:00:07. > :00:21.Hello. This is BBC World News. Our top stories: after 18 months living
:00:22. > :00:26.under fire in dreadful conditions, up to 200 women, children and the
:00:27. > :00:30.elderly are evacuated from the besieged Syrian city of Homs.
:00:31. > :00:38.Some un-diplomatic language lands America's envoy in hot water. She
:00:39. > :00:40.apologises after being heard swearing about the European Union.
:00:41. > :00:43.Will Russia's Olympic gamble pay off? Can the Winter Games overcome
:00:44. > :00:45.the controversy and concerns about security?
:00:46. > :00:48.And, finding the footsteps of our ancestors - how scientists stumbled
:00:49. > :01:08.on something that was left behind millions of years ago.
:01:09. > :01:21.We start in Syria. And the first signs of concession after three
:01:22. > :01:24.years of conflict. In the last hour Syrian State TV has reported that
:01:25. > :01:28.trapped civilians from besieged areas of Homs are leaving. The UN
:01:29. > :01:31.brokered the deal which allows 200 vulnerable people to leave the
:01:32. > :01:37.dreadful conditions in the Old City. A convoy with humanitarian aid will
:01:38. > :01:40.be allowed into it on Saturday. There are also reports of the
:01:41. > :01:45.three-day cease-fire, that from the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
:01:46. > :01:50.Here's what the governor of Homs has been saying about the developments.
:01:51. > :01:54.TRANSLATION: so far, things are good, quiet and promising.
:01:55. > :01:59.Dealing with the other side was done through the United nation 's team.
:02:00. > :02:06.We have no problems with the negotiations. The process was
:02:07. > :02:09.supposed to have started at nine o'clock local time but preparations
:02:10. > :02:17.on the ground require sometimes for the safe exit of cars and buses.
:02:18. > :02:24.Let's go to our correspondent in Beirut. The Russian Foreign Ministry
:02:25. > :02:29.confirming this is a three-day cease-fire. The UN saying it is a
:02:30. > :02:34.humanitarian pause only. How do you analyse this? I think it is
:02:35. > :02:39.interesting the Russians have made it clear they have been instrumental
:02:40. > :02:42.in bringing about this agreement. They said the Russian embassy in
:02:43. > :02:48.Damascus was actively playing a role in the preparations, working
:02:49. > :02:53.alongside the UN and the Syrian authorities. That is important,
:02:54. > :02:58.especially in the context of the Geneva peace talks. If this comes
:02:59. > :03:03.off, the civilians have not yet been seen to be moving out of the old
:03:04. > :03:10.city of Homs. If it does come off, it will be seen as a sign Russia can
:03:11. > :03:15.deliver. So they have, in a sense, put down a marker. If it does not
:03:16. > :03:18.work out they will not look good. This could be why the Syrian
:03:19. > :03:22.government have given such prominence to this. They have live
:03:23. > :03:26.broadcasts going on from Homs and they have the buses waiting. They
:03:27. > :03:31.have given this a lot of prominence. It is important this should work.
:03:32. > :03:36.The Syrian government obviously once it to work because they want to be
:03:37. > :03:40.seen to be doing the right thing as far as their important Russian
:03:41. > :03:45.allies are concerned. We are seeing some recent video at the moment
:03:46. > :03:49.which includes shelling. What is the security situation in the city,
:03:50. > :03:55.which has been so batted for more than two years? That is why it is so
:03:56. > :03:59.difficult to bring about these arrangements. It is a battle fronts,
:04:00. > :04:05.and very active at all front. There has been heavy shelling, constant
:04:06. > :04:09.clashes and there is a clearly defined at a line and it is
:04:10. > :04:12.difficult to cross it because it requires all parties to hold fire.
:04:13. > :04:18.That includes rebel groups on the ground. And there are some radical
:04:19. > :04:23.ones. That's why it is so important, if this does work, it shows people
:04:24. > :04:28.can come to agreements and carry them out. That has got implications
:04:29. > :04:33.for the Geneva process if it comes off. The government does not much
:04:34. > :04:38.like things being pitched in that light, being related to or dependent
:04:39. > :04:42.on a product of the Geneva process. They say these things are happening
:04:43. > :04:45.on the ground between the authorities and the UN and so on.
:04:46. > :04:51.But given the Russian involvement, I think people will see it in that
:04:52. > :04:58.context almost as a test of Russian credibility. Thank you.
:04:59. > :05:03.Within the past hour, Angela Merkel has entered the row over how to
:05:04. > :05:09.handle the crisis in Ukraine. She has described leaked comments by one
:05:10. > :05:16.of the US diplomats as, " totally unacceptable". A recording surfaced
:05:17. > :05:20.on the Internet last night as the US Secretary of State used a graphic
:05:21. > :05:25.swearword when discussing Europe's views on the way forward in Ukraine.
:05:26. > :05:31.She has apologised, but the authenticity of the recording has
:05:32. > :05:35.not been disputed in Washington. I asked our correspondence in Kiev
:05:36. > :05:40.about the impact of this private conversation, diverging attention
:05:41. > :05:45.from the other major issues inside Ukraine. It is not clear what the
:05:46. > :05:50.ultimate impact of this conversation is. At the moment, aside from deep
:05:51. > :05:55.embarrassment on the American's part, she has held a press
:05:56. > :06:00.conference and refused to comment on the leaked conversation. Although
:06:01. > :06:03.she has apologised to her EU counterparts. It is also a reminder
:06:04. > :06:08.that the EU has been involved in this protest movement in Ukraine on
:06:09. > :06:14.the sidelines, trying to negotiate a deal between the government and the
:06:15. > :06:19.opposition since the very beginning, ever since President Viktor Yannick
:06:20. > :06:27.Povich pulled out of signing a deal with the EU above the Independence
:06:28. > :06:32.Square, which is the central area for the protests. Many of the
:06:33. > :06:36.protesters are very unhappy with the stands the EU has taken, they
:06:37. > :06:41.expected a lot more. President Yanukovych is in Sochi and is
:06:42. > :06:45.expected to meet with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines, although we don't
:06:46. > :06:51.know what they will be discussing. David, what about the fact this
:06:52. > :06:55.essential bugging of this call, however it was made, apparently with
:06:56. > :07:00.Russian connections here, has somehow distracted the focus away
:07:01. > :07:04.from what is happening behind you and in Parliament, and with the
:07:05. > :07:10.President of Ukraine to the American involvement? That is right, many
:07:11. > :07:14.people are commenting on the timing of this leaked conversation. The
:07:15. > :07:19.Americans have said they suspect some sort of involvement with the
:07:20. > :07:25.Russians. We cannot confirm that, of course. And it happens at the same
:07:26. > :07:32.time, Vladimir Putin's main adviser on new route came gave -- gave an
:07:33. > :07:41.interview yesterday where he accused the Americans of financing the
:07:42. > :07:47.opportunity -- things going on here, to $20 million a month. This is
:07:48. > :07:51.happening the day before and on the day of the Sochi Olympics. Many
:07:52. > :07:58.people are marking that saying it is an interesting coincidence, I guess
:07:59. > :08:01.you could say. The BBC has learned that up to 20
:08:02. > :08:09.opposition activists taking part in anti-government process are missing.
:08:10. > :08:13.-- protests. Human rights activists fear they have been taken by
:08:14. > :08:20.security forces, but there is no confirmation.
:08:21. > :08:24.The opposition movement -- movement looking like a revolutionary army.
:08:25. > :08:30.These activists in the capital determined to overthrow the
:08:31. > :08:37.president. But for all of this show of force, many here are now all too
:08:38. > :08:42.aware of the risks they are taking. In this office, volunteers take
:08:43. > :08:49.calls on a special hotline from activists in need of help. They also
:08:50. > :08:52.get calls from relatives and friends reporting those who have gone
:08:53. > :09:01.missing. What is the total number you have? This morning, it was 34
:09:02. > :09:07.people. 34 people missing? Posters with photographs of the missing have
:09:08. > :09:15.been put up in Kia's Central Square, currently the headquarters of the
:09:16. > :09:20.opposition movement. -- Kia's. We have discovered some of those listed
:09:21. > :09:24.as missing have been found. It was simply their mobile phones were not
:09:25. > :09:31.working or they had left the area for personal reasons. But other
:09:32. > :09:34.cases do remain a mystery. On a hill just outside the square, and
:09:35. > :09:39.opposition encampments guarding the approach roads. Earlier this week,
:09:40. > :09:46.one of the commanders disappeared. He failed to return after taking a
:09:47. > :09:50.friend to hospital. Colleagues say it was either because of his
:09:51. > :09:57.opposition activity or personal reasons, or robbery.
:09:58. > :10:01.TRANSLATION: considering the situation in the country it was
:10:02. > :10:06.likely a police operation done in order to scare people. We are
:10:07. > :10:11.currently on a heightened state of alert and do not go round the city
:10:12. > :10:15.on our own. Not surprising, after what happened to another opposition
:10:16. > :10:21.leader. This man emerged last week from what he says was eight days at
:10:22. > :10:27.the hands of professional members of the security services. A government
:10:28. > :10:34.official claimed he could have staged the incident to discredit the
:10:35. > :10:39.security forces. The police insist they investigate all reports of
:10:40. > :10:55.missing people. But every day, they have yet more cases to deal with.
:10:56. > :11:04.Also in that region at 8:14pm, the Russian Winter Olympics will begin.
:11:05. > :11:06.8:14pm, 2014 in the 24-hour clock. No expense has been spurred,
:11:07. > :11:12.estimates suggest Russia has spent more than $50 billion and that makes
:11:13. > :11:19.it more expensive than all of the other Winter Olympics put together.
:11:20. > :11:23.Our reporter grew up in such of -- Sochi and I asked him about the
:11:24. > :11:30.Olympics he remembers and those. A lot of changes during these years.
:11:31. > :11:37.Some people come here and they say it is mostly like the Summer
:11:38. > :11:40.Olympics because of the weather. It is a tropical city on the Black Sea
:11:41. > :11:46.coast. Of course there are some changes and people say that some
:11:47. > :11:51.things have been done good. Some of them were not so good. The
:11:52. > :11:58.construction work is still going on in the city, you can hear, opposite
:11:59. > :12:04.to others, there is a private hotel under construction workers are still
:12:05. > :12:11.there. In the city as well, there are some places you can hear noise.
:12:12. > :12:16.People who live in Sochi, they also say it was difficult for them during
:12:17. > :12:21.these years because of the noise, because of the dust everywhere in
:12:22. > :12:27.the city. But now they are all prepared for the Olympics. They want
:12:28. > :12:31.to cheer for the sportsman making their efforts. Let's see what
:12:32. > :12:44.happens. There have been violent protest in
:12:45. > :12:50.the centre of Rio de Janeiro. They demonstrated in this city's main
:12:51. > :12:57.railway station. Riot police were deployed and protesters threw petrol
:12:58. > :13:02.bombs and fireworks and stones. One journalist was seriously injured.
:13:03. > :13:06.Indonesia has granted parole to an Australian woman who has been behind
:13:07. > :13:10.bars for nilly ten years after being convicted of drug smuggling.
:13:11. > :13:14.The woman, seen when she was sentenced nine years ago was stopped
:13:15. > :13:22.at Bali airport with more than four kilos of marijuana in her bag. She
:13:23. > :13:27.has always maintained her innocence. This lady is in Jakarta and we asked
:13:28. > :13:30.her how unique it is for someone to be paroled on a charge after being
:13:31. > :13:38.found guilty on an issue like this. It is quite rare, but Indonesia
:13:39. > :13:42.granted parole to another foreign national who has been convicted of
:13:43. > :13:48.drug trafficking a few months ago. But the announcement by the Justice
:13:49. > :13:54.Minister that says her parole application has been approved was
:13:55. > :13:57.made very carefully. The minister insisted parole is not a matter of
:13:58. > :14:06.policy and it is not the ministers or that government's generosity.
:14:07. > :14:10.They are upholding the law. Considering she had served more than
:14:11. > :14:15.two thirds of her sentence, her application was able to be approved.
:14:16. > :14:23.Of course there is a lot of sensitivity around this decision,
:14:24. > :14:26.because allegations, whether the relations between Indonesia and
:14:27. > :14:31.Australia have any influence over this decision, the relationship has
:14:32. > :14:35.been marred with a lot of problems recently. Activists and members of
:14:36. > :14:41.Parliament in Indonesia have voiced their objections saying this parole
:14:42. > :14:47.is inconsistent with Indonesia's commitment to fight drugs. But the
:14:48. > :14:52.decision has been made and according to prison officials in Bali, as soon
:14:53. > :14:59.as the letter from Jakarta arrived in Bali, she could be released as
:15:00. > :15:02.early as Monday. Tomorrow is always -- already a weekend. She will have
:15:03. > :15:08.two serve the rest of her sentence in Indonesia where she will stay
:15:09. > :15:13.with her sister in Bali until 2017. Now to a video that has emerged
:15:14. > :15:18.which appears to show asylum seekers an Australian naval vessel --
:15:19. > :15:23.vessel. This suggests the Australian government is carrying out a new
:15:24. > :15:27.policy, and that is to turn back refugees trying to get into the
:15:28. > :15:32.country from Indonesia. It comes on the day Australia's Prime Minister
:15:33. > :15:37.said it had been 50 days since any illegal boat carrying asylum seekers
:15:38. > :15:40.had reached the country. The government has so far refused to
:15:41. > :15:49.confirm whether the Navy is turning back refugees like that. He still to
:15:50. > :15:53.come, why America's military is stepping up operations across the
:15:54. > :15:58.lawn of Africa. -- the Horn of Africa. Torrential
:15:59. > :16:02.rain and floods in Bolivia have killed more than 30 people.
:16:03. > :16:06.The army is helping to evacuate families from the worst affected
:16:07. > :16:13.regions, like the Amazonian and cattle rearing area of Beni,
:16:14. > :16:17.north-east of the capital, La Paz. Weeks of torrential rain have
:16:18. > :16:22.resulted in this. The flooding stretches as far as the
:16:23. > :16:25.eye can see. It has left dozens of communities cut off and stranded.
:16:26. > :16:33.Some have been without help for weeks, and say the arrival of aid is
:16:34. > :16:36.a welcome sight. This victim said the most urgent need was for food
:16:37. > :16:43.and water for the entire community, and that animals needed to be moved
:16:44. > :16:48.to higher places. With entire towns and villages underwater, the
:16:49. > :16:52.country's armed forces have joined in the rescue efforts. Their aim is
:16:53. > :16:54.to try and reach the most remote communities. Alongside them are
:16:55. > :17:01.medics took help try and stop the spread of disease. Cousin ASEAN this
:17:02. > :17:07.is a hospital boat that will provide medical services that will also
:17:08. > :17:10.assist in giving food, but could also evacuate people voluntarily if
:17:11. > :17:14.they would like to go back to the city of Trinidad, or any community
:17:15. > :17:19.that could have them in healthy conditions. This year's rainy season
:17:20. > :17:21.has caused havoc for large swathes of the country, and with more rain
:17:22. > :17:28.forecast, the misery for thousands of people is expected to continue
:17:29. > :17:33.for some time yet. Now too late grad of various violin
:17:34. > :17:38.that was stolen in the US state of Wisconsin. -- a Stradivarius
:17:39. > :17:41.violin. The authorities say it is in good condition. The 300-year-old
:17:42. > :17:46.instrument was found after an anonymous donor offered a 100,000
:17:47. > :17:51.dollar reward. The violin is worth millions of dollars. It was on loan
:17:52. > :17:55.to a concert violinist. He was attacked with a stun gun as he left
:17:56. > :18:01.the concert hall with the violin. Police have arrested two men and a
:18:02. > :18:08.woman. You are with BBC World News. The
:18:09. > :18:10.headlines: Operations are underway to evacuate the first group of
:18:11. > :18:17.civilians from the besieged Syrian city of Homs. A top US diplomat
:18:18. > :18:21.apologises after she is heard swearing about the EU's involvement
:18:22. > :18:26.in Ukraine in a leaked phone conversation.
:18:27. > :18:31.Now to the one of Africa, a poor but strategically critical region we
:18:32. > :18:34.cannot often report from. But America's main military base for all
:18:35. > :18:38.of Africa is in the tiny nation of Djibouti. The base is the nerve
:18:39. > :18:41.centre for US counterterrorism operations against Al-Shabaab in
:18:42. > :18:48.neighbouring Somalia and Al-Qaeda in southern Yemen. Our security
:18:49. > :18:56.correspondent is there. He asked Djibouti's Foreign Minister, what
:18:57. > :19:06.will it take to defeat Al-Shabaab? Al-Shabaab is just one element of a
:19:07. > :19:08.very wide network. For that network to be defeated, there is a need for
:19:09. > :19:17.a global approach against terrorists. There is also a need for
:19:18. > :19:22.more funding and resources, and also training for special forces in
:19:23. > :19:26.countries that are threatened like Djibouti and Ethiopia, Kenya and
:19:27. > :19:35.others. Human and material resources, we need that kind of
:19:36. > :19:40.global strategic approach. We also need the effective contribution of
:19:41. > :19:46.countries like the United States, which have the technical capacity to
:19:47. > :19:51.go after those terrorist elements, wherever they are. Frank Gardner
:19:52. > :19:56.then joined me from inside the US military base. I asked him what he
:19:57. > :20:02.has discovered at Camp Lemonnier about what the US like to call them
:20:03. > :20:05.a literary mission out of Djibouti. They are really stepping up military
:20:06. > :20:11.operations here, particularly in the wake of the Westgate shopping mall
:20:12. > :20:16.attack by Al-Shabaab in Nairobi in September. That attack killed over
:20:17. > :20:19.60 people. They already had the task force in place here, but it has
:20:20. > :20:28.intensified their hunt for the Al-Shabaab leaders. If you visualise
:20:29. > :20:32.the map, this camp is in Djibouti, a tiny republic sandwiched between two
:20:33. > :20:37.very troubled nations, Yemen to the north, Somalia to the south. In both
:20:38. > :20:41.countries, US boots on the ground are not welcome, but they are here
:20:42. > :20:48.in Djibouti. This country has very much thrown in slot -- thrown in its
:20:49. > :20:54.lot with Washington and the West. That minister was referring to his
:20:55. > :20:58.approval, surprisingly, of the use of unmanned aerial drones that carry
:20:59. > :21:03.out missile strikes, very controversially, against military
:21:04. > :21:08.leaders in Somalia and Yemen. What is your assessment of how well the
:21:09. > :21:12.Americans are able to map, through which ever means, the threat from
:21:13. > :21:20.Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda in both those countries?
:21:21. > :21:26.Well, the Americans have got an enormous and extensive intelligence
:21:27. > :21:31.and satellite information gathering operation, very much centred here in
:21:32. > :21:38.Djibouti. This is a huge, so bling camp, and they have helicopters that
:21:39. > :21:43.fly on long-range missions. They can fly deep into Somalia. They can even
:21:44. > :21:47.get their planes as far as the borders of South Africa, Mozambique,
:21:48. > :21:52.South Sudan. They deployed to South Sudan recently.
:21:53. > :21:55.Scientists have discovered the earliest evidence of human
:21:56. > :21:59.footprints outside of Africa, and it is here in the UK. The footprints
:22:00. > :22:03.are more than 800,000 years old. They were uncovered on the shores of
:22:04. > :22:13.eastern English county of Norfolk, in the small town of Happisburgh.
:22:14. > :22:18.Manet wet and windy spring day last year, scientists stumbled across
:22:19. > :22:24.what they believe to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries
:22:25. > :22:29.in the UK. Swept up by Rossi 's, footprints of early humans, made
:22:30. > :22:32.nearly a million years ago -- swept up by rough seas. In a race against
:22:33. > :22:38.time, researchers on earth them to photograph them before they are
:22:39. > :22:42.eroded by the sea. And they record their reactions in this scientific
:22:43. > :22:47.footage. Walking across the beach, we found this service. You can see
:22:48. > :22:51.that it is covered in little hollows and depressions. They have been
:22:52. > :22:56.washed out by the sea, slowly uncovering that surface, so it is
:22:57. > :23:01.fragile. It is potentially very exciting. This could be the earliest
:23:02. > :23:07.footprints surface anywhere in Europe and Asia. The analysis showed
:23:08. > :23:17.several footprints, mostly quite small, probably children. But one
:23:18. > :23:21.size eight of an adult male. It was here that scientists found the
:23:22. > :23:25.footprints. They are thought to be of five individuals, a mixture of
:23:26. > :23:30.adults and children, maybe a family gathering or simply going for a
:23:31. > :23:34.walk. The footprints have now gone, washed away by the sea. Scientists
:23:35. > :23:40.are convinced that there are many more of them to be found right under
:23:41. > :23:43.these fans. Four years ago, the researchers found the first evidence
:23:44. > :23:49.for the existence of these humans here. The disc covered these stone
:23:50. > :23:52.tools, which we used for cutting. These humans were a different
:23:53. > :23:57.species to us, so what were they like? We don't know if they had the
:23:58. > :24:03.use of fire. There is no evidence of it here. We know the climate at
:24:04. > :24:07.Happisburgh was on average colder than the present day, so we wonder
:24:08. > :24:12.if they had adaptations like clothing and building shelters to
:24:13. > :24:16.help them survive, but we have no evidence of that either. At the
:24:17. > :24:19.moment, we have more questions than answers. The footprints are from
:24:20. > :24:25.what may have been the first of many species of human to walk these
:24:26. > :24:29.shores over the past million years. Until the arrival of our own species
:24:30. > :24:38.to Britain, relatively recently, just 40,000 years ago.
:24:39. > :24:42.To America, where Jay Leno, the long serving host of the tonight show on
:24:43. > :24:54.NBC in the US, has made an emotional final farewell to his millions of
:24:55. > :24:55.viewers full up. It is an American institution.
:24:56. > :25:00.Politicians, Hollywood stars, musicians, even a serving president
:25:01. > :25:04.have appeared on the Tonight Show. And for more than 20 years, Jay Leno
:25:05. > :25:09.has welcomed them all from the host's hot seat. This is the best
:25:10. > :25:16.job in show business. Doing that first show, I said, who shall I get
:25:17. > :25:20.to open it? It was Billy, so I can't imagine anyone else helping the end
:25:21. > :25:25.it. Please welcome Billy Crystal! His first guest in 1992, the
:25:26. > :25:31.comedian and actor Billy Crystal, led the farewell tributes. You
:25:32. > :25:36.Americans helped us through good times and bad. The country would
:25:37. > :25:42.stay up for your monologue to help put the country in perspective. When
:25:43. > :25:46.it was sadly announced that the world's number one terrorist had
:25:47. > :25:52.been captured, who told us it was Justin Bieber? You did. Ladies and
:25:53. > :26:02.gentlemen, Jack Black! # so long, farewell, as he does them, my dear.
:26:03. > :26:08.You will be back here next year. Replacing Jay Leno was host Jimmy
:26:09. > :26:12.Fallon, a social media savvy comedian who appeals to the
:26:13. > :26:21.20-something demographic much coveted by advertisers. A lot of
:26:22. > :26:25.people say, is it your dream job? I say, it is impossible for me to
:26:26. > :26:33.dream this. More people have walked on the moon and sun have hosted the
:26:34. > :26:36.Tonight Show. It is really a corner by myself. In an increasingly
:26:37. > :26:39.competitive late night market, Jimmy Fallon will be under pressure to
:26:40. > :26:46.keep the Tonight Show at the top of the ratings, as Jay Leno has done
:26:47. > :26:57.for many years. This has been the greatest 22 years of my life.
:26:58. > :26:59.And it is farewell from me, a bit more modest. Thanks for joining me.
:27:00. > :27:02.I buy.