welcome to "newsline." here are some of the stories we are following this hour. leaders of some 50 african nations are getting together this weekend in japan to discuss common solutions to pressing problems. chinese leaders are considering joining talks for the transpacific partnership, a huge free trade zone that would include u.s., japan and other economies.

nhk world "newsline," i'm an egyptian sumo wrestler. >> moving his way up and has his eyes on the top. dozens of african leaders are in japan to hash out ideas for tackling some of the challenges they face. they're here for ticad, the tokyo international conference on african development. these prime ministers and presidents have access to a wealth of natural resources. but many have found sustainable growth elusive. delegates from about 50 nations will attend the summit in yokohama. which runs saturday through monday. many of them will meet one on one with prime minister shinzo abe during their visit. abe set aside time to talk with ten leaders on friday. he sat down with ethiopian prime

minister hailemariam desalaegn. ethiopia currently chairs the african union. abe explained his policy of expanding investment in africa to contribute to growth. he also offered to share energy-saving technology as part of its efforts to tackle global warming. prime minister abe sat down with mozambique's president armando guebuza. the leaders are expected to have agreed on signing an investment pact. this will be japan's first such accord with an african country. abe also had a chance to get a taste of african culture. the police and coast guard have tightened security around the ticad venue. officers set up checkpoints at hotel entrances nearby. and they're on the lookout for

suspicious cars or people. up to 1,800 police officers will take part in the security effort each day, along with up to 300 coast guard personnel. our team is covering a variety of events. go to a major meeting focusing on peace and stability in africa. abe and other members met for a special session on somali. they vowed to keep supporting the east african nation. smolians forms an official government last year. the first in decades. the country has been a hot bed for pirates and islamist militants. a stable somalia is vital and would insure the safety of a

major maritime route. >> translator: taking mid and long-term viewpoints investment will now need to be made into human resources that can serve as the driving force in society. >> somalia's president said young people are essential for the reconstruction of his country. but he added education and employment prospects must be improved. >> this is what makes our youth to be attracted by the forces of piracy, extremism, terrorism, because of lacking of hope and opportunity. >> the president talked about what young people in his country need. they also went to a meeting that put a spotlight on another key actor in africa, women. people gathered for a

symposium to talk about how to encourage women to help lead africa's economic growth. about 200 women including entrepreneurs and representatives from japan participated. one of the two female presidents gave a keynote speech. she stressed that improving the status of women will create economic opportunities. the issues that affect growth, health and poverty, are all linked to level income. >> reporter: she noted that true development cannot be achieved in the society continues to marginalize women. some say the basic rights of women would fuel growth in africa. >> women in decision making

positions should be able to speak. it used to be believed that a women's place was in the kitchen. now that they're coming out of the kitchen they can represent our view. >> i think this should be the baseline for all of the issues related to economic growth. in many african countries, women are forced to live in extreme poverty. changing the status quo may be difficult. but participants at the symposium say the hard work will produce economic and social rewards. >> the ticad meeting is a key venue for the promotion of investment and trade. the nongovernmental organizations also participate in the conference and they want to make sure the focus is not just on business and continues to include issues such as

poverty and health care. here begin -- the group is called africa-japan forum. every since the launch of ticad 20 years ago, it has been pushing to get a better hearing for civil january voices. this is one of the members. he is in charge of coordinating plans with more than 400 international japanese participants. >> it's ngos that support education, health care, and welfare. >> ticad is meant to be a forum for discussion. when it started, ngos that worked closely with people in africa said they didn't have a

place at the table. ajf and other organizations lobbied for greater participation. now they're taking part in the official sessions and the meetings. but they have a new concern. >> ticad shifted it's priority to how far japanese countries can expand into africa. as a result, social issues, are fading from view. we're really alarmed by the trend. the united nations set the goal of stopping the spread of hiv-aids infections by 2013. they cut the number of deaths by about 30 tk%.

he says this has reduced the sense of urgency. the fierce competition for natural resources shifted the interest of donor countries in african nations. other ajf members have trying to put the spotlight back on aids and other health care issues. they will hold an event on the sidelines of ticad. >> if we don't engage at this level, we may lost everything that we have achieved so far. >> women, lbgti, or commercial sex workers. there was not enough about them accessing health care. >> it's those affected like orphans that still remain the

same. the death rate can go up. >> here is a thought. >> translator: economic growth and health care are closely related. if we work on health care and education, economic growth will follow. >> one of the targets set is improving the quality of africa's growth. the ngo workers hope the conference will lay the foundation for a more balanced development. nhk world, yokohama. nhk is just one of a number of media covering the ticad meeting. many journalists from africa have come to report on the event. some spent part of their time before the start of the conference touring an elementary school in yokohama.

the reportered asked the students what they know about africa. the children reflies the continent has plenty of natural resources. they also said it's not just a hot place. that won them some applause. >> now i feel that africa is closer than before and i feel like traveling there. i want to help them in what little way i can. >> the education system here is good. maybe we should emulate that. africa, a continent of promise and plunder. more than a billion people in more than 50 countries form a cultural mosaic.

many live in lands rich in minerals. a source of economic growth and conflict. "newsline" is looking at the challenges on this continent. don't miss our coverage. chinese government officials are looking into the possibility of joining the transpacific partnership free trade agreement. they've disclosed they're studying the idea. a suggestion the united states has been making since march. they have been instrument ed to start examining the concrete impact the country's ttp participation would have on its economy. a spokesperson for china's commerce ministry says the government is now in the process of studying joining the pact. in the past, chinese leaders have been cautious about taking such a step. that's because of possible disadvantages for their domestic

economy. but they've apparently changed their minds after japan decided to join the talks beginning in july. they appear to be concerned that their country may be excluded from the free trade zone in this region. the unemployment rate in the eurozone hit the highest level ever in april, not since the common currency was introduced in 1999. a particular concern is youth unemployment. the data office euro stat says the overall jobless figures stood at 12.2% across the 17 eurozone countries. that's 0.1% more than the previous month. the job situation is worsening in countries that adopted belt tightening measures. spain had the highest rate. coming in at 26.8%. that was followed by portugal at 17.8%.

and cyprus at 15.6%. the latest available data for greece in february was 27%. now, the situation is especially serious for workers under 25. over 56% of youth workers in spain and more than 62% in greece are without jobs. the european union is now considering countersteps. officials want to come up with concrete measures by the time eu leaders hold their summit meeting in june. south korea's new ambassador says he wants to improve relationships in the future by reviewing sensitive issues of the past. he says south korea and japan are going through a difficult time. he says he hopes relations will improve during his tenure.

he proposes expanding a joint study committee to address history. he says he wants to promote scholarship. south koreans maintain that japanese leaders must face up to the past. they were angry last month when they visited those who committed car crimes. the country should work together with the united states to deal with north korea's nuclear weapons program. he is on his first visit to japan as chairman of the committee. he referred to the widely krit

sides mark. hashimoto says wonderful women were necessary during wartime. he says when someone makes an irresponsible comment, people should speak up. it is important to not do things that are provocative that are known to cause problems in korea. >> he says the u.s. does not want to see people minimize or revise what happened in world war ii, but wants everyone to move forward. in thailand, another likely insurgent attack caused a widespread school shout down. an after school principal was

shot. they say that they are demanding they receive education in accordance with islamic teachings. it comes after he was shot and wounded in a drive-by attack on thursday night. educators and security officials decided on the closure out of security concerns. classes are set to resume next monday. the muslim separatetist have been fighting for decades seeks ontonomy. they had a representativive of one of main insurnt groups. however, the continuing violence is casting doubt on

effectiveness of the dialogue. the third round of peace talks is set up for june 13th. an athlete from egypt is making a politic splash in sumo. he has become the first african ever to rise to the second highest division judo. and he says he's not stopping there. our sumo expert, hiro morita, has his story. >> reporter: big in stature and potential. the 21-year-old is 189 centimeters tall and weighs 143 kilograms. the egyptian-style sumo is aggressive. he takes advantage of the big body he's been blessed with. we've kept our eye on him since he started competing last year. >> congratulations. congratulations. >> thank you.

>> he won all of his seven matches in the may tournament, taking the third highest division title. his family in egypt is also happy. >> this is all thanks to his efforts. i'm glad he's been rewarded. >> translator: i pray that he keeps advancing with the aim of becoming grand champion. >> reporter: he became interested in sumo as a teenager. and he watched matches on nhk world. he started competing at 15. he wanted to turn pro so he came to japan and joined a sumo stable. in the beginning, he struggled with the workouts that are

designed to build flexibility in the hip joint. they help keep the center of gravity low. have you ever thought about quitting? >> yeah, i thought maybe five times or six times, you know, it was because of sometimes, you know, i was so tired to complete the training. but where do you see yourself after quitting? you want to be a history maker? so if you are that person, you will never think about quitting. >> reporter: as muslim, he prays five times a day, no matter how tired he is from practice. >> in the upcoming july tournament, i think it will coincide with the period of ramadan.

how are you going to deal with that? >> for me, ramadan, you know, i have something called license which means i can move the period of ramadan. but i'm not going to do it. i will fast ramadan and i will fight the same time. >> please write your dream. >> my dream? >> yep. >> it's my name, sumo name. but one day it will be yokozuma which means the grand champion. and for me the first african sumo wrestler to reach the top, grand champion. here, it will be real. which will make my dad, my family, my country and my friends proud of me.

severe weather is erupting across the u.s. this week. >> rough weather, really blow up. even on thursday we saw numerous reports of tornadoes around oklahoma and arkansas. today that threat is there yet again. we're still seeing all of these ingredients in place. the heat of the day will be triggering up this instability. i'm talking about the trigger of air masses. several wild fires are burning out here and the conditions are in place. then that moist air surging in there is a jet stream overhead. that is where you typically see that weather. hail up to baseball side and

winds over 100 kyl lom ters per hour. we have be seeing it pour across portion of iowa. it is up to about 200 or 60 o millimeters expected. you're continuing to see that heavy rainfall. 20s for the most part out here. look ahead of that storm system. that last been pulled in the warm air. hot and muggy for you in new york city. in europe, a little cooler here. the temperatures on the cooler side. it's starting to warm up towards the west. we're seeing the low pressure area continuing to linger. but it's been raining as well, about 110 millimeters in france, southern germany, switzerland.

that low will continue to linger. there is one thing though, we have high pressure that will drift off here towards the east. as it does, it's bringing in warm air. london and paris you're getting into the higher teens but it will start to rebound by sunday. 50 to 20 centimeters have fallen there. vienna. you're chilly as well. eastern asia, tokyo, splendid whether here. by saturday, that front down there towards the south will lift a little north. western japan, you continue to feel the effects, and that extends through much of central and eastern china. some areas could see about 150

millimeters. it's just south of where the threat really is. 30 in beijing. over thwarts japan, you're going to see these temperatures continue to rise. i want to end here by showing you this absolutely awful video. this is in fukushima. this is a fog that develops here in the rainy season, after the rain, that radiation cooling and calm winds. so i want to leave you with this welcome and then we'll see your extended forecast.

russian scientists say they

extracted liquid blood from the remains of a wolly mammoth. it could bring the extinct creature back from the iceage. members of a research team discovered a female mammoth. they say the blood was in annize cavern frozen below the belly. they also corrected samples of muscle finish. they think the animal walked the earth 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. some say the animal could be cloned if living cells are discovered. and that concludes this edition

of "newsline." on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us.

the handcrafted embroidery is unique. each symbolize each group. today, the traditional cultures of these groups are being threatened. they are being left behind in the wake of vietnam's sudden rapid economic development. while group populations are declining as more and more people leave for the cities. but one group of women is working to help these ethnic groups find a e