welcome. glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, august 13th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobe ash pe. india has warned that it will ban some functions of the blackberry smartphone unless authorities are able to monitor encrypted data. the ministry of home affairs made the announcement thursday. the ministry told the country's mobile phone operators that they would have to close down the

handset's corporate me mail and messenger services if the canadian manufacturer did not comply with its requirements. the statement demands the operators provide a technical solution by august 31st. previously, the government had not singled out blackberry, per se, but it had expressed concern that if authorities cannot monitor communication kadata on cell phones such devices could be used by terrorists. the governments of saudi arabia and the united arab emirates are also concerned that blackberry services could pose a security threat. a similar controversy is brewing in lebanon and algeria as well. the u.s. automaker general motors marked a substaery with s largest quarterly profit in six years due to strong sales in north america. gm announced its business for performance for the april to june period on thursday. the automaker said it recorded $1.3 billion in net income in the quarter, some of which was

attributable to cost-cutting efforts, including layoffs. the profit is gm's biggest since the second quarter of 2004 and shows the firm's business has been recovering rapidly since its bankruptcy filing in june of last year. the automaker received rounds of bailout funds from the u.s. and canadian governments, putting more than 70% of its stock under government control. in order to repay the bailout funds, it will reportedly submit an initial public offering plan to the securities and exchange commission in the near future. the company's stock was de-listed following the bankruptcy filing. gm also plans to promote generational changes in its management. chief executive officer edward whitaker will step down on september 1st and board member dan ackerson will take over. the yen marked a 15-year high against the dollar this week. a major japanese commercial bank estimates if the dollar stands

at 85 yen for a year, it will lead to the country's real gross domestic product shrinking by 0.4%. a bank of tokyo mitsubishi ufj survey says exports will decrease by 1.3% and capital investment will contract by 0.7%, compared to figures calculated at the level of 90 yen to the dollar. the bank of japan says most japanese manufacturers are projecting business forecasts on the basis of 90 yen to the dollar. the central bank is expecting the current fiscal year's gdp growth to be between 2% and 3%. however, the estimate also says that if the current level of foreign exchange rates holds firm, shrinking exports will lead to a 4% reduction in overall corporate profits. an official from the bank that conducted the survey says this will likely have an adverse effect on the japanese economy, which is now on a path to recovery based on exports. 25 years ago, japan suffered

its deadliest air disaster. families of the victims prayed at the crash site on thursday to mark the anniversary. on august 12, 1985, 520 people died when a japan airlines jet crashed into a mountain north of tokyo. relatives, locals and others took part in a memorial service on thursday at the foot of the mountain. they held a moment of silence at 6:56 p.m., the exact time of the crash. they also lit 520 candles for the victims and offered flowers at an altar. earlier in the day, the victims' families climbed the mountain to offer prayers to their loved ones. transport minister, seiji maehara, took part in this year's memorial climb. he's the first transport minister to visit the site of the japan airlines crash. at the memorial ceremony the

transport minister said that the government plans to establish a new law to provide more support for victims of public transport accidents. >> the transport ministry will consider how the central government participates in providing information immediately after an accident and helps families negotiate compensation with the companies responsible. the ministry is also considering how to provide living expenses for accident victims. the families of three japanese nationals who were abducted by north korean agents

exactly 32 years ago have repeated their call for the rescue of their loved ones. on august 12, 1978, north korean agents kidnapped shuchichi ichikawa and rumiko matsz u moto from a beach in southwestern japan. on the same day agents also abducted miyoshi soga and her daughter hitomi on sado island in the sea of japan. north korea returned hitomi eight years ago but the fate of the other abductees remains unknown. more than ten family members of the missing made an appeal on thursday for an early rescue. matsumoto's brother ter you aky asked passers-by not to forget about the abductions.

in colombia's capital bogota, a car bomb wounded at least nine people. investigative authorities suspect the bombing may have been carried out by an anti-government group. a huge amount of explosives went off in a car parked near a radio station early thursday morning. the blast shattered most of the windows of the 12-story radio station and other nearby buildings. terrorist attacks in colombian cities have sharply declined due to tough measures against guerrilla groups such as the revolutionary armed forces of colombia or farc, by former president alvaro uribe. since taking office last week, the president santos has shown a readiness to hold conditional talks with rebels. however, following the latest

attack he stressed his government will continue aggressively fighting terrorism. japanese entrepreneurs are increasingly launching businesses that hope to find solutions for problems in developing countries. today we focus on a japanese researcher who is working on a product which could solve some hygiene issues in bangladesh. we have more. >> reporter: here in a laboratory at kyushu university, this professor tries to develop new materials from soybeans. he's trying to produce biodegradable diapers from solvent materials that come from soybeans. diapers are made from natural substances, they break down easily in the ground after use. he said that unlike plastic diapers, they do not make much impact on the environment.

>> with a biodegradable diaper, we can help two causes, the environment and health care. as we search for ways to meet social needs in developing countries, i would also like to see us move toward the global standard for these new eco friendly disposable diaper. >> in bangladesh, one diaper costs 30 cents. factory workers earn $2 a day, so that is hardly affordable. >> if i could use disposable diapers, i wouldn't need to wash and change these cloth scraps, and there would be no risk of infection, but disposable diapers are expensive. poor people like us can't afford them. i would use them if they were cheaper. >> reporter: on this day, the

professor welcomes a colleague, a researcher from bangladesh. he comes to offer advice. >> bangladesh has a lot of textile mills and an increasing number of won are working in them. they want disposable diapers to help lighten their work load at home. but for these women, a 30 cent diaper is expensive. it's way beyond their means. >> reporter: after listening to the doctor, he decides to aim for a diaper that costs less than 10 cents, a third of its original price. to reduce the cost, he began looking for a new material. this is what he found. >> this is dry casaba pulp. it grows all over southeast asia. >> reporter: it is grown widely in the tropics. it's a food staple in many

places. after its processed for food, the waste product is a pulpy fiber. it can be purchased very cheaply. this is the new material made from the pulp. tests show it is absorbent and suitable for diapers. however, production costs can be reduced the a fraction of what they are now. on this day, this man visited kyushu university. he's president of the bank which finances bangladesh low income business people. kyushu university has joined forces with the group. soon it will set up a new organization to create socially oriented businesses in developing countries. the doctor introduces his project and says his goal is to provide biodegradable diapers at low cost.

>> how much? >> i want to decrease the price. 6 taka. >> 6 taka? >> yes. >> tremendous health impact because today we don't use diapers for the poor people. so they spread diseases, it's dirty and spread from one, if it touches the hand. so lots of problems. once it is successful, then we can bring it out for everybody. >> reporter: the doctor plans to grow kasava in bangladesh making an eco-friendly very low cost product. a true test of japanese technology and know-how. reporting for nhk world. as bangladesh is the world's fourth largest rice producer, dr. hara is looking into converting rice stocks into paper for biodegradable diapers.

he hopes to use bangladesh's plants. >> >> a record number of young people around the world are without work. the international labor organization says the financial crisis has pushed the global youth unemployment to an all-time high. the u.n. labor agency's new report says about 80.7 million workers between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed worldwide at end of 2009. the number is up 7.8 million from the pre-crisis year of 2007. the report notes an increasing trend of companies dismissing inexperienced young workers amid the prolonged economic downturn. it also says high unemployment levels are likely to continue for some time. the international labor organization warns that an increase in youth unemployment could lead to social instability, including more crimes and violence. it's calling on governments to invest in more job training and other employment measures for young people.

the job outlook in the world's second largest economy is looking increasingly bleak for people of all ages. according to the latest figures, a record number of households in japan were living on welfare benefits in april. the country's welfare ministry says more than 1.35 million households were receiving benefits that month. that's up by nearly 9,300 from the previous month. households with elderly people make up more than a third of the new claimants. single mother households rose by nearly 300, and households with handicapped people by almost 500. the largest portion of new claimants, about 4700 households, fell into the category of others, that includes the unemployed. the number of households in japan receiving welfare began rising in december 2008 as the country's employment situation started to deteriorate. in the 17 months since then, the monthly increase has exceeded

5,000 households. the welfare ministry says it will enhance support measures for the unemployed to prevent a further increase in welfare enrollment. mountains of discarded oyster shells pile up every year in toba city. but researchers have found a use for these eyesore by using the oyster shells to grow clams. >> these claims are growing at about twice the normal rate. in just eight months, they've already reached this size because of a new growing method. the secret to the rapid growth lies in these oyster shells. toba city cultivates mounds of oysters in an area where the

coastline is deeply indented and the waves roll gently in. but after the oysters are removed from their shells, the city has to dispose of them. but getting rid of 5,000 tons each year is a problem. nine years ago toba city built a factory to process the leftover shells. workers grind them into fine powder for fertilizing crops. the alkaline in ground oyster shells helps improve the quality of acidic soil. the fisheries research agency realized the ground shells could be used for other purposes, too. in the past, this part of toba city grew a rich supply of large

clams. but now they don't grow any larger than one centimeter. so the institute of local oyster farmers started an experimental clam farm two years ago. researchers placed clams in sacks filled with ground oyster shells. then they left them on the sand and waited to see if clams inside could adapt and grow. after eight months, the clams had grown quite large. the institute says that the alkalinity of oyster shells has two effects. it helps the clams grow and also counteracts harmful acidic substances like hydrogen sulfide in beach soil. >> clam numbers are low all over the country. and the harvests have been quite

small, but now it looks like we found an effective way to increase the amount of cultivated clams. >> in may after the research was completed, oyster farmers in toba city started using oyster shells to grow clams. this year they try placing baby clams in a net with oyster shells and hanging the net in the water. they expect that after a year, the clams will grow to four or five centimeters. >> we're still in the research stages, but we're hoping that these can become a local specialty product. if we could harvest oysters in the winter and clams in the summer, that would be great. >> researchers tried to develop new methods for growing bigger

clams, with methods never before used in japan. now, let's take a look at the market figures.

hi there. welcome to your world weather update. tropical storm dianmu made its way into a low pressure system and even starting to move away but not without causing havoc. now, in terps of rainfall we've seen over 200 millimeters up in the north in hokkaido which is really quite staggering for this region here. we also had reports of very brief heavy showers occurring in kyoto as well. there have been some flooding reports and many homes losing electricity as well. and as you can see, for your friday, we are going to see much calmer conditions. good spells of sunshine throughout the country and still quite stormy out towards the pacific. we've got lots of humid air entering from the south. that will be causing those

afternoon showers. do watch out for that. taking a look at the bigger picture, you can see the heavy rain impacting south korea right now. that's going to be a bit of a concern. the ground here is quite saturated due to the storm system making its way through earlier in the week. and at the tail end of this frontal system as well, there is going to be some showers. quite heavy showers through sichuan province and some of that rain affecting southern guangzhou as well. can't rule out the possibility of further landslides here. temperatures will be hot across central china. chongqing 39, 39 for shanghai as well. looking more reasonable in tokyo today and very cool up in ulanbator without rain there as well. north america, the severe weather will be targeting the plains of the northwest once again. the dakotas, nebraska into minnesota looking at the threat of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes can't be ruled out either. essentially the same story on friday as well. that area of rain heading

slightly towards the east into the great lakes, but also iowa looking at severe storms to break out on friday. central and western canada looking at very unsettled conditions tonight and into your friday. some of that rain will be making its way into the rockies over the next couple of days. another area we've been keeping an e on is the gulf of mexico. heavy wet persistent rain has been affecting the area for the last couple of days. so flooding is going to be a bit of a concern here as well. taking a look at your temperatures, the heat is going to stay put for the south. that's also extending up into the upper -- the lower midwest as well, 33 degrees in chicago. coming in at 30 in washington, d.c., and 23 up in vancouver. finally for europe, lots of thundershowers will erupt again in central europe. that's due to this, the very long active frontal system. slicing through from scandinavia into germany, poland and then down into the alpine region. this is the area that got hit by widespread flooding last

weekend. so it is going to be quite vulnerable to things like flooding. stay updated with your local reports here. the british isles, showers expected in parts of the uk as well. there will be good spells of sunshine up in scotland and also ireland. temperatures remain very hot once again out towards the east. kiev coming in at 36 degrees, but you notice that in moscow things are finally starting to calm down, but still temperatures are several degrees above average, though, but into early next week hopefully those figures will come back down into the 20s. 23 degrees in berlin. looking at 27 in vienna. here's the extended forecast now.

just taking a look at some of our top stories once question, india has warned it will ban some of the key functions of the blackberry

smartphone unless authorities are allowed to monitor encrypted data transmitted on the hand sets. india's ministry of home affairs made the announcement on thursday. the ministry told the country's mobile phone operators that they would have to close down the hand sets corporate e-mail and messaging services if the canadian manufacturer did not comply with its requirements. the statement demands the operators provide a technical solution by august 31st. previously, the government had not singled out blackberry, per se, but it had expressed concern that if ahorities cannot monitor communication data on cell phones, such devices could be used by terrorists. the governments of saudi arabia and the united arab emiratesre also concerned that blackberry services could pose a security threat. a similar controversy is brewing in lebanon and algeria as well. the yen marked a 15-year high against the dollar this week. a major japanese commercial bank estimates if the dollar stands

at 85 yen for a year, it will lead to the country's real gross domestic product shrinking by 0.4%. a bank of tokyo mitsubishi ufj survey says exports will decrease by 1.3% and capital investment will contract by 0.7% compared to figures calculated at the level of 90 yen to the dollar. the bank of japan says most japanese manufacturers are projecting business forecasts on the basis of 90 yen to the dollar. the central bank is expecting the current fiscal year's gdp growth to be between 2% and 3%. however, the estimate also says that if the current level of foreign exchange rates holds firm, shrinking exports will lead to a 4% reduction in overall corporate profits. an official from the bank that conducted the survey says this will likely have an adverse effect on the japanese economy, which is now on a path to recovery based on exports. the hot summer weather is

continuing across japan. but things are really heating up in the western city of tokushima, thanks to an annual dance festival. ♪ the energetic mid-summer event is called awa odori. it started on thursday and runs through sunday. the festival is traditionally held at the hottest time of the year. it's renowned for its dynamic dancing and traditional japanese music. ♪ dancers wear matching summer cotton kimonos and move to a unique rhythm called zomeki. the four-day awa odori festival is expected to attract more than 1.4 million people, five times tokushima's population. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back at the top of the

next hour. hope you join us again.