we begin with celia hatton. >> it was a seen seven years in the making. myanmar's opposition leader aung san suu kyi taking her first steps of freedom among joyous supporters. off camera the nobel laureate declared "people must work in unison. only then can we achieve our goals." the goal? democracy in myanmar. suu kyi heads a massively popular political party opposing myanmar's military dictatorship is. in 1990, the party won a land slooid selection but the country's ruling generals refused to relinquish power. suu kyi spent 15 of the past 25 2-1 years in detention. today's release was celebrated across the globe, from the thai boarder to the streets of paris. inside myanmar, renewed hope on that suu kyi might engineer a revolution. the mother, aung san suu kyi, is free, so we will be free from the military junta soon, explain this is follower. suu kyi's unwaivering position won her a nobel peace prize in 1991 which was accepted by her family while she remained under arrest in myanmar. by liberating aung san suu kyi, myanmar's military junta could be sho

celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >> mitchell: now to somalia where there is good news tonight. a british couple held captive by pirates for 388 days has been freed. as charlie tells us, the husband and wife return home tomorrow but tonight in somalia there are still questions and concerns. >> reporter: still on some alley soil but out of the grasp of her cappers rachel chandler could only laugh when she was asked if she felt safe. on the flight to kenya the chandlers said they were happy to be alive after being held by somali pirates for more than a year. paul chandler said they were rather skinny and boney but otherwise fine. the retired british couple were sailing in the indian ocean when they were seized by somali pirates in october 2009. their kidnappers initially threatened it to kill them if their demand for the $7 million ransom was not met, in released video to show they were serious. >> i don't know what else i can say. just please, please help us. please. >> reporter: despite international efforts to stop them, somali pirates have been attacking ships in the seas off

celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >> couric: meanwhile, in afghanistan, after nine years of war, nato and afghan leaders felt the time was right to open a dialogue with the taliban. they even held secret meetings with an insurgent leader-- at least that's what they thought they did. here's chief white house correspondent chip reid with one incredible story. >> reporter: in recent months, u.s. and nato forces have provided by safe passage for taliban leaders from their hideouts in pakistan to kabul for preliminary talks with afghan leaders, including president hamid karzai. both sides hoped the talks might eventually lead to negotiations to end the war. but there's one major problem. sources say the top taliban official in the room-- mullah mohammed mansour was really an impostor. including one report, a lowly shopkeeper who received large sums of money from afghan officials to attend. president karzai today decided he never met with the man, calling the reports propaganda, but the top u.s. commander in afghanistan, who has encouraged talks with taliban leaders, said he wasn't surprise

the qantas plane landed safely, but celia hatton reports some experts believe it could have been much worse. >> engine number two has had a failure. >> reporter: just minutes after takeoff, this is what qantas passengers saw: a hole in the plane's wing, metal flapping in the wind. >> there was a bang and then another bang and then that was it. you know, a bang, boom! >> reporter: the super jumbo jet was enroute from singapore to sydney with 459 passengers and crew when an engine appeared to explode. >> i've had 35 years of ply flying experience and this is first time i've had an engine fail like this. you are safe, the aircraft is safe. >> reporter: the extent of the damage became clear on landing. >> only when we stepped off the aircraft, we looked under the aircraft, you could see the back end of the engine. >> reporter: debris from the engine acted like shrap metal, puncturing the wing. >> the parts inside a jet engine are spinning at enormous speed you do not want those pieces exiting the engine cowling and entering the aircraft. >> reporter: the most well-known example of this to

celia hatton, cbs news, yeonpyeong island. >>> it's been a tough year for some people.ut as preeti arla reports on thanksgiving, they are finding ways to stay positive. >> reporter: the streets near the capital dome are deserted on this thanksgiving holiday. but travel just a few blocks and you will find a group serving hot meals to the homeless and there isn't an empty seat. >> this is a blessing. >> reporter: russell robinson says he hasn't had too many blessings lately. he lost his job as a clerical assistant six months ago. he now lives in a homeless shelter as he searches for a job. >> you get discouraged. and then that takes away your motivation. once your motivation is gone, it's like a vicious cycle, you know, and you're in a rut. >> reporter: the nation's unemployment rate remains stuck at almost 10%. so unemployed workers like robinson face tough odds when jobs do open up. >> there was a sign in the window saying help wanted. so i went in there and applied and i within the back again and again and again and again, and you know, i wasn't the candidate. >> repor

seal yacht -- celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >> mitchell: and e.m.t. workers who violate their patients' trust next on "cbs evening news." >> mitchell: of course emergency medical technicians are trained to stabilize people as they are rushed to the hospital, but a number of reports have surfaced of technicians who have taken advantage of helpless patients. susan koeppen investigates. >> rosyshekka herring, a young mom from portland, oregon, says the day a ambulance came for her turned out to be the worst day of her life. >> 911. >> i need a ambulance to my house. my mom just passed out on the floor. >>>> reporter: her tears are not because of the illness that left her bleeding internally and drifting in and out of consciousness. it was what this paramedic named lannie haszard did to her in the black of the ambulance. >> next thing i remember is his hands over my private area. i tried to move my arm away and i couldn't. >> reporter: haszard was arrested. in this police video, he admits to his crime. >> okay. i probably did do what has been alleged. why

cbs news correspondent celia hatton joins us with more. >> reporter: south korea's president bowed to remember the victims of the artillery barrage but is standing up to the north, vowing to send more troops to the island that was attacked. on the other side of the border, north korea warned it will launch second and third strong physical retaliation if, quote, south korean warmongers carry out reckless military provocation. this, as the u.s. and south korea are scheduled to hold joint military exercises with the aircraft carrier "george washington" sunday in the yellow sea. 70 miles south of the yeonpyeong island. ferry services resumed to the island today allows residents and the media to finally see the damage for themselves. the pentagon says that 175 shells were fired by north korea during the artillery battle but only 80 landed on the island so it's incredible to see the destruction that was done during this time. south korean troops are now cleaning up the area. the current tension will be much more difficult to sweep away. celia hatton, cbs news, yeonpyeong island. >>> not lon

cbs news correspondent celia hatton is in beijing, china, this morning with the very latest for us. celia, good morning. >> good morning, erica. it's the most serious military confrontation between north and south korea in decades and it's a worrying sign that kim jong-il's regime will continue its campaign of aggression in the region. south korea's western island of yeonpyeong became a battleground today, after north korea began shelling the island. leaving buildings burning and the island es 1200 civilians scrambling for cover. both countries say the other side fired first, before they exchanged rounds of artillery for almost an hour. south korea had been conducting military drills near the island. refusing the north's earlier demands to stop the exercises. seoul now raised the country's threat level to its maximum setting, clearing people from yeonpyeong, which lies near disputed territory. the koreas have exchanged fire on the waters near the border before with north korea firing on south korean land, mutding civilian lives at risk and led to new heights of tension on the korean

celia hatton, cbs news, beijing. >>> it is a milestone day in afghanistan. u.s. troops have now been there exactly as long as the soviets were in the 1980s. nine years, 50 days. the soviet mission ended in failure. >>> in india, parade and ceremonies to mark the second anniversary of the deadly mumbai terror attacks. 166 people were killed when pakistani gunmen went on a rampage across the city. targets were a train station and luxury hotel. >>> u.s. agents discovered a major tunnel used to smuggle drugs into california. the half-mile-long underground passage from tijuana, mexico, to san diego area. several suspects were arrested at a warehouse and found an undetermined amount of marijuana and you may real that earlier this month authorities discovered a tunnel nearby. that tunnel had lighting, ventilation, even a rail system. they also found 20 tons of marijuana. one of the largest seizures in the country. >>> two astronauts have returned to earth this morning after five months aboard the international space station. shannon walker and douglas wielock landed saf

cbs news correspondent celia hatton joins us from seoul with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, erica. the mood is fairly calm. it's clear that the tension is rising between the korean rivals. the devastation from yesterday afternoon's battle on the island of yeonpyeong became clear today. south koreans are mourning the loss of two marines and two civilian construction workers. evacuees arriving on the mainland spoke of their terror. the situation, well, how can i describe it with words? i was really scared says this woman. for witnesses on the island, the destruction was clear. i saw a sea of flames. my school library burned down, explains this 10-year-old. the south warned north korea of, quote, e november mouse retaliation if the north attacks again. kim jong-il's regime maintains the south started the violence arguing seoul is pushing the countries to, quote, the brink of war conducting naval xer siss near a disputed border. the united states has reaffirmed the participation in naval exercises with south korea near yeonpyeong island sunday. >> south korea is our ally. it has been

cbs news correspondent celia hatton is in beijing with the cbs news correspondent celia hattenhat hatten has the latest this morning. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, maggie. a. it was a frightening start to this qantas airlines flight.. minutes after takeoff, ter passengers heard an explosion and saw smoke coming from the the left wing.qantas fli qantas left singapore late q-f-32 wednesday bound for sydney ay bound for australia, with 433 passengers and a crew of 26 on board. the giant airbus a-380, this ive plane only two years in service was barely five minutes into the flight when the trouble began. a ger a german citizen living in the eat u.s. had a seat by the wing for his first trip to australia. ust >> i was just starting to look m at the inside magazine and left actually looked outside and i saw pieces fly out of that wing. >> reporter: in fact pieces of engine number two rained down on the indonesian island. no. no one on the ground was hurt. >> they actually did a great job actuall in calming us down.cement maybe the captain actually made an announcement maybe half a m