foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." at the age of austerity -- ecuador pledged it to chaos. -- plunged into chaos. bullets and explosions, rescued

by the army after a dramatic scene. >> this was a failed attempt at a coup, and what they accomplished was that we came out stronger, more determined, more united than ever . >> welcome to gmt. i'm jonathan charles. vital supplies for nato forces in afghanistan go up in flames. militants attacked a fuel depot in neighboring pakistan. another of president obama's top advisers, rahm emanuel, is expected to resign from the white house today. hello. it is midday in london, 5:00 p.m. in pakistan, 6:00 in the morning in the ecuadorean capital where the president is now safely back in his palace and were the military has been

forced to take charge of public order. many countries are in political turmoil because of deep budget cuts, but so far this is the first time that those austerity measures have led to a coup. president rafael correa had to be rescued from a hospital after the it was attacked. let's get the latest after these dramatic developments. >> the moment the ecuadorians uprising turned violent. -- the ecuadorean uprising turned violent. a rebel fighters teargas at that rafael correa. he is there to explain why he is cutting their benefits. he ends up being instructed to put on a gas mask and rushes to a hospital. but it does not end there. rebels closed the airport, blocked roads, shut down the highways, and police besieged

the hospital, trapping the president inside. his had been a stable administration. not anymore. he said he would either come out as president or -- crucially, the army's stayed loyal, declaring a state of emergency. "we appeal to all citizens to work together," says the army chief, "so the country can return to normal." the president was rescued in an escape from with danger. -- fraught with danger. [gunfire] a bodyguard shot in the firefight. safely back in the presidential palace, he said that this was the saddest day of his life, and

he thanked those who had been ready to die for democracy. then it was the formal address to the nation. >> [speaking spanish] >> this was the failed attempt at a coup, and what was accomplished was we came out stronger, more united then enter. >> rafael correa was elected president in 2006. he spent heavily on infrastructure projects -- schools, hospitals, housing -- but he was unable to pay back the loans. in 2008 he was forced to default on $3.2 billion of debt. so now the country is finding it difficult to borrow. the governor has a $4.1 billion deficit, and that is why austerity measures had to be put in place. this rebellion might have been quelled, but ecuador now knows that it is fragile, and the full

impact of the cuts has yet to be felt. sley, bbc newsk predominant that is a sense of the atmosphere there in quito -- a >> give us a sense of the atmosphere their incom quito. >> the problems come from tension that we saw again, people fighting, the party against the people, the people against the party. we will see what will happen with the reaction of the rebels after president correa said yesterday that there will be no forgiveness for those involved.

>> the president says he will go on with the cuts. if he does that, can he still retain control of the country ?uacks >> i mean >> yes, but the question is what will happen with the police members to go against the government. yesterday was the confrontation you are seeing between -- today we do not know what will be the reaction of the police. even in the streets, people did not know if the police will be there to take care of everything, to transfer the bank system. we do not know. there is a lot of expectation

for today. >> thank you very much indeed. let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world today. a vital supply line to the nato forces in afghanistan has come under attack. militants have destroyed 30 tankers carrying fuel in southern pakistan. the collisions of forces supply route through that country. they have been angry by repeated nato helicopter in curtains. they said the vehicles ablaze. let's get more details now prepare. again, the militants have proved that they can hit these vulnerable supply lines qu? ." >> yes, they have been hit before, but this time it is linked to the current tension between pakistan and its western allies. this has culminated in that

incident on thursday in which helicopters, nato helicopters from afghanistan, crossed the border into pakistani airspace to fire missiles. immediately, pakistan closed the past, one of the main supply routes into afghanistan for nato forces, and also issued some very strong statements from here slamabad.s a lot of th they will not want this route to go on too long because the administration gets a lot of support from america. but public anger and what militants do is something not in their control so much, so that is what we are seeing in the last 24 hours -- this first attack, and there is a fear there will be more. >> thank you very much indeed. pakistan's former military ruler -- he says itsharraf

will be a blunder for british and american troops to be pulled out of afghanistan. two explosions were held in the nigerian capital where a celebration is being led to mark the country's 50th anniversary of independence from london. more later on right here on gmt. china has launched the second lunar probe to rival the united states and russia. china says it will pave the way for an eventual and manned landing. flawed and dangerous and an insult to history, there has been a furious reaction from the rwandan government before the official publication of a long- awaited un report to allegations of human rights violations in the neighboring democratic

republic of condo. -- of congo. mark doyle reports. >> up to 1 million were killed in days. it rivals the holocaust of the jews in world war ii. the rest of the world looked away. it was led by a brilliant rebel general, now described by his enemies as a ruthless politician. chasing their hutu enemies, the government of tiny rwanda came to dominate events in their much larger neighbor, congo. it says rwandan soldiers with condoleezza allies attacked hutu

civilians as much with co ngolese allies, attacked hutu civilians. it includes these were systematic and widespread attacks which, if proven before a competent court, could be classified as crimes of genocide. the now president was furious when the story was leaked. >> making this report was fraud. the whole idea of speaking about genocide is flawed. >> it was publicly agreed that rwanda would be allowed at its comments to the report, to be officially published today. now everyone will be scouring the u.n. document to see if anything else has changed.

mark doyle, bbc news. >> still to come here on gmt, a new boss and a new star for bp. it is a big jump in prices, but japanese smokers -- japan has raised taxes on cigarettes by 40% in an effort to get people to cut down or quit. the most popular brand has been 3.ised by 1/thir >> coming out to a cold place like this for the habit -- here in japan it has just gotten a lot more expensive, too. the government has increased the taxes by record-breaking 40% cypr. a pack is now 410 yen.

it is still a big shock to japan pot smokers, and that is the reason why the government has done it. -- to japan's smokers. and that is the reason why the government has done it. around 10% of women and old in the habit. overall, japan is the fourth biggest tobacco market in the world. how have people responded to the tax rises, all signs are they have been busy holding cigarettes to try to beat the increase -- to hoard cigarettes to try to beat the increase in price. even so, they have had to ration. all that cigarette hoarding is likely to have an effect on japan's economy. some economists have estimated that consumer spending in the july to september quarter could be up as much as 4.6%.

however, in the long run, at around 60% of japan's smokers say they will quit eventually because of the tax rises. so a slump in cigarette sales could add to the pressure on japan's economy in the course is to come. -- in the courses to come. >> on jonathan charles. our main story is so far this hour -- dramatic scenes in ecuador. soldiers there had to rescue the president from a siege by police officers. militants in pakistan have destroyed almost 30 trucks carrying fuel to nato-led foreign troops in afghanistan. in a moment, another blow for barack obama as his chief of staff is expected to quit the .aper >> bp hopes that it can rebuild his business in the about its business in the wake of the gulf

of mexico -- its business in the wake of the gulf of mexico oil spill. part of its priorities will be to ensure that bp has a future in the u.s., where its reputation lies in tatters. >> this is what most americans associate with bp, a torrent of oil flowing into the gulf of mexico. but after months spent on the cleanup, it is time to look ahead. with new leadership. >> the first thing we have got to do is globally restore the trust in bp. bp is a large organization, first and foremost restore the trust, that the trust of our employees, shareholders, government, and regulators back. that is a big challenge that will take a while, but it is the number one focus. >> before taking up his official duties, bop dudley, the first non-britt to head up -- bob dudley, the first non-brit

to head up bp. the company is also splitting its expiration end -- exploration and production into three parts. >> i do think bp has a future in the u.s.. there are still fines and penalties to come along. it will be smaller, but they are important to the u.s.'s gulf coast oil production, syllabus shortly -- so they will certainly be part of that. >> it assumes control of the company whose financial position is improving but still has a big job to do to salvage its reputation. >> there has also been a change at the top of hewlett-packard.

two months after the abrupt resignation of mark hurd, a new boss has been named, the former boss of the german software giant. bmw is recalling some of its vehicles because of a brake problem. in the united states, one of the 98 bmw's, series 5, 6, and seven -- some 198 bmw's, series 5, 6 and 7, had been recalled. the firm said the problem was without danger -- those were its words -- for drivers. the brakes have become slightly more difficult to use. china and spain signed a joint venture to exploit brazil's oil

deposits. more than $7 million, valuing the company at nearly $18 billion. the wraps -- it does get much- needed cash to fund that e exploration. the reason why the european markets are up has nothing to do with what is known on in europe, it is because we have had good economic figures coming out of china. there is a lot of optimism that follows. china is producing for a world that is demanding its cgoods and is on its way to some recovery. >> thank you very much indeed. no doubt a big loss for barack obama. white house chief of staff rahman annual is leaving so he can begin his campaign to become mayor of chicago. the president is keeping his administration focused. jane o'brien reports from

washington. >> for the last two years, ron emmanuel has been one of the controversial figures in the obama administration. as well as his ruthless deal making, the man responsible for running the white house is also famed for his foul temper and equally foul mouth, prompting remarks from the president himself on the night before mother's day. >> this is a tough holiday for ron emmanuel because he is not used -- for rahm emanuel because he is not used to saying the word "day" after "mother." >> house speaker nancy pelosi wish him well. >> he enjoys a great reputation and affection among his former colleagues in the house of representatives. he can do anything he sets his mind to, and we all wish him

much success. >> but others, even in his own party, will not be sad to see him go. jane o'brien, bbc news, washington. >> live in washington now as jake sharman, who covers congress for politico.com -- clocks that as the package brilliantly integrated, ron emmanuel is a difficult figure in what -- romains anrahm and annual is known for this kind of tough the hitter. he was one of the orchestras of the democrats take over in 2006 when they-he was one of the orchestrator of the democrats take over in 2006, somebody who could get things done, but he makes enemies and bruises some people along the way. >> he is a hard man to replace in some ways.

>> he also had some detractors on capitol hill. he really alienated some of the more liberal members of congress because he advised president obama to get rid of the public option, which was kind of the more european-the style health care option pi. he is jewish, and a lot of people frame him as not being good for israel because he vehemently said things that were not true. but pete rous will definitely have contacts on capitol hill. he was president obama's chief of staff when president obama was a senator, so he does have a ton of contacts on capitol hill. he is a reserved man and will

cut a completely different if emanuel.t mr. >> it seems we are discussing another blow for barack obama every week. is there a cumulative impact to all these departures cracks >> chiefs of staff leave, that is a fact of life. he wants to be mayor of chicago. he will have an uphill battle, but this is natural turnover. the people see it as a lack of continuity to some degree, but it is really not. it is kind of the circadian rhythm of this town where people come and go. very few people stay for the duration of the presidency. karl rove even left president bush early. it is a blow in some sense, but in another way it shows the way things go. >> you can get all the news and rahm emanuel'smains annurun in n

departure. the winds of change -- today nigeria is celebrating 50 years of independence, but the event has been marred by reports of explosions killing several people in the capital. first of all, before we look at the celebration, tell us what you know about these explosions that you heard. can you hear me quick, i am sorry, jonathan. ?- can you hear me >> i am sorry jonathan, i did not hear you. >> what are you hearing about the explosions? >> there has been an effort to mar the celebrations or disrupt

them entirely. earlier today there were loud explosions. i heard one of them myself. reports we are receiving at this time is that there were two explosions outside the federal courts building here in abu jujah. we heard at some point that at least three people had been seriously injured. this comes in the light of some threats that were issued earlier today by one group known as the movement for the emancipation -- is one of the militant groups that operate in the oil- producing region of the country. they want deeper lire today to keep away from the earlier independent route because they had planned to bomb -- the had planted bombs around the independence square, i round eagle square with the main ceremony was taking place. we are still waiting for detail on this, but we know right now there were two explosions. there may be fatalities. some people definitely have been injured, but at this point we

are still waiting to get more clarity from the authorities, who say they are investigating the matter. however, the celebration continues at eagle square. >> briefly, when people look back on 50 years, what do they seek wax usually a mixed record for nigeria collect -- what do they see? record for nigeria? >> yes, and they often point out they are a nation of 150 million people that can never be written off. given the kind of resources that has been available to nigeria over the past 50 years, there are many nigerians who feel they should have done better with the resources and even the president said so in a speech he gave earlier today. >> thank you very much indeed. that is just about it from this edition of gmt. president rafael correa of ecuador has survived physically

and politically. he is vowing to punish those responsible for a failed attempt at a coup. he was attacked with tear gas, trapped for hours in a hospital, eventually rescued by the ecuadorean army. that is about it for the moment. stay with us right here on bbc world news. there is plenty more still to come. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold, get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online.

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>> tang: [slurping] ah. fresh coconut juice is so wonderful. i'm waiting for the boat to pick me up so i can go buy more fruit.