♪ welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. preparations are under way in oslo for friday's award ceremony for this year's nobel peace prize. china has barred the winner, lou xiaobo, and his relatives, from attending the ceremony. the ceremony will be held at the city hall in the middle of the norwegian capital. preparations are in progress amid severe cold weather.

the organizers are going to erect steel fences around the building to prevent an expected crowd of chinese people opposed to liu being awarded the nobel peace prize. liu is serving an 11-year prison sentence in china for calling for the subversion of state power. this is the first time in 75 years that neither the prize winner nor relatives will attend the award ceremony. in the history of nobel peace prize the anti-militarism journalist and winner of the peace prize, carl von ossietzky was unable to attend in 1935 because he was in jail for criticizing the nazi party. the united states has called on china to release this year's nobel peace prize laureate ahead of the award ceremony on friday. the house of representatives adopted a resolution by a vote of 402-1 on wednesday. the resolution congratulated liu for winning the peace prize and acknowledged his promotion of democratic reform in china. the resolution also urges china

to free liu's wife and his supporters from house arrest or prison. the move is apparently aimed at showing the international community that the united states remains opposed to liu's imprisonment. a group of supporters of liu left hong kong for oslo on thursday to attend the award ceremony. >> bye-bye. >> bye. >> china and 18 other nations will shun this year's nobel peace prize awarding ceremony. norway's nobel committee on tuesday attributed the absence of the 19 countries to a variety of reasons but didn't elaborate. china's government has protested liu's selection, saying in effect it rewards a criminal who tried to overthrow the government. the country sent letters to foreign embassies in norway, urging their governments to boycott friday's ceremony. many of the countries that will

not be attending have strong political and economic ties with china, including russia, cuba, venezuela, saudi arabia, iraq, iran, the philippines, and vietnam. meanwhile, in stockholm, sweden two japanese winners of this year's nobel prize in chemistry have spoken about their research and its future uses. elichi negishi and akira suzuki lectured to about 1,000 students in stockholm and around the world on wednesday. negishi is a special professor at purdue university. he began his speech by saying that his 50-year dream came true when he won the award. >> we all are organic. and if you look around, especially in this room, that's organic. you guys are all organic. and the floor's organic. flowers are organic. most everything is organic. and as organic chemists, clearly

our goal is to be able to synthesize them all. >> negishi said their cross-coupling may help develop green chemistry, which tries to solve food and environmental problems. suzuki is a professor emeritus at hokkaido university. he explained the way they discovered stable coupling and how it works. >> in the near future if you use our cross-coupling reaction i'll be very happy. i don't have any patent. so you can use as much as you want. thank you very much for your kind attention. >> suzuki and negishi share this year's nobel prize with richard heck of delaware university. they will attend a celebration at japan's embassy in stockholm on thursday. on friday they'll be at the award ceremony and nobel banquet.

a deadly fire broke out at a prison in the chilean capital of santiago on wednesday. 81 inmates have been killed and more than 10 injured. the blaze began at around 5:00 a.m. and spread rapidly at the san miguel prison south of the city. the injured are being treated in a hospital. local media said the jail was extremely overcrowded, housing about 1,900 inmates. the fire is believed to have started on the fourth floor, where the inmates were locked up. more than 200 prisoners temporarily evacuated to the courtyard until the situation was under control. some of them were reportedly brawling shortly before the blaze broke out. a private u.s. company has put an unmanned spacecraft into orbit and brought it back safely to earth. the first successful flight of a privately owned spacecraft to lead to commercial supply runs and tourist travel to the

international space station. a rocket lifted the dragon capsule from florida's kennedy space center on wednesday. the "dragon" was developed by the california-based venture firm space x. "dragon" orbited the earth twice before re-entering the atmosphere. it parachuted into the pacific ocean about three hours after lift-off. >> this has really been better than i expected. if there had been people sitting in the "dragon" capsule today, they would have had a very nice ride. >> the u.s. space shuttle is due to be retired next year. with the ballooning u.s. fiscal defenda deficit, the government wants private firms to take over the expensive development of a next generation model. japan's prime minister naoto kan and president evo morales of bolivia have agreed to bilateral cooperation in the development of lithium. it's a rare metal used in

batteries for electric vehicles. the two leaders met in tokyo on wednesday. bolivia has half of the world's estimated lithium deposits but lacks the technology to extract the metal. "we hope to provide expertise and personnel training to help bolivia make the most of its own resourc resources. >> reporter: morales said bolivia's rich natural resources were exploited while it was a colony. he said bolivia now hopes for industrialization by applying added value to these resources. later they signed a joint statement calling for the two nations to work together in government-led research and development under way at the uyuni salt flats in western bolivia. haiti says the country's presidential election will go to a second-round runoff between the two top vote winners next month as neither has won a majority. the provisional electoral council announced the

preliminary results of the election on tuesday. haitians voted on november 28th amid rising frustration about a cholera epidemic and slow reconstruction efforts since a devastating earthquake in january. former first lady mirland mirlande manigat picked up about 31% of the vote. she is a critic of the present administration. government technocrat jude celestin who was backed by outgoing president rene preval got 22%. the second-round runoff between the two candidates is expected to be held on january 16th. people protested against the election results in the capital port-au-prince and other areas. the u.n. peacekeeping mission in haiti has appealed to candidates and their supporters to remain calm, respect the law, and avoid violence. the united states has abandoned efforts to persuade israel to renew a freeze on the building of jewish settlements in the occupied territories. israel and the palestinians resumed u.s.-mediated direct peace talks in september for the

first time in 20 months, but the talks broke down after israel restarted construction of the settlements. u.s. assistant secretary of state philip crowley said in washington on tuesday the u.s. policy will remain the same but there may well be a change in tactics. >> we fought for a period of time the moratorium and the resumption of the moratorium might be the best mechanism to advance a meaningful and sustained dialogue between the parties. we have come to the conclusion that that is not the best baasis to move forward. >> in november secretary of state hillary clinton failed to persuade israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu to renew a freeze on the settlement activities. the palestinians say a renewed freeze is a prerequisite for resuming direct talks. japan's first ever venus probe has failed to enter the planet's orbit. the akatsuki unmanned pro-probe was meant to gather data about

venus while in orbit. on wednesday it fired its reverse thrusters to change course, but japan's space agency confirmed that akatsuki passed by venus. >> ignition. >> akatsuki began its 500 million-kilometer space journey to venus in may this year. the probe cost $182 million to build and was equipped with sophisticated observation cameras. known as an evening and morning star, little is known of venus. it's almost the same size as earth. but conditions on the planet are very different.

the akatsuki research team had hoped to learn more about possible global warming on earth. on tuesday the probe was trying to enter the orbit around venus using its thrusters at the point of about 550 kilometers away from the planet. but shortly after the operation jaxa's space control center lost radio contact with akatsuki. they partly re-established communications hours after. however, the data showed that akatsuki failed to enter the planet's orbit. the agency planned to fire akatsuki's reverse thrusters for 12 minutes but fell short of that target.

>> despite the probe's setback, japan's public is still running high on the hayabusa probe's successes. it recently returned to earth after a seven-year space tour with particles from an asteroid. jaxa says the akatsuki probe is now flying around the sun and will try another venus rendezvous in 2016. in japan a grassroots movement is trying to save abandoned dogs from being put down. every year over 80,000 dogs are terminated because nobody wants them. but now local groups in the tokyo area are giving some lucky hounds a second chance. >> reporter: this non-profit organization takes in dogs that local communities have had to shelter. the npo tries to find the animals a new home.

every week shelter dog adoption events are held in front of train stations. but the weak economy has discouraged some people from owning dogs. >> translator: the bad economy's definitely a factor. without a home for the dogs we have now we can't accept new dogs. >> reporter: so organizations have begun thinking up new ideas to entice people to give dogs a home. the man holding the leash is licensed trainer jun satomi. he works for another local group and trains dogs handed over by shelters. after a dog has been trained, a family takes it in until satomi's group can find it a place to live. he says in addition to finding a suitable match the process involves carefully checking the

dog's health, personality, and habits. satomi's group adopts up to eight dogs scheduled to be terminated. these animals receive temporary shelter until a permanent home is found. dogs shown on the organization's website usually find homes in a month or two. after three weeks here this dog gets along well with its new owner.

the process has resulted in finding owners for over 300 dogs. >> translator: we do what we can do. even if each step is small. the important thing is whether the family is happy. by visiting, we can make sure that everything is working out. >> reporter: at this company a group of workers is trying to help save shelter dogs. and a large pet food maker began collecting funds in october to help shelter dogs. the company donates one cent for each item it sells. taisuke seno started the program. >> translator: i want to tell people about shelter dogs. i hope that every person i tell will spread the word to others

and together they will help out. >> reporter: at sano's company volunteer employees sell lunches they make and donate all the proceeds. >> translator: even though i work at a company that makes pet food, i didn't know about shelter dogs at all. now i want to spread the word to more people. i think that's very important. >> reporter: the goal is to save as many shelter dogs as possible. a network of supporters is slowly but steadily growing. japan has revised its july to september 2010 gdp figure upwards to an annualized real rate of 1.1%. the preliminary reading was

0.9%. the real gdp rate is adjusted for price changes. on thursday the cabinet office announced that the third quarter gross domestic product grew 1.1% from the previous period. that's the fourth consecutive period of growth. this translates into an annualized rate of 4.5%, up by 0.6 points from a preliminary figure of 3.9% announced in november. the government cites higher corporate capital investment, inventory, and consumer spending for the upward revision. the office also revised the nominal gdp growth rate down to 0.6% annualized from the preliminary 0.7%. parliamentary secretary takeshi wada of the cabinet office said a last-minute rise in demand for autos before the end of a subsidy pushed consumer spending up, but he warned that the economy's condition remains severe. in japan business sentiment among workers in the service sector rose in november for the first time in four months. the cabinet office asked over 2,000 workers, including those

in the retail sector how they assess the current economy compared with three months earlier. the survey shows the economic sentiment index was 43.6. that's up 3.4 points from the previous month. the rise is largely due to higher demand for home electric appliances that soared before the government's incentives were changed in december. bonus eco points awarded to buyers were cut by nearly half. strong sales of winter clothing also pushed up the index. the economic outlook index rose to 41.4, up 0.3 points from the previous month. this marks the first rise in two months. the pause in the yen's advance was another factor behind the increase. the cabinet office says the eco point reduction may dampen prospects, concerns are now on the decline. corporate failures in japan fell in november compared with a year ago. it also marked a 15th straight month of declines. private credit research firm

taikoda data says banks with debts of at least 120 million totaled 935. down 6.5% from the same time last year. total liabilities plunged by just over 60%. manufacturers down 22.6%. while those among retailers fell 13.4%. this was mainly due to increased demand for electric appliances before the reduction in the government's eco point incentive program. hong kong recently held an international trade fair featuring the latest designs and technologies. the event is a big opportunity for the island's companies to be exposed to their competitors manufacture. nhk world's jamie im jaymee ng the fair. >> reporter: the fair displayed a wide range of products from the ecofriendly sun shade to the

latest sports car from germany. such a big fair provides opportunities for local firms to find foreign partners and expand business. these are characters created by a hong kong design company. they are popular among local people with a series of stati stationery products. now the company aims to make inroads into other markets. >> translator: we want to do more business in southeast asia together with china, japan, and other countries. >> reporter: the organizer, the hong kong trade development council, arranged business seminars by major foreign firms to allow hong kong participants to get further inspiration and ideas for their products. this year the fair organizer chose japan as a main exhibitor.

it thinks japanese innovation could stimulate new ideas. >> we've always been inspired by the achievements made by japan over the past few decades. and japan is one of the greatest source in the world for design, technology, research and development. >> reporter: meetings to match up potential business partners were also provided between japan and hong kong firms. this japanese company is trying to sell ecofriendly sun shades made of small pieces of cloth or plastic. hong kong companies hope to gain from japanese know-how while those of japan seek markets abroad. they hope this can create a win-win relationship. >> hong kong is a hub for all of the product to distribute to other countries. so that's why we choose to come

here. >> translator: there are some new products we haven't seen. maybe we can find a market for them. in hong kong. >> reporter: the close tie with mainland china is another advantage for hong kong. the trade organizer set up a tour for about 100 buyers and investors from the mainland who are looking for new products to import or investment opportunities. >> translator: i hope to introduce these products into the mainland. people will find how good the technologies in other countries are. >> reporter: inviting people from mainland china could provide big business opportunities for hong kong companies. >> especially if we want to further strengthen ourselves as the hub for businesses and also

as the platform, a two-way platform between china and the world and the world with china. >> hong kong organizes about 100 trade fairs and related events each year, expanding the trade convention industry is one of the aims of the local government. it has a set budget of $20 million for promoting more exhibitors and projects in the future. here's the latest market figures. ♪ ♪

hi, and welcome back to your world weather update. now, here's a look for east asia. we are looking at clear skies again across china. and for most of eastern china, that is, but in the north there's a little bit more snow coming on in. that is going to be spreading across northeastern china, intensifying as we get through thursday and head in toward friday. so heavy snow in the works for you here. for japan we are looking at mostly clear skies on the eastern side of the country, but it gets a little bit wetter on the western side. a lot of moisture coming in off the sea of japan, and it is said to bring in some stormier weather. strong winds, high waves. coastal areas, you do want to stay on the watch for coastal flooding and of course some strong thunderstorms could be developing today. as for highs on thursday, 14 in tokyo, 2 only in seoul, and then 5 degrees in beijing. we're expecting highs to get up to 17 in chongqing.

now, across north america it is remaining a little bit messy in the west. strong rains remain. snow for upper elevations. also an area of snow breaks off in central canada and moves in toward the northern plains. so we could be seeing five to ten, even 15 centimeters of snowfall within the next couple of days. out east finally settling down a little bit more. but that cold weather remains. minus 1 in chicago. only up to 2 in d.c. and finally moving into europe and it does remain quite messy really across the entire region again today. in the south, areas like the mediterranean, and the iberian peninsula too we are talking about rains. and heavy rainfall amounts are going to be possible as well. the iberian peninsula, it's been a wet past couple of days for you here. now, for the rest of continental europe it's going to be a lot more colder precipitation that we'll be talking about. cold rain, sleet, as well as snow or a mixture of all of that included.

snow really has been spreading from western sections of europe over the past few days and in fact paris got a nice dusting of snow on wednesday. here's a look at those scenes here. very pretty sight indeed. quite a bit of snow falling across the city on wednesday. and it did cause quite a bit of travel chaos. road conditions were definitely not good. pretty dangerous driving weather overall. also buses were affected as well as airports. the two major airports in the city reporting flight delays and cancellations. also, the eiffel tower had to shut down due to the poor visibility in all that snow. so it's a pretty sight, but definitely causing some problems. on thursday that snowy weather slowly moves toward the east, so it does spread to the baltic states as well as western russia. more snow is expected in parts of germany. poland as much as 10, 15 centimeters is going to be possible. southern portion of germany could be looking at some strong

winds in addition to that snow. blowing snow could cause quite a travel hazard as well. it does stay cold out east. 0 in warsaw as well as moscow. and minus 2 for those of you in stockholm. that's a look at your weather right now. and here is your three-day outlook. ♪ ♪ that's it for this edition of "newsline."

i'm gene otani in tokyo. we'll be back in half an hour with the latest news and weather. thanks for joining us on nhk world. +wgpyy