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because strong financial partnerships are best cultivated for the years to calm to give your company the resources and stability to thrive. we build relationships that build the world. >> bbc world news. >> this is bbc world news. reporting from washington. oil prices take another dip. for the markets, news that has sent them humbling. -- tumbling. kurdish forces are battling and making gains./ we will show you what is generating all the buzz.

welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. it was a while they on the markets. the dow jones industrial average closed down 130 points. that is due to the meltdown in oil prices fueled by oversupply and sluggish demand. the implications are being felt around the world. price of crude oil is the lowest it has been in five years, at just over $51 a barrel. there was a shock before recovering. that follows the startling plunge of 6%. the fault appears to have been prompted by saudi arabia. u.s. oil prices have fallen further. the symbolic threshold of $50.

the drop has been dramatic over the past six months. brent crude and u.s. oil have fallen 50% since the middle of last year. i spoke a brief time ago with john kingston, a director of news at a global provider of information on commodity markets. john kingston, how low can it go? >> the number that starts with a 3 is insight. it cannot be sustained. you are dealing with 1.5 million barrels of oversupply in the first and second quarter of this year and i do not think anybody suspecting the production to be arraigned in until the middle of the year. i think it is possible that it could drop into the $30 range. it is great if you are a consumer. if you are long in this business

in any way, it is scary. >> does it reduce the man for oil? -- the demand for oil? >> the economy is the strongest in the world and is pretty much flat. japanese demand is down, as it has been for many years. chinese demand is raising at an annual rate of 2%. and has been a week demand picture and, when you look at the stock market being tied to the decline in the price of oil, you start to wonder if it is an overreaction and should the stock market be more excepting of the lower energy costs. or is the oil market saying something about the underlying strength of the global economy? there is that factor. >> could we be heading for an economic slowdown? >> oil is a leading indicator. you look at the supply-demand balance.

demand is not plummeting. it is rising. what is happening is the u.s. and the canadian rise in output has overwhelmed the sluggish demand. if you are looking at a global slowdown you would see more numbers on the demand side of things. >> you mentioned the u.s. is a huge producer. what is it doing? >> the count is down. there are some layoffs and dividend a limitations. -- dividend eliminations. there is a pretty active trade in the $50 put. without going into an esoteric

description, producers are setting themselves up to sell oil at $50 and they see things getting worse. the active market and a $50 put is bearish. >> john kingston will be watching the price of oil. will they ever reduce production? >> not for a while. king ofabdullah said he would stay the course. the saudis show no sign of breaking and are able to ride this out. they have geopolitical considerations than a fitting their position. i would not expect them to come to the rescue. i think they want to see it where the shale industry. went you see a cut for output, opposed to a slowdown in growth?

>> the pentagon says momentum has been halted. part of the success comes from kurdish forces taking the fight to i.s. the have advanced in a strategic town. thousands were stranded on a mountain there. from the frontlines, this report. >> this must be taken carefully. a wrong move could be deadly. house by house. the islamic state militants. they have been taken to the front line by the pkk kurdish fighters. one of the fiercest enemies of the i.s. in syria and iraq.

we are in a town. snipers are positioned on every rooftop in the northern front. here everyone must stand guard. at 19, a syrian kurd has been fighting jihadists in syria for years and now, in curtis dan. -- kurdistan. >> those houses in front of us are i.s. positions and have no respect for women's rights. i'm here to kick them out and liberate my sister's. -- sisters. >> militants set fire to many houses. >> this is one of the houses. the pkk fighters tell me that when they entered the part of the city, they found bodies of

women and children beheaded and their bodies were decomposing. they have been killed when militants took over the city. >> a kurdish iranian has lost many of his friends. >> this is a land where humanity thrived. we cannot accept slavery and oppression. our goal is to end barbarism. >> the sun goes down and the fighting intensifies. the pkk fighters at the post stay vigilant around the clock. the supply route is under constant fire. at this outpost on the front line, they are holding i.s. back, for now. >> for more on the military

campaign being waged against the islamic state, i spoke to the retired air force coral -- colonel. >>we saw the kurds making gains. what is a going to take to push islamic state out of iraq and syria? >> that is the difficult question. the big goal for military operation is to really recapture mososul. they want to recapture it with iraqi and yezidi forces. they are going to smaller villages near the kurdish capital that are affected by this. the kurdish forces are moving forward in that area and have had success in moving forces from their. -- there. >> is there enough to do the

job? >> mosul will be tough and it is going to be a critical times ten effort that will take place to go through mosul. it is an urban environment with 1.8 million people who used to live in the area before the troubles. that means there are going to be a lot of issues, when it comes to uprooting i.s. forces. it is a difficult and potentially deadly environment they are getting into. >> the u.s. is talking about training for grades. -- training bridgades. >> if you waste time in the training phase and do not have them ready for military operations, that creates a significant drawback for supported forces. when that happens we risk

losing momentum and risk changing the dynamic of the battlefield. the kurds are moving at a pace greater than what washington and london expect, at this point. >> cannot be achieved without ground troops? >> doubtful. these environments may allow tactical gains to be achieved from airport indigenous forces. the key question is how well the indigenous forces are trained. clearly, the kurdish forces are good. we cannot, if we are going to succeed, we cannot forget what we are doing here and cannot go into an environment where we allow i.s. to succeed for a brief moment. the war is about momentum and you risk losing the last couple of days.

you need to be able to exploit using all military power. >> thank you for joining us. >> around the world, a female suicide bomber attacked a police station and killed herself and a police officer. another was injured in the heart of the tourist district. a palestinian man accused of murder has been given three life sentences by a military court. he was ordered to pay $63,000 in compensation to the victims families. john boehner has won another term as the speaker of the house of representatives. the republicans took control of both. the party won a majority in the senate during the midterm election. the afghan president marks 100

days in power and is still struggling to form a government. political deadlock threatens economic stability and security of the country. afghanistan took over formal operations. from kabul, this report. >> the u.s. forces have handed over combat responsibility. i joined the head of the army on his first trip out of the capital. our destination is close to the border. the general is going to be the defense minister when the deadlock over the cabinet is broken. >> selecting individuals that are good for their job professionally and from other points of view. it takes a long time.

we agree with you. i agree with you that it takes a long time. it will not be long. soon, you will hear the new cabinet. >> 100 day seven passes for new president agree to share power with the runner-up in the election dr. abdullah. in the western province, the official from the governor and district level have been fired. >> people are tired. they are very much tired of waiting for the developing government. the question in afghanistan is about the cabin and. -- the cabinetet. >> will the strength and the taliban? >> -- strengthen the taliban?

>> this man said he would take his boat back and the barber did not vote and blamed were security on the failure of the government. a man with a haircut said the government was suffering because of political failure. it is a hard time for those in the front line. >> they are fighting the tell a ban on their own without u.s. and international support and without the backing it needs from a strong government. amid political paralysis, in the army takes a heavy casualties in a war that has not stopped because foreign horses are gone. bbc news kabul. >> you are watching bbc. the mexican president comes to the white house. the economy and immigration is on the agenda. a fireworks factory and columbia

went up in flames and it was captured on camera. a team of firefighters battled the blaze for six hours. more on the amazing images. >> it was unexpected and a late new year's fireworks display. the moment the factory for into flames was captured by a local cameraman who was thrown back several weeks by the blast. the cascade of explosions went on and on in a colombian town of granada. >> it was terrible and chaotic. we felt the vibrations and took my daughter out. >> it make sure the remaining

gunpowder was not set off. what homes were affected and windows. >> despite the intensity, only one report of a minor injury caused by flying debris. some living nearby say they had warned the authorities that the factory was dangerous. it is now little more than a pile of rubble. the investigation is underway into what caused the spectacular explosion. bbc news. >> in a less explosive development, a blastoff has been postponed for a space mission for a rude usable rocket. -- for a reusable rocket.

the mexican president met with obama at the white house today. it was his first official visit to washington. they discussed a range of issues affecting the nations, from immigration to trade including cuba. obama wants mexican support for pushing for democratic reform in the island nation. the secretary of commerce served under george w. bush and is part of the albright-stonebridge group. what were the presidents looking to do today to expand on that? >> a lot creating a relationship. they look like they have a good relationship and there are no hidden agenda. they have a dialogue shared by the vice president and it is

improving nafta. >> the north american free trade agreement. >> it is already a $1.3 trillion trade area. >> what is the biggest obstacle to more trade? >> a lot of this is cleaning up regulation. we have testing protocols and different regulations for products. those things that can take away productivity and competitiveness. crossing the border with merchandise is costly because of delays and inefficiencies. >> could obama and with a yes? would that improve economic relations? >> it would take away tensions with mexican americans in the u.s..

-- in the u.s. i did not think he was as aggressive as the previous mexican presidents who have come to the u.s. and demanded drivers licenses. he played it well and thank obama for what he had done. >> how about on cuba? do you think that the president will pressure more democracy? >> i do not doubt that he will try. he says he is quick to try. the mexico and cuba relationship has been bad since castro took over. it is not as though they have not tried to help you for. obama is trying to influence the agenda for panama. >> cuba is invited. obama will be there. they are trying to get the agenda to reflect human rights

and it will be a tough challenge. >> it shows that mexico does indeed want to pressurize the u.s.. >> people are welcoming cuba and they will be congratulatory towards the president. it is what happens after the summit and how the u.s. is treated. we start seeing it. we have to keep it. >> is their equal relationship on the u.s.? >> i think we should. the numbers for mexico are important.

80% of exports come to the u.s. and the economy is tied to the u.s.. -- tied it to the u.s. we only pay attention to latin america when something is out of control. if mexico needs our help, it is time to do it preemptively. we need to pay more attention strategically to latin america. >> instead of dance troupes and roulette, a self parking car and a toothbrush. the annual consumer electronics show is in town. our technology correspondent is at the gadget show and meets the inventors. >> a vision of the future that is nearer than you would think. it allows you to take your hands off the wheel and relax in heavy

traffic. >> you have to be ready to act if something happens. >> it is more futuristic. i could get out and let be part do the work. i have stayed to admire the skills. >> we are seeing a bit of it. >> making a noise at the consumer electronics show. that is when amateur pilots are taking to the skies. >> we filmed this and, over the last year, they have governing throws around the u.s. and the world. the drones begin to fill our skies and there is concern about

our safety. >> everything is pushing boundaries. it just can't wait. >> it is connecting everything to the internet. it checks on the exercise regime. >> it has sensors and when you leave your house for vacation, it will take care of the plants for you. >> we are all going to have a lot more information and sympathies from now on. bbc news. >> i would like my own drone. how about you? you can find out much more on our website is up reach me on

our twitter. for all of us, thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news. >> funding of the presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good. the cove where foundation. >> it is a global truth that we can do more when we work together. our banking relationships span

coulters and almost every -- it is through discipline and trust that you create something greater than yourself. we build relationships that build the world.

[audience murmurs] [curtain rustles] [piano plays] [gray]: the klondike gold rush is a great adventure story and it's always going to be that. for many of the guys who had been up there, those years in the north remained the most exciting period of their lives. they had had the excitement of wondering