [ technician ] ask him whatever you want.

okay. ♪ do you think my sister's prettier than me? ♪ [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] research, price, find. only cars.com helps you get the right car without all the drama.

only cars.com helps you hey, buddy? oh, hey, flo. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you.

you always do what they tell you? no... try it, and see what your good driving can save you. you don't even have to switch. unless you're scared. i'm not scared, it's... you know we can still see you. no, you can't. pretty sure we can... try snapshot today -- no pressure. coming up in this half hour, president obama announces a speedier exit anticipated for u.s. troops from afghanistan ahead of a major foreign policy speech later. as europe's leaders consider their options, a new poll says nearly a third of people in britain say they are racially prejudice. also in the program, aaron is back looking at the future of transport. >> yeah. tim, how about this? no controls, no pedals, no steering or nothing. nada! you just press "go."

and you go. yes. it's the driverless car from google plans to build. seriously? will we really see these on our roads? hello. in a few hours time president barack obama will be setting out his vision for american foreign policy for the remainder of his term. it's expected he will detail a new chapter for the united states. one where it is interventionist and internationalist, while fully engaged with the world without overreaching. in the past few minutes we've heard from u.s. secretary of state john kerry. one of the announcements will be a new $5 billion fund to help other countries fight terrorism. the speech comes among a growing chorus of criticism of u.s. foreign policy that, to some, looks weak.

afghanistan has been top of president obama's foreign policy agenda. he's now announced plans to reduce u.s. troop deployment there with a normal u.s. embassy presence by 2016. we can also expect him to comment on syria and ukraine. he's been criticized for being too soft by some in both places. and the u.s. response to terrorism in africa. groups such as infamous militants boko haram is also likely to be discussed. let's go to washington. we can speak to janine davis. senior fellow of defense policy for council on foreign relations. isn't that the problem president obama is always going to have? if there's no threat of troops on the ground or some military response, he's going to lose credibility? >> i don't know if he'll lose credibility. but i do think that there are people that criticize president obama who, unless there's a military response, unless there's boots on the ground, unless there's bullets flying, there's a sense that nothing is being done. and i think that that is

definitely something that president obama will try to dispel in this speech. >> but, i mean, ukraine obviously isn't a member of nato. but do you think article 5 of the nato constitution would still apply now? >> well, article 5 applies to nato countries, and ukraine is not a nato country. >> as i said. if it were another nato country which did suffer what happened in ukraine, for example, do you think the american response would be to sign article 5? >> absolutely. i think the administration has said that. so has the nato leadership. you see the movements of troops an and you see the movements of military assets into the black sea. you see increased overflight in poland. so you definitely see them positioning themselves to have a military response, if it were to come to that in a nato country.

>> what do you make of what he's announced in terms of troop numbers in afghanistan? i mean, that would appear to be a speedier exit than certainly a lot of afghans would be wanting. >> well, it's true. i mean, i think on the upside, it's good that he's finally clarified that he will at least have 10,000 troops for 2014 and 2015. which is what the pentagon has asked for. so that's good. but i think it's correct to say that after that, the dropoff is pretty precipitous. i think there is some risk there. perhaps they'll reassess in another year or so. but that is the risk to the current drawdown, definitely. >> in terms of the domestic reaction to this announcement, i mean, how sensitive will he be to that? just given the war weariness. afghanistan, i think, one of the longest wars that america's been involved in. >> well, i think that it's the domestic driver that has been

most on president obama's mind and agenda when it comes to ending both of wars, in iraq and afghanistan. and he has definitely highlighted the ending of the iraq and afghanistan wars as part of his major accomplishments in foreign policy. and that is definitely talking to the domestic audience in america who is war weary. >> okay. janine davidson, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on the program today. >> my pleasure. now, let's -- actually, we'll see president obama's speech in a few hours' time on bbc at 1400 gmt. syria's presidential elections are getting under way with ex-pat syrians voting in lebanon and in jordan. it's the first stage ahead of the main poll that will be held next tuesday. western countries have dismissed president bashar al assad's efforts to win a third seven-year term as a sham. there are two other candidates taking part. let's go to correspondent jim

muir who's at the syrian embassy in beirut. a lot of activity around you. just give us the scene there, jim. >> reporter: absolutely. a state of real bedlam here, i have to say. i should explain the syrian embassy is the only voting station in lebanon for this, as it were, pre-election. the election in syria is on the 3rd of june. this is the election for ex-patriots or refugees in lebanon. there are 1.5 million. of them, something like half a million are qualified to vote in terms of being 18 years old. you'd almost think there's that many here. there aren't, of course, but there's certainly tens of thousands that have turned out. it's turned out almost at times into a kind of pro-bashar al assad rally. virtually everybody here seems to have turned out to vote for the incumbent president, bashar al assad, despite the fact that there are two other names on the ballot sheet. there's been such a crush on the

facilities here that a lot of people have actually given up. many of these people are actually making their way out of the embassy because at one point as a man passed me he said you'd die 100 times over trying to get in there. many have been taken over by heat exhaustion. it's been very far from perfect as an exercise in quiet polling, as it were. but huge enthusiasm by the bashar al assad fans who've turned up to vote for him. there's suggestion going around that some people may be voting because they think if they don't, they won't be able to go home if bashar wins the war. which a lot of people here seem to think he might be doing. quite extraordinary things here. not normal things for an embassy or, indeed, for a polling station. >> you mentioned the diaspora of syrians. how many people will be able to physically vote in syria? >> reporter: i'm afraid i just can't hear you.

there's too much noise going on here. they're expecting to -- i was going to say, they're expecting to extend the voting here because so many people are trying to get in. they're hoping to get to extend by at least several hours when the polls close in about four hours from now. i'd love to have you back, but i can't hear your question. >> probably just as well. jim, thank you very much. jim muir there. let's move on. let's see if aaron can hear me. >> sorry? >> are you going to get one of those cars that you don't have to drive? >> we're going to talk about that. we're going to talk about -- we can mention it after. >> i'd love to travel with you. >> would you? we could have us a little drink together in a little bottle. happy birthday, by the way. >> thank you very much. >> timothy's birthday, everyone. 39. thanks, tim. let's talk about this. starting off on a serious note. britain's serious fraud office known as the sfo has launched a criminal inquiry into glaxosmithkline, gsk, all less

than two weeks after the drug maker was accused of massive and systemic bribery in china. authorities there this month, in fact, accused the group of earning billions of yuan as illegal revenue from the bribing of hospital and government officials to buy its medicine. gsk has also in recent weeks faced the same claims of corruption in places like poland and iraq. let's get more and speak to barry. since there are these allegations of bribery in places like china, iraq, poland and lebanon, i'm wondering if these are simply just a coincidence or you have to ask yourself, how high up does all of this go? >> i think that is a key question that we'll be looking at. how high up did it go? and that's one of the reasons they are, i guess, looking into gsk. >> it would be a problem. i can only imagine, if it was

found these allegations, if it did go to the top to, let's say, the gsk board. >> it would be a big problem. it seems to me that there are a couple of things that they'll be looking at. first off, systems and controls, no doubt gsk will be saying they have systems and controls. that's one thing they'll be l k looking at. how high it went. in particular, one individual, the head of china. you've got to imagine he was reporting to someone fairly senior in the gsk management structure. so there'll be lots of questions about that. on both counts, if the answer is either the systems and controls were inadequate or that it went up high, that's a problem for gsk. >> absolutely. of course, we're talking about for our world viewers a british firm. it's being investigated here in britain by the fraud office. but gsk could also get hammered from other jurisdictions around the world, right? >> it certainly could. it seems to be taking a bit of a

hammering in china at the moment. one of the things about these global investigations, they are very painful for those subjects. you've got various different jury dictions which are interested. the u.s. will be interested. the uk will be interested. the local jurisdictions will be interested. and maybe there'll be some people out there that say they've paid too much for their products. and they might be interested as well. so a lot of people will be watching this very closely. >> so what happens if gsk -- if these allegations are found to be true and it's found to be guilty? what sort of penalties are we talking about? >> well, if it's found out that this did go very high, indeed, there's a risk to gsk that it could suffer some sort of -- which would clearly be a catastrophic outcome for a company that sells a lot of its products to public sector bodies. so that is one practical outcome. another outcome, large fines.

recent guidelines in the uk which come in very recently are now basically sending the message that the -- should be putting numbers next to fines in the uk similar to those in the u.s. where we know that they run to hundreds of billions, in some instances billions. >> barry, great stuff. we appreciate your input any time. barry vitou. >> happy birthday. >> not mine. but tim's. there you go, tim. another birthday wish. let's talk about this. a stop and go button for a car? no controls. no steering wheels. the bloke is just sitting there. nothing. something out of a sci-fi film. but it is something google wants to turn into a reality. the search engine plans to start building its own self-driving cars. look, let's get more on all of this. come on. you're too far back. come over here. our business reporter knows all about driverless cars. great to have you with us.

google has been -- we've been hearing about this driverless car with google for a long time now. what's new about all of this? >> up until now google has been driving around the streets of california in ordinary cars, toyota priuses and the like, which have been converted using driverless technology. this takes things a stage further. it's purpose built. it's electric. only capable of about 40 kilometers per hour. it can only take two people. what this appears to be is a prototype of an urban transport system. the kind of they think you might have for automated taxis in a city center or around a university campus. >> a prototype, i reckon that's going to be -- this is what we could see on our roads? >> it's entirely possible. this is what google wants to do. building a couple hundred of these as a test bed to see where the technology takes us. >> talking o ining of that, the technology, i'm wondering, basically, the technology, some of it is already out there. right? these cars that can reverse themselves. my car that if it's on cruise control will slow down if it gets too close to another car.

>> absolutely. this isn't something that's going to change overnight from people driving cars to people not driving cars anymore. there's a gradual flow of technology from the one to the other. so you do have cars now where they parallel park themselves. collision avoidance systems. if you get too close to the car in front, your car will slow down. even put the brakes on if you need to. the technology filters down. even if we're yet to see fully driverless cars on our streets. >> is there a point, if you see that little car, there it is, again, we like to repeat these shots. if you see that car, i mean, does it work, a driverless car system, does it work with cars that are not driverless, so to speak? >> well, that's what we're going to see in the years to come. because the problem with driverless cars, the real problem is people. people aren't very good drivers. people need a lot of road space to react, to maneuver. computers don't. computers are rational. people are not rational. so, for example, a driverless car will obey the rules of the road. it won't ignore stop seasons.

it won't go through red lights. it will obey speed limits. now, you probably know, aaron, that there are plenty of people out there who don't mind going 10, 20 kilometers per hour over the speed limit. >> no. >> these things will stick to speed limits. what's that going to do? will it create a new form of road rage? people are sitting behind these cars because they're doing the speed limit. >> yes. it's going to be very interesting to watch. we appreciate your time. i'm sure we'll talk to you again about this soon. thank you. that's right. lots going on. follow me on twitter. tweet me @bbcaaron. that is it with the business. mr. birthday boy? >> aaron, come on. just buy a bottle of champagne. >> i will. well. >> i like this car. great. stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come -- ♪ >> from super producer to pop sensation. pharrell williams talks to us about his happy new status.

people join angie's list for all kinds of reasons. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

welcome back. i'm tim willcox. you're watching "gmt." main stories this hour, president obama announces a speedier exit than anticipated of u.s. troops from afghanistan ahead of a major foreign policy speech later. syria's presidential elections are getting under way with ex-pat syrians voting in lebanon and in jordan. the first stage ahead of the main poll that will be held next tuesday. now, nearly a third of people in britain admit to being racially prejudiced. that is according to new research released today by the british social attitudes survey. the figures show wide variations with people in london reporting

the lowest level of prejudice. and older men in manual jobs were shown as the most likely to say they were prejudiced. but how much has society changed over the years? well, back in 1983, 36% of people questioned in britain described themselves as either very or a little prejudiced against people of other races. by 2000, the figure had dropped to 25%. that's obviously one in four. but last year 30% of those surveyed admitted to prejudice. dr. omar kahn is a senior research and policy analyst for race equality think tank. it's interesting, isn't it? because in terms of social liberalism, people seem to be far happier and more comfortable, for example, with same-sex marriages. what do you think is the reason behind the racial prejudice? >> well, i think that if you look at the study, it shows that while there's been stagnation

over time, there was an expectation that the younger generation would have this wave of tolerance. and that that would increasingly make britain a more tolerant country overall. i think there is a little trend to that that you see in those data. i think one of the problems is politicians and other business and other leaders o f this country haven't done enough to actually implement poll sis. they haven't been publicly enough and actively defending and promoting diversity. there's been a vacuum of public discussion about the value of our diverse society. and arguably, you know, that's a disservice to our young people in terms of the service to the uk with its increasing ethnic minority population and, of course, the global economic. >> we were looking at the socioeconomic democratic. >> i don't know about polarized. i think younger people may have more different views. not just amongst the white british population. i think some ethnic minority

populations are not always engaged with the sort of old, race equality movement. i think there's a real challenge for those of us who are concerned about this to make sure that we properly engage young british people, both white and ethnic minority. go ahead. >> i was just saying, it's interesting. from people who are british, you know, from different ethnic groups who may hold very strong feelings about another ethnic group as well. >> there is a little bit of evidence on that. i don't think this survey touches on it. one of the things we're concerned about, not just the attitudes, it's actually outcomes. young black male unemployment today is 15%. you're also seeing a bit of stagnation in terms of outcomes in society. whether it's employment or it's the wage gap. while we have an increasing number of people attending higher education, up to 60% of black minority et ethnic, much higher than the white population, they do worse in the

labor -- those high unemployment rates i've referenced before, much higher than white people as well. i think the attitudes, particularly among ethnic minority populations, probably also reflect not just sort of perceptions, but a real experience people have on the streets in terms of stop and search and other issues where we feel politicians need to do more. not just to make public defenses of the value of diversity but actually implement policies so we can reduce those inequalities. attitudes are difficult to change. we hope through generational change, those will change over time. but obviously these attitudes have a real effect in the world in terms of people's livelyhoods. >> okay. dr. omar kahn, thank you very much, indeed, for joining us on the program. >> thank you. a fire at a hospital in south korea has killed at least 21 people and injured many others with some in critical condition. most of the patients of the hospital were elderly. one patient is being questioned on suspicion of arson. the fire was in the southwestern county of janseong. around 300 kilometers south of the capital seoul.

lucy williamson has this. >> reporter: this was meant to be a place of safety to south korean's aged. but the elderly residents of this hospital, the sick, the senile, straight victims, were woken by fire wednesday morning. those on the upper floors bore the brunt of the smoke. one of the nurses there to help them also found dead. >> translator: the total number of dead is 21. there are six who were heavily injured and one with a minor injury. there were 34 people in total on that floor. >> reporter: this is the second time this week that koreans have watched a fire take the lives of their countrymen. a blaze at a bus terminal north of seoul on monday left seven people dead. and divers are still searching for the last remaining bodies of those killed in the sewol ferry disaster last month which claimed more than 300 lives. president park geun-hye has blamed that disaster on a lack of checks and safety procedures

and vowed to make south korea a safer place for people to live. images like this adding to the pressure to prove she can. lucy williamson, bbc news, seoul. pharrell williams is the man behind some of the catchiest tunes of the past year with hits like "happy" and "blurred lines." the bbc sat down with the artist to talk about his music. >> reporter: i listened to your album. there's a lot of it that reminds me of things, the huge, sweeping orchestral moments in it that are really kind of wildly romantic. >> well, the strings that you're referring to are all done by and arranged hans zimmer. we wanted music that offered people escapism, should they want it. but, you know, the music was

just written to lift. ♪ come along if you feel like a room without a roof ♪ >> reporter: you say the music is written to lift. if there is anything that can lift anybody, it's "happy." >> "happy" is a song that was written for a pivotal moment in the movie for "despicable me 2." and i ended up writing, like, nine different attempts. nine different songs to try and fit that scene. nothing worked. animation helps. illumination. 48% of the success is to those guys for pushing me to say, nope. song number two, cool. but no. number five, you know what? close, but no cigar. nine, eh, not so much. when i finally got to ten and they liked it, i attribute it to them pushing me. >> that was bbc with pharrell williams. not to be outdone, the breakfast team on bbc, you may recognize some of their faces, made their own version of "happy."

♪ it might be crazy what i'm about to say ♪ >> the video has gone viral on social media. enjoy a bit more of it. have a very happy day, and have a very happy day, and thanks for watching "gmt." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com nehey!r! [squeals] ♪

[ewh!] [baby crying] the great thing about a subaru is you don't have to put up with that new car smell for long. the versatile, 2015 subaru forester. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. it's pittsville, brah. it's never too late to learn a foreign language! go and smell the roses!

itit grows more sophisticated baevery day. back alleys. if it were a business, it would be a fortune 500 company. fraud has evolved. american express intelligent security gives you tools to fight fraud and a global service network that never stops working. so you can be a member of a more secure world. this is what membership is. this is what membership does.

the doctor: the library. so big, it doesn't need a name. someone's got in. someone's in my library. "4,022 saved. no survivors." others are coming. what others? oh! professor river song, archaeologist. you've seen me before, then? dr. moon: the real world is a lie and your nightmares are real. what's cal? the library is real. there are people trapped in there, people who need to be saved. there's a neural relay in the communicator. sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death.