20/01/2016 Outside Source

Hello, I'm Ros Atkins, this is Outside Source.

We will start off with new data released.

2015 was the hottest year ever for planet earth.

And it beat the previous record by the biggest ever margin.

Lots of superlatives - we'll find out what it means.

Militants stormed a university in Pakistan earlier,

We'll hear from BBC Urdu about who could be responsible.

Today was a bad day for markets everywhere -

in fact it's been the worst start to the year on Western markets

Russia has announced massive cuts to its space programme.

It's still got ambitious projects, though - including a new spaceport

And we will take a detailed look at Sarah Pailin's endorsement of Donald

Trump, and look at whether it will be a help or a hindrance.

2015 was the hottest year since records began

Two US agencies released numbers today - and these graphics too.

The dark red areas are parts of the world that saw

And this table shows global average surface temperatures since 1880.

The zero line represents the long-term average temperature

You doing... Don't need me to translate what is going on here!

NASA is one the agencies to release figures today.

"Pay attention" appears to be the accompanying message.

2015 was the warmest year on record since these observations of

measurements started in 1880. 15 of the past 16 years have been the

hottest years on record, and when you see a run like this, this is not

something which people can easily dismiss and say it is not true. 15

out of 16 is a pretty good batting average.

Lletget the analysis of Matt McGrath from the BBC science unit. This is

the culmination of record amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

combines with the El Nino weather event which is very strong, the

strongest in living memory according to some scientists, it has pushed

temperatures in 2015 to the record. Basically, it is a pattern that has

gone nonsense about the 1970s, 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have

been since 2000, we are seeing a very sharp on this year because

about me know and the underlying warning. Are there other factors

which contribute to these annual figures? Not really, you know and

CEO are the main two. They have said that even without the only you would

have had a record year this year, the overlying warning is quite

strong. The gap between last year, the record year, and this year, is

the widest margin in terms of an increase, so they say it is pretty

certain it is down to the human in priest -- increased warming, added

to that El Nino. How many measurements do they take? Around

6000. Quite a lot. Pakistan is the latest country

to suffer a major Islamist Earlier, at least 19 people

were killed in a gun and bomb attack at Bacha Khan University -

it's in the north-west of Pakistan and only 50 kilometres

from Peshawar. That's where 130 students

were killed by the Pakistan Taliban Now a Taliban commander has

claimed this attack too, This is the Pakistan

Taliban's main spokesman... He even went on to call

the attack un-Islamic. Next let me play you this

from Shaimaa Khalil at the scene. Arriving as the assault took place,

Army commanders race across open fields surrounding the University

of the militants ran loose inside. The attackers are believed to have

scaled the walls of the back of this large university under

a cover of early Becoming a full-scale military

operation, this attack lasted The only way for those

inside to escape was through Many seen still clutching

their class books. TRANSLATION: There was so much panic

and fear that a friend of mine jumped from the University building

full it was very high that he jumped We saw the militants chancing,

Allah is the greatest. We heard firing from

the back of the campus. We thought maybe some

people were fighting. Then we said, get into the rooms,

do not go out. Walls covered with bullet

holes as the gunmen fired It is unclear whether the Pakistani

Taliban militants are responsible for this latest violence

but the attack is reminiscent to the one they carried out

in Peshawar where they killed 132 In a statement, the Government

here says it is determined This day started with a poetry

recital, honouring a secular activist who advocated non-violence,

but it quickly turned into carnage. Today's attack will raise questions

about why the militants are still able to strike soft

targets like this university and how effective the military operation has

been this last year, especially with a mix of militant

networks that is evolving As relatives bury their dead,

it is unclear whether This will be a sleepless night

for many families across the country as they again fear sending

their chosen to school the next day. -- fear sending their children to

school the next day. I was mentioning the confusion over

whether the Taliban did or didn't I turned to Asad Ali Chaudhry

from BBC Urdu to help me with this One conclusion is the obvious one

that comes to mind, there is a difference of opinion or a split,

whatever way you want to describe it. I spoke to the correspondence

over there and they said it really does not matter. Which other group

did it, it had the capacity to do it, it is not a small group who did

it. The 8.2 create confusion, maybe a split in the ranks. -- it could be

a ploy to create confusion. Whichever group that is, why would

they target this university? There is a symbolic nature to it, that is

all I can tell, a symbolic value attached to Bacha Khan University

University. Bacha Khan was a freedom fighter who believed in nonviolent

struggle. He was also referred to as Frontier Gandhi because of his

association with Mahatma Gandhi. It was a poetry recitation going on at

the University today, the title of the programme was capped back row

peace. The university was set up during the rule of a party political

secular, liberal party, and many of its leaders have been targeted, its

workers have been targeted, they are Rene hit list. There are reasons to

believe that this could be behind whoever planned the attack.

As ever, we report the help of BBC Urdu in reporting Pakistan.

Let's now concentrate on Syria. It's under government

control but only just - it's currently under

siege by rebels. Russia says it's dropped 50 tonnes

of humanitarian aid to the town, but it's also dropping

a lot of bombs. To give you a sense of scale,

it says that in just the last 24 The airbase that they're doing

all this from is near Latakia. If I zoom in you can just

about see it on the map - and Steve Rosenburg has sent

this report from there. This is where the Russians are

running their sorties and you men at every entrance.

This is the Russian airbase in Syria, near Latakia. It is about to

get very loud, I had better stop. In the three and a half months that

Russia has been carrying out its military campaign in Syria, the

Russian Anna Ford has carried out around 6000 sorties from this

airbase near Latakia -- the Russian as force. Although Russia has not

won what it called its war on terror yet, the air cover and air strikes

RE huge boost for president Assad. We were last at this base two months

ago, we have come back to see what has changed. This is new, these

Russian soldiers have been loading humanitarian aid onto a metal

platform, it is being loaded into a transport plane. It will then take

it to a besieged town in the East of Syria, the town of Deir ez-Zor, it

will be dropped down by parachute to communities there.

Steve Rosenberg reporting from western Syria.

This is another story concerning Russia.

Russia has announced cuts to its space programme.

Bear in mind space is central to Vladimir Putin's efforts

to re-establish Russia as a global power, so this decision would not

Here is our reporter from BBC Russia.

The budget of the Russian space programme has been cut by 30%. What

does that mean? A planned mission to send cosmonauts to the Moon has been

postponed for five years, rescheduled for 2035. It is supposed

to take off from Russia's new cosmodrome in eastern Russia, but

that has been affected either cuts as well. Only one launch pad will be

built instead of two. It is not even clear when it will open. Why is it

happening? Russia's economy is having a hard time. Western

sanctions are having an effect, the rouble is falling and oil prices are

getting lower and lower. Russia's budget Allen says at $50 per barrel.

The price is much lower than that. Expect more Russian budget cuts in

the future. This time yesterday we started

getting confirmation that Sarah Palin is endorsing Donald Trump for

the presidency of America. We will look at this in more detail and

assess the likely impact on his chances of going all the way to

Washington. Let me tell you about an unusual

cottage that is up for sale in England with its very own cave. Sian

Lloyd reports. It looks like a traditional property

in a terraced street. A typical two-up, two-down,

built 150 years ago. A living room and kitchen,

with two bedrooms above. But step this way and you get

a sense of the unusual. This room was once a sandstone

cave in the back garden. It's the result of years

of excavation, carried out And they're all made from

the sandstone that was excavated Antony Dracup was an

artist and inventor. He liked to put his own stamp

on every home he owned. But in Dracups Cottage,

he went further, spending 20 years The present owners have been

using it as a holiday cottage, but it's largely unchanged

since the artist lived here. This is Outside Source live

from the BBC newsroom. was the warmest year on record

by the biggest ever margin. Now some of the main stories from

BBC World Service. Now to Afghanistan.

BBC Pashto says at least six people have been killed in a suicide

It happened near the Russian embassy, although no

A great deal of sadness in Vietnam because a turtle which was regarded

as a symbol of Vietnamese independence has died.

It was known as Great Grandfather Turtle and was considered sacred.

BBC Vietnamese reports it'll now be embalmed.

Jamie Foxx - known around the world for his acting,

known around the world today for saving a man who was trapped

in a burning truck that crashed near his house in California.

In media terms, Sarah Palin supporting Donald Trump

And, as you'll know, it's come to pass.

Mr Trump looked very pleased last night -

here's Rajini Vaidyanathan on whether he has good reason

How good will this decision by Sarah Palin before him?

Ladies and gentlemen, Sarah Palin! I will be honoured to accept your

nomination for vice president of the United States.

# Hello from the other side. I have the privilege of living most

of my life in a small town. I was just your average hockey mum and

signed up for the PTA. The reaction to Sarah Palin was

instant. She was revered by some, ridiculed by others. Now she is

back, endorsing Donald Trump in this year's presidential race. Will she

be a help or a hindrance? It was one of the most watched SNLs

ever, and it was two weeks before the Grammy ballots, when people

decide which songs to nominate, so literally the stars aligned for me

and then the album shot to number one and I was nominated for a Grammy

and I won one, it was a joke. It was a joke. All thanks to Sarah Palin!

How strong is the Pailin effect? In the 2008 election campaign, she

developed a reputation for gaps. Can I ask you one more time, not to

belabour the point, specific examples and 26 years of pushing for

more regulation? I will try to find cement bring them to you. What

newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were

tapped for this, to stay informed? I have read most of them, again with a

great appreciation for the press and the media. Specifically, I'm

curious? All of them. By the end of the

campaign her popularity plummeted and she was blocked from delivering

a concession speech when her running mate John McCain lost to Barack

Obama. Her supporters said she was straight talking and authentic. She

is not afraid to go after what you want and believes in. I think she

would be a strong leader, I would vote for her. Ever since 2008, her

ratings have fallen amongst Republican supporters. As her

popularity fell, so did her public profile.

She appeared on her own cable TV shows but took a back-seat from

mainstream politics, despite continuing speculation about whether

she would run for the top job. Now she is backing Donald Trump, a

spot move for his campaign, many would say, others say it is more of

a boon for her than him. Either way, Sarah Palin is back in the

spotlight. Thank you so much, it is so great to be in Iowa!

I don't think American journalists can believe their luck, it will

generate a huge amount of interest, whatever you think of her politics.

Let's start the business with a statistic illustrating how stark the

situation on the western markets has been.

Think about this - it's been the worst start

to the year on Western markets since the Great Depression.

Two main causes are concerns about a global economic slowdown,

and commodities markets that are drowning in over-supply.

We have talked about this issue a lot on Outside Source.

Kamal Ahmed is the BBC's economics editor.

He's in Davos for the World Economic Forum.

And this, of course, has been one his main subjects

of his conversations with business leaders there.

Another grim day for the global economy.

In New York, investors selling stocks, in Hong Kong shares down.

For business leaders at Davos, worrying times.

When you look at the oil price, the volatility of the market

since the start of the year, what is it telling you about

There is a lot of uncertainty in the whole financial markets.

Certainty is really hard to find right now.

The questions about China, the debate going on is creating

It has been the price of oil that has raised most concerns.

Mr Dudley says it will not last and predicts the price of oil

could double by the end of the year as demand from China

Of course, low oil prices can be good for countries that import oil

like the UK and fast-growing economies across Asia.

There are a lot of emerging markets in trouble because of it

Part of India's benefit at the moment is because India

is an importer and not an exporter and it is doing well.

Nada Tawfik is in New York. If oil prices rose, what would have to

happen in order for that to occur? I think, like everything else, there

has to be a bottoming out points. That is what the key question is,

what everybody wants to know, how low can oil go before it comes up

again. It is the old supply and demand question. On one hand, on the

demand side, as China and the US, as demand increases in the world's

first and second largest economies, that will not help -- will help was

the oil prices. But key is when we will see this supplied Windle

little. We had the International energy agency warning in 2016 that

if nothing changes we could be drowning in this oversupply of oil.

Those who are more optimistic point to things like Russia will be

cutting production, US shale producers will be forced to cut

production, all of that could help boost the price of oil a bit.

Could we be in a situation where the Saudis say we will not cut

production but the Americans go it alone and say we will? Pretty

unlikely, I think. If you look at the pressure on shale producers

right now, they have been cutting production already, it has happened

more slowly than expected but it is happening. If you look at its peak,

US crude oil production was at about 9.6 million barrels per day, that

fell in December to 9.2 million barrels, that is expected to go as

low as eight .1 million barrels per day. These companies have so much

pressure with the oil prices as low as they are and many struggle to

hang on, not really making much money at this point. When you look

at the markets today and how much they hit the energy companies are

taking, you are seeing what they are up against. If you look there could

be defaults as they struggle to get more credit from banks worried about

the energy. Higher cost for US shale producers to pump out oil than Saudi

Arabia, it is more likely that we will see the pressure increased on

them still. Thank you very much, Nada.

China's main social media platform is Weibo, it's a bit like Twitter.

It's lifting its 140-word limit, a trial starts Jan 28th.

Remember Twitter's chief executive has also indicated it

It doesn't always feel like that, does it? He says...

So Twitter may be changing its approach, but no confirmation yet.

A lovely story here in the UK about fairy tales and how some

of them date back farther than the earliest literary records.

I'm talking about Beauty and the Beast, Jack

and the Beanstalk, stories like that that.

Wilhelm Grimm, of the Brothers Grimm fame, shortly after he published his

collection of German set tonne fairy stories became aware that many of

those tales also occur in other parts of the world, in particular in

parts of the ratio, Scandinavia, India, Eastern Europe, Iran and

places like that. These theories suggested that they all shared a

common ancestor, they all come from a common route. Grimm believe that

and fairy stories might be part of common heritage. That was the theory

that we looked to test using methods developed in evolutionary biology

which provides a really powerful statistical tools for testing the

kind of theory is that Grimm and other people were developing but

were very hard to test. Jack And The Beanstalk is an English take on a

very widespread folktale that is called The Boy Who Steals The Ogre's

Treasure. We have traced back to back to the last common ancestor of

the Western Indo-Europeans. Isn't that interesting?

Take a look at these pictures that have come into us from Australia.

A car ploughs full speed through the glass wall

If we play it back, just before it happens, a woman is wandering in the

direction of where the car 's do. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but it

very nasty incident caught on camera and the car looks like it has caught

the end of its days. We were talking about the militant

attack in the north-west Pakistan earlier and the fact that the

Taliban... One Taliban spokesperson has said we do this, another has

denied it. We did a Facebook lifestream with BBC Urdu taking

questions about this story in some detail. If you're interested in

seeing that, go to the BBC news page on Facebook, it is about a third

item down. You will see my face, my colleague from BBC Urdu is taking

questions from all around the world. That's it from the first half of the

programme, I will speak to you in a couple of minutes.