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>> and now, "bbc world news." >> nato steps up its operations against colonel gaddafi's forces in libya using apache helicopters for the very first time. the president of yemen broadcast an audio message to the nation hours after surviving more attack. protesters killed by security forces in syria. welcome to our viewers in america on pbs and around the globe. worrying news for the u.s. economy. more than 9%. on employment. the grand prix in bahrain will go ahead despite the unrest. is money driving the decision?

welcome, once again. nato has set up an action against colonel gaddafi's forces in libya, using attack helicopters for the first time. nato has said that they are using forces in the field. our correspondent is on board the worship where the helicopters have taken off. he has given us more details. >> a royal navy helicopter carrier, under the cover of darkness two apache helicopters took off from this carrier. they went under the cover of darkness to target the area where we are told they launched

their missiles and destroyed a military radar site and a military checkpoint. we are told by the captain that the attacks were successful and that those apaches were returned safely within the last few hours. we also understand that similar attacks on different targets were carried out by french helicopters from the air. those helicopter carriers. simultaneous strike by britain and france with helicopters, which is a change in the mission. they had been relying on airplanes flying thousands of feet in the air. flying lower and slower and under greater threat of small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. in the face of those apaches, they landed safely. >> a big fight from the ground.

and where they fired up by gaddafi forces? >> we do not know at the moment. what we do know is that the helicopter has landed safely and that the crew on board is safe. we do that know if they receive any incoming fire. from what we saw from the carrier deck, there were missiles going into the targets. 20 hours, probably less, from the coast of libya. in the darkness we could see the missiles being laurent -- being launched. a number of missiles were fired. and what we're doing with getting information from here is that they hit their target. >> do we know with these helicopters required spotters on the ground to identify targets? >> the only information that we

are given, all that we know is that these targets would have been chosen by nato earlier and then passed on to the individual ships. and that all of those preparations were made in the last 24 hours. they knew what the targets were an identified those targets. remember, apache helicopters were able to fly day and night. they had infrared cameras. they did not have to sit above their targets and could fire missiles from a number of miles away. the fact that it was not at night, done close to the coast, tells you that they were dealing with as few as possible. and small, dangerous operations where they fly 15,000 feet in the sky.

these helicopters were much lower. >> in your own assessment, as you say that this attack took place near braiga, could it be used to attack targets in tripoli? ideally it is much better protected than anywhere else in the country. >> impossible to say. having done that kind of successful mission, it is every probability that they will be used again. the fact is that these are weapons, these helicopters, which can fly lower and slower, identifying a wide range of targets. they can be more precise in what they aim at. yes, for example, if there are gaddafi forces fighting amongst the civilian populations, those means could be used. that said, would you not know if

they will be used in tripoli yet. >> many have said that the nato aircraft is running out of targets. >> it is true. war planes are still hitting targets aboard the french aircraft carrier from just one week ago. they were still doing bombing missions. the fact that these apaches were designating targets, other military checkpoint suggest that there were still targets for these warplane helicopters to strike against. >> television in yemen has forecast a brief audio message from the president more than six hours after u.s. rocket attack on his palace.

he blamed the attack on what he called an outlaw gang of tribal enemies. more than 150 people have died in clashes in yemen in the past week. this report was sent from the capital. and >> prayers for peace, hopes for change. over four months thousands have gathered to demand one thing. they have insisted that there revolution is peaceful. >> demonstrations are likely to continue until the president is out of power. but without the international community stepping up the

violence has escalated over the last 10 days. the television showed the aftermath of the attack that killed seven people and injured the president. >> the message was received on friday night, urging security forces to declare who was responsible. away from today's fighting at the presidential palace, who has agreed to leave office three times and is still there, and the brothers leading a powerful tribal groupings and have power and control over politics. street battles have left 155 dead in recent days, bringing the country to a brink of civil war. especially the decision to attack the leaders of the more

powerful tribal groupings. this violence and instability has allowed militants to create ties to al qaeda in the country. with a growing concern for the rest -- the west. forces that were part of the arab uprising turned to a struggle. bbc news. >> also in the middle east, human rights activists say that 63 people have been shot dead by government forces during pro- democracy protests. state media said that three people were killed. in number of people were held after friday prayers were dedicated to the dozens of children that were killed in the uprising.

>> a day of widespread protests and a day of violence. in towns and cities across the country, tens of thousands turned out after friday prayers. despite the threat of military action, children were prominent at events like this one. unicef says that around 30 children had been killed by so thick -- security forces since the uprising began. a 13-year-old boy from the south, activists say that he was tortured to death, he has emerged as the unofficial icon for the revolution. although this particular demonstration was peaceful, there were reports of violence elsewhere. and the site of a brutal

crackdown for 1982, activists say that at least 34 people were killed when the military opened fired. the syrian government said that they injured around 80 members of the security forces. meanwhile, outside syria in lebanon, protests were held by both sides. these pro-government demonstrators held up pictures and chanted slogans. although the international pressure is growing, the president is showing no signs of leaving power just yet. all the while, shelling and rebellion continues one week after the operation began. >> the former bosnian serb army commander has made his first appearance at the war crimes court in the hague.

refusing to acknowledge the accusations which he calls the monstrous and obnoxious. and the un security council has stepped up its condemnation of the military takeover of a disputed town in the northern sudan military force area. they say that it could derail the succession of southern sudan in july. european and imf officials said greece will be undergoing a month-long inspection. that there were already encouraging signs of a notable pickup in exports, but that further austerity measures would be introduced. still to come, we are going to

peru, going to the wire in the presidential elections. headed to the polls this sunday. he was the doctor that helped to spur the right-to-die debate. friday, jack kevorkian passed away at the age of 86. >> detractors called him dr. death. a qualified physician who helped to end lives using a homemade contraptions. >> the patient decides which one. >> he set up the drugs, the patient activated the lethal injection. always on videotape to make sure they were acting of their own free will. >> i will continue to assist

humans to alleviate their agony and interminable suffering. if it means they have to kill themselves, yes. >> the medical establishment was a guest. prosecutors tried in vain to have him convicted of murder. in 1998, jack kevorkian had condemned the decisive evidence. a nationally televised video in which he himself administered the injection. [unintelligible] >> he would serve eight years for second-degree murder. released in 2007, he ran for congress, provoking and influencing the euthanasia debate. today doctor assisted suicide is legal in u.s. states.

after an illness, he died overnight in hospital of natural causes. >> this is "bbc world news." stepping up military action against colonel gaddafi's forces in libya, using apache attack helicopters for the first time. it brief audio message from the president more than six hours after he was injured in a rocket attack on his palace. further sign that the economic recovery in the united states is weakening, unemployment rising slower than expected, the latest in a series of disappointing economic figures that has led to a sharp drop in

u.s. stock market. from boston our economics editor reports. >> boston is better off than many american cities with thriving high-tech companies and fewer of of work and on average. for many here, the path is not straightforward. creating real nervous about the future. unemployment went up to 9.9%. at the same time, the number of new jobs grew by a measly 54,000. economists had expected three times that number. those with their finger on the polls say is much worse. >> these figures show a deep and abiding uncertainty. everything i have heard from the people i have spoken with today is that they do not know where the economy is going. >> to the workers in ohio think

the president for bailing out the plant. he said nothing directly about today's figures. >> this economy took a big hit. just like if you had a bad illness, got hit by a truck, it would take a while for you to mend. that is what is happening to this economy. it is taking a while to mend. >> they say that the government is like a bystander at the scene of that accident, unable to help anymore. today the dollar dropped in value. with interest rates at 0 and no appetite for printing more money, congress does not expect much more government intervention. >> the economy is almost on its own. >> what does that mean? >> that cut -- that progress is

going to be slow and that for many americans it does not feel like a recovery. >> building up the economy to full strength may be painfully slow. fewer economists think that there will be a second recession and that the economy is precarious to the ill winds. >> in the united states john edwards has been indicted on felony charges by a federal grand jury in north carolina. accused of spending $1 million in campaign money to cover up an extramarital affair. he pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and of making false statements. >> he was once a rising star in u.s. politics. the man that might have been president. now he is facing federal charges. of course, in north carolina he

showed contrition and defiance. >> there is no question i have done wrong and i take full responsibility. i will regret for the rest of my life the pain and the harm i have caused. but i did not break the law and i never, ever thought that i was breaking the law. >> edwards ran for the white house in 2004, becoming his party is buys presidential candidate. he ran again in 2008. during that campaign he met the documentarian with it -- with whom he had an affair. she had the baby and prosecutors say that he used campaign donations to keep the affair quiet. at the same time his wife was battling cancer. a battle that he lot -- that she

lost last year. a guilty plea would mean avoiding a potentially embarrassing trial, but john edwards insists he is innocent. >> in peru it will go down to the wire in the presidential elections. and voters remain divided as they head to the polls this sunday. for weeks popular candidates hailing from opposite sides of the political arena have been all but tied. from peru, dan has this report. >> this likely march betrays the popularity here, despite the stain on the family name. his governing style is still

remembered fondly in parts of peru. his campaign has appeared to some as dissatisfying. the new jersey-born husband has working with the crowd. trying to fend off the question of who is calling the shots. he began his presidential campaign two years ago. possibly becoming the first female president. >> [unintelligible] i am the one that makes the decisions.

i am the one who is going to leave my country. >> the middle classes are afraid of the economic policy. media coverage accuses him of being in with hugo chavez. the results remain the same. >> if they really look at we -- look at what we are proposing, they see that we are not a threat. we will solve the problems of thousands of countries. >> whoever wins this race will have to keep political polarization that day, satisfying the demands of the millions that are clamoring.

>> european union health officials say that the highly toxic side of the coli in germany has fallen over the past two days. doctors warn that it is unclear that the decrease marks a permanent decline. that they cannot be sure that contaminated vegetables were definitely the source of the outbreak. organizers will go ahead in a spirit of recommendation despite violence in the gulf states. they have given the green light for the end of october. >> the above bring grand prix last year was a gleaming symbol of the formula one ambition. this year it was all postponed until today is reinstatement. the fourth governing body said

that the decision respects the spirit of reconciliation. the grand prix is a means of helping to unite people. one of the most famous driver's in britain believes that they got a badly wrong. >> i think that they can be accused of abdicating responsibility. >> of course, this was why it stayed away. the protests that started in february and are still going on. these pictures were apparently fell in bahrain today, where many believe that formula one made a mistake. >> very disappointing. this institute with consumer rights above financial interests? apparently that is not the case here. >> was money relieve the reason? his company was set to lose 21

million pounds at the race was canceled. and losing up to $24 million out of pocket. the team alone would have lost 7 million pounds in income. the head of formula one said that it was not an issue. but some of the drivers are uncomfortable. mark roberts wrote yesterday -- when people in the country are being hurt, the issue is bigger than sport. will things go ahead? >> it really depends on the kind of backlash generated over the next few months. from the possible protesters and the individuals within the community. >> as things cent -- stand, >> as things cent -- stand, formula one will be back