hello. you're watching "gmt" on "bbc world news." i'm lucy hockings. five new cases of ebola are diagnosed every hour in sierra leone, and the country is not coping. a conference on how to tackle the disease is under way in london. we'll be asking why it's taking so long for help to get to those who need it most. pro-democracy demonstrators remain on the streets of hong kong. in the last hour, we're getting reports of scuffles between protesters and police.

we're going to take you live to the territory for the very latest. of course, india, millions of people join the prime minister in cleaning up public spaces. but after today, will the effort continue? also on the program, aaron joins us, and europe's biggest car show is kicking off today. >> the cover s are coming off a the paris car show, and it's been a bit of a mixed picture for some of these makers. we hear from rolls-royce who tells us it can't keep up with demand. and we're going live to the show to speak to the big boss. it's 11:00 a.m. in sierra leone, 7:00 p.m. in hong kong, and midday here in london, where dramatic new figures on the ebola crisis have been released to coincide with a conference asking for more money to tackle the outbreak. a leading health charity now says that five people are

infected with the deadly virus every hour in sierra leone. save the children says more than 760 new cases were reported in the west african country last week. but there are only 300 suitable hospital beds in the country. the most serious outbreak of the virus is taking place -- it is getting worse as well. just look at how the number of deaths has grown exponentially since it began. over 3,000 people have died since march. sierra leone, liberia, and guinea have been most affected, and the first case was diagnosed in the united states on tuesday. we're going to take you live to that conference here in london in a few moments time, but first with the very latest, here's the bbc's john brain. >> reporter: a terrifying disease spreading, says save the children, at a terrifying rate. this clinic is being built for the charity to help tackle ebola in sierra leone. but with five new cases of the disease in the country every hour, even when this facility is ready, local health services

will struggle to cope. >> the situation for ebola in sierra leone is critically serious. the challenges that the people of sierra leone are facing are unimaginable to many people outside of this region. >> reporter: across west africa, there have been more than 7,000 confirmed cases of ebola. more than 3,300 people have died, making it the world's worst outbreak of the virus. today experts and politicians are meeting in london to discuss a global response to the crisis. >> some estimates say that by january of next year there could be 1.4 million cases. so we're seeing the numbers of people infected doubling roughly once every two weeks or so, so that's a massive increase in the numbers of people affected by ebola, which is why we have to get it under control as fast as we can. >> reporter: today's conference comes as parliamentary watchdog

claims cuts in british aid may have compromised the fight against ebola. the government says the allegation is out of date because of new aid commitments. meanwhile, doctors in texas are treating america's first ebola patient, who is thought to have come into contact with children. they're now being closely monitored by health officials. these are worrying times across the globe. john brain, bbc news. >> the bbc's umaru fafana has been speaking with us. >> the epicenter of the disease was in the east of sierra leone. those areas, which have been in quarantine for eight weeks now or so, have been returning very low infection numbers. now, it spread to the north, some very huge mining companies there as well as in the capital

freetown. yesterday's figures showed that freetown had the highest new infection numbers. there are areas here that are really densely populated. you go to the market areas, see people roaming about as though there is nothing like ebola, despite warnings from the authorities for people to sustain from touching each other. >> troubles with containing ebola in sierra leone. we're going to take you live to the conference in london, so do stay with us here on "gmt." to get more information on the ebola virus, do go to website. we've got plenty for you there on the outbreak across west africa as well as efforts to treat the first person diagnosed in the u.s. bbc.com/news. let's bring you up to date with some other news now. the director of the u.s. secret service julia pierson has resigned a day after accepting full responsibility for a security breach at the white house. two weeks ago, an intruder armed with a knife sprinted across the

white house lawn and burst through the unlocked front entrance. mexican authorities say they've captured one of the country's most wanted drug barons. he heads the cartel known as the ibl, which they say is responsible for arms and drug trafficking to and from the u.s., as well as kidnapping, murder, and torture in mexico. a mural by the world famous graffiti artist banksy has been scrubbed off a wall in england. they're worried it could be seen as racist. the picture, as you can see, shows a group of pigeons, which are common here in the uk. they're holding up placards aimed at the more exotic swallow. millions of indians are picking up their buckets and brooms in a nationwide campaign to clean streets and public spaces. leading by example, the prime minister narendra modi has been sweeping up streets in delhi to launch his clean india drive.

civil servants, school children, factory workers as well have all been urged to join them. it's a five-year campaign that aims to improve india's sanitation. it's a major health concern. half of indians lack access to toilets. andrew north went to take a look at how the campaign is at a delhi railway station. >> reporter: this is one place that's getting a whole new look as a result of the indian prime minister's cleanup initiative. i've never seen new delhi railway station as clean as it is today. of course, in government offices across the capital, thousands of civil servants have been cleaning up their offices. the question, though, is once the cameras have gone away, once this big publicity initiative is over, sit going to make a difference? narendra modi is promising big things, that all cities will be free of rubbish within five years and that every household will have a toilet to stop this practice of people going to the

toilets outside. very bold promises. but what people are hoping is that initiatives like this, big publicity initiatives will really start to change habits. >> andrew north there at a delhi railway station. well, this cleanup has been huge on social media, prime minister modi urging people to take to the streets and post their photos as well, and the hash tag he's chosen is #mycleanindia. it's been retweeted thousands of times. the prime minister posted a photo on his facebook and twitter pages showing him taking part in the event. this was quickly picked up around the country. here's some men from a trucking firm posting their picture on twitter, and this man said participated in my clean india drive. cleaned the roads and the drains. each of us should participate every sunday. mr. modi also posted a youtube video asking nine well-known people, including the cricketer to get involved in the cleanup mission. and this was the sportsman's

response. he was swift to take him up on the offer, posting a video on his own facebook page in which he says he humbly accepts the challenge and telling people to watch this space. could see him there with a broom and shovel sometime soon. still to come, there's a big election in the country with a very big economy. brazil will soon go to the polls. we're going to be in the amazon on the campaign trail. ♪ (dad) there's nothing i can't reach in my subaru. (vo) introducing the all-new subaru outback. love. it's what makes a subaru,a subaru. and discover an exciting combination of tastes. rich, dark chocolate covering soft centers.

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let's return to our top story. the british government is calling for international help to tackle the ebola outbreak in west africa. it's hosting an international conference here in london today with the government of sierra leone. let's take you to the conference here near buckingham palace. i'm joined now by sierra leone's high commissioner here in the

uk. thank you for being with us here on "gmt." it's a very frightening situation in your country finds itself in. what is it that you need most from the international community? >> well, first of all, may i take this opportunity to thank the british government for facilitating this conference today. we're very grateful. as we know, ebola is not origa regional issue. it's a global issue. we thank the british government for this today. we thank also the international community. thank the institutions that are represented in this conference today. we are very grateful, on behalf of my government, on behalf of the president, who is unevidentably unable to attend today. we are very grateful for this wonderful conference. thank you. >> in your country, you've got doctors and nurses absolutely exhausted. you've got frightened people. and you don't have enough

hospital beds. what is it that you're calling for today most urgently? >> that's why we're asking for international assistance. you see, your money goes -- the money will be contributed to institutions -- goes to medical care, medical support for ebola in sierra leone. your money doesn't go anywhere in vain. we use that money to get more doctors, more nurses, more clinics, more balances, which we lack right now, and we need those now. because ebola is still real. so we appeal to all international communities to give us all those articles to counter the scourge of ebola. we need it. that's what we lack right now. we have no trained nurses, no trained doctors. when ebola started, it had symptoms like malaria of

typhoid, so we didn't know about it, until some people came from london to tell us that it was ebola. and by then it was too late. so we're very grateful for the help you've given us through the british government. >> are you worried, though, sir, that pledges might be made today, but practical help might take too long to be delivered to sierra leone when it's needed right now this minute? >> well, see, i must confess, because the british government have sent a lot of medical personnel in sierra leone. i know this because -- but we still need more. the response from the international community is huge right now. from americans, the british, the french are coming now to help sierra leone. looking for more medical workers to come, to train. not only our nurses and doctors, but to come back to this ebola.

we plead, we beg, please, please, please come to our aid. ebola is nota regional or a state issue. ebola has flown from liberia to dallas, in texas. it's already becoming global. so please come to our aid. and we appreciate the british government today. we have a lot of representatives from various institutions in this conference. and they are very delighted. thank you very much indeed. >> thank you. i hope your plea is heard today. thank you for joining us on "gmt." >> thank you very much. it is south america's largest country and the world's seventh largest economy, but as it counts down to an increasingly tight presidential race on sunday, brazil is also a divided country of large disparities. candidates stepped up their campaigns, the bbc headed out to the depths of the brazilian

amazon to hear from the voters there. he starts his report in acre. >> reporter: up here in the amazon, we're thousands of miles away from the built up cities of rio and sao paulo. here, getting from one village to the next is a complicated journey on the river acre from shore to shore. in this vast country of 200 million people, making sure everybody is covered and catered for has been one of the stated aims of the government. and in that sense, there have been notable successes. more health care, education, and elevating some 30 or 40 million people out of poverty, even in the remotest parts of the country. but economic growth is important

as well. and will the government be judged on its economic performance? because without growth in the economy, even up here in the north, a lot of these programs won't be able to be paid for. this is the rain forest in which the woman who could become the next president of brazil was actually brought up. silva was illiterate until the age of 16, and yet she, this impoverished woman, could become the next leader of a country of 200 million people. sebastian desilva -- [ speaking foreign language ] sebastian worked with her and knew her 30 years ago. he thinks she could be a good president for brazil. [ speaking foreign language ]

sebastian says because she's from this area, she knows the problems of poor brazilians, not just wealthy people. of course, the flip side of that is how can a person who grew up in these forests -- how could such a person, despite their intelligence, despite their abilities as a local politician, hope to lead brazil? and that's what a lot of desilva's opponents are saying. she may have these environmental kcredential credentials, but how can she run the world's seventh largest economy? she was chosen to be the candidate for the party after the death of her running mate eduardo campos. but here we are now deep in the amazon jungle. thousands of miles away from the big metropolis of sao paulo. people like sebastian are hoping and expecting that the woman who grew up here could become the next president of brazil. >> there in the amazon rain

forest in acre. let's take you to hong kong and update you on the situation there. police are warning there will be serious koconsequences if they y to charge government buildings. demonstrators have been in several parts of hong kong all week, but they are currently gathered around the chief executive's office. they are demanding that beijing withdraw its plans to vet candidates for the elections. they are also demanding that hong kong's leader c.y. leung steps down. china has said it fully supports him and police are saying they want the demonstrators to leave. it doesn't look like they're going anywhere, though. take a look at these pictures we've got for you. the latest scenes at one of the protest sites. still quite a few people out on the streets. many of them, as you can see, holding their umbrellas, which has really become a symbol of these demonstrations. keeping up with those events is

my colleague, we can go to her for all the latest. >> reporter: it's approaching 20 past 7:00 here in the evening. some details to talk about with you, the hong kong police have come out issuing a very stark warning to the protesters here. they have told them there will be serious consequences if they occupy government buildings. now, that's in a direct response to the ultimatum and deadline that the protesters set. they said if by midnight tonight, the chief executive c.y. leung does not resign, they will occupy government buildings. that is the situation at the moment. a clear message from the police. don't do it. and the protesters saying they will come midnight, which is just some hours away now. as you can see behind me, we are, as we have been all week here, in the financial district. on this main route into the business hub. still occupied by a fair few thousand here tonight. numbers are less, though, i have

to say than they were this time yesterday. i just want to tell you that a short time ago, about 20 minutes ago, myself and the crew here, we took a short walk. it's about a minute from where we are here to the offices of c.y. leung, and we just tweeted images of what we saw there. take a look. a couple hundred protesters have gathered outside the government offices and while we were there, we were also offered a gas mask as well. there's one thing you can say about the protesters in the last few days, they have been well-equipped, whether it's been with food or water or gas masks, they are prepared for any eventuality here this evening. so as the bbc's alfred patel reports, the protesters are tired but their resolve is strong. a week on, and protesters are digging in. not a car in sight on thishuge ly busy road. the protesters have spread to other parts of the island.

although the mood has been peaceful and calm for the last few days, many are wondering how long this can last. demonstrators have set a deadline. they want hong kong's leader, who is pro-beijing, to step down by the end of the day. or they have threatened to escalate their action by occupying government buildings. the situation is being watched carefully by western governments. u.s. secretary of state john kerry met and urged the chinese foreign minister to find a peaceful solution. the response was less than welcoming. >> translator: the chinese government has very firmly and clearly stated its position. hong kong affairs are china's internal affairs. all countries should respect china's sovereignty, and this is also a basic principle governing international relations. >> reporter: the chinese press is branding the protesters troublemakers and lawbreakers,

but in several cities around the world, many have taken the opportunity to show their solidarity. here in new york, protesters held umbrellas, the symbol of the occupy hong kong movement. the umbrella revolution also appeared outside the chinese embassy in london. and in taiwan, thousands turned out to show their support. back in hong kong, and protesters are swelling in turms, as they prepare, so do the police. for what could be a prolonged standoff. >> babita, you've seen the fact that the protesters are carrying these gas masks now. what have they told you about what their strategy is? >> reporter: that is a fundamental question here, lucy. we've been trying to work it out ourselves. it depends who you speak to. earlier on today, we were speaking to the president of the chinese university union based in hong kong, who represents about 6,000 students here.

we put it to him. we're hearing this ultramimatuuf the chief executive does not resign, they'll occupy government buildings. he says we're not going to do that. we'll surround them, but we will not occupy them. so it depends who you talk to about what their action is going to be. we don't know that. but what i can tell you is that significantly in the last hour or so, hour and a half, the mood seems to have changed. it's got a little bit more tense, particularly around those government buildings. we've seen a heavy security presence there. we've also seen a number of protesters gathering around those offices. as we said, the focal point, c.y. leung's office, just a stone's throw away from where we are tonight. we don't know what's going to happen. remains to be seen in the coming hours. but that deadline looms midnight local time. we're going to keep you updated with the latest developments, so stay with us for that. >> very briefly, the police are saying there will be serious consequences if the protesters

try to take over government buildings. do we actually know what those serious consequences are? >> they didn't go into much more detail about those serious consequences, but we can perhaps gauge looking back as to what happened on sunday, when those protesters occupied government buildings on sunday, the consequences of those actions were those scenes that we saw unfold here in the financial district, of tear gas. >> just lost babita there, but she was talking to us about the tension that seems to be rising in hong kong at the moment. there's been five days of mass rallies, but those protesters are saying that they are going to occupy government buildings unless the chief executive stands down. he has the back of china and says he will not. we've got so much for you on the standoff on the website as well. a special hong kong protest page that has all the latest including maps and video. special analysis too from juliana lui on whether china has

gone back on its promise made in 1997. and of course, babita is there with us throughout the day to keep us up to date. well, do stay with us here on "gmt." coming up in the next half-hour, we'll ask a crucial question in the fight against islamic state. will turkey wade into the war? that's coming up. keeping a billion customers a year flying, means keeping seven billion transactions flowing. and when weather hits, it's data mayhem. but airlines running hp end-to-end solutions are always calm during a storm. so if your business deals with the unexpected, hp big data and cloud solutions make sure you always know what's coming - and are ready for it. make it matter.

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or, they'll be ready for pick-up when you order online. welcome to "bbc world news," i'm lucy hockings. in this half-hour, the dilemma facing turkey. the parliament will shortly begin discussing whether turkey should join kurdish fighters in the battle against islamic state. we'll look at the precarious position the country feels it's in. >> whether i'm dressed like this, this, this, or like this, i'm still a real person.

>> no shame in a name. drag queens are amongst those who waon a moral victory. aaron is here looking at the economic relationship between mainland china. hong kong, interesting. >> 17 years ago when china goes its hands on hong kong, it was its gateway to the west, playing an instrumental role in china's economic boom. but is it the same relationship today? so we're going to take a look and find out who needs who the most. welcome back to "gmt." will turkey wade into the war with islamic state? a vote is expected soon after a debate in the turkish parliament. the session will open shortly to decide whether the country will use its army to fight i.s. militants in iraq and syria.

turkey shares a border with both of those countries and hosts a u.s. air base in incirlik. so far, the country has been unwilling to join the fight. that's despite the threat of the militants right on turkey's doorstep. the syrian border city of kobane has been under attack now for two weeks. let's bring you up to date with mark lowen who is in istanbul, and paul adams, who is overlooking kobane on the turkey-syria border. mark, the debate due to get under way shortly. do we have any idea -- any sense of which way this vote will go? >> reporter: the government has a commanding majority. even though the opposition is likely to vote against, it is still likely to get carried by the majority of mps, it will be one motion that would authorize turkish troops to be sent abroad

against what it calls terrorist organizations, and for foreign troops to use turkish bases for that same purpose. now, i have to say, lucy, this does not necessarily mean that turkey's going to go in guns blazing after this vote is passed. it simply gives parliamentary approval in case turkey decides to deploy its soldiers, either unilaterally or as part of the u.s.-led coalition. >> mark, thanks for that. paul, we've seen intense fighting near where you are over the past few weeks. what's happening there today? >> reporter: right now, the situation in kobane seems relatively quiet. at least as far as the center of the town behind me is concerned. yesterday, when we were at this same place, we could see the occasional puff of smoke as mortars were being fired from isis positions over in that direction, and they were landing right on the edge of town. that is not happening today. we're also not seeing any coalition air strikes, which we saw yesterday. but all sorts of reports from all over this enclave, which is a substantial area with lots of

villages. talk of a gradual move towards the town by isis fighters. some reports suggested that overnight, some of those fighters even managed to creep into the edge of the town itself. we don't have any confirmation of that. we don't have confirmation of any significant casualties. we were told a couple of people had been killed in fighting overnight. i think it's worth emphasizing this does not feel like a town in danger of imminent collapse. but all time, the enclave, which it is the center of, seems to be shrinking. >> paul, thanks so much for that update. mark as well in istanbul. let's talk a bit more about what could happen. with me here is a research fellow for the middle east center at the london school of economics. so mark was just saying there that president erdogan is probably in favor of voting yes, and he does have a majority. what things have influenced him in making that decision, given

turkey have been holding off for quite some time and joining the coalition? >> i think that there are a couple of factors that led turkey to change its position. the most important one is the pkk and pyd. and if the coalition supports the moderate forces in syria, or forces against isis in syria, that will help the pkk forces as well and the pyd forces. they will get military support, maybe financial support or training. and turkey recognizes pkk as a terrorist organization. even though it's in associations at t -- negotiations at the moment, it still sees pkk as a threat to its security. the process is leading turkey to change its position by involving in the coalition, turkey might have more control over its borders. also, the kurdish forces.

>> because president erdogan has said he would like to create some kind of buffer zone, a no-fly zone as well. we're not quite sure of what turkey's involvement would be. but how do the public see this in turkey? >> in order to see the public's opinion, we need to go back to 2003. the other motion about letting turkey -- turkey letting to use its territory. that motion didn't pass. it was mainly the public sees it as turkey showing it's not interfering in its neighbor's affairs and was positively received. but today, the public sees isis as a threat, and turkey's position is seen as a positive step by the public. but at the same time, for instance, the kurdish supporters

and kurdish parties doesn't see this as a positive process because of the potential turkish control over the kurdish -- >> and how much pressure do you think the u.s. briefly has put on president erdogan? >> well, it seems that they have. if you think about the hostages were suddenly relieved, and u.s. has been talking to turkey quite a lot. i think the u.s. pressure has had an important impact on this process. >> thank you very much for joining us. we're going to keep across the situation and vote in turkey throughout the day on "bbc world news," so do stay with us for that. we want to bring you the news that's developing from bulgaria. at least 15 people have died. this is after a series of powerful blasts hit an explosive factory. officials say land mines were being decommissioned at the plant north of sofia. three people are reported to have been injured in explosions that started late on wednesday and went on for hours. security officials have cordoned

off the site. the cause of the blast, though, is not immediately clear. time to catch up with all the latest business news. aaron is with us now. do you like cars, aaron? >> i'm not a redhead, but i like a nice flashy car. hello, let's head to france now where the global car industry is gth gathered for big one. the show opens on the weekend and more than a million visitors are expected to pass through these doors. it's been a very tough few years for europe's car industry in its home market, although there are finally some science of recovery. in fact, one company which hasn't been struggling in the least, believe it or not, rolls-royce. it achieved record sales last year amid booming demand from asia's new rich with another record year this year on the cards. so if the luxury car maker are recession-proof, how are the other car makers faring?

carlos, always a pleasure having you with us. you once said that by 2020, one in ten new cars sold will be electric. you're a big pusher for zero emissions. but you need batteries for those and i believe you've got some battery problems, haven't you? you're cutting battery manufacturing. >> no, no, no. you know, we have a strategy, which is very clear, which consists making the battery an asset for the electric cars. so when we started our offensive, we didn't find any battery, so we developed our own strategy. we started to make the batteries internally. and now i'm very pleased to see that there is a lot of competition on the battery. a lot of companies are doing their own battery and they're coming with very interesting performance, so we are opening up our supply not only to our internal production, but also to the external. this is a sign on the contrary of dynamism.

our goal is mass marketing electric cars and not mass marketing battery. battery is a tool in order to make the electric car much more attractive. >> let's move on to europe. it's been a very tough time in the european market. now we add that to another picture where we've got the tough economic times in russia. many other makers suffering from that, but you think you can turn that negative into your positive. how are you going to do that? >> well, first, about europe, we've been on a down trend for the last six years. so for the first time, we're seeing a recovery in europe. yes, it's modest. i think it's going to be followed next year by another modest growth, about 3% to 4% again. we are very far from the level where the market was in 2007. and just in terms of competition, the u.s. has already recovered pre-crisis level, while europe is still 20% below. so we think there is a margin for a recovery, even though this

recovery is going to be slow. this being said, russia now is -- there was no reason except the political reasons for which the russian market is down so far by 20% by the end of august. we think this is short-term turbulence. this does not challenge anything in terms of strategically about investing on the russian market, and getting a foothold and including -- increasing our technology and new car production in the russian market. we're just going to have to be patient. >> patient indeed. we really appreciate your time. short and sweet today. but thank you. we'll talk to you soon. as you've been hearing, protesters continue to grip hong kong, and worries mount about just how china may respond. one of the most unsettling questions is whether its fate matters as much to the rest of the country. hong kong has long served as the bridge between china and the world, with trade and investment

flowing both ways. that role, though, is diminished in recent years, as china has plugged itself directly into the global economy. hong kong's leaders warn that the current unrest will only result in chinese businesses bypassing it even more. take a look at. this and they may have a point. hong kong is clearly less important than in the past. its gdp has shrunk from 16% of china's in 1997, the year it was returned to chinese control, to just 3% today. you've got also the financial world. since 2012, chinese companies have raised $43 billion in going public, initial public offerings in the hong kong market. but is that changing? well, this year alone, alibaba and jd.com have launched large initial ipos. in new york, not hong kong. and over the past five years, the chinese government has made a testing ground for a range of

financial reforms. the u.n.'s path towards acceptance towards a global currency, that began in hong kong. the first time will allow any foreign investor to buy china listed shares, conducted via the hong kong exchange. let's get to an asia economist. great to have you with us. it is a big change, but i want to ask you this. 17 years ago, china used hong kong as its gateway to the u.s., but isn't it a fact that today, the west uses hong kong as its gateway into china? >> i think it's a bit of both and i think it's important not to underplay hong kong's role in china's economy. as you mentioned, hong kong now is a much smaller share of china's economy than it was on the eve of the handover in 1997. but it does play a really useful and fundamental role in china's development, that more foreign direct investment now comes through hong kong than it did

nearly ten years ago, for example. and as you say, it's a test bed and experiment place for china's own financial reforms. so it's really important not to underplay hong kong's role in china's economy still. >> okay, but if somebody has to put one on the spot -- i mean, is there a case of one of them needs the other. you know, who needs who most here? >> i think undoubtedly that hong kong still needs china more than china needs hong kong. but if you go to hong kong today, you will see just by walking around the importance of china in terms of retail sales, in terms of tourism, but also in terms of the financial sector. there's so much of that now that is geared towards china. but hong kong still does play an important role for china as well. >> how concerning is it about china's warning or the leaders warning that if this unrest continues, what it will do is basically see chinese businesses bypassing hong kong even more. could that hit hong kong? >> i think it obviously very much depends on where the

situation in hong kong goes from here. if the situation is resolved in the next week or few days, then i suspect things will get back to normal pretty quickly. but the longer the protests go on, i think hong kong's state as this gateway to china may eventually come under threat. some of the advantages that hong kong has, such as rule of law, a transparent legal question coming into question as well. >> okay, great stuff. we really appreciate your thoughts and input there. follow me on twitter. you can tweet me @bbcaaron. i'll tweet you back. and that's it with the business. we have some breaking news to bring you now about the first person who was diagnosed with ebola in the united states in dallas, texas. thomas eric duncan is in isolation, but health officials have been trying to contact everybody who has been in contact with him, and we are now hearing that 80 people have been in contact with him at some point. this is coming from health

officials in texas. 80 people were in contact with thomas eric duncan and they're making all efforts, of course, to contact them. the children who have been in contact with him are remaining at home at the moment. do stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come -- an online victory for drag queens around the world. one online social giant apologizes to some of its users. we're going to explain why. tomcat presents dead mouse theatre. hey, ulfrik! hey, agnar! what's up with you? funny you ask. i'm actually here to pillage your town. [ villagers screaming ] but we went to summer camp together. summer camp is over. ♪ [ male announcer ] tomcat. [ cat meows ] [ male announcer ] engineered to kill.

i'm lucy hockings. our top stories this hour, as an international conference on the ebola epidemic in west africa meets here in london, a leading charity warns new cases are outstripping hospital beds.

hong kong police warn of serious consequences if protesters try to occupy government buildings after china backs hong kong's embattled chief executive. we never really know how authentic people are on social media. our friends might tweet a comment that we know they would never say in real life. but for the most part, we tend not to worry too much about people making a true representation of themselves online. but what about what they call themselves? it seems that detail does matter, to facebook anyway. that was until today, when the social media giant apologized to transgender and drag queen users whose accounts were deleted for violating its policy on people using their real names. with me is charlie hydes, a comedian and celebrity impersonator. let's take a look at what he's posted previously about facebook's name policy. >> hi, i'm charlie hydes, and i'm a real person.

whether i'm dressed like this. this. this. or like this. i'm still a real person. and like cher, lady gaga, elton john, bono, charlie sheen, and thousands of other entertainers, hollywood stars, musical artists and performers all around the world, the name charlie hydes is not the name i was born with. doesn't mean i'm not a real person. >> and charlie is with me now. so congratulations are in order. victory over facebook. >> thank you. >> how does it feel? >> it feels good. not just for me. because it didn't really affect me that much because i didn't have that much to lose. i'm not going to lose the millions of viewers i get on youtube. but a lot of my friends are drag queens and performers. and people who were using stage names as well as some of my trans friends, they didn't want to use the name on their driver's license for various reasons. and that was the point that facebook wasn't getting. it was that there are a lot of reasons. >> tell us more about why it matters to people, this issue. >> well, what's interesting is

that it doesn't matter to youtube, instagram, twitter, and vine. why it mattered so much to facebook is -- a lot of people suspect is about selling ads, that they were enforcing this policy. but to a trans person who may live in a small town or a village and may just be making their first tentative steps out of the closet, they may not want to use their real name. they may not want to lose their job. they may not want people in the small town to know. in villages all around the world, if there is a gay person, they may not want to be out in the town or the village where they are from. >> and have transgender drag queens picked this up particularly because social media is so important to them? >> well, yeah. because there are people who are being locked out, people who had youtube accounts, they weren't being locked out, they could be whoever they were on youtube. but on facebook, if they had their drag name, their performance name, they may have been performing in nightclubs

all around the country for 20 years under that name, and they had 5,000 friends on facebook, they had years of memories. facebook has become a large part of people's lives. and all of their photographs and memories were there in that feed. and then they would sign on and they were locked out of the account. and facebook said that's it, no, you can't get on. send us your driver's license and prove who you really are or you can't get access. >> did it also feel like a bit of a rejection of who they are? >> yeah, they were being told if you're a drag queen and you're performing in nightclubs, hundreds of people see you every night and that's the name they know you by. and so that's the name that they were using in social media and presenting themselves to their world. when they got paid and entertained, that's the name they were knownb by. that name is just as real as cher, or stephanie germanotta, who is lady gaga.

that's just as real as a flame thrower or belly dancer. drag queens, who also started the stone wall revolution, said we've had it, we're not going to take it and had the balls to say no facebook, you can't just shunt us aside. >> it seems very real. charlie, thank you very much. >> it does seem sincere. that's surprising. just to remind you of the breaking news we've received in the past few minutes or so from texas health officials. they have been closely monitoring the one person who has been diagnosed in the united states with ebola. thomas eric duncan. he's in isolation right now, but they've also been trying to contact people who may have been near him, and we are now hearing that 80 people have been in contact with thomas in the last -- before he was sent to hospital. that is the news we are hearing.

80 people have been in contact with that ebola patient. the bbc's pop-up bureau is in dallas, and they've been speaking to residents there about this news on ebola. >> as you know, a patient was admitted to this hospital on september 28th. subsequently tested positive for ebola. >> since his arrival on friday, he was not vomiting or having diarrhea, and therefore, there was no exposures. >> this is not west africa. this is a very sophisticated city. >> i heard about it on the news i guess about a day or two ago. >> it was two days ago. >> i would say yesterday morning through social media. >> i know that it's deadly. i know that it has some flu-like symptoms. i know that you seem to bleed from everywhere. but other than that, i don't know a lot about it. >> i heard that it was actually at presbyterian hospital, the first outbreak noted in the u.s.

>> actually, a couple days ago on facebook was the first time i heard about it. >> it's kind of shocking, but nothing too scary or anything like that. >> i'm surprised it's taken this long to get over and start cropping up somewhere here in the states. >> i'm not too worried, but, you know, apparently it can spread. we have a lot of people here. it's something to be concerned about, i would think. >> i'm scared. i am scared. you know, so i was even thinking about keeping my son home from school because i'm not sure what to do in a situation like this. >> i know our medical systems and hospitals are better than the ones in africa, obviously, and we are much better prepared for this. but it's still very unnerving. >> there's got to be a way. >> it's actually a very, very gruesome death. i think maybe if people knew that, they'd be more sympathetic to it. >> i feel like i'm not getting all the information i need.

>> the person's isolated and i think that there are plans in place for this kind of thing. >> i don't believe what the government is saying. >> i really do think that they're going to do everything they can to control it and contain it, and right now, i'm really not worried about it. >> usually between our government and our medical system, there's not been a problem. so i'm not too concerned right now. ns. they're cool. these deals are legit. yeah, we're cool. she's cool. we're cool. priceline express deals really are legit. thousands of people book them everyday. now it's your turn. to download the priceline app text the word deals to 68277 and start saving today. look - saving you money makes us happy.

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