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>> and now "bbc world news." >> hello oand welcome to "newsday". >> i'm in london. the headlines this hour. gunfire and explosions un toulouse, where french police are involved in a standoff. 23-year-old mohamad mera wanted to bring france to its knees and was planning more attacks. >> on your way home, a british woman held in somalia for six months is freed after her family played a ransom. renegade troops in mali have attacked the presidential palace hours after a mutiny. it's 11:00 a.m. in singapore. >> it is 3m and london, a broadcasting to the words on pbs and america and around the world, this is "newsday."

>> hello and welcome. three loud blasts have been heard outside in the french city of toulouse where a man accused of shooting at seven people and three children is holed up. they heard several gunshots and another explosion. this is the scene live now where the suspected gunman, mahomet mera, a frenchman of algerian descent has been courted for 24 hours. he fought off several attempts by police to storm the building, bragging that he is trained with al qaeda. our correspondent is in tou louse, and says the president was the suspect kept alive. >> he wants input to the justice system so that they can get the justice they are looking for, the families.

so, yes, that is presumably the reason why they have taken their time with it. the other reason is because when they tried to assault the apartment today, this morning, two policemen were shot. it is the safety of the policemen that is priority. he is cornered, does not have much room for negotiation. they brought his mother year to try him to talking of the apartment. that is not worked. as i said, the negotiations and d all mobile phone -- via a mobile phone had then on and off. at times, he said it would come out. then he says he is tired and had to go to sleep. if someone was commenting and saying these stun grenades that are thrown them out, they build up the adrenaline and then of course after the adrenaline, there is a huge down. when you get that over a. period, the fatigue sets in.

they have had quite a considerable conversation with this man today. he told them his motivation was retribution for children who had been killed in the palestinian territories. he told them he was opposed as a french citizen to the military operation in afghanistan. so he has given all sorts of reasons for why he carried out the attacks that he did. but what has also become clear to the course of the day is that the surveillance teams, domestic intelligence agency, had a good picture of who he was. he was known to them and had been for many years. we believe, according to reports, that he was trained as a bomb maker in afghanistan. had been jailed in canada are in 2007 but was freed only a year into a three-year sentence by a jail break here. the question that is being asked by the french media tonight is how is it that unknown fundamentalists like this, who had been tailed by surveillance

teams for years, was able to kill seven people on three separate occasions? he was able to go to three different targets. and how was it that he was able to build up such a second arsenal which they found in the boot of his car today without raising any concerns from those who must of been watching him? there are questions for domestic intelligence, however successful today's police operation has been. >> let's have a look at pictures live from toulouse. this is the scene where the siege has been taking place for 24 hours. we can speak to a journalist from reuters. we cannot speak to and at the moment. we will try and get him all little bit later. but that is the scene live now from toulouse where this siege has been taking place for over 24 hours.

and a number of explosions have been taking place. let's have a look at those pictures now. [radio chatter] >> we just heard two huge explosions here. >> so there -- there's the third one. those three explosions that were heard earlier on. and another explosion was heard by reporters -- a reported explosion by an eye witness. this seat has been taking place for just over 24 hours. we can see the live shot from toulouse. we can cross over to john irish, a journalist for reuters.

he is at the scene. bring us up-to-date to what is happening now. >> we are entering the 25th hour. i can tell you now that at 11:30 is when the action started with three loud blasts. then you had suddenly one bang and 2 or 3 shots. then again it went silent. it was part of the strategy to build the adrenalin and then give them up and down or afterwards. then again around 2:30, the same thing happened. there was an exchange of fire. three shots on each side.

then 20 minutes -- that was on e shot. there is a lot of young people here. from where the suspect came from. they came down here to see what is going on. now it is starting to rain. >> have you had a chance to speak to the police officers? have they given out any information? >> police think the prosecutor spoke -- [unintelligible] the message is clear. we want to get this guy alive. and we will do everything we can to make sure that happens. and i do not want to guess what they are trying to do that.

but that is the plan. it will be a long night. >> what do you think the local people, the residents make of all this? >> i spoke to earlier in the afternoon, we spoke to a young guy, early 20's. getting a bit of background there. they're shocked. they're surprised. they brought a picture of the guy that was fairly normal and not reticulate extremist in his views. liked football and clubbing. they were surprised. he was sort of indoctrinated. and went down a wrong path. that goes against all other reports. that kandahar report, i do not think that was genuine.

there is a bit of confusion in terms of what he did in afghanistan triplex thanks very much. john irish from reuters news agency. those are the latest live pictures from the siege in toulouse which is now in just over 24 hours. right. we will be watching that. let's bring you some of the other news. a british woman who has held hostage in somalia for six months has been freed. she was released with the help of us a private security for which negotiated a ransom paid by her family. her husband david was killed during a kidnapping which happened at the beach resort in kenya. our security correspondent has the story. >> the final step to freedom, then a dash to the plane that will fly her out of somalia. minutes earlier, she spoke of

her husband, murdered by the priority sees her last september. >> he died. two weeks from my capture. i just assumed he was alive, but then my son told me he'd died. >> her ordeal began here in this hot six months ago. this secluded beach resort where she and her husband were the only guest treat somebody tipped off somali kidnappers. shortly after midnight, masked gunmen came to get them. her husband david, a publishing executive, was shot dead. she was carried off to a waiting speedboat. kenyan police searched for judith but she was already in somalia.

this was an international kidnapping. she was seized here in northern kenya on september 11. the pirates moved by speedboat to somalia and to different locations before finally she was plucked out today to nairobi. she spoke earlier tto her son. >> ok, oliver. so excited, i am sorry. >> there were some tense moments of that airstrip when her release looked likely delay. but then she was whisked to safety in kenya. the former hostages know the feeling. >> the process of release is perhaps 20-30 hours of travelling towards freedom. you really get on an adrenaline high during that. it is absolutely fantastic to realize you are free. >> she arrived in nairobi this afternoon and the care of the british high commission. the british government says it

did not pay a ransom for release. a family friend says the money was raised privately and that it was substantial. >> now, rico, you have details of an uprising in mali. >> that's right. renegade troops have attacked the presidential palace and the capital of mali. after hours of staging a mutiny. the renegade troops traded gunfire with soldiers. they said the government is not giving them enough arms to battle a rebellion by ethnic groups. there have been fighting throughout the day and armored vehicles moved in to protect the presidential area. i have been speaking to journalists there. >> just before i came on their i could still hear gunfire coming from the presidential palace. there still seems to be gunfire coming from in the center of the

capital as well, were these trips, these renegade troops have taken over the state radio and television buildings. in the afternoon, they have occupied it. they sent all of the personnel there home. the state radio and television was also higoff air. in class couple hours, they came back on air and all we see is traditional music. and over that is superimposed the text, in a moment, there will be a declaration by the military. that is what we've seen on the screen for two hours. we are waiting to hear from these soldiers and officers what exactly they want. is this a pretty top? d'etat?up >> has there been any word from the president regarding the attempted coup? >> earlier in the afternoon, his

communication people were tweeting on the official account saying this was not a coup. since then, i have been trying to get to the presidential palace, the people in charge of relations with the media have not been picking up their telephone. it has been hard to get through to the palace itself, which sits on a hill. they have been cut off. there has been nothing from the presidency late in the evening. and it is unclear exactly where the president is right now and where the members of his government are. what we are waiting for is this declaration on state television of the soldiers that started attacking pockets across the capitol can tell us really what their intentions are. >> you are watching "newsday" on bbc. still to come, appetite for

adventure. still stands ready themselves for the world release of a hundred games. -- the hunger games. >> the ministry of defence has announced that the soldier from the second battalion has been killed in afghanistan. the soldier died and explosion in helmund province. his family has been informed. brings the number of u.k. military deaths in afghanistan since 2001 to 405. taking a daily dose of aspirin in middle-aged men will protect people against cancer. the latest evidence based on new research suggests that a daily dose will not only cut the risk of developing the disease but also reduces the chance of a spreading to other organs. cancer research says that the findings are exciting but they warned that the drug can cause dangerous side effects like stomach bleeds.

doctors treating the footballer says that he is continuing to show signs of recovery. he was effectively dead for more than an hour after he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against -- on saturday. >> this is "newsday" on the bbc. >> i'm in london. the headlines. bursts of gunfire, lot explosions in toulouse, where french police are involved in a standoff with a man suspected of shooting. >> he was planning more deadly attacks. schools across the u.k. are helping struggling students improve their literacy. they have been given one to one

dozens to hundreds of primary and secondary students over the internet. the teachers are expanding lessons to other western countries. >> thousands of -- in the uk. it's another day at work here for math teacher alex. >> hi, emma. how are you? >> his first is with a student with -- and the other side of the world. >> now, you have to identify all of these four numbers which of them are square numbers. >> these on-line interactive session demand is growing rapidly. and year-and-a-half, they have enrolled 150 state, primary a andnd secondary schools. now they are starting to teach students in more than 13 different countries, from america to australia. the teachers say many indians

are well equipped to teach math here >> indians are basically clever in math, so we invented the system. and all of the indians have really good knowledge of mathematics. so that is why we think that we could really help the students in uk. >> schools are under pressure to raise their performance. they are faced with a chronic shortage of math teachers, a growing class sizes, and squeeze and budget. the tutors abroad hold the answer. the progress that the schools underwent is radical. how we run the program is that we use it as gap filling, laying foundations for children so they are not on the program for an entire year. they are on for as long as they need and we take them off. >> online tutors come at a cost, but the teachers say it is half the price of hiring staff in the attack

uk. many schools what the concept rolled out to other subjects. interactive learning cannot replace traditional teaching, say critics. >> there is a lot of pressure on school sizes at the moment, particularly at the primary level. they are growing astronomically in london. that is 30 children and a classroom. you'll not get an on-line tudor standing in for that. it will not work for every single subject. we are going to have to be very careful about the quality and safety of people on the other end of the line. >> there are concerns about expanding the use of interactive tutors at schools. they might be helping students with their numbers, but it is unlikely these lessons will cover replaced traditional teaching. -- ever replace traditional teaching. >> the family and supporters of the florida teenager who was shot last month by a neighborhood watch capt. have joined a rally in new york city in his honor. trayvon martin's parents attended the march in memory of

their son who was shot on february 26. martin was unarmed at the time of his death. the man who shot camp, george zimmerman has not been charged. our correspondence as the parents of trayvon martin are adamant that this case is not about race. it's about right and wrong. >> this was a rally organized by supporters of trayvon martin's family, and after several speeches and chanting and protests in union square, the group of several hundred or so protesters marched through the city. trayvon martin's parents were there. they spoke of the event. they said tonight that this was not about a black or white thing, but all right or wrong thing. they are shifting the and this is of their protest against what happened in the wake of their son's death to a call for

justice because they have spoken several times to lay the the blame at the foot of the local police, saying it to roles were reversed and it had been a white teenager killed, then there would have been a much more swift investigation and someone that would have been arrested. with this protest and rally in new york tonight, we have seen the anger and outrage over the death of this 17-year-old and florida several weeks ago spread nationwide. >> george zimmerman has not been charged. is there a chance of that, that that situation could change after the rally? >> it will not change as a result of the rally. it may well change because there are investigations underway, not only at a local police level in the chief of police in the city of florida where the killing happened has had a vote of no- confidence past against him tonight by the police

commissioner. that is non-binding. does not mean he will lose his job, but pressure is building on him at a local level. there is now a statewide investigation. the case will go before a grand jury and also the department of justice at the national level is looking into this case as well. >> now, one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year will open and thousands of cinema around the world on friday with the release of "the hunger games." it is the adaptation of an american teen novel. talking movies tom burke reports. >> "the hunger games" is about to open in 60 countries. fans have been camping out, hoping to meet the stars of the selma. >> this is so exciting. i cannot wait. >> i bought the tickets the minute they went on sale.

i am counting down. >> the hunger games is set in a post o'clock collected edition of north america, where children from different district compete in a televised spectacle. >> you are seeing a situation that is child abuse and the extreme idea that reality television has gone very bad. >> it is an adaptation of the first volume of a trilogy written by susan collins with 26 million titles in print, it has been a publishing sensation. hollywood definitely wants it to succeed. the end of the harry potter films and the soon-to-be completed popular twilight romance movies, there is a need for a powerful new money-making franchise. on that front, it is hope "the hunger games" will deliver. it has the potential to bring in

not just his teenage audience but adults drawn to the subtext. >> the idea of living of voyeuristic culture were sometimes people's pain and violence is glorified for entertainment. i think adults will see parallels on a deeper level. >> we have to keep wishing i could think of a way to show them that they do not on me. if i am going to die, i want to still be me. >> fans of the books will see the film in droves. for some, it seems more about marketing. not all critics have been engaged progress there was a lot of stuff nfl with that, and i have not read the books, it felt like it was put in there because it was in the book and fans of the book will want to sit. whereas i, was just left wondering what was the point of all that stuff. >> across continents, hordes of fans are waiting to see the

film. in north america, is expected to pull them $100 million in its first weekend. >> from movies to music, boy band one direction has become the first british group to go straight to the top of the u.s. charts with their debut record. if you are not acquainted with them, here they are. ♪ >> gets me overwhelmed when you smile ♪ >> the band who sold 175,000 copies of their album, they failed to cut it, got together as a group and due to simon cowell, got the rest. >> you've been watching "newsday" from the bbc. >> from both of us, thanks for

watching. >> 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.