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small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." > rebel forces launched their biggest assault on gaddafi's stronghold. more anti-government protesters killed on syria's streets as both moscow and washington issue explicit warnings to president assad. suspects on parade. the mexican navy shows the men they accused of killing 32 people in a drug-related violence. welcome to bbc news, broadcast on pbs in america and around the globe. coming up, at the trial of michael jackson, the court hears about his final moments. >> prince harry heads to the california desert for combat training in his helicopter.

fighters for the new government in the bill are continuing to battle loyalist in his home town sirte. the two sides battled each other with rockets and tanks fire. long queues have formed a checkpoint says civilians tried to flee. the battle comes two months after the formal bagram -- former rebels seize control, ousting colonel gaddafi. jonathan head is there. >> the attack on colonel gaddafi's home -- hometown began at dawn. tanks went into position and began bombarding housing. it brought up everything for

this offensive, taking the town has become a symbol of the new authority. within minutes, it was shrouded in smoke. the gaddafi forces inside have not given up yet. government fighters had to contend with snipers positioned around the town. they answered with plenty of their own gun fire. these volunteers with limited training, have taken casualties. ambulances ferried back and forth throughout the day. by midday, there were inside the estate colonel gaddafi built. tearing down the last to symbols of his role. this is the center. as you can see, it is still contested by stop -- small number of loyalists who refuse to give in. they have brought in artillery

and heavy machine gun. it is a matter of clearing up the remnants who were still holding out. some of the skills which applied to the government were still on display. those remnants are proving tough to beat. the prize which has eluded authorities is within reach, they have not yet seized it. bbc news. >> there has been international condemnation of the killing by gunmen in syria of a kurdish opposition leader. francis' satyr were shocked by the assassination of -- the united states says the killing shows that president assad was taking his country down a dangerous path. they have called on bashar al- assad to launch reforms or step down as the leader. he says it should be taken by

the end syrian people and not by nato. he has used to the army to try to quell months of protests and and has pledged reforms. activists said the seven people were killed after prayers'. friday, and all too familiar pattern. once prayers' were said, protesters take to the streets. the demand the end of his regime. these a chance our "peace fall." the shootings continued. human rights activists say thousands of demonstrators came under fire in several parts of the country, including a suburb, killing at least eight people and wounding many more. up until now, russia has been

same time as needed for the president to implement reform. moscow is the close friend and a major arms supplier and now all the warning that time could be running out. >> if the leadership is incapable of conducting reform, this decision should not be taken by nato were certain european countries. it should be taken by the syrian people. >> a decision this week by russia and china to veto a united nations security council resolution condemning the violence brought expressions of anger on the streets of assyria, with protesters burning the flag is. there will be hoping bashar al- assad is taking note of the

changing tomb. -- tune. >> eight suspects have been arrested in the murder of 32 people who were found on thursday. the navy has blamed the killings between rival drug gangs. >> these are the men being suspected of being behind the multiple murder. even by the standards of the drug war, this is a shocking case. 32 people dead, their bodies discovered in the eastern city of vera cruz. >> after being captured they said that they had another three houses were there were 32 bodies. leading to an immediate search to find the remains. >> police and soldiers stand guard outside one of the houses

were some of the bodies were found. the authorities say the killings were part of a fight between rival gangs for control of the drug trade in the city. these are the latest murders and a conflict that has left 40,000 people dead and. it began in 2006, when the president promised to take on the cartels. five years later, the violence continues. there is little signs the authorities are winning this war. >> protesters have been marching in the jordanian capital demanding reforms and an end to corruption. hundreds of activists marched to the the city carrying slogans. activists say the changes proposed to do not go far enough. an international agency has downgraded the credit ratings of italy and spain, putting pressure on the biggest

economies. fitch said spain was threatened by high debt and italy's response to the debt crisis had eroded market confidence. a court in los angeles had heard recordings of interviews with michael jackson's doctor. dr. murray who denies the involuntary manslaughter of the singer sounded calm as he spoke about his efforts to help michael jackson sleep. we can speak to our correspondent who has been following all the latest developments. >> this is a recording that was made two days after his death. conrad marius' with a detective. he describes how he was employed. he was going to be his doctor during his tour which he was rehearsing. he describes the night before how he died. he got home and was tired.

he wanted to get some sleep. the doctor tried several cited a. the night went on and on. 2:00, at 3:00. it got to a point where the singer was begging his doctor for his milk. this is the chemical, that was given to michael jackson that the authorities say was responsible for his death. >> he said please give me something. [inaudible] medicine. >> what is it? what is the medicine? >> called propofol. >> propofol. ok. how do we spell that, dr. ? p.r.o.p.o.f.o.l. >> and what is this propofol? >> it is a sedative that can also be used for anesthesia.

>> and how is that -- is it injected as well? >> intravenous form. usually most patients are given a certain amount of the drug. >> so the doctor gave michael jackson the propofol. and an anesthetic that's normally only used in a hospital setting. and he said he went straight to sleep. he popped out of the room he says for a couple of minutes. and he came back to find that the singer was unconscious. and at that point he tried to resuscitate him, mouth to mouth resuscitation and he was pressing his heart to try to get his heart moving again. really putting a lot of pressure on his chest. but it didn't do any good. and at the same time, he was calling -- he called michael jackson's personal assistant who called a bodyguard who rushed to the scene. it was the bodyguard who eventually called the emergency services and the paramedics arrived and they continued the

efforts to resuscitate michael jackson. and after several minutes, i think they all realized that these efforts were futile. >> after about 20 minutes, of effort, was limited, because his condition was -- \[inaudible] so short. and c.p.r. right away. and i could feel several pulses with my compressions. i knew that his circulation was being kept going with my effort. >> michael jackson was eventually taken to hospital and that's where he was declared dead. during this interview with a detective, you can hear the doctor saying several times that he loved michael jackson. he said he was my friend. and i was trying to help him.

>> women from liberia and one from yemen have been awarded the nobel peace prize. they include the president of liberia and an activist who was the youngest recipient. while praised for their struggles, with this report from south africa. >> their faces may be unfamiliar but they are members of an elite club. meet the most influential women in africa and the arab world, when there's of the nobel peace prize. ellen johnson-sirleaf, the liberian leader, the first female president elected in africa democratically. this former economist is trying to turn her country around. her no-nonsense approach has won her international acclaim. thousands of miles away, news travels fast.

during celebrations for desmond tutu, in characteristic style he could not contain his excitement. >> wohoo! [cheering] >> a fellow liberian shares the spread -- -- leymah gbowee -- shares this prize. >> this prizes won by the people of liberia and the whitman of africa. our story is the story of war. >> this is a historic moment for africa. a continent where being a woman is rarely a blessing. where the role of females has been underestimated.

tawakul karman, a journalist and peace campaigner. she has been here in this square fearful that if she leaves, which you will be gunned down by government troops. true to her fate, speaking to the bbc, she has dedicated her price to the activists of the arab spring. >> i am sure that this is a victory for the peace of our revolution. >> three women, one prize, in a world where big man politics intends to dominate. >> this is abc news. california, here i come. prince harry stars combat training on the west coast. 12 british banks in including in

boyds and rbs have been downgraded by a credit rating agency. it reflects concerns the government might not be willing to bail them out. our chief economic correspondent has the details. >> it has been a day of downgrading amid more gloom in the eurozone. the spanish government was marked down by the agency fitch and it did the same with italy coming into line with other ratings. some of portugals banks were downgraded when moody's had fears about the economic outlook. with a reminder the uk's banks are not immune, 12 british banks and societies, including some well-known names, were also downgraded by moody's. it thinks because of policy changes, these institutions are less likely to be bailed out. the government is pressing ahead with a reform plan which will

require banks to keep operations separate from riskier activities. the idea is to keep cash to secure if there are any problems in the future. and reduce the likelihood for a bailout funded by taxpayers. it thought the government would provide some support for bigger banks but it was more likely to allow smaller institutions to fail. the downgrades do not reflect a deterioration of the banking system. the chancellor made it clear he was not unhappy with moody's. >> credit rating agencies will say, these banks have got to show they have to pay their way. >> analysts said there was no question that the mining was sick but warned that the ratings underlined the challenges ahead for some banks at a time of heightened risk across europe.

>> this is bbc news. anti-gaddafi forces have launched their biggest assault on his strong cole, bombarding loyalists with tank shells. there have been more protest and syria after the prayers. eight people killed. moscow and washington have issued warnings to implement reforms or the power. -- leave power. more than 1000 protesters continue on their long march toward the main city la paz. they have arrived 80 kilometers away where they were received with applause and cheers by the residents. but now the marchers may not get such a warm welcome when they make it to their final destination.

>> the protesters are marching. they have had to endure repression, fatigue, and exhaustion, and dehydration. but they are now in joining -- enjoying support. they received a warm.com in this town from residents. >> i think we will be able to meet with the president when we get to the government house. he never had time to make it to where we were. >> it is a contrast to the violent repression last month when hundreds of police officers used teargas and batons in an attempt to halt the protesters. the march resumed but not

without a dent in the popularity of the president. he insists the highway will bring development and progress to poor communities and but three of his own ministers resigned in protest of the repression. the police chief has been fired. the government has launched an investigation into who ordered the repression. it still wants to build a highway in countermarch of supporters is expected to meet the protesters when they arrived in the main city next week. >> the authorities in scotland said the radioactive material has leaked from a decommissioned nuclear power station. the epa is investigating what it says was a minor leak at the site in the north of the country. it was built in the 1950's.

it has not generated electricity since 1994. the u.s. economy created 100,000 jobs last month, better than expected and not enough to change the unemployment rate. some are suffering more than others. black unemployment is at 16%. mark has been to president obama's home town, chicago, to look at the problem. >> a alibaba when you take a few hits but it is easier than the harsh world outside of the ring. in a city, chicago has long been a tough but now it's heart has been ripped out. >> a lot of kids are unemployed. >> i see the frustration with the people in the community. they have no hope anymore. >> you cannot sore right past the black folks. we are upset.

>> everywhere there are signs of what has happened. everyone could tell a tale. pillars of a poor community are finding themselves out of port. a reminder of the -- a restaurant that is now closed down. the plight of african-americans is worse than in the nation as a whole. 21% black unemployment, a third living in poverty. for 23 years this has said the desperate, the piles of trees to the only mills some will get. among the clients, and among the volunteers. michael rivers is helping out because he has nothing else to do. he worked here for more than 20 years. he always had a steady job ever since he left school. one day he turned up to work as

usual. >> they had everything shut down. >> he lost his $60,000 a job and his car, his family. he moved in with his mother. how'd you live? >> $200 a month for food stamps. >> traditional jobs of all but disappeared. what his hardest is the government cutbacks. the number of black people work for the public sector. more than 65,000 such jobs. this is how robert blackwell made his money. he now has a management consultant business as well. part of the rich black said he says there have to be a growth of black businesses. >> neither government nor corporations have a very good track record of doing business with blacks. therefore, there is nowhere for

these people to go who come off the public sector employment. >> a friend of the president, and he says less red tape would help. he does not think an appointment is obama's fault. wouldin the community blame the hometown hero for their plight. the economy is almost seen as a force of nature. black unemployment is getting worse. >> prince harry has arrived in california for the final stage of his training as a helicopter pilot. she will undergo an 8 wheat program aimed at replicating the harsh terrain. the prince says he is creating a stir among the locals. >> hardly the setting for a royal visit. this small town is a california -- will be home to prince harry

for the next few months. the apache helicopters he will be flying have already arrived. the conditions are perfect to train for fighting in afghanistan. this morning, the ministry of defense released this photo of the prince arrived in. it is the same base where they filmed "top gun." he will be getting no movie star treatment. there will be no red carpet. >> es training to do as a volunteer combat fighter. we will treat him as we do all of our british personnel. there is no special treatment plant. >> he has already learned to fly back in the u.k. in the desert, he will learn to fly in combat and fire weapons and bring him a step closer to a return to the front line. >> the third in line to the

throne has made no secret his desire to return to afghanistan. he was forced to leave early when a media blackout was broken. he has also been getting plenty of tension here. -- attention here. >> it has been allover face the. everyone is hoping they will be the next princess diary story. >> all of the women are going nuts. they are very excited. >> even if the passus' training, the final decision will have to be taken at the highest level as to whether to send him back into combat alongside his comrades. >> a reminder of the main news -- libyan troops loyal to gaddafi are still holding out in

a small part of his home town. you are watching bbc news. >> makes sense of international news at bbc.com. >> funding was made possible by the freedom foundation of new york. newman's own foundation. union bank. and shell. >> this is kim - about to feel one of his favorite sensations. at shell, we're developing more efficient fuels in countries like malaysia that can help us

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