hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's thursday june 6th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. turkish leaders are struggling to end anti-government demonstrations across the country. they're angry about what they see. the deputy prime minister has met some of the protesters but failed to convince them to go home.

the one hour meeting took place wednesday in the capital. the protest said they demanded the government scrap a redevelopment project in the park in istanbul and want the end of police officials crackdown on government protesters. they have not responded to the demands. the demonstrations started last friday. they were back in istanbul last wednesday evening. >> translator: i strongly protest against this government. >> translator: we will keep demonstrating until we get a satisfactory answer from the government. >> prime minister tayyip is returning from a factory and most are waiting to see what he has seen. syria has captured an

anti-government stronghold near the border with lebanon. the capture could give the army the upper hand in its battle against opposition forces. syrian state-run television announced the government troops have cleared the town of terrorists. they use that word when talking about opposition. they struggle to regained control of the town. fighters from hezbollah fought on the government side. opposition forces took control about six months ago. they used it as a supply base for weapons. they say they retreated because they were running low on ammunition. pakistan's prime minister took office for an unprecedented third time. he took the opportunity to address forces.

>> translator: these frequent drone attacks must be stopped. we respect the sovereignty of other countries, so they should respect ours. >> sharif spoke in the lower house of parliament where he won a comfortable majority of votes to become prime minister. he told lawmakers investing in infrastructure projects could revive the economy. he outlined a plan to build a railway linking two ports in pakistan with western china and says he wants to promote more cooperation with pakistan's closest neighbor. he served two terms in the 1990s before being forced to exile. come boot troops from across the alliance are expected to withdraw by next year. they met in brussels. they flushed out their plan to shift to a noncombat mission.

they agreed a small contingent will stay onto provide training, advice and assistance to afghan forces. soldiers will be based in five years including the capital. the ministers are expected to work through more details. they need to decide on how many more soldiers they'll need. they're worried afghan forces will struggle to maintain order after the pull out. they're afraid afghans won't be able to manage security. rescue workers are searching through the rubble after a building in the u.s. city of philadelphia collapsed. local media report at least one person was killed, 13 others have been injured. police say the four story building was in the process of being demolished when it collapsed.

rescue workers are using buckets and their bare hands as they search for survivors. the building used to house an adult book and video store. they're looking into what happened. economists and central bankers are leafing through a report on the u.s. economy. good morning. what does it say? >> it painted a bit of a mixed picture. housing prices were up but spending overall was so so. only i analysts say overall economic activity is expanding on a modest to moderate pace. the latest beige book report is conducted on surveys in the 12 regional bank districts. it says the housing market continues to show signs of strength while housing prices

are increasing across almost all areas. positive signs were reported in the previous bulletin. industrial production is expanding back by an expansion in housing industry. consumer spending is different among districts. it ranges from slight to moderate gains. some regions showed only a slight increase in retail sales. fed officials have been focusing on employment when they decide on their monetary policy. employment is increasing but the pace slow. some businesses are not hiring much beyond replacement. based on the beige book report and employment data to be released on friday, fed policy makers will discuss monetary measures at their meeting this month. u.s. stock prices extended declines on a second day on wednesday as there was added uncertainty about when the fed

will taper its prap. program. the dow jones lost 1.4%.. program. the dow jones lost 1.4%.program. the dow jones lost 1.4%.program. the dow jones lost 1.4%. progra. the dow jones lost 1.4%. the s&p and nasdaq tumbled more than a percent each. to see how japanese markets are performing let's go to eileen lee. on wednesday japanese shares had their third largest loss this year. now with the losses over in the u.s., how are things looking this morning? >> good morning. to see how all these developments are affecting japanese shares this morning let's go to the opening levels for thursday, june 6th. let's see if we can bring up the numbers. the nikkei is 0.53%. that's the first time to dip

below the 13,000 level since april 5th. the topix is lower by more than 1%. just a recap of the action on wednesday, the nikkei rolls as prime minister abe started his speech on growth plan. the nikkei closed below 13,100 points for the first time in about two months. others are more optimistic. it's expected to remain in power after the election in july. let's move onto currencies. the dollar is now trading at

99.00 to 04 against the yen. further away from the key 100 level. i vest investors are selling the level. a report on u.s. private sector jobs showed a growth in may but it was lower than what was expected by many economists. now investors will be looking to the more closely watched payroll data due on friday. let's have a look at euro/yen. the focus for the euro is the european central bank policy meeting later today. market players expect to have the monetary policy unchanged. we'll keep track of that especially toyota who has caught a bunch of its hybrids including the prius. back to you.

>> thanks for that update. the nikkei is down more than .8 of a percent. australia also opened. let's take a look at those. north korea has created a law to set up special economic zones, an apparent bid to lure foreign investors and ail the failing economy. foreign corporations and individuals will be allowed to set up businesses in the zones. the law covers the industrial, agricultural and tourist sectors. the law guarantees free business

activities and will protect the rights and assets of foreign investors. it also offers preferential use of land, employment and taxes. and infrastructure and high end technology and manufacturing. it does not cover the kaesong industrial complex operated with south korea or zones with china. they unilaterally withdrew 50,000 workers from the kaesong complex in april forcing the whole thing to be shut down. they said it will be difficult to dispel mistrust among foreign investors. china is reacting sharply to an eu decision to impose tar tariffs on their solar panels. and chinese commerce ministry officials say they will begin an anti-dumping probe into imported wine from europe. the european commission announced it will impose provisional anti-dumping tariffs of 12% on chinese made solar panels and related parts.

the duty could be raised in stages to about 47% by august, depending on china's reaction. commerce ministry spokesperson said china has shown utmost sincerity in resolving the issue. he said china will seek to settle the dispute through further negotiations. officials with the commerce ministry said they will investigate whether eu wine is sold to china at less than its fair value through dumping or with the support of government subsidies. a top chinese official who is believed to have played a key role in the 1989 tiananmen square crackdown has died. he was the mayor of beijing at the time of the arrest. he died on sunday at the age of 83. the state-run news agency reported his death on wednesday, one day after the 24th

anniversary of the crackdown. analysts say chinese officials wanted to play down the political impact of his death by withholding the news until after the anniversary. however, in hong kong a news agency reported his death on the anniversary. and local newspapers ran the story on wednesday along with article about the tianaman crackdown. the reports say chen should not have been exempted from responsibility for the leading role he played in the incident. he was promoted to the top post of communist party secretary in beijing after the crackdown. but he was later deposed under the leadership of former president. he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 1998 on corruption charges but was released in 2006 for medical treatment. visitors to japan's northern island of hokkaido make a point of enjoying the local cuisine especially dairy products and seafood.

many tourists from around asia find the food so tasty and want to send some home. the high cost of shipping has held them back. so business operators and government officials have come up with an idea. >> reporter: hokkaido, one of japan's biggest ports. recently people who operate small food businesses have started shipping their products to asia. the seafood is sent on the same day it was caught. the customers receive it two days after shipment. >> translator: today we're shipping scallops, shrimp and king crabs to taiwan. >> reporter: the goods are flown out of this airport. the gateway to hokkaido.

this is cheesecake. and this is seafood. shipping fees were lowered in 2012. this makes asian home delivers much cheaper. for example, shoppers from hong kong, tie wand singapore pay about 80% less than before. the reason? packages leave japan straight from hokkaido and not through tokyo. until now private transporters in hokkaido were not keen about exporting small packages. often they didn't fill up a shipping container and clearing customs was complicated. so hokkaido government officials stepped in. they agreed to accept some responsibility if the ship lost money. they were concerned that sales of agricultural and fish products might fall. it was thought that increasing exports would help the food industry. >> translator: we want to bring people in hokkaido together and

expand this program. it will be a big boost for us. >> reporter: the tourists offer a good opportunity for food businesses. the tourists look forward to tasting the region's distinctive food. >> translator: it's delicious. very delicious. >> reporter: but the only food they typically bought was sweets and other small items, easy to carry back home. buying large quantities of perishable food was out of the question. there was no way to get it hope quickly and cheaply. >> translator: i would buy if it could be shipped. >> translator: i would buy a lot. the seafood is great. >> reporter: representatives of the government and shipping company dropped in on hotel souvenir shops to promote the new service.

they explained, for example, the cost of shipping $200 worth of crab to hong kong would be $100, about 70% or 80% less than before. >> translator: about 10% of visitors from singapore, hong kong and taiwan are very affluent. they want to take the food home and enjoy it. >> translator: with this new service, we'll be able to fulfill our customer's wishes. >> reporter: other prefectures are following hokkaido's example. their agricultural and fish industries are slumping too so local officials are implementing new strategies to counteract the trend. people often say music has no language and no borders. that's certainly been this experience.

she has lived and worked in the u.s. for more than half a century. recently, she reformed her renowned orchestra for any first time in ten years and she held a series of concerts in japan. "nhk world" spoke with her. ♪ >> reporter: jazz legend returned to tokyo from new york. it was the first time she played in japan in ten years. ♪ >> reporter: in 2006, she became the first japanese musician to be given the jazz masters award, one of the most prestigious honors in the music industry. ♪ >> reporter: looking back at your career, was it a long way or was it in the blink of an eye? >> i think probably not that long.

it went by quickly. if i recount what happened year after year, i realize it was a long year, but it went pretty quickly to me. something to do with my age. >> akiyoshi moved to the u.s. in 1956. the jazz world was very competitive and she met with discrimination both as a japanese and as a woman. you often choose "long yellow road" to start your live concert. >> we -- what they call yellow rice. when i was in japan i was playing like somebody else because that's the only way i knew how to play, from a record. when i went to states, i realized that it's not okay to be somebody else, i have to find my own idiosyncrasy. it's a tough job.

it's a long way to become a decent jazz player. i sought about that. that's where the title came about, "it's a long yellow road." ♪ >> reporter: in 1973, together with her husband, sacks player, akiyoshi formed a big band including many japanese motifs into her bands. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: how did you find your originality?

>> it was -- european melody, harmony, what have you, i wasn't born in america. i have a different background and i decided probably it my job it is to try and impute some of my culture into jazz history and perhaps make it a little bit richer. ♪ >> reporter: her piece entitled "hope" expresses the wish for abolition of nuclear weapons and world peace, so the atomic bombing of hiroshima will never be repeated. you've been playing a piece,

"hope" at the end of your concerts, can you tell us why? >> unfortunately, jazz musicians cannot change the world. we can't change the political decisions and so on. just because we have no power or no influence, we don't do anything. doesn't matter what you have power or not, we should say what we think. that's what i think. ♪ ♪ floods have left 13 people dead. rainfall has peaked but water levels are still high in germany and austria threatening more floods. at least 13 people died in the czech republic, austria and other countries.

the rain topped out on wednesday. about 10% of the houses in emmersdorf are submerged. rescuers are using boats to deliver items to people in their homes. >> translator: the situation is really awful. i feel so bad for the victims. it just brings me down to imagine how much time it will take to recover. >> in the czech capital of prague the river is shut down. workers have barriers. for more we go to sayaka. >> the worst of it is over. some lingering rain in the higher elevation is still raising river levels in some

places. a new system is expected to move into central europe once again this weekend. heavy rain in the cards for you starting on your sunday. in contrast looking dry for the british isles. now in north america a tropical storm has formed over the gulf of mexico. this is andrea. the first tropical storm of the hurricane season. it's moving toward the north at speed of 6 kilometers per hour.

the ground is saturated. additional rain will raise the potential for flooding. another area we've been watching is the u.s. from new mexico into the lower mississippi valley. we have a threat of severe weather. lots of heavy rain for the eastern part of the u.s. as well. on the back side of the continent looking dry and hot in inland areas, going up in redding that's about ten degrees higher than it should be. 23 degrees in los angeles. in japan unlike the eastern u.s. and central europe japan is of rain. the positive side of dry weather

is it's a nice condition to go out and see a beautiful scene. we have a beautiful video. anyone visiting the mountain peak park is if for a treat. the park has five rose gardens with 110 types of roses and 600 rose plants. they are coming into bloom. summer life warmth and sunny skies will continue. down toward the south a seasonal rain band is affecting taiwan and southern parts of china. because of the rain temperatures may go down slightly in bangkok. 32 degrees for the high on your

thursday. 28 degrees for you but heating up to 31 for you. here is the extended forecast. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

>> well, hello everybody.