. >> reporter: former prime minister nawaz sharif spoke about china's $46 billion plan for pakistan's infrastructure. he said the china/pakistan economic corridor will boost the economy. >> this is not only going to benefit pakistan or china, this is going to benefit the entire region. i think pakistan is on the right track. >> reporter: asian development bank president said south asian countries should strengthen their economic ties and then extend them to other parts of asia. >> not just within asian -- southeast asian countries. but connecting between south asia and central asia and also in terms of trade, how to connect to the east asia is so important. >> reporter: countries of southern asia could set up a new framework for further growth taking up their model, southeast asia's creation of the asean economic bloc. masahiko sakai, nhk world, davos. >>> in most cities around the world, chances are you're being watched. security cameras are in banks, subway stations, even in people's apartment buildings. people may realize they're being filmed, but do they know who is watching? nhk

pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif condemned the attack. back in 2014 militants rushed a school in peshawar, killing 140 people, mostly children. >>> many investors have been unloading shares as they tried to avoid risk. this was true again today as asian stocks took another tumble. let's turn to gene otani at our business desk. >>> thanks, james. many market players are getting more worried about the outlook for the economy in 2016. crude oil prices fell further on wednesday, fueling fears among some investors for a gloomy year. and we saw japan's nikkei share average drop to its lowest level in 15 months. for more details we go to mayu yoshida at the tokyo stock exchange. >>> investors are clearly worried about the global economy. now especially after a u.s. crude dropped to a 12-year low and after the international monetary fund cut its forecast for the global outlook. the imf move follows the latest figures out of being which shows that china's gdp growing at its slowest pace in a quarter century. we're seeing drops in stocks and commod

pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif vowed to eradicate terrorism. the man claiming responsibilities is believed to be one of the assaillants in an attack a year ago. they killed more than 140 people, mostly children. >>> a group monitoring syria's civil war says islamic state militants have released 270 civilians, including women and children. the militants captured them last weekend during fighting with syrian government forces in the country's east. the britain-based syrian observatory for human rights says the militants reportedly continue to hold male prisoners between the ages of 14 and 55. the human rights group says the militants hope to enlist them as fighters. the extremist group also rounded up another 50 men on tuesday. the militants on saturday launched a heavy offensive to take government-held areas in the east. about 400 civilians were thought to have been kidnapped and taken to northern areas such as raqqah, one of the group's strongholds in syria. >>> the islamic state group has confirmed the death of a notorious masked militant know

. >>> pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif promised his country will investigate last week's attack on an indian air force base. pakistani militants are expected to be responsible. sharif called his indian counterpart narendra modi on tuesday to offer his condolences and pledged to take prompt action. the attack on the base in northern india on saturday left seven indian soldiers dead. six members of the armed group were also killed. indian media say the government suspects the assault was carried by a pakistan-based islamic militant group. the attack came soon after modi visited sharif in late december. the leaders agreed to continue dialogue to build mutual trust. observers say sharif's call tuesday was intended to maintain that momentum as the base attack is seen as an attempt to sabotage such efforts. the two south asian neighbors have repeatedly fought over control of the kashmir region. >>> in this segment we feature women in japan who are influencing society. today we introduce you to a leading figure who's helping asylum seekers in the country. with refugees in the spotlight

. >> woodruff: after today's attack, pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif vowed again to wipe out theace of terrorism in his country. meanwhile, in afghanistan, a taliban car bomber killed seven people on a mini-bus in kabul. the vehicle carried journalists for tolo news, a private t.v. channel that's reported on taliban abuses. >> ifill: iran's supreme leader has thanked the country's revolutionary guards for detaining 10 u.s. sailors last week. the americans were held for 15 hours after straying into iranian waters. on his website today, ayatollah ali khamenei praised the guard's action, and said: "what they did in the persian gulf was right." khamenei also said iranian protesters who stormed the saudi arabian embassy this month, had harmed iran and islam. the saudis severed diplomatic ties after the attack. >> woodruff: there's confirmation today that islamic state militants have destroyed iraq's oldest christian monastery. satellite photos obtained by the associated press show st. elijah's monastery in mosul was leveled in september of 2014. it had stood for 1,400 years. >> ( tran