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>> and now "bbc world news." >> counting the votes for super tuesday, republican presidential candidate to face a potentially decisive moment in the race to challenge barack obama. mitt romney and rick santorum are locked in a tight battle for the key state of ohio. >> what a great night. there are three states under our belt, and counting. >> we have one in the west, midwest, and the south. we're ready to land across this country. -- win across this country. >> britain's ambassador to damascus says president bashar

al-assad could be forced out by the end of the year. it is 11:00 in washington. >> it is 4:00 in london, broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world. >> the biggest died so far in the contest to become the republican candidate to run against barack obama in the u.s. presidential election in november. boats are being cast in 10 states, the -- votes are being cast in 10 states, but the big prize is the state of ohio. exit polls suggest the front- runner in the race, mitt romney,

has won three states. rick santorum has also won three. the contest is to be extremely close in ohio. no republican candidate has ever become president without winning there. mitt romney has won the primaries in massachusetts and virginia. newt gingrich has won in his home state in georgia. rick santorum has one in tennessee, oklahoma, as north dakota. we are in columbus, ohio. it is looking incredibly close. >> it is incredibly close to the point where the word out of the mitt romney camp is they think there could be less than 1000 votes and there is the potential that there may be no official call at all this evening. back is the situation at the moment. earlier in them evening, it looked as though rick santorum was ahead. the more rural counties seem to

be reporting earlier. the counties for the three main urban centers were taking longer. there is nothing between them at the moment. we are waiting for this final counts. there is a suggestion that perhaps if it is that close, it will go down to recounting. the important thing is the delegate count. what we're looking at at the moment is that even if rick santorum won the popular vote, the bulk of delegates will probably go to mitt romney. it is those maps that matter overall. we are now in a race for who can reach the magic number of 1144. this will move mitt romney closer to that.

even if rick santorum were to win here in ohio, mitt romney would still look like the man to beat. it would still be a blow to his campaign. >> mitt romney has been speaking in boston, massachusetts. he told his supporters what the campaign and their support meant to him. >> i have said this before, and i will say it again, this campaign is not as about a name on a ballot. it is about saving the soul of america. it is driven by an optimism that lies within the heart of every american citizen. we know that our future is brighter and better than these troubled times. we have been knocked down, tested, but we do not accept that america has limits. america is the land of opportunity.

we still get up every morning and thank god that we are americans. >> usa! usa! usa! >> we also know that with cardboard and strong leadership, with a president that will tell the truth, our greatest days as a nation are ahead of us. tonight, we have taken one more step towards restoring the promise of tomorrow. tomorrow we wake up and we start again. and the next day, we will do the same. day-by-day, step-by-step, door by door, hart to hart. there will be good days and bad days. always long hours, never enough time to get everything done. on november 6, we will stand united. having saved the future.

[applause] it is time to believe in ourselves. it is time to believe in ourselves and it is time to believe in america. i am asking you to join our cause. we need your energy and conviction and your commitment. >> mitt romney speaking in boston, massachusetts. the numbers to put him closer to winning the republican nomination to take on president obama in november's election. he certainly has not cast aside their doubts about his candidacy. his rival rick santorum thank his supporters in ohio and says the race was still very much on for the nomination. >> this was a big night tonight. we will win a few states and we will lose a few. as it looks right now, we will get at least a couple of gold medals, and the whole bunch of

silver medals. [applause] we can add to iowa, missouri, minnesota, colorado, oklahoma, tennessee. [applause] we have one in the west, midwest, and the south and we are ready to went across this country. -- win across this country. [applause] >> rick santorum speaking a short while ago and ohio. with me in the studio to discuss super tuesday and how it is panning out is the washington correspondent for the new yorker magazine. this race is extraordinary.

we're having another tight race. >> as we sit here and talk, it looks like mitt romney may have regained the lead in ohio. the projection experts, things are pointing in the direction of mitt romney rather than santorum. if that holds, if he manages to win ohio, there but are other reports that he may be winning in idaho, not a bad night for mitt romney. however, the early states that were called were the santorum states. there was this question mark hanging over ohio. and these things matter. it matters in the press. the big story that the american press will run with tomorrow is continued trouble that romney

has had. they will focus on the voter groups he has been unable to rally. the focus will be on why spend four to one, he was not able to blow him out. >> delegate numbers make it look like mitt romney will be the nominee. the struggle is going to be to unite the party behind him. does this bruising primary process suggested that will be hard? >> tonight, the evidence -- when we started tonight, i said, just because things are closely divided does not mean the party is deeply divided. the figures are deeper than we thought. sure and a religious fishe

a class fissure. on the cost divide, as you go up the class ladder, mitt romney does very well. as you go down, rick santorum does very well. both of those things could suggest some trouble in the fall. on the other hand, most likely, running against barack obama will be enough to bring back evangelicals and low-income republicans into the mitt romney fault. as this race goes on, if they continue, and the race gets more personal, we could see it get worse. >> there is one other candidate that had a victory tonight, and that is newt gingrich. he won his home state of georgia and gave a classically defined and feisty speech afterwards.

>> remember when it was tim pawlenty that was going to cry me out? remember when it was michele bachmann? and then it was our good friend herman cain. and then it was donald trump. and then it was our good friend rick perry. and then it was herman cain the second time. and now it is santorum. you cannot get across to them, it is all right. there are a lot of bunny rabbits to run through. i am the tortoise. [applause] i of always tried to be very candid. sometimes it gets me in trouble. it is how i live and want to do things.

>> newt gingrich. i do not think he has ever been called a tortoise. this very process difficult race, has it made the party stronger? >> i do not think it has. some races do have that effect. i think the 2008 race between hillary clinton and barack obama had that effect. this race has been defined by the candidates rushing for to the right on a series of issues. most recently, social issues that have been turning off women. the second group is hispanics. this race has been defined by some very harsh rhetoric about immigration. the future of the republican party, if it is to grow in the coming decades, their base of older white shirt voters is not

growing. -- whiter voters is not growing. the future for them like in the latino vote. the poll numbers right now for republicans among the latino vote, a very weak. on a couple of key demographics that the republican party needs, this primary has not been good for them. >> it will be interesting to see if they can win those voters back. back from here in washington in just a while but more on super tuesday. for the moment, let's go back to london. >> we are live from washington and london. still to come, prince harry on

the world's fastest man. let's take a brief look at some of the stories making headlines. we begin with the financial times and its headline -- the u.s. and five other world powers have agreed to reopen negotiations with iran over its nuclear program. cathay pacific will hire 400 ground staff. it is reportedly part of a move to modernize and expand the international airports. brazil becomes the world's sixth largest economy. after all the hype about electric vehicles, the industry has suffered a reality check. the paper reports there has been lost interest and battery

powered cars at the geneva auto show this week. >> results are coming in from 10 american states for choosing a republican candidate to run against barack obama. exit polls suggest the front- runner in the race, mitt romney, and his closest challenger, rick santorum, have both won in three states. the contest is neck in neck and ohio. the assault -- the bashar al- assad regime has so much blood on its hands that it is bound to continue its violent crackdown. britain's ambassador to damascus spoke to abc.

-- bcc. thousands of syrians continue to flee the island. our diplomatic correspondent has more. >> this is why so many families are fleeing syria. it looks as though government forces are still shelling parts of homs. more than 1500 syrians have fled into lebanon just over the past few days. no end to the violence inside. britain's ambassador to syria was withdrawn last week. today, he told me about some of the suffering he witnessed. >> i have met people who have been tortured. >> you are an ambassador and diplomat. does it make you angry? >> yes, it it does. they have so much blood on their hands. they are committed to pursuing that course.

they cannot turn back. because the amount of candor and a troublesome. >> how long will president bashar al-assad survive in power? >> i do not know. people know the regime is doomed. it is more likely it will take some time before this comes to an end. >> do you think he could be out before the end of the year? >> i think it is possible. >> what seems certain is that president bashar al-assad will not be brought down by the american-led military intervention. >> the notion that the way to solve every one of these problems is to deploy our military, that has not been true in the past and will not be true

now. we have to think through what we do through the lens of what would be affected and critical for american security interest. >> parts of syria are being emptied by the overwhelming force of the regime still determined to hold onto power. >> the disgraced finance year has been found guilty of swindling investors out of $7 billion. a texas court convicted him on 13 charges. it involved 30,000 investors from more than 100 countries. in its first full press conference of the year, president obama has said he believes there is still a window of opportunity to resolve the dispute over iran's nuclear program using diplomatic means. tribal leaders and militia commanders in benghazi have declared their region to be

semi-autonomous. eastern libya has been neglected for decades. the national transitional council says it is opposed to any move that would break up the country. u.n. says it has -- 89% of the world's population cannot drink and washed and unpolluted supply. the united nations says almost 800 million people who are still reliant on dirty water. american authorities say five alleged members of a packing collective happen either arrested or charged for computer related offenses in the u.s. and u.k. and ireland. court papers allege the group was involved in a series of high-profile attacks on website run by the cia, the police, and businesses.

to jamaica aboard the latest leg of print harry's travels has landed him into quite a matchup. the world's fastest man. luckily, -- the visit was not all fun and games. after jamaica's prime minister raised the possibility of the queen been removed as the caribbean islands head of state. >> a casual british prince meets a jamaican prince. the world's fastest man. the talk was of a showdown. harry was properly equipped and sporting the jamaican colors. [laughter]

victory was sweet even if the royal methods were dubious. time now to show how it is done properly. there were two performers. >> already, though. -- ready, go. >> that is all right. that is ok. i will get him back, though. one day. >> a rematch. london 2012. >> this is a light-hearted encountered which place to prince harry strength. he is part of the future of the monarchy. the prime minister told me to make a was on a long journey

from slavery. if britain wanted to apologize for what it did, that would be fine. now it is time to replace the queen with a home grown head of state. >> even if the queen does not remain head of jamaica, head of state for our country, the queen is welcome to visit. >> she sent her grandson, for now. she embraces harry at the same time she wants to listen her country's ties with the ancient institution he represents. >> let's return to the events taking place in the united states. it has been a long night. it is far from over. >> it looks like we could be here into the early hours of morning. before we get the results from

that of ohio race. it is still very close between mitt romney and his rival rick santorum. we have had a bunch of other results coming in. i am joined in the studio -- are we closer? we are, aren't we? >> we have gotten a little bit closer. mitt romney fortunes have improved in ohio. we have talked a lot about who has won each state. it is important to step back and remind viewers that is about winning delegates. mitt romney will end the night the delegates leader. he will probably win a majority of the delegates. delicate matter is very complicated in these races. -- math is very complicated in these races. it is impossible for santorum or

gingrich to get a majority of the delegates after tonight. they could stay in the race and they could win delegates here and there and they could prevent mitt romney from getting a majority, but as of tomorrow, but he will start seeing is a lot of angst from republicans who are asking why mitt romney could not win over this group or not. >> republican leaders say listen, if we're going to have a real chance of beating barack obama, we need a nominee. we need to stop the infighting and focus this race not on ourselves, but on the guy in the white house. >> absolutely. that will be the pressure that will start to mount on santorum. if you are rick santorum, you are looking to alabama and mississippi. >> great places for rick santorum. >> all the voting groups, a big

evangelical population, low income of voters. they will be disastrous states for mitt romney. >> the white house has been watching these results. a good night for barack obama? >> this whole primary season has been good for barack obama. if he wins this election, we will look back in february and march as the point where it turned around. >> ok, this will be the time we see it starting to turn around. that is what the white house is hoping for. thank you for joining us. you have been watching our special super tuesday coverage. >> stay with us.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network 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.