British Inquiry Blames Russian President for Assassination of Litvinenko; Pakistani Police Question 50 For Connections of Bacha Khan Attack
MANISHA TANK, HOST: Hello, I'm Manisha Tank in Hong Kong. Welcome. This is News Stream. A British inquiry finds the Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the killing of the former spy Alexander Litvinenko. Police in Pakistan question over 50 people, searching for those responsible for a deadly attack on a university. And 2015 was the hottest year on record. We'll speak to the UN's climate change chief. So, we begin this program with the beginning the inquiry into the death of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. The report found the Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved the killing of Litvinenko. It also says that two Russians murdered Litvinenko by poisoning him with radioactive polonium in 2006. The UK is now summoning Russia's ambassador to the UK over the findings. Litvenenko's widow praised the inquiry, but has called for more action by the UK.</s>MARINA LITVINENKO, WIDOW OF ALEXANDER LITVINENKO: I'm calling immediately for expulsion from the UK of all Russia intelligence authorities, whether from the FSB, or (inaudible) or from other Russian agencies based on the London embassy.</s>TANK: So let's get the different perspectives on this. We have our Nic Robertson in London and also Matthew Chance in Moscow joining us to talk a bit more about it. We'll start with you, Nic just because I want to get your reaction to what Marina Litvinenko was saying just then. I mean, she's calling for the UK to do something, to step up. But isn't that fairly unlikely to happen?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well this -- the report or the inquiry is very strong in its language going as far as to say that President Putin was probably the one behind calling for the FSB, the Russian intelligence services, to tell Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi to go ahead and poison Alexander Litvinenko. So, this is very strong language. But what Litvinenko's widow is calling for would be an even stronger diplomatic position taken by the British government. We heard a little while ago from the British home secretary Theresa May -- and she stopped short of meeting Marin Litvinenko's expectations. This is what she said.</s>THERESA MAY, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: I can tell the house today that Interpol notices and European arrest warrants are in place so that the main suspects Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, can be arrested if they travel abroad. In light of the report's findings, the government will go further and Treasury ministers have today agreed to put in place asset freezes against the two individuals.</s>ROBERTSON: Well, she also went on to say that the British government, she has written to her EU partners and to NATO allies to inform them about this report, sending them copies of the report, so that they can understand the view that the British government has taken, why it has taken this report, and also to alert those other governments around Europe and elsewhere -- the United States of course -- of the way that the British can see that Russian agents, this is what the report is alleging here, that Russian agents on British soil in the heart of the capital murdered somebody on the streets here with a poison that could so contaminate the area around which the poisoning took place, that it could have affected other people on the streets here in London. So, these are very, very strong allegations for the diplomatic steps that she has taken here, the British home secretary, don't go as far as perhaps Litvinenko's widow would hope for, and certainly at this time the very sensitive diplomatic time where the international community is really looking for Russia's support and cooperation over peace in Syria. Her comments are going to be sort of read in that light as well.</s>TANK: Yeah, and speaking of comments, Nic, just stand by. Let's bring in Matthew. Because Matthew, we've had already comments coming from the Russian foreign ministry declaring this report as politically motivated. I mean, give us the wider angle here. To some extent it's no surprise that we're seeing this.</s>MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, no. I mean, there's been suspicions all along, back since 2006 when the poisoning took place, that this was orchestrated by the state. The substance that was used to kill Alexander Litvinenko, polonium 210, that radioactive isotope, is produced in nuclear reactors. It's really only a state that could get their hands on that substance and give it to their agents to carry out such an assassination. It has just been a question of what proof has there been of state involvement? Well, the report concluded that state involvement went right the way up the chain, it seems, to Vladimir Putin saying he probably approved the operation to assassinate Alexander Litvinenko. And, again, naming these two former KGB agents, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, who met him for a cup of tea in the Millennium Hotel in London, of course, back in 2006 for carrying out the poisoning. There's been a response, as you mentioned already, from the British foreign secretary, but also from the Russians as well. The Russian foreign ministry saying this was entirely designed to discredit Russia and its leadership. A statement from the -- the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry here saying this, "we regret that a purely criminal case has been politicized and has darkened the general atmosphere of our bilateral relations." And so an indication there that if this goes any further, it could have a damaging impact on the already touchy relationship between London and Moscow. And so I think the attention now shifts to what the British government are going to do. They're have to, of course, balance the need to respond to this report with an equal need to preserve a working relationship, particularly diplomatically, with Moscow. So, it's going to be interesting to see what they actually do. They've mentioned these financial sanctions, but it's not clear to me that there are any assets that the two suspects in this case, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, actually have that can be frozen in Britain. So, it may just be a lot of words and not much action.</s>TANK: Yeah, indeed, Andrei Lugovoi dismissing this as saying the charges against me are nonsense. Matthew, thanks very much for that. And Nic, finally, just I want to take this one up with you. You know, Matthew raising the point about what happens now. What the British will actually do. And we have already heard from Theresa May about these warrants that have gone out. But what's the reality here of playing that very finely tuned diplomatic -- that diplomatic play going forward?</s>ROBERTSON: It's taken 10 years to get to this point and it was in November of 2006 that Litvinenko was given that poisoned tea with the polonium 210. So, I think that gives us the strongest indication that the British government, although through this inquiry has essentially allowed a very strongly worded report to emerge, I think we can see that the British government hasn't really particularly been in any great rush to draw attention to this other than through this report now. So, I think going forward, we are going to hear -- we are expecting to hear from the British prime minister on this later this afternoon, but I think what we've heard from Theresa May is perhaps as far as it's going to go right now. There will be the calling in of the Russian ambassador into the foreign ministry here in London, into the foreign office, not quite clear what he'll be told, but in diplomatic terms that's something of a dressing down. But how far is it going to go beyond that? It doesn't seem it's going to go perhaps too far. We heard from Sir Robert Owen as well saying that now he's concluded this inquiry, he sees no further need to open the inquest again. And really the wheels of justice are frozen until the British authorities can get their hands on those two suspects that have been named there: Kovtun and Lugovoi. That's really would be the next move. It will be a criminal move rather than a political one. That's how it seems at this time right now.</s>TANK: Yeah and that perhaps that could take many years yet. Nic, we'll leave it there. Nic Robertson, thank you very much for that. And earlier we had Matthew Chance in Moscow. Now, police say 22 people were killed in an attack on a university in Pakistan. Witnesses say the gunmen were armed with AK-47s and grenades when they stormed the campus on Wednesday. Four attackers were killed. Our Alexandra Field has the latest.</s>ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bacha Khan's campus still bloodstained and bullet-riddled, the death toll climbing as authorities uncover more clues about the attackers.</s>GEN. ASIM BAJWA, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN (through translator): We're in possession of sufficient information confirming who the attacks were, where they came from, who prepared them, who supported them, who sent them and who made them reach here and who was behind the attack.</s>FIELD: Around 50 people are being questioned in connection to the massacre, no arrests have been made. The four militants who stormed the campus all killed in a firefight with Pakistani forces. Their cell phones are now a key part of the investigation.</s>BAJWA (through translator): They had two cell phones with them. They had contacts definitely. Even after the terrorists were killed, one of the mobile phones was still getting calls definitely from an Afghanistan SIM card. More work is underway on this.</s>FIELD: A Pakistani Taliban commander has already publicly claimed responsibility, calling the killings retaliation for the military's operations against the militant group in northwest Pakistan. Another spokesman for the same group disavows the attacks, saying the killing of students and civilians is not Sharia Law.</s>KHYAM MASHAL, STUDENT: I looked through the window. So there were two or three people firing and I think they were the terrorists.</s>FIELD: Recent intelligence reports indicated an attack in the area was imminent. Security had been stepped up on the campus in Charsadda but that officials say the gunmen managed to make their way over a low wall, later lobbing hand grenades then shooting at students. Their timing intended to maximize casualties coinciding with a big celebration at the school. Alexandra Field, CNN, New Delhi.</s>TANK: You're watching News Stream. Coming up, global temperatures on the rise. Why scientists say 2015 was one for the record books. And activists demands action following last year's global climate deal. We'll speak to the head of the UN working body on climate change.</s>TANK: Well, we're closely following the market volatility in stock markets all over the word. Let's have a look at how things are right now. And in Europe, actually markets moving to the upside. This very cautiously higher, you can see up more than 1 percent for the Detra DAX and the Zurich SMI. And for the FTSE and Paris, gradually climbing but not quite beyond that 1 percent mark yet. In Asia, though, it's a very different story. Most of the major markets losing ground this session, this after the market rout we saw in the previous session, certainly on Wall Street, the NIKKEI down quite sharply along with the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite. Australia managing to make, again, cautious gains there, but we're seeing this oil price, the movement in the oil price causing a lot of reaction and so much uncertainty around, this is the word that many of the market analysts are bringing up consistently at the moment. Of course, we're keeping an eye on all these numbers for you here on CNN. Now, heaters and shovels are flying off the shelves in stores across the U.S. east coast. The mid-Atlantic region is bracing for a major blizzard. Washington is very much in the bull's-eye up to 24 inches, or 60 centimeters of snow is predicted there. The storm is expected to hit on Friday. The area got an early taste when light snow created slippery driving conditions on Wednesday. But just as we're talking about freezing weather, scientists say last year was actually our planet's warmest on record and you probably noticed it. U.S. researchers say ten months had record high temperatures for their respective months. So, it likely won't surprise you that December was one of those months. The holiday season felt less wintry than usual in much the of northern hemisphere, something people love to talk about is the weather and how unusual it gets. So for more, let's cross to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers. He loves to talk about the weather as well. But this is really serious, Chad.</s>CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Truly is. 2015 not only broke records, but smashed records by .3 degrees Fahrenheit, a half degree Celsius, compared to the previous record which was just last year. So, we are just building on this heat, on this global warming heat. Fifteen out of the last 16 years have been the warmest on record with the only little divot in there was 1998 and that was when it was the peak because of another El Nino season. And that's where we are this year: El Nino. When we have an El Nino, the planet truly heats up and we talked about and have talked about this pause that was supposedly happening in 1998 because that was the highest temperature then things have gone down a little bit. Well, we know there truly wasn't really a pause, we just know that was an El Nino year. And this is an El Nino year and that's why we smashed through '98, through 2005 and then obviously 2014, which was last year. This is what the global temperature looks like and has looked like now since 1850, going up and up and up. The last time we actually had a coldest year ever on record was back before 1915. So, you get the idea how far it's been. 1911 was the last time we actually had a very cold year. And we're still going up. The Earth is warming up. And because we have these parts per million now, over 400 parts per million at the Maui Observatory on the Big Island there in Hawaii, we are continuing to see these temperatures globally go up, not just city by city, but we're talking the entire globe, Manisha.</s>TANK: Yeah, Chad. And what's remarkable is some people still deny this. But thank you for going through the numbers for us. We're going to do a bit more on this now. 2015 was also the year when world leaders agreed to limit carbon emissions, of course. I want to bring in Christiana Figueres. She is the executive secretary of the UN framework convention on climate change. She joins us us from Davos, where the snow is very counter to the story, but actually it's getting hot. It's getting so much hotter. And this report that we've seen only seems to underline that we just -- if there are deniers in the world, well, actually this is a really urgent problem now, more so than perhaps we thought before.</s>CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Yes, no, absolutely. And we've just seen the graphs, there is no such thing as a pause. We do have record breaking temperatures, but I think the important thing for this discussion is actually not just that we have consistently record breaking temperatures, but that finally we have come to understand that this is not just an environmental issue, this is an economic threat. And the fact that here in Davos, 750 economists were surveyed and asked what is the major threat to global stability, to global economy, and this year they have said global climate change. So, finally we have brought these two agendas together and I have been very impressed with all of the discussions here in Davos around how do you deal with both of these at the same time.</s>TANK: Christiana, I'm really glad that you're positive about this but I do want to point out this report that PWC, PricewaterhouseCoopers, published in Davos this week. And this was the survey that they did of 1,300 CEOs who actually cited things like uncertainty, cyber attacks and regulation, the more short-term problems as being those risks to their businesses. And there are so many who would say -- and like the survey you're quoting, saying that climate change should be at the top of that list. So, do we all need to get on the same page here?</s>FIGUERES: Well, you know, I think it is ingrained in us humans to think short-term just because it's easier, because we also have short political cycles and because corporations are really so tied to their quarterly reports. But I think that we're being called here to certainly take care of what is urgent but also take care of what is going to be the long term impacts that are already having a repercussion on us today. I don't know who -- which country could stand up and say I'm exempt from climate change. There is not a single country that has not had some negative impact. So, it's not just about the long term. We tend to think about climate change as long term because we're having long term changes, but the effects are here. And the solutions are equally urgent.</s>TANK: No doubt it is, you know, part of the responsibility of your team and you're working on a framework when you're trying to build this momentum to make sure people are sticking to their agenda, that they are sticking to promises. You know, the Paris summit, it was a big moment. It was a really important moment. Do you feel that the follow through is happening?</s>FIGUERES: Well, you know, difficult as it was for the 195 governments to come together to by unison, in unanimity, to agree to an international regulatory framework to address climate change over the next few decades, because it is designed as a long-term process. And you can imagine how that is when you have 195 countries coming from very different economies, very different interests, very different natural resource bases to come to a global agreement. So that was a major challenge, nothing short of a miracle. However, even as complex and difficult that was, I would say we're now facing the next step which is the even more difficult, which is how do you take the pledges, how do you take the actions that are envisioned in the Paris agreement, but how do you make them part of the DNA of companies, of governments, of civil society, or everyone who actually needs to mainstream the consideration of climate change in every single decision that is taken.</s>TANK: well, that's a good question. how do you do it? I mean, it's a really big -- it's a very broad goal that you have here and how do you do it? And you're in Davos right now. You will have the ear of many people who are making some important decisions. Do these meetings, are they making a difference? FIGEURES; Well, yes, and I think you know, the solution is not too mysterious, I think the fact is that one of the major, major success points of Paris is that countries, and increasingly corporations, are seeing that this is actually in their interest. So one very clear example I just came from the United Arab Emirates where you would think that being a heavily hydrocarbon resource base that they would be thinking about oil and gas in the long term. Well, surprise, surprise, the crown prince comes out and says I am calling for ministerial retreat in order to begin to strategically plan the future of the United Arab Emirates beyond oil. Why? Because they understand that this is in their long-term interest. They understand that, yes, there is a space for hydrocarbons for a certain period of time but we're moving very, very quickly into the challenge of increasing the carbon efficiency of every unit of GDP. And that that means for a while, a co-existence between gas and renewables, for example, and the UAE doesn't want to be -- doesn't want to be anchored only in gas. They are also looking at renewables because they understand that is the next generation. So that's just one example, but you can repeat how many examples of how many corporations, how many countries have understood this is actually in their stability interest, it is actually in their energy security interest. It's in fact even in their food and water security interest.</s>TANK: OK, Christiana Figueres, thank you very much for joining us from Davos live. I hope that if we see this report again in a year from now, that maybe we see some stabilization and maybe we won't have to have this conversation. Let's see how it goes. And good luck to you with your team on helping with this effort. Christiana Figueres, thank you. You are watching News Stream. Coming up, U.S. health officials issue new guidelines to pregnant women who have traveled to certain countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.