>> dramatic pictures of the violence in southern syria. the government denies security forces have fired on demonstrators but has ordered the release of everyone detained in the unrest. >> we have to put an end to the state of emergency. >> reports of talks between rebels in benghazi and colonel gaddafi said forces in the east. faced by devastation, japan faces all long-term crisis with thousands without shelter in the cold. welcome to "bbc world news," broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. my name is mike embley. coming up later for you -- a call to martyrdom. the online video showing pakastani children acting out a suicide bombing. and it looks like true love, but is it? why sham marriages are on the rise in britain. hello to you. the syrian president tries to calm his country. he has ordered the release of everyone detained in the current unrest. he has also promised to lift wages and possibly emergency rules in place for 50 years. it is reported thousands attended the funerals of people killed when security

. >> in southern syria, police have attacked a mosque, killing four people.rotests began last friday. demonstrators made the mosque their base and said it would not leave until their demands were met. japan has announced further restrictions on food and produce a in to the area near the fukushima plant following the earthquake that struck japan 10 days ago. naoto kan ordered the governors of fukushima to hold shipments of a range of agricultural goods after they showed higher than normal levels of radiation. the chief secretary to the japanese cabinet told a news conference that nations importing food from japan must take a logical stance when considering restrictions of products from near the damaged nuclear plant. we will go live to tokyo. chris, we understand that within the last half hour or so, the u.s. fda has said the u.s. will be holding milke produce a from areas exported from the nuclear site there. how are the japanese reacting to that news and the japanese government, perhaps concerned over their exports? >> yes, the u.s. talking about milk and pr

the protests, calling for political freedom, were held at a mosque in southern syria. their main demand is an end to what they call repression by the secret police. before the government troops attacked, electricity and phone service was cut off to the area. >>> in yemen, crowds cheered the arrival of the government troops. anti-government protesters there have called for a mass rally friday to demand that u.s.-backed president ali abdullah saleh step down immediately. >>> the growing unrest in the middle east and north africa, and now the military operation in libya, has raised questions about just what the u.s. role should be. wyatt andrews has that part of the story. >> reporter: america is fighting in yet another muslim country. but this time, with the unusual support of most of the arab world. >> the arab public, for the first time, is open to american intervention. >> reporter: university of maryland professor shibley telhami takes opinion polls in arab countries, because gadhafi threatens and embarrasses most arabs, telhami calls this a one of a kind moment for

. >>> elsewhere in the region, the city of dara in southern syria was again a flash point today, president assad's security forces trying to crush the latest democracy up risings. in yemen, the opposition took to the streets as well. yemen's president has now pulled back on his offer to step down by the end of the year. meantime, more than 100 people who were looting an ammo factory in yemen reportedly are dead after something, perhaps a cigarette, touched off an explosion. now we turn to japan. it's some measure of how big it is when you consider the following. trace amounts of radiation have now been detected in the air and in the rainwater as far east in this country as pittsburgh and the state of massachusetts. the amount is minute, neglible and health officials have assured the public there's zero danger. but as to the source of it in japan, radiation is now in the soil, the air and the water, as the struggle continues to contain it, to stop it and to get several crippled reactors under control. nbc's lee cowan standing by in tokyo tonight. lee, good evening. >> reporter: good evening

witnesses in southern syria said police killed at least 15 people after a week of protests. to hari sreenivasan for what's on the "newshour" online. hari? >> sreenivasan: "art beat" has more on elizabeth taylor, on this one year anniversary of the health reform law, we answer your questions about the measure and its political future. all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. gwen? >> ifill: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. on thursday, we'll talk to the editor of the yemen times about demands on her country's president to resign. i'm gwen ifill. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. thank you and good night. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> i mean, where would we be without small businesses? >> we need small businesses. >> they're the ones that help drive growth. >> like electricians, mechanics, carpenters. >> they strengthen our communities. >> every year, chevron spends billions with small businesses. that goes right to the heart of local communities, providing jobs, keeping peopl

thousandof people protested in southern syria, and rejected a government offer to consider political reforms. and japanese officials appealed to people to stop panic buying of food and water in response to radiation scares. and to hari sreenivasan for what's on the "newshour" online. hari? >> sreenivasan: there's more on the new census numbers: two public media journalists explore the sharp decline in detroit's population and "patchwork nation's" dante chinni writes about that city's future. paul's look at the growing income gap continues on our "making sense" page where you can compare your salary with your neighbor's. spencer michels previews his upcoming story about scientists on the west coast of the u.s. looking at the threat of a tsunami. he asks what can and can't be done to save lives. plus, jeff looks at reaction to the google books deal struck down by a federal judge earlier this week. that's on "art beat." all that and more is on our web site: newshour.pbs.org. >> lehrer: and again to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the iraq and afghanistan conflicts

the instability has allowed islamic militants to take control of towns there in southern yemen. >>> syria's president is responding to calls for his resignation with violence. his forces have killed more than 100 people during the past few days as protesters demand greater freedom. syria is the latest arab state to explode with unrest. reports have surfaced that hezbollah might be taking part in the crack-down. >>> and in thailand, dozens of families are spending the night outside their homes after a large after shock that killed at least 75 people in my an march. more than 60 after shocks have been recorded. >>> former president jimmy carter is going to cuba tomorrow. he and his wife were invited to cuba by the government there. he will meet with high-level cuban. officials, including president raul castro, and talk about ways to improve relations. the trip is thought to be to a private nongovernmental mission. carter also visited cuba back in 2002. >> for some people, the free britney spears concert was less than free, and for others, it was extremely disappointing. >>> and remarks allege

syria. protesters setting fire to government offices in southern and western syria. and in jordan thousands of supporters of king abdullah ii taking to the streets of the capital city of amman to express their loyalty after anti-government protests. >>> in this country, ten firefighters were injured in a fire in a bar in michigan. the caused the roof and then the rest of the building to collapse trapping some of the firefighters inside. all were hospitalized and said to be in stable condition. none of the injuries were considered life threatening. >>> alaska airlines has canceled some 150 flights because of a computer failure. the outage forcing alaska airlines and its affiliate, horizon air, to scrap about 15% of the scheduled flights affecting roughly 12,000 passengers. >>> and finally, the doggie dinner that went viral. the video shows -- well, you see what the video shows. some doggie heads and human hands and lending nothing else, just new meaning to the notion of hand to mouth as you can see. however shockingly the food did get from hand -- well, to snout. prov

in syria they are now using brute force against demonstrators in southern syria.he list goes on and on. i think it really comes down to what extent do we have greatest strategic interests in the leadership in those countries? it is clear that at least insofar as the obama administration is concerned and the reason why we have no core strategic interest is they consider more khaddafi to be expendable. yet we do not know who will take over when he goes. -- it is clear that at least insofar as the obama administration is concerned, the reason why we have no core strategic interest is they consider muammar gaddafi to be expendable. so we are picking and choosing our fights based on america's long-term interest, and is that inconsistent with what we see across the board? you bet ya. host: our next calller is from illinois. caller: i would like to know what percentage do you think that -- taken in your perspective, how much left to muammar gaddafi's have? should we expect other uprisings in other countries such as we have in libya? guest: that is a question that only th

in syria they are now using brute force against demonstrators in southern syria. the list goes on and on. i think it really comes down to what extent do we have greatest strategic interests in the leadership in those countries? it is clear that at least insofar as the obama administration is concerned and the reason why we have no core strategic interest is they consider more khaddafi to be expendable. yet we do not know who will take over when he goes. -- it is clear that at least insofar as the obama administration is concerned, the reason why we have no core strategic interest is they consider muammar gaddafi to be expendable. so we are picking and choosing our fights based on america's long-term interest, and is that inconsistent with what we see across the board? you bet ya. host: our next calller is from illinois. caller: i would like to know what percentage do you think that -- taken in your perspective, how much left to muammar gaddafi's have? should we expect other

. >>> and the arab uprising spread to syria, where today 20,000 people took to the streets in the southernt of the country. now this is notable because syria is one of the most repressive countries in the middle east. more demonstrations are planned after friday prayers. >>> well here at home with the stroke of a pen, governor brown cut $8.2 billion from the state budget, but he says that is not enough. >> but of course, we are only half way to the goal line and we need to find more revenues or we need to make more and more drastic cuts. certainly the next round of cuts will be much more painful. >> today's cuts impact millions of californians. programs for the developmentally disabled and mentally ill have been slashed. and as joe vazquez shows us, students at community college will have to pay more. >> like many students at laney college in oakland, students are struggling to pay their way through. she says she is disappointed with how the budget raises fees from 26 to 36 per unit. >> it's not coming from other places, it seems unfair. >> i'm blind sided by it, honestly. $10 per unit? th

in southern syria, protesters have declared this a day of dignity and are gathering to denounce the deathstime president's power base detearierates. >>> powerful aftershocks in myanmar after a 6.3 tremor killed at least 63 people there and rattled buildings as far as bangkok and vietnam. the quake did not trigger a tsunami. >>> state police are investigating a shooting at a middle school in martinsville, indiana. about 30 miles south of indianapolis. they said one student victim was shot twice in the stomach. the suspect is in custody. >>> the warm waters of the gulf stream welcomed six turtles released thursday by the u.s. coast guard off of north carolina. the turtles had been nursed back to health after being injured by propellers or harsh weather. >>> at the final press conference before his shuttle launch astronaut mark kelly said his wife gabrielle giffords is just starting to come to grips with the january shooting spree that left six other people dead. >> starting to walk, talk more every day. she's starting to process some of the tragedy that we all went through in january. she's

syria. witnesses say at least 15 people have been shot to death. the uprising began more than a week ago in a rural southern town that expanded to include protesters across the nation. syria has one of the mideast's most oppressive government. >>> the federal government admits part of the radiation warning system was out of service last week as millions worried about being exposed to fallout from japan. no dangerous levels of radiation have been detected in the u.s. from the fukushima plant. but four of california's monitors were off line for repairs or maintenance last week. in japan the prime minister called the situation at the plant, quote, grave and serious. officials are still trying to determine if there has been a breech in one of the reactors. japan's nuclear agency says radiation in the seawater just offshore of the plant has spiked to more than 1200 times higher than normal. >>> there is a new superbug in southern california hospitals and nursing homes, and it is spreading. it is called crkp, and it has made 350 people sick in southern california, some are gravely ill. 40% of the patients have di

government, it's something out of the newspaper, is now using brute force in demonstrators in southern syria. and the list goes on and on. i think it really comes down to what extent do we have -- does the united states have greater strategic interest in the leadership of in those countries than we do in libya? well, it's clear at least in so far as the obama administration, gadhafi is expendable. we don't know who would take over. the united states made a decision that the king of bahrain is not expendable. and the president of yemen while he is someone who has clearly been a repressive dictator, has been an instrumental voice and force to be reckoned with in our al qaeda. we are picking and choosing our fights on america's longer term interest. is that inconsistent with what we see across the board? you bet you. >> joining us from illinois. good morning. >> hi. i'd like to know like just what percentage do you think that -- looking at your perspective, how many left does gadhafi's forces have? should we expect uprising in other countries just except libya? >> well, that's a question that i

and in syria, the governor of a southern province was fired today after security forces killed seven antigovernment protestors over the weekend. meanwhile, in this country, there's been some confusion and a lot of debate about u.s. goals in libya. some questioning whether we should even be there. more on that from wyatt andrews. >> reporter: after scores of cruise missile and bombing attacks, the president still calls the u.s. mission in libya humanitarian with the goal of stopping qaddafi from attacking his own people. >> not only was he carrying out murders of civilians but he threatened more. >> reporter: that's also what the u.n. authorized: all necessary measures to protect libyan civilians. however, the real goal in libya is the downfall, death, or departure of moammar qaddafi. it's what the europeans want, what most arab countries want, and what the president wants. >> i also have stated that it is u.s. policy that qaddafi needs to go. >> reporter: all of which means america is fighting in yet another muslim country. but this time with the unusual support of most of the arab w

>> still ahead syria's president accuses his country's enemies of organizing a conspiracy against national unity. at least 15 people have been killed in heavy flooding in southern thailand. government says nearly a million have been affected by a week of heavy rains, tens of thousands of tourists are stranded on thailands islands. >> southern thailand has been battered by more than a week of heavy rain. coast lashed by a ferocious sea. it led to fatal floods in eight southern provinces. there are dozens of people still missing. there also have been lucky escapes. these men were fortunate to be pulled to safety. the damage has been widespread. the prime minister has been to see it for himself. he ordered the evacuation of residents in the worst affected

natural resources in terms of oil and is of course located right in the southern flank of some pretty powerful european states syria on the other hand is deeply intertwined in the middle east peace process relations with israel of course it has a longstanding and very complicated relationship with lebanon a country which still has yet to form a government following syria's ally hezbollah are sort of bringing down the previous one and of course has links with iraq to i i'm interested in what i've heard from various commentators about the role of the saudis and the jordanians have had in putting pressure on the americans to sort of back off syria and syria usually is an easy punch bag for the american administration has always been quite happy to have a go at the state's actions and its lack of democracy and freedoms but it is quite interesting that she said americans almost defending bashar assad as a reformer today i think which is a reflection of how incredibly dynamic and fluid the situation is in the middle east at present. change. from middle east policy and security issues we've got the latest from libya aroun

at least fifteen people have been shot dead in syria the police were watching the government protesters in the southern city of local witnesses say security forces also shot up mourners attending the funerals of those killed at the mosque or not inspired by the wave of recent protests and until their main street is calling for reform more political freedom under arrest in the city police arrested students and sprayed i'm talking about slogans from the city walls. of all trees prime minister . has resigned and also the country's new makers an object conspiracy but it all five opposition parties the proposed measures which include spending cuts and tax rises at the front of their own are going to trigger a bailout similar to the one that greece and roads are running except for last year . saturday's reasons you said it. good to have you with us here at archie i'm matt treasure with your business update russian consumer prices jump point eight percent in february much less than in january but still twice the rate of the european average starting from january prices grew by three point six percent that's a

protestors that was natalya novikov in syria where massive countrywide demonstrations have bought promises of reform from the government. russian authorities in the southern republic of have arrested two suspects in connection with a terrorist attack at the airport in moscow in a special anti terror operation in which seventeen suspected militants have been killed thirty seven died and over one hundred were injured in the atrocity last january artie's company has. according to sources within the local security offices we know that that operation was being planned for a long time about the number of people who knew about it was minimal so that the operation could be successful we know that seventeen other militants were actually killed as a result of that operation and two men who were detained those two men the brothers are believed by security forces to be involved in the terrorist attack on the moscow domodedovo airport which took place first few months ago those two men believed to be by security forces the two men who actually a score to the suicide bomber to moscow brought him to the airport and left him there to detonate his deadly device now those

>> still ahead syria's president accuses his country's enemies of organizing a conspiracy against national unity. at least 15 people have been killed in heavy flooding in southern thailand. government says nearly a million have been affected by a week of heavy rains, tens of thousands of tourists are stranded on thailands islands. >> southern thailand has been battered by more than a week of heavy rain. coast lashed by a ferocious sea. it led to fatal floods in eight southern provinces. there are dozens of people still missing. there also have been lucky escapes. these men were fortunate to be pulled to safety. the damage has been widespread. the prime minister has been to see it for himself. he ordered the evacuation of residents in the worst affected areas. landslides have been responsible for some of the deaths. with many villages cut off there are fears the number of deaths will rise. transport and other infrastructure such as electricity and phone lines have been badly affected, roads blocked, train services counciled and flights repeatedly delayed. they go to the ship from the small island. with supplies cut to many remote parts of the country the thai na

southern yemen. this is just the kind of scenario that u.s. officials had feared with al qaeda's presence in that country. >>> and, in syria tonight, which has been shaken by days of violence, there's word that syria's president might lift the harsh emergency law that has for nearly 50 years allowed the government to arrest and detain people without charging them first. the government is hoping that will calm the major discontent in that country, as well. >>> we turn now to the disaster in the pacific, and yet another major apology tonight from the people who run the fukushima nuclear plant. this latest apology brings into question what can be believed. and there are new questions about whether obvious warning signs were ignored. david wright is in japan again tonight. >> reporter: new aerial images of the smoldering nuclear caldron that refuses to be brought under control. at reactor number one, the roof is completely gone. reactors two and three have holes in the roof. and steam is leaking out. reactor four, the walls are gone. that yellow ball is the top of the containment vessel. inside the control room for reactor two yesterday, workers had

syria. reports say that government forces have again opened fire on demonstrators in a southern city. for over one week now, it has been the center of anti- government protests. witnesses say hundreds gathered in the main square, calling for reforms. in neighboring turkey, the prime minister says he has been in contact with the syrian president. he says he has urged the president to, quote, listen to his people. staying in the region, each of some military leaders say the country will hold parliamentary elections in september -- egypt 's military leaders say the country will hold elections. they were talking about lifting emergency law, but they have not said when. they have denied reports that hosni mubarak has the lead. they say he remains under house arrest. ok, talking more about the economic repercussions in japan. >> what do you do when the world's third largest economy is temporarily out of order? several industries are struggling to rebuild their supply chains after a loss of dozens of key parts suppliers in japan. many specialized components makers were located in the region

syria. reports say that government forces have again opened fire on demonstrators in a southern city. for over one week now, it has been the center of anti- government protests. witnesses say hundreds gathered in the main square, calling for reforms. in neighboring turkey, the prime minister says he has been in contact with the syrian president. he says he has urged the president to, quote, listen to his people. staying in the region, each of some military leaders say the country will hold parliamentary elections in september -- egypt 's military leaders say the country will hold elections. they were talking about lifting emergency law, but they have not said when. they have denied reports that hosni mubarak has the lead. they say he remains under house arrest. ok, talking more about the economic repercussions in japan. >> what do you do when the world's third largest economy is temporarily out of order? several industries are struggling to rebuild their supply chains after a loss of dozens of key parts suppliers in japan. many specialized components makers were located in the region

killings in and around the southern town of dara have sent people out on the streets in protest across the country. amnesty international says at least 55 people have been killed in syria in the last week. a bbc team that tried to reach dara today was turned back so we don't have first hand corroboration of the reports that are coming out of there. the government says its police were attacked and had to defend themselves. demonstrators loyal to president assad have also been out on the streets. he's being personally popular, he stands up to israel and he's seen as a reformer. in response to protests this week, he's made some big promises. to lift emergency laws that have been in force since 1963. political reform, and to relax media restrictions. the presidential palace is high botch damascus. the -- above damascus. the biggest domestic challenge in 30 years and the president has a stark choice. >> either to announce immediate reforms and sack some people who have been responsible for these outrages. or simply bow to the hard-liners and allow the crackdown to continue. which of course would undermine the legitimacy of his regime. >> protests around this mosque after th

southern israel. islamic jihads said that was in retaliation for deaths of palestinians on tuesday. neighboring syriaallegedly open fire on protesters, killing six in the southern city of dara. just like the people in bahrain, egypt and libya, the syrians have been coming out onto the streets for almost a week to demonstrate against the corruption. they're demanding reforms and political freedoms. in yemen, a u.s. ally, violent clashes between the government security forces and the protesters have erupted in the capital's main square. the president forced a state of emergency. will that stop the demonstrators in yemen who are desperately calling for change? the short answer is no. many yemenis say it is the revolution that decides, not the president who's been in power for the past 32 years, or the government. lama hasan, abc news, london. >>> a texas day care operator has pleaded not guilty in connection with a deadly fire. jessica tata is accused of leaving seven children alone while she went shopping. four children died in the fire, ignited by a stove burner which had been left on. her attorneys d

in syria the pressure is increasing on president bashar assad at least twenty three protesters were killed on friday during a violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations in the southern city of daraa . was also used against angry crowds in the capital damascus last week twenty five people died of state troops down on protests tens of thousands turned out for the subsequent funeral march. i. am in yemen the country's a foreign minister says he hopes for a deal on a transfer of power on saturday it comes after president saleh announced he is ready to pass his role into trustworthy hands the leader to step down by the years and after elections the country has seen two months of anti-government protests where fifty demonstrators shot last week. and in jordan two people have been beaten to death after pro-government loyalists attacked a vigil in the capital one hundred protestors almost all of them students were wounded in the clashes forces used to disperse over two thousand demonstrators reforms and more efforts to fight corruption. and the number of people killed by a strong earthquake in me and has increased to seventy five with more than one hundred injured many of t

syria which is in the grip of anti government protests. two suspects thought to be behind the terror of bombing of moscow's domodedovo airport have been detained in russia's southern republic of english the committee says the pair were arrested during a special operation ortiz catherine brings us the details. cording to sources within the local security offices we know that the operation was being planned for a long time that the number of people who knew about it was minimal so that the operation could be successful we know that seventeen other militants were actually killed as a result of that operation and two men who were detained those two men the brothers the n.d.s. are believed by security forces to be involved in the terrorist attack on the moscow dumb idea the airport which took place a few months ago those two men are believed to be by security forces and the two men who actually scored the suicide bomber to moscow brought him to the airport and left him there to detonate his deadly device now those men were of course proclaimed wanted security officials have now made their arrests and they will be prosecuting them with all the evidence that they have so