minister of pakistan. professor at georgetown's center for peace and security studies, and deputy director for south asia as the simpson center. has this been a water shed moment? has there been something different about this attack that separates it from others in the attack? >> i believe it is a water shed moment, and i believe we'll see a fundamental change in the way that pakistan is looking at terrorism. i'll give you three reasons for it. one is that there is a new guy who is in charge of pakistani armed forces. and he's much more--we had conversations with them, and they told us that that is his first priority to get rid of extremists. the second is th is a serious individual, i've known him for a very long time. we were together at the world bank, and they're serious about cultivating a positive relationship. and a third, something that not many people have commented on is pakista pakistanis are very scared of the islamic state and what is happening in iraq. they think that unless they move, it is

not just in pakistan. you've seen the #pakistan a and #paand and #peshawar attack.meone like a cricketer, he's come out and said a sad, sad day. innocent children gunned down in pakistan. a barbaric act. and there's been other people who have also been looking at some of the other social media reaction that you've been seeing. and also what's being shown on local television stations in pakistan. there's been a lot of stations showing interviews with the children shortly after they were attacked. many of the injured being interviewed in hospitals. a lot of people saying they just can't bear to watch this television anymore, and why interview children who are in such traumatic conditions. >> also in a world of social media, lots of pictures coming up from peshawar, of course, with many people taking to their mobile phones to report the incident. and nearby bystanders there using that as a facility to tell the world exactly what's happening, and indeed what's happening as we speak. >> yes. obviously in some aspects, it's very useful to have that kind of eyewitness news

of pakistan taliban. pushed out. it's an umbrella organization. composted of nearly 30 armed groups aligned with al qaeda. the focus is to overthrow pakistan's government and impose a harsh form of islamic law. >> while you have a secular government in this muslim country, there'll be an element of sharia law that should run it. >> pakistan's prime minister came to office promising to negotiate with taliban. at an attack, an airport ended the hope. targetting the taliban in tribal areas along the border. thousands have been killed. hundreds of thousands forced from the home. >> the army said the strikes were working. clearly not completely blunt in its power. >> it's a critical point in the history of the nation of pakistan. they have to maintain military pressure, the second thing is they have to have some talks with the elements. pakistan taliban has a strong following. >> critics say part of the problem is pakistan works with part of the taliban while fighting other elements of it. still the president

and pakistan? >> a spokeswoman for the secretary of state saying recently that he is eager to visit islamabad in the new year. officials say that the two countries planning strategic sessions together early in 2015 that will likely be timed with president obama's visit to india in january. >> libby casey for us in washington, thank you. >> coming up in 15 minutes, we'll have a live report from on the ground in pakistan and a former special agent in charge at ncis will break down what we saw happen this morning. >> in sydney, tributes continue to pour in for the victims of the hostage standoff. >> police stormed a cafe, ending the siege. there are now several questions including why the attacker was not on a terrorist watch list. >> the morning after the siege ended and the streets around martin place are quiet. police have maintained a heavy presence here. commuters to work come to show their respects. many are asking how such a thing could ever happened in the heart of they are stay. >> i'm very,

-pakistan relation,s. the bow bergal exchange, they apparently didn't help enough to help us free bergdahl. we here about the elements in the i.s.i. pakistani intelligence, in the government, secretly supporting terrorists who serve its interests, specially in afghanistan. do you think we are on our way to get past the problems? >> well, one would think that today's event are a wake up call to the pakistani military in this respect. they need to fight the pakistan taliban with the same degree of determination that the afghan government has been trying to combat the taliban in afghanistan. and there's of course, as you know, a difficult conversation with the pakistanis for well over a decade. 13 years, going back to september 2001, about the frustration that the obama and bush administrations have had about the inconsistent approach by the pakistani government against terrorist groups. one would hope that the pakistani government would consolidate its efforts, based on today's event, and understand that the

pakistan would have to decide whether they can allow the taliban to hide in pakistan. >> reporter: asion persists as to whether this tragedy can become a turning point in this bloody struggle. nick childs, bbc news. >> tuesday's massacre in pakistan was an attempt to target the military as well. schools and institutions around the world are routinely attacked. according to the refugee council, there were more than 838 attacks on schools in pakistan between 2009 and 2012. there have been more than 1,000 attacks on schools and educational institutions in other countries like somalia, columbia and syria as well. the former united nations secretary general for foreign affairs has been leading this work and joins us now. your report came out hours before this attack in pakistan. it must feel the work you've been doing is ever more relevant. >> it is indeed. i cannot in 30 years as a humanitarian worker remember a time where somebody cold bloodily killed more than 130 children at school. that's why we have a global coalition of non governmental organizations, human rights organizations work

go to pakistan.ow many parents did not send their children to school because of the attack yesterday? >> i think there's an amazing commitment by parents all over pakistan to send their children. the schools in the city where the attack happened yesterday have been closed for three days of national mourning and most of specific mourning in perfect shower. we need to support the craigage parents throughout pakistan, who send their children to school. that's the biggest thing that we are calling on everybody. we all condemn no heinous attack. we need to support parents who want to send their parents to school. >> how do we do that? >> work with leaders. the army and police guarantee security, guarantee that schools are safe and secure. >> are we at that point where you expect more school attacks and where armed officers need to be stationed at every school in pakistan? >> i think there needs to be intelligence around where schools are more safe and less safe. i think all schools need to be made safe, a

in a city in pakistan. we are getting reports that the military are making some progress going after the handful of taliban that are still in there. but it is not over. we also want to tell you this morning we have new information on the final chaotic moments of monday's deadly hostage crisis inside a downtown sydney cafe. a dozen captives, held against their will for more than 16 hours, when police rushed in. we hear it was a move triggered by the sounds of gunfire inside. two hostages died as a result. we are now hearing the actions of those who lost their lives may have spared the lives of others. let's get to andrew stevens live from sydney. what do we know? >> chris, good morning to you. details are pretty sketchy at the moment. but it does appear that those final fateful few minutes inside that cafe did produce at least one hero who paid for that with his life. about bed of hundreds of flowers blanket martin place, the site of a deadly police standoff that claimed the lives of two hostages. each bouqu

prayers for the victims of a pakistan school massacre. the prime minister vows to continue his crack drown against the pakistani taliban. we're inside the peshawar school where 140 died, mostly children. >> i saw shoes, clothing, school books covered in blood on the floor. large pools of blood around the aisles where children had been trying to get out of the rows of seats and out of the building. >> another taliban attack in afghanistan as militants attack a bank and kill at least six is. >>> soldiers are said to have are mistreated iraqi detainees in 2004. >>> why the new york premiere of this film poking fun at north korea has been cancelled due to threats from a hacking group. >>> hello. pakistan's prime minister is meeting all main political parties to discuss how to respond to the taliban attack on a school in peshawar. more than 140 were killed, nearly all children. the prime minister lifted a moratorium on the death penalty on cases of terrorism. the first journalist to see the devastation in the school, there are disturbing detai

pakistan was, until 1947, or most of pakistan was until 1947, part of the indian continent. and it produced art and literature and culture. the taj mahal came out of the same culture that is represented by the new country of pakistan that was born in 1947. as far as the pakistani are concerned, they have chosen to be less modern in the past. but they liked to use modern gadgets and therefore should also be open to modern ideas if the opportunity was given. unfortunately, the pakistan he's pursued the global policy of keeping their travel areas separate from the rest of the country. but look, pakistanis are essentially people who aspire to be muslims, but muslims in the 21st century. and they do not believe in using force and coercion, and very frankly, the islamic holy book clearly says that there's no coercion in religion, because you can not force people to be pius, and if anybody thinks that by killing children and massacring them in the school that they will somehow make society more pius, they're definitely delusional. >> but you know that there are people in this count

slaughter in pakistan.kistan's bloodiest days, there are defiant pledges to strike back against terrorism. but we must remember, this is a country that has been gripped by an insurgency now for more than a decade. the pakistan taliban, other terror groups, they've killed tens of thousands since pakistan joined the united states in the war on terror. we're joined now by the former pakistan ambassador to the united states, husain haqqani. he's also the director for south and central asia at the hudson institute here in washington think tank. ambassador, thanks for coming in. who are these terrorists, these savages that can go into a school and say, if you're below puberty, you're not going to die, but if you're 13, 14, 15, you're dead? why would these people do that to young schoolkids? >> we've already seen boko haram in nigeria which does the same thing. they're all chips off the same block. they all believe in just wanting to overrun the countries where they are trying to wage wars and they want basically

the pakistan taliban was a creation of domestic islamic militants that formed when the previous pakistan government, pervez musharraf began aligning with the government. it's homegrown militants th s s want to put in sharia law. they don't have much support in the country. they do have sympathizers and they do have, you know, various supporters, but most pakistanis do not support them. they view them as sort of a fringe element that's got no place in pakistan and responsible for nearly a decade of attacks against the pakistan army, troops and installation. pakistan has lost thousands of soldiers and of civilians in these attacks. but few of these -- few -- none of the attacks actually have risen to the level of what we saw today where it was a deliberate targeting of children. many are the children of pakistan army officers and soldiers and what can only be described as a horrific massacre. >> that's why this school in particular was targeted because it's the kids of pakistan military officers? >> yeah, pakistan taliban issued a statement saying that they targeted the children of the peo

a horrific attack on an army-run school in northern pakistan. the taliban kill at least 126 people, most of them children. eyewitnesss say five or six armed men scaled the walls at the school in peshawar and opened fire on pupils. security forces say they rescued many children trapped inside. fighting is continuing at the school. we're getting reports of explosions. five gunmen killed. the taliban says the attack is in response to military offenses in north waziristan and the kiber region. we will bring you full coverage, speaking to our correspondents at the scene and bring you reaction from throughout pakistan. >>> it's midday here in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and 5:00 p.m. in peshawar, pakistan, where taliban gunmen have launched a horrific attack, and this time, the target was children. gunmen stormed an army-run school and killed 126 people. most of them were pupils. eyewitnesss say the attack began when five or six armed men wearing paramilitary uniforms scaled the school walls, entered the building and opened fire. pakistani securi

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

india with pakistan.ction and brotherhood through disaster. i commend to you to read some of those tweets. here are a few examples. this isn't as much in india with pakistan sentiment as it is a human with human sentiment and. a shortage of blood in pak, can we organize it in india and fly it in? if india gives permission, i will bear the cost of the flight with india with pakistan. it's a moving series of tweets there and a nice show of somethi something. >>> just ahead, a story that has more rancor to it. aaron sorkin writing about the newsroom to fighting it. the press is responsible for aiding and abetting illegal hackers. >> is there anything in these e-mails at all that's in the public interest that points to wrongdoing at the company? that helps anyone in any way? there isn't. there's just gossip there. >> so, is there a public good to reporting on the dealings of a publicly traded company? it wouldn't be the first time. i'll talk to one hollywood heavyweight who is speaking out about this right af

this all pakistan private school federation? i don't know what this federation represents, how many schools, and it's been banned because it will have a negative impact on children. that's the rationale. can you explain this kind of thinking to me? >> yes, absolutely. the problem is that there are certain politicians or factions within the government that sympathize with the taliban, and they sympathize with a lot of these insurecy groups. they need to stop sympathying with these groups. as you can see today it's not going to work. it's not helping the country. the reason why they've banned this book is because malala in her book talks about certain problems with insurgency groups, girls not being able to go to school for security and culture reasons. nobody wants their dirty laundry aired in public. they counter this by painting malala as a western. they say that it was not the taliban who shot her but the cia. they say no, she's representing girls education. she's an advocate for education. the reason when she released the boo

this shocked pakistan. a country that has been the victim of terrorist attacks for more than a decade, this really hit the heart of the nation. the taliban said in a statement they have experienced many dark nights and it was the country's turn to experience a dark night. well, this certainly was a dark night. it was a despicable statement. it was a statement of cold-blooded revenge but the country is just full of grief over what has happened. >> yeah, absolutely cold-blooded. journalist michelle stockman live for us in islamabad approaching ten minutes past midday. thanks very much. >>> now, another story we're tracking, almost two days after a deadly hostage standoff ended in sydney, australia, the leader is now demanding answers. most of his questions involve hostage-taker man haron monis. at a news conference a short time ago prime minister tony abbott announced a formal inquiry, the results of which expected next month. >> we do need to know why the perpetrator of this got permanent residency. we do ne

we begin with the terror attack in pakistan. an attack so heinous, it got attention of arch rival india. in the next few hours, india schools observe two minutes of silence. solidarity with pakistan after the assault that is now taken at least 140 lives, most young lives. school kids ages 12 and up. it happened in pa shower. the pakistani taliban was behind it and this is how the horror unfolded. >> reporter: first responders desperate to save young lives rushed children to the emergency room. the latest casualties in pakistan's war with the taliban. the siege on the army public school into greek college begins at 10:00 a.m., pakistan time. pakistan militants set off a car bomb near the school to distract security forces and scaled the walls. 1,000 students, many children of army personnel are now inside. >> translator: the men entered the room one by one and started indiscriminately fired at staff and students. within 15 minutes, pakistani security forces arrive on the scene, surround the school and take positions on rooftops.

right now a school is an active battlefield in pakistan.e raid admit-run school for kids, there are 126 dead right now. but it is an active firefight going on. many of those killed will be students. hundreds more are trapped inside. there are fierce that that number is going to go up, we're warning you of that now. the question is why are they there and how can they be stopped. >> we bring you the breaking developments as they come in we've learned that the death toll went up. we'll keep monitoring that. more questions this morning about the siege in sydney, australia. how were those two hostages killed? could lives have been saved and cot gunman who was known to australian police have been stopped somehow sooner? but first, we want to get to the break news from pakistan. we go to cnn's atika schubert tracking the developments live from london. >> good morning this is an absolutely horrific attack. you heard the death toll numbers, now it appears we're getting information that most of those who died were between the ages of 12-16. and accor

what do we do moving forward to help pakistan? does pakistan even want america's help?w, i think pakistan is a country and we see this in several countries that the u.s. engages with is a country that has a proud sovereign tradition. it prize itself on sovereignty. that was one of the stick points with the united states pakistan would try to project publicly to its own population and the region it was an independent sovereign country but then sometimes worked very closely with the united states and allowing things like either covert operations or drones. what we're seeing is it would appear then that the pakistanis would be speaking out of two sides of their mouth. on one hand we don't need american assistance or we need that kind of independent relationship but then allowing americans to carry out operations and have all kinds of support and allowing supply routes to go into afghanistan. this is a tricky balance for the united states where on one hand it can't appear the u.s. is dictating to pakistan what to do or how to do it. it wants to provide pakistan with assista

we begin with a deadly day in pakistan.early all of the victims, children, the eight hour gun battle took mace in the north eastern city at the army public school and degree college, which has about 1100 students, the pakistani taliban has claimed responsibility for it. it is the deadliest attack since 2007, al jazeera has the latest they are taking the bodies to the residents where they will be preparing for the burials tomorrow morning. of course, as you heard earlier, the military finally coming out with a statement, coming out with a figures and the number of people. the number of people who are asking as to how so many gunman can get into a school in such a secure area, with the military, the police, everybody present, and yet cause mahan by killing so many people. so there will be many questions as far as security in this country the checks that you see behind me, has received many -- even in the past, but this is for the first time that a school has been targeted in such an indiscriminate way, and people are mourning

>> yeah, this was 1995 in pakistan.what later became the regular taliban, if you will, the afghan taliban. and later on, there was a split between the larger group into ttp or the pakistani taliban. you know, i got swept up into it in 1995. i was young, adventurous, i was looking for, you know, the romanticized ideals of the muslim fighters of the old days. and i think this is the same thing that catches a the lot of individuals. they wear the costume of religion, but it's the furthest thing from it. >> costume, that's an interesting word you chose. i'm going to loop back to, but we're also now getting word from -- we're hearing from the spokesperson from the afghan taliban condemning this attack in pakistan saying, and i quote, this is from the spokesperson, deliberate killing of innocent women and children is against principles. everyone should consider this. he referenced the split of the taliban, can you explain the differences in factions? why is this significant here? >> well, there's a lot of splits -- >> well, t

taliban attack an army-run school in pakistan.t least 130 people are dead, most children. >> reporter: there were six or seven attackers and they were turning the classrooms and shooting students one by one. >>> hundreds of billions of dollars are wiped off of the value of russian's economy as the ruble crashes to a new low, and share prices plunge. >>> plus -- >> how can someone like that be entirely at large in the community? >> australia's prime minister asks why the sydney siege attacker was not on a watch list despite being known to the authorities. ♪ >>> at least 130 people, most of them children have been killed in an attack on an school by the pakistani taliban. witnesses and police have described how gunmen wearing suicide vests entered the classrooms, and started shooting students where they sat. a siege lasting several hours, ended the deaths of all of the attackers. the prime minister has announced three days of mourning. the school is located near several government and military buildings. nicole johnston has this rep

why don't you help pakistan?o be our terrorists but our terrorists, somehow you ignore that. you don't take them to be your terrorists. why don't you help pakistan? >> i think the -- >> lay off. why didn't you tell president karzai to hand over this man to pakistan? have you said this? no, sir, never. >> general, i understand your perspective and i know that it is complicated. however, you know, the united states and the west could ask you the same question. you have former military officers that are hemming organize the taliban in afghanist afghanistan. you must have good intelligence also because they're your own people there. it's complicated. general mu shar raf, there's a lot of speculation you may come back into power there as bizarre as that might sound. we thank you for your perspective and we look forward to seeing where you take the country. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >>> a lot of news this morning. let's get you to michaela for the headlines. >> here are the headlines. tony abb

>> our headlines this hour schoolchildren the target of the deadliest terrorist attack in pakistan history. the taliban claims responsibility and are condemned around the world. even the taliban in afghanistan have called the attacks u nislamic. al qaeda link rebels in theory have seized to keep bases and now control a major highway. australia mourns the victims of yesterday's 16 hour siege at a cafÉ in sydney. the cafÉ manager and another three hailed for their bravery. first, 141 victims in the latest assault by the taliban. the vast majority of them schoolchildren the youngest just to your soul. gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed into a school today carrying out the deadliest terrorist attack in the country's history. this report from islam a bad. >> the eyewitnesses said that the attackers have been confirmed to be seven. they came in wearing suicide vests with automatic weapons and grenades which they hurled inside classes. they lined up students, young students in their early teens and shot them at point-blank range. the way they carried out this it was not just at attack but a ass

>> we are right next to pakistan. >> india and pakistan were once one country, ripped apart in one ofe, no more fence? >> no more fences. >> so once you get past there, you can go straight into pakistan if you want? >> the problem is, the thing is, india is trying to stop people from coming in, infiltrators, drug dealers, terrorists. >> udeh is working on a documentary about the india/pakistan border. >> no one wants to go to pakistan. >> no one wants to? >> in their right mind, to go into pakistan. >> that's a fairly decisive statement. so they put up the fence but the fence is on the indian side. >> yeah. it's 150 meters from the border. >> so beyond that fence, still indian farmland. >> yes. >> so people who live over here can farm over there. >> farm over there. >> the punjab is a fertile region in an otherwise very dry country. this is india's bread basket. with over a billion people currently residing in india, every inch of fertile punjabi soil has great value. these are people who own land over there, then they put the fence, suddenly your life became difficult. >> exactly. th

pakistan is not really an ally.s more like the worst frenemy you could ever imagine. >> senator casey, what can we do about that? >> well, lawrence, i think we have to continue to engage and continue the efforts that have been undertaken for a long time. but a lot of people don't hear about our state department's efforts. going pack to secretary clinton's days and continuing under secretary kerry, all kinds of strategies to help, not just focus on something other than extremism, but by making sure that folks see pakistan can be the country it used to be. but we have to continue to engage, continue to focus to focus just like the first person who was quoted in the segment is focused on the future. that's the best we can do. >> thank you both for joining me tonight. >> thank you, lawrence. >>> up next, senator jeff merkley is here to talk about the impact of rewriting senator rules. there was a big rewrite of senate rules that changed the future for a lot of people. and the pope is now very much 234 favor of the nuns

drone strikes which continue in that area in pakistan. on balance, do you believe they are productive, even though they may antagonize these groups, make them more anti-american, or are they not productive? >> no, i think they are productive and these groups are going to be anti-american no matter what and this is one area where i fully plea for president obama on to continue to use drones and used extensively and they are effective. they are not the only answer. they are effective and the fact that we may be antagonizing groups like the taliban, it's a vote of confidence because it shows that we're having an impact on them and, again, to me we always use these excuses. if we do this, do that, we're going to antagonize them. we did nothing to antagonize them and they attacked us on 9/11. during the 1990s, the only time we used military force and the response we got to that was the attack on the "uss cole" and the attack on 9/11. we have to go on offense and not worry about hurting their feelings because they hate us no matter what we do.

pakistan, pakistan had such a history of murky links with so many shadow groups. what is your thoughts on what happened in pakistan? >> it is hard to wrap wrour mind around the horrific acts that could lead or take place that killed so many children. you know, i think the western counties have a fairly safe understanding that when the president calls the head of the coib a they get done. and in pakistan, that simply is not the case. there are three very separate mechanisms in play here. political government and military and intelligence organization. and they have not so secret, secret that many of us know. isi funds in arms and cia equivalent in pakistan, that they fund and arm the taliban. and while we are going to watch how pakistan reacts to this. they will have to spend time hooking inward and really for one put pressure on their own intelligence organizations to stop aiding. >> i hate to say it, it is no excuse. you have to wonder if that came back to bite them in the end. captain collins, thank you for your service. >> thank you very much. >> dow think that

this stuff is still going on in pakistan, no less.is supposed to be a government that we work with to combat this. how do you grade the campaign against terror and isis. >> i greade it incomplete. because largely much of the resources, the u.s. and the world, unfortunately is focussing on the military. i think it is important but we need to talk about the ideas and then invest in the things that not only the state departments and development agszs do but charities and others. i wrote a book called prosperity agenda about how you defeat these ideologies, you get serious about what people care about, security, educating their children, and a sense of dignity and decency and we have lost that in our drone campaigns. parts of it are necessary but it is incomplete. >> and i would say congress is unable to pass an authorization for the use of military force and engage sub stan atively on the campaign around isis, we are at the point where we don't speak about it at all. >> again if we get to that point it's only one step. that's what we hav

at title there is talking about "pakistan's school of sorrow."ne sentence in particular really struck me in this article and it says that outrages and easy emotion in pakistan, and after a decade of terrorist attacks, almost a habit -- outrage is an easy emotion in pakistan and after a decade of terrorist attacks, almost a habit. when the tears dry, little changes. and another article talks about "for our children" this day is when of the worst in history. and according to the nation, not just terrorist but everybody from the wider population to the civil and military leadership who have not done enough to fight the taliban, or who had been -- or even at times i sympathize with them, everyone is responsible for the barbarity that our children are subject to full to >> barbarity is definitely -- are subject to. >> the barbarity's deadly the topic in many papers. >> a lebanese newspaper talks about monsters and horror in peshawar with his striking image of women mourning their children. the independent focuses on is very striking front page and the

pakistan is one of the countries.e's the bbc. >> people in pakistan are not surprised by reports coming from washington. this is a country where cia is already deeply deflight. people are suspicious of activities. pakistan is the country most of these top terror suspects were arrested and sent to guantanamo bay. they were arrested and often conducted jointly by cia and pakistani officials. officials are accused of taking part in controversial interrogation techniques. this is the time the president wanted to be seen as a front line ally of the u.s. pakistan never took responsibility of people sent to guantanamo bay despite allegations of mistreatment and torture. if anything, pakistan was seen to be cooperating with the u.s. throughout the controversial program. >> we're getting more reaction coming in at the moment. we just heard through the twitter account that's associated with iran's leader, the report shows u.s. government as a symbol of tyranny. bbc afghanistan reporter now. the bbc arab editor. take us through

first breaking news out of pakistan.st 20 people are dead and more than 3 dozen wounded in peshmerga when gunmen stormed the school run by pakistan's military. this was a brazen attack. witnesses say six militants scaled the walls there. a security sweep is now under way. the pakistani taliban are claiming responsibility. >>> australians in sydney are leaving flowers at the site of a deadly hostage standoff. the prime minister visited the area and praised the police who ended the siege. the police and two -- the suspect i should say and two hostages died in the standoff. >>> police are searching for a man suspected of killing his ex-wife and five of his relatives in pennsylvania. a source close to the investigation says authorities have locked down an area about 40 kilometers from where the suspect lives after a possible sighting of him there. 35-year-old bradley william stone is armed and dangerous, police say. >>> now, we are learning more about the criminal record of the gunman in the sydney attack and his long histor

the pakistan taliban claiming responsibility, calling this a revenge attack after they say pakistan's military launched a major military offensive against them. >> the military runs a number of schools. they call them the army public schools. clearly this was chosen because of its affiliation with the military and also because it was -- there were children there. >> reporter: a taliban spokesman claiming six suicide bombers ordered to attack the school, their goal, to shoot older students. fearly 700 students and staff were in the building when the attack began. the students are aged 10 to 18. over the past few months, the pakistan military has been trying to clear out militants along its border with afghanistan through a ground offensive. the campaign has displaced tens of thousands of people and killed over 1,600 militants. >> thank you to atika shubert there. less than a week ago, a pakistani schoolgirl whom the taliban tried to silence two years ago was awarded the nobel peace prize. today, malala yousufzai says she's heartbroken by this senseless and cold-blooded act of terror an

america has given over a billion dollars in 2013 to pakistan. isn't there more leverage that the u.s. has? >> i hope there is more leverage today that they -- now that the pakistani government has had to deal with it. counterterrorism cooperation between the united states and pakistan enhances pakistani sovereignty. it does not finish it. today ought to be proof of that. >> you are watching bbc world news america. still to come, greens can't decide on a new president, getting more high-tech -- more heartache to a country that has done their share of turbulence. known their share of turbulence. has marked the third anniversary of the former leader, kim jong-il. nation paid tribute. in formation they step forward with flowers to remember kim jong-il, who statue was on the right alongside the statue of north korea's first later. noon in the square, the golf signal the silence and the city stood still. people bowed their heads and traffic stopped. ,his resident of pyongyang says i came to the statues of our great leader to bow to them, to mark the t

now this is a school in the border town of peshawar pakistan just a few miles from pakistan. many were evacuated and many were still inside for quite some time. the taliban has taken responsibility, saying the attack is in retaliation for operations in pakistan's attack. the spokesman says the bombers were tolding to target the the soldiers this the room and the building. the elder students an particularly the children of senior military officials. we're also learning pakistan's military carried out ten air strikes in the kibur region based on actionable intelligence. it's unclear though jose if that has anything to do with this attack on the school. >> and katy as you said the numbers are staggering. 135 dead. 150 injured. most of them children. how can you try to explain how the taliban thinks killing children is, i don't know part of a war against what they're against? >> there is really no good justification for it. even some extremist groups are condemning the taliban saying that the group went too far in this attack. what the taliban's reasoning is it goes back to a cyc

certainly one of the most saddest day in pakistan's history, whether it will change pakistan policiess completely unknown at this point. >> to that point and one of the things i was looking at that foreign policy was pointing out is the fact pakistan is has the second highest number of out of school children in the world, 22% of kids who are supposed to be going to school are not going to school. i could only imagine a horrifying attack like this would worsen that crisis. the fact you don't have children getting an education does it feed in the ability of the terrorists like the taliban to operate in pakistan? >> it is useful to put this event in a context. pakistan is a country of 200 million people and something like 60% is under the age of 23. that is an enormous youth bulge that is likely to persist for the next three decades until it has about 300 million people, making it top five countries by population in the world. so an enormous population and much of which is poorly educated and has limited opportunity for earning a living, getting out of poverty, for finding sorts of oppor

hour, live from doha, i have the top stories on al jazeera, taliban gunman attacking a school in pakistanzens of students and teachers have been killed. australia remembers prime minister tony abbot and leads mourn ers die in the siege. >> there are people even in a society such as ours who wish to do us harm. >> reporter: and moscow pushes interest rates to 17% trying to save the plunging russian rubel. taliban gunman attacking a school in pakistan, 84 people have been killed so far. 81 of them are children. at least another 100 injured. while the school is in the northwest city of peshawar the prime minister is on his way there and he says it's a national tragedy. nicole johnston has the latest. >> reporter: a few months since they launched an attack like this, six armed men stormed a school in peshawar where exams were underway and the gunman started firing. >> translator: the firing started suddenly. we ran to our classes. there were 6-7 attackers and they were entering the classrooms and shooting students one by one. >> reporter: the army public school is one by the military and has

the biggest threat to the peace in this region, to peace in pakistan, to the existence of pakistan. >d we have new information into cnn on this story, as well. pakistan not too long ago lifted moratorium on the death penalty for terrorism cases. let's bring in michelle stockman now because she's following developments from islamabad and can bring us up to date on exactly what's happening. michelle, what can you tell us about these latest developments on the country's death penalty? >> reporter: well, this shows the firm stance in response that the government intends to take against those responsible for this attack. we saw earlier in the year that prime minister sharif had more of a conciliatory approach to the taliban. was trying to negotiate peace talks with them. then the karachi airport attack happened and the military stepped in and responded with a vast military operation that is still ongoing in the tribal areas undertaliban control so we're seeing a united front right now between the civilian government and the military in terms of the tough response that they plan to take aga

and pakistani forces in pakistan? >> well, obviously this is a matter of discussion between our two governments. as i said, we continue to offer whatever help we can to pakistan. i wouldn't get ahead of decisions that haven't been made or discussions that haven't been conducted. but i can't answer that speculative question. what i can say is that we continue to want to, and to pursue a good productive defense and security relationship with pakistan. and i think you'll see that that ends up being the case. but it has to be -- it's a sovereign country and these have to be decisions that they and the people of pakistan want to make. phil? >> on the future in afghanistan, with the u.s. military presence there, one of the missions is going to be counterterrorism. and as we're all reacting to this terrorist attack, i think we're all wondering with some kind of terrorism capability in afghanistan for the u.s. next year, would terrorist attacks by the afghan taliban count? would american troops be assigned to go after them if