:00:00. > :00:16.You are up to date on the headlines. It is time now for Reporters.
:00:17. > :00:20.From here in the world's newsroom, we send
:00:21. > :00:23.our correspondents to bring you the best stories from across the globe.
:00:24. > :00:35.In this week's programme: A shaky ceasefire.
:00:36. > :00:38.We join Russian forces in northern Syria as they come under fire.
:00:39. > :00:41.As we've seen, the halt in fighting is only partial.
:00:42. > :00:51.On the frontline of America's war against the Zika virus, we report
:00:52. > :00:57.from Puerto Rico, where the US fears hundreds of thousands of new cases.
:00:58. > :01:00.These tiny creatures have been here in Puerto Rico spreading dengue
:01:01. > :01:06.After that, this year, Zika came along.
:01:07. > :01:08.Inside Zimbabwe, we report on the country's worst
:01:09. > :01:10.drought in decades, as President Mugabe celebrates his birthday.
:01:11. > :01:18.And we go on a geological journey into a new epoch.
:01:19. > :01:38.You're touching the boundary between two geological periods of time.
:01:39. > :01:42.It may be largely holding, for now, but the temporary truce in Syria,
:01:43. > :01:44.brokered by Russia and the United States, is plagued with
:01:45. > :01:50.The so-called Islamic State is excluded from it,
:01:51. > :01:52.as is the Al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front, and the role
:01:53. > :01:56.of Nato's most senior commander in Europe has accused Russia of helping
:01:57. > :02:07.the Syrian government to create the refugee crisis as a weapon of war.
:02:08. > :02:10.Steve Rosenberg has been embedded with Russian troops
:02:11. > :02:22.The Russian army is taking us into the hills of western Syria.
:02:23. > :02:25.The Russians say they're using a pause in the fighting to
:02:26. > :02:36.Judging by the armoured vehicle we're in, progress is slow.
:02:37. > :02:43.First stop, five years of civil war left this village empty.
:02:44. > :02:48.Now we're told people are starting to return home.
:02:49. > :02:53.Do you believe there will be peace in Syria, in your country?
:02:54. > :03:03.It was Russian air power that helped the Syrian army retake
:03:04. > :03:14.But today, the Russian military has brought aid, not air strikes.
:03:15. > :03:19.Moscow accused Turkey of allowing weapons to be smuggled into Syria
:03:20. > :03:22.for rebel fighters and of a provocative military build-up that
:03:23. > :03:33.What happens next fits the Kremlin's narrative.
:03:34. > :03:48.A Russian general radios for an armoured personnel carrier.
:03:49. > :03:50.It's supposed to provide us cover as we
:03:51. > :04:09."Now run for it," shouts the general.
:04:10. > :04:12.After five years of civil war, you can understand why many people
:04:13. > :04:17.here are sceptical about the chances of peace.
:04:18. > :04:21.As we've seen, the halt in fighting is only partial.
:04:22. > :04:25.Later, the general claims the blasts were
:04:26. > :04:35.artillery shells fired by terrorists from close to the Turkish border.
:04:36. > :04:37.But we cannot confirm what those explosions were or
:04:38. > :04:40.Syria's president accused rebels of violating
:04:41. > :04:50.We refrain ourselves in order to give the chance
:04:51. > :04:58.Syrians are tired of war, but real peace still seems a long way off.
:04:59. > :05:07.The Center for Disease Control is warning that hundreds of thousands
:05:08. > :05:10.of people in the territory of Puerto Rico could become infected with the
:05:11. > :05:14.It means the possible spread of the virus within America itself
:05:15. > :05:17.has become a very real threat for the US authorities.
:05:18. > :05:20.We've been given rare access to the CDC's situation room in Atlanta,
:05:21. > :05:36.and to its scientists battling Zika in Puerto Rico.
:05:37. > :05:38.It might not look like it, but this tropical island is
:05:39. > :05:50.Welcome to the frontline of the US's fight against Zika.
:05:51. > :05:52.Millions of American tourists come here every year.
:05:53. > :05:56.A major concern, though, is what they're taking back with them.
:05:57. > :05:58.These are the Zika-transmitting mosquitoes.
:05:59. > :06:09.On the menu, pig's blood, served at skin temperature.
:06:10. > :06:21.They're being bred in this lab for research into insecticides.
:06:22. > :06:24.These tiny creatures have been here in Puerto Rico spreading
:06:25. > :06:26.Then they started spreading a new virus.
:06:27. > :06:30.After that, at the start of this year, Zika came along with the link
:06:31. > :06:34.Worryingly, the insecticides to kill these mosquitoes aren't working
:06:35. > :06:41.These mosquitoes are resistant to one of the most
:06:42. > :06:45.This has been used in Puerto Rico and the rest of the Americas
:06:46. > :06:58.Scientists are now racing to find other chemicals
:06:59. > :07:02.The insects can breed and thrive in just a few drops of water.
:07:03. > :07:05.Permethrin might not be 100% effective, but fumigators are
:07:06. > :07:15.Here we're talking about if you're pregnant what to do about the Zika
:07:16. > :07:20.Zika isn't considered particularly harmful to most people.
:07:21. > :07:22.Authorities are focusing on protecting pregnant women
:07:23. > :07:30.because of that link to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.
:07:31. > :07:48.I'm very worried about this, because no woman wants a baby with this
:07:49. > :07:54.1500 miles away, at the Center for Disease Control
:07:55. > :07:56.headquarters in Atlanta, the man advising the president
:07:57. > :08:06.on this global health emergency is preparing for the worst.
:08:07. > :08:09.In Puerto Rico, we expected there will likely be hundreds of thousands
:08:10. > :08:11.of infections and potentially hundreds or thousands of women who
:08:12. > :08:15.What's new and different and frightening is this rate
:08:16. > :08:25.Back at the lab, scientists continue the fight against
:08:26. > :08:29.They need answers fast to stop the spread of this potentially
:08:30. > :08:43.To Zimbabwe now, where the ruling party has been criticised
:08:44. > :08:45.for hosting lavish birthday celebrations for President Mugabe
:08:46. > :08:52.They're having the worst drought since the 1990s.
:08:53. > :08:54.Tens of thousands still turned out for the president's 92nd birthday
:08:55. > :08:57.party, held in one of the areas worst hit by drought.
:08:58. > :09:15.The worst drought to hit Zimbabwe in three decades, a quarter
:09:16. > :09:17.of the country's population is facing food shortages.
:09:18. > :09:19.President Robert Mugabe declared a state of disaster,
:09:20. > :09:33.paving the way for international donors to help out.
:09:34. > :09:38.If the situation doesn't change, we will also die.
:09:39. > :09:47.I'll be forced to sell all my cattle to feed my family.
:09:48. > :09:49.There have been downpours in recent days, bringing relief.
:09:50. > :09:52.The sparse rainfall patterns may do very little to alleviate
:09:53. > :09:55.By declaring an emergency, Mr Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe
:09:56. > :09:58.since independence from Britain in 1980, is absolving himself and
:09:59. > :10:15.his government from taking on the responsibility to feed his people.
:10:16. > :10:17.Yes, we need funding, more funding, more money.
:10:18. > :10:20.With the help that we are able to get, we shall certainly manage to go
:10:21. > :10:49.These bad patches do come from time to time.
:10:50. > :10:51.In the midst of this agricultural disaster, a lavish birthday party
:10:52. > :10:55.for the 92-year-old leader was held in one of the areas hardest hit
:10:56. > :11:13.Aid, mainly from the United States and EU, is being distributed
:11:14. > :11:19.We are at the tip of the iceberg, and come three,
:11:20. > :11:22.four months from now, we would have a serious humanitarian
:11:23. > :11:29.UN resources are under increasing pressure, so it remains to be seen
:11:30. > :11:31.just how much the international community will be willing to help
:11:32. > :11:43.It's not easy being gay in Indonesia.
:11:44. > :11:46.The community has come under fire from some of the country's
:11:47. > :11:52.They've called on the government to make gay sex
:11:53. > :12:06.and the promotion of gay, lesbian and transgender activities illegal.
:12:07. > :12:08.Last week, a former government minister called
:12:09. > :12:11.on his one million Twitter followers to kill any gay people they find.
:12:12. > :12:14.We have met some in the gay community who feel they
:12:15. > :12:17.Indonesia does have a very visible and dynamic transgender community.
:12:18. > :12:19.They have set up a salon in this community.
:12:20. > :12:31.They are very much part of the community.
:12:32. > :12:32.TRANSLATION: These are all my friends.
:12:33. > :12:37.It's not something that spreads, right?
:12:38. > :12:52.TRANSLATION: People that don't accept them say to me, why are you
:12:53. > :12:56.I say, they have the spirit of women.
:12:57. > :13:07.The transgender community is shut out from most professions, and
:13:08. > :13:13.As night falls, these railway tracks turn into a red light district.
:13:14. > :13:15.In recent years, areas like this have been raided
:13:16. > :13:27.TRANSLATION: They don't treat me like a human.
:13:28. > :13:50.TRANSLATION: They were saying Islamic prayers as they hit us.
:13:51. > :14:01.I'm off to meet someone who grew up in a small village in
:14:02. > :14:11.Sumatra, in a religious family, went to an Islamic boarding school.
:14:12. > :14:14.He has set up a shelter here, becoming an activist, once he had an
:14:15. > :14:17.TRANSLATION: I was stripped naked by the police.
:14:18. > :14:21.I was urinated on because my boyfriend came over to my house.
:14:22. > :14:22.When there is a homophobic statement,
:14:23. > :14:27.They are saying I don't respect my country or my religion.
:14:28. > :14:29.I could leave this country and run away.
:14:30. > :14:52.Rebecca Hench QI, BBC News, Jakarta. -- Henschke.
:14:53. > :14:54.When Hugo Chavez came to power in Venezuela,
:14:55. > :14:59.Here was a Democrat with revenues from the world's largest proven
:15:00. > :15:01.oil resources to spend on his radical plans for social reform.
:15:02. > :15:03.Now, the Chavez revolution is in trouble.
:15:04. > :15:07.It has one of the world's highest rates of inflation,
:15:08. > :15:10.and the economy is in meltdown because of collapsing oil prices.
:15:11. > :15:23.And the successor to Chavez lacks the charisma of El Comandante.
:15:24. > :15:59.The eyes of Hugo Chavez looking over Caracus - now he's dead.
:16:00. > :16:03.The poor living in the barios, historically his political base,
:16:04. > :16:06.have turned against the movement he created.
:16:07. > :16:15.In the country with the world's biggest oil reserves,
:16:16. > :16:20.they're queueing for the essentials of everyday life.
:16:21. > :16:56.Filming in Venezuela is tricky, and that includes the supermarkets.
:16:57. > :17:04.The government has fixed the price of rice, flour, even loo roll.
:17:05. > :17:08.So the way round the fixed pricing system is you don't get toilet roll,
:17:09. > :17:17.You can get toilet paper, but at a price, on the black market.
:17:18. > :17:20.This is illegal, but no-one dares stop it.
:17:21. > :17:27.Without the black market, the country would crunch to a halt.
:17:28. > :17:31.How about this for some Venezuelan sorcery?
:17:32. > :18:00.Hey presto, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
:18:01. > :18:08.If you change the $100 at the official rate,
:18:09. > :18:17.So not surprisingly, people change at the black market.
:18:18. > :18:23.That means the government has lost control of the economy.
:18:24. > :18:57.But that's not how the ruling party sees it.
:18:58. > :19:04.Chavismo works when it had its Messiah and high oil prices.
:19:05. > :19:26.Under Chavez's successor, it doesn't have either.
:19:27. > :19:30.In the barrios, traditionally solid bases for Chavez,
:19:31. > :19:45.For now, petrol is the cheapest in the world.
:19:46. > :19:52.The government has defined $10 billion for debt repayments later
:19:53. > :19:54.this year, but seems afraid to lift petrol prices for fear
:19:55. > :20:04.These riots in 1989 saw hundreds dead, financial
:20:05. > :20:12.It might not come to it, but some people fear this could lead
:20:13. > :20:22.And the worst case scenario, a military coup.
:20:23. > :20:25.Caracus is tense already because of violent crime.
:20:26. > :20:28.By some estimates, there were nearly 4,000 murders here
:20:29. > :20:36.last year, making it one of the world's most dangerous cities.
:20:37. > :20:46.Within minutes we counted two hearses carrying gunshot victims.
:20:47. > :20:58.After dark, middle-class neighbourhoods are deserted.
:20:59. > :21:04.For now, life goes on, and, for some, it's full of fun.
:21:05. > :21:10.But soon Venezuela's revolutionary ride is set to come to a dead stop.
:21:11. > :21:18.We don't often talk much about geology, but there's
:21:19. > :21:23.a geological debate going on at the moment that could be as important
:21:24. > :21:27.as the meaning of life - it concerns the precise epoch that we're in.
:21:28. > :21:30.For more than 11,000 years, we've been languishing in a period of
:21:31. > :21:51.Her reporter will explain what it is being seen as a turning point in
:21:52. > :21:54.history. To define where one bit
:21:55. > :21:58.of the earth's history ends Traditionally this has
:21:59. > :22:04.been done with hindsight. Now scientists are itching to
:22:05. > :22:10.declare we're in a new epoch. That's what they've done for
:22:11. > :22:15.the entire history of the earth. -- 4.54 billion years later,
:22:16. > :22:26.that's divided into units of time called eons, then into eras,
:22:27. > :22:29.then into periods and finally, These
:22:30. > :22:31.chapters of time mark turning One of these can be found in
:22:32. > :22:40.the southern Uplands of Scotland. In fact, your hand is sitting
:22:41. > :22:46.on the boundary. The boundary between two
:22:47. > :22:51.geological periods of time. The rocks here record
:22:52. > :22:54.a colossal change in the Earth's atmosphere and oceans
:22:55. > :22:57.that triggered a transition between Fast forward and scientists think
:22:58. > :23:05.there's reason to agree we're What we're seeing at present is that
:23:06. > :23:18.the degree of change to the Earth's system, that's being conducted
:23:19. > :23:20.by humans, is as significant as the major changes to the Earth's
:23:21. > :23:26.system in the geological record. The imprints we're leaving
:23:27. > :23:31.on the planet is big and bold. From clearing
:23:32. > :23:33.the land to make way for buildings like this, from creating
:23:34. > :23:37.the materials, concrete, plastic, that goes into them, we're shaping
:23:38. > :23:41.every aspect of our environment. If we define the Anthropicine,
:23:42. > :23:47.saying humanity is a geological superpower, on the same league
:23:48. > :23:50.as meteorite impact, it means that the environmental and evolutionary
:23:51. > :23:59.destiny of the planet is down to us. Now a debate is brewing over
:24:00. > :24:06.the anthopicine start date. It needs a moment in history that
:24:07. > :24:09.leaves a long lasting signal Some say the first nuclear tests
:24:10. > :24:17.offer just that with their legacy Others say the dawn of the
:24:18. > :24:23.anthropicine should go further back. Ultimately, the real birth
:24:24. > :24:26.of this new epoch will be marked It's due to go to
:24:27. > :24:34.a vote later this year. That's all from Reporters
:24:35. > :24:38.for this week. From me, Philippa Thomas,
:24:39. > :24:59.goodbye for now. Milder weather
:25:00. > :25:01.on the way later this week. We are not there yet, with many
:25:02. > :25:05.of us starting Tuesday with a frost