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american and british teams aid in that search. and meet pinocchio rex. a new species of dinosaur has been discovered in china, and its snout is quite a sight. ♪ welcome to our viewers on public television in america and also around the globe. hundreds of syrian opposition fighters have left their last remaining stronghold in the city of homs. the evacuation is a major victory for the syrian government. homs was often called the capital of the revolution and was one of the first places to rise up against the president. the city has been all but destroyed in this war. in homs is over.

smoke rises over the buildings. the rebel fighters moved out. demoralized and hungry after two years of siege. officers and president assad's army called it a surrender or starve. none of the international legions succeeded in putting enough pressure on the regime to open a humanitarian corridor or to supply us with basic needs of food and medicine. preserve -- we will leave to preserve who is still inside alive. >> each fighter took a backpack and a rifle. they leave for the countryside, ready to continue the armed .truggle alongside the bravado, there is bitterness. rebels say they feel betrayed by the international community, by their own political leadership in turkey, by other rebels who

did not come to their aid. the opposition called homs the capital of the revolution. as we saw in the siege of another enclave, the government tried to crush resistance in homs from the start. the shelling is constant now. we are hearing impact every few seconds. in reply, you can also hear a little bit of fire. it is a pretty futile gesture. now they have finished the job in the old city. it is a symbolic and strategic victory for president assad. the syrian leader is trying to gain control of all the in damascus. he is close to that now. going into elections next month, president assad looks stronger than ever. makinges, rebels are

gains. it is not a simple picture, but president assad is winning more than he is losing. perhaps the real significance of homs lies in what it says about the rebels' morale. for some, three years of sacrifice with nothing to show for it is enough. >> both sides are tired, but local cease-fires like that in homs are still far from the negotiated settlement that would end this war. the $300,000 reward is being offered by the nigerian government to anyone who can help find and rescue the more than 200 schoolgirls who were abducted by boko haram last month. officials are calling or both american -- calling for both american and european security advice. >> a desperate seen as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters

are arrived at the school where more than 200 girls were at .pted -- abducted this footage, which has just emerged, captured the awful moment last week when they visited the burned-out shell. all that remains of the place from where their girls were taken. >> we want to let the world know that we do not feel nigeria can help us get our daughters back. we are not happy with the way the nigerian government has handled this issue. >> the girls are now thought to have been dispersed into smaller groups, perhaps taken to neighboring countries. 2 are believed to have already died from snake eyes. a few did escape, and when we met them, they told the bbc what they learned. >> the girls were terrorized, made to believe that if their family members came after them, their family members would be killed, and they would not in any way be returned back. >> protest in the capital.

anger growing at the government's slow and haphazard response, a view echoed by one african diplomat. >> i think the reaction of ,frica should have been faster and they should have come out and condemned this very actively. possibly, the nigerian government should have shared a bit more with its own population. >> the girls were taken by the violent islamist group boko haram, whose leader in this video said he intended to sell them. when asked about the fate of the girls, the prime minister today ' outrage.ared others >> i am the father of two young daughters, and my reaction is exactly the same of every other father or mother in this land or in the world. this is an act of your evil that has united people across the planet to stand with nigeria to help find these children and return them to this -- this is an act of pure evil that has

united people across the planet to stand with nigeria to help find these children and return them to their parents. >> members of the military and intelligence services may come out to help. the global campaign for the girls' release has been growing on the streets and on social media. it has been joined by the pakistani girl attacked by the taliban for going to school, malala yousafzai. she talked to the bbc in britain. >> boko haram -- they are extremists, and they do not really understand islam because islam says it is your duty to get education. they cannot deny this fact. >> hopes for these parents that their daughters may be released soon are fading. today, new reports of more violence with hundreds killed i ino haram -- by boko haram the same region. >> for more on what is being done to rescue the girls, i spoke with the former africa

counterterrorism director at the u.s. defense department. thanks so much for coming in. how much can these american and british teams do to try to bring these girls back? >> i think they can shed some light on potentially where the girls are. many of them, when they were first kidnapped -- several of them escaped, so they can help interview, figure out, also intotially lead the police looking in the right quadrants. it is going to take some time, and we are three weeks removed from when they were kidnapped. >> right, but what resources do the americans and brits have trying to monitor that region that perhaps the nigerians do not? >> we have surveillance capabilities. however, i have not seen any evidence or discussion of providing, you know, overhead

surveillance. right now, it is law enforcement teams, investigators, victim stuffance -- that type of . we will see if this will continue. goodluck jonathan is under a lot of pressure right now. >> do you think it was because of international pressure that he let these teams in? we were just hearing from that report that the brits have been offering for almost three weeks. >> that is the thing -- good luck has gone from trying to extend an olive branch to see if he can win them over to declaring the north a state of emergency and going in with a crushing blow to try to feed boko haram -- try to defeat boko haram, whose leader has operated outside of nigeria, so it has made it difficult for nigerians to deal with. he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. nigeria is a strong leader in the region. now it is an economic power and

africa. in a sense, it is an embarrassment for them not to be able to do something, and so this is where the reluctance he probably comes in. waiting, trying to do something. >> do you think the nigerian government, in the case of the girls and perhaps more broadly, is open to negotiation, to money, to whatever it might take ? we have seen in the past at they have given up hostages for cash. >> in this case, i do not think boko haram is really -- i am of the mindset that they are not after cash in this one. or they would have asked already. if there were foreign workers, perhaps, but i think this is a political play. i think there are some individuals in the north that support secretly boko haram, that provide what it needs, and there are several people that want goodluck jonathan out of the next elections. >> thanks so much for coming.

after weeks of rising tensions, today, president putin urged pro-russian activists in eastern ukraine to call off a series of independence referendums that were planned for this weekend. he also says he has called russian troops back from the ukrainian border, although nato and the united states say they do not see any evidence of that. >> moscow has been in military mood this week, preparing to celebrate the defeat of nazi germany, all against the backdrop of the annexation of crimea and the continuing conflict in eastern ukraine, but in the kremlin today, president putin, speaking with the swiss president, showed the first signs of wanting to d escalated tensions, calling on the armed pro-russian activists to delay their controversial referendum -- showed his first signs of showed to be escalate --

his first signs of wanting to de-escalate the tensions. be a breakthrough if not just a delaying tactic, but the key question, as mr. putin left room, was whether the pro-russian activists will do as he asks. it was a dramatic move i president putin, wrong footing everyone just 4 days before the referendum was to be held -- a dramatic move by president putin . president putin may just have blinked. he could be worried about russia's economy. people's lives here had been transformed by booming oil inorts, but from exile paris, an economist once close to putin warns that sanctions will undermine his promise to

his people. but the promises were put on paper -- >> the promises were , and the promises were based on growth of 5% or 6% a year. some are still driving president putin to realize their dream of a greater russia. >> the nostalgia to restore big russia was what it was before, but now, it is a kind of reality. >> with president putin still basking in his crimea triumph, biding his time today, but he may be pulling back from the brink. >> the mystery of president

putin. the people of egypt will elect a new president themselves later this month, almost a year after mohamed morsi, the last democratically elected leader, was ousted from power. since then, his muslim brotherhood has been declared a terrorism organization by the military leadership. the front runner in the campaign is the former army chief, and among those backing him is an egyptian politician and diplomat i spoke to a short time ago. a couple of days ago, el-sisi said that if he is elected president, the muslim brotherhood will no longer exist in egypt. what do you make of comments like that? --the message is very clear the majority of the egyptian people and even beyond reject the way of this organization or this group, acting using

violence, supporting terrorism. that should not continue. it has to stop. they are terrorizing the society innd they are sowing havoc the normal lives of the people. meant, and heisi is right. cracks -- >> his critics say he is not committed to democracy and he has gone too far in trying to repress the muslim brotherhood, and he is including the people that he is repressing. to wipe out an organization that has a basis -- >> the organization, if they want to continue as a player in the egyptian political scene, they have to abide by the constitution, and renounce into theand get political society. the elections are coming up.

did notconstitution prevent any egyptian from enjoying his political rights, exercising his political rights. have put restrictions -- the government has put restrictions on the right to protest. >> no, not restrictions, but organization. they are organizing this right. as you are organizing in the states and everywhere else. not restricting, but organizing it. limiting,ing, restricting -- >> no, no, no. in so manylowed here western countries should be followed also in egypt. the right to demonstrate. people have the right to oppose the government, but in an organized manner and according

to certain discipline. >> the demonstrations that -- at tahrir square that overthrew president morsi, where they organized? >> that was a revolution. we are talking about organizing society. revolution is something else. everybody was out in the streets trying to put down a regime. we are talking about two different things, not the same thing. now, demonstrations are suppressing a certain point of view -- they have that right. >> i must ask you as a journalist here at the bbc -- what is going to happen to the journalists being held in egyptian prisons at the moment who have been there for over 100 days, who are working for al jazeera, one of whom, of course, is a former bbc colleague of ours? >> we cannot intervene. the president and executive should not intervene --

>> these journalists were just doing their job. >> yes, indeed. >> so you agree? >> there are ways of doing your job properly or improperly. i do not know. the courts will decide that, and i hope that the whole thing, this process, will be accelerated as soon as they can in order to put an end to this episode, but the law must be respected. >> what do you mean "accelerated?" are you suggesting that after the elections, there is a chance these journalists will be released? >> i hope they will be released, but according to a court order. >> thanks so much for coming in. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come, what were you doing at 18? probably not creating a super capacitor like this scientific star. we will bring you her story. today, thailand's prime minister, yingluck shinawatra,

was forced out on the order of the constitutional court, which ruled that she and nine other ministers abused their powers by transferring the country's national security adviser to another position. anti-government protesters have been trying to oust ms. yingluck since november. >> this is becoming something of a fixture in thai political life . the country's court ruling to oust the prime minister. the judges put out a long explanation for their verdict. upon examining the evidence, they said, the court was unanimous that yingluck shinawatra had transferred her national security minister improperly and for the benefit of a family member. the judges also ordered nine cabinet ministers to resign with her. we have usedhat honesty to administrate the country and have never done convey any

dishonesty. >> she had governed as prime minister for just over 1000 days, a political novice when she was elected and inevitably tainted by her controversial brother. at first, her simple conciliatory style mollified her opponents, but by the end of last year, she, like previous leaders of her party, was confronted by a determined and well-funded protest movement that was able to paralyzed parts of the capital and sabotage an election that she called for last february. >> whatever legal justifications they have given today, the judges here know that many ties -- thais will view this as essentially a political verdict by a court that has ruled against ms. yingluck's party many times in the past. they may have broken the deadlock now but have done little to result the heap political crisis -- little to result -- little to resolve the .eep political crisis

>> let's face it -- at 19 years old, few of us were probably out to change the world with our inventions, but that is exactly what this girl has done. last year, she developed what is called a super capacitor to charge more quickly than a conventional battery. it won her a top prize, and now she is studying at harvard. as part of our "women in tech those quotes series -- "women in tech" series, we spoke to her. thisst year, i developed super capacitor energy source device, which can charge really quickly. i use titanium dioxide and a conducting polymer. we always like to joke that nano engineers work with things they cannot see, which makes them a lot cooler.

andinternational science engineering fair is a science fair held every year that contains 1600 or 1700 projects from all over the world. i was very nervous. i did not know what would happen. the confetti fell from the ceiling, i knew that this is what i had done. one of the opportunities was going on the conan o'brien show, where i really got to have a lot of fun. he is a very fun person. >> basically it is a carbon fiber with different metal oxides on it -- >> now you are condescending to me. you are like, "it's made of some complicated material components. it's made of some magical beans ." >> i have never been afraid to be the only girl in science class or the research lab. nothing will keep me awake from doing what i love -- away from

doing what i love. it's important to pass on my love for science to others. these kids have a lot of science -- a lot of passion for science, a lot of love for science. >> wow. thehen i see kids, i see potential to do a lot of great things for the future, and i really think that by inspiring them at a young age, they will get into science and continue down that path. >> congratulations. great job. now to a fearsome beast with a less than treacherous name. more than 60 million years ago, to rent a source rex ruled the earth, but now he has a competitor -- to rent a source rex ruled theus earth, but now he has a competitor, a new dinosaur with

a very long snout that scientists are calling pinocchio rex. >> you wait 60 million years to be discovered, and now everyone wants to talk about how big your nose is. nicknamed pinocchio on account of his extraordinarily long snout. the remains of his skull were discovered in china. researchers examined them and identified a previously unknown species of dinosaur. pinocchio was actually related to our more familiar friend .yrannosaurus rex they would have shared the same was morein, but t. rex fearsome looking. despite his rather comical appearance, he would not have wanted to meet pinocchio and a dark alley. >> he would've looked really funny with these points sticking out of his nose, but he would have been a deadly animal -- these horns sticking out of his nose, but he would have been a deadly animal. this guy would have been eight

or nine meters long, weighed about a ton. you would have wanted to avoid him. >> with pinocchio now part of the dinosaur family, scientist say they expect more species to be discovered, but they doubt if any will be a match for t rex -- t. rex himself. >> pinocchio rex -- love that. thanks for watching the program. do tune in tomorrow. ♪ >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, kovler foundation. united health care, union bank, and charles schwab. >> there's a saying around here -- you stand behind what you say. around here, you don't make

excuses. you make to minutes. and when you cannot live up to them, you own up and make it right. some people think the kind of accountability that thrives on so many streets in this country has gone missing in the places where it is needed most, but i know you will still find it when you know where to look. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: russian president vladimir putin said today that his country has pulled back its troops from the border with ukraine. but the white house insisted there's no evidence of such a move. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this wednesday, nigeria's capital is on lock down for an economic conference, but the nation, and much of the world, is focused on the fate of nearly 300 abducted girls as the u.s. offers to step in. >> even with the eyes of the world on the growing efforts to get them back, parents remain angry that so much time has already been lost. >> woodruff: plus, boys will be boys. our parenting series continu