stateless people should have the right to nationality and a passport within ten years. and a hive of activity in england as gardeners attempt to bring back the bees in england. hello. it will be a nerve-racking day for president obama, as polls open on the east coast of the u.s. for the midterm elections. they have the power to turn barack obama into what's known as a lame duck president. a leader whose opponents control both the house of representatives and the senate. well, if the republicans do take control of both houses of congress, the u.s. system means they could block any legislation they want to in the last two years of president obama's term. one of the key senate battles is in kentucky, where the democrats there hope to unseat republican mitch mcconnell. if they do, it will be a huge feather in their cap, because he's the man currently tipped to be the new senate leader. to help understand just how important this election is, we have this look at the possible changes to congress. >> this is where we have been up until now. democrats in the blue in control of the senate. but republicans are looking to gain at least six seats in the senate to take over as the majority party there. they already control the lower chamber of congress, that's the house of representatives here. and that balance of power is not expected to change tonight. if anything, it could go even more to the red. so victory could give republicans control of both chambers. so, what would a republican-controlled congress mean for american politics and for this man, barack obama? well, republicans would be able to pass legislation that democrats don't like. and the democrats, mr. obama, well, he would probably use his presidential veto to stop those bills becoming law. but careful, if he does that too much, he could be accused of becoming imperial, authoritarian. there are also other limits to the presidential veto, and it's this stuff, republicans would be able to write more of their policies into budget legislation, and that's much more controversial for the president to veto, because it would mean the government wouldn't have enough money to pay its bills or people, and the government might shut down. but if they do take the senate, it won't be all plain-sailing for the republicans either. they don't want to appear to be pushing an extreme agenda. if they're at logger heads with the democrats, few meaningful laws will be passed and that could make public opinion of washington politicians even lower than it is already. so maybe, just maybe a republican congress and a democratic president might find a way to work together to get things done over the next two years. americans would love that. but a cynic might say don't hold your breath. >> our correspondent joan o'brien is in arlington in virginia, just outside washington, d.c. jane, i just came back from d.c. quite a lot of talk of political apathy there, but these votes do matter, don't they? >> they do indeed. and the polls here have just this second opened, but as you can see, nobody's actually rushing to cast their ballot yet. voter turnout is expected to be very low, but nevertheless, as you say, these are very, very tightly-fought races. a lot of money is being spent, by some estimates 20 million a day in the last week in some of these tightly-fought races. $200 million just in the month of october. so a lot is at stake. republicans need six senate seats to regain control of the senate. and early indications are that they've already got three. so everything is to play for. and the country is holding its breath. >> and the way the system works, obviously in america with these elections, you often get these midterm results which go against whoever the incumbent is in the white house. but what does this mean for people watching around the world who say okay, how will this affect what obama does if he loses the senate now? >> well, i don't think you'll see any major policy shifts because even if the republicans do regain control of the senate, they still won't have a big enough majority to actually push through any major legislation. president obama still has the power of veto, and he can still do things by executive order, but these don't carry the weight of legislation. so we are likely to see more gridlock, but as suggested, there is a glimmer of hope that there might be some level of cooperation because republicans now have to show if they regain both houses, they will have to show they can actually govern, because don't forget, 2016 is just around the corner, and that's the presidential election, and everything will be up for grabs again then. >> we're just seeing some live pictures of one polling station where people have indeed started arriving. it is very early in the united states. and jane, why is this huge rift between democrats and republicans? i saw on one talk show that there isn't even actually daily contact between politicians of different sides and whether that can be address, but there is this huge rift, it's very deep and quite hard-nosed. >> reporter: it is quite extraordinary. the atmosphere in washington is quite toxic. as you say, the two sides barely talk to each other. and this election is being seen as a referendum on president obama. that's how the republicans are positioning it. this isn't about local politics. this is about saying that america is disgruntled with the president himself. and some of it's quite surprising, because the economy, for instance, is actually doing very well. unemployment is at an all-time low. the economy is growing. but americans aren't feeling that. there is a pervasive sense of unease in the country. partly because of threats that the president can't do anything about, such as the threat from terrorism, from islamic state, the growing threat of ebola. these are all issues that americans feel he's not handling very well. so this is as much a referendum on his policies, on his ability to lead the nation as it is on anything else. >> yeah, despite the republicans being very split at the moment, no clear leader there from the white house for them. we'll talk to you again soon. thanks very much indeed. now, have some of the world's biggest social media companies made it easier for criminals and militants to operate? that's the claim by the new head of britain's electronic spying agency gchq. robert hannigan, who says the sites have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals. well, his solution is for those social media organizations to do more to cooperate in the interest of security. he insists that civil rights are no defense, because as he puts it, in the fight against terror, privacy has never been an absolute right. our security correspondent gordon carrera has more. >> reporter: the group calling itself islamic state is the first terrorist group whose members have grown up on the internet and know how to exploit it. the new head of gchq says. they know how to spread their message far and wide over social networks and protect their communications. this, robert hannigan says, is a problem that technology companies are in denial about. however much they may dislike it, they, the technology companies have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, he writes in the "financial times." the task of gchq is to intercept global communications. that, the agency's new director says, has become harder after the disclosures from edward snowden, which tipped off gchq's targets. it also made some tech companies less willing to cooperate with law enforcement and intelligence, and invest more in encrypting so it can't be read. but robert hannigan says cooperation is needed. it means coming up with better arrangements for facilitating lawful investigation by security and law enforcement agencies than we have now, he writes. technology and privacy activists say they welcome the idea of gchq entering the public debate about privacy, but one said attacking the internet wasn't the right way to do it. this is a sign that in that debate the new head of gchq is not going to shy away from a fight. gordon carrera, bbc news. >> what is your response to what we see now from this new head of gchq, who is saying the internet providers have got to be much more responsible? >> it's interesting, isn't it, on the one hand he's saying he wants to have more cooperation with these tech companies. while at the same time having a go, saying that the tech companies haven't been working with them properly, which we know is absolutely untrue. we know from their own transparency reports that they quite often hand over information when requested to the government into law enforcement agencies. if you look at facebook's first transparency report, which was published in august of 2013, that showed that the uk received the third most amount of data from the entire world. that about 30% of requests were rejected, and that was because forms weren't filled out correctly, or there was incorrect information, or not enough information, or they felt like it was more of a fishing trip than a targetive exercise. so i think actually what we've seen from this report from mr. hannigan is that just vague statements about what the problem is rather than an attempt to actually fix it. >> well, he might be having more detailed discussions presumably one to one at some time in future. but surely groups like yours are rather irresponsible, aren't you, because you talk so much about privacy whilst failing to alert people about the huge security threat. it is always a toss-up between those two things, isn't it? >> i think we've got to talk about privacy and security in a responsible way, and i think actually there's article by mr. hannigan isn't achieving that. he talks about how tech agencies aren't helping that. >> if they encrypt data so much so that the spy agencies can't access them, i mean, they have limited resources. they cannot possibly go through everything without some cooperation from the internet providers. unless, you know, you want to pay more tax to provide more money for these agencies. >> we know that to be completely untrue. we know that encryption is an integral part of security. we have to have secure encryption. we have to talk about this in a responsible way in saying that privacy needs to be put to one side and it has to be all about security. it just isn't help. the tech companies have put out a lot more than any governments in the united kingdom about how they are assisting law enforcement. law enforcement won't talk about what the problem is. it doesn't talk about the mutual legal assistance treaty, which is the formal treaty between the u.s. and say the uk to access that information. he doesn't talk about the voluntary things that are in place to get information from these tech companies. >> are you not worried that you are actually endangering public safety because you're putting so much stress on the privacy of the individual? i mean, shouldn't companies like google use some of their profits to actually wade through some of this data and flag out what is dangerous and stop it being broadcast. >> all i'm asking is for more transnd transparency about how these powers are being used and whether it's actually being successful. i'm saying the tech companies are putting as much information into the public domain about how they help law enforcement and law enforcement are not doing the same. i'm asking about transparency. i'm not saying that privacy should override security. i need to be very clear about that. >> emma carr, thank you very much. american safety investigators trying to establish the cause of the virgin spaceship 2 crash are giving more details about their preliminary findings. the u.s. national transportation and safety board officials say they've recovered cockpit video which shows the co-pilot, who died in the crash, michael alsbury, moving a lever to unlock the system designed to slow the craft down in preparation for re-entry. this was done earlier than should have happened. they say this could have resulted in the breakup of the spacecraft. now, ukraine's president following elections in rebel-held areas. petro poroshenko warned that sunday's unauthorized elections put ukraine's peace process in jeopardy. he said he would recommend withdrawing special rights given to the self-declared republics in september. first, our correspondent david stern in kiev about the significance of this latest statement from the president. >> reporter: it really is not clear at the moment. we'll wait and see what comes out of the security council meeting, which is not taking place for some hours now. it's scheduled for early evening at the moment. mr. poroshenko has said that he will propose to scrap this special status for the eastern regions, but it should be said that the eastern regions already have their own self-declared special status. they've held these elections, they consider themselves independent. mr. poroshenko also said he's going to have adjustments or suggest adjustments to the peace plan, but the question is whether the peace plan even manage to hold now? there's obviously been fighting. the ukrainians accuse the russians of sending even more troops and equipment into the region. and so the question is will the ukrainians still manage to stick to the peace plan or say that they're holding by it, or will it fall apart altogether now? >> and from moscow's point of view, how does it help them to have had these elections? they're presumably obviously trying to give these areas legitimacy. >> exactly. and moscow should be said has recognized these elections as valid, although they've stopped short of saying that the regions are entirely independent. they say they need to engage in dialogue with kiev. from moscow's point of view, they say that this will help bring stability, but the question really is, can this bring stability when, in fact, this was as the western officials and the kiev officials say, a violation. in fact, mr. poroshenko calls it a gross violation of the agreement, the elections were supposed to be organized by kiev and they were scheduled for december. so the fact that the rebels went their own way like this is obviously i guess you could say in violation of what kiev would like to see, what the west would like to see, but obviously moscow feels differently. just to let you know, that news from south africa, prosecutors say they've filed appeal papers against the verdict and sentence in the oscar pistorius case. the prosecution is appealing against the judge's decision to acquit pistorius of murder for the shooting of his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. she instead found pistorius guilty of a lesser charge of culpable homicide or manslaughter. so the south african national prosecuting authority has filed initial appeal papers today, exactly two weeks after pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison for killing reeva steenkamp. prosecutors first have to apply to the judge, judge masipa, for permission to appeal against the verdict and sentence that she decided on. prosecutors say they believe pistorius should have been found guilty of murder and he would then face a minimum of 15 years in jail if convicted. stay with us here on "bbc world news." much more to come. why working anti-social hours can prematurely age your brain. play the 5 gum truth or dare challenge and you could win a sensory adventure. i'd just gotten married. i was right out of school. my family's all military. you don't know what to expect. then suddenly you're there... in another world. i did my job. you do your best. i remember the faces... how everything mattered... so much more. my buddies... my country... everything... and everyone i loved... back home. ♪ [ male announcer ] for all who've served and all who serve, we can never thank them enough. ♪ 58 seconds on the clock, what am i thinking about? foreign markets. asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. if you convert 4-quarter p/e of the s&p 500, its yield is doing a lot better... if you've had to become your own investment expert, maybe it's time for bny mellon, a different kind of wealth manager ...and black swans are unpredictable. this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest top stories for you. it's a crucial day for president obama, as the u.s. goes to the polls for midterm elections. and the new head of britain's electronic spying agency says large technology firms have become terrorists' command and control networks. now, let's have a look at some business news. alice is here looking at alibaba i think to start with. >> absolutely right, geeta, that's right. results expecting to report strong earnings for the start of the financial year. the chinese group looks set to post a net profit of $1.2 billion. sales are also thought to be up strongly. this will be alibaba's first set of results since its $25 billion share sale back in september, if you remember. now, we're also looking at the fact that scientists are warning that shift work can prematurely age the brain, making it difficult to think and remember. the french study suggested that a decade of shifts could age the brain by more than six years. some recovery after people stopped working anti-social shifts, but it did take five years to return back to normal. experts say the findings could be important in dementia studies, as many patients there have disrupted sleep. it seems that britain's status as hub for the international art market is under threat from new york and other overseas centers. new figures are showing that sales slipped in the uk. but they're actually growing globally. campaigners say it's all down to a brussels directive that forces dealers and galleries doing business here in europe to pay a resale charge to artists or their heirs where their work remains in copyright. on tuesday, campaigners here in the uk are meeting with the government in an attempt to change the rules. more on that coming your way in world business report. i'll see you then. >> quite worried about that dementia possibility with the terrible hours that we do here. alice, thanks a lot. now, a child is born stateless every ten minutes. that's according to the u.n. refugee agency, which is launching a campaign to end the plight of those who have no nationality or passport. it says there are at least 10 million such people around the world, including many born in refugee camps, or as part of persecuted ethnic groups. the agency wants to end statelessness worldwide within a decade. i asked antonio gutierrez whether that was too ambitious. >> it is ambitious, but it looks possible in. the last ten years, four million people got nationality. and there is today a clear renewed interest in addressing the problem of statelessness. >> can you tell us who you're talking about? >> it is a forgotten issue in the world. but we have been pushing in the last four years to make people understand that it is totally unacceptable to have 10 million people without nationality. can you imagine that tomorrow you wake up, you have no credit cards, you have no driver's license. your children cannot go to public school. you cannot go to a public hospital. you cannot have legal work. but this is a situation of 10 million people in the world and this needs to stop. people need to be recognized as citizens of a country. they must have a country they call theirs. >> which countries are you talking about? which groups? >> i think we have two groups of situations. one is a situation which a country discriminates part of its population and doesn't recognize them to be theirs. for instance, you mentioned in myanmar. the country doesn't recognize them to be citizens of myanmar. they consider them to be illegal migrants from bangladesh. but if you go to bangladesh, they would be considered illegal immigrants from myanmar. other individual situations. for instance, 27 countries in the world do not allow women to convert the nationality of their children. here we have a win/win situation. if laws are changed for women to be able to convert their nationality to their children, you are preventing statelessness, but you are also moving in the direction of general equality. something of a sad ending to one of the world's most prestigious horse races. not one, but two horses dying after taking part in the melbourne cup. the race itself was worn by a german horse, protectionist, who stormed through in the last furlong to take the prize by quite some distance. but missing from the leading pack was the pre-race favorite. the horse started well, but then fell back to finish last and later died in his stall. another runner was put down after injuring himself when he was spooked by a flag being waved in the crowd. shia muslims around the world are commemorating the death of imam hussein. the killing of hussein is at the heart of sectarian divide into shia and sunni sects. he was killed by soldiers in 1680 a.d., what is now modern day iraq. for shia muslims, it is a solemn day for mourning. britain and many other countries around the world are experiencing an alarming decline in the number of bees and other pollinating insects. gardeners are being urged to put the lawn mower away, that way the insects will return. victoria gill explains. >> reporter: by pollinating the crops we eat, these industrious creatures put food on our tables. but bees and other insects like them have been in decline for decades. now the government is trying to tackle that problem. >> what this policy is all about is getting more pollinators, creating more habitats, and the means by which they can survive and thrive. >> reporter: one problem is our increasingly crowded urban existence. that's leaving very little space for insects. >> the green roof here at the university of manchester is still very much part of a building site, but there are 26 different species of flowering plants that have been brought here, specifically for pollinating insects. and a key aim of this strategy is to create networks of more pollinator friendly habitats like this, right across our increasingly urban landscape. but some conservation groups say the report doesn't go far enough. >> it's like pesticides, which are damaging bees. there's no real new measures to regulate them. there's not enough on local authorities to urge them to really put in place pesticide-free and wild flower rich solutions in the country side. >> reporter: so we need to become a little more wild and colorful to reverse the fortunes of our bees. victoria gill, bbc news. >> we're back in a couple minutes. join us if you can. we break it. we bite it. we sneak it. we smoosh it. we savor it. we love it. hershey's is mine, yours, our chocolate. 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capacity. and your point is... so you can download music, games, and directions for the road when you need them. who's this guy? oh that's charlie. you ever put pepper spray on your burrito? i like it spicy but not like uggggh spicy. he always like this? you have no idea. at&t. the nation's most reliable 4g lte network. i'm geeta guru-murthy with "bbc world news." our top stories. it's a crucial day for president obama, as the u.s. public votes in midterm elections. this is the scene live in arlington, virginia, where polls opened just half an hour ago. the new head of britain's electronics spying agency says u.s. technology firms have become the command and control networks for terrorists. a fast-finish at the melbourne cup. but vets are called in to investigate as the favorite comes last and then drops dead. and dramatic scenes in iraq's holy city as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims mark the a ashura festival. hello, and welcome. in the last hour, polls have opened in the united states, where americans are voting in midterm congressional elections. with just over a third of senate seats at stake, they have the power to turn barack obama into what's known as a lame duck president, a leader whose opponents control both the house of representatives and the senate. well, if the republicans do take control of both houses of congress, the u.s. system means they could block any legislation they want in the last two years of president obama's term. our correspondent has been to one of the key battlegrounds, west virginia, which may be about to elect its first republican senator for half a century. >> reporter: west virginia. america's mountain state. for more than a century, the south branch valley railroad has been used to ferry passengers and freight. >> tickets? >> reporter: for many onboard the potomac eagle tourist train, these elections are being viewed as a verdict on president obama, even though he's not on the ticket. >> as an individual, he's a nice person. however, he is inept in making decisions. he's taken this country from the preimminence of power and respect and i believe that we're down at the bottom. >> reporter: polls suggest the vast majority of americans feel the country's on the wrong track, and more than half blame president obama and his democratic party. >> he does err on the side of caution. so there's definitely been criticism about waiting with islamic state. i hope that we did step in soon enough. >> the republicans, if they take the whole thing over, it will just go their way. and i don't even think they'll come to consensus. it seems as though that's what's going wrong with our country now. we're just not agreeing. >> what happens here could change the country's political landscape. west virginia looks set to elect its first republican senator in 50 years. taking the party a step closer to winning control of the u.s. senate from the democrats. the feeling here and across america is that these midterm elections might not make much of a difference, unless the politicians in washington can put aside their differences and work together. something they've not managed in recent years. but the outcome in these elections will set the scene for president obama's final two years in office. and shape his legacy. >> quite a lot of political apathy seemed to be around when we were in the states last week, and the presidency, of course, is not up for grabs in today's votes. but as we've been hearing, it could be a key point in the race to succeed obama in the white house in two years time. rajesh has been looking at the implications for the next presidential election. >> picture the scene. the republican party gains six seats tonight and takes control of the senate. this is what that would look like. they already have a majority in the lower chamber, the house of representatives, and this balance of power is not expected to change tonight. if anything, the republicans could extend their majority. so if they were to take the senate, too, that means they would be in control of both chambers of congress for at least the next two years. at that point, there would be more elections, including the race for the keys to this place, the white house. so, what could a republican-controlled congress mean for the presidential election in 2016? well, let's say the democrats' candidate for president is hillary clinton. there she is, former secretary of state, former first lady. she might well want to move back in. are you going to run? are you? she's not going to tell me. if she was going to run, mrs. clinton could argue she's campaigning not just a republican contender, but against a republican congress. and because americans right now have a very low opinion of congress, that could hurt a republican presidential candidate. let's think about who that might be now by inviting a few more people on to our white house lawn here. first guy you see there, that's the former florida governor jeb bush, the brother and son of the two other bushes who have lived in the white house. his name's definitely being mentioned. and so is the name of this next man. this is wisconsin's governor, scott walker. one small matter for him, though, is he needs to get re-elected tonight before he can think about the white house. and also mentioned is this man, new jersey's colorful governor, chris christie. whoever the republicans back as a candidate in 2016, they could say look, we already have both houses of congress. what's getting in the way is a democratic president. so vote for us and we'll really be able to get things done. now, 2016 is a long way off, you might say. don't even think it. whether it's any of these characters or a different lineup entirely, anyone thinking about the race for the white house in two years time is keeping a very close eye on what happens in all of the races tonight. >> bbc news bringing you full coverage, of course, in the coming hours. stay with us for that. other news today, some of the world's biggest social media companies made it easier for criminals and militants to operate? that is the claim by the new head of britain's electronics spying agency gchq. robert hannigan, who says the sites have become the command and control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, has a solution. he says those social media organizations should do more to cooperate in the interest of security. he insists that it's no defense because he puts it in a fight against terror. privacy has never been an absolute right. our security correspondent gordon carrera has more. >> reporter: the group calling itself islamic state is the first terrorist group whose members have grown up on the internet and know how to exploit it. the new head of gchq says. they know how to spread their message far and wide over social networks and protect their communications. this, robert hannigan says, is a problem that technology companies are in denial about. however much they may dislike it, they, the technology companies, have become the command-and-control networks of choice for terrorists and criminals, he writes in the "financial times." the task of gchq is to intercept global communications. that, the agency's new director says, has become harder after the disclosures from edward snowden which tipped off gchq's targets. it also made some tech companies less willing to cooperate with law enforcement and intelligence, and invest more in encrypting or protecting data so it can't be read. but robert hannigan says cooperation is needed. it means coming up with better arrangements for facilitating lawful investigation by security and law enforcement agencies than we have now, he writes. technology and privacy activists say they welcome the idea of gchq entering the public debate about privacy, but one said attacking the internet wasn't the right way to do it. this intervention, though, is a sign that in that debate, the new head of gchq is not going to shy away from a fight. gordon carrera, bbc news. >> earlier i spoke to jane wakefield who explained how social media companies might be able to cooperate with the spy agencies. >> everybody uses communication, everybody uses the internet to communicate. terrorists are no different. so they're using it for e-mail. we've seen more sophisticated use of social media as well, where they're putting out their message there, both to recruit new members and also to sort of make people aware of what it is that they're doing. >> i.s., of course. >> yes, exactly. >> what can firms like google and facebook and others do that they are not doing? >> this goes back to the edward snowden revelations which happened a while ago. it meant there was an awful lot of distrust, because the revelations suggested that the security agencies, the spy agencies were just looking at everything that came in. mass communications. so from their point of view, the companies want to protect their customers' privacy. i mean, that's their first job, to make sure that their customer -- >> well, is it their first job? because if mass security is a real risk, then don't the companies have a responsibility -- the key question obviously is how they could do it. what could they actually do apart from physically trolling through all these videos? do they have the technology to impose filters themselves or not? >> this is more about whether they allow the security agencies access to communications. and they've never said that they won't do that. all they're saying is they're going to increase the amount of encryption in their services to make people more secure. because if something is encrypted, it's very hard for somebody to read it. so there's sort of mass trolling, wiretapping is all very well. they can tap communications as they're going between services, the agencies, the spy agencies can do that. but it does mean if it's encrypted, they can't read it at all. and now companies like google and microsoft are saying we're going to do more encryption to protect our customers. if they do that, then the communities -- the spy agencies will be blind. they won't be able to see any of the communications. so it's reaching a compromise, where if they ask for specific information and do it in the right way with a warrant and they're very clear about what it is that they want, then of course the big companies will still cooperate. >> someone said to me, why don't they employ people to monitor, you know, distasteful and dreadful videos that are being put on, because they're making a profit. do they have the resources to do that realistically? >> that's a separate question, i think. i think as we have seen more and more of these awful videos, it will be up to the companies. they don't want their usual audience to be witnessing this material, so they probably will think about putting more people on so that they can monitor this stuff. >> they can't just press a button and stop it. >> they're get sog muting so mu stuff, that no, that's not possible. this is how they cooperate with the spy agencies to make sure they can get hold of all the communications they need to track down say somebody planning a bombing campaign. >> jane wakefield there, our technology reporter. prosecutors in south africa say they've filed an appeal against the judgment in the oscar pistorius case. the athlete was sentenced to five years in prison for killing his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. but prosecutors have appealed against judge masipa's verdict of culpable homicide or manslaughter and against the judge's sentence. prosecutors maintain pistorius should have been found guilty of murder, a sentence that would carry at least 15 years in jail. stay with us here on "bbc world news." much more to come. how these worm-like structures seen under a microscope led to identifying ebola in 1976. asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. if you convert 4-quarter p/e of the s&p 500, its yield is doing a lot better... if you've had to become your own investment expert, maybe it's time for bny mellon, a different kind of wealth manager ...and black swans are unpredictable. ♪ limits are there to be shattered. ♪ barriers are meant to be broken. ♪ lines are drawn to be crossed. ♪ introducing the first ever 467 horsepower rcf coupe from lexus. once driven, there's no going back. ♪ this is "bbc world news." i'm geeta guru-murthy with the latest top stories for you. it is a crucial day for president obama as the u.s. goes to the polls for midterm elections. and the new head of britain's electronic spy agency says large technology firms have become terrorists' command and control networks. in 1976, a blue thermos flask and a letter from a doctor arrived at a lab in the belgian city. the flask contained blood samples from a belgian nun who had recently fallen ill from a mysterious sickness which would eventually be named ebola. when the scientist peered down a microscope, they realized they were looking at a virus unlike anything they'd seen before. the only way to stop it spreading was to travel to the center of the outbreak. as the bbc's science editor explains. >> the first outbreak was in 1976 when a mystery illness was striking people down. a nun in congo was really ill. samples were taken and were flown to belgium to a lab, and there the young assistant peered through his microscope. >> when we saw this worm-like structures coming out of the electromicroscope, we were all a bit breathless, frankly, and said what the hell is this? >> reporter: the priority back then was to track down where the virus had reached and how it was being transmitted from one person to another. >> i didn't know what to think. you know, central africa is overwhelming. i was just very impatient to get there and to start working. >> reporter: it must have been incredibly unnerving, venturing into a remote corner of central africa with no idea how the virus was spreading. that early research found that ebola is passed through blood, vomit, and diarrhea. and because it identified the virus, people now know what to look for in blood samples. and beyond that, it established the foundations for how you contain an outbreak. you isolate the patients, you trace everyone who's been in touch with them. basic procedures now being used to tackle this outbreak. >> david shookman there on some of the origins of ebola. now muslims around the world have been marking the holy festival of ashura. for shia muslims seen here in kabbal kabbalah, hussein is one of shia islam's most revered figures. it features reenactments of the original battle. i was told earlier what the day means for muslims. >> it's sort of the turning point in islamic history where the strife, as they call it, between sunni and shia started because iman hussein, were split on the grounds with who should be having the right to be the khalif at that time. imam hussein was killed on that day, so they commemorate that day with a sadness and that's why there's sad rituals carrying on. however, the most important thing about this, this year, on this time, we've seen the region is divided along the sectarian affiliations, if you like. so for instance, in damascus, there are less than 1% of shias, but we have seen for the first time a huge celebration or rituals in damascus, for instance, this time. it's not the first time happening, but the first time huge rituals are ongoing at this time, which gives us indications how the recalling or reproducing the symbols in the division between sunnis and shias in the region. >> and why was this such a key point originally? this is the grandson -- >> he is the grandson of prophet muhammad and the son of the fourth khalif of muslims. >> so the shia followed him? >> the shia followed him. >> and sunnis -- >> sunnis were considered on the side of a caliphate, although it sunnis fast on this day. but the political message coming from this day, that's more important rather than the religious and historical background of it. because even sunnis, they respect hussein, but shias have this ritual and sort of demonstrations on the streets. now, there's been a sad ending to one of the world's most prestigious horse races with not one, but two horses dying after taking part in the melbourne cup. the race itself was won by the german horse protectionist, who stormed through in the last furlong to take the prize by quite some distance. but missing from the leading pack was the pre-race favorite, admire rutkey. the horse started well, but fell back to finish last and later died in its stall. another runner was put down after injuring himself. he was spooked by a flag being waved in the crowd. let's find out more from the bbc "sportscente "sportscentesport center, chris there. how unusual is this? >> only last year, there was outrage when a horse was euthanized post-race much in the same way as this year. a broken bone, couldn't be mended, so they thought it was best to put down the horse, to kill it. what you have to remember is that this is a huge event. not just for australia where many in melbourne have the day off. it's a public holiday there. but for the whole world. this is one of the biggest races, one of the richest races in the world with a huge international field. so there were many people around the world watching this. and to have the narrative blurred if you like by the deaths of two horses is incredibly bad for the industry itself, and of course, incredibly sad. but you have to say if you can compare it to races like the grand national here in the uk, or the famous suicide race in washington, then the number of deaths in this particular race, the one we're watching now, the melbourne cup is actually quite low. it's over 3,200 meters, it's a flat race. there aren't that many opportunities for people to die. protectionist here, the german horse, crossing the line in just a moment to win here. a brilliant horse in a field of brilliant horses. the favorite actually finished the race, but died afterwards of something called sudden death syndrome. this is very rare in horse racing. less than 1% of horses suffer from this. broken bones are more common. but as i say, this melbourne cup, it doesn't have that many fatalities, but racing in australia right now is under a cloud. the rspca, the animal group claim that around 13,000 horses are lost prematurely each year in the racing industry in australia. and you have to remember that two female jockeys recently lost their lives in australia. so as anned ed advert for the s around the world, it is a very bad day indeed. >> thanks very much indeed. britney maynard ended her life on saturday. she and her husband had to move from california to oregon where the state's death with dignity act allows terminally ill residents to obtain lethal prescriptions from doctors. joan o'brien reports. >> reporter: britney maynard refused to let death come to her. in the last weeks of her life, she remained as active as possible, going through her bucket list and visiting the grand canyon with her husband dan. she had been given just months to live after being diagnosed with brain cancer at the beginning of the year, shortly after her wedding. but as her condition worsened, she said she would end her own life on november 1st, shortly after her husband's birthday. one of her biggest fears was that she would lose the ability to choose. >> when people criticize me for not, like, waiting longer or, you know, whatever they have decided is best for me, it hurts because really i risk it every day. every day that i wake up. >> reporter: this weekend, britney maynard took lethal medication prescribed by a doctor. according to a spokesman for the advocacy group compassion and choices, she died peacefully in the arms of those who loved her. more than 750 people have taken advantage of oregon's death with dignity law this year alone, but britney's youth, she was 29, and her decision to speak out, have reignited the ethical debate surrounding assisted suicide. a statement from priests for life voiced concern that others may follow her example. it said, brittany's death was not a victory for a political cause. it was a tragedy hastened by despair and aided by the culture of death invading our country. but polls show that an overwhelming majority of americans support the right to die, which is legal in five states, and a video brittany made shortly before her death has been viewed more than 5 million times. jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. in other news today, the military in thailand says it's handed out nearly 3,000 rifles to volunteers in the south of the country to help them protect themselves against muslim insurgents. the rebels want more autonomy for their predominant muslim areas. heavy rains continue to batter buenos aries. two people have died. some have been using kayaks to navigate the flooded streets. the authorities in rome are considering rebuilding the famous arena inside the city's coliseum. the area or center stage was originally used for gladiator flights. james reynolds reports from inside the famous landmark. >> reporter: this, the coliseum, is surely the most recognizable symbol of rome and of italy. almost 2,000 years ago, you could imagine spectators cramming into the stands here, and all turning their eyes to the arena, the central stage here. a lot of the time they would have come to watch gladiators fight against one another. but about a century ago, that arena, that central stage was removed and it uncovered this underground network of tunnels and cages in which animals used to be kept. now one archaeologist has suggested something simple. rebuilding that arena so that modern day tourists can see exactly what ancient spectators got to see. the culture minister says he's in favor, and the authorities which run this venue say that they're studying it as well. but critics are not so sure. bear in mind that any potential change to what happens here is bound to be controversial. some have suggested that if you start by rebuilding an arena, you might end up by building a roof, and others say that they're worried about the prospects and possibility of there being popular, even vulgar concerts on a rebuild arena behind me. perhaps choosing to forget that this venue was originally built for entertainment of the most savage kind. >> james reynolds there in the coliseum. just to let you know about our special coverage of that other fight in the u.s., the midterm election voting has just got under way in the last hour or so. we'll be bringing you full coverage later today, and i'll be back tomorrow with a full round-up and an update on what's happened in the united states. join me then. thanks for watching. get intoo many people!'all! too bouncy! it's probably too far 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world news." the u.s. votes to decide the balance of power in congress, as america's midterm elections get under way. as republicans threaten to take over both houses of congress, we'll ask what that would mean for president obama's final two years in office. >> reporter: i'm jane o'brien in virginia where the polls have been open for an hour, and there's been a steady stream of voters, but turnout across the country is expected to be low. >>

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