. hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, september 25th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. iran's president often challenges and chastises western nations in defense of his country's nuclear program. but ahmadinejad's critics argue

he's trying to build a bomb by allowing scientists to enrich uranium. but he says he's willing to put a stop to the practice provided other countries fill in the gap. >> reporter: ahmadinejad spoke to nhk in new york where he's scheduled to attend the annual meeting of the u.n. general assembly. he sought to dispel international concern over the possible closure of the strait of hormuz. the main shipping route for middle east oil. >> translator: iran has been maintaining the stability of the strait. we will never pose a threat in its waters. >> reporter: western nations have been demanding iran halt its nuclear project. iran had responded by warning it

might close in the persian gulf. about 90% of japan's crude oil imports comes through the narrow channel. iran held a large rally last week. in a speech, ahmadinejad said iran would press ahead with its nuclear program. but the president has to consider the increasingly harsh domestic economy. western nations are restricting imports of iran's crude oil, the country's economic lifeline. this has caused the price of food and other necessities to more than double over the last ten months. >> translator: the government says it will cut the price of meat, but it's still expensive.

>> translator: i can't get by because of the high inflation. >> reporter: iran is also under international military pressure. israel has previously launched preemptive strikes on neighboring countries it suspects of planning to build nuclear weapons. the united states and other nations are staging what some has called the largest ever joint military drill in the persian gulf. but ahmadinejad said there's still room for diplomatic negotiations. >> translator: our negotiating stance has been if western countries provide us with 20% enriched uranium, we have no intention of producing it. we have presented many proposals to western kocountriecountries. i hope they will remain at the

negotiating table. >> reporter: iran's president says he's open to talks on the nuclear issue. western leaders say he's just trying to buy time. ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak to the u.n. on wednesday. it will be his last general chance to impair the recovery. nhk world, new york. >> he mentioned the drill u.s. forces are leading in the persian gulf. 34 nations in all are taking part. we went aboard a u.s. ship and mine sweeper to bring us this first hand look.

>> reporter: this u.s. navy support ship was built 41 years ago and was due to be decommissioned earlier this year. the vessel was originally used to land troops but has since been equipped with mine sweeping duties. it has been deployed in the region since june. the ship is the center of the naval exercise which is aimed at strengthening the ability to keep shipping lanes open in the persian gulf. iran has threatened to choke off ship traffic passing through the strait of hormuz in the gulf. >> the exercised area is approximately 45 to 50 miles off of bahrain. we are -- how far? 80 miles from the iranian coast. >> reporter: speedboats of the

iranian revolutionary guard play a key role in the country's strategies in the persian gulf. crew members practiced firing warning shots while we were on board. in the drill scenario, two suspicious vessels are ignoring warnings and coming closer. the 12-day military drill is the largest ever held in the persian gulf. japan which depends heavily on middle eastern oil is among the 34 nations taking part in the exercise. the country's maritime defense force has sent a mine sweeper and its supporting vessel to take part in the drill. the international mine counter measures exercise is taking place here at the persian gulf. behind me you are seeing the two vessels joining from the japanese forces.

the crew on board japan's mine sweeper practices finding and destroying mines. a mine destroying device is cast into the sea at the site of a suspected mine. the device approaches a mine, sets off on explosive nearby and destroys the underwater bomb. the drill is being conducted to send a message to iran. and also to israel, a key u.s. ally in the region that has called for stricter line to be taken with iran. >> well, i think it's important to understand that we talk daily with our partners here in the

region. and we talk about the things that we can do and partnership with to ensure that we are ensuring the region remains stable. we're going to continue to engage with them. >> reporter: the u.s. military together with its allies aims to demonstrate its ability to block off any block of the strait of hormuz. it is also partly designed to discourage israel to resort to carrying out a military strike on iran. nhk world in the persian gulf. u.s. technology giant apple says it's working to improve the mapping software on its latest mobile phone operating system.

the firm replaced the service of google with their own in-house product in their new iphone 5. but many have said the new obligation is unreliable. haneda is listed as a paper manufacturer. and a small bay near tokyo is described as the philippine sea. apple users have also complained that the maps provide less information on building names and railway lines than google's. the japanese government is trying to stop a chinese bid to amend official maritime maps. china's government wants the u.n. to endorse charts showing disputed islands in its waters. japanese officials have submitted their objections. china submitted a new chart to the u.n. on september 13th. it showed a baseline extending beyond the senkaku islands. officials have responded with a

document objecting to china's application. the document states that the senkakus legally belong to japan. it says the country cannot accept china's claim to the territory. the u.n. is expected to post the document on its website. prime minister yoshihiko noda is expected to speak at the general assembly wednesday. he's expected to call for a resolution of territorial issues based on international laws. japan is also engaged in a dispute over the islands in the sea of japan. taiwan also claims the senkaku islands. a fleet of taiwanese fishing boats is headed for the east china sea to back up that claim. more than 70 vessels from a fishing cooperative set sail monday afternoon. asserting taiwan's claim to the islands and demanding their fishing rights be protected.

the cooperative is suggesting the -- it says the water surrounding the islands are a major taiwanese fishing ground. the fleet hopes to enter japanese territory waters on tuesday. more than ten taiwanese coast guard vessels will accompany the boats. stories of tragedy and loss in the middle east touched the hearts of people around the world. one in the palestinian territory seven years ago touched a japanese doctor so much he wrote a book about it. nakata read an article about the death of a boy. then he sat down and wrote amed's relay of life. >> reporter: ahmed lives with his family in the palestinian territories. one day he sets out on an errand

wearing his best holiday clothes. a bullet hits him in the head. it was shot by an israeli soldier. ahmed is rushed to a hospital. 48 hours later, it's clear he won't survive. the doctors suggest to ahmed's father that the boy's organs be donated. >> remember, donors cannot control who receives the organs. it could be aestinian or israeli. >> they reach the decision. >> i agree to donate all of his organs. even the heart. >> it turns out that the recipient of ahmed's heart is an israeli girl the same age as him. >> when someone you care for is taken, if you just try to get retribution, you will be caught

in a chain of hatred. there are other ways of fighting besides weapons. >> nakamata researched his books by visiting the places where it happened. he returned to visit his story. >> reporter: he's had his book translated into both arabic and hebrew. his hope is that it can spread ahmed's father's message calling for an end to the cycle of hatred. first he went to see ahmed's father to give him a copy of the book. this was the first time he had read the book about his son. >> translator: i wrote the book because i felt ahmed's death ought to be a move towards peace.

>> translator: i hope this book will do something to change our situation here. >> reporter: kamata was keen to find out how the book would be received by the local people. he invited a group of palestinians to read it. the response was not what he had hoped for. >> translator: the problem isn't hatred towards israelis. the problem is that they've occupied our land. >> translator: they don't recognize our rights or our dignity and they don't look like they're ending their occupation. their attitude of intolerance is unacceptable. >> reporter: the situation remains too highly charged. the message of the book did not really reach the audience. >> translator: if the situation here doesn't change, people will

never accept ahmed's father's message. that really struck me. >> reporter: later, kamata went to visit the israeli girl who received ahmed's heart. she is 19. she was also looking forward to meeting him again. >> translator: if my son were alive, he would be the same age as samata. i feel as if ahmed is with her in some way. >> reporter: she has kept a picture of ahmed on the wall of the living room. she says she looks at it every day and feels deeply grateful. she's now studying to be a nurse. she wants to give something back to contribute to people. >> translator: i want to help people who are sick and hurt return to good health so they can go back to their homes.

>> reporter: there was one question that kamata wanted to ask samah. >> reporter: kamata's hope is his book can help to break the chain of hatred. but given the harsh reality of life under occupation, the answers can never be that simple. nhk world, jerusalem. and now let's take a look at the market figures.

many young africans are held back by a poor education or none at all. some countries don't spend enough money building schools. that happens in niger, one of the world's poorest nations. only six out of every ten children there, 60% make it to elementary school. some parents are trying to change that statistic. they're chipping in money and time. nhk world's yu kobayashi has the

story. >> reporter: an elementary school on the outskirts of niger's capital city. children travel from three different villages to attend. it's the area's first elementary school. it was local people who built it four years ago. the government supplies teachers but locals chip in for the annual cost of the school operations and the teaching materials. about 90 children attend this school. one of the students in this fourth grade class is 16 years old. it's the only school close to his home. >> translator: i hope that when

i grow up, i become a useful person that can help my country. that's my dream. >> reporter: the children's parents maintain the school. halitu is among those in charge. six of his children go to the school. the parents replaced it. >> translator: we didn't have the chance to go to school. so we want our kids to have the opportunity. >> reporter: the parents must also solve all the problems related to the school. here they are discussing teachers who often don't show up. >> translator: why have these teachers missed so much school? >> translator: are they receiving permission from the government to take off so much time?

>> reporter: it turns out that the government was late with the paychecks, so to make ends meet, the teachers got part-time jobs. to help the teachers, the parents started providing meals. but some families are also short of money. they can't afford to send their kids to school. parents rely on their children to help with fming and work around the home. they wanted to stress the importance of education. >> translator: money, always a problem. in fact, right now money is so

tight we can't even afford to send our children to school. >> translator: everyone is in the same position. >> translator: children have many possibilities. >> reporter: their visit seems to be paying off. most students have been showing up for classes. >> translator: these parents understood the importance of school, so they found a way to send their children. it's wonderful that they were given the chance to be better educated than their parents. >> reporter: many parents in this district are going all out so their children get an education. they believe it's a passport to a better life. yu kobayashi, nhk world, niger. >> improving the quality of education through community

participation. well, people in the philippines are working together in their communities to deal with the effects of a strengthening typhoon nearby. sayaka mori joins us now. it seems there's a lot going on in the west pacific. what's the latest? >> yes, catherine. we've been monitoring super typhoon jelawat. already bringing stormy conditions. strong winds have been reported. rehave reports of extensive floods and dozens of flight cancellations. it's still intensifying and it could impact the northwest eastern corner luzon as a violent typhoon. and after that, it's going to head towards taiwan or sakishima islands.

then we have another tropical activity. this is a tropical storm further towards the south. towards japan. but it's still intensifying. could be a tropical storm and then become a threat to japan this week. there is a possibility of it making landfall in central japan as a typhoon status. excuse me, a severe tropical storm status by friday -- saturday morning local time. speaking of central japan, yesterday about 100 millimeters of rain per hour was recorded in parts of the prefecture which caused serious landslides. things are starting to improve. but instable weather will continue into this afternoon. but remaining very wet and windy in hokkaido. 150 millimeters is likely into tomorrow morning. that's going to be accompanied by thunderstorms, gusty winds, and even risks of tornadoes as well as hail. out west, a rain band in moving

across china. chongqing is going to see me heaviest rain today. temperatures are as follows. 11 degrees in ulaanbaatar. 26 degrees in seoul. tokyo dropping down by five degrees since yesterday. moving into the americas, let's talk about hurricane miriam. miriam has been upgraded into a major hurricane. sustained winds are nearly 200 kilometers per hour with gusts of 240 kilometers per hour. it's going to move towards the north. no warnings and watches have been posted at this moment. but it will be an ongoing issue on the coast of the baja california peninsula. it could make landfall in the peninsula by late friday as a tropical storm. so a stormy condition is expected here. we'll keep you posted on the storm's progress. as for the rest of the country,

smoke from wildfires is still blanketing the interior pacific northwest. out east, mostly dry. but we've got a big low pressure system over eastern canada. the front is gradually sagging southward. so the central mississippi valley, the ohio valley as well as central plains, you're expecting to see some thunderstorms on your tuesday. all right. temperatures looking like this. looking quite seasonal in many locations, but still on the hot side in the south. 33 in oklahoma city. the critical fire weather risk will remain into tomorrow. here's the extended forecast.

off the walls and into the truck. staff at the van goe museum in amsterdam have been removing and packing works by the artist as the museum closes for about six months for remodeling. with 200 of the works, the museum is one of the city's major tourist attractions. they include such famous paintings as sun flowers and bedroom. museum workers took the works off the walls after disconnecting the security alarms. they put the paintings in shock resistant cases that also offer protection from temperature changes. the works will be lent to another museum until they can go back home next spring. the museum curator said in order to safeguard the operation, he cannot reveal the security measures taken as many galleries

and museums and europe have been targeted by thieves for their well-known paintings. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the hour.