the pictures are hard to verify, but even in the northern suburb of damascus, monitors were visiting the city hall when security forces were said to have an open fire on demonstrators. >> how impartial should these arab league monitors be when some of their own governments are also cracking down on similar popular uprisings? >> the monitors are accompanied everywhere by syrian security forces, relied on for their safety and movement on the very men they're supposed to be monitoring. the arab league represents 22 arab states. its mission is led by the city's general. he is accused of gross human rights abuses in darfur.

amnesty international says he is responsible for overseeing torture and disappearances in his own country. even so, the observers to work confronted by the unmistakeable rage on the streets. the regime has cut off electricity to the neighborhoods. this protester told them the army is placing its tanks to attack our neighborhoods. we want you to uncover this and recorded with all of your cameras. as families continue to bury their dead, the mission has tried to ensure the regime complies with an arab league plan to end the crackdown. in its early days, the u.s. has appealed to protest leaders to give the monitors time. the protesters say 130 have been killed in the three days since the maters arrived. it does not bode well.

>> joining me on the line right now is a syrian activist based in the central city. thank you for your time. we have just seen pictures which the bbc cannot verify of apparently what happened to thursday. what did you see, what do you know about what happened thursday? >> we have heard that the arab league monitors are coming to see what is on the ground, that the shelling and syria must not. -- must stop. we went to the center square, but the security forces prevented us from doing that and that what allied -- and sat live grenades to us. 14 people were killed.

the arab league monitors came at the end of this day. we don't have so much hope with them because we have seen that although they were in the homes, those monitors must come to the arab league, the army must pullout and the killing us stop, not as a fact-finding commission. that is their job, to stop the killing. >> why are they not able to stop the killing? it does it not make any difference to the government? >> that is what happened. that is why we are optimistic about them. they came to the city center, and it will not shoot on them what the monitors are there, but yesterday there were people

killed while the monitors are there. we waited for them three days.we days, but at the end of the day they came. we will demonstrate and go to the city center, and we hope that they will show. we are pessimistic about them, but would not have any other choice just to work with them. they are all the time watched by the regime. we did not know their movement or the places they're going to. that is their problem. >> thank you very much for your time. it is been reported that the general election in jamaica has been won by the people's national party, won by a former prime minister. results show her part in getting

the required 32 seats for their majority, leading several more constituencies which are being counted. it was a high turnout, 1.6 million voters. that is 75% of registered voters turned out, with a campaign dominated by concerns over the debt ridden economy. but the latest from nick davis in kingston. it was supposed to be close. it is it close? >> they really thought they had it, especially when i spoke to their leaders a few days back. people really thought the election was lifted by the bounce which she had been given after taking over, after being annoyed it -- after being

anointed by the prime minister. they did not think would make a difference. the flags are being waived, the orange of the people's national party is seemingly everywhere, the forces eventually graduating eat -- congratulating each other. >> it seems as if the electorate had accepted the plans to revive the economy. tell us about the state of the economy and her party's plans. >> this country has a history of debt which goes back decades. the deal was done with the imf under the labour party, which some people say managed to resuscitate bring them to a state where the could just about survive the economic crisis. the people's national party said it was 2% of gdp on debt, a huge amount of money, which they said was not workable.

they're looking for different ways to finance the economy, different ways to stimulate employment. they could go to chinese authorities and banks to get the money. they say they have to find a way to kickstart the economy, to employ people on their way forward. that is something they have promised that they now have to deliver on. >> thank you for the update. the united states has expressed deep concerns over the actions of the egyptian security forces who have raided the offices of pro-democracy human- rights groups. among them, two u.s.-based organizations. the u.s. state department has called on authorities to return confiscated property. according to egyptian police, the investigation into illicit foreign funding. >> we believe these ngo's are

there to support the process. they're supported by the united states government, that work around the world, in the interest of helping citizens realize their goals of democratic processes taking root in their country, and we have an open and transparent with authorities and all levels about the operating procedures and policies and other organizations that we support. we're very concerned. turkey's ruling party has admitted that war plans probably hit the wrong target. initial reports suggest most of the victims were smugglers and not kurdish separatist guerrillas. they promised no cover-up if there was a mistake that was made. >> they were brought back to the village on the donkeys they had left with, 35 people, many no older than 20, killed and

turkish air strikes just across the border in northern iraq. the military thought they were kurdish rebels. they now acknowledge that were smugglers, burning cigarettes from iraq into turkey. -- bringing some threats from iraq into turkey. the turkish government said it was saddening and promises to will be no cover-up. that will not impress the locals. they say that smugglers often use the methods to bring sugar and fuel into turkey, and the military knows it. but kurdish rebels from the separatist group pkk use the passes, too. these photos show a recent operation against kurdish rebels, and that confrontation has intensified recently. the authorities say they put border guards on heightened alert, following intelligence reports that more separatist attacks were planned. they say they are now investigating failure in that intelligence. istanbul, signs that this

has worsened the already poor relations between the kurdish state and -- the turkish state and the kurdish minority. around 2000 kurds gathered to vent their anger over the catastrophic mistake. still ahead, could there be an end to one of latin america's longest controversies. a judge has ruled on the fate. a doctor in pakistan who testified the country's security forces had killed a group of unarmed foreigners has himself been shot dead. he was gunned down and the west. he contradicted police reports earlier this year that had suggested that five russian victims had been suicide bombers. our correspondent reports from

the pakistani capital. >> thursday, gunmen pulled out along side of his car and sprayed it with bullets. he died of his wounds. back in may, she had done a post-mortem and a controversial case that implicated pakistani security forces. part of the incident related to caught on tape. hear, badly injured, these two women are seen holding hands, lying close to a pakistani check post. one raises her arm. the security forces respond with a prolonged burst of gunfire. the doctors autopsy revealed one of the women had been heavily pregnant. the police insisted that three women and two men, all foreigners, had been suicide bombers and that they died as they detonated explosives. but the doctor corroborate what many had seen, that they had in fact died of gunshot wounds,

killed by the security forces. witnesses also said the five were not armed. hours after the testimony, treating the police claims, he was beaten by unidentified attackers. he knew that his life was in danger and asked for protection, but his family says it was never provided. >> more on that story and others on the web site with full analysis and background, lots of video and audio content as well. have a look. you are watching "bbc world news." these are the headlines. syrian security forces are reported to have shot many protesters in the areas due to be visited by arab league observers. the net states says it is deeply concerned about government raids on egyptian pro-democracy and human rights organizations.

a vast crowd in pyong and has watched the installation of the supreme border of north korea. he represents the third generation of the dynasty to rule the country since the communist state which found it. that transition of power was marked with a memorial ceremony for his father, kim jong ill. we've been following the events from south korea. >> it sounds like a religious service, and perhaps it is. north korean ideology says the dead leader, kim jong ill's birth, was supranatural, while the founder of the dynasty is officially immortal. but the really extraordinary thing is the spectacle of hundred of thousands of soldiers and civilians behaving like machines. it is something from another age, a time when dictatorships outnumbered the democracies.

soon, it turned into a coronation. this was the moment when the new leader gets the public's allegiance of the military hierarchy, each of them more than double his age. up stepped the general to pay homage on behalf of the armed forces. the entire military, he says, will gather around to protect him. it will move as one, according to his orders. but the true moment of coronation comes when the ceremonial head of state gives him his new, official title. supreme leader of the party, the military, and the people. the new supreme leader does not exactly look very enthusiastic about it all. not surprising, he is now the boss of a desperately poor country, threatened by famine.

and at the age of less than 30 has his finger on a nuclear button. his one solitary act set -- asset, is that he comes from the right family. the gun salute the passing of the old leader. kim jong-il was a weird, self indulgent, eccentric, but at least he became a known quantity. now that he is dead, no one has any idea what his son is capable of. across north korea, horns and sirens marked the end of the ceremony. this is a troubled country, with a highly uncertain future. down here in seoul, there is no great interest in all of the regimented grief just a hundred miles away to the north. but does kim jong ill's death mean the regime in north korea is now nearing its end?

there are plenty of people here who are asking themselves now whether that is really a possibility. john simpson, bbc news, seoul. one of the great mystery of modern-day politics and latin america has come to an end. a judge in chile has ruled out the possibility that the former president was murdered. he died when his government was overthrown in a coup in 1973. this report contains some flash photography. >> he was a divisive figure. democratically elected, he was admired by some on the left for his highly marxist doctrine. but it was one which created division in chile at the height of the cold war. with the ever closer relations that he was forming with cuba, north korea, and china. his rule ended in a violent coup on september 11, 1973.

it has long been accepted that he shot himself as the forces loyal to punish a stormed the presidential palace. but the court reopened this painful chapter of chile's history earlier this year. the body was exhumed after daughter said they thought the former leader was murdered, either by a bodyguard or the military. his daughter, isabel, a chilean senator, never disputed that her father had committed suicide. earlier this year, the results from an autopsy confirmed that. now the case of the death is close, it is hoped that it may help heal the divisions that still exist in chilean society. a petrol tanker has crashed in venezuela, bursting into flames engulfing several cars and a boss. 13 people were killed in the accident and the capital karachi. 16 others were injured.

rescuers have been pulling bodies from sport vehicles. the tanker is reported to have flipped over after the driver lost control, spilling fuel which caught fire. 2011 was the worst year for the seizure of ivory from elephant tusks in decades according to the international wildlife watchdog. it said the rise in demand from asia was the cause. >> the international community has been battling for years to stop poachers from hunting elephants for their valuable ivory tusks. it was hoped that a ban on the trade would solve the problem and protect vulnerable herds. but that dream is now in doubt. the new figures from the international wildlife group traffic show that 2011 was the worst year for the seizure of elephant ivory in more than two decades. traffic says 23 tons of ivory were seized this year, representing 2500 dead

elephants. some of it came from government stockpiles and africa, which are supposed be off-limits. while the demand for ivory continues to rise, the determination of criminal gangs remains. >> we have more chinese and asian said africa than at any other time it africa's history. unfortunately, in these communities we now have criminal syndicates which have penetrated the continent as never before. they are flush with finance and the rapidly moving in elephant ivory and other wildlife commodities to asia and and use markets -- and it and use markets like we have never seen before. the ballot as law-enforcement officials struggle to keep up the smugglers, this is the latest seizure of illegal ivory in malaysia. often used as a gateway to asia in the illicit trade. 1.4 million tons of ivory were confiscated their earlier this month.

as long as asian economies continue to grow, the demand for ivory will not decline. the italian prime minister says there are difficult times ahead despite a drop in their borrowing costs two days in a row. italy barred $9 billion on the financial markets at a slightly lower interest rates, but only just below the dangerous threshold of 7%. he said he was encouraged by the results but the market was not open. images of 35 endangered rhinos have been captured at a park in west java, indonesia. cameras were placed in the habitat earlier this year to replace the 30-year-old method of counting rhino footprints. experts estimate only 40-60 of animal still remain in the park. the tiny pacific island of some zero will miss out an entire day next hour because they will move across the

international date line. when the clock strikes midnight local time on the 29th of this month, just as that day ends, some 00 will fast-forward and suddenly it will be the 31st of december. they announced the decision back in may in a bid to improve times with the major trading partner, which are australia and new zealand. on the line now is the country's prime minister. prime minister, thank you very much for your time, presumably you have spoken to the people about this. this is a big deal. >> yes, we have consulted our people a year ago, and also presented to parliament the related laws to limit the changeover in our times own. -- in our time zone. >> presumably, an analysis was

done about the benefits of the change. tell us about those benefits. >> well, we have been always short of one working day in the seven-day week. when it comes to our contact with our business partners west of the international dateline. we always lose one day per week. we have five working days now, and therefore we should be able to continuously conduct business with our business contacts now that we are on the same time zone.

the question of tourists, 70% of our tourists come from new zealand and australia, and it now, with the time zone change, the confusion with the different time zones will be removed. very often, in the past, we had many tourists arriving here, and they are departing on a plane that is supposed to leave on the date and they found that it has already left the previous dates. because of the confusion of the time zones differences. >> prime minister, thank you very much, for your time. i believe you have about seven hours, 35 minutes before the date changes and you miss out on the 30th of december.

i am sure you will not mention it -- is it too much. you are watching "bbc world news." >> 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 work hard to know your business. offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations ought.

what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet