hello, you're watching "gmt" here on bbc world news with me, david eads. as scotland's day of reckoning looms, westminster offers yet more powers to persuade scots not to leave the united kingdom. the campaign for independence rejects the idea, it says only by going it alone can scotland have all the powers it needs to run its own affairs. >> i'm christian frazier in the northeast coast of scotland. we're looking at fishing today. what would independence mean?

also, american boots on the ground to fight a deadly enemy. but this is liberia. the enemy is ebola. also, the eu and kiev ratified their association agreement as ukraine's parliament offers an amnesty and self-rule for rebel-held regions. we'll be live in kiev and strasburg. also, aaron is here. >> a cabinet meltdown and the admission of broken economic problems. yes, it's been rough for francois hollande, but there is more to come because today he faces a parliament vote of no confidence. basically, deciding whether he's still fit to run the eurozone's second-largest economy.

it's 7:00 a.m. in washington, midday here in london, and indeed, in scotland, where the countdown clock is ticking. less than two days now before scots vote on whether they should leave the united kingdom. the coalition government and opposition party in westminster have now promised yet more concessions, more powers for the scots to run their own affairs if they reject full independence. let's just take a closer look at what exactly is being promised now. the leaders of those three main political parties have signed a pledge to give extensive new powers to scotland. they amount to promising a fair distribution of resources across the united kingdom, and also the final say on public health funding would now lie with the scottish government. the pro-independence yes camp says the only way to guarantee scotland gets all the powers it needs is simple, to leave a union which has lasted more than

300 years. so much at stake, and both sides are fighting to the finish in their campaigns. rob watson is our british affairs correspondent and joins me now. feels a bit like a last gasp from westminster. how big is deal is this package? >> i don't think there is any doubt that it is last-gasp and i think it reflects on what a big deal it is. one has to really pinch oneself to remind oneself what is happening. all of the mainstream parties at westminster don't want that to happy, they're all powerful pro-union parties. but what they have accepted like the pro-independence campaign is that the status quo clearly isn't enough for the scottish people. if it was, we wouldn't be having this whole referendum. so what they're saying is look, you've had some powers, we really are going to give you more, so the sales point is look, you'll have control of most things apart from foreign defense and macroeconomic policy. wouldn't that be better when you vote no?

there will be some change, but without the risk. >> a lot of carrots and a lot of sticks as well. it's been that sort of campaign. >> absolutely. and i guess one criticism has been has the no campaign -- have they got that mix of carrots and sticks right, because an awful lot of the campaign has been to say, are you nuts? look at what all the economists say. look at what a large number of big businesses say. don't become independent. and you can't share the currency. so all sorts of things. but of course, in the last few days, in the last week or so, there has been an awful lot of what you might call love bombing, david cameron and the others saying to the scots almost with tears in their eyes, look, we love you, please don't leave. >> i saw an interesting reference earlier today about you can be patriotic and vote no. and in a way, that's the argument that's been extremely difficult to sell, hasn't it? because a yes vote is seen as the true scots' blood. >> but i think of course the emotion works both ways. the yes campaign will say if

you're going to be scottish, what are you going to say to your grandchildren if you didn't vote yes to independence? but the no campaign also has emotion on its side and i've certainly experienced that myself, speaking to voters in scotland, on the no side. well, i feel very scottish, but i don't want anyone to take away my britishness. and i suppose an argument might be made that perhaps the no campaign, david cameron and the others, were a bit late to latch on to that. >> we talked a lot about carrots and sticks. what about promises? what about guarantees? what is the guarantee, the promise, the certainty that they would come into play? >> i think it would just be impossible after making such promises to the scottish people at the last minute not to go ahead. what the yes campaign will say is, well, yes, they're bound to do something. but you're not sure exactly how many powers we get. why take a risk on what westminster can offer you, when we're offering you independence?

and in many ways, i think that's what this vote will come down to on thursday, because the independence movement is saying this moment, it's an opportunity. and the no side are saying it's a risk. >> not long to go. thank you very much indeed for that. lots of interest for lots of communities at stake. fishing, one of scotland's key industry, what do they make of this latest pledge? christian frazier is in the northeast of scotland in a fishing village. looks a bit more industrial than a village there, christian. >> reporter: yes, fishing very important to the town of fraserburgh. they are having to make a decision on opportunity versus risk. they land 44,000 fish in this port every year, but it's really the biggest shellfish port every year. but, of course, they are governed by european quotas and

a lot of what they land here will be exported to european markets and european ra restaurants. so they're wondering, will they get a smaller quota and what will be the position of negotiation for an independent scotland. the yes campaign under alex salmond say we would restore fishing to a key industry, alongside the likes of oil and whiskey, and as such as the scottish parliament, we'd be able to negotiate independently instead of lobbying as we do at the moment. we protect your subsidies. we fight for bigger quotas and we'd also put money into scottish fish, establishing scottish fish around the country and also around europe to try and grow demand. the problem is -- and this is the point that the uk government has been saying, that many of the fishermen in this port catch 20% to 30% more than they would be allowed to do if they were independent because they buy and lease quota from other vessels

and other companies south of the border, and if they became independent, they wouldn't be able to do that. >> we can hear promises coming from westminster, which we heard today. and there's a degree of certainty about those. over these issues, particularly regarding rights around the european union and fishing is a great example, it's just wrecked with uncertainty. >> reporter: it is. because really when you ask people what would the quotas look like, well, we don't know because we don't know how the fishing grounds in the north sea would be divided. at the moment, if you look at total catch for the uk, it's around 627,000 fish a year. it's worth about 627,000tons, i should say, rather than fish and it's worth around 700 million pounds, so it's not the biggest industry, but it's key to towns like this. when you look at what it takes, it's around 80% according to the

scottish parliament. so it could be key for scotland. the trouble is when you talk about the vote on the doorstep, they've been hit so hard by these quotas that they don't have any trust in politicians anymore. they're a apolitical, and in that sense, we really don't know which way they're going to vote. it really does come back to what rob was saying, do they want to take a gamble on their independence, do they want -- do they feel that identity is the most important thing, or do they think the status quo is more important, and are they prepared to take the risk? >> christian, thanks very much indeed. let's get some other news for you now. three soldiers from nato have been killed in the afghan capital of kabul by a taliban suicide bomber who rammed his car into a foreign military convoy. the soldiers were traveling in an armored vehicle, it was destroyed in the blast. this attack taking place in heavy traffic on the airport road quite close to the u.s. embassy. police in thailand investigating the murder of two british tourists say they are now focusing on the burmese mie grant worker community on the

island. they were found on a beach on monday. still images from cctv cameras appeared to show the two victims walking together hand in hand before the attack. one person has been shot dead in a court building in the danish capital copenhagen. another was seriously injured. police say a suspect has been arrested and a shotgun has been seized. the head of the city court said it was probably some kind of family showdown. the american president barack obama is expected to announce a huge increase in his country's commitment to battle the deadly ebola virus outbreak in west africa. now, it's understood, the u.s. is going to send 3,000 troops to liberia, and they'll be responsible for training around 500 health care workers every week. it's also suggested they will build 17 medical facilities with at least 100 beds each. 50,000 home health care kits are

also going to be sent out to households this liberia. in just the last few minutes, the world health organization has said more than 2,500,0 peop have died from this outbreak. >> ebola is a different kind of challenge. it's different from earthquakes or floods and things. i mean, when earthquakes and tsunamis and things happen, you have a flood of resources, yes. you have a flood of volunteers because, i mean, they are not afraid of catching anything. with ebola, it's a scary disease, and so when it started, you know, getting people to come in and assist has not been easy. i mean, health workers from outside who have worked with international medical charities have gotten infected and gone back home for treatment. but i do believe the international response was slow. but happily, it's picking up.

>> the bbc's health editor hugh pym is with me now. we can say better late than never, but hell, it's late. >> yes, i think that's the perception, david, and i think the white house is only too aware of that perception. that is why this response is being announced. president obama on his way to atlanta to unveil it. 3,000 military personnel will be sent over. medics, engineers, logistics people to really get involved on the ground to deal with this. i think the fact that they're sending over such a large number of personnel shows that yes, there will be a risk to these personnel working in the countries where ebola is spreading rapidly, but this is a demonstration, this is the americans' duty, if you like, to get out there in force, but arguably too late. >> it's tangible stuff. you can recognize why you'd be doing a, b, c.

new medical facilities, health care packs for homes. but i suppose the other half of this has to be the education message. is there much in terms of training, the culture of what you must do when faced with ebola here? >> yes. i think the home health care kits are a very important part of this. it's fine to have a coordination center in monrovia, that's part of the u.s. plan working with other agencies. it's fine to send over 3,000 personnel, but in terms of education and what can be done in remote communities, it's these home health care kits, so that if someone is worried that they've got ebola, they can isolate themselves and relatives can help, but actually keep themselves away from the risk, if you like, and actually getting that out there along with the message of here's how you can help yourself is terribly important. it will take time for that to take effect. >> yeah. all talk about possible experimentation with drugs. one or two things seem to have worked to a certain extent.

but the message seems to be coming that we'd have to wait until the end of next year before there would be a vaccine that could be used. i presume the hope is that this particular outbreak will be done and dusted by then. >> well, the vaccine will take time, and then even if you get to a vaccine which is medically tested and thought to be entirely appropriate for use, actually getting that out into the field and getting people vaccinated is a challenge. you've got this experimental drug zmap, which has been used. it was used on the british aid worker who was treated successfully. it was used on two american aid workers, successfully treated in atlanta. the hospital the president will visit as part of his tour. that was successful. but there's no scientific proof that it actually makes any difference. and only a small number of doses were produced. it takes a long time to ramp up enough doses to actually have an impact in terms of the scale of this, nearly 5,000 cases. >> yeah, and it doesn't look like it's ended. thanks very much indeed for that. if you want to find out more

about ebola and the science that hugh's been touching on and why it's so dangerous, why it's such a challenge to contain, we've got it all for you on the website, bbc.com/ebola. do take a look if you've got a moment. and do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come on "gmt," we ask what impact the new aggressive strategy is having against islamic state, as its first american air strikes are launched. you two had been through everything together. two boyfriends. three jobs. you're like "nothing can replace brad!" then liberty mutual calls. and you break into your happy dance. if you sign up for better car replacement, we'll pay for a car that's a model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles than your old one. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. ♪

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the american military has launched its first air strikes against islamic state militants under what it calls its new aggressive strategy to combat the group. targets in the north of the country and also close to baghdad have been hit, it's all in support of the iraqi government, of course. previous u.s. strikes were only carried out to defend american personnel all for humanitarian reasons. let's get a sense of just what

is going on on the ground in particular in northern iraq. islamic state, as it calls itself, still controls large parts of iraq and syria. on the ground in iraq, kurdish peshmerga forces have been advancing against i.s. positions, at zuma. and an i.s.-held village is under attack by peshmerga forces on the main highway to mosul. our correspondent jim muir has been to both fronts. he sent this report. >> reporter: cutting through the sky of northern iraq at dawn, american jets providing air cover for the latest offensive against i.s. positions. down below, it's kurdish forces preparing for action. american drones were also up there, but this time, both they and the jets were just keeping watch.

on the ground, the fire power was coming from the kurds. this is the objective, a village on the plain leading to mosul, beyond the horizon. the whole area seized by i.s. militants last month. kurdish ground forces had advanced beyond their old lines, preparing to move in on the village after the bombardment. here from this advance position, you can see clearly how it works. you have americans in the sky providing reconnaissance, possibly air strikes in some situations. kurdish forces on the ground bombarding with tanks, rockets, and so on. but despite all that, undergrund forces preparing to move in, regaining the ground they lost so swiftly is proving a very hard and costly job. far away on the other side of mosul, kurdish forces have been pressing forward on another front at zuma.

but pushing on further has been painfully slow. the militants have a good technique, he says. they disappear, then launch surprise attacks and they leave many bombs behind, so we have to be very careful. it takes a lot of information and planning to drive them out. another victim of the i.s. incursion, co-existence between iraq's communities. this arab village north of zuma abandoned and partly abolished by the kurds, retribution for collaborating with i.s. this elderly sunni arab detained because his son is suspected of working with the militants. the other side of the coin. thousands of yazidis from sinjar driven out by the i.s. radicals, waiting for the day that may never come when they'll be able

to go home. back on the front, the kurds keep up the attack, but the progress they've made illustrates just how hard it will be to eliminate the militants in the rest of iraq and syria. jim muir, bbc news, in iraqi kurdistan. >> let's just get a bit more now on those strikes themselves, because we can speak to our correspondent paul wood, who is following the story from beirut. paul, do you have much indication as to the strikes, the targets, their success rate? >> reporter: well, this isn't shock and awe. i think until yesterday, there have been 180 american air strikes. they widened the campaign yesterday by hitting a target about 15 miles southwest of baghdad. what it was exactly they wouldn't say, but this apparently was in support of iraqi forces, and almost all the strikes so far have been up in the north where jim muir was reporting from in support of kurdish forces. so what we're seeing are

incremental advances by the kurdish forces and the iraqis. we're seeing the americans step up the tempo very slightly there. but this is not something occurring on a massive scale. it is all very slow and very steady. >> the iranian president rouhani has described the american coalition a joke, as he's called it. is there anything tangible, visible that we might see that that coalition is sort of bringing to the table, as it were? >> reporter: there's been a hint that the united arab emirates might contribute strike planes. they did that in 2011 with the americans, the british and the french over libya. perhaps qatar will do something. i think the importance of the ten arab nations in that 30-nation coalition announced in paris yesterday is more symbolic. the united states is fighting what's the so-called islamic states would like to call a holy war.

it helps their propaganda as defending arab soil and muslim soil from invading americans. it is therefore vital for the propaganda efforts that the americans seem to be part of a wide coalition, including sunni arab states. i think the military contribution, though, in the air will be marginal. never forget, though, the americans are not contributing ground forces. those are the iraqis and the kurds. >> for now, thanks very much indeed. paul wood, who is in beirut for us. the devastating earthquake that hit haiti back in 2010, which displaced thousands upon thousands of people, many of them still living in temporary camps. poor sanitation has caused serious health problems in the country. but how about this? could a special eco toilet improve the situation there? lorena arroyo reports from haiti. >> reporter: haiti is the poorest country in the americas. four years ago, a major earthquake led to a serious

health crisis with more than 9,000 haitians dying from a cholera outbreak. the disease is mainly spread through come am tntaminated wat. eco friendly toilets can improve hygiene for thousands here. this toilet is different from a normal latrine, because after each use, a layer of material is on top. this reduces is risk of infection. >> the important thing to prevent cholera is making sure that you're cutting the chain of contamination from someone's human waste to someone else's water and food that they're ingesting. >> reporter: the human waste is collected from these eco toilets and then goes to a composting site where dangerous bacteria

are killed. >> translato >> translator: we leave it between eight and 12 months. it has to be a temperature of more than 130 degrees fahrenheit to kill all the pathogens. >> reporter: the result is a fertilizer that can be used in gardens like this one, in the biggest tent city in haiti. the use of eco-toilets improve sanitation, but could also help the culture in the long term, too. >> let's hope so. just want to update you on the ebola story. we hear the americans are about to announce 3,000 soldiers to go out to liberia. seems it may be part of a bigger response, a global response coalition is what the u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon is due to announce.

ukraine and europe agree to bolster their economic ties, as this sent ukraine into crisis last year. that's coming up on "gmt." so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches?

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welcome to "bbc world news" with me, david eads. in this half-hour, ukraine votes in limited self-rule and a limited amnesty to rebels in the east, but are they interested? also, a special report from malawi on the country's success in cutting child death rates. aaron is back in the spotlight. more on the economics of an independent scotland. >> much of the discussion has been around the strength of the scottish economy as an independent state, and where the

scottish government would raise its money from. i tell you what, one group who pay an awful lot into the government coffers, well, it's scotland's super rich. so today we get their views on this debate. hello. the ukrainian and european parliaments have approved a controversial agreement to strengthen their economic and political ties. if you remember, it was protests over this very association agreement with europe which sent ukraine into crisis last year. now, it's not going to be implemented for more than a year, and that's seen as a significant concession to russia. we'll get more on that in just a moment. first, though, paul adams reports from luhansk, the scene of some of the worst fighting in the east. >> reporter: a celebration of sorts, rebel fighters parading

through luhansk on sunday to mark city day, but this is not a city with much to celebrate. across luhansk, people are finding help where they can. there's no water or electricity, so this soup kitchen serves hundreds of meals a day. anataole thanks for him for luhansk, but he's pessimistic. some say the fighting could start again tomorrow, he says, but they'll be bombing again. no one is saying tomorrow will be better. in the nearby market, there's only one store. salaries and pensions haven't been paid for months. people aren't starving, but after weeks of bombardment and siege, luhansk is not yet back on its feet. a large convoy of russian aid arrived at the weekend. it included food, but these boxes are full of bandages and

tourniquets, preparations perhaps for the fighting still to come. for the worst affected areas, you have to drive to the villages outside luhansk. here, almost every home has been hit. the ukrainian army shelled this place for weeks. the water truck only started coming four days ago, bringing relief to those thirsty villagers who haven't already fled. alexander makes several round trips. he and his family spent weeks hiding in their basement while bombs fell all around. they don't have relatives in russia, so they don't have anywhere else to go. the hardest thing now, he says, is to rebuild and find work. the factories have closed and he doesn't have a job. the wreckage caused by weeks of fighting is absolutely everywhere in this village and it's not just in the bombed out houses. it's in things like this, this wreck of an armored vehicle, and

if you look around ground here, it's absolutely littered with spent bullets. this place wasn't just bombed from the air, it was also the scene of some intense close quarters fighting. south of luhansk, a scene of even greater destruction. a retreating ukrainian army convoy was caught here two weeks ago. every vehicle incinerated. the precise circumstances are unclear, but this was ferocious, expert work. some say russian helicopters were involved. a reminder that if the cease-fire collapses totally, ukraine's powerful neighbor won't simply stand by and watch. paul adams, bbc news, eastern ukraine. >> we can speak now to the ambassador at large for the ukrainian foreign ministry in kiev. thank you very much indeed for joining us here on "gmt." i just wanted to ask you first about the parliamentary votes, both on amnesty and limited

self-rule. the rebels aren't interested in either of these, and you know that, don't you? >> good afternoon, sir. yes, we know that perfectly, but our way is clear. we aim at the reconciliation of ukrainians, because ukrainians in donetsk should be reintegrated into ukraine and we should remain as one country, and this is why the laws were adopted. >> that itself is not going to happen, it would seem, certainly at the moment. already we have the deputy prime minister, self-declared of the donetsk people's republic, saying it's going to be complete self-rule and kiev needs to get used to that. >> no, this is not going to happen. all i can say is the agreement -- >> we got a bit of a freeze there, as you can see. just see if it's going to come back. i don't think it is, unfortunately. which is a real shame. nonetheless, what we can do is

reflect on the european union's situation, because in strasburg for us is chris morris, where, of course, the european parliament has now ratified the association agreement. what does that actually amount to? we hear the implementation of the deal is put back some 15 months anyway. >> the implementation of part of it is put back, but i think symbolically, it is a big moment. i was in lithuania nearly a year ago when former ukrainian president yanukovych was supposed to originally sign this association agreement. it department happen. he got cold feet. and that obviously set off the chain of events which led to his down fall and subsequently the russian annexation of crimea and russian military involvement in eastern ukraine, so the fact that we finally got to this moment where this was this live televised link-up between the ukrainian parliament and the european parliament ratified at both ends by both parliaments. i think that means something

symbolically. yes, there are people here in strasburg who said very clearly they weren't that happy with the delay in the implementation of the free trade part of the agreement and there are clearly people in ukraine unhappy about that as well. but overall, i think this will be seen as quite an important step forward, showing that these agreements will go forward in spite of russian opposition, even though this delay has been put into perhaps finding time to cool things down and find a way to accommodate russian as well as ukrainian and european concerns. >> right. that all seems very understandable, but on a pragmatic, practical level, is there anything that can be implemented now or very quickly that actually benefits ukraine? >> well, one thing ukraine will have access to low tariffs for exports to europe. those are already in place. and coupled to that, president barroso spoke to president putin last night and they agreed that no russian measures against

ukraine would be taken, that trade between russia and ukraine would remain the same. in other words, for what is still a very vulnerable ukrainian economy, there will still be access both to european markets on a preferential basis and to russian markets and i think that is the argument from the european commission against those who say this is a concession to russia. it's amounting to a victory to russia in a propaganda war. they're saying no, this allows the ukrainian economy room to breathe. >> thanks very much indeed for that. i'm pleased to say we can go back to kiev. thanks for bearing with us on the signal there. chris morris just spelling out the degree to which the association agreement can be implemented. are you frustrated that there has to be a delay on implementing some of the key areas in terms of free trade? >> not at all, to be honest. the ultimate goal that we are

trying to reach is our integration into european union, and the ratification of the association agreement is a legal factor, it's not a political commitment. it's a legal obligation of ukraine to move towards europe. this is where russia was objecting it. as regard to economy, we will benefit significantly from this autonomous tariffs established by european union that will allow export of ukrainian goods and services to the european market. >> so i suppose the argument might be that what you lose is any immediate impact on some of the key areas, and you have a battle, a political battle. you talk of it as -- obviously it's a legal deal, but it's a political battle to persuade the people of ukraine, east and west, that this is the right direction to take. >> we are not a democratic country. indeed, there will be a

political debate and political dialogue. but what the eastern part of ukraine gets from this particular compromise that was reached in brussels is economic ties with russia, which will not be cut off by russia as it promised to do. and the western part of the country gets new opportunities to export its goods to the european union. and strengthening our political dialogue with the european union and move forward with the european integration. >> thanks very much for talking to us. apologizie ining to our viewers struggling a little bit with the line, but very good to have him on the program. always good to have aaron on the program. >> bonjour. >> bonjour. talking about the french president francois hollande, lots going on. the most recent poll that i saw showed that only 13% of france

supports the president. some tough times. let me explain, david. hello there. boy, a bitter public attack by his jilted ex-wife, who recently released a warts and all book. a cabinet meltdown, and the admission of broken economic promises. it's all spelled a rather uncomfortable three weeks for the president. but worse could still be to come, because later today, very soon, in fact, he and his government will face a vote of no confidence by parliament on whether he is still fit to run the eurozone's second largest economy. let's go straight over to paris to our very own lucy williamson. let's start with that book written by his ex-wife. some rather damning stuff that came out in it, and francois hollande was already very low in the popularity polls, so i'm wondering how that book went down in france. >> reporter: yes, certainly not what mr. hollande needed at the moment to have this book come out. it sold very well.

the print run actually ran out within two days of it being launched, which shows you the kind of interest there is here in france in the president's private life. but having everyone talk about it all over again, really not very good for mr. holland. not seen as presidential. many people coming out saying it was undignified and it's hurt him politically, too. there was an accusation, one in particular in the book, saying that this socialist president in private referred to poor people as the toothless ones. he was very dismissive of them. his ex says. and that's hurt him politically, even though of course he says that's not true. so really, no one's come out of this very well. >> no, not at all. let's talk about the political side, this vote of no confidence. and help us out, because i'm kind of thinking, you know, three weeks ago, we were talking about that cabinet reshuffle and i thought the whole idea behind that was to get cabinet members onboard that supported the president and the prime minister's economic policies. >> that's right. that was exactly what it was

designed to do. that cabinet reshuffle was a purge designed to get rid of leftist mps who didn't agree with the president's and the prime minister's economic policies. the trouble is you can purge them from the cabinet, you can't purge them from the parliament and the government needs the parliament to pass some crucial bills in the next few months, so the decision by the prime minister to take this vote of confidence in the house today is really a kill or cure. he's really looking to say to his opponents within the party, do you really want to risk us falling over these economic policy issues, or, you know, do you really want to just cause a bit of a fuss, but in the end come onboard and help us out to pass these economic policies. there is a definite economic riff within the party, but he's putting this to the opponents and saying how far do you want to push this. >> and of course the big focus is policies on jobs making it easier for french companies and cheaper to hire and fire. we're running out of time, unfortunately, lucy. we'll talk to you very soon. thanks for the update. lucy williamson joining us live from paris. let's stay in france for now

because the national carrier air france says it expects the disruptions to get worse as the strike by the pilots continues. 60% of the flights are likely to be cancelled today. why? the pilots are protesting against a transfer of jobs by the airline to its low-cost european carrier transavia, which is being expanded as part of a new strategic plan. the air france ceo says the strike will cost the airline some $13 million to possibly up to $20 million every single day of this strike. meanwhile, also pilots, a pilot's union, called off at the very last minute a strike planned in germany, that was scheduled today at frankfurt airport, but that was called off, thankfully for the passengers. much of the discussion has been around the strength of the scottish economy as an

independent state, and where the scottish government would raise its money from, its revenue from. one group who pay an awful lot into the government coffers, yep, scotland's super rich. how do they see this debate? the bbc's scotland economics correspondent coletta smith has been finding out. >> reporter: thank you very much. thanks. this kind of life of luxury is beyond the paychecks of most of us, but the number of wealthy people living in scotland, investing, spending, and paying taxes, impacts the whole economy. this year, there was a record number of billionaires living in scotland, and they're paying a lot of taxes. at the moment, the top 1% of earners are paying 20% of the uk's income tax. it would only take a handful of people to move across the border between scotland and the rest of the uk before you'd start to notice it in either government's

budget. >> our clients are important to the scottish economy because they're investing their savings in scottish businesses. >> reporter: so if life looks more profitable on the other side of a border, would it be straight forward for the super rich to move themselves and their money? >> yes. i think it's very simple for money in bank accounts, theoretical theoretically, money can move quite quickly. >> reporter: where there's a border, the rich have an uncanny way of paying taxes on the right side of it and there are plenty of people at the higher end of the earnings scale who think they'd benefit by staying in an independent scotland. >> come on in. i don't personally mind paying more tax if that's what it takes to be able to create more opportunity. because it's not the percentage of the pie that's important to me, it's how big is the pie and how can i seize a piece of it. and if you can couple that with appropriate incentives for

entrepreneurs, then i definitely believe you attract people to scotland. >> reporter: but others among the super rich would mind paying more taxes and think the discussion about creating a more equal scotland under independence could scare away the super rich. >> at the moment, the 40% i think is fair, and i don't think there's much hope for really increasing that, that 1%. that would get people upset. >> reporter: do you think that it's likely that a scottish government would or could increase taxes at the higher end of the spectrum? >> i honestly believe for us to go it alone, taxes can only go one way and that would be up. so an average, you might be able to take corporation tax down, but i think overall that the tax will have to increase in order for us to survive at a level that we do at the moment. >> reporter: an independent scottish government would have to tread a delicate line between making a system which serves the super rich and sticking to promises of creating a fairer

scotland. those different goals may not be so easy to smooth out. coletta smith, bbc news. >> we'll keep across all things scotland. lots going on. follow me on twitter, tweet me, i'll tweet you back. you get me @bbcaaron. that's it with the business news. i have to say to you, i thought today and i think today you look super smart. >> thank you. >> i think it comes down to the tie. i think it comes down to the tie. where did you get that tie from? >> yes, aaron, thank you for loaning me a tie. >> there we go. there we go. yes. came in tireless today. >> unlike the super rich, i only have a couple. thanks for being with us here on "bbc world news." still to come on "gmt," have our big goals been met? we head to malawi to see whether one global pledge made in the year 2000 has been realized. eenie. meenie. miney. go.

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the top stories this hour on "gmt," in just the last few minutes, the world health organization has said the ebola outbreak is unparalleled in modern times and adds that the world is at risk of a humanitarian catastrophe. ahead of thursday's vote, the leaders of britain's three main political parties vow that they will transfer yet more powers to scotland if scots remain part of the uk. in the year 2000, world leaders made a series of pledges known as the millennium development goals. one was to cut child mortality. the target was a 2/3 reduction. new figures from unicef show it's been halved globally, but that still means every year six million children die but their

reach their fifth birthday. malawi is one of the very few countries in sub saharan africa to have already met the target. our medical correspondent reports from there on how they did it. >> reporter: this is health care malawi style. a clinic that goes to the people. run by health workers trained by unicef who live in the community to ensure every child is seen. like anidou, who is malnourished and must go to hospital. other children just need routine vaccines. simple measures which mean this poor country has succeeded in meeting the child mortality target whilst others have failed. despite all the progress, the sheer scale of preventable child deaths worldwide remains staggering. imagine 17,000 lives lost every day. easier to focus on individuals

and remember that every child that survives and is healthy is more likely to finish school, earn a living, this man has already lost a son to the disease. so now her 2-year-old daughter always sleeps under a bed. >> translator: my son isaac was the same age when he died. it touched us all and we realize how dangerous mosquito bites can be. >> reporter: childbirth itself can be fatal for mother and baby. that's why these women have come to stay in hospital up to a month before their due date to avoid delivering without medical help. and many babies really need that help. malawi has the world's highest premature birthrate, partly due

to malnutrition and hiv infection. but the basics are often missing at this maternity hospital in the capital. rachel mcleod spring has worked here for seven years. >> we have a lot of premature babies. it's a huge problem. the drug that is used to cure the lungs hasn't been available here for two or three months. so even though we might have the knowledge and the skills, we know what to do, we can't do it. >> reporter: but life-saving can be free. this is what's known as kangaroo care. skin to skin contact helps ensure tiny babies stay warm. the twins in the orange hats are being cared for by their mother and grandmother. with more children surviving and a rocketing birthrate, family planning is a key issue in malawi. mothers are encouraged to use contraception and advise that small families are healthier.

>> if more children survive, then we start getting dividends. if more children survive, that means that people have less children. that means that malawi is able to provide better services for the less children that are in malawi and you'll be able to start talking about economic growth because the country is able to take better care of its population. >> reporter: malawi has shown what even the poorest countries can achieve, but others must do more, if global leaders are to keep their promise to the world's children. fergus walsh, bbc news, malawi. >> you can find out a lot more if you go to our website. there you can compare different countries across the continent. also, there's analysis of the challenges involved in further reducing child mortality. bbc.com/health. before we leave you here on "gmt," let me just recap that story breaking while we've been on air. the world health organization

says the ebola outbreak is unparalleled in modern times. the world's at risk of a humanitarian catastrophe. the good side is it says it hopes to rid senegal and nigeria of ebola in the near term and guinea the very near term. thanks for watching "gmt." asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. if you convert 4-quarter p/e of the s&p 500, its yield is doing a lot better... if you've had to become your own investment expert, maybe it's time for bny mellon, a different kind of wealth manager ...and black swans are unpredictable.

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