Started in Eastern Ukraine soon after russia annexed ukraines crimea peninsula. The conflict began about a month later after the deposed pro moscow ukrainian president , viktor yanukovych, fled to russia. The un says since the conflict began more than 10,000 people have died in the donetsk and luhansk regions. Andrew plant has the story. In the war torn east of ukrainian, carried on three plain buses, hundreds of prisoners are heading home, some after years in captivity. More than 300 people, in one of the biggest prisoner swaps since the ukrainian conflict began, the first such swap since september last year, arriving with their belongings, shivering in temperatures close to freezing, but glad to be finally free. Translation i am very happy that i am going back to ukraine, and i thank everyone for the work that has been done to be able to see my loved ones again. Translation i want to believe that people are tired of all of this and must find the strength to engage in a dialogue, because without dialogue, we will be in a deadlock with no way out. The prisoner transports arrived in the early hours in the donetsk region, in Eastern Ukraine, at the mayorsk checkpoint, near the city of horlivka. It happened watched by tight security. Ukrainian armed forces on one side, on the other, the russian backed eastern militia. The conflict began more than three years ago, soon after russia annexed ukraines crimea peninsula, in march, 2014. The un estimates more than 10,000 have since died, the latest on wednesday, a soldier, the first death since a christmas ceasefire started last saturday. The Prisoners Released on wednesday then, a late present forfamilies and loved ones who have spent many months campaigning to have them set free. But this exchange has been far smaller than many had hoped for, and hundreds more prisoners are still held by both sides. Andrew plant, bbc news. An improvised explosive device has gone off in a supermarket in the russian city of st petersburg. Local Officials Say ten people are in hospital, one is in a serious condition. The incident is being investigated as attempted murder, but no theories have been ruled out. The bbcs tim allman reports. Ambulance siren. Emergency services were quickly on the scene. The explosion taking place at around 6 30pm local time. A small home made devices detonating, according to local media, in a lock up where shoppers leave their belongings. Packed with pieces of metal, equivalent to around 200g of tnt, it could have caused carnage. 0ne womans face was covered in blood, said this eyewitness, and one man was limping. From outside the supermarket, the damage looked fairly limited. Some broken glass and shattered windows. There have been injuries but no deaths. Now the authorities are on the hunt for the bomber or bombers. So far this has not been described as a terror attack but nothing is being ruled out. Translation an investigation is underway, which includes experienced officers from the federal Security Service and the interior ministry. All possible theories of what happened are being worked on. Russia and Saint Petersburg itself is no stranger to bomb attacks like this. In april, 16 people died when the citys metro system was targeted. And next summer Saint Petersburg is due to host games in the football world cup. So an incident like this will have the authorities on edge. Russia is a target and whoever carried out this latest attack is still at large. Tim allman, bbc news. In syria, aid workers have started to move critically ill children from a rebel held suburb near the capital, damascus. After months of negotiation, four patients were taken out of ghouta on tuesday night. Another 25 are expected to be moved in the coming days, although hundreds more are in urgent need of treatment. Around 400,000 people have been under siege by Government Forces since 2013. From beirut, our correspondent, martin patience. Seven year old imjy is preparing for a shortjourney, and it will almost certainly end up saving her life. She is suffering from haemophilia, but last night she was among four critically ill patients to be evacuated to damascus for life saving treatment. This is what shes leaving behind. Eastern ghouta is one of the last remaining rebel strongholds, fighting the government of bashar al assad. Its been bombed and besieged for four years, with fighting intensifing in recent weeks. I think its a combination of everybodys efforts that at this really low time in syria there is a ray of light, and its the children. Its the children who are missing growing up in syria. We must sort them out, to give syria a chance of a prosperous and peaceful future. But food is hard to come by. Malnutrition is now widespread. Human Rights Groups accuse the Syrian Government of trying to starve the rebels into submission. This evacuation may have the appearances of a humanitarian gesture, but thats simply not the case. Weve been told by two sources that the Syrian Government only agreed to it as part of a Prisoner Exchange. The main rebel faction in Eastern Ghouta agreed to free 29 Syrian Government hostages, and in return the same number of critically ill patients are being allowed to receive Urgent Medical care. But the United Nations says hundreds of others need to be evacuated. Among them, three month old karim, who was injured by government shelling. He lost his left eye. His mother was killed. Despite a prominent social media campaign, he is not being allowed to leave Eastern Ghouta. Translation karim is injured, hes going to lose his sight. Here in the ghouta he cant get treated. The doctor wants to perform an operation, so that he doesnt lose the sight in his other eye. For some there is now hope, but for most, help is not coming any time soon. Martin patience, bbc news, beirut. An arctic cold snap is bringing sub zero temperatures and heavy snow to large parts of North East America and canada. Temperatures have been reported as low as minus fifteen in toronto. While the us Lakeside City of erie, in pennsylvania, had a record 1. 5 metres of snow in 48 hours, with more on the way. Laura podesta from cbs news reports. A snow emergency is in effect in erie after a record 53 inches of snow in less than 36 hours. You cant even tell how bad it is. Snow is piling up on the roads, burying cars and bringing traffic to a halt. This place has been placed under a state of emergency because of heavy snow. 0fficials state of emergency because of heavy snow. Officials are asking everyone to stay inside and stay off of the roads because they are treacherous and dangerous. We have heard of many places around the country with People Killed in accidents as a result of the weather. Four people died ina result of the weather. Four people died in a car crash in kansas. Back here in pennsylvania, people are trying to take it all in and enjoy it, but at the same time, obviously, because of the system, 70 inches of snow, it has broken a record in this area, and flights have been delayed 01 area, and flights have been delayed or cancelled. We are not sure when the state of emergency will be lifted, but the National Guard has been called an to help the locals get back on track. In. Bbc weather presenter, ben rich, explained for us why this particular snowstorm has been so severe. North america is used to cold winters but they rarely bite quite as hard as this. Temperatures are well below average and some places, particularly on the Eastern Shores of the great lakes, have seen a huge amounts of snow courtesy of something we call lake effect snow, it happens when cold winds from the arctic blow across the slightly less cold waters of the great lakes. That slightly less cold moist air rises, it forms clouds which are then blown into the Eastern Shores of the great lakes and that moisture in the cloud is released not as rain but as huge amounts of snow. Over the next few days we can expect more of this because of the cold air that is sitting in place is not going anywhere fast and the winds will still be blowing down across the great lakes picking up that moist and slightly warmer air and delivering it in the form of snow fall across the Eastern Shores. Perhaps not in the huge amounts that weve been seeing over the last few days but any further snow across this part of the world will not be welcomed. Here in the uk, 300 people are spending the night at Stansted Airport in essex after flights were cancelled because of snow and ice. Airport Officials Say bedding is being handed out, but angry passengers say there is no food, blankets or support being provided. The United NationsChildrens Fund says the scale of attacks on children in the worlds conflict zones has reached shocking levels this year. In a new report, unicef says all sides blatantly disregard International Laws designed to protect the most vulnerable. It says children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds. More than a0 british doctors, nurses and firefighters from the uks Emergency Medical Team are making their way to bangladesh to help thousands of Rohingya Refugees who are at risk from a rapid and deadly outbreak of diphtheria. It follows a request from the world health organization. The uks latest response follows a formal request for assistance from the World Health Organisation and the government of bangladesh after a suspected 1,a70. This is the president of refugees international. We can speak to him 110w. International. We can speak to him now. Thank you for your time. You we re now. Thank you for your time. You were in bangladesh a few months ago. Ina were in bangladesh a few months ago. In a nutshell, if you can, what is the situation . It is as bad as you can imagine. 0ne the situation . It is as bad as you can imagine. One of the most densely populated countries in the world having to accommodate a rapid influx of Something Like 650,000 refugees in miserable conditions. They came over during the rainy season. They are living in extremely challenging circumstances. It is as bad as you could possibly imagine, and the risks of Communicable Diseases are just overwhelming. And, in addition, the International Appeal for the rohingya is tragically underfunded. It isa rohingya is tragically underfunded. It is a problem that merits so much more attention from International Governments of the world. Why do you think it is not getting it . Well, thatis think it is not getting it . Well, that is a great question. It is tragic, because this is not one of those cases where we have the luxury of saying we did not know. 10 days after august 25 when the attacks started, my organisation accused the regime, the burmese, of crimes against humanity. Many others have. The information is there. Look, this isa the information is there. Look, this is a brown skinned was on population, it is thousands and thousands of miles away from developed countries. Muslim. It is tragic they do not get the attention and sense of outrage that this terrible situation merits. At the same time, the military in myanmar, across the border, has driven them out. They said they were terrorists and burned their own villages and wanted to leave anyway. The chance of them going back is minimal. The problem will have to be dealt with where it is. Minimal. The problem will have to be dealt with where it islj minimal. The problem will have to be dealt with where it is. I think you are correct, it at least in the short and medium term. Are correct, it at least in the shortand medium term. It are correct, it at least in the short and medium term. It is hard to overstate the extent of the atrocities perpetrated by this brutal military. And. And. These people have to be held accountable. We cannot let this situation past. But you are right, in the medium term, the challenges in bangladesh and the issues of accountability in the atrocities have to be dealt with. But in the urgent situation that have now, the situation in bangladesh has to be addressed. Ok. We hope that perhaps some of the people who can make a change are listening to you. Thank you very much indeed for talking to us. Thank you for having me. And thank you to you for having me. And thank you to you for having me. And thank you to you for being with us. Stay with us on bbc world news. Still to come military tactics and training, to protect chads elephant population against ivory poachers. We have a special report. The most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has gotten under way with the introduction of the euro. Tomorrow in holland we will use money we picked up in belgium today and we will use the same money in france. It has got to be the way to go. George harrison, the former beatle is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his oxfordshire home. A 33 year old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. I think it was good. Just good . No, fantastic thats better. This is bbc news. The latest headlines the Ukrainian Government and russian backed rebels have carried out the biggest Prisoner Exchange since the conflict began nearly four years ago. Jars balan is director of the Canadian Institute of ukrainian studies. He joins me now from edmonton in canada. I know you are fair quite recently in october. Were their. How often is the Prisoner Exchange . Significant for the families who have been released. Many have been there since 2014, 15, and have enjoyed oral porch. It is wonderful news of them. As for its long term significance, that remains to be seen. Significance, that remains to be seen. The hope is that there is some momentum from this release, at least other things. To be honest with you i dont think there is a lot of cause for optimism. There are reasons that this is done for russias image abroad and the image of the rebel areas abroad. It is useful for domestic purposes in ukraine but it wont change a lot of the fact on the ground and the fact that the war is continuing. What chance do you think of there are rob moore Prisoners Exchange . The ukrainian president has said to the prisoners remaining that they have not forgotten about them and will do everything in their power to get them released. There are still many other ukrainians held in rebel territories and there is a commitment from the Ukrainian Government to try and get their release but it is hard to tell if thatis release but it is hard to tell if that is going to happen quickly, these are all bargaining chips on these are all bargaining chips on the table. How does the american decision to provide lethal weapons to ukraine change all of this . dont know how big of a game changer it is. What it is is it will dissuade russian backed rebels to try and grab more land if they know it will cost them a lot more in casualties. It is a symbolic gesture of support for ukraine that is very much appreciated by the ukrainian side and i think that will boost morale on that front. Is not going to change the total balance of power on the front. There has been a lot of light shed in Eastern Ukraine, particularly recently. I think that christmas ceasefire barely lasted any time at all. Are we in a situation where almost any movement is good news . Obviously this is welcome news and the hope is that it leads to other things but the hopes and realities are two Different Things and we will see how it plays out in the next couple of weeks, but of course, Vladimir Putin has an election coming up, this could all bea election coming up, this could all be a part of his strategy. It doesnt seem to getting a lot of media play in russia, it is from their side it is more used to them for International Consumption than it is for the domestic audience of. Thank you for talking to us. Thank you for having me. The domestic audience. How do you stop poachers devastating wildlife in remote parts of the african continent . One solution, though some people are very uncomfortable with it, is military style training and tactics. Now being used in the vulnerable state of chad. Zakouma National Park has lost 90 of its elephants over the past 40 years. At one point there were fewer than 500 left. The bbcs Alastair Leithead travelled to the park to find the elephant population finally recovering and tourists helping fund conservation. They were the herd heading for extinction. But the elephants of zakouma National Park have made a dramatic recovery. So what has been the difference, since African Parks took over . Translation since African Parks arrived here, we no longer see carcasses of elephants in the park. Across the continent, a private, not for profit Conservation Group called African Parks believes it has the answer to saving africas disappearing wildlife. And its controversial. They are arming rangers and giving them military style training. In some places, its become a war against poachers. Adoum allam is a sniper with Fast Response unit mamba number two. His father was killed by poachers in this park. He jumped at the chance to join. Its a very dangerous job but i love doing it, he said. Its a good income. But its also personal. This was zakouma, ten years ago. Decades of poaching killed 90 of the parks elephants and many rangers as well. But, today, its a much healthier picture. They havent lost an elephant in two years or a ranger since 2012. And last year, the population started to grow again. There were more than 20,000 elephants in this parkjust 40 years ago, but now there arejust over 500. Whats encouraging, though, is that theyve now got babies, theyre reproducing, their numbers are starting to go up. And if the poachers can be kept at bay, the population is going to recover. This is the best way to counter raids from the heavily armed sudanese horsemen. The main perpetrators whove been poaching ivory here for centuries. But now, both sides have automatic weapons. And local communities are a key to success. Schools are being built, kids are learning about conservation. Villagers now often tip off the rangers, if poachers are seen nearby. African parks take on delegated management of protected areas in africa. Normally where Public Sector has failed, African Parks will step in and, with donorfunding, will then manage protected areas. But eventually it should pay for itself. Zakouma is now attracting high end adventure tourists who cover one third of the parks budget. 0ther, marginal reserves in africa will never make money. Animals have to be worth more alive than dead, notjust to rich westerners, but to local people as well. Alastair leithead, bbc news, zakouma National Park, in chad. A coach carrying Chinese Tourists has crashed in iceland. It collided with a car on the maine road around 250 kilometres east of the capital. The occupants of the car, tourists from this fellaini escaped unhurt. 0ne Chinese National died at the scene, 12 others have been taken to the hospital. Another day of protests in morocco over the deaths of two brothers in a disused coalmine. It had been closed years but protesters that many young people have no option but to carry on working below ground. They are demanding action against unemployment and rising living costs. Deep ruby and culture minister has resigned over the decision of the current president to free theirformer decision of the current president to free their former president from jail. It is not clear why he left his post, but he had been under pressure from artists and opposition leaders to stand up for human rights. The former us president barack 0bama has issued a warning about the irresponsible use of social media. In an interview with the bbc by britains prince harry, mr 0bama said such actions were distorting peoples understanding of complex issues. Well, the prince and the president didntjust discuss politics and social media. They also took time to tackle some of the big questions. Lets have another listen. Quickfire house down or lucas has clips from the interview are proving very popular on the bbc news website. You can watch them and read more at bbc. Com news. Dont forget you can get in touch with me and some of the team on twitter. Im bbcmikeembley. Thank you very much for watching. If you are out and about early this thursday morning, bear in mind that conditions could be slippery out there. Frost and ice to contend with where we had wintry weather during wednesday and that cleared away. Then the sky cleared overhead and thursday starts off with the risk of ice. There are still wintry showers exacerbating the risk across some northern and western areas. Freezing fog developing across parts of Northern Ireland as well perhaps, and if that fog develops it could linger through the day. For most of us, thursday is a cracking day. Plenty of sparkling winter sunshine. A closer look at three oclock in the afternoon. Despite the sunshine through the midlands, central southern england, temperatures will only reach three degrees, possibly hitting five in london. Kent into east anglia, a much drier day with a lot of sunshine. Fine for the bulk of Northern England. A few showers drifting across north west england, fading as the day goes on. Sunshine across much of scotland butjust a couple of degrees. Wintry showers still in the far north. Any fog that develops early across Northern Ireland could stick through to the end of the day. Sunny skies for the most part. Fine for much of wales and for the bristol area. Somerset and dorset into devon. But for cornwall a change. Cloud and outbreaks of patchy rain. It will not amount to much as we go on into thursday evening. Thursday night will be another cold and frosty one for the majority. The odd fog patch as well. But then things begin to change from the west. Rain flooding in from the atlantic, running into that cold air and that could temporarily give snow to Northern Ireland, wales, the midlands and during friday proper, Northern England and southern scotland could see some snow, even to fairly low levels. Still a lot to play for with the details on that and we will keep you posted and up to date. To the north of the weather system is still cold and to the south is much milder. 10 degrees there in the far south west. As we go on into the weekend, that mild weather will increasingly make its presence felt. The frontal system bringing rain and perhaps some hill snow in the north through the early part of saturday and then once it leaves we are left with fairly brisk and mild south westerly wind. Some showery rain, spells of sunshine as well. Mild in the south but still cold air holding on further north. That mild airedging northwards as we enter sunday. Still some showery rain and spells of sunshine as well. That is all from me. Bye for now. This is bbc news. The headlines the government in ukraine and rebels, backed by russia, 5. 75. 211 e7 is; 7375 12 7 27 77 in syria, the first crithajjyllli