>> vigils in 100 u.s. towns and cities protesting the not guilty verdict handed to george zimmerman, who shot and killed the unarmed black teenager, trayvon martin. ahead of talks, a number of palestinian prisoners are set to be released. and egypt's interim president issues at it three to amend the constitution with it -- a decree to amend the constitution within the next 30 days. those are our top stories. thank you for joining us. hundreds of people have been taking part in what have so far been peaceful vigils in some 100 towns and cities across the united states this saturday. they are protesting the not guilty verdict inch florida of

the -- the not guilty verdict in the unarmed shooting case in florida. president obama and jay-z have added their voices. the largest vigils were in new york, washington and miami. in miami, the slain teenager's addressed the crowd. >> the rallying cry around the country right now is justice for trayvon, justice for the slain teenager from florida. now, that kind of justice that is being demanded comes in many, many different forms. this protest here -- or maybe vigils is a better way to describe it -- was very peaceful. 95% an african-american crowd. that won't come as a surprise. but some of the demands i heard

were first of all for this case to continue. there is an acceptance of the not guilty verdict from the state court in florida, but there is a federal investigation ongoing. there is an open investigation from the department of justice right now. what people want to see is for charges to be pressed in a possible civil rights violation. that would keep this case a live in a bigger court. the other issue is the stand your ground laws that exist in florida and other states, 20 other states across the country. it means that one can use deadly force when one feels threatened. this exists in florida, and this is one of the laws that people at these protests really want to look at. and of course, there is the much bigger picture, a wider discussion about racial inequality here in the united states.

that is where the justice cry comes from. there is a real belief that now is the time to discuss these things seriously and in public. > >> the president weighing in on two occasions. it is extremely unprecedented that he would lend his voice to this debate. he seems to be trying to keep the debate alive. what direction do you think this might take in the days and weeks ahead? >> well, first we have to see if there are more protests. we will have to see how things weekends. there was a request from barack obama to have this discussion, and the president of the united states is the kind of person who can convince people to have an open, public open, public debate. he did insist that he does not want to have a political debate. he wants to have this happen in churches, communities, possibly at protests. it seems that this will not go

away for legal reasons as well. that is where the possible federal case comes in as well. >> l crowder reporting from washington. yesterday, it was reported by the u.s. secretary of state john kerry that israel that israel and palestine would resume talks, talks that have been stalled for three years. ahead of talks, a number of palestinian prisoners are going to be released. this is being described as "a gesture." >> the international relations minister made an announcement on israeli public radio. >> prisoners will be released. i do not want to give numbers, but we are talking about high- value prisoners. they will be released in stages. >> it seems a gesture from israel, a compromise to lay the groundwork to bring israeli and palestinian citizens to the table.

the secretary of state describes what some are already calling a victory. >> on behalf of barack obama, i announce an agreement for resuming negotiations between the palestinians and the israelis. >> the terms of the agreement are unknown, to term and -- purposely kept secret. benjamin netanyahu said the talks are a vital street she jake interest to the state of israel. -- strategic interest to the state of israel. >> alongside the great satisfaction i have from the announcement yesterday comes a great responsibility. all issues will be on the table, but we will act responsibly in the talks to protect israel's national interests. >> on the other side, the

palestinians remain discreet. according to the new york times, sensitive subjects has still been left aside, but both sides have received certain assurances. >> now to world news. at least 65 people have been killed in a series of car bomb blasts in the shiite districts of the capital. at a time when many people were out shopping or relaxing in coffee shops. so far, no one has claimed responsibility. blame rests with the al qaeda in iraq branch. egypt's interim president has issued a decree instructing a team of legal experts to get started on amending the country's constitution. the constitution was drafted last year but suspended three

weeks ago when the egyptian military overthrew mohamed morsi and arrested the muslim members of his party. our guest explains what he thinks needs changing in the constitution. >> very hard to see what is going to change. i think we could possibly be interested in a change in article 219, which deals with the religious element. article two establishes the state of islam. it says the principles of islam should be guiding legislation. the principles are very vague. they can be concepts like justice, freedom, so on. they may try to limit

interpretation by specifying certain schools of jurisprudence . that article came from the mortality party. but that party is now part of the [indiscernible] i do not think they would be happy with that change. i am not sure what else would change. >> tensions are running high in northern malley once again -- mali once again. the country is gearing up for presidential elections a week from now. we understand the five officials and a deputy mayor were received by separatists. we learn more about the circumstances of the kidnapping. >> we getting contradictory reports about the kidnapping all

day. the absolute latest news which i just put down the phone and received is that two men are missing. one of them is the deputy mayor. another is one of his staff. it would appear they were traveling in a car with four people. they were stopped at a checkpoint in the far north. there was an exchange -- a disagreement -- at that checkpoint. two of the people in that car, including the deputy mayor, have now been taken, assumed abductive, and the other two appear to have gotten away. >> presidential elections are due to take place a week from tomorrow. is there a sense that mali is ready to hold elections? >> people are saying this is far

too rushed. events like the ones we have seen today and a few days ago, on thursday, where four people were killed in ethnic clashes, show that the situation on the ground is still not secure, especially in the north. you might have a situation where the elections would go ahead, but the civilian population of the north might be too scared to go out and vote. that is the way it looks at the moment. they're in mind that the northern population is largely just -- bear in mind that the northern population is largely displaced and would have great trouble voting on sunday. >> a norwegian woman has been speaking out about the 16-month prison sentence she was handed in dubai after she reported she had been raped. she was on a business trip to the united arab emirates when she says she was attacked in a hotel. that attack resulted in a conviction for extramarital sex. >> ohio rise -- a high-rise

metropolis known as the shopping capital of the middle east. most visitors know they are expected to conform to a ban on indecent clothing and other strict islamic laws, but this woman said she never expected to be treated like a criminal after reporting she had been raped. she was on a night out with colleagues last march when the attack took place. >> i woke up and realized i was being raped. i asked the front desk to call the police for me. they ask me, are you sure you want to call the police? i thought, of course, all the police. that is a natural reaction where i am from. >> she says she was shocked when police arrested her and confiscated her passport. she was charged with three counts, including having sex outside marriage. convicted earlier this week and

sentenced to 16 months, she is preparing to appeal. her family back home says they are terrified for the 24-year-old. >> of course i am afraid. i am nervous. she is my only daughter. she is there a loan and has to do all the talking by herself. i really wish i was with her. >> diplomatic efforts are reported to be ongoing to resolve the case. this week, the norwegian government secured her conditional release, and she is currently living under protection, although still unable to leave the emirates. >> the tour de france finish line is just a of hours away. there is not much left after saturday's penultimate stage. the final stretch allows riders to finish in style. the colombian rider was the first to cross the line last year. he managed to keep his lead.

felix moore tells us about what has been a highly eventful race. >> it is always a battle for the yellow jersey, and that has been pretty exciting. he has been in control for most of the race, but at the same time, there have been some real jewels. it has not enough eta complete until the most recent stages -- a fate a compli until the most recent stages. his teammates lost early on. that was tricky. richard has really come through. he has been a great support. the same with bradley wiggins last year. >> that brings us up to date with world news. thank you for watching.

♪ >> hello and welcome to the business interview. this year started on a lackluster note when it comes to growth and global trade. so says the wto in its annual

world trade reports. it also says that in 2012, global trade came in at a meager two percent. for more on what that means, we turn now to dr. patrick lo. he is chief economist at the wto and is with us from the organization's headquarters in geneva. thank you very much for being with us, first of all. >> my pleasure. >> are you worried that growth in global trade has stalled to the extent that it has? >> yes, and i think it is a source of concern. i think we have to understand why, and asked the question of whether this is something that is going to persist, or whether we can see a light at the end of the tunnel. the 2% estimation is way below the last 30 years in terms of the trade growth. i think in terms of understanding what has happened, you do have to look primarily to europe for the 2012 story.

europe stagnated. the whole crisis over the euro has really made europe a very -- europe, a very large parts of the world economy, a drag on the rest. because the world is so joined up, that affected just about everything else. >> so you're basically basically saying -- pardon me for interrupting -- you are basically saying that low growth rates are the reason behind this. do you think there are other reasons behind it as well? what about protectionism, for instance? >> on the protectionism front, i would not say we have a completely clean state -- slate, but going back to the great recession and looking at where we are now, things are being quite remarkable. there have been quite a few incidences of market opening that we have been able to record.

why trade has not been hit by protectionism in spite of contracting, i think we have to understand some of the longer term trends of the world economy. much more interdependency, a share of imports and exports that is higher than it has ever been, the share of production. when you put all that together, there are good reasons not to resort to protectionism, which were not so obvious in years gone by. >> the growth that there is, where is it coming from? >> mild growth is reported from the united states. the chinese economy has continued to grow in 2012. if we think about 2013, things are looking a little better overall. if we go up 2% in 2012, we are

reckoning may be 3.5%, that is our forecast, for 2014. it is european stagnation. it is some growth in the united states and japan. some slowdown in china. china is such a big part of the story, that something of that magnitude i would not say would have a massive impact. obviously, it would be better if they were growing faster, but we're looking for a better performance for 2013. looking ahead, it seems to be getting better. when we will get to the kind of average we experienced before remains an interesting question. >> you mentioned china. there are, of course, concerns the chinese growth rates are slowing down. one thing that caught my eye in the reports is that you forecast that china will lose its dynamism. talk us through why that is, in

your opinion. >> a country cannot grow as dramatically as china has in terms of gdp and trade indefinitely. there comes a point, historically, where there will inevitably be a slowdown. this will become -- be because there will be less domestic demand. as the economy broadens out in that sense, you will get a slowdown. i should say, looking at china now, it is not just the secular trend. it is not just the long-term trend that is affecting chinese growth. it is also the fact that china has had a very close relationship with europe. in fact, europe has been the most important trading partner with china. >> i want to ask you this. china has been billed as the factory of the world. do you think that factory will move elsewhere at some point? >> i think that is a really interesting question. there is a lot being said and

written about that these days. the story before was china was the place where goods got assembled and sold into the west. in that sense, it was sort of the factory, low-wage, low skill. because of growth and the extent to which the supply chains are starting to end in china as demand increases, wages are inevitably going up. it is not that they will no longer be part of international production. they will just be playing a different role. part of it will go to the cambodians, the bangladeshes of the world. >> you are saying china will move up the value chain. what about the countries that are already there? what about developed economies? what can they do to increase their competitiveness?

>> if you look at the supply chains today, a lot of the technology, a lot of the high skill inputs are still coming from industrial countries. it is all a process. that will continue for some time. countries don't have to crowd each other out. if there is growth, there will be special is a and through growth, but not necessarily one -- specialization through growth, but not necessarily one squeezing out another. the degree of dynamism is moving from where it used to be to where it is emerging now, which isn't just china, by the way. we are seeing things in africa, for example. >> there is anecdotal evidence

of western manufacturers moving their development sites back to western markets, like europe, like the united states, as cost in markets like china are heading higher. are you seeing that happening on a large scale, or is that still a new phenomenon? >> it is a relatively recent phenomenon, but it has several explanations. for one thing, a lot of those supply chains got to extended. -- twooo extended. that is one aspect of it. the second thing is, it is increasingly obvious that you do not want to necessarily be too far away from your market. i think also, there is a discussion, an interesting discussion, about whether or not you can maintain a technological

edge if you do not have manufacturing at all. i think most people could disagree with this, but i think in part that some places are moving and your faction ring back to their base because if they do not have that capacity -- manufacturing back to their bases because if they do not have that capacity, they lse their edge. the united states, in particular, would like to become an exporter of energy. that is a very attractive proposition. all of these things will buy into that reality, but it is not a massive stretch. >> when it comes to free trade, a lot of the focus in the past few weeks has been on free trade between the european union on the one hand and the united states on the other. they are going at this outside the wto framework.

they are conducting bilateral negotiations and not multilateral negotiations within the wto. are you disappointed that the u.s. and eu are going it alone? >> i think it raises interesting questions about what is happening in international trade, but we have had this for a long time. we have the transpacific partnership. i think -- we have always had these regional agreements. there are over 400 of them. talking specifically about the transatlantic agreement, this is not about traditional trade. tariffs are pretty low already. this is not where the gains will be. the gains will be on the regulatory side. we know from lots of disputes and discussions that regulatory coherence -- this is not about traditional trade. tariffs are pretty low already.

this is not where the gains will be. the gains will be on the regulatory front, and we know from lots of disputes and discussions that regulatory coherence is a real challenge. they have their work cut out to actually achieve what they say they are going to achieve in terms of getting things like growth hormones out of food and genetically modified organisms. i see some distance there. i also think what is going on is really interesting. europe and the united states are rather a small player in the overall picture in terms of trade flows, but a massive layer in terms of world output. they are almost half of the world economy. what they do is enormous, but there will be some competition. i think what we have to understand better is what is motivating them.

this is not the territory of the wto, but it is very difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is not just about trade and economic relations. there is a political strategic component. i do think these are things we do not fully understand. >> we have run out of time. thank you very much indeed for speaking to us here. that was dr. patrick lo, chief economist of the world trade organization. with that, we are going to wrap this edition of the program. thank you for watching. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> hello, and welcome back to nhk "newsline." i'm raja pradhan with the news from tokyo. more egyptians have fallen victim to violence. supporter of owed president morsi has fought with opponents in the region's now delta region. worshippers gathered after friday prayers in the northern town of mansoura. opponents of morsi clashed with members of his movement, the muslim brotherhood. state reporters said three people were killed and dozens more injured. in the capital cairo, security forcir