>> this is "bbc world news." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation and mufg. >> build a solid foundation and you can commit for centuries. that's the strength behind banking relationships too which is why at mufg we believe financial partnerships should

endure the test of time. because with time comes change and what matters in the end is that you're strong enough to support it. mufg, we build relationships that build the world. >> and now "bbc world news america." >> this is "bbc world news america," reporting from washington, i'm katty kay. there is global outrage after taliban militants attacked a school in pakistan and killed more than 130 children. the russian moved to a new low and president putin is now under pressure to stop the slide. and it looks like a city on water, the biggest vessel in the world is designed to open up a new source of gas. we have icks collusive access. -- exclusive access. >> what we are' seeing is really striking, everything about this industry has always been on a vast scale, but the size of this project takes

things to a new extreme. >> welcome to our viewers on public television here in america and also around the globe. taliban gunmen stormed into a school in pakistan today throwing grenades and shooting their way through classrooms. by the time the attack was over, eight hours later, more than 140 people were dead. nearly all of them were children. the bbc is on the scene and here's the report. >> it started as a normal school day, but then the taliban stormed the building. as the killing began, security forces moved in and fierce gun battles followed. news of the attacks spread and anguished parents rushed to the scene, not knowing that their children were alive or dead.

others headed for the hospital. a steady stream of ambulances carried the wounded and the dead there. well, this is a list of the injured and the dead, so victims of today's attack have been brought to the hospital, many parents and loved ones have been standing in front of that list looking at it closely in a desperate attempt to find out what happened to their loved ones. this man has learned that his brother was killed. in the intensive care unit, children spoke of their terror. the family of a 13-year-old surrounded him. he was still too shocked to give a speech. >> what did you do when the men came and fired? but his mother, a teacher at the same school, told us what

happened. >> he called me and he said i'm injured. i was shocked when i listened. i asked him, what happened to you? he said, terrorists attacked our school. all the people, all the students, they were getting down but they couldn't. all the people, they were crying. i was listening. scared. >> a 17-year-old was at the school hall for a function when the gunmen attacked. i hid under a chair, he said. then i saw my friends being killed. he shot one of the teachers in the chest and stomach. they set another teacher on fire. amir had just finished a chemistry exam. he was sitting in the lab when the firing started. he said gunmen came in and opened fire on the students. they killed a 2-year-old who just happened to be there.

the taliban say they chose the army school because of the government action against their families. we want them to feel our pain, he said. tonight many parents will have to comfort their children after the horror they have seen. others will have to live with the fact that their loved ones are not coming home. bbc news, peshawar. >> 132 children killed there. and a short time ago we spoke to her. can you give us the latest now? >> well, it's extremely late here at the moment, but many families here will not be getting any sleep as the people in the city and the people in the country come to terms with the events of the day. we do understand, of course, from the military that the operation is over and that there was a clearing operation

earlier but still many families have -- will have to live with the fact that their children are not coming home and many others will have to comfort their children about the horrors that they've seen today. i spoke to young children at the hospital, the local hospital here who described the terrifying skeents they had to witness today. some -- scenes that they had to witness today. some told me they hid under desks while they saw fellow students being killed in front of them. one told me he saw his teacher being shot in the chest and in the stomach and then saw another teacher being set alight. so images that will stay in the minds of these children for a long time but also an incident that will stay in the minds of this country for a while. we've also heard high level condemnation from the prime minister who's here in peshawar and who is holding high-level meetings with many politicians but also with the chief of the

military. this is how serious they're taking this attack and they want a united front in the face -- a united front to respond, really, to the attacks that have happened. >> the scenes that you described inside the school are just unspeakable for those children, of course. are there any questions being asked about how it could have lasted for so long? this is a military school. how come they couldn't get those attackers out sooner or get into the school sooner? >> not only that, i mean, there were questions about how this attack could have happened in the first place. this is a high-scale attack, very, very brutal attack but it also comes at a time when the military had made it a point to say that they're targeting those militants, the pakistani, taliban militants and others nearby. these are just some of the questions that people are asking here. why was it allowed to happen, how did it happen and why did it last so long? how did these seven gunmen make their way inside the school and

were able to commit these killings without being stopped sooner? >> ok. it is, of course, the middle of the night. thank you so much. for more on today's attack, i'm joined by hussein, pakistan's former ambassador to washington. i want to pick up, though, with what she was finishing on. we've had, what, six months of the offensive against the taliban in that region and they can still mount an attack like this. were you surprised? >> well, i was saddened. , like everyone else. i was shocked but i was not surprised. the taliban has been consistent in their savagery. they have attacked mosques. they've attacked hospitals. they've attacked schools before. it's the scale of the massacre this time. >> what does it tell you about the state of the organization, that they can mount an attack like this in a military school? >> first of all, it's not one organization. we must understand that this

has been pakistan's problem. there are 33 jihadi organizations in pakistan. by going after one, what pakistan does, it unleashes the other 32 who do cooperate with one another. that has been the policy i've discussed with you on this show many times before that it does not -- not as consistent as opposing the taliban as they've been in their savagery. pakistan supports pakistani mujaheddin groups that operate against india. and some of these groups may actually be providing safe haven and support to the taliban against whom pakistan is fighting. to the very people we saw attacked today. what pakistan needs to do is to have a coherent policy in which we decide to get out of the business of jihad completely. these people have been in pakistan for three decades, two different generations of fighters. it's time to come back to ideology and put an end to it.

>> you've been outspoken on this issue and it's got you into trouble back in pakistan. do you think like an event like today, as horrific as its, could be a turning point? >> it could. >> in the i.s.i.'s relationships, the intelligence's relationship with the taliban? >> it could but i'm not certain it will. there are still people, including people who are reluctant to condemn the taliban by name, they still think that taliban are a reaction to what has happened globally instead of saying that these people are unadulterated evil. when you don't recognize evil then that evil will continue to survive. i am hoping that the prime minister, and others who will try to get that reaction but we've had that effort before. as you remember when the one was attacked, the pakistan army came in but then the militants went to other parts of pakistan. is that happening again is what

we have to guard against. a complete effort rather than an incomplete one is what is going to protect the future. >> you're an ambassador to washington, d.c. washington, d.c. funneled billions of dollars in aid money and military aid to the pakistani government. what's the leverage here in washington? >> well, the problem with washington's policy is that washington is unable to use whatever level it has and does not understand what leverage it does have. the important thing is that pakistan does not want to be isolated and those in pakistan who think that embracing some jihadis by fighting others is a good thing. they will only respond to greater international pressure and the prospect of isolation, this gives pakistanis a realization that what's happening in their country needs to be addressed. what washington and others around the world can do is reassure pakistanis that if they make change of policy, the world will stand behind pakistan. >> thank you so much for coming

in. other news from around the world. a body found in pennsylvania has been identified as the suspect in a shooting spree for six murders. it was found in a wooded area near his home after a two-day manhunt. he was involved in a custody dispute with his ex-wife over their two children. jeb bush said he is looking to running for president of the united states in 2016. the son of george bush and younger brother of george w. bush, both, of course, former republican presidents themselves, says he has decided to actively explore the possibility of running for the top job. hackers who targeted sony pictures have made threats against cinemark. they "the interview," they're threatening against that. they make reference to the 9/11 terror attacks.

thousands of flowers have been laid in sidney for the victims of a cavea siege that left two hostages and the gunman dead. we're learning new details including the identities of the victims. authorities say they were the cafe's manager, a lawyer and mother of three. john has the latest for us from sidney. >> a field of flowers for victims of the sidney siege. hundreds came to pay their respects in the square close to where they died. >> [inaudible] >> they were just living a normal life. >> the two hostages that were killed was katrina, a barrister

and mother, and the manager of the cafe who friends described as loving and as a true gentleman. all day tributes have been pouring in here for the two, but we've also been getting grim details about exactly what unfolded inside the cafe. reports say some hostages escaped when they were allowed to go to the toilets and they set out for the cafe doors. and then the frigger to storm the cafe. -- trigger to storm the cafe. we still don't know whose fire killed the hostages but amid a hail of bullets, katrina dawson is believed to have died when she flung herself on a pregnant friend to protect her. they thought he was shot as he tried to wrestle a weapon away from the gunman and saved his staff. >> he always put his staff

first. i can't say enough about him. >> i love australia. >> and there were questions about the gunman. many want to know why a person well-known to the police was not on a watch list. >> he wasn't embraced by the islamic community. he wasn't embraceed by the muslim community. he wasn't embraced by the regime in the country of iran. >> getting all the answers will take time. for now, though, there's relief in this city but also shock and sadness. john, bbc news in sidney. >> extraordinary scene from sidney there and, of course, questions about how possible it is to prevent individuals bent on terror from committing those terrible acts. you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight's program, it's 10 stories high and it is longer than the eiffel tower.

we take you onboard the massive ship that will change the way that gas gets into the global market. the record number of people have taken part in an increasingly popular weekly protest march in a german city. the rallies are unsettling the political establishment which spent decades of trying to restore the country's image as a tolerant place. jenny hill reports for us. >> these are the -- we are the people, they shout, and it's time, they say, their voice was heard. the foreigners are coming, he says. no money comes with them. i'm here because i'm worried about my country, this woman tells us. i'm worried about my

grandchildren. refugees are welcomed, but i don't like economic my grants. -- migrants. they've been protesting here for weeks now. these demonstrations are getting bigger and they're getting harder for the authorities to ignore. it's run by a group that claim to be anti-islamists. they've been described as a national scandal. >> 10,000 people have marched here. they're not all right-wing extremists or neo nazis. they're concerned mothers, but it's true that neo nazis and right-wing extremists target these demonstrations to pull people from the political center to the right. >> that's our biggest worry. we must not give way to extremists. patriotism is fine. nationalism is not. >> not in germany are used to scenes like this and it

horrifies many. a debate which many say can no longer be ignored. jenny hill, bbc news. >> in russia, president vladimir putin is coming under increasing pressure as his country's economic situation worsens. the ruble has been plummeting in value. it hit a record new low against the dollar. the russian central bank hiked interest rates from 10.5% to 17%. some economists warn that the currency is now in free fall. from moscow, steve has the latest for us. >> at the winter market near the kremlin today, they weren't letting a currency crisis get in the way of christmas shopping. >> i'm not worried about it. it's just in our heads. just smile and be happy and

everything will be i think ok. >> but as people made their way home from work tonight, they saw that it plummeted again. russians had called yesterday black monday. today wasn't much brighter. only a few days ago russia's government told the people not to get hysterical about the falling ruble, to be patient. ever since it's been falling and falling and the government here is struggling to stop the decline. the russian economy is being squeezed by falling oil prices and by western sanctions and that's putting pressure on the president. >> if there is a real economic catastrophe, it's going to be blamed on him. it's going to be blamed on putin and he will fall from hero to zero. >> but the people we spoke to at the christmas market were not panicking yet, although some here have been affected by

the crisis. i've been planning a winter holiday in thailand, tanya, told me, but i have to scrap that. a week currency means i can't afford it. i am worried, margarita says. but i trust our prpt president. he'll get us out of it. many russians are still counting on the kremlin to make sure their savings do not go up in spoke. -- in smoke. >> a nice holiday in thailand for their particular moss could hevite. a gas processing platform for the energy giant shell. the vessel is designed to provide a new way to get gas into the global market. and it's nearly half a kilometer long. now, to get a sense of the vast scale of this structure, imagine 160 meters tall but still dwarfed by it. or the eiffel tower, 300 meters

tall but still much shorter. even four football fields laid end to end would not quite stretch the length of this massive platform. our science editor was given exclusive access. >> the sharp cold of a winter morning at one of the largest shipyards in the world. thousands go onto the dockside here in korea. beside them, a towering cliff of steam, a vessel bigger than any ever built before. this team prepares for the day ahead. the construction is immensely complicated and each step needs careful coordination. this is what they're working on, a vessel, a new kind of floating gas processing plant for the energy giant shell. to reach the main deck, i joined the morning shift for a

long journey by lift. to come onboard, you need to wear the full range of safety equipment, but what we're seeing is really striking. everything about this industry has always been on a vast scale. for the size of this project takes things to a new extreme. this vessel is nearly half a kilometer long, the largest ever built anywhere in the world. and its job is to open up a new source of gas. >> the vessel will be moved off australia with a gas field near a mile from the shore. it will go down to the seabed and gas will bring -- pipes will bring the gas up to the surface. the gas will be purrified with unwanted chemicals. it will then be chilled with the help of sea water down to mine us 162 celsius. this turns the gas noose liquid form, shrinking it until it's

600 times smaller ready to be loaded onto tankers and shipped away, a whole new way of getting gas to the global market. >> what it gives us is the ability to access gas fields that previously were easterly technically too difficult or simply too expensive to develop. now we can access those gas fields in locations as opposed to having to bring the gas to land and then onto market. >> it's come clear? >> you can see it. >> that little gas? >> yeah. and that was perfect. not a movement. >> a tense movement for huge earns. in charge of installing a giant component weighing more than 5,000 tons. the most complex machinery is assembled onshore and then ferried to the vessel. gas processing plant on land would cover a large area. here it's been squeezed into the very tight confines of a vessel. when this massive structure

comes online it will be one of major several new sources of gas for the global market. gas is far cleaner than coal or oil, burning it does still give off carbon dioxide and the u.n. climate panel says the world should be moving away from fossil fuels. one of the enormous tanks that will store the liquefied natural gas, climate scientists say a different approach is needed to attack global warming. >> if you invest in very large facilities that give you access to lots of new gas fields, the temptation will always be to continue to burn the gas, to look for new resources. unfortunately it is not compatible with climate change targets that we continue to develop new gas, you know, into the second half of the century. >> but demand for gas is booming. in china, many want it to replace coal. in an effort to clean up the country's devastating air pollution. in the united states, tracking

fracks has led to a flood of gas, cutting energy costs for key industries. and in lithuania, a new ship offers energy security. for decades in tiny country has got all of its gas from country. now lithuania feels more independent. so work on this huge new project comes at a time when the appetite for energy is surging. shell believes prelude will transform the way gas is produced and more of these massive vessels will follow, but it is the first of its kind and the real test will come when it enters service in a few years' time. >> that dilemma of energy needs and climate and climate changes, well, that brings today's show to a close. you can see more on our website. and if you'd like to reach me and the bbc team, we're on

twitter. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation, giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation, and mufg. >> they say the oldest trees bear the sweetest fruit. at mufg, we believe in

nurturing banking relationships for centuries, because strong financial partnerships are best cultivated for years to come. giving your company the resources and stability to thrive. mufg, we build relationships that build the world. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angege

bruce feiler: each year, more than five million pilgrims travel here-- to the catholic shrine of lourdes in southwest france. together, we pray. feiler: they come seeking healing. man: embrace whatever happens. it's all part of the experience. feiler: every spring, the shrine hosts a unique event. man: wounded warrior, wounded warrior. feiler: tens of thousands of soldiers from around the world gather for a journey of peace and reconciliation. i'm traveling with 40 wounded warriors from the united states. but what are they searching for? man: there's something special about this place. you've got to have faith. you know, that's really what this place teaches you. feiler: today, organized religion is more threatened than ever, yet pilgrimage is more popular than ever. i'm bruce feiler.