>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide

range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." landmark election, the first since mubarak was toppled. the first deck on the road to democracy. the muslim brotherhood starts with the best organized campaign. >> democracy in action. not in theory, but in action. >> i am lyse doucet in downtown cairo, where i have been speaking to egyptians. the queues have been long and enthusiastic. for the most part, they have been orderly. >> welcome to gmt.

i am george alagiah, with a world of news and opinion. also in the program -- the condoleezza are also voting today. we found l y japan's -- found out why japan's young are queu ing up. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 2:00 in the afternoon in cairo. the election pitches the organizational prowess of the muslim brotherhood with the pro- democracy activists. will it usher in the new era the tahrir square generation wants? let's get the latest from my colleague, lyse doucet. >> welcome to cairo. welcome to this area outside the polling station.

this is a historic day for egypt. it's meant to move us closer to democracy. just 10 minutes away from where i am standing, the protesters say they will have nothing to do with elections that are under the supervision of egypt's military rule. instability and uncertainty, but there's no denying the enthusiasm of many egyptians to cast their ballots. we saw the queues for mean earlier this morning. every voter i spoke to said they are here today because it matters. let's listen to this report from our middle east correspondent, jon leyne. >> at this polling station in cairo, egyptians fighting to have their voices heard, determined to have a say in how their country is rebuilt. queuesmore are forming

patiently. after years of virtually one party rule,, as everyone here is voting for the first time. >> i'm so happy to see something like this. >> i want to say my country, so i have to vote. i have a voice. i have to use it. >> some of the queues are caused by polling stations opening late, but no one here seemed to care very much. the last election i covered exactly one year ago, the polling stations were deserted. it was not worth voting. now they have to fight them off. follow me around the corner. the queue goes on and on and around the streets. people are seizing the opportunity with both hands. >> once they get inside, voters are faced with a bewildering

choice. they have to choose from 146 candidates and then they have a second ballot on which to choose from 15. the whole process will take more than three months. the heavy turnout, a snub to the protesters still in tahrir square. many of the demonstrators are boycotting what they believe is a flawed process. many, perhaps most egyptians, are showing they prefer an election however flawed to none at all. jon leyne, "bbc world news." >> in egypt today, a complex and confusing process, but a crucial one nonetheless. we are getting reports from close by, including from alexandria, that the turnout has been large and mostly orderly. in some polling stations, be stations did not open in time.

the ballot boxes did not appear. some people got tired after waiting and simply went home. there have also been reports of rioting in southern egypt where there was a shooting incident. the egyptian army says the situation is under control. we have noticed that this polling station that there have been party representatives mostly to control the traffic and help guide people to the polling stations. it became clear they were also distributing leaflets. but stopped when a member of the party -- a stop to remember of the party from the muslim brotherhood. we have seen the muslim brotherhood members distributing fliers and that is against the rules. >> first of all, i think egypt -- we have a very big chance for the democratic

transformation. actually, it is a new [inaudible] the beginning of the day -- it is a new condition. >> you are supposed to be the best organized party. >> yes, yes. such events like this, we cannot prevent it totally. it's very new for egyptian society to see something like this. now we are trying to hold. >> we have had reports of at least one incident where there was a clash between rival groups, including the muslim brotherhood in a suburb of cairo. have you heard of this? >> from my point of view, the cooperation between the security and the people from the

muslim brotherhood and the egyptian society -- there are some problems. it is a new situation. new events occurring for egypt today. we tried to stop this. of course, there are others [inaudible] there is a school. there is a station. there is a problem there. the people tried to convince him. >> for the most part, the day is going well as far as the muslim brotherhood can see. >> yes, i think it's going very well for the muslim brotherhood

and for all candidates. i wish to continue in a good way. >> thank you very much for joining us. he is one of the founding members of the freedom and justice party. more than 40 parties taking part. most of them were only formed in the last few months. there's a lot for egyptian voters to choose from. a lot of egyptians do not know who these parties are. it is the beginning of what will be a very long process. that's all from us in cairo. back to you in london. >> lyse doucet, thank you very much. thank you. now to some of the other stories making headlines around the world. the main pakistani association that delivers fuel to nato forces in afghanistan says there's no plans to resume supplies. many shipments to nato forces in afghanistan arrived via pakistan, but they can to a halt after 24 pakistani soldiers were killed on saturday at a border

post in what appears to have been a nato airstrike. the oil tanker's owners association says deliveries will only resume if there's an apology for the incident. a suicide car bomber has killed 19 people at present in a town 25 kilometers north of baghdad. the bomb was detonated at the main entrance of the prison. at least 15 people were injured. the victims include policemen, security personnel, in prison and police. the guardian council of iran has given has given its final approval to downgrade ties with britain. it is in retaliation for fresh british sanctions accusing iranian banks of facilitating the nuclear program. voting is also under way in the democratic republic of congo's

presidential and parliamentary elections. apart from the violence that has marred the run-up to the polls, some of the biggest concerns surrounding logistics'. the country occupies an area of more than two million square kilometers, about two-thirds of the size of western europe. transporter difficult. many of the roads are hard to navigate. officials have distributed 186,000 ballot boxes. voters will have to put their ballot papers, which are 30 pages long and resembles a nspaper. altogether, they will be picking from 19,000 candidates who are contesting 500 seats in the national assembly. service knowscan the country well. i do not know if you are able to get any assessments from the area. what are you hearing?

>> voting has been going on relatively well despite a few delays here and there. a lot of the problems are coming from the different provinces, especially in east. security has also been a problem. pockets of insecurity reports coming in. lot of tension -- voting officers decided to stop before the from parties arrive. 15 people were injured. there are pockets of reports of insecurity. >> i suppose the big question is, if you add up the logistical problems i was talking about an attitude that some of the tensions you have been mentioning, is it enough to raise a question about whether these elections will be a true reflection of the people's wishes? >> that is a valid question that

can be raised. one thing is clear. people look up very early in the morning to vote. i hear the electoral commission has decided to allow people who have voter cards but not appear on the registers to vote but they will have to wait for the people on the registers to first vote. the whole process is now delayed. the election is supposed to take one day. they may have to agree to allow it to extend to include people who might be disenfranchised. >> these are the first elections in a while that have been organized by the government. the last one was organized by the u.n. >> about 60% of the budget for the elections was supported by the government. the rest came from donors. that has been part of the

problem, i guess. some people are saying, yes the u.n. has not participated as much as 2006 and that has affected the efficiency with which things are happening. the u.n. mission in congo had to intervene in this morning. there was some fighting between some rebel groups, fighting with the government troops and about four thousand people were forced to flee in the morning. these people have been allowed to vote. even in situations -- they're still meant to come in and sort out the situation when things do not seem to be moving. >> thank you very much. >> still to come on gmt -- piling on the pressure. a double barrel the warning from moody's and the oecd. in that europe needs to solve

the debt crisis. >> a hostage who was the only survivor of a confrontation between colombian government forces and guerrillas has arrived in bogota. he had been held captive for nearly 12 years. >> after 12 years in captivity, the sergeant is back in bogota. with shrapnel wounds visible on his face, he gave a quick victory sign and a thumbs up on the tarmac before he was whisked away for medical checks. most importantly for him, to be reunited with his family. this will be no moment of celebration for the colombian government. rather, its a silver lining among the clouds. during the military operation in southern colombia, four other hostages were executed. all other members of the

security forces had been held for at least 12 years in what human rights groups say could amount to a war crime. one of the hostages had never met his son, as his wife was six months pregnant when he was kidnapped. his now teenage boy spoke directly. >> you broke my dreams of which imy ordefather, of have been waiting 13 years, 11 months, and five days. i have been praying for my dad to be liberated. let the chains of his kidnap be broken. >> the president said the actions should be condemned around the world. some family members are mad at the government, too, for deciding to mount the operation. with at least 14 security personnel still in the

government's hands, it will have to carefully weigh any future attempts at rescue. >> this is gmt from "bbc world news." i am george alagiah. the first elections in the post- mubarak era are underway in egypt. the polls are staged despite days of mass rallies against military rule in egypt. thousands of congolese are voting in elections for president and parliament, only the second poll since civil war ravaged the country eight years ago. aaron is here with the business news and more warnings about the euro. the oecd and moody's. >> oecd, the global think tank, and moody's, george. not very good. let me explain. moody's has said that the risk of multiple defaults in the eurozone has risen and the ratings of all eurozone

countries, including germany, are threatened. agency has basically added its voice to banks and other institutes that say the crisis is entering a crucial failure. the oecd has warned that the region is at a severe risk of recession. >> confidence is weakening. confidence in households and in companies, business and consumer confidence is dropping. why is that happening? we think most of the cause of the confidence drop which turns into lower activity is in itself a result of what is seen as to be an inadequate policy response in the euro area and in the united states. >> david, a bond expert, agrees that time is of the essence.

>> we have to somehow get investor confidence back and quickly. this is a good week to talk about this. we have approximately 17 billion -- in supply this week. the supply is relentless. next year, we're looking at billion of950, bonds issued. that's a big number. if bond investors are not going to step up and buy these bonds, we would have a real problem. >> figures out earlier this monday showed that thailand's output collapsed, nearly tumbling by 36%, much worse than expected. serious flooding there has shut down once of businesses, causing problems for the world's biggest car makers and computer makers to get many supplies from thailand. one specialist says this is the third strike against the country's economy following a string of disappointments this month. >> down one percentage point

below consensus. then we see export numbers come out 10 percentage points below consensus. now, another great disappointment in i.t. numbers. everyone was already expecting a contraction. this is worse than expected. the flood impact is greater than what we initially thought. also, the fact that the global economic slowdown is taking the hit on the economy. >> a great start to the trading week. asia is up. a lot of this is off the back of the weekend rumors, the weekend reports that the imf had been in talks with italy for a 600 billion euro bailout. the market has denied this. the markets are still hoping. >> thank you very much. thank you. many asian countries have

encouraged young workers to abandon the field and flocked to the cities in search of their fortunes. in japan, the trend is reversing. some younger people are now leaving the city streets behind to return to the countryside. >> bright lights, big city. for decades, tokyo has been a draw. now, other asian nations are following suit. for some young japanese, the city is losing its appeal. but millions of others, he cannot find a permanent job. the salaryman lifestyle enjoyed by past generations has passed her by. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i never know if i'm going to lose my job. financially, i would not know what to do.

>> that is why some young japanese are looking for an alternative. this is no ordinary bus trip. instead, they are city dwelling people who have come to the countryside for the day to see what life would be like as farmers. they are all considering a radical change of career. >> [speaking foreign language] >> she has joined the tour. it is organized by local officials. the average japanese farmer is now older than 65. they are looking for new recruits. >> [speaking foreign language] >> there are more people that want to be farmers now. the numbers are increasing. more people from the city want rural life. we want to help them. >> at 86 years old, he needs

help to look after his cucumbers. now he has an apprentice, a young man who gave up his office job. >> [speaking foreign language] >> i was really fed up with my life in the city. i was too busy walking every day. i wanted a change, a slower life. i wanted to become a farmer. >> his farm is on the tour. she has decided that it is what she wants to do, too, joining other japanese that are rediscovering the way of life their grandparents left behind. >> ato be as have been pouring in for the whales football management. gordon brown said it was a sad

day for football fans everywhere. a look back at his career. >> in a career spanning 23 years as a player and manager, he had an unrivaled reputation as one of the true professionals. his allies had never caused controversy. yesterday morning, police were called to his home in a gesture, where he was found -- in cheshire where he was found hanged. >> i asked if it was a joke. no, something has happened to gary. a sad day for football and for gary speed. >> his last public appearance was on saturday. he seemed relaxed and spoke optimistically about his future.

at his former club, leeds, flowers were laid in his memory. tributes came from former teammates. ryan said he had been honored to call speed a teammate and friend. prime minister david cameron said his thoughts were with speed's family and a very sad day for everybody. >> gary speed gave a determination, a real commitment. he just kept going. that is what he brought to leading wales at the international level. unbelievable about this, he was just wanting to win. >> there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. the football world remains

stunned and in mourning. >> a reminder of our top story on gmt. egyptians are voting in the first parliamentary election since the toppling of mubarak in february. long queues formed at stations in cairo, alexandria, and other cities. voting was delayed in several stations because of shortages in ballot cards and ink. the long process for the lower house of parliament will not be completed until next month. as we heard from my colleague, lyse doucet, in cairo -- looking at pictures from cairo now. the muslim brotherhood going to these elections with everyone saying they are likely to do the best. certainly, they are the most organized. some have argued that the new were parties have been at something of a disadvantage.

that is all for the moment. stay with us on "bbc world news." there is plenty more to come. >> 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.

>> union bank has put its global strength to work for a wide range of financial companies. what can we do for you? >> bbc world nprs s tewa by kcet los angeles.