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>> hello and welcome to "newsday". >> i am babita sharma in london. a new era for democracy. millions turned out to vote in each of its first parliamentary elections since president mubarak was toppled. the u.n. says thousands of prisoners are being held in libya without access to the legal process. >> running out of water and land to feed the world. they sparked warnings from the united nations food agency. it is 12 noon in singapore. >> it is 4:00 a.m. in london, broadcasting to viewers in pbs on america. welcome to "newsday."

hello there. millions of the egyptians have turned out to cast their ballots and the countries first elections since president mubarak was toppled in february. the voting was by and large peaceful. >> the egyptians turned out in big numbers to vote. at this polling station in cairo, they had to wait longer as expected, as official paperwork arrived late. but they were patient. the right to vote made people who had spent their lives under a dictator feel like citizens. >> this is the biggest day of my life. me and my wife and my son that the. . this day, it will be in history. >> the ballot papers were

enormous. this district had 122 names to choose from. no one seemed to mind. they used to have elections under the old regime but they were always fixed. so most people did not bother to vote. not today. the first time. i wanted to be good for everyone. whoever wins, i hope they do not stay forever. getting a free vote was a big part of the revolution for a lot of the egyptians and it is finally happening. there are still serious questions, though, about the amount of power the army wants to retain after civilian politicians are elected. outside the army handled the security. but apart from a row about queue jumping, it was peaceful. some egyptians believe this

election is fatally flawed because these men will still run the country after the votes are counted. however the election goes, if the economy is not sorted, political stability will not be possible. 700,000 new people enter the work force every year. many never get a proper job. a front-runner for next year's presidential vote believes this election is the best possible way forward. >> and with the best maturity of the egyptians want to have the state the state respected. there is no other way to respect the state than to have a heavy weight of egypt with a democratic government and discipline and a good plan for the future. we are going to make it. >> the protesters still hemmed in look out of step with many

egyptians. they are divided about voting. this day is not perfect, but it is historic. jeremy bowen, cairo. >> the u.n. says it libyans are still holding thousands of people in detention centers. some of the detainees are reported to have been tortured and have no access to a legal process because police and courts are not functioning. many are sub-saharan africans it suspected of being mercenaries hired viby the gadddafiafi regi. >> the report estimates that 7000 people are being held. a lot of these are sub-saharan africans, some of whom have been accused of being mercenaries, but they are libyans as well who fought with colonel gaddafi's forces. they exist in a legal limbo.

the police and the courts are not functioning. there are reports that some of the prisoners have been tortured. this is an issue that is facing a new interim government. the un enoy ian martin said he pressed them to deal with the situation urgently. he said he got a positive response. the interior minister said that he welcomed the it. mr. martin has suggested that a government task force be set up to screen and release the prisoners who should not be there. but he told the security council that no matter what the attitudes of the new governing members were, they would still face enormous challenges, not just human rights and justice but especially security because they have to disarm the rebel fighters, the revolutionaries, and reintegrate them into

society. they are more powerful than the police right now. they have to secure weapons stockpiles. and then they have to build from scratch an electoral system that will be able to hold a vote in seven months' time. >> in syria, a united nations report accused authorities of human rights violations. the charge stems from the al- assad regime's handling of anti-government protesters, in which they allege torture, sexual violence, and forced abduction were used by security forces against protesters. people in one of africa's most poverty-stricken countries have been voting. you have the details. >> votes are being counted in congo. for the second presidential

and parliamentary election ended 8 years ago. the votes to place against a background of violence. some claims of fraud. will ross reports. >> umbrellas at the ready for the big day. the downpour may slow down the stream of voters and did it -- and made the journey harder, but in this young democracy, people are determined to choose their leaders, a change from the years of dictatorship many remember. some were surprised the election went ahead, given the speculation that it would be postponed because things were not ready. we 60,000 of these polling stations dotted across this country, the commission has the daunting challenge. the voters are not having it easy, either. to get an idea of the size of the task, common in the look at this table. there is no ballot paper. it is a ballot booklet.

a document that is 13 pages. on each page are dozens of candidates for the national assembly. overall, there are 18,000 candidates vying for positions in the parliament. there are only 500 posts there. international observers have turned up, but will struggle to get an accurate picture from across the nation. prior to the poll, there have been a flurry of calls for calm. some of the campaign turned violent. there could be trouble ahead, but it is expected to be a tight race between the two presidential candidates. the incumbent and a man that is old enough to be his grandfather. the final results are not expected for over a week. >> in other news, the israeli army says the rocket fired from southern lebanon have landed in northern israel without causing

casualties. the rockets landed in the western galilee region and the army responded but stocks on the launch area. it is the first time in months the rockets have been fired from lebanon and across the border were israel and hesbollah fought a war in 2006. the pentagon declined comment that the nato airstrike and may have been the case of mistaken identity. military sources are reported as saying that they throuought an encampment near the pakistani border contained escaped militants. hundreds of people protested against the the dedeaths. the younger sister -- she was a political novice who is grappling with thailand's worst floods in half a century.

she is in the hospital. president obama ruled out any financial help. the comment came after a white house meeting with the president of the european commission. >> the united states stands ready to do our part to help fenthem resolve this issue. if europe is contracting or having difficulties, then it is much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home because we sent some many of our products and services to europe. it is such an important trading partner. we have a stake in their success and will continue to work in a constructive way to resolve this issue in the near future. >> you are watching "newsday" on the bbc. still to come, on the road to

development. sri lanka opens its first motorway. flamboyant, loud, and outrageous. some of the tributes paid to british director ken russell. here in the uk, the inquiry into newspaper standards has heard from the man he was wrongly suspected of murdering at joanna yates. christopher jeffries said he had been vilified by the press and a frenzied campaign to blacken his character. our correspondent was listening to the latest evidence. >> christopher jefferies on the left, has changed his appearance since his image received unwelcome attention a year ago. this was how he looked last december when he was arrested over the murder of joanna yates. he was innocent, but his reputation was torn apart by the press. >> the slanting of the reporting

was intended to be as sensational, as exploitative, as titillating to appeal in every possible way to people's voyeuristic instincts. >> the singer charlotte church has been in the public eye since she was a teenager. she said described cameras hidden in her garden and offers to boyfriend to talk about her private life. >> why is it ok that an editor or somebody senior in a newspaper could pay an employee of thousandstens of pounds to reveal intimate sexual details about a 17-year- old girl. >> the inquiry has heard from

people who feel they have been victims of the press. tomorrow it will hear from a former tabloid reporter became disillusioned and a guardian reporter who exposed the scale of phone hacking scandal. >> this i s "newsday". >> good to have you with us. there has been a heavy turnout of voters in each of its first parliamentary election since president hosni mubarak was toppled. >> the un says thousands of prisoners are being held in libya without access to judicial process. the annual un conference on climate change is underway in south africa. amid disagreements about the pace of progress, the aim of the

talks is to determine the future of the kyoto agreement and create a legal for a break for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. -- a legal framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. i am joined by the deputy ceo of the climate institute, an independent research organization based in australia. he has been observing the u.s. climate negotiations over the last 20 years. thank you for joining us. you are at the conference. do you think negotiators will be able to achieve a treaty for reducing greenhouse gas emissions? durbin.no>> inot in that does not mean they cannot make practical progress on implementing the agreements that were made in mexico last year, such as improving the transparency around the actions of the countries are taking, reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries, and also building on the expanding global carbon

market. >> it seems like everyone is very pessimistic that a treaty will not be achieved at the conference. so when do you think will one be achieved? >> that in part will be determined by the outcomes of this meeting. that hinges around two issues. the eu and australia prepared to take on new targets under the kyoto protocol. and also, are china, india, and the u.s. prepared to take the targets they committed and put them under a treaty? that really is the hub of it. unless we get all of the major emitters' committing internationally to put their targets under treaty, then we are unlikely to see a treaty and merge in the short term. >> how significant all rolled to you think will australia play in this durbin conference after the

parliament basically supported this controversial carbon tax? >> is an important moment for australia for two reasons. for the first time in the 20-odd year history of negotiations, the nation can stand up and say we have a credible policy that can make the targets we have committed internationally. that said, it is very vulnerable to the impacts of the climate change. as we are seeing by recent drought and fires. we really should be using that credibility that comes from implementing the emissions scheme to show others that action is possible and that others to increase their ambitions. >> mr. jackson, do you think a treaty to reducing emissions will ever be forged? >> well, i think there is a

reasonable chance, but it certainly will not happen in durbin. it hinges around the dynamics between the u.s. and china. china continues to undertake significant domestic actions to encourage clean energy, but until they are prepared to put those commitments into an international framework under a treaty, then a treaty will not emerge. on the other side, you have the u.s., who are really placing unrealistic demands on the process by saying that we have to tear down the differences that we seek in the current negotiations between developed and developing countries. until the u.s. is ready to show flexibility, we will not get a treaty. >> thank you so much. since the war in sri lanka and did in 2009, the government has stepped up on projects.

one of the most notable has been given a grand opening. the island's first motorway. our sri lanka correspondent reports. >> the old road from the capital to the south it tetndnds to be a jam. wouldn't it be nice if there was an alternative? and now there is. a new motorway will cost you a bit -- $3.50 to $17.56 depending on your vehicle. for many, it is money well spent. true, the motorway was unnaturally montana as i was there on a sneak preview. i could appreciate the engineering of the road which cost $700 million and put together by chinese and japanese contractors. gliding along the pristine motorway like this, it is luxurious where you will usually

have to allow a lot of time for short-term earnings. it is true that people and homes had to be operated for the highway. but of course, the reward for those traveling is the journey south in record time. in a media campaign of the basic dos and don'ts of motorway driving. this is completely new for sri lanka and the drivers can be reckless year. the breakdown lane is narrower than the international standard. but these are not major problems, according to officials. >> for six years, we have been -- than any other time. out of our 12,000 kilometers, we have rehabilitated half of the network. >> expressway ends. back on normal roads, we trundle

into the town. it is home to food producers who will welcome the new road that should halve the journey time. >> they can transport their goods very soon. we are talking about perishable things like fish, vegetables, and fruits. they can be transported immediately without taking more time. they will not spoil. >> the president said he hoped that new highways would bridge the gap between sri lankans. the chinese and others are already engaging in projects to expand the the the other motorways. >> the world may not be able to properly feed itself by 2015. that is a warning from a u.s. report that suggests that 1/4 of the land's surface may not be able to grow enough crops for are rising population. the combination of climate

change and pork farming practices are blamed. >> the farmers of australia know the problem -- rainfall has dropped and temperatures arisen. unsustainable use of water and other resources has caused yields to fall. yet in the world has ever more mouths to feed. in 40 years, there'll be another 2 billion of us. if nothing is done, there will be consequences for everyone. >> this system is at risk -- they simply will not be able to contribute as expected in meeting the human demands for 2050. the consequences in terms of hunger and poverty are unacceptable. >> the damage is particularly bad in asia, where billions depend on rice.

yields soared in the 1960's and 1970's thanks to the green revolution. but no growth is tailing off while the population keeps on rising. farmers will need to increase output by 70% by 2015 but do in a way that does not damage the environment. >> it is either can contribute to a solution, provided we have the fright -- right framework, provide we have enough investment in sustainable agriculture and farmers can produce more and generate income and they can mitigate climate change and adapt to climate change. >> the fao says the solving the problems will cost $1 trillion, but doing nothing will cost even more. >> babita, the film world has lost one of its most colorful characters. >> the british film director ken

russell became known for his movies, such as "tommy." we look back at his life in the films he helped create -- and the films he helped create. >> ken russell's portrait of the film composer in the 1960's. they were beautiful to look at, seductive to be listened to, and self indulgent. the market not as a filmmaker of talent and some said genius. >> camera speed. >> 339 take one. [woman singing] >> at the bbc he developed his trademark style -- flamboyant

and visually extravagant. he moved into cinema where his second major feature "women in love," was acclaimed as a masterpiece. >> it's where they are. >> accuse me of exposing political chicanery and i would plead guilty. >> as time went on, his films became extreme. >> i started to make films around 1971 and 1972. he disturbed me. whether you like it or disliked it, you had a strong reaction. >> "tommy" was typically overblown, but fallen more than 30 years and which is films grew less successful and the difficulties he faces in financing them progressively greater.

>> i think the script -- of the day. six months later signed by someone i had never heard of. "thank you for your script, it is not cinematic enough." >not cinematic enough for me. >> his films remain the work of a genius. as a genius, he was extraordinary and like all geniuses, sometimes his films were much less than genius. >> music. >> better to remember his successes, like the musical "the boyfriend," a remind that russell could also be wonderfully entertaining. >> you've been watching "newsday". thanks for watching.

>> make sense of international news that bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. union bank. >> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from

small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.