>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, kovler foundation and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to meet your objectives. we offer expertise and tailored

solutions for small businesses and major corporations. hat can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news america." >> this is "world news amercia" reporting from washington -- >> this is "bbc world news america." britain raises its terror threat level to severe. >> the ambition to create an extremist caliphate in the heart of iraq and syria is a threat to our own security here in the u.k. >> nato says russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed into ukraine. a clear violation of the country's sovereignty. moscow denies the accusations. and with charlie's chocolate factory originally a little more crowded. we'll tell you about the role

of the characters who didn't make the cut. >> welcome to our news on public television in america and around the globe. today, the u.k. raised the terror threat level from substantial to severe in response to the conflict in syria and iraq. that means an attack is highly likely. but the government says there's no intelligence to suggest that it's imminent. here's a portion of british prime minister david cameron's remarks explaining what led to today's announcement. >> we've all been shocked and sickened by the barbaric murder american journalist james foley and the voice of a british terrorist recorded on that video. it was clear evidence not that any more was needed, that this is not some foreign conflict

thousands of miles from home that we can hope to ignore. the ambition to create an extremist caliphate in the heart of iraq and syria is a threat to our own security here in the u.k. >> so what exactly is the threat to the u.k. that led to today's action? the bbc's frank gardner has this analysis. >> just some of the estimated 500-plus britains who've gone to syria with many joining the violent extroomist group isis, now renamed aziz lambic state, -- named as islamic state, they're helped by communications intercepts from gchq, the government's listening center. their input is then assessed inside this building by a team called the joint terrorist analysis center. it brings together around 100 specialists from defense, intelligence, signals and

others. they tell the government on what the level the terrorist threat is facing the public. there are five threat levels in all. they used to be kept secret. critical is the highest. it last went to that in 2007. today it was raised from substantial to severe. the newly raised terror threat level is partly responsible -- at you could call easy jihad because islamic state, british passport holders have been hopping on a flight to turkey, getting on a bus to the border and then walking across into syria. more over 200 of them have returned to britain. some are stopped and arrested but many have witnessed extreme brutality. this is also the age of social media jihad with tweets and postings on facebook attracting a constant stream of recruits. and then there are the gaps in the government response. despite some new measures, there just aren't enough police and spies to watch everybody

around the clock who've come back from the syrian battlefield. >> you have groups like fighting in syria and iraq that have expressing wanting to launch attacks on the west. you have a substantial body of foreigners in britain, in particular, who have been out to fight there, some of whom come back. >> in brussels this summer a returning jihadist shot dead four people at the jewish museum. here the government fears there will be more opportunistic world attacks like this and ast year's murder of a soldier attacked in a village. they work closely across the country but it's difficult to terrorists to plan a large-scale attack like the london bombing, but as long as the conflict continues, the greater the risk that those who've taken part of it in may attempt to use their violent skills over here. frank gardner, bbc news. >> well, it's the fight against the islamic state continues, so does the suffering of many living in the conflict zone.

today, the number of syrian refugees registered in neighboring countries reached three million. and thousands who fled the iraqi city of mosul are still in dire straits. gabriel met with some of those who fled and you may find it disturbing. >> there are those children who made it. many lost friends or family, all now homeless, but they're alive and they're happy about that. but for some self-preservation came at a huge cost. s they fled, policemen, he was struggling. he and his wife had three kids too young to walk. with fighters from the islamic state, they were forced to make an almost impossible decision, to leave their 4-year-old son, aziz, and save the others.

>> there was a hut beside the road. we put him in there and left him. we couldn't carry him anymore. he was too heavy. >> it must have been a very difficult decision to make, to leave one of your children behind as you fled. >> of course, it was difficult. we just couldn't cope. but kurdish fighters found the boy and brought him to a -- and he was punished. no one knew his name or who his parents were. jalal was eventually alerted by a relative who saw a picture of the boy on facebook. he made the journey to syria yesterday, hoping to be reunited with his song. but he arrived too late. ziz died early that morning.

the islamic state yesterday released new pictures, showing men they say captured iraqi kurdish soldiers in a brutal ho of the killing of journalist foley. one was beheaded. they say they will receive the same fate if they continue their cooperation with the united states. we traveled to the front line of the border between syria and iraq. these fighters, mostly syrian kurds, have been battling i.s. for more than two years. they say they're not intimidated by the islamic group's most gruesome tactics. you can see buildings just a few hundred meters from here. these two sides are literally eyeball-to-eyeball here. as we watched the fighters spot

some i.s. vehicles on the move through the mid-day heat, they fire off a few shots just to remind them that we're here, this man tells me. the people in this camp don't even count towards the figure of three million refugees from the syrian war. thousands of iraqis have found refuge here in kurdish controlled syria, but they don't feel safe and many say they've already made up their minds to abandon their homeland for good. gabriel, bbc news in northern syria. >> for more on the threat posed by the islamic state and the u.k.'s elevation of the terror level, i spoke earlier with barry from the atlantic council, formerly served as senior director at the national security council. the u.k. has raised its terror threat level. what is the threat to the u.s.? >> i think it's unclear.

my best sort of informed speculation is that the u.k. did so on some very specific intelligence that is not privy to the general public. i think it's a very serious matter and they're taking it, you know, with the appropriate degree of concern. perhaps the u.s. intelligence community haven't seen that level of specificity regarding specific threats to the united states homeland from the isis group. >> the u.s. has citizens who've gone over into iraq and syria. what's to stop them coming back and committing attacks against the u.s.? >> well, i think we developed -- both countries have developed a pretty comprehensive system for homeland security and defense in the aftermath of 9/11 and in the many years since then, many lessons learned, not a leak-proof system by any means with bombings in london and the near misses -- several near misses on the u.s. homeland with the underwear bomber and

times square, etc. so in some ways we've been luckier than good. you can never have a perfect system. so i think the homeland defense systems of both countries are reasonably effective but not guaranteed. >> now, what about the strategy for tackling islamic state in syria and iraq? the president raised a few eyebrows yesterday by saying he doesn't have one, but this is a force we've seen grow in strengths for month. do you think it's a white house miscalculation? >> it's a white house tendency to focus on military withdrawal that in some ways their predecessors overused the military instrument and some ways contributed to the very discussion we're having today. but i think perhaps they're going too far in that direction. not that they have caused this roblem of isis but that it demands a pretty urgent response. this is the kind of threat countries want to get ahead of and not wait until they're at the door or at the consulate.

we want to get ahead of a terrorist group that has many skills of a nation state and they're very well-resourced, they're very good at military tactics, very good at social media and communications. this is not a force to be -- for us to wait to react. we want to be proactive and preventive. >> very briefly, what should the focus be on right now? >> well, i think the focus rightly is air strikes, i would go a little further, a little faster and i think the pentagon is currently developing plans with some urgency. i think there's been a lot of criticism of president obama about air strikes but i think air strikes are important now but they're not sufficient. there needs to be political strategy. there needs to be economic strategy. there needs to be information, communications aspects. there's got to be a comprehensive approach. i hope that's coming soon. >> thank you very much, indeed. >> my pleasure. >> nato has accused russia of blatantly violating ukraine's sovereignty by sending troops

and weapons over the border. vladimir putin denied it and blamed ukraine to the crisis, comparing those actions of nazi germany during world war ii. here is bridgette kendall. >> ukraine's pro-russian rebels are staging a comeback. and they're seizing back territory. the rebels say they're fighting on their own, but ukraine says they're being reinforced by russian troops and hardware. and ukraine now needs nato's help. > it is clear that nato cannot support ukraine with troops and we do not expect nato member states to do so. we can't protect ourselves. we need your assistance to stop aggression. >> till just a few days ago, the rebels in eastern ukraine seemed to be on the back foot,

forced out of their base, their strong holds. then came reports of russian tanks and troops coming over the border and now the fighting has spread south. another is under pro-russian control and ukrainians fear another attack. but to involve nato is dangerous. look at ukraine's long border with russia. if nato agreed to help protect it could start an all-out war with russia, a nightmare scenario which throughout the cold war nato managed to avoid. as e.u. foreign ministers gathered today, tensions were rising. >> these are polish apples that president putin say are poisonous. >> tonight, the poles barred the defense minister's plane from using polish airspace. the germans warned the crisis was slipping out of control. the talk of tougher sanctions.

nato secretary general did not rule out ukraine being allowed to join the alliance. >> good afternoon. ukraine has decided to pursue a so-called nonalliance policy. we fully respect if the ukraine d parliament de-- -- ukrainian parliament decides to -- >> meanwhile, president putin denies that russian troops are involved. he said that ukraine was the aggressor and reminded him of the nazis and it's unclear tougher sanctions would do anything except make you feel you have nothing to lose. >> for more on the condemnation of russia's actions in ukraine, i spoke a brief time ago with heather connelly who is now at the center of strategic and international centers. tough talk coming out of europe today. but what can nato actualry do?

>> well, what nato is going to do next week is they're going to announce a readiness action plan. that will be a plan that will help shore up the defense of nato members in the baltic states and poland. it will focus on a location in poland where nato forces will be there prepositioning forces e -- potentially, enhanced exercises. what we've seen is an invasion of ukraine, and we need to -- we need to say invasion. that's where the president did -- what the president did not say yesterday. the readiness action play may not be sufficient. there will need more nato resources. we need to help them with lethal assistance, not just nonlethal so a lot of questions. >> heather, isn't this a little bit late of shoring up defenses and coming up with plans? you have thousands of troops on the border. people are already -- not

president obama, but other people in europe are calling this an invasion. nato doesn't have a way. surely something needs to be done now? >> i think the immediate action is what, if any, assistance we're going to provide to the ukrainian military that seems that they are absolutely ill-equipped and unable, lack the training to defeat what is now a russian-led and mobilized effort. you're absolutely right, there is no time. that should have been happening a long time ago to help ukrainians defend their territory. i think we have time, though, to continue to maintain a very strong line of reassurance and deterrence, that if mr. putin thinks his plans involve any future nato countries, he is sadly mistaken. >> again, what about ukraine, talk of tougher sanctions, but does europe actually have the stomach for sanctions? >> well, i'm encouraged that the foreign ministers' meeting

in milan, tomorrow's meeting in brussels where i believe the ukrainian president will speak directly to european leaders, i'd like the fact that they're now immediately, not just talking about it, not just preparing, i think there's more resolve in europe than what we have seen in the past. but the economic sanctions are going to impact mr. putin for the long term. they're not changing his behavior. if anything, he's accelerated this crisis. so sanctions need to be toughened. we need europe to do more, but it's not going to stop the temporary and what i fear continued escalation of this crisis in eastern ukraine. >> critical times ahead. heather connelly, thank you very much for joining me. >> thank you. >> you're watching bbc world news america. still to come on tonight's program -- liberia is struggling to fight the outbreak of ebola. we're on the border where major precautions are being taken.

malaysia airlines will lay off nearly 1/3 of its staff as part of a business recovery plan. its loss of two planes this year resulted in a sharp drop of passenger numbers. >> after weeks of uncertainty, the man in charge of the malaysian government's 70% stake outlined his drastic survival plan. for the beleaguered airline to survive, he said, 6,000 jobs would have to go. >> at its core, the plan involves the creation of a new company which will house the right size work force and contracts. >> malaysia airlines was already in deep financial trouble, but the two disasters this year pushed it to the break. mh-17 was shot down over

ukraine in july, and the search goes on for mh-370, missing without trace since march. bookings have fallen significantly and by some estimates, the airline is losing around $2 million a day. the loss of two planes has only hastened the inevitable for this bloated, inefficient carrier. e job cuts will keep further misery on staff, some of them lost personal friends onboard both flights. but they'll bring staff ratios more in lining with singapore airlines, a rival that has distinguished itself over years in one important regard, it has managed to make a profit. the company says it's begun looking for a new c.e.o. some long haul flight routes will be cut, but today's press conference heard the malaysia airlines name will remain unchanged.

>> authorities in senegal confirmed the country's first case of ebola. the health minister said the virus was carried by a neighboring guinea since it was first reported in africa in march, over 1,500 people died and more a third of the deaths have been in high beeria. our correspondent has been to the border between liberia and the ivory coast for more. >> silence replaces the normally vibrant border. the border was closed over the weekend, the latest efforts to avoid ebola. authorities say health is more important than trade, but people here have no idea when the borders are going to reopen. people are suffering financially, but many -- the

borders are closed. such as this family that's on the other side. can't come back. she says it's difficult but the ear of ebola is worse. this is not a trip you can return from. we're told not to eat bushmeat, not to shake hands and not to have sex. beyond these mountains lies liberia where ebola is now out of control. to the east is guinea, thick but the rain forest is the only thing that separates the ivory ast from the two worst hit nations. doctors are practicing what to do if a suspected case arrives. very detail is considered. >> we've done the maximum possible to be ready and vigilant to control the situation. as soon as any suspected case arrives. you can never be ready enough, but i think we're strong enough

o fight this epidemic. >> the heat inside the suit is the biggest difficulty, he says. two or three hours is the most anyone can last. countries have been accused of abandoning the ebola-hit nations, closing borders and suspending flights. but ivory coast says it will do everything it can to fight ebola. >> the ongoing struggle to contain ebola. the it is 50 years since book of "charlie and the chocolate factory." he intended to include more children lucky enough to win the fwolden ticket and meet -- golden ticket and meet willie wonka and then dropped it. it starts with what children love about the book.

>> a few surprises. >> they don't know the half of it. when the story was originally written, there was 10, not five, who won the golden ticket. in front of me is an early draft what would become "charlie and the chocolate factory," full of edits and corrections. chapter 5, the vanilla fudge room, was cut by the author. of nused characters, both whom were disobedient and spoiled. a writer was impressed by what she found. >> i admire him more, i think, because you rirlly see more of his imagination. you can see the invention. you can see him learning his craft. charlie is only the second

children's book he ever wrote. >> there is sdrapings of what he's wearing. >> the illustrator worked with roald dahl. >> i knew that he rewrote and rewrote many times for this last chapter, the have nila fudge mountain, he's writing people who aren't in the book. it's at an early stage. what happened in the cooking, that's rather fascinating. >> how does a writer feel when it comes to leaving a character literally on the cutting room floor? >> sometimes they don't do anything to further the plot or don't do anything to really -- they bring as much as they should and you feel that you're kind of placing them out a little bit. >> the extra characters had to go because they overcomplicated the story. half a century later, they do give a fascinating insight into the creative process of one of the world's most imagine na tiff authors. imainative authors.

>> you can find much more on our website. thank you for watching and have a great weekend. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, kovler foundation, nd 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?

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> sreenivasan: the ebola outbreak has widened in east africa as senegal confirmed it's first case today. and a new report traced the origins of the ebola outbreak to a single funeral in guinea last may. good evening. i'm hari sreenivasan. judy is off tonight. also ahead, we wrap up our weeklong series on rethinking college. more and more states across the country are tying their public universities' funding levels to graduation rates. we went to tennessee where this practice began. >> it's trying to find ways to get schools to respond to incentives the same way people respond to incentives. as a professor, i don't grade students when they show up the