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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> egypt goes to the polls in the first free presidential election in its history. 50 million people are registered to vote. >> my message for egyptians are this is a great day, a big day, a decisive day and i hope they would select correctly. >> welcome to "g.m.t.." also in the program, world powers meet to discuss iran's atomic program. and we catch up with the olympic torch as it continues its journey across britain ahead of the 2012 games.

it's midday in london, 7:00 in the morning in washington and 1:00 in the afternoon in egypt where people are voting in their first pre-presidential election in the country's history. the elections come 15 months after topping the presidential power in february last year as promised a fair vote and civilian rule with. the elections hit estimates against revolutionaries. and let's see how polling is progressing there. we'll go to cairo. lee? >> let me tell you, welcome to the egyptian capital cairo. we're outside a polling station here in the metropolis. a lot of the traffic has been here, outside this district. let's take a look at the kind of security that's here. people are on their mobile

phones. seems pretty relaxed. and some soldiers here as well. the only disorderly behavior was some of the women were saying enough, we want to get into this polling station. but for the most part, egyptians have been patiently waiting, telling us that they've waited 30 years, through all the years that the the ruler was in power. and we've been seeing people right up to this when they entered the school, still discussing who they want to choose among the dozen candidates whose names are on the ballot papers. huge selection and the choice will have a big say in determining where the new egypt goes now. let's take a look at all the latest developments. let's go to john. >> outside the polling station, they started queuing at first light. what's another couple of hours when they've been waiting decades to vote? it is a beautiful feeling, because this is the first

election of six years. >> soon, the lines stretched around the block. everyone patient, a scene repeated around the country. then as the doors opened, it was time. there are 13 candidates on the ballot paper. the frontrunners include is limbists and fission associated with the old regime. and for one no, one can predict the outcome. a moment last year protestors could only have disrespect of. finally, they get to vote. and after all the opportunity of the last year, it's all remarkably peaceful, well organized, even. and all the egyptians are delighted to be able to choose their president and hopeful it's the beginning of a new style for their country -- start for their country. to the election workers too, today, they're proud to be yippings perfect -- egyptian. >> many promises for our

country. >> for many of these voter, they just want a strong president who can tackle rising crime and a stalled economy. >> i hope that we can -- we have the good business for us and we will get better. solve the unemployment problems. >> with the world watching the former american president jimmy carter is one of thousands of international observers. he told the bbc what he seen so far was good. the reassurance will be welcomed by egyptian voter, still skeptical after years of rigged elections. today the army was out amongst the voters to guarantee security. they promised to hand over power to the new president by the end of june. but how much real power will the winner of this election be given? that's the crucial question.

john lyon, "bbc news," cairo. >> so many of these egyptians we've spoken to at this polling station, whether they're voters, journalists, election monitors, they all say it's such a happy day for egypt, a proud day for this country. maybe a great day for voting but there's no illusions about the huge challenges that lie ahead. what kind of president will emerge from this protest? and what is a deeply polarized country and where egypt should be heading out in? what about the role of the military and who is going to sort out the economy? those are all the big issues of the day. after the elections. but today, egyptians are counting on voting at a time when their votes finally matters. that's all for us from this polling station. back you to from london. >> now let's take a look at other stories making headlines around the world today. a group of six world powers are holding fresh talks with iran about its controversial nuclear program.

talks are being held in baghdad. at iran's request, they come a day after the u.n.'s watchdog held the talks. i'm joined from baghdad by james reynolds. what are the expectations? >> no breakthrough, no breakdown. that's what we've been led to believe. but i should just give you some news the delegations wednesday night an hour or so and the chief spokesman, she's -- he said the world powers were putting a new offer to iran. he wouldn't go into much detail but he said the top concern was iran's enrichment to uranium. in other words, the world powers want iran to stop 20% of its enrichment. in terms of what they are willing to offer in return, we

don't know. the spokesman wouldn't expose what will be discussed. >> there is a real sense that this could be the start of a new relation? >> you hear an awful lot of rhetoric in the run-up to these talks. you can take your pick from any number of words. officials have said this could be a new era but they also said they will never cave into pressure. the move will be worked out in that building behind me where we see how far they will be led to detail. we've been led to believe things will not end here. and as the two sides get into detail, by definition, details will take a long time but of course, they don't have all day. they don't have years and years. we know that israel is watching very closely saying that it believes that the clock is running out. >> it would be an understatement to say there is awful lot at stake here. >> there's a huge amount. in practical terms for everyone around the world, the talks here

do some things to set oil prices around the world. these talks feasht every industrial society around the world and affect most countries in the middle east because iran's relations wits neighbors, its rivalry with some of the sunni state and being enemies with israel, those all affect relations in the shape of middle east which is a region known to be pretty volatile. >> thank you. five people including two female foreign aide workers have been kidnapped in northeast afghanistan. it's not yet clear who they have taken them. officials say the two doctors and their three afghan coworkers were abducted on tuesday afternoon. about 90 kilometers north of the capital. they were part of a team providing medical assistance to remote communities when they were abducted. a group of seven aide agents say that children are warning yemen is on the brink of crisis and

nearly half people all there without enough food to eat. and the general security of ukraine's national olympic committee has been suspended. they agreed to sell london 2012 tickets illegally. it is a criminal offense in britain and against olympic rule. we will stay with the olympics as the torch continues its journey. lucy hawkings there is in the british city of bristol where the olympic flame is burning for the fifth day. >> it seems that bristol knows how to hold a party. this city has embraced the olympic torch in a way that has surprised everybody. tens of thousands of people showed up last night at the docks winners arrived and

thousands came out in the beautiful morning sunshine to welcome the torch. it crossed the suspension bridge which is behind me in bristol. midway across the bridge, there was what they call a torch kiss and the torch was handed from one torch bearer to another and there were fireworks, cheering. the crowds really went crazy. they were so excited. let's talk to some of them who watched it today. with we -- with me is steve. >> it's been brilliant. >> and it's all about inspiration, isn't it? how could you fail to be inspired by these teams today? >> absolutely. it's been fantastic and it's a great part in the torch relay. >> what does it mean for the people in bristol? it's important. we try to make sure there's lots going on locally through the summer so that people get involved with the olympics and the spirit of the olympics and do some activity right here in bristol. >> was there any skepticism in the city about it at all before yesterday?

>> there's always skepticism about these things but as soon as the torch landed and it made its journey north, it's been phenomenal, the response of people out there on the streets. >> let's bring in some of the local who is came out this morning. >> i think london could learn a few things about how bristol are they. bristol is a phenomenal city. everyone's come and have a listen at it. look at this bridge. look at the weather. >> everybody has come home. >> they have. hello, taylor. one of the best breakfast. >> so is my friend, her majesty. >> waving waving to her loyal subject this morning. >> nice to see the queen's made an effort to come along. how important is it? >> it's important because bristol is an amazing city and we get so excited and excitable about everything. >> we get excited about everything. >> and you were asking about skepticism. it's not really a city like that, is it?

they thought there would be tens of thousands. there's been many more. and everybody's had a great time. really lovely to see the torch. >> and they missed a couple of lessons but what an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience. phenomenal. >> people think this is the only time they will ever see an olympic torch. >> it's wonderful and everybody's getting very excited. we had about 30 people here and my mum came over and everything and just cheering. we're cheering so much that i think we missed it slightly. [laughter] >> the atmosphere >> and so nice that the queen was able to make it. she's so busy with their jubilee . >> and the accordingies. >> and final word from you, steve and richard. what are you hoping this chiefs for the city and the sports in the city? >> just raise the profile of sport and the load of different journeys that you can make with

sport. yesterday, the olympics -- so many people have a chance to come up here and take part in lots of different activities. >> what are you hoping for? >> hoping the volunteers really get involved in a lot of projects. we get more coaches qualified and more volunteers involved. >> the torch is well on its way now to another city. and we understand that zara phillips will be the last torch bearer of that day. she's the daughter of princess ann. the -- an exciting day for the torch relay as it continues its journey here in bristol. error lots of people turning out in the sunshine. let's bring you the latest live picture as it makes its way to -- you can actually watch continuous video by going online. you can track where the torch is

finding. -- torch is going. >> so the news that's just coming into to us. a sunni doctor accused of helping the c.i.a. find osama bin laden has been sentenced to at least 30 years in prison. he was charged with treason for running a state vaccination campaign believed to help the american agency track bin laden in a pakistani town where he was killed in a u.s. special forces raid. we'll have more information as it comes in. >> still to come on "g.m.t.," one leader wants austerity, the other growth. we will have his say son how to handle the crosses. -- crisis.

>> the 2012 games in london haven't started yet but it will be time to select the short list of cities to host the 2020 olympics. the international olympic committees meeting in quebec to consider which city makes the cut. one of the contenders is tokyo which hosted the games in 1964. now our correspondent looks at japan's hopefuls. another chance to put on the game. >> tokyo to host the 2016 games but the city is not giving up. it's trying again for 20 20. even the large spans of land, and ready for the construction of new stadiums to take place. the site is spectacular next to tokyo bay with a view of the skyline across the water and montana fuji in the distance. tokyo has the money. this is the most populous urban area in the world and the city's economy with only recently overtaken by the entire country of india.

will the bullet train and subways and expressway, the infrastructure is in place and the olympic committee might feel after last year's earthquake in tsunami, awarding tokyo the olympics would be a good way of helping japan's recover. but what might count against toke you it is has hosted the game before in 1964 and with the winter olympics in 2018 due to take place in south korea, awarding the 2020 games to tokyo would mean two consecutive olympics taking place in the same part of the world. >> now here's some unusual question for you. what do you do if you want to expand railway but 120-year-old building is in the way? what do you do? if your answer is to move the entire building, 6,200 tons of it, well, that's right. that's what's happening to this city. it's been pushed very slowly to the west by engineers.

you're watching "g.m.t." from "bbc world news." the headlines. egyptians are voting in their first three presidential elections 15 months after the uprising. a group of six world powers meet in baghdad to include iran's controversial nuclear program. and the latest on the business. jamie is here. and with so much bad news at the moment, we've got one company that's doing rather well, not just surviving but thriving. burberry. >> it's a very interesting company. i was talking how it's moving west. the other interesting area is on its internet exposure and it has courted twitter and facebook and having their own websites to a point where they're creative officer is becoming a media content company. which is really interesting. you think about the way a

fashion business works, one of the first things you want to do is to get your images out there, get instant reaction. and that is exactly what's happening with what they call their tweet walk when they have a cat walk and they have the fashion show. i mean, it goes straight out to twitter and they get the comments coming back. they're very into that. they are also on the chinese social network which is really interesting. but this is what angela said about their move eastward. >> the fascinating thing is there are so many new emerging markets coming on we've just opened a store in croatia. and we've got a couple of stores in south africa. we're looking at north africa now. what's going to happen in the high population density markets in southeast asia? so as we look out on the horizon, we're more excited by the growth opportunities, less saturation at this point. it's still a big world.

>> that was from burberry. >> yes, i was going to say. i must ask you -- the buzzword today is you're bonds. -- eurobonds. what are they? >> they're talking about this a lot. the germans wouldn't mind them and it would take a long way down the line before germany will say yes to eurobonds. it would be collected bonds backed by the whole of the eurozone who would collectively issue these bonds and borrow these bond money in the market. but the only reason they why they have to borrow the money at a low rate is you've got assets and in order to do that, what we would like to have -- fiscal control -- complete fiscal control over the whole of europe so we could actually manage how that money is spent better. and of course that is a long, long way down the road.

so at the moment, eurobonds don't seem to go. but today, we're seeing a lot of people talking about them. but the other aspect of this is growth. how you're going to get growth going in the u.s.? and without spending money, without going deeper into deficits. we were talking earlier to an analyst. here's what he said. >> the first point is to enable businesses to get finance for their projects and it is regard to the european investment bank. it's a good idea. but second to create also a european center guarantee fund to guarantee those businesses that find difficult to access finance in the local banks. >> all the banks are desperately trying to build the capital basis and they can't afford to lend the money at the moment. that's where that hope comets in. >> thank you. we'll stay with the eurobonds

because that means the european leaders in brussels. the new french president, francois hollande is expected to champion growth over charity. the german preference is for austerity measures and that has dominated until now. uncertainty in greece, that crucial factor. lucksen berg land locked has been making its voice heard on the eurozone crisis. the country's finance minister told a forum in london that european government indeed others from around the world cannot borrow their way to sustainable growth. he is with us now. why not? >> i think we are in a -- the process of us making the eurozone stable and we need to have new confidence of citizens into the eurozone or investors in the eurozone.

now we have to spend more money. and therefore although we need a bigger european sbe graduation at some point in time, we need injure zones. we must look at the impression that we can just go again by nationally or european wise to just borrowing money and spending the money. if in the long term, it's counterproductive and therefore, it's not austerity versus growth, it's stable public finances together with growth. >> how do you get that growth without borrowing? >> i think we need to structure reforms. we have to indeed make the environment for companies better so that they can create jobs. we have probably to rethink about the financing of our pension system of some social benefits and we have to rethink the way we are financing our economy. but it's certainly wrong just to spend money which we don't have.

it's about the money that is there that we have to spend in an intelligent way. for instance, to pay for infrastructure projects that create jobs. >> in terms of this, you say breaking down the barriers to business which is what you're so into, that's going to take a long time. what do you do in the interim then? to really engineer more growth? because that is crucial. you would accept that. >> that is crucial because it's about creating jobs. therefore, we have to think how can we make the environment more interesting for industries, strength that can create jobs. we have a problem of job use, job unemployment in europe. what is necessary is continue on the path of stable public finances. that doesn't mean that there would be no debt but the debt level is currently too high. we have to steadize some of the european country. they have to make some tough choices and at the same time, give some perspective and that goes to structure reforms, using some of the european funds that

have not been used so far, maybe giving a little bit more firepower to the european investment banks so they can finance more projects. these are cross-border infrastructure projects that are useful for growth. but the most important aspect is having stable public finance is a perspective for using the -- reducing the public debt in the future. otherwise, we have to increase taxes again and again and that is counterproductive for growth in the long term. >> is your voice being heard? >> i think we are not alone in this. i think the netherlands, germany, luxemburg, even france, on the day of his election, france has to rerenew its step. i hope that will be heard to encourage growth. everybody is in favor of growth but growth and stable fumble finances go hand in hand and us a terrifies is the wrong word.

>> and what happens to greece in your view? >> i think it's for the greek people to decide whether they want to benefit the financial assist from the other countries. given so far about $150 billion euros. now the greeks have to know that if they want to be on sustainable footing in the future, have excess financial market, then they must make structural reforms and comply with the adjustment program. if they don't want to do that it's their choice but the world may be very tough for them some i thick and i hope that they make a political choice and the sooner the better. >> yes. thank you very much for coming in. good to hear your thoughts. thank you. just a reminder of our top story in "g.m.t.." after decades of authority yaren rule, egyptians are voting for their president for the first time of overthrowing their

longtime rural. choosing them between 13 candidates. >> 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. >> this is kim -- -- at union bank, our managers use the global finance to guide you of opportunities of international commerce. we put our extend global network to work for a wide range of companies. from small businesses to major corporations.

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