>> more protests and in syria and more blood is shed. ed at least 55 have been killed in the city of deraa. in yemen, protestors all their biggest rally yet. our correspondent is taking to of farm house that's gaddafi's regime said was hit by an air strike. why does shrapnel damage look more like old holes? coming up later for you -- exposed to radiation 10,000 times the normal levels, workers at japan's stricken nuclear plant on their way to hospital after yet another set -- set back.

and watching the clock. how time zones around the world have turned chronology into a minefield. welcome to the program. syria has become the latest hot spot in the middle east but the ruling elite coming under its biggest challenge in three decades. thousands have demonstrated college -- thousands have demonstrated, calling for more freedom. in deraa, around 20 protesters were shot dead around the statue of the former president's was set alight. demonstrations were broken up by security forces in damascus. meanwhile, the u.n. to get

beatrix secretary-general ban ki-moon has announced that syria protect their citizens fundamental rights. both pro and anti-government demonstrators held their largest rallies yet. president saleh said he would step down, but on his own terms. in libya, loud explosions near a city where rebels are fighting forces root -- loyal to colonel gaddafi. the city of misrata remains under siege. our correspondent reports from the syrian of capital of damascus. >> the unrelenting gunfire did not deter a crowd of protesters. >> [unintelligible] >> once again, heavy gunfire.

the protesters destroyed the statue of the late president. they were chanting for freedom. the brother of the president to the head of the presidential part. >> this seems to have forced the envelope and the reaction has been described as brutal. syria is becoming more angry the government's concessions of yesterday seemed to be contradicted by the realities of today. the people in deraa have met forces across the country. and in some cases, security forces have opened fire on demonstrators come up with protesters killed.

in the capitol, damascus, people chanted in support above deraa, st. "freedom -- saying about freedom of press pro-government demonstrators also took to the streets. the demanded higher wages. members of the international community are demanding those responsible for the violence be dealt with. this is unprecedented in recent syrian history, and it appears the syrian people are moving their fears. bbc news, damascus. >> in yemen, tens of thousands are taking place in demonstrations in the capital of sanaa. -- inside-the's

government protesters are demanding the resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. the president's denounced the protest against them, saying he is ready to transfer power, but only to what he called a " safe hands." our correspondent sent this report from sanaa. >> it is hard to imagine now that the process started as a tiny six n. -- tiny sit-in. the crowd united in its demand for the resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. this was our real show of defiance considering that one week ago, snipers opened fire from the roof here, killing at least 50. >> we ask the president to leave, because people will continue to revolt until the regime falls.

>> the president is us libel. he continues to waste time while he is lying. >> of the opposition leaders say their victory is close, but today, they are reminded of what a formidable of when that they are facing. before this crisis, -- all through this crisis, the president has remains calm. this even as a high ranking allies defected from him. just as it looked he was about to fall, on friday, he staged a massive rally. he told supporters he would go, but only on his own terms. in his speech, a combination of concession and defiance. >> we do not want power, but we need to hand power over to state hands, not corrupt hands. we are ready to leave power, but

only to safe hands, chosen by the people. >> the president says if he goes, there could be a civil war in yemen could fall into the hands of al-qaeda. he knows this will concern the west. the americans have given mr. saleh billions of dollars in anti-terrorism assistance. those troops are still loyal to while other military have joined the opposition. both are arms. neither is willing to back down. >> bahrain of's security forces fired tear gas and rubber pellets at protesters on friday, injuring 50 and killing one. this after a prominent cleric vowed that they would not be silenced.

around 100 people have been injured in jordan during clashes between supporters and opponents of the government. the clashes happened during a demonstration by the opposition calling for reform. fighting broke out when the pro- monarchy crowd began throwing stones at the other side. in libya, large explosions have been hurt in an eastern city where rebels are fighting pro- gaddafi forces. colonel gaddafi is continuing to defy the u.n. cease-fire resolution by announcing a deadly attacks on his own people. the city of misrata remains under siege from pro-gaddafi forces. rebels there say they are running out of food and water. our correspondent sent us from tripoli. >> and raf fighter and in action over libya. by intervening, the coalition has changed the situation

completely. on the 130 miles from here, there is a real war going on here yet in the besieged town of misrata, the rebels are fighting with their backs to the walls. here in tripoli, it is a different war in date. missiles and bombs fall every night. the main struggle is up propaganda one. libyan television is showing these pictures of civilian supposedly killed in the raids. are the genuine? impossible to said. international journalists are immensely restricted, although we are free to say what we want without censorship. today, we were bussed out to see what we were told was a hit on a civilian target. you can conceive the growing effects of the war. this is the coalition's target last night, a military base of some kind, on the outskirts of

tripoli. the mobile radar dish had been turned out. we were taken to a farm house a couple of miles away, supposedly hit as well, injuring a young woman. yet, there are all sorts of questions about it. it's up on the style were lying around. -- a bit of missile was lying around. the holes in the wall were not made by shrapnel, as we were told. someone had fired an ak-47 into it. the owner says his 18-year-old daughter hid in the back. the gardener insisted it was a four-year-old boy. but the basic fact is that what ever precisely happened, how it was done, the government is seeking to show the world that the campaign that is being

fought here is killing large numbers of civilians. this is not final proof of that, certainly. after a week of coalition bombing, what has been the result for libya? colonel gaddafi's forces have been badly hit, but they are still able to operate. the rebels have had a big boost and taken back a lot of territory. everything now depends on colonel gaddafi. will he and the people around them keep their nerve? or will he decide to go? that's what the british government wants. and the people around him and the people obeying his orders should recognize that their time is up. do not obey his orders. walk away from your tanks. >> yet, it is not propaganda to say that colonel gaddafi still has support here. while he has got that, he will not go quietly. bbc news, tripoli. >> the general in charge of u.s.

africa demand, leading coalition operations in libya, and said he does not expect operations to continue much longer. >> i do not think it will go on for very long time. and we have an opportunity to execute the requirements of the u.n. security council resolution. the most important part of which is to protect civilians. it is important to note with the net to a large degree by stopping the regime's attacks on benghazi. there are other places where civilians remain threatened by the regime. we are doing our best each and every day and night to protect the civilians. >> you are watching "bbc world news." still to come on the program -- more worries in japan around the fukushima nuclear plant. one of the reactors could be damaged.

the countries involved and the military coalition over libya have been financing a deal to transfer political control of their campaign -- finessing a deal to transfer political control of their campaign to nato. matthew price reports. >> slowly, but surely, it is being transferred to nato. command remains in the hands of the u.s., for now. but perhaps not for long. the uk and france have led this operation along with the west, but the americans are keen to hand over control as soon as possible. today, britain said they are making progress. >> netted has taken control of the new flight -- nato as taking control of the no-fly zone. they're also planning the command of the wider operation to protect the civilian

population. >> after weeks of debate, there seems to be a unity of purpose. that is the impression you get just up the road at nato headquarters where diplomats are expecting, despite the details that need to be hammered out, that in the coming days, the organization will take over full control of the military operation. still some, notably the french, what as broad a coalition as possible. >> the solution cannot simply be military. it will have to be political and diplomatic, even though mr. gaddafi's and ability to listen to reason has made it necessary for us to intervene militarily. >> no doubt that will form part of the discussions to be held in london next tuesday. arab nations involved in the action against libya are expected to attend, but there is little sign any military or diplomatic pressure is having much of an effect on colonel gaddafi himself. matthew prize, bbc news,

brussels. >> this is "bbc world news." here are the headlines. thousands have demonstrated in cities and towns across syria, calling for more freedom. amnesty international says that 55 have been killed in deraa within the last week. in yemen, tens of thousands take part in a peaceful demonstrations for and against the government in the capital. >> it is exactly two weeks since the earthquake in japan and the nuclear crisis remains grave according to the prime minister naoto kan. operators said water at one reactor at the fukushima nuclear plant was 10,000 times more radiation than normal, of leading to speculation that a reactor was damaged. >> under way to hospital, the

workers injured at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. the radiation and water they were exposed to reject 10,000 times the normal level. >> in the latest pictures to be released, the broken buildings where they were working. filmed by the japanese military, the capture the destruction done to #three. the fear now that there is more damage than previously thought. >> the source of the water seems to be the reactor core. another possibility is the spent fuel, and we cannot rule out the possibility either. >> there is no suggestion that radiation levels are rising in the areas around the plant, but in the contamination zone between 20 and 30 kilometers away, the thousands of people who stayed in their homes have been encouraged to leave voluntarily. the possibility of further damage to one of the reactors

appears to be a major setback. the precise source of the radiation leak is a new priority for those struggling to bring the plant under control. speaking to the nation for the first time in a week, the prime minister urged the japanese people to work together. >> the situation today at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is still very grave and serious. we must remain vigilant. we are trying to prevent the deterioration of the situation, and we are still not in a position where we can be optimistic. >> as japan mourns its dead and looks to rebuild, containing its nuclear emergency is becoming ever more pressing. bbc news, tokyo. >> france and nigeria have presented a draft resolution to the u.n. security council calling for sanctions against

laurent gbagbo who is refusing to relinquish the presidency in ivory coast. the four-month power struggle between laurent gbagbo and his rival palestine all-star up has been raging. up to 1 million people of fled the ivory coast's main city, but there is fear of civil war. european union leaders approved many actions to prevent further crises in the eurozone, but have suspended further actions until later in the year. the deal may come too late for portugal. the yield on the country's bonds have risen, reflecting market fears that they may be unable to pay their debt. canada's minority government has been toppled after losing a no- confidence motion in parliament. this will triple the country's fourth election, and the prime minister will be unable to

attend the royal wedding in london next month. billing to the polls in -- going to the polls in germany this sunday. it has been governed for six years by the christian democrats. that may change. the green party rise may mean that the greens might get enough votes to form a coalition. as our correspondent reports from the heartland, the nuclear crisis in japan has transformed the election. >> these are angela merkel's people. she is campaigning hard. this is the state in southwest germany that her christian democratic party has run for six years. but now there is a harsh noises. there are cracks in the stronghold.

the chancellor knows the nuclear crisis in japan has not helped her government. >> what do those events mean for us here in our land? even the fateful think they now. >> i think the cdu will lose in this election, a little. >> we are suffering from a lot of world problems. >> global impacts for the local residents in a region of nuclear power stations. in the pleasant town, an examination of what is on offer. she weighs things up carefully as she will this weekend. >> she is normally a cdu voter

who is about to turn green because she does not like the cdu's policy on environmental mets. the greens are not the most popular party, but there are rising substantially. a cdu slump and a strong green showing common means of coalition party may rule. do not be deceived by appearances. this region is one of the most prosperous places on the planet. angela merkel make hope that any discontent about nuclear power or the euro will evaporate if people think about the economy. so, the opposition social democrats are on the campaign trail in farming country, saying german hard work, not the government, causes german prosperity. there are worse places to campaign in than riesling and

pinot noir country, and beating the cdu here since a message. >> i think things will change elsewhere as well if we win here. >> if the voters here to punish the cdu, chancellor martell will not be out of office -- kerkel will not be out of office, but the days of champagne will be over. bbc news. >> surely not. the erratic late the world should be divided into 24 -- the world should be divided into 24 main * tons. at some countries go their own way all the time without reason. we have examined the history of time. >> this is where the world's

time starts. the greenwich prime meridian. it is just east of london. the day starts here at midnight, greenwich mean time. at the international conference in '84, it was established. most of the world's unable charts used granite as the baseline for calculating time. charts usedd's naval greenwich as the baseline for calculating time. it was here that the crop the problem, developing timepieces of unprecedented precision. >> you are talking about a time limit. and you know the earth rotates 15 degrees. that equates to one hour of time. so, if you are wanting to navigate and you know you're longitude, the obvious solution is to carry out what keeping

home time. >> and then called john harris in used a series of chronometers that reliably kept greenwich time on long voyages. >> he won the prize, which was 20,000 pounds, an astronomical sum of money for the 18th century. it is nothing more than a glorified pocket watch. >> the technology in there is essentially what work. the three machines that preceded it -- it was not a question of miniaturizing. >> he realized he was going up a blind alley. >> he realized he would never get a reliable solution with large and slow. >> sailors were the only people who needed really accurate timepieces and standardize time. but then came the railways. the great weston railway built

its line from paddington station in london to bristol. in 1840, the great western instructed all its stations to keep london time. by the 1850's, virtually every town in britain was on london time, or railway time as it was. >> it would be logical if the world was divided into 24 equal time sense, but it does not work that way? >> not equal time zones. there are countries that have peculiar of sets. >> this is local political trees as they have made that >> yes. it is a nice easy way of making a political statement. >> for more on how time zones of worked out and how they act as, and you our website. we have an interactive will --

we have the interactive globe. >> 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. >> funding was made possible by the freeman 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?

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