attack, counter attack. fighting between israeli forces and palestinian militants escalates following the military chief in gaza. israeli leaders have vowing to do whatever necessary to defend their territory. they have been attacking inside gaza and palestinian militants

on the ground are responding with rocket fire. it's raising concerns of a wider conflict similar to what happened in 2008. israeli forces have continued air strikes on gaza for the past two days. they have attacked more than 200 locations including militant targets. at least 15 palestinians have died in all including children. gaza residents are staying off the streets because of the threat of more air raids. some are lining up at shops to buy food as a sign of precaution. >> translator: in fact, it was a bad night for young and old people especially for children. >> hamas is ratcheting up its attacks in retaliation of the military chief. they launched more than 250 rockets in israel.

many landed this towns across from gaza. israeli prime minister said his country is ready to do what it takes to defend its people. u.s. president barack obama spoke with netanyahu. they agree they need to stop attacks. morsi says the israelis must realize their aggression will only lead to instability in the region. iran has condemned israel's military assault on the gaza strip. the iranian foreign minister had to convince israel to stop its military aggression. another round of talks on iran's nuclear program is about to resume.

negotiators will meet in brussels next week in their latest attempt to move the discussions forward. negotiations between the six nations and iran have been suspended since they last met in june in moscow. the two sides have failed to make any significant progress on the issue. they are demanding iran halt its program. it's concern that the end product could be used to develop nuclear weapons. foreign policy chief kathryn ashton and negotiators of the six countries will discuss a new nuclear proposal for iran. the company responsible for the massive gulf of mexico oil spill is facing the largest criminal fine in united states history. bp has agreed to pay more than

$4.5 billion in penalties. the spokesperson will plead guilty to 14 charges. they include 11 felony counts. bp is charged with neglecting science of abnormalities during an inspection conducted before the disaster. it agreed with the department of justice to pay the more than $4.5 billion in fines over a period of five years. >> i hope this sends a clear message to those that engage in this conduct. >> all bp workers deeply regret the loss of life caused by the accident as well as the impact of the spill on the gulf coast region. bp is not expected to face an additional financial burden. it's set aside money in a trust

to pay the fines and compensate victims. japanese prime minister has come together to back his plan to call a general election. they've agreed to dissolve the lower house later in the day. voters will go to the polls on december 16th. the prime minister met friday morning. they signed an official document to dissolve the lower house. noda will hold another cabinet meeting to decide on the schedule. the party carved out a victory. noda and dpj will have to fight to hold onto power. their support has opinion

sinking because of broken promises. the main opposition could gain the most seats. no party is expected to win a majority. whoever forms japan's next government will inherit an economy in need of a serious reboost. ramin joins us now. where is this report coming from? >> this is the government's own monthly report. it really highlights the impact of falling exports in japan which japan relies so heavily on. government analysts downgraded their assessment of the japanese economy for the fourth straight month.

japan's exports were sluggish as shipments remain stagnant. this is due to a global economic slowdown. this is due to falling sales after government subsidy for car buyers came to an end. turning to the economic outlook support says movements are expected to continue for the time being. let's check on the markets. the dollar is keeping a firm tone against the yen. it almost hit a seven-month high of 81.46 in the overseas market.

euro general 1037.67 to 272. let's turn to stocks. the weaker yen is definitely spurring orders on export related issues. tokyo share prices have been trading higher extending gains. 8,957 up 127 points. almost one and a half percent from thursday's close. let's have a look at other asian markets. we can see the contrast there with seoul's kospi. it's trading down at 1,867. australia's benchmark index is down. you can see the contrast between

asian indexes and the nikkei. u.s. consumer prices posted only a minor gain last month as the rise in gasoline came to an end. the consumer price index rose 0.1% from the previous month. clothing recognize 0.7% and shelter includiing rent gained 0.3%. people who make traditional japanese paper fear their may will losing relevance. >> reporter: home furnishing professionals gathered here at this trade show in tokyo.

>> translator: are they reusable? don't they rot? >> they don't go moldy either. that sounds good. >> reporter: the vases are made of paper. treated with a mix of special resins makie ining them water p >> translator: we're really impressed by the response. it's much better than we expected. demand for washi has been cooling since fewer houses are being fitted with traditional siding paper doors. the company teamed up with a local designer to create washi products that could capture the imagination of consumers. >> translator: i suggested making vases that could hold

water. i knew that was one of toughest challenges. >> reporter: the design hinges on maintaining the characteristic texture of the paper fringe. this failed experiment shows what happened with the wrong mix of resins. this is the final product after three years of trial and error, the team succeeded in keeping the natural look of the fringe. the team visited an artisan who produces washi, a variety of japanese paper with a 400 year history. he's one of the few crafts paper who still spreads fiber by hand. this attention to detail gives the final product its characteristic smooth feel.

>> translator: your washi is topnotch. it's got that natural feel to it. >> reporter: the team hopes the company's activities will generate enough interest to keep the traditional craft alive. >> that's all for miss news for this hour. i'll leave you with a recap of the region's markets. the united states has agreed to resume selling military weapons to thailand. the move is an apparent bid to check growing chinese military

moves in the asia pacific region. >> the two sides issued a joint statement saying the u.s. will sell thailand military equipment. fighter jet engines are likely to be included. >> the united states is committed to helping the thai military further develop it's all impressive capabilities so that it can assume even greater security responsibilities in this region. >> the u.s. had stopped supplies arms to thailand because of political turmoil including a military coupe.

japan and north korea have ended their first day of senior working level talks in mongolia. analysts believe japan is pushing for the resolution of north korea's past abduction of japanese nationals. they began bilateral taulks on thursday. he was represented by the north korea official in charge of normalizing talks with japan. japan urged to take specific steps to address the abduction of japanese citizens during the 1970s and 1980s. >> translator: we discussed the sometimes difficult agenda in a

sincere manner. there were frank discussions on a viearieties of issues. >> the talks are scheduled to continue on friday. japan's space agency and a commercial machinery maker developed a camera. the device will help in the clean up of radioactive materials that leaked out. the cameras equipped with high radiation. it's shown on a monitor in red, yellow and green. they each indicate different levels of contamination intensity. developers say the camera will help people working on decontamination and check the effectiveness of their work. the camera has a wide front view of 180 degrees. this is much wider, a much wider angle than what the other make

verse already made and sold. this product will be put on the market by march next year. the year dr. ivan sutherland was recognized for his role of giving birth to modern computer graphics. we spoke with him about how his ideas originated. >> reporter: computer graphics play essential role in modern life. they're also the key to creating virtual reality. computer simulated environments allow us to experience imaginary scenes or overlay graphics on

real world images. even today he continues to focus on the field of visualization. the question of how to see objects that do no exist in the real world. >> i don't know that seeing is essential but it's clear it's a large part of what human beings do, to see and interpret what they see. >> reporter: his realization that to see se to think goes back to his early childhood over 70 years ago. >> how did your parents affect your way of thinking? very much. my mother was really an educator and she told me when i was an infant, we gave me two hard boiled eggs. one of them was warm and the other was cold. they looked exactly the same. this was a wonderful experience for a baby because they will

very much the same but very different. >> reporter: thanks to his father, an engineer, he became interested in machines at an early age. at 16 he built a robotic mouse that could find its way through a maize. in 1963 at the age of 25, he developed a new device that changed the history of computing. it was called sketch pad. using a specialized light pen it could change the drawing on a monitor. up to that point computers could only be operated by complex programs. >> i had to idea what i was doing when i ed connecting line

connecting lines. >> reporter: just five years later dr. sutherland had another ground breaking development. he had a display to allow people to experience the world in a competely different way. virtual reality. >> translator: his invention took us all by surprise. it showed computers can do more than just help draw pictures. it plunked us into a real of 3-d virtuality. >> reporter: since then it's become more and more experimental. at the age of 75 sutherland

conducts research at his university. >> what is there at the gulf of your thinking? >> it does a great composure in terms of impact does it have on people or does he think the music is enjoyable as he writes it. i think the latter. >> you'll keep on inventing and thinking. >> aisle keep on as long as i mentioned. two artists in australia are thanking as well. they're found a new way of playing a instrument by crawling inside. the al rations allow pianoist to

perform inside a grand piano. it's part of an exhibition in melbourne. the two artists from cuba and the u.s. cut a whole in the piano to allow a pianoist to get in. because the artist removed some space for performer. the pianoist was able to perform beetovan's symphony. the ar assitists say they want

open the music world. residents in tokyo are enjoying a light breeze. >> high pressure will be dominant. th western japan the ding down. snow showers will be dissipating. we'll be showing that face and temperatures will be felt even more warmer, much warmer than what we felt yesterday. on our saturday it's going to be wet across the whole country. southern half will be feeling the heavier rain across the regions. north western, japan, even if the system moves away, wintery pressure pattern will be left ahead. snow hours will be remaining.

over the weekend this is what we're going to be seeing. it's be a wet one for those of you in novrn japan even on sunday. finally seeing the snow on sunday. it was record breaking. the latest snow of this season here. minus 2 for your low. looking at sunny skies again. on our sunday 16 degrees for the high. here this system is pulling a lot of cold air. things are pretty warm in the tropics.

you'll feel about 50 to 100 millimeters of rain. eastern portion of louisiana being hammered with this significant amounts of real fall. also here across southern portions due to that tropical depression we've been tracking, now it's a remnant low. it's a very heavy rainmaker on the very loose grounds. 30 degrees sill looking here in the tropics. manila 33. bangkok at 34 degrees. here in the americas things r calm and dry. even toward central canada things are clearing out. also here in the pacific northwest a system will be moving in and that could add 30

centimeters. things will be tapering off a houston e, louisiana, 30s here. don't digits finally moving there. he this system is going to be better. we're looking at very wet conditions into the next 24/48 too. the gusts are going to be very strong as well. here is the extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour. israeli government has been pounded targets inside gaza. the flair up and fighting is raising concerns of a wider conduct similar to what happened in 2008. riz ray lee forces have attack. hostilities started with an air triek. the military chief. at least 15 have dies in all, including children.

ga rests are staying ng. >> reporter: in fact, it was a bad night for young and old people especially for children. >> hamas is ratcheting up its attacks. fighters law firmed more than 250 rockets in israel high pressure they allowed us in a suburb. hamas leaders are refusing to agree on a cease-fire. the cabinet has come together to back his plan to call a general election. they've included to dissolve. voters will go to the polls on december 16th. that wraps up this edition of

"newsline." thanks for joining us.