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>> this is bbc world news america. standoff, the man accused of killing and francis surrounded in his apartment. a british hostage released by somali pirates after ransom is paid. loll live rock-and-roll. 60 years after the first concert of its time, a part of history. welcome to our viewers on pbs in

america and also around the globe. right now, a standoff is under way in france where the man suspected of carrying out seven recent killings there is inside his apartment in toulouse identified as mohammed merah, he has links to pakistan and afghanistan. it has emerged that french intelligence has been tracking him for years and that he was prepared to attack again. >> they swooped in the early hours of the morning. intelligence gathered in the minute -- the biggest manhunt france has known led to this apartment in a quiet residential street. inside was the gunman responsible for seven murders. his name is mohammed merah, a 24 year-old spanish citizen who was arrested in afghanistan and is known to the intelligence services. as they try to force their way into the flat, there was an

exchange of fire in which two policemen were shot. the gunman's brother was arrested in a second operation. his mother was brought to the scene to try to talk him out. we have spoken to the man who yesterday afternoon -- 10 days ago, mohammed merah came to to lose to find out how to disable a tracking device. this man has known him since he was a teenager. >> he seemed a bit more unruly than others and he did have a criminal record, but there was nothing that made me think he was capable of such atrocious acts. >> he was reminded about a conversation. >> president sarkozy has come here today to congratulate the police on a job well done, but serious questions will be asked.

how did unknown fundamentalist who had long been under surveillance manage to kill seven people, and how he gather such an extraordinary arsenal of weapons that was found in the boot of his car without raising concerns of the surveillance team that was following him? >> there will be anger and frustration that it could have been prevented. two weeks ago, mohammed merah appear in court and driving offenses. >> for the latest from the scene comic-con i spoke to richard -- for the latest from the scene, i spoke to richard. is there any sign at the moment of and into the siege? >> right now, there is not, at all. talks have been going on between

the police and mohammad merah at the apartment for many hours now often on. they have been trying to negotiate for more than 10 or 12 hours, i would say, now. so far, without any kind of break through. we understand that merah has said on several occasions that he would surrender, but it has not happened. it is nighttime here now and i think the question for the french police, they are in large numbers. the question is, how long do they let this go on? how long did they negotiate, or does there come a point when in.y decide they should go wi probably the time for that would be late at night when they think he is losing concentration.

will they take that decision? it is obviously very tricky, given the fact that he is known to be well-armed inside his apartment with assault rifles, a submachine gun, and possibly hand grenades. >> we have learned that he was known to the french intelligence services and he was in court two weeks ago. he has been in pakistan and afghanistan. what has been the reaction? >> there were always two theories, one that he was some kind of islamic militants carrying out attacks. as he himself has said, and to avenge the killing of palestinian children. there was also the theory that he is a neo-nazi. the population has been prepared

for one of these theories. what is relevant about this is the fact that it comes just before -- a month before the first round of presidential election. it could play into that. one of the candidates, the far right candidate has started talking about this and blaming the government, saying they were too lax on islamic militants in the country and it is time to take action against them. already it is being used political. >> a british woman kidnapped and held hostage in somalia. she has been freed after a ransom was paid. taken whilett' was she was holidaying with her husband. he was killed in the attack. our correspondent sent this

report. >> the dramatic rescue from somalia, and security official wisc judith tebbutt of to waiting plane and freedom. emotions are mixed. minutes earlier, mrs. tebbutt held back her tears when she spoke of her husband's death. >> my husband died, i think it was two weeks from my captor. i thought he was alive, but then my son told me that he died. >> the terrifying ordeal began last september at this isolated, trend will resort on the kenyan coast. in the middle of the night, an armed gang burst into the room. shots were fired.

they put her on a speedboat and headed to somalia. her husband, david tebbutt, was left behind and he died from his injuries. just before her flight out from somalia, she spoke to the man who helped raise the ransom, her own son, oliver. [unintelligible] mother and son have now been reunited in kenya. arriving here in nairobi, officials from the british high commission said they would take care of judith tebbutt. the british government's involvement trying to get her release has been minimal. two people who know all about the horror of captivity in somalia and the joy of being set free are paul and rachel dler.ele

>> you really get on an adrenaline high during that period sex as judith puts it, now is the time to pick up -- during that. >> as jedi puts it, now is the time to pick up. >> the security council urged the syrian government and its opponents to implement the plan immediately. the proposal comes as two suburbs of the capital of damascus were shelled by government tanks. jeb bush has endorsed mitt romney to be the republican nominee for president. he said he is the best choice to unseat president obama. thousands of mourners have been

attending a memorial service in belgium for some of the victims of last week's bus crash in switzerland. 22 children and six adults died when that coach crashed in a road tunnel while the group was returning to belgium from a skiing holiday. 17 of the victims came from one village, where the ceremony took place. now perhaps in a relationship has been more fraught lately than that between the u.s. and afghanistan. today u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton met with the afghan prime minister and reaffirmed the goal of turning over security to afghan forces by 2014. but they said a strategic partnership agreements should be signed either before or at the chicago nato meeting in may. joining me is the author of the new book "pakistan on the brink." thank you very much indeed for

joining us. from the outside, it looks as though relations between the u.s. and afghanistan are at their lowest ebb. is it really that bad? >> it has been certainly very bad and these incidents recently, the massacre by the u.s. soldier as well as the burning of the korans, has not helped things. at the ended the day, if relations do manage to get back on track, before the chicago summit with nato that will take place in may, there will be the signing of a strategic contract and a strategic pact with nato as well. the broad parameters of cohesion between afghans and the americans will eventually emerge. >> is there any prospect of an afghan peace settlement before the withdrawal of u.s. and nato

trop -- nato troops by the end of 2014? >> the taliban has recently suspended the talks there are having with the americans. i hope the suspension will be very short term. one of the complaints has been that the talks have been going too slowly. they are the ones that wanted the talks to go faster. we have been bogged down for three or four months in the prisoner exchange deal. it has been fully negotiated but just not implemented. once you get some kind of trust mechanism built between the two sides, i think this is the future. the aim of the americans has to be to end the civil war before they withdraw in 2014. >> on pakistan, you talk about the deteriorating relationship there. is there any way the issue of the u.s. -- the use of drones can be resolved? >> i don't think he can be resolved.

i think the relationship will be resumed, hopefully next week, but it will be a much cooler relationship that was before. there will be areas such as the use of drones, the use of the cia, which will not be acceptable to the pakistanis. but the americans will go ahead and do it anyway. the pakistanis will continue to object. but hopefully there will be cooperation on the key issue where the two sides can come together, and that is on facilitating these talks with the taliban. most of the taliban is in pakistan. pakistan can do a great deal to help the peace process. >> in france, mohammed merah is suspected of being behind the killings has come out that he was in afghanistan. >> unfortunately, you have the pakistani taliban who are fighting the pakistan army right now.

they are becoming kind of a proxy for al qaeda. al qaeda has been decimated, but a lot of their ideas have been taken up by some elements of the pakistani taliban, who are still training a lot of europeans. there was a recent case of several germans who were trained, went back to germany, and the british muslims have been trying to go in there. the pakistan army is dealing with this issue, but it is extremely difficult. the terrain, the breakdown of relations with america, the lack of cooperation with america on the border of palestine. i hope these things can be resumed and the army will take on these things. there is a major threat to pakistan if there is a terrorist threat in europe that can be traced back to pakistan.

>> in libya, the southern town is a major corridor for economic refugees who hope to leave sub- saharan africa for europe. it is long and dangerous journey across the sahara desert. libyas detention centers are now full of men trapped in the conflict. it is creating new strains. >> one of the biggest problems facing the new libyan government is respighi's from sub-saharan africa. this town is deep south of libya -- is refugees from sub- saharan africa. these are men from countries like somalia and niger. they are stuck here in libya. there are thousands of them here, creating a massive headache for the new libyan administration. there are 800 refugees in this

compound alone. thousands more made the perilous journey across unforgiving deserts', often paying exorbitant fees, some of them being robbed of all they had left. >> it is very long distance to come here. >> african seeking jobs and a better life have always used libya as a transport point, but the turmoil has exacerbated the problem. we need more help from the eight agencies. these -- from the aid agencies. we have to do something about our open borders. fighting has erupted here in recent weeks. sub-saharan soften accused of

being fighters, and at the checkpoint, guns have been confiscated. but most, including these men are economic refugees. they have come up with a new, perhaps desperate idea to deal with this crisis. they are piling up thousands of all, ruined cars along the border, 5 meters high, in the desperate hope that somehow it will keep out all of the refugees. >> you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, high stakes for barcelona and madrid. we will tell you why spain's two largest cities may become home to bureau baker. aspirin has been used for years to ease our aches and pains, but now there is fresh evidence that

could help protect against cancer. according to newly published evidence, research using data from more than 60 studies shows a low dose of aspirin can cut cancer cases and reduce the risk of the disease spreading. >> the possible benefits of aspirin against cancer appeared to be mounting. this research shows the protective effect occurred quicker than previously bought within five years of daily use, and showed a reduction in the spread of disease in patients with cancer. for some patients, such as those with bowel cancer, the risk was reduced by 50% six years after diagnosis. that means the cancer spread into out of 10 patients taking daily aspirin, compared with four out of 10 taking a placebo.

the guidelines need revision, as they do not include the cancer benefit. >> they have the most to gain from taking aspirin. >> long-term aspirin use as a major and well researched drawback, the risk of internal bleeding. that is what prevented it being recommended for daily use in healthy adults. aspirin has long been known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. now, cancer prevention must be included. but the dangers of internal bleeding mean that anyone considering taking a small, daily dose of aspirin should first to their doctor. -- should first talk to their doctor.

>> now to the ethics rivalry between two of spain's great cities, barcelona and madrid. they are fierce competitors as they jostle to win an investment project worst a project worth billions. an american casino mogul is looking for one of the city to house his news gambling complex. the central government's still has not approved the plans. our correspondent explains why. >> in southern madrid, they cheered. inside, freed food handouts. mainly immigrants came here, but with spain's rising unemployment, more spanish now turn up. the politicians creating new jobs -- the politicians say creating new jobs is top priority.

these rivals are fighting and over a mega casino project known as euro vegas. it is not just the prospect of more corner spending money there. the authorities say it could create up to 200,000 jobs. the man behind the project is sheldon adelson. he is one of the richest men in the world. now he has his sights set on spain. his big spanish gamble carries conditions. he wants tax breaks, and his employees not to have the same collective bargaining rights as other workers in spain. it is a game of poker with spain's national government. they will have the final say. they are coming under pressure

from the opposition. >> workers' conditions would be unacceptable. but businesses here are struggling to make money. the country needs all the revenues it can get, and politicians seem willing to take a gamble to get the mega casino in spain. >> from gambling to rock-and- roll. it was 60 years ago today that the world's first rock concert was held in cleveland, ohio. staged by two men whose passion for music bridge the racial divide, the event known as the moon dog ball was broken up by gate crashers.

we returned to cleveland for look back at that night. >> hello, everybody. how are you all tonight? >> he called himself the moon dog. could decided to have this big show -- he decided to have this big show. it went ok except for one problem. it was considered to be the first rock-and-roll show, but also the first rock-and-roll write it. >> it was -- the first rock-and- roll riot. >> in 1952, i was 20 years old. we were in our hotel room and we heard all this noise across the street. we open up the window and took

look, and there were all these people trying to get into the venue but the doors were closed. they were not letting them in. >> it starred the domino's, paul grimes, and others. >> he came out on the stage and he had a blonde wife. the crowd went nuts. they had no idea he was white. >> by police estimates, there were somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people, and they were not happy. riot, and insanity broke loose. >> finally they forced their way in. there was a center panel on the

doors. people were crawling through. the next thing you know, the police arrived and they were hauling people away. >> it was a shot heard around the world. the fact that this many people would show up for an all black review show it signaled a jumping off place for a lot of promoters and record labels to say wait a minute. ♪ >> rock-and-roll history there. remember, you can find constant updates on our website. to see what we are working on, make sure to check out our facebook page. from all of us here at bbc world news america, thank you for watching, and please tune in tomorrow.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.