Activists say more than 50 people have been killed and 100 wounded in fighting between government forces and rebels in Homs Province. They said 13 children were among the dead when the Syrian army shelled the town of Houla. Activists reported confrontations in other Syrian cities including Damascus. They said army tanks were deployed in Alepo contained demonstrators after Friday prayers. A spokesman for the international special envoy Kofi Annan said he would visit Syria soon but declined to specify the date,

citing

security reasons.

One of Spain's largest banks, Bankia, has asked the Spanish government for a

bailout

of 19 billion euros, almost 24 billion dollars. The bank also said it had revised last year's results to view a loss of more than 3.5 billion dollars instead of the previously announced profit of about the same amount. From Madrid, Tom Barridge reports.

The fact that trading in shares of Spain's fourth largest bank, Bankia, was suspended today, reflects the uncertainty over the bank's exposure to bad loans. The bank lent heavily during Spain's property boom before the market crashed four years ago. One thing now is clear. The Bankia will get loans totally 19 billion euros from the Spanish government. The Spanish State already has another 4.5 billion euros invested in Bankia. And as a result, it now controls 90% of the bank.

A deal has been agreed, which will give South Africa, Australia and New Zealand a share in being home to the world's biggest ever radio telescope. The telescope, called the Square Kilometre Array, comprises 3,000