:00:00. > :00:07.This is BBC World News Today with me, Tim Willcox.
:00:08. > :00:09.Stock markets around the world plunge.
:00:10. > :00:12.Billions are wiped off shares, amid nervousness about slowing
:00:13. > :00:19.Gunmen attack a university in north-west Pakistan,
:00:20. > :00:25.It's official - 2015 was the hottest year ever --
:00:26. > :00:35.and that record broken by the widest margin ever seen.
:00:36. > :00:38.And the Hockey Mom backs The Donald in his bid to become President
:00:39. > :00:59.Billions of dollars have been wiped off stocks around the world,
:01:00. > :01:08.because of fears over global growth and plummeting oil prices.
:01:09. > :01:10.The Chief Executive of BP, Bob Dudley, has told
:01:11. > :01:13.he believes the volatility could continue for months,
:01:14. > :01:16.He was speaking to our Economics Editor, Kamaal Ahmed,
:01:17. > :01:18.who's at the annual meeting of world business leaders,
:01:19. > :01:24.Another grim day for the global economy, the price of oil down
:01:25. > :01:30.again, the main UK market is falling.
:01:31. > :01:33.In New York, investors selling stocks, in Hong Kong shares down.
:01:34. > :01:37.For business leaders at Davos, worrying times.
:01:38. > :01:40.When you look at the oil price, the volatility of the market
:01:41. > :01:43.since the beginning of the year, what does it tell you that
:01:44. > :01:50.There is a lot of uncertainty not just in the oil and gas industry
:01:51. > :01:53.but the whole financial markets are unsure of where the certainty
:01:54. > :01:59.I think China, question marks about China, the debate
:02:00. > :02:10.going on is creating a lot of uncertainty.
:02:11. > :02:20.falling as world demand slows, but Mr Dudley says it will not last
:02:21. > :02:28.Of course, low oil prices can be good for countries that import oil
:02:29. > :02:37.There are a lot of emerging markets in trouble because of it,
:02:38. > :02:40.a lot of emerging markets in great shape.
:02:41. > :02:44.Part of India's benefit is benefit is it is a natural resource importer
:02:45. > :02:50.and not an exporter and it is doing well.
:02:51. > :02:57.A little earlier I asked this business leaders at Davos were
:02:58. > :03:01.feeding a crash. I remember being at Davos this time last year than
:03:02. > :03:06.probably then the markets were Rover doing the optimism. The financial
:03:07. > :03:11.crisis seems something of a distant memory. This year the markets are
:03:12. > :03:18.maybe overdoing the pessimism. Certainly people here believe they'd
:03:19. > :03:22.is still lots of good and positive things happening in the global
:03:23. > :03:27.economy. Let's not forget of course China is still growing. There are
:03:28. > :03:33.forms and that growth level has tempered slightly. America is still
:03:34. > :03:37.growing. Britain is still growing across the European Union and there
:03:38. > :03:44.is some evidence of growth coming back. I think we are competing with
:03:45. > :03:49.2014 when maybe there was a bit too much overexuberance in where the
:03:50. > :03:53.global economy was going. Clearly there are still some hard battles to
:03:54. > :03:57.be one in terms of cleaning up after a financial crisis but now the
:03:58. > :04:02.markets are overly gloomy. Bob Dudley, Chief Executive of BP, said
:04:03. > :04:08.he thought the oil price would recover strongly, because demand
:04:09. > :04:16.would increase in America and China as those economies kept growing. So
:04:17. > :04:21.the US and Europe solid, and the US has just nudged up interest rates.
:04:22. > :04:24.Are we looking at a PDA with interest rates will remain pretty
:04:25. > :04:33.low globally to actually contend with these problems? I think that
:04:34. > :04:40.probably is the case. The chairwoman of the Federal reserve, the American
:04:41. > :04:45.central bank, put 0.25% on two Federal reserve interest rates in
:04:46. > :04:50.December, and to make a point, that only brings up to the level that
:04:51. > :04:56.they are in the Bank of England in the UK, and in the rest of the
:04:57. > :05:01.European Union, the European Central Bank still has negative interest
:05:02. > :05:05.rates. We'll is not much sign of big central banks around the world like
:05:06. > :05:09.the Bank of England in the UK and the European Central Bank raising
:05:10. > :05:15.interest rates any time soon. So yes, she has moved in America and
:05:16. > :05:17.the American economy is growing and there are some inflationary pressure
:05:18. > :05:23.but not a lot of evidence of that spreading out across the world. Of
:05:24. > :05:27.course all eyes will be on China, how do these reforms affect growth?
:05:28. > :05:32.That is a country that is still growing from a much larger base than
:05:33. > :05:34.it was before, so that growth is more important to the way the global
:05:35. > :05:36.economy fuels. At least 20 people have been killed
:05:37. > :05:38.after militants stormed a university The attackers launched
:05:39. > :05:44.gun and grenade attacks Most of the victims
:05:45. > :05:48.at the Bacha Khan University were male and were shot
:05:49. > :05:52.in the chest or head. Pakistan security forces eventually
:05:53. > :05:54.brought the situation under control after a fierce gun battle
:05:55. > :06:00.with militants that lasted 3 hours. Arriving as the assault took place,
:06:01. > :06:02.Army commandos race across open fields surrounding the University
:06:03. > :06:05.University is the militants The attackers are believed to have
:06:06. > :06:11.scaled the walls at the back of this large university under a cover
:06:12. > :06:18.of early morning thick fog. Becoming a full-scale military
:06:19. > :06:19.operation, this attack lasted The only way for those inside to
:06:20. > :06:33.escape was through the main campus gates, many seen still
:06:34. > :06:37.clutching their class books. There was so much panic and fear
:06:38. > :06:40.that a friend of mine jumped The building is very high
:06:41. > :06:46.but he just jumped from it We saw the militants chanting,
:06:47. > :06:49.Allah is the greatest. We heard firing from
:06:50. > :07:01.the back of the campus. then the fighting increased,
:07:02. > :07:04.then we said, get into Inside, total devastation,
:07:05. > :07:14.walls covered in bullet holes as the gunmen fired
:07:15. > :07:16.at anyone they saw. It's unclear whether the Pakistani
:07:17. > :07:27.Taliban militants responsible for this latest violence
:07:28. > :07:38.but the attack is reminiscent of the one they carried out
:07:39. > :07:40.in Peshawar where they killed 122 schoolchildren more
:07:41. > :07:42.than one year ago. In a statement the government
:07:43. > :07:44.here says it is determined This day started with a poetry
:07:45. > :07:48.recital honouring the secular activists who advocated nonviolence
:07:49. > :07:51.and quickly turned into carnage. Today's attack will raise violence
:07:52. > :07:53.over why the militants are still able to strike soft
:07:54. > :07:58.targets like this university and how effective the military operation has
:07:59. > :08:01.been this past year, especially
:08:02. > :08:02.with the mix of militia networks that is evolving
:08:03. > :08:08.on the Pakistan-Afghan border. As residents bury their dead,
:08:09. > :08:10.it's still unclear whether This will be a sleepless night
:08:11. > :08:15.for many families across the country as they again fear sending
:08:16. > :08:17.their children to school Seven Afghan employees
:08:18. > :08:33.of a private television company, including two women have been
:08:34. > :08:35.killed in a suicide attack The bomber struck a bus carrying
:08:36. > :08:39.more than 30 employees The city police chief said more
:08:40. > :08:44.than 20 other people were wounded. No-one has yet claimed
:08:45. > :08:48.responsibility for the attack. 2015 was the hottest year
:08:49. > :08:49.since records began, according to NASA
:08:50. > :08:53.and the UK Met office. New figures show the earth's
:08:54. > :08:56.temperature was one degree Celsius above the long term average,
:08:57. > :08:58.dating back 166 years. Our Science Editor David
:08:59. > :09:22.Shukman has the story. It was a year of violent extremes.
:09:23. > :09:24.Record heat fuelled fires in California and Indonesia. Intense
:09:25. > :09:34.rain storms triggered widespread floods. In the Caribbean and Japan,
:09:35. > :09:39.an unprecedented downpour. And a punishing drought has left millions
:09:40. > :09:45.hungry in Africa. Behind all this was a rise in global temperatures.
:09:46. > :09:50.Scientists say that is partly driven by our greenhouse gases and partly
:09:51. > :09:55.by a natural cycle called El Nino, we are warm water releases heat and
:09:56. > :10:01.disrupts weather around the world. The main reason we have such warm
:10:02. > :10:05.temperature is climate change, and El Nino is contributing a small
:10:06. > :10:11.amount on top. So let's see the context for this new record. This
:10:12. > :10:15.graph from the Met office shows temperatures in 1850 fluctuating
:10:16. > :10:19.over the long-term average rising to the record high set last year. That
:10:20. > :10:24.is an increase in 1 degrees over that time, halfway to the 2 degrees
:10:25. > :10:27.limit that world leaders agreed should be the maximum for a global
:10:28. > :10:33.warming when they met in Paris last month. 1 degrees doesn't sound like
:10:34. > :10:37.very much but when you think about the differences on a planetary
:10:38. > :10:42.scale, the last ice age was only 5 degrees colder than it is today, so
:10:43. > :10:48.it is actually a very significant number and we are vaguely seeing
:10:49. > :10:52.impacts on sea-level and heat waves and intense precipitation associated
:10:53. > :10:56.with that change of temperature. In this Nasa image, areas marked red or
:10:57. > :11:01.orange were warmer than average last year and there were lots of them
:11:02. > :11:04.including the UK, where last year will be remembered by
:11:05. > :11:06.record-breaking rain in December. The flooding
:11:07. > :11:11.record-breaking rain in December. sorts of causes but scientists
:11:12. > :11:16.always warm warmer they can produce more moisture and produce more
:11:17. > :11:21.always warm warmer they can produce intense storms. The forecast is for
:11:22. > :11:23.always warm warmer they can produce everyone will feel it, but
:11:24. > :11:24.scientists say a warming trend is clear.
:11:25. > :11:26.Now a look at some of the day's other news.
:11:27. > :11:30.For the second day in a row police in the Tunisian city of Kasserine
:11:31. > :11:32.have fired tear gas to disperse protestors demanding jobs.
:11:33. > :11:35.Tensions in the area rose recently when a jobless man killed himself.
:11:36. > :11:38.The demonstrations have spread to other cities,
:11:39. > :11:47.Austria has said it will make a major cut to the number of asylum
:11:48. > :11:50.The Austrian chancellor said the total number would be capped
:11:51. > :11:55.at about 37,000 in each of the next four years.
:11:56. > :12:01.The United Nations World Food Programme says half the population
:12:02. > :12:04.of the Central African Republic are facing hunger because of the ongoing
:12:05. > :12:08.It's found nearly 2.5 million people have limited access to food,
:12:09. > :12:17.double the number who were going hungry a year ago.
:12:18. > :12:22.candidate Sarah Palin, in the race to win the Republican
:12:23. > :12:24.Mr Trump said he was proud to have her endorsement.
:12:25. > :12:26.Sarah Palin is seen as an influential figure
:12:27. > :12:28.on the right of the Republican Party.
:12:29. > :12:36.Here's our North America Editor, Jon Sopel.
:12:37. > :12:47.I think we can actually cross now to a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and
:12:48. > :12:50.let's listen in... That's not the way they perhaps want the whole
:12:51. > :12:53.campaign to run, we seem to have lost that. Let's catch up with the
:12:54. > :12:54.endorsement with this report. I would like to bring up if I might,
:12:55. > :12:57.Governor Sarah Palin, It's not often that Donald Trump
:12:58. > :13:10.is out Trumped for brazenness, chutzpah and brass neck,
:13:11. > :13:13.but last night he was as Sarah Palin announced her arrival
:13:14. > :13:14.on the campaign stage Are you ready for
:13:15. > :13:21.a commander-in-chief? Are you ready for
:13:22. > :13:28.a commander-in-chief who will let our warriors
:13:29. > :13:31.do their job and go kick Isis ass? It wasn't so much a speech
:13:32. > :13:34.as a series of small explosions taking aim at the President but also
:13:35. > :13:38.the Republican establishment. You guys are all sounding kind
:13:39. > :13:41.of angry is what we're hearing Playing up Donald Trump
:13:42. > :13:48.as the outsider. He is from the private sector,
:13:49. > :13:50.not a politician, can In the private sector you actually
:13:51. > :13:59.have to balance budgets in order to prioritise, to keep the main
:14:00. > :14:04.thing the main thing. For the past few years,
:14:05. > :14:06.Sarah Palin has been out of the political front line
:14:07. > :14:13.concentrating instead on being a reality TV star,
:14:14. > :14:16.but she's still a darling of the tea party right and the evangelical wing
:14:17. > :14:19.of the Republican party, But she is gaffe prone as was seen
:14:20. > :14:28.when she ran for vice president I love those hockey mums,
:14:29. > :14:35.they say the difference between a hockey mum
:14:36. > :14:37.and a pit bull, lipstick. You can actually see Russia
:14:38. > :14:47.from land here in Alaska. Donald Trump will have weighed
:14:48. > :14:51.the risks, the danger is that while Palin might help now to win
:14:52. > :14:54.over the disaffected right in Iowa, she will alienate mainstream voters
:14:55. > :14:57.when it comes to the critical presidential election in November,
:14:58. > :15:00.and that will be almost as big a disaster as it was when the two
:15:01. > :15:03.of them were filmed eating pizza together in New York
:15:04. > :15:22.but with a knife and fork. I am not sure if Katty has ever
:15:23. > :15:24.beaten pizza with a fork, but first some Republicans they are natural
:15:25. > :15:29.bedfellows? They both say outrageous things and
:15:30. > :15:34.love the spotlight and have been on the other the TV shows, and our
:15:35. > :15:39.beloved by those huge crowds at night to see them, so in that
:15:40. > :15:44.respect this is a very obvious political pairing, but in some ways
:15:45. > :15:48.it is not. She is much more of a Christian conservative than Donald
:15:49. > :15:53.Trump has ever been. He used to be pro-choice on abortion before he
:15:54. > :15:57.became pro-life. That is certainly not Sarah Palin's stands. He has
:15:58. > :16:01.also supported a national health care system in the past saying
:16:02. > :16:06.Canada and Scotland have got it right. That is certainly not Sarah
:16:07. > :16:13.Palin's politics, but what she brings to Donald Trump is a die-hard
:16:14. > :16:15.commitment from the Christian base of the Republican party, that he
:16:16. > :16:25.needs to reach out to, particularly of course in Iowa. And who will this
:16:26. > :16:30.upset the most among other candidates? Ted Cruz, the person she
:16:31. > :16:34.had in Dorset when he ran for the Senate in Texas and who is nipping
:16:35. > :16:39.at the heels of Donald Trump in Iowa, that is the biggest upset. To
:16:40. > :16:44.the extent that have endorsement could change things, and they do not
:16:45. > :16:48.always change things, it will be over the course of the next two
:16:49. > :16:55.weeks and the critical caucuses in Iowa. What have been talking about
:16:56. > :16:59.for the last 24 hours? Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, the media
:17:00. > :17:01.spotlight right back on him, and it might give the edge to him over Ted
:17:02. > :17:13.Cruz. At the World Economic Forum,
:17:14. > :17:16.the UN's special envoy to Syria's told the BBC he's optimistic that
:17:17. > :17:19.talks on resolving the conflict in Syria will go ahead
:17:20. > :17:21.BUT that the date they're set Staffan de Mistura's says Syrians
:17:22. > :17:25.should lead the talks and outside players like the US and Russia
:17:26. > :17:28.should support that rather than disagreeing over
:17:29. > :17:30.who can take part. He spoke to our Chief International
:17:31. > :17:41.Correspondent Lyse Doucet in Davos. Welcome to Davos, the networking
:17:42. > :17:44.capital once a year for the global elite putting their minds together
:17:45. > :17:47.to try to solve some of the worlds's most pressing issues and one which
:17:48. > :17:53.keeps coming back year after year is the continuing war in Syria. This
:17:54. > :17:59.year there's a more urgent question. Talks are on the agenda, and the
:18:00. > :18:05.date, January 25, looms all too closely. Today, heard from the US
:18:06. > :18:09.Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian Foreign Minister saying
:18:10. > :18:14.they do want talks to take place on the 25th, Serie A talks between the
:18:15. > :18:18.government and opposition, although there is some talk of slippage, so
:18:19. > :18:23.will the go-ahead? And if they do not, why not? We are joined by a man
:18:24. > :18:29.part of every twist and turn, the United Nations Syrian envoy, Staffan
:18:30. > :18:34.de Mistura. Will they take place on the 25th? I will be able to tell you
:18:35. > :18:40.that on the 24th, because meanwhile there's a lot of work to be done.
:18:41. > :18:46.When we had Geneva two, we learned many lessons. A few years ago.
:18:47. > :18:50.Exactly, and this claim we have learnt the lesson that if we want to
:18:51. > :18:55.have talks, they should be talks about talks and not starting with a
:18:56. > :18:58.tense environment but addressing the real issue, which is how to stop
:18:59. > :19:04.this conflict. But the Russians and Syrian government are now saying, to
:19:05. > :19:07.use the phrase we don't want to talk to terrorists, they want to see the
:19:08. > :19:13.list and have a say on the opposition delegate? In theory and
:19:14. > :19:20.in practice this should be Syrian led Cox. That is the difference
:19:21. > :19:25.between Geneva two. We are not inviting governments. We are asking
:19:26. > :19:29.Syrians to talk amongst themselves. The outside players are so involved
:19:30. > :19:34.and without the push from the outside players, as you know, the
:19:35. > :19:37.talks might not take place at all. That is why I am relying on the
:19:38. > :19:43.Americans and the Russians talking today and others like that, Saudi
:19:44. > :19:48.Arabia and Turkey, in a way supporting. If they really want
:19:49. > :19:51.talks and want a political process rather than conflict. Now is the
:19:52. > :19:55.time to put aside to many discussions about who is attending,
:19:56. > :20:01.who is participating, and rather than saying, do we have an agenda,
:20:02. > :20:08.saying we do have an agenda. Yes, let me tell you. The agenda is quite
:20:09. > :20:15.an interesting one and realistic timetable, so let's not lose time.
:20:16. > :20:18.The UN resolution. One is a new all-inclusive government. That is
:20:19. > :20:26.quite a challenge. A loaded term in Syria. I know, but it is agreed on
:20:27. > :20:30.by everyone. Second, a new constitution, and you know very well
:20:31. > :20:35.a new constitution everything is on the table. New elections and not
:20:36. > :20:40.only parliamentarian elections, all this within 18 months. This is
:20:41. > :20:43.meanwhile see some all this within 18 months. This is
:20:44. > :20:45.the people in Syria. The all this within 18 months. This is
:20:46. > :20:52.players, do all this within 18 months. This is
:20:53. > :20:56.players have not shown exactly their cards
:20:57. > :20:59.players have not shown exactly their alternative to talks? Is this
:21:00. > :21:02.players have not shown exactly their conflict in five years
:21:03. > :21:05.produce another five years now that even the Russians
:21:06. > :21:10.produce another five years now that involved? Is this
:21:11. > :21:16.there is a need for political work which will not be what they deem off
:21:17. > :21:20.but something perhaps which will not be what they deem off
:21:21. > :21:27.dream of, the end of this conflict? And by the way, and operational
:21:28. > :21:34.approach of everyone against the real danger, which is in the
:21:35. > :21:38.background, which is called Daesh. And the percentage of success right
:21:39. > :21:45.now, how confident are you? You are asking the wrong person. I am a
:21:46. > :21:54.chronic optimist, so I would tell you 60%, 65%. Not on the 25th, a few
:21:55. > :22:01.days after? Within January. There is no biblical or Koranic date,
:22:02. > :22:04.days after? Within January. There is an indication that within January we
:22:05. > :22:09.need to do it, and I am confident that if the big players realise that
:22:10. > :22:14.there's no time for playing on lists but actually playing the deal tops,
:22:15. > :22:21.we are ready for doing so. Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Syrian
:22:22. > :22:24.envoy, thank you very much, so you have that, the date of the 25th for
:22:25. > :22:31.the talks are still in the have that, the date of the 25th for
:22:32. > :22:33.place at all, it will be a small but significant development
:22:34. > :22:40.place at all, it will be a small but move towards a
:22:41. > :22:42.Much like the red London bus or the black taxi,
:22:43. > :22:44.the red British postbox is a national icon.
:22:45. > :22:47.And for 40 years, a group of British enthusiasts has compiled a database
:22:48. > :22:50.of as many as they can find up and down the UK.
:22:51. > :22:52.Their work was nearly signed, sealed and delivered
:22:53. > :22:54.until the postal service, Royal Mail, surprised them.
:22:55. > :23:12.Paul has been doing it for 38 years. Peter's wife is very understanding,
:23:13. > :23:13.they are men with the passion. Post boxes.
:23:14. > :23:33.I've looked at about 4000. This is a rear early box with
:23:34. > :23:34.I've looked at about 4000. This is a slot. There is a more familiar type,
:23:35. > :23:39.and the way you can tell it slot. There is a more familiar type,
:23:40. > :23:50.type B? You walk up to the box and you put your arms around it. If your
:23:51. > :23:54.arms don't touch it is A and if they do it is type B. It was at this
:23:55. > :23:58.point we were asked what we were doing. We headed inside for a cup of
:23:59. > :23:59.point we were asked what we were tea to discuss what it was all
:24:00. > :24:04.about. Of all the tea to discuss what it was all
:24:05. > :24:08.your favourite? The survey began in the 1970s and famous the world over
:24:09. > :24:11.the British postbox has a fascinating history and we had
:24:12. > :24:16.almost completed that but then the Royal Mail said it was creating
:24:17. > :24:22.more. While they are safe for the moment, the letterbox men do have
:24:23. > :24:26.fear for the future. Empty boxes and the decline of letter writing. It is
:24:27. > :24:29.a real worry the decline of letter writing. It is
:24:30. > :24:36.Mail well say we will reduce our postbox estate. Letter writing is in
:24:37. > :24:41.decline but letter boxing does have a future. The group's youngest
:24:42. > :24:49.member is Thomas, ten years old. This has actually had a lot of
:24:50. > :24:59.modification. This one normally has a moulding round the aperture but it
:25:00. > :25:04.has been removed. And as a special treat, Britain's tops the post boxes
:25:05. > :25:13.as chosen by Thomas. At number three, world then. And
:25:14. > :25:17.that number one, it is in Suffolk. Of course these are just Thomas's
:25:18. > :25:22.choices and you may have your own favourite.
:25:23. > :25:28.I think his choices were quite good. You're watching world News today and
:25:29. > :25:33.a quick reminder of main headline which is that stock markets around
:25:34. > :25:36.the world have suffered huge falls again amid growing concern over the
:25:37. > :25:44.health of the British economy and plunging oil prices in London.
:25:45. > :25:48.Shares have closed down 3.5%, a fall of 20% from the previous peak,
:25:49. > :25:56.meaning it has become a bigger market. Paris and Frankfurt, the day
:25:57. > :26:01.ended the percent lower and the Dow and Nasdaq are also sharply down.
:26:02. > :26:14.Sunshine by day means cold and frosty conditions by night with
:26:15. > :26:17.largely clear skies and the temperature already plummeting, but
:26:18. > :26:20.tomorrow we are looking at more than the way of cloud and some rain
:26:21. > :26:25.particularly across north-western parts of the country. This weather
:26:26. > :26:26.system slowly moving and of