this is bbc america, and now live from london, "bbc world news." hello, our top stories, it is decision day for scotland as voters decide whether to remain part of the united kingdom. a failing police arrest 15 members of an islamic extremist group in the biggest ever anti-terror operation. sierra leone tells its residents to stay indoors for three days. and the hunt for the killers of the two british tourists in

thailand continues. thai police say they still haven't found any suspects. hello. a warm welcome to the program. polls have opened in scotland, where voters are deciding whether or not they want to remain part of the united kingdom, or become an independent country. let's take a look at the live shot from edinburgh. doors have opened four hours ago to the polling stations. it is expected to be the largest vote in scottish history. almost 4.25 million people have registered to vote. >> reporter: the doors to polling stations across scotland opened at 7:00 this morning and the first voters arrived to make their choice. here in edinburgh, in all, votes

will be cast in more than 2,600 places, as scotland decides on its future. scotland's first minister alex salmond was among early voters at a polling station near his home. while former prime minister gordon brown cast his vote. more than 4 million people are registered to vote. that's 97% of those eligible. and for the first time anywhere in the uk, people under the age of 18 will have a say. more than 100,000 16 and 17-year-olds are registered. they'll be answering yes or no to one single question. should scotland be an independent country. >> the best way for people to ensure that their vote counts is to put one cloth in the box next to the answer that they choose. they can be identified from that, then their vote can't count.

if they put a cross on one box and taking another, it would have to be registered because they'd be voting for both options. so it really is so important that voters focus on simply putting one cross in the box next to the answer they choose. >> boxes have been distributed by road, air, and sea and will be collected after the polls close at 10:00 tonight. the ballot papers will be counted in voting areas. the result is expected to be announced by the chief counting officer at the royal highlands center outside edinburgh tomorrow morning. daniel bircher, bbc news. >> we're four hours into this vote already. let's take a look live at a polling station in edinburgh. this is one of the 2,608 polling places across the country which will be open until 2100 gmt on thursday. now, we know that just over four

million people, 4,285,000 people, that's 97% of the electorate have registered to vote. so this is really historically a very high turnout, which is expected indeed. and as we heard in their report there, ballot papers will be counted in each of scotland's 32 local authorities and we will expect the result roughly breakfast time local time. now, we will, of course, have a very special program here on bbc news, live from scotland, it will start on thursday at 2200 gmt. so that's an hour after polls have closed, right here on "bbc world news." there's also lots and lots of analysis, all about scotland making this historic decision. take a look, bbc.com/news is the website. do have a look. lots more, of course, all there for you. but now some of the day's

other news, because police in australia have carried out one of their largest ever anti-terrorism raids after allegedly receiving intelligence that militants connecting with islamic state were planning to kidnap and behead a member of the public. details of the operation, which involved hundreds of police officers in sydney and brisbane, were announced by the prime minister tony abbott. he said that his country was at serious risk of a terrorist attack. from sydney, here's a report. >> reporter: australian police are calling this the biggest anti-terrorism operation the country has ever seen. in the early hours of the morning, more than 800 officers raided dozens of homes in sydney and brisbane. >> police believe this group that we have executed this operation on today had the intention and had started to carry out planning to commit violent acts here in australia. >> reporter: one man, amarjan aza rirvegs has appeared in court with conspiracy for a

terrorist attack, a plot to kidnap a member of the public, drape them in an islamic flag and video the attack. it comes less than a week after australia raised its terrorism threat level from medium to high. meaning intelligence officials believed an attack was not just possible, but likely. >> it was coming from an australian, which is apparently quite senior in isil, to networks of support back in australia to conduct demonstration killings here in this country. >> reporter: the government is worried about the number of australians fighting with extremist groups such as islamic state in the middle east. it estimates there are around 60 there already with around 100 more offering support from

within australia. thai police say that they still haven't identified any suspects in the murder of british tourist david miller and hannah witheridge. police say there is no evidence and no dna match with a group of burmese migrant workers who were held for questioning. our correspondent jonathan head has more. >> reporter: i think what the police are admitting to us today is that the leads that they've been quite enthusiastic about in the last three days have gone nowhere and perhaps they were pursuing them to the exclusion of other potential angles and they have in the past few days told us at one point they were convinced that no westerners were involved, that it must be among the burmese worker community here. then they focus very much on these two friends of david miller, who were stopped from leaving the country, and have been questioned in the last 48,

36 hours or so. but what they do have is clear dna material from the bodies of both victims, which should enable them to make a conclusive identification, if they have the culprit. what they're saying is none of the dna matches anyone they've interviewed up to now. they don't appear to be very sure where else they should look. they haven't got much else in the way of clues. the cctv pictures they were showing us earlier which they thought showed the consumer leaving a bar, turns out they weren't them at all. because they didn't seal the island off in the early hours after the body was discovered. anybody could have left in those first hours. nor was the crime scene sealed all. that's also had people walking all over it. so frankly, the police have given themselves a very tough job in solving this crime. >> now, the concerns about islamic state are being felt in the united states where president obama has welcomed congress approving his plans to arm trained syrian rebels. but at the same time, mr. obama said american forces do not and

will not have a combat mission in the struggle against i.s. in iraq. jane o'brien reports from washington. >> reporter: president obama as commander in chief addressing troops in florida to command post where the military strategy to defeat islamic state is being thrashed out. and after his top general raised the possibility that u.s. ground troops might be needed in iraq, the president was keen to get the message back on track. >> as your commander in chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. after a decade of massive ground deployments, it is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries' futures. >> reporter: his assurances came as john kerry outlined the administration strategy to

congress, which is debating a $500 million spending package, that will include arming and training moderate syrian rebels. the administration wants them to be the boots on the ground along with iraqi and kurdish forces. >> from the last decade, we know that a sustainable strategy is not u.s. ground forces. it is enabling local forces to do what they have to do for themselves and for their country. >> reporter: but there is still public opposition to any involvement in the region, as well as criticism that the u.s. isn't doing enough. meanwhile, islamic state issued another sophisticated propaganda video online, aimed clearly at the u.s. as congress debates how best to tackle the terrorist group, the militants themselves seem in no doubt about their course of action. jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. the world bank has warned

that the ebola outbreak could have a catastrophic effect on west african economies. the impact could grow eightfold in what they describe as already fragile state. sierra leone has asked all residents to stay indoors for three days as part of its strategy to stop the spread of the daily virus. people have been stockpiling goods ahead of the lockdown. sierra leone is one of the worst affected countries in west africa, where more than 2,400 people have died after contracting the virus already. the u.n. security council is holding an emergency session on thursday to discuss international efforts to contain the epidemic. it is thought it is only the second time the security council is discussing a world health emergency. to discuss all of this, we are joined by the health adviser with save the children, the organization who is working out there. and you were in sierra leone, but not this time around, you

were there with a previous outbreak. how did the two compare? >> well, i think we know that sierra leone has had a very fragile health system coming out of years of civil war. so in a sense, we would have expected that they would have had very limited capacity to deal with something as unprecedented as this. >> when it comes to this attempt to keep its residents staying indoors for three days, do you think that will have any impact? >> we don't know whether it will work. it's not really been attempted before. we know what certainly can make a difference in this case and it's essentially two things. the first is changing behaviors. so people taking very simple precautions to protect themselves from disease. things as simple as hand washing. the second thing that will help is isolating cases as soon as possible, before they spread the disease to others. >> we've heard of people becoming very scared, to etch admit that they may feel the

symptoms. so how do you conquer that and get the information out there? >> one of the things that hasn't happened so far is actually dialoguing with communities in order to get them to buy into some of the principles of infection control that we know will stop this. i think this is one of the areas that need to be escalated very quickly. >> the u.n. security council is holding this emergency session. too little too late in your opinion? >> it's not too little too late. it's certainly late. i think most people would agree we have a window of a few weeks to actually get this from getting worse. i think signs we're getting this week with the u.s. and uk and other government announcements are definitely taking us where we want to go, but a lot more is required. >> thank you very much. i know that you're going out there again to sierra leone, so

we wish you best with that journey. if you want more, please log on to our website, but for now, let's bring you up to date with all the business news. aaron, you are once again focusing on this huge chinese giant. >> can't get away from it. could be the largest company going public. let me explain. the chinese internet giant alibaba is expected to complete its sales of its shares to the big investors, the institutional investors, today, this thursday, before it starts trading to all of us, the general public, on the new york stock exchange tomorrow, friday. alibaba's original business is a website that connects chinese manufacturers with buyers all around the world. it includes equivalents of e-bay, twitter, youtube, and paypal. alibaba now accounts for around 80% of all online purchases in

china. it sold items worth almost $300 billion in the year to the end of june. that is far, far more than e-bay and amazon combined. it is expected to have a stock market value of $170 billion once it starts trading on friday. we're going to have more on that throughout the rest of the day. sony shares, they plunged more than 10% today after the japanese electronics maker announced deeper losses in its smart phone division and also scrapped its dividends for the first time since it floated in 1958. sony says it's cutting another 1,000 jobs in its struggling smart phone business where it's up against fast-growing chinese manufacturers, as well, of course, as the established names like apple and samsung. how about this one? rupert murdoch's newscorps has condemned the activities of

google. the internet company is involved with competition issues. now the media company has written to europe's competition commissioner accusing google of abugz ising its dominance. plus-size evans, the company caused a bit of a stir at the london fashion week on tuesday, because it held the first plus-size runway at the biannual event. with waistlines growing around the world and an estimated 100 million plus-size shoppers in the united states, the fashion industry is beginning to look at catering for this growing market. there you go. big market. it's not brain surgery, is it? follow me on twitter. you can follow me @bbcaaron. more on "gmt" coming up. a plus-size market here in the uk. this year it's expected to be just over 6 billion pounds. that's about $8 billion.

big market. >> it's about time they start catering to it. >> absolutely. >> aaron looking fashionable as always. we shall see him a little bit later. lots more still to come here on "bbc world news." do stay with us, including sierra leone asking its residents to prepare for a three-day nationwide lockdown. lots more still to come. you drop 40 grand on a new set of wheels, then... wham! a minivan t-bones you. guess what: your insurance company will only give you 37-thousand to replace it. "depreciation" they claim.

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into one you'll never forget. earn points for every flight and every hotel. expedia plus rewards. hello, welcome. you're watching "bbc world news." our main headlines this hour, voters in scotland are deciding whether to establish their own independent nation. as we turn back to our top story, voting has begun across scotland on whether the country should stay in the uk or whether it should be independent.

the bbc's gavin esler is live for us in hollywood in edinburgh. gavin, over to you. >> reporter: yes, hello, and welcome to edinburgh on what is decision day for scottish people, who have had about two years of this campaign to think about what they are going to do to decide which way to vote today. the result is expected early tomorrow morning. jeremy bine explains how the voting will take place. >> the 32 council areas. let me bring them up for you. later when we show the results, it's green for yes and red for no. here they all are, from aberdeen city. what if i order them in terms of size? we see immediately glasgow with half a million people is the biggest council area. then edinburgh. going all the way over here, we

get to the island council. so it will be these really huge councils. glasgow, edinburgh, and so on that are watched particularly keenly on the night. now, have a look at the map of scotland here that you'll be very familiar with. if i just change it slightly, i can use it to illustrate the position of those six biggest councils. i'll bring a line out of the council that results to the size of the population. the longest line you can see is glasgow. i'll make it flash. in the northeast, you see aberdeenshire. before edinburgh and to the west around glasgow. so those are the biggest councils. but, of course, voting is happening all over scotland. the county will take place pretty soon and it won't be long before we know the result. >> well, i've been covering this campaign for many weeks and i can say i've never experienced a campaign in which so many people

are so engaged in what's been going on. 97% of those who can vote in the selection have registered to vote, and both sides, the yes and the no campaigns, they disagree about almost everything, but they do absolutely agree that there will probably be a record turnout. people think of more than 80% will turn out to vote, and the result, tomorrow morning. now back to you. >> gavin, thank you very much. gavin esler there live from hollywood in edinburgh and we will have live coverage of the results coming in in a special program here on "bbc world news." do join us if you can. extreme weather is punishing the southwestern united states with a heat wave and a hurricane, fires and intense rains, causing chaos from california into mexico. with flash flooding forecast for arizona. thousands of firefighters are trying to protect homes from wildfires burning out of control. we have a report from los angeles. >> reporter: thousands of american tourists finally being air lifted home from baja in

mexico, after weathering one of the strongest hurricanes in living memory. >> oh, it's crazy. i've never been in a storm like that before. category 4 hurricane. cabo's destroyed. completely destroyed. >> reporter: hurricane odile battered los cabos, destroying everything from luxury tourist resorts while thousands of people were holidaying, to homes and whole neighborhoods. all of this has been lost, he said. now we have to start over, little by little. power is down. the airport's been closed for days, and the storm headed north. high winds hit a san diego airport. and heavy rains hit parched ground, causing flashflooding. >> hailing, storming, wind blowing, up to 70-mile-an-hour winds. >> reporter: they're preparing for more of the same here in arizona, where the remnants of hurricane odile is heading next. they're only just recovering

from last week's flash flooding. in and around los angeles, the problem is unseasonably high temperatures. a heat wave is overloading electricity supplies, as millions crank up their air conditioners. >> holy moly. >> reporter: and where there's heat, there's fires. the wildfire season is now well under way, with 15 big blazes burning through the drought-ridden landscape. >> the back of the house was already on fire by the time we were leaving. this whole tree and stuff was on fire. our tree was on fire. yeah, it's crazy. >> reporter: in the town of weed, more than 100 homes were destroyed. nearly 100 more damaged by the fast-moving fire. >> this is my second son's bedroom. that was his bed. >> reporter: with high temperatures and historic drought and warm winds fanning the flames, the extreme weather will likely mean more trouble to come for the southwestern usa. bbc news, los angeles. let's bring you up to date with some of the day's other

news. a news team from the bbc's moscow bureau has been attacked in the southern russian city of astrakhan. the team was confronted by three men who grabbed their camera and smashed it. the team was questioned by police and found that their recording equipment had been erased when they returned to their car. india and china are expected to sign key economic deals on the second day of a landmark visit by the chinese president xi jingpin. his visit began in the home state of the indian prime minister narendra modi. and i'll leave you with our top story, that voting is now under way in scotland's historic independence referendum. one of the main spokes people for the yes campaign voted early in the morning. it is a straight decision between choosing to remain part of the united kingdom or becoming completely independent.

well, this was the leader of the no or better together campaign. the polls remain open until 2100 gmt. we will, of course, have full coverage of the result and indeed its implications right here on "bbc world news." but for me and the team, for now, thanks very much for watching. bye-bye. 3rd and 3. 58 seconds on the clock, what am i thinking about? foreign markets. asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity

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voters in scotland are deciding whether to remain as part of the united kingdom, or to become an independent nation. australian police arrest 15 members of an alleged islamist extremist group in the country's biggest ever anti-terror operation. sierra leone asks its residents to stay indoors for three days as part of its strategy to stop the spread of the deadly ebola virus. and could the club which calls itself the home of golf be about to ditch hundreds of years of rules and finally allow women to become members?

hello, and a warm welcome to the program. polls have finally opened in scotland where voters are deciding whether or not they want to remain as part of the united kingdom or become an independent country. let's take a look at the scene live in edinburgh. it is expected to be the largest vote in scottish history. almost 4.25 million people have registered to vote. daniel bircher has the very latest for us. >> reporter: the doors to polling stations across scotland opened at 7:00 this morning and the first voters arrived to make their choice. here in edinburgh, in all, votes will be cast in more than 2,600

places as scotland decides on its future. leading figures from both sides have been voting. scotland's first minister alex salmond near his home, while nicolas sturgeon voted in glasgow. former prime minister gordon brown cast his vote. more than 4 million people are registered to vote, that's 97% of those eligible. and for the first time anywhere in the uk, people under the age of 18 will have a say. more than 100,000 16 and 17-year-olds are registered. they'll be answering yes or no to one single question -- should scotland be an independent country? >> the best way for people to ensure that their vote counts is to put one cross in the box next to the answer that they choose.

they can be identified from that, then their vote can't count. if they end up putting a cross in one boxz and a check in another, that would have to be rejected because they'd be voting for both options. so it really is so important that voters focus on putting one cross in the box next to the answer they choose. >> reporter: ballot boxes have been distributed by road, air, and sea and will be collected tonight. the ballot papers will be counted in each of the local 32 areas, adding in votes already cast by post. the result is expected to be announced by the chief counting officer at the royal highlands center outside edinburgh tomorrow morning. daniel bircher, bbc news. >> we will, of course, have a full result program as the results come in of this referendum. it is a special show, live from scotland, it will be starting on thursday at 2200 gmt, an hour after those polls close, right here on "bbc world news."

i hope you can join us for that. there is also full background, full analysis as scotland makes this historic decision. just log on, take a look for yourself. bbc.com/news is the website address. now, some of the day's other news. police in australia have carried out one of their largest ever anti-terrorism raids after allegedly receiving intelligence that militants connected with islamic state were planning to kidnap and behead a member of the public. details of the operation, which involved hundreds of police officers in sydney and in brisbane, were announced by the prime minister tony abbott. he said that his country was at serious risk of a terrorist attack. from sydney, here is a report. >> reporter: australian police are calling this the biggest anti-terrorism operation the country has ever seen. in the early hours of the morning, more than 800 officers raided dozens of homes in sydney and brisbane. >> police believe that this group that we have executed this

operation on today had the intention and had started to carry out planning to commit violent acts here in australia. >> reporter: one man, omarjan azari, has appeared in court charged with conspiracy to prepare a terrorist attack. it's believed it involved a plot to behead a member of the public, drape them in an islamic state flag, and video the attack. the prosecutor said it was clearly designed to shock, horrify, and terrify the community. it comes less than a week after australia raised its terrorism threat level from medium to high, meaning intelligence officials believed an attack was not just possible, but likely. >> quite direct exhortations were coming from an australian, who is apparently quite senior in isil, to networks of support back in australia to conduct demonstration killings here in

this country. >> reporter: the government is worried about the number of australians fighting with extremist groups such as islamic state in the middle east. it estimates there are around 60 there already with around 100 more offering support from within australia. >> concerns about islamic state are also being felt in the united states. where president obama has welcomed congress approving his plans to arm and train moderate syrian rebels. but at the same time, mr. obama said american forces do not and will not have a combat mission in the struggle against i.s. in iraq. jane o'brien reports from washington. >> reporter: president obama as commander in chief, addressing troops in florida, the command post where the military strategy to defeat islamic state has been thrashed out. and after his top general raised the possibility that u.s. ground troops might be needed in iraq, the president was keen to get

the message back on track. >> as your commander in chief, i will not commit you and the rest of our armed forces to fighting another ground war in iraq. after a decade of massive ground deployments, it is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries' futures. >> reporter: his assurances came as secretary of state john kerry outlined the administration's strategy to congress, which is debating a $500 million spending package. that will include arming and training moderate syrian rebels. the administration wants them to be the boots on the ground, along with iraqi and kurdish forces. >> from the last decade, we know that a sustainable strategy is not u.s. ground forces. it is enabling local forces to do what they have to do for themselves and for their countries.

>> reporter: but there is still public opposition to any involvement in the region, as well as criticism that the u.s. isn't doing enough. meanwhile, islamic state issued another sophisticated propaganda video online, aimed clearly at the u.s. as congress debates how best to tackle the terrorist group, the militants themselves seem in no doubt about their course of action. jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. president obama, of course, doesn't just have islamic state on his international agenda. later on, he will host petro poroshenko as the government in kiev seeks to support what it describes as russian aggression in its territory. earlier, i spoke to david stern in kiev and asked him what mr. poroshenko hopes to achieve from this visit. >> well, it's difficult to say, but i guess the short answer is he hopes to get as much support as he can.

now, it should be said that ukraine is getting support from the west, from the united states. they're receiving nonlethal military assistance. and they're also receiving financial aid, but they hope to receive even more. first of all, their economy is in very dire straights. it may be shrinking by as much as 10% this year and they're facing a very bitter winter without gas supplies, so they're hoping for help on that front, but they're also hoping for more military assistance, perhaps lethal weapons as opposed to the jackets and other things they are receiving at the moment, or perhaps even more sophisticated nonlethal assistance. now, they are receiving, as i say, some from the united states, and the government here says that they're receiving weapons from nato countries individually. these countries deny this, but mr. poroshenko is hoping for much more, and as western officials say and reporters on experts on the ground say that russian forces are in ukraine.

>> let's focus on those events on the ground because that very fragile cease-fire, it seems to be holding, but who can say for how long? >> exactly. it's holding, but you can say just barely. there is fighting going on, especially around donetsk, where a bbc team is and has been witnessing the fighting around the airport. but that said, it is still a better situation than what we've been seeing previously. we don't have the massive loss of life that we saw at the end of august and the beginning of this month when this russian inkushs apparently took place, and the ukrainians are hoping this will give them enough breathing space to perhaps push towards a bigger cease-fire and address the deep economic issues that they are facing. the world bank has warned the ebola outbreak could have a catastrophic effect on west african economies. it's said the economic impact of

the virus could grow eightfold in what it describes as already fragile state. sierra leone, meanwhile, is asking all of its residents to stay indoors for three days as part of its strategy to stop the spread of the deadly vie ruchs it -- virus. it is one of the worst affected countries in west africa, where more than 2,400 people have died after contracting the virus. many in the capital have started stockpiling supplies ahead of the lockdown, as our correspondent reports. >> reporter: people in sierra leone are bracing for an unprecedented three-day lockdown. the authorities say the measure is necessary to stem the spread of ebola virus. nearly 30,000 young volunteers have been recruited to move from door to door throughout the country, to educate people about the ebola virus. but also, to look out for any signs of illness. ahead of the lockdown, there is

frenetic shopping by people going on here to stock up on food. the majority of sierra leone survives literally from hand to mouth. there is concern that this is a serious threat to their very survival. but the authorities say that a desperate situation requires desperate measures. we have lots more still on "bbc world news." don't go away. including a synagogue, but without people. we report from cairo where the jewish community is on the verge of disappearing. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches?

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our main headlines this hour. voters in scotland are choosing whether to remain within the united kingdom or establish their own independent nation.

australian police arrest members of an islamist militant group who were reportedly carrying plans to carry out public executions. india and china are expected to sign key economic deals on the second day of a landmark visit by the chinese president xi. president xi has expected to pledge billions of dollars in investment, including plans for chinese industrial parks. he is determined to bridge differences over its disputed border with india. our reporter told me more about the significance of the visit. >> reporter: basically, this is really an attempt to reset their relations, particularly by expanding their economic relationship. they have signed several agreements. china is going to invest $20 billion in the indian economy over the next five years. there are a number of areas they're going to focus on. they're going to try to build parks, help develop india's massive railway network, particularly to help build a

system where india can start running trains at much higher speeds. remember, china, of course, has a massive high speed railway network. india is quite keen on trying to replicate some of that. a number of other areas -- there were agreements in a number of other areas, including civil nuclear cooperation. so quite wide ranging talks really. both sides hoping this will push the way forward for much stronger ties between these two asian rivals. >> and that's something certainly that they need. talk us through this disputed border region. >> well, kasia, this is a very old border dispute. china and india claim parts of each other's territory. the dispute that we're looking at centers on an area in which china claims as its own. the chinese president and the

indian prime minister made references to that. the indian prime minister saying there has to be peace along the border if the relations between china and india need to progress. the chinese president, president xi, agreed with him, but also said that since the birthdayer between these two areas was disputed, china and india don't quite see eye to eye.order between these two areas was disputed, china and india don't quite see eye to eye. but basically suggested that the two countries were mature enough to handle it. a very old dispute. they once fought a battle over this dispute. but that was way back in the 1960s. they do have these frequent exchanges along their border, but the suggestion very much is that they're keen to try and put this behind them and move ahead. now on sunday, it will be one year since the siege on the westgate shopping mall in nairobi. 67 people were killed when al shabab militants attacked the complex in kenya's capital.

the siege lasted four days. here a bbc journalist describes what it was like to go there and cover the attack. >> it is from this spot that we reported about a siege at the westgate shopping mall, which is behind me, from the early hours of the attack last year. nothing could have prepared us for the shocking, horrific, and sometimes scary experiences. we have seen many casualties. we've been asked to lie down. we don't know what's going on. ordinarily this is a very busy shopping area. you would find shoppers looking for parking spaces around here, several shopping malls. but on that fateful saturday, everything changed. even the traffic situation changed. it was ambulances carrying injured people. we also saw trucks carrying bodies. and later on when it became clear that this wasn't a robbery, as many people thought initially, but this was a more serious attack.

the military armored vehicles then took over the street. the most difficult story for me to tell was about children. dozens of them. at least 15 people died there. from here, we saw the tv footage. pictures of people who had been killed at point-blank range, some of which is too horrific to show on air. we also met the survivors. some of them were too traumatized to talk to us. they simply waved my microphone away. ♪ the dead will answer they shall live ♪ >> reporter: but there were also uplifting stories, like this woman who lay on the floor for hours waiting for help to come. >> i raised my head up and i asked if she's one of the bad guys. says no, i'm one of the police.

and i'm not the bad guy. and i'm here to rescue you. >> reporter: the attack generated a sentiment of solidarity amongst all kenyans, but it is no doubt a life-changing event. for a while, shoppers kept away from shopping malls. but a year on, many have moved on. this building is currently being repaired. but then, there's too many questions unanswered. why did that operation last four and a half days? how many gunmen were there? and what was the end game? this question still lingers and security is still a concern for many. >> one of the first journalists who attended the westgate shopping mall siege in nairobi a year ago. 67 people lost their lives in that siege. some of the day's other news. relatives of one of the british tourists murdered in thailand have met the chief of police in

bangkok. the body of the 23-year-old woman and 24-year-old man were found with severe head injuries on the island on monday. officials in indonesia say they have delayed all flights in and out of a regional airport indefinitely while heavy smog reduces visibility. the airport is being affected by what health officials say are unhealthy amounts of pollution in the atmosphere. the referendum for independence isn't the only vote taking place in scotland today. members of one of the oldest and most prestigious golf clubs in the world of st. andrews are expected to pass a motion admitting women for the first time. now, for 260 years, it's only been open to men. well, i asked allison root, the editor of "women" and "golf" magazine whether this was a decision that was long overdue. >> oh, definitely. it's long overdue. and hopefully the vote will go

ahead with flying colors this evening, and then we can move on. because unfortunately, this issue surrounding equality, that's when women's golf coverage gets the most attention, which is a shame, because there's a lot of good things that are happening with women's golf, so we need to move forward, and this vote going through will hopefully mean that it's a positive step forward and men and women golfers can unite at golf clubs. >> and do you think there's a reason why golf has gotten away with this for such a long time? >> well, the problem is that it's historical. we're talking about 260 years. so therefore, it's all about tradition. and of course, we have got wonderful traditions in the game of golf in this country. but time has moved on. and it does have to change, of course it does. it's no different to how lord's

cricket grounds voted to allow women. the royal york club voted to allow women last year. so now it's golf's turn. it has to move with the times. >> put this into context for us. how important, how significant that st. andrews is leading the way here? >> oh, it's very important. because the problem is, you know, this is a vote by the members of the royal and ancient golf club, but golf's governing body is also called the rna. so there is slight confusion there. so by this vote going forward, it would just take away all the negative perceptions that surround women's golf. you know, it's not welcoming because to the outside world, that's all they have been hearing really, up until now. that they're not welcome. that it's a fuddy-duddy sport. it's not accessible. it's elitist. but that's really not true. it's a game that can be enjoyed

by everyone. and this is what we want to do going forward so that everyone, whatever age, whatever gender you are, ability, everyone can play golf, and it should be promoted as a family game. >> you think they will vote in favor of women being admitted? >> i definitely hope so. yes. and i think they will. >> that was allison root on the other vote taking place in scotla scotland. the jewish community in egypt is on the verge of disappearing. up until the 1950s, as many as 100,000 jews called the family home. now, just 12 remain. our correspondent explained why. >> reporter: magda comes here with a heavy heart. a synagogue without people or prayers. as the elected head of the jewish community, magda considers herself the guardian of the jewish legacy in egypt.

these ancient scriptures are just one example of the cultural and religious heritage she fears will be lost forever. >> we are dying. we are drowning. we are finished. my first duty is to take care of the human beings, the old ladies which have no family, alone. this is my first duty. my second duty, most important one, is that this will never die. >> reporter: in a home for the elderly in cairo, we met lucy. one of only 12 jews still living in egypt. all her family members and relatives are dead. none of them thought about leaving egypt and neither did she. >> translator: i had friends here. i used to play football with my neighbors. it's my home. why should i leave?

>> reporter: in the headquarters of the jewish community in cairo, there are relics of happier times. there were around 100,000 jews in egypt. most of them were forced to leave in the '50s and '60s. egypt was at war with israel and the government suspected many of them of being spies. this is the jewish quarters, downtown cairo. more than 100 years ago, a lot of poor jews used to live here. most of them were low-wage workers. there were also muslims and christians. today, the place is more crowded, but less diverse. nothing remained of the once jewish community, but a couple of closed synagogues down this narrow street. for the remaining jews, this is their last dressing place, a 1,000-year-old jewish cemetery, now surrounded by slums. magda's father is buried here.

she cries out of grief for herself and for her community's lost future. and i leave you with live images from scotland, one of the 2,600 polling stations where voters are choosing whether scotland should be independent or not. will you help us find a new house for you and your brother? ♪ ♪

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you're watching "gmt" with me, david eads. our top story, islamic state militants were out to kidnap and behead a member of the public on australian soil. police carry out one of their largest ever anti-terrorism raids as the prime minister warns the country it's at serious risk of attack. also in "gmt," jeremy bowen is with the syrian army as they confront the force of islamic state.