:00:18. > :00:24.stunned by the win. Now it is time for Reporters. Ceasefire. What
:00:24. > :00:28.ceasefire? An alarming upsurge of violence grips Syria. We report
:00:28. > :00:33.from Homs, the heart of the uprising. We watch Azerbaijan
:00:34. > :00:41.prepare for the Eurovision Song Contest. But will human rights
:00:41. > :00:51.overshadow it? And Guam overrun with an infestation of snakes. We
:00:51. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:57.see how the locals are fighting back. Welcome to Reporters. We
:00:57. > :01:01.start with Syria. The advanced team of UN observers were meant to try
:01:01. > :01:07.to bring peace to the country. Now they have come under attack
:01:08. > :01:11.themselves. A bomb exploded as the UN convoy headed to Deraa, hitting
:01:11. > :01:13.a military truck, injuring soldiers but none of the UN peacekeepers.
:01:13. > :01:17.Our correspondent has this exclusive report from Homs, where
:01:17. > :01:24.battles between the opposition and the Government continue. They
:01:24. > :01:27.called Homs the capital of the revolution. Today much of it is a
:01:27. > :01:32.virtual ghost town, deserted, devastated. The Syrian government
:01:32. > :01:36.rarely gives the media permission to enter here. We are travelling
:01:36. > :01:46.with a small team of unarmed UN monitors trying to maintain the
:01:46. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:51.fragile ceasefire. Tough job. There is no truce in Homs, only the
:01:51. > :02:00.destroyed city. Notice how slowly we are moving through this
:02:00. > :02:03.neighbourhood. The Syrian police and military have left us. They
:02:04. > :02:13.have left us in an area controlled by the opposition. Not a single
:02:14. > :02:16.
:02:16. > :02:19.person is on the streets. The area is completely destroyed. The first
:02:19. > :02:27.people to welcome us are fighters from the Free Syrian Army, not
:02:27. > :02:35.afraid to show their faces or their guns. They are under fire. State TV
:02:35. > :02:41.says. They says. They I was dead, but here I am. They don't deny they
:02:41. > :02:44.are still fighting, but insist they did not start it. Then the football
:02:44. > :02:53.star turned popular revolutionary singer turns up with a message for
:02:53. > :02:59.Kofi Annan. His plan is not working, he tells me. The tanks are still on
:02:59. > :03:02.the streets and snipers are still killing people. Last year he sang
:03:02. > :03:12.to thousands of peaceful protesters about his hopes for peace. Now he
:03:12. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:22.sings his lament for the martyrs. Back to the other side, to the
:03:22. > :03:31.government's seat of power. The government insists Homs is not
:03:31. > :03:35.divided. You say some people are afraid of the Army, he says. But I
:03:35. > :03:39.tell you ma tell you maeople want the Army to protect them. Then it was
:03:39. > :03:47.time to meet the monitors. He says the plan will work, but it will
:03:47. > :03:57.take time. Homs used to be such a vibrant city. It took one year to
:03:57. > :03:58.
:03:58. > :04:02.destroy it. It is hard to imagine how long it will take to rebuild.
:04:02. > :04:04.Human rights groups have been calling on the organisers of the
:04:04. > :04:07.Eurovision Song Contest to ensure that this year's host country,
:04:07. > :04:17.Azerbaijan, stops imprisoning the opposition, beating journalists and
:04:17. > :04:26.
:04:26. > :04:28.destroying homes in the name of development. In the run-up to the
:04:28. > :04:31.event, Azerbaijan's presidents said the accusations by Amnesty
:04:31. > :04:35.International and Human Rights Watch were part of a shameful
:04:35. > :04:37.campaign to tarnish the image of the country. Homes ripped apart in
:04:37. > :04:41.historical Baku as developers linked to Azerbaijan's elite move
:04:41. > :04:51.in. Thousands of people have been evicted, many unhappy with the
:04:51. > :04:53.
:04:53. > :04:57.compensation on offer. This man is still living in the rubble. He said
:04:57. > :05:02.one night a demolition gang caved in his roof as he slept with his
:05:02. > :05:07.wife and son. Amidst the destruction, a brand-new concert
:05:07. > :05:14.hall. Baku is hosting the Eurovision Song Contest and the
:05:14. > :05:17.government is using it as a showcase. Staging this year's
:05:17. > :05:21.contest has brought much wanted attention to the ambitious young
:05:21. > :05:28.country. But it has also brought an unwelcome spotlight on to the
:05:28. > :05:37.country's poor human rights record. Jamal Ali was arrested last month
:05:37. > :05:43.for insulting the president. Then, he says, he was beaten. I had a bag
:05:43. > :05:53.on my head. I was handcuffed. I was sitting on a chair with my legs on
:05:53. > :05:58.
:05:58. > :06:02.another chair. They were beating me on my heels with a stick, for two
:06:02. > :06:05.hours the first time and three hours the second time. In hospital
:06:05. > :06:08.we found a journalist with severe concussion and two broken ribs
:06:08. > :06:14.after guards from the state oil company attacked him. All
:06:14. > :06:24.opposition protests were banned for five years until two months ago.
:06:24. > :06:26.Now in the Eurovision spotlight, three have been allowed. But
:06:26. > :06:29.beneath a portrait of the president's father, a senior
:06:29. > :06:32.official dismissed human rights groups' concerns and claimed the
:06:33. > :06:35.government had widespread popular support. TRANSLATION: Even among
:06:35. > :06:42.those whose homes have been demolished and among journalists,
:06:42. > :06:46.99% are satisfied. Only 1% are unhappy. The regime is propped up
:06:46. > :06:53.by the country's huge oil and gas wealth. The money is transforming
:06:53. > :07:03.Baku. But the crushing of dissent has made this the most
:07:03. > :07:07.
:07:07. > :07:09.controversial host city yet for the Eurovision Song Contest. Israel is
:07:09. > :07:13.being urged to re-route its controversial separation barrier
:07:13. > :07:15.away from the lands of an ancient Palestinian village with a unique
:07:15. > :07:18.agricultural system. Israel says the 400-kilometre barrier saves
:07:18. > :07:23.lives and that its route is determined only by security
:07:23. > :07:32.considerations. We report from the West Bank village which lies on the
:07:32. > :07:35.path of the separation barrier. Water, water, everywhere. In a
:07:35. > :07:38.region where the supply and availability of water is a major
:07:38. > :07:46.logistical and political concern, the Palestinian village of Batir
:07:46. > :07:55.has it in abundance. It is the same system used in the Roman period. We
:07:55. > :07:58.are still using it right now. more than 2,000 years, natural
:07:58. > :08:02.springs have given life to the village and its fields. The simple
:08:02. > :08:05.irrigation system used is as it was in ancient times. The water is
:08:05. > :08:14.shared between the village's eight main families. Fruit and vegetables
:08:14. > :08:17.are renowned for their freshness and quality. Built on the side of a
:08:17. > :08:24.steep hill, the village boasts one of the last living examples of
:08:24. > :08:34.traditional terraced agriculture. It is a system under threat from
:08:34. > :08:38.
:08:38. > :08:42.Israel's controversial separation barrier. Plans have not yet been
:08:42. > :08:45.finalised but if the barrier is built here it would cut the ancient
:08:45. > :08:48.village off from about 35% of the villages in ancestral lands.
:08:48. > :08:52.Because of the way the irrigation system works, villagers say the
:08:52. > :08:59.land will be lost forever. The land is the most important thing in our
:08:59. > :09:05.life. Without land, we don't have anything. For us Palestinians,
:09:05. > :09:08.because we don't have resources. We just have land. Not far from the
:09:08. > :09:13.village, Israel's barrier is being built on occupied Palestinian
:09:13. > :09:18.territory around another village, al-Walaja. Swathes of the village
:09:18. > :09:21.lands cut off on the other side of the huge concrete wall. So special
:09:21. > :09:27.is Batir that some anthropologists want it to be given protected
:09:27. > :09:37.UNESCO status. A barrier here, they say, would destroy a traditional
:09:37. > :09:39.
:09:39. > :09:49.way of life. It is something extremely old but it is still in
:09:49. > :09:52.
:09:52. > :09:56.use with the same function. It is something unique. Much of the
:09:56. > :09:59.village's land lies on the Israeli land of the so-called Green Line in
:09:59. > :10:03.the bottom of this valley. In a statement the Israeli Defence
:10:03. > :10:05.Ministry said routing of the barrier is based purely on security
:10:05. > :10:14.considerations and that potential damage to the area would be
:10:14. > :10:24.minimised. For the first time in more than 40 years Japan no longer
:10:24. > :10:25.
:10:25. > :10:28.generates any of its electricity from nuclear power. Before the
:10:28. > :10:31.disaster at Fukushima last year Japan had 54 nuclear reactors
:10:31. > :10:34.supplying nearly one-third of the country's energy needs. The last
:10:34. > :10:37.one has just been switched off for routine maintenance, but local
:10:37. > :10:47.communities have refused to approve it restarting. We report on the
:10:47. > :10:49.
:10:49. > :10:58.Once it was a symbol of Japan's belief in a nuclear future. The
:10:59. > :11:03.biggest nuclear power station in the world. We were taken through
:11:03. > :11:08.the heavy watertight doors, into the maze of corridors inside. Write
:11:08. > :11:13.to the control room for the reactors built to power Tokyo. One
:11:13. > :11:20.by one all Japan's nuclear-power stations have been shut down and
:11:20. > :11:29.now the output is zero. This is the very heart of the power station.
:11:29. > :11:34.That music is a warning that the airlock is open. Over here, that
:11:34. > :11:39.water, that is where the nuclear full -- nuclear fuel is being
:11:39. > :11:44.stored. And that secular structure is the top of the reactor itself.
:11:44. > :11:53.Before the disaster and Fukushima Japan relied on nuclear power for
:11:53. > :11:58.nearly one-third of its electricity. The nearby town faces a choice
:11:58. > :12:02.between Fiat and economic collapse. The power station is the biggest
:12:02. > :12:07.employers up but like other communities they are reluctant to
:12:07. > :12:12.allow it to be restarted, weary of another Fukushima. At the lights
:12:12. > :12:16.must be kept on in Tokyo. The metropolis that consumes vast
:12:16. > :12:22.amounts of power. To prevent blackouts imports of gas and other
:12:22. > :12:26.fossil fuels have risen dramatically. Never before have the
:12:26. > :12:33.Sea terminals been so busy. But it comes at a price. More expensive
:12:33. > :12:38.electricity. They are constructing huge new sea walls. They say they
:12:38. > :12:43.are large enough to withstand any possible tsunami. The Japanese were
:12:43. > :12:51.told that Fukushima was safe only to see it tipped into meltdown.
:12:51. > :12:55.Convincing people now will not be easy.
:12:55. > :13:00.South Korea is planning to open and you have eco-tourism site along its
:13:00. > :13:04.frontier with North Korea. The so- called demilitarised zone created
:13:04. > :13:13.at the end of the Korean war is the most heavily fortified frontier on
:13:13. > :13:17.earth. Lucy Williamson has been looking at the marketing of Korea's
:13:17. > :13:22.military past. As tourist sites go, the frontier between North and
:13:22. > :13:26.South Korea offers more than the usual souvenir T-shirt. A living
:13:26. > :13:30.piece of the Cold War guarded by one million soldiers and another
:13:30. > :13:34.one million land mines buried along the ceasefire line. The Prince into
:13:34. > :13:38.the heart of the world's last divided country. Having people who
:13:38. > :13:41.come here from South Korea, the people who have a heart for the
:13:41. > :13:46.North Korean people, they're here because it is as close as their
:13:46. > :13:54.hearts can get. Father people, this is the closest you can get safely
:13:54. > :14:00.to a sort of active militarised zone. But South Korea's government
:14:00. > :14:06.wants to rebrand this area as a place of peace, not war. With the
:14:06. > :14:10.opening of a new eco-tourism zone along these own. The wide buffer
:14:10. > :14:16.zone along the frontier has been tightly restricted for more than 50
:14:16. > :14:21.years. That, say environmentalists, has created an untouched nature
:14:21. > :14:28.reserve among the battlefields with thousands of species, where cranes
:14:28. > :14:32.and Korean flying squirrels. TRANSLATION: By turning this into
:14:32. > :14:37.an eco-tourism sewn it would change the way people see it. They have
:14:37. > :14:41.been coming here to see the last divided country, to see part of the
:14:41. > :14:47.Cold War. In the future we hope they will come to see the wildlife.
:14:47. > :14:52.But even past conflicts are not always easy to forget. Hidden in
:14:52. > :14:56.farmland is somewhere the tour buses do not go. These are the
:14:56. > :15:02.graves of North Korean and Chinese soldiers killed during the Korean
:15:02. > :15:11.War 60 years ago, all part of South Korea's pass, but also passed --
:15:11. > :15:15.part of its present. Remains like these are being found all the time.
:15:15. > :15:21.The war soldiers 14 has never formally ended. The two countries
:15:21. > :15:26.are bound by an uneasy truce, not a peace deal. But along this region,
:15:26. > :15:31.reminders of the military past are being revised. Like this fence.
:15:31. > :15:35.Bill's 40 years ago to keep out North Korean agents. -- it was
:15:35. > :15:42.built. But the military tensions themselves are stubb
:15:42. > :15:48.raise. -- to get rid of. The Tiny's
:15:48. > :15:53.territory of Guam looks every bit an island paradise but an
:15:53. > :15:55.infestation of brown tree snakes has given it the unfortunate
:15:55. > :16:03.nickname of Snake Island. The locals have had enough and are
:16:03. > :16:07.fighting to evict them from the island. It all started with one
:16:07. > :16:13.must always make. But today on this tiny Pacific island there are
:16:13. > :16:20.millions. The brown tree snake might not look much of a menace but
:16:20. > :16:25.this unwelcome guest has become an nemesis. There it is. This is a
:16:25. > :16:30.typical size for the brown tree snake. Can I touch it? That we know
:16:30. > :16:34.when you feel comfortable. You have got him. -- let me know. This snake
:16:34. > :16:38.is one of the most successful invasive species in the world.
:16:38. > :16:42.Since it arrived 60 years ago it has decimated the local wildlife.
:16:43. > :16:48.This forest used to be full of sounds, and now it is silent. There
:16:48. > :16:54.are now more than 6,000 snakes per square, top on a qualm. They preyed
:16:54. > :17:00.on the small birds until they drop off. It has switched its feeding
:17:00. > :17:03.preference. It goes after anything. We thought that populations would
:17:03. > :17:08.decline after it wiped out the birds. But it just switched what it
:17:08. > :17:13.fed on. Rodents, lizards, small mammals. Now the locals are
:17:13. > :17:19.fighting back to save their beautiful island. Desperate times,
:17:19. > :17:24.though, call for desperate measures. This is an air drop with a
:17:24. > :17:30.difference. Mice are laden with poison are parachuted down to
:17:30. > :17:38.unsuspecting snakes below. It is the latest weapon. But it is a
:17:38. > :17:41.battle on two France. -- France. Conservationists are also trying to
:17:41. > :17:45.stop the reptiles from spreading to neighbouring islands. Dogs have
:17:45. > :17:49.been trained to sniff out any unwanted hideaways. It is a huge
:17:49. > :17:55.task. Every item of cargo is checked before at least the island.
:17:55. > :17:59.But letting the snakes estate is not an option. Researchers have
:17:59. > :18:05.gone to Hawaii and look at their economy and tried to apply the
:18:05. > :18:10.impact of the snake to Hawaii. They found it could result in $400
:18:10. > :18:15.million per year. It includes healthcare for humans because they
:18:15. > :18:19.hurt people. It includes damages to the power system. It includes lost
:18:19. > :18:24.revenue associated with declining tourism. People are not as likely
:18:24. > :18:29.to travel there. The infestation is on such a colossal scale is maybe
:18:29. > :18:38.too late to bring it under control. For now the island serves as an
:18:38. > :18:42.example of what happens when an invasive species takes hold.
:18:42. > :18:47.Watching a man hit people with a stick and eat sausages to a
:18:47. > :18:51.crocodile may not at first seemed like ideal entertainment for
:18:51. > :18:56.children. But this particular blend of slapstick humour and cruelty has
:18:56. > :19:03.been drawing crowds to Punch and Judy shows for centuries. This year
:19:03. > :19:13.they celebrate their 300 and 50th anniversary. We report on an
:19:13. > :19:17.
:19:17. > :19:22.ancient British seaside Mr Punch is a man with the message.
:19:22. > :19:32.If anyone gets in Your Way hit them with a big stick. Over hundreds of
:19:32. > :19:34.
:19:34. > :19:39.years across the world he has hit them all. Hang on. One question. He
:19:39. > :19:48.is a very bad man. He is a clown. He is a mass murderer. He uses a
:19:48. > :19:55.slapstick like this and he delivers a stylised blow. It is the other
:19:55. > :20:04.side of the Quine from a magic wand. And they are puppets. I am
:20:04. > :20:10.wondering whether it Tom and Jerry... Yes, that was a bank of
:20:10. > :20:17.being whacked. Punch has always been changing. He exists across the
:20:17. > :20:22.world and arrived in Britain and was first spotted in Covent Garden
:20:22. > :20:27.in 1662. 350 years later, and Nationwide birthday party is being
:20:27. > :20:33.planned. He is soul old people have forgotten there is more to him than
:20:33. > :20:38.meets the eye. -- so old. Over the years there has been punched and
:20:38. > :20:41.Joan, punched and Toby. And he has always upset somebody.
:20:41. > :20:48.Victorians were concerned about, should we see the devil or the
:20:48. > :20:54.ghost? No concerns about what you might do to your wife or at baby.
:20:54. > :21:00.There is laughter in the air. in the innocent days of the 1940s
:21:00. > :21:08.and 1950s, punched used to carry out a hanging. No longer. There are
:21:08. > :21:13.new characters now. The favourites remain. Crocodiles, sausages, the