artificial limb using chest nurse. changing direction in a wheelchair by just thinking about it. the technology produced changing lives. is the pen mightier than the sword? the press the signature of one of america's founding -- the priceless signature one of america's founding fathers is found in a vault. >> hello. protest fever is still gripping some of the ramparts of the middle east. but anti-governments in bahrain are hoping to repeat the success in tunisia and egypt and are facing serious setbacks. right now, the heart of the protest is a fortified zone.

mike has been following developments. >> tanks and armored personnel carriers in the streets up bahrain's character today, signs of military involvement in the crisis. the square was stoned by police powers earlier. the police moved in to clear the square without warning about 3:00 a.m. local time. hundreds of people were in the square spending the night in tents. the authorities said that they had exhausted all chance of dialogue with the protesters and they had to intervene to restore order and ensure people's safety. the police commander tells the protesters to disperse and the events were shown on state tv. then some prepared to attack the security forces. they did not harm anyone, this protester said. we were sleeping when they

surprised us and attack us. demonstrators fled with the police in pursuit. helicopters flew overhead. the smell of the teargas remained sere -- several hours after the crackdown began. the wounded screamed by the dozens in the state-run hospital. the opposition condemns the police confrontation. there is one -- there's more than one way to avoid confrontation, he says. whoever took the decision was aiming to kill. >> i directly conveyed our deep concern about the actions of the security forces. i emphasize how important it was, given that there will be both funerals and prayers tomorrow, that it cannot be marred by violence. >> what was the makeshift camp

by the light of day. if there was a broader challenge to the role of the royal family merging, their intention of having it off looks increasingly clear. the army has told people not to gather at a vital locations in central areas of the capital. >> colonel khadafy is the arab world's longest serving ruler. he came to libya 40 years ago. reports have been coming through that large protests have been gathered with thousands chanting that the people want to topple the colonel. >> protesters set fire to vehicles and anger spilled onto the streets in a number of towns in libya. demonstrations spread to the capital, aaa. it is a day of rage.

-- the capital tripoli. it is a day of rage. >> some demands are said to be far-fetched. it is too early, too optimistic. but there is a trend of anti- khaddafi feeling. >> he has ruled bolivia for more than 40 years. he is the longest serving arab leader and controls all the legions of power. forces have responded to protests against them by mounting their own demonstrations. in the wave of. against entrenched leaders, his authority is now being questioned. the mood of anger has spread to a growing list of countries. there have been demonstrations in algeria, jordan, iran, and yemen. authorities have responded with a mixture of promised reforms

and strict clampdown on protesters. yemen has seen some of the most violent protests of the last week. gangs of angry youths are hurling rocks and stones and to the streets of the capital, promoting a pitched battle between pro-government loyalists and people who said they want a change of leadership. the anti-government demonstrators have a simple message for the president ali abdullah saleh. after more than 30 years in power, he must go. >> i want to send a message to the president. i wanted to look at what has happened to this country and to those whom he sent to beat us. like host name of eric, i am telling him he should step down. -- like hosni mubarak, i am telling him he should step down. >> they have poverty, unemployment, and corrupt government.

the demonstrations threaten to seriously destabilize the region when most of the you -- where most of the world's oil is produced. while has climbed to a two-year high. the protests have not affected oil production, but the world is watching unfolding events nervously. >> 5 priceless egyptian artifacts dating back to the pharaohs are still missing. authorities say a number of men have not -- have now been arrested. journalists have now been allowed inside for the first time since the unrest. >> it houses the sechrist to the world's first and most mysterious civilization. today, the egyptian museum is heavily guarded by the army. on the first night of the uprising, the most priceless collection on earth was abandoned. as attention focused on a fire

at the ruling party headquarters next door, thieves were busy climbing a fire escape to the roof of the museum. this is arguably the greatest museums in the world. it is also a very old building. uc windows and skylights like these. according to the egyptian authorities, the people who came into the building came through a skylight on a row, dropping onto the museum floor. -- a skylight on the roof, dropping onto the museum floor. cabinets were smashed. among those still missing is a limestone statuette of the feral i cannot 10 and this one of two to uncommon being carried by -- a limestone statuette. >> they are faceless. they have no hearts. stupid. the reason that i disagree with

you is that they would take a masterpiece. >> the most important is the funeral mass of 2 to commotuten. some might ask for the billions of tourist dollars have gone. the damage to this and valuable collection was limited. that is thank you to protestors who stood outside the museum to defend it. egyptians were fighting for a future and were custodians of their past. >> thousands of peacefully to the streets of rabat in the west bank today, calling for -- streets of ramalah in the west bank today, calling for peace.

>> a rare show of palestinian unity. people called on their political leaders to do the same. but for more than three years, those leaders have not been listening. on the west bank, the secular thought the party led by president mahmoud of loss is in control. on the strip, hamas is in power. they are airing their frustrations. >> we want unity between the palestinian factions and our main demand is to speak with one voice. >> today, we want to end the divide. we are with all of the arab voices in the region. we want unity. [gunfire] >> the split, often violent, occurred after the palestinian

elections five years ago. the weekend, president abbass announced the elections to be held later this year. how must urgently rejected the project hamas -- hamas took it back. >> the president's words will frustrate many people here. these were by far the biggest demonstrations seen on the west bank and the last two weeks, perhaps over two thousand people gathering in the main square in menoramenarah. >> the deposed tunisian president is said to be in grave condition in a saudi hospital just a month after he was forced out of office. it is reported he suffered a

stroke and slipped into a, two days ago appeared he and his family fled to saudi arabia as to new zia's -- as tunisia posted protests toppled him from power. two horses kicked out in pain before they died of heart attacks. cables beneath the grass are being blamed. a nearby horse survive because it spent more time on a rise walkway. barack and michelle obama will be making a statement in may. it is the first official state visit since george bush came to the u.k. in 2003. this time, they are likely to stay in buckingham palace. an investigation is underway in vietnam where a tourist bus sunk, killing 12 people. at least 11 foreigners and the vietnamese tour guide are among

the dead. >> they protruding mask marks the spot, a point for the rescue divers to aim for. the grim task is to search the wreck that now lies beneath and to retrieve the bodies of those who went down with the boat. 12 people perished in these waters, mostly foreign tourists. one by one, they are brought to the surface, gently laid ashore, then taken to be formally identified. the disaster remains a mystery. the sea was calm. the investigation is already under way and inevitable questions about safety standards on vietnam's tors boats. but there are no answers to comfort the grieving. survivors still struggle to comprehend their escape. >> i went out and they called me. c'mon, c'mon, there's something

wrong here. the book is going down. we jumped from the boat. we started swimming to the next boat. at that time, one boat rescued as pierre >> the day is one of vietnam's most popular tourist spots. the stunning beauty of its strange rock columns and a tiny islands attract people from around the world. that beauty is now changed by tragedy and the memory of loved ones lost at sea. >> stay with us if you can on bbc world news. still to come, missing for three years, how china's huge on-line community help reunite a father and son. >> first, you probably will not find cavils in the english town of somerset now. -- find cannibals in the english town of somerset now. >> our ancestors have been

coming to this cave for 40,000 years. it is full of clues of how we have evolved. but was it once home to cannibals'? 20 years ago archaeologists unearthed a human school. it had been carefully crafted, manipulated into what looks like a bowl. but they did not know why. now the experts think they have the answer. >> when we look at the orbitz, we can see cut marks in the roof of the orbit, where the eyes were removed. we can start to begin a much more detailed picture. yes, cannibalism is the most likely thing. but we cannot say whether these people were killed to be eaten or if they died naturally. >> the school is almost 50,000 years old, making it -- the skull is almost 15,000 years

old, making it the oldest one. but it is not the only example of our ancestors eating each other. >> human remains have been butchered like animal bones. >> can double theorists are controversial -- campbelcannibay is controversial. this school will be packed up and kept in a save. a replica will go on display at the natural history museum next month. > let's bring you up-to-daten the headlines this hour. tanks and police still dominate the streets of bahrain.

thousands of protesters have flooded the streets of libya. they're calling for the resignation of colonel khadafy. now to a story that has gripped china. a 3-year-old boy kidnapped three years ago has been found and returned to his parents. 20,000 children go missing in china every year. this crime was salt not by the police, but by some of the country's 450 million internet users. >> the homecoming, the crowds brought the town to a standstill. coming back was a boy who they thought was lost forever. it was his own father, a poor migrant worker, who solve this

crime. -- to solve this crime. >> i found him with the help of people from all walks of life, using a great platform of the internet. i want to thank everyone who helped me. >> it was an incredible feat, finding one boy in a country of over a billion. this is in three years ago, happy at home. he was snatched outside his parents shop. the kidnapper was filmed carrying the 3-year-old away in the night. the police could not type -- could not find him. it is every parent's worst nightmare. the authorities wanted his father to forget about his son, but he could not. so he went on line. his story was picked up by a journalist whose micro-blog has two million followers.

over 100 million people now use micro-blogs in china. they tweeted the boys picture asking for help. this is what came back. he was spotted 200 kilometers away from where he was kidnapped. >> his father headed them, forced to wait while police investigated the siding. -- investigated the psychisitin. father and son reunited. no matter where you go, i will find you, he's told his son. china's people, so long controlled or ignored by the state, are discovering the power of the micro-plot to force change. -- micro-blog to force

change. >> information can flow freely in china now. there's so much that has been hit in. -- has been hidden. >> the boy may have spent the rest of his life hidden away if it were not for the micro-blog. the story of how he was found is truly an incredible one. for three years, the police had no idea where the boy was. but the father appealed on the internet, appealing to china's 450 million internet users and it changed everything. it is a kidnapping with a haping ending -- with a happy ending. >> this next story, researchers are discovering artificial limbs, wheel chairs, and

computers that can be controlled by thoughts alone, mind over matter for real. some have been shown off at a conference in washington, d.c. >> jesse lost both his arms in an accident. on his left hand is a new kind of artificial limb. it gives him almost as much control as a normal hand, according to the researchers. with it, he can pick things up. >> that is cool! >> and move them around with incredible precision. >> the ultimate goal is -- we used the arm in a very natural way. if i reach out to pick up a cup of coffee, i do not think about how i have to move my elbow or my shoulder and open and close my hand. i just reach out and pick up a cup of coffee. >> i am controlling this arm with a cyber glove. you can see it follows my

movements precisely. let's see if i can pick up this bottle. there you go. in jesse's case, the arm is controlled by the nerve signals in his chest. the next step is to connect to the arm to the brains of patients. here's a thought controlled wheelchair being tested by researchers in switzerland. the patient thinks about moving left and it moves in that direction. tiny electrical signals from the patient's brain are picked up by senses in the cap. >> we are working in different aspects of this technology, addressing how to make possible the that people can communicate in different places depending on their needs pierre >> with each day, the technology is making small, but important differences

in jesse's live. for example, he has not been able to put on his baseball cap by himself until now. >> in case you have not heard of button gwinnett, his signature is worth at least of -- at least $1 million for those who have appeared he was one of 56 people who signed the declaration of independence. a manager -- a marriage register with as they might has been hiding in a vault. >> we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are in doubt -- >> some of the best known words in american history, from the document that gave birth to the united states. the 56 signatures on the declaration of independence are highly prized by modern-day collectors. the risk is of an english immigrant button when it.

thousands of miles from washington, a church is rediscovering its most valuable treasure, and marriage register signed by him in 1757. it has been hidden in a bank vault. the estimated worth is half a million pounds. >> i found out how valuable it is and i thought, we just have to see it. so we brought it out and i have it in my hands now. it is absolutely amazing, a piece of history, one of the rarest signatures in the world and something that is so significant to all of his repaired >>history. >> clams from american researchers that he is a distant relative -- claims from american researchers that he is a distant relative of a button whegwinnet.

>> it is an amazing thing in one sense. if it is true, to be part of the declaration of independence with an ancestor. ♪ >> all of the attention, though, is not helping st. peter's church. as a public record, the signature cannot be sold. but the hope is that the little- no link to an event of global importance will one day be on permanent display. >> the births at this year is being affected by the strongest flare being released by the sun in several years. the aurora borealis or northern lights in norway, they cite the gas particles making them glow even -- they excite the gas particles making them " even

more. you will find that and much more international news online at bbc.com/news. you will see what is coming up on facebook. thank you for being with us. the main story that is -- there seems to be a lockdown in bahrain. >> hello and welcome. >> say the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click-to-play video reports. go to bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vt., and honolulu. newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank.

♪ >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> lehrer: good evening. i'm jim lehrer. the foreign minister of bahrain said today a police assault on protesters was necessary to bring the country back from the brink of a sectarian abyss.

>> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: we have the latest on the violent crackdown and examine the civil unrest spreading in the arab world. >> lehrer: then, two takes on state budget problems. ray suarez reports on the wisconsin firestorm over taking away collective bargaining rights for public employees. >> brown: and betty ann bowser looks at the move in arizona and elsewhere to cut medicaid funding. >> this state is no different than most of the others. it has a major budget crisis and some of the remedies under consideration by officials here would be painful. >> lehrer: senators saxby chabliss and mark warner discuss their bipartisan approach to addressing the debt crisis. >> brown: plus, from mexico, bill neely of "independent television news" continues his series on the war against violent drug cartels. tonight: the story of one city's new 21-year old chief of police. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour."