welcome to newsline. wednesday september 25th. i'm catherine in tokyo. the president of kenya says the siege in nairobi is over. extremists stormed the complex saturday shooting shoppers and taking hostages. they spent four days hold up inside. security force have defeated

them. kenyatta spelled out the attack. 61 civilians were killed including foreigners and six soldiers. about 170 were wounded. he said security forces shot and killed five militants and arrested 11 others. gunfire and explosions rang out from the mall during the siege. several bodies including those of militants are thought to be trap in the rubble. members from al-shabab said they carried out the attack for their country. u.s. president barack obama has opened the door to diplomacy with long standing rivals. he addressed wor leaders at the united nations general asse nhk world nicki reports.

this was the president's fourth time to address. he spoke in length about the civil war where the u.n. team confirmed use of chemical weapons. he spoke about how the international community should act together. >> now there must be a strong security council resolution to verify the assad regime is keeping its commitments. there must be consequences if they fail to do so. if we cannot agree even on this, then it will show the united nations is incapable of enforcing the most basic of laws. i do not believe military action in syria or external powers can achieve a lasting peace. nor do i believe that america or any nation should determine who will lead syria. that's for the syrian people to

decide. nevertheless a leader who slaughtered his citizens and gassed children to death cannot lead a badly fractured country. >> reporter: president barack obama spoke about readiness to pursue relations with iran. >> we are not seeking regime change. we seek the right of the people to access nuclear energy. we insist the iranian government meet responsibilities under the non prelive ration treaty and u.n. security council resolutions. we are encouraged president rouhani received the happen date to pursue a more moderate course. i'm directing john kerry to pursue this effort with the iranian government in close cooperation with the european union. the united kingdom, france,

germany, russia and china. the roadblocks may prove to be too great. i believe the diplomatic path must be tested. >> reporter: iran's new president hasan rouhani is making the global debut today. he's been quoted for building a new you relationship with the u.s. diplomats and observers are watching to see if there's any chance obama will meet him on the sidelines of the assembly. nhk world u.n. headquarters. >> japan's foreign minister met with british foreign secretary almost hague on the sidelines. they agreed to work together on the crisis in syria. hague and other british leaders for the humanitarian assistance, he was thanked. he said they're willing to offer additional aid to help those

displaced by the fighting and eliminate chemical weapons. hague praised japan's contribution and said it's important to raise more money to help those in need. a powerful earthquake has shaken southern pakistan. at least 70 people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 are injured. experts with the u.s. geological survey say the magnitude 7.7 quake hit at about 4:30 local time on tuesday. they say the earthquake has cut communications with the affected area. so they cannot accurately assess the situation. local media say the roofs of two schools have collapsed. and many houses have been damaged. the town is about 70 kilometers south of the estimated epicenter. residents in the commercial residents in the commercial center of karachi say they felt a tremor that lasted about 20 seconds. there have been no immediate reports of injuries in the city. experts say the focus had an

estimated depth of about 20 kilometers. a series of aftershocks with a magnitude of around 5 have been observed. they say government troops and helicopters were dispatched for the rescue operation. fishermen working off the coast are back on the water. they had been fishing offshore checking for safety and putting them on the market. fishing was suspended after radioactive water was found to be leaking from the fukushima plant into the ocean. 21 trollers left the port in the city of soma early in the morning. >> we have to show tepco, japanese government and people everywhere we're really

determined to resume full scale fishing operations. members say test of fish and ocean water did not show problems. they decided to return to work. crews have to fish at least 50 kilometers from fukushima and 150 meters deal. they can only catch 16 kinds of seafood including octopus and squid. those have lower levels of radiation than government standards. custody in brazil three japanese flagged fishing vessels were captured off brazil in july and august. two are released, but one is still being held in the country. brazilian authorities have released two ships. but they're still holding one ship. number 108. officials at the brazilian institute of environment and natural resources said the three ships had violated the country's regulations for protecting seabirds. one captain was briefly arrested for not complying with the regulations.

his ship and tuna catch were confiscated. officials at the japanese embassy in brazil said they followed the rules and filed complaints at a brazilian court. the court gave permission for the two ships to leave. the third vessel had been held in a southern brazilian port for nearly two months. a chinese government official is vowing to take a line on north korea nuclear ambitions. beijing will play a leading role in efforts to strip the north of weapons of mass destruction. chinese authorities have released a long list of materials banned from export to north korea. officials at commerce ministry say materials could be used to make nuclear and biological weapons.

>>translator: the list shows the chinese government strictly handles based on u.n. security council and domestic law. >> hun hopes party talks resume negotiations soon. the talks have been suspended since 2008. the u.s., japan and south korea say they won't rejoin the negotiations until the north takes steps to dismantlets nuclear program. the south korean government are beefing up security. officials passed on purchasing boeing s 15 which was recommended. the lath of stelth features were sited as the deal breaker. the defense program administration voted against the boeing model.

the fighter developed by eads and f 35 staelth fighter were in the bidding. kim says administration members agreed without stelth capability, the s 15 fould not detour nuclear threats from north korea. he says the defense ministry hopes to choose a fighter jet within a year. >> tire govnmen officials have been urging not to pick the s 15 and argued better were needed. south korea is likely to choose the s 35 fighter yet because it has advanced stelth functions. south koreans living knowsed de against them. the rallies have been prompted in part by a long standing territorial dispute. nhk world has the story.

>> reporter: this district is home to one of japan's largest korean towns. it has about 200 south korean restaurants. this 61 year old runs of them. he says recently things have been more challenging than anytime since he moved to japan from south korea in the 1980s. >> translator: there are a number of people visiting the main street in this area, dropped significantly a year ago. >> reporter: that was around the time the outgoing south korean president visited disputed territory in the waters between the countries -- south korea controls the takeshima islands. japan lodged a protest saying takeshima is part of its territory.

since his visit, more japanese have joined demonstrations. they shout discriminatory comments. this gathering happened shortly after tokyo won its bid to host the 2020 olympic games. the olympics bring together people of different nationalities and ethnicities. >> translator: i wonder why people took part in the rally when others celebrated tokyo's successful bid. i also wonder what people around the world will think of it. >> reporter: his concerns about worsening relations prompted him to take part in a festival last weekend in tokyo.

about 50,000 people attended the annual cultural exchange. >> translator: bilateral tie also becomeven chillier if there arno exchang. i welce this kind of event. >> reporter: he demonstrated a south korean dish for the opening ceremony. this is a south korean dish which is rice mixed with seasoned vegetables. it's fop popular in japan. the bowl contains enough for 100 servings. this dish symbolizing the mixing together oboth countries to create a strong frndship. the foreign minister and the ambassadors mixed the ingredients together.

they say it is to beco more delicious the more it is mixed. japanese visitors got the chance to learn about korean people and their culture. >> translator: i hope japanese and south koreans become friendly like mixing the dish together. >> reporter: he says he wants this kind of event to encourage more cultural exchanges in the future. he and other south koreans living in japan hope citizens can make progress where politicians have failed and make relations between these neighbors more neighborly. nhk world, tokyo. a controversial rice purchasing scheme in thailand is causing social problems.

the ty government says it's raising standards for rice farmers that make up 70% of rice farmers. as nhk reports, the scheme has widened the gap between rich and poor. >> reporter: i'm here at a government rice storage unit where over 28,000 tons of rice are being stored and waiting to be released into the market. now all over the king dom there are over 1,000 storage units like this. the rice purchase scheme was introduced two years ago by then newly elected prime minister. her government pledged to buy rice from farmers at almost 40% higher than the market price. critics say the scheme is ruining the nation's finances with estimated losses so far of at least $7 billion. they claim it was simply designed to win votes. central thailand is blessed with rich soil and extensive irrigation. farmers here are happy with

the scheme. this 48 year old man farms more than 40 acres and harvest more than twice a year. his income has more than doubled. he's been able to buy an additional 12 acres and new equipment including a six wheeler pickup truck. he even started a side business selling garden furniture. >> translator: i never made this much money before just by farming. i made enough to send my kids to school. the rice purchase scheme is excellent. i hope it continues. >> reporter: but not everyone is reaping the rewards, six out of ten farmers have not joined the scheme.

in northeast thailand people hold a different view from those down in the plains. farmers here have small fields and depend on seasonal rains. they're among the poorest farmers in the country. >> translator: those that really benefit from the scheme are farmers who have a lot of land. but farmers here can't produce much rice. the most important thing for us is the water supply. the irrigation system. we've been asking the government for help, but it never comes. >> reporter: this 26 year old woman farms just one and a half acres. she's one of the farmers unable to produce enough rice to sell to the government. >> translator: i wish i could make money through the rice purchase scheme, but i simply can't produce enough to qualify. times have never been worse.

i have no income, not even enough to feed my family. and the soil in my rice field is bad. >> reporter: the family has been growing rice for three generations, but they still struggle. last year she and her husband made barely 180 u.s. dollars all year. >> translator: i have to borrow money to buy rice for my family. sometimes i have to borrow rice. i want help from the government, but it doesn't reach us. >> reporter: rice farmers used to the backbone of thailand's economy. the government's rice purchase scheme is supposed to help them. but instead, many farmers feel excluded and helpless. nhk world.

now let's take a brief look at market figures. the competition is heating up at the autumn sue moe tournament in tokyo. the star had the second biggest record broken. we were joined earlier with the highlights. >> with just sick days left in the autumn sumo tourney, one man is sitting at the top. it's the grand champion hakuho.

he held a comfortable two win lead over the nearest opponent in a field of 42. the 28 year old's performance has been perfect. title 27th title overall. hahuko tries to pull him do you, but he holds his ground. this gives hahuko his first defeat. now let's turn to the others. they got off to a rocky start last week by losing two bouts. but he's bounced back with five straight wins. also there are two who have

remained. you have to give them lots of credit, as it's not often you find such low-ranked grapplers fights for the top spot. here's how they fought on day ten. he hungers for another tight toll redeem himself. he won his last tournament in january, so it's been a while. his opponent, a brazilian, is holds his own with just six wins and three losses. it's all in a blink. the opponent is sent to the clay. this is the oldest in the this is the oldest in the top division. he turned 39 this month, but he seems to be getting bert and stronger with age. this fighter has been hobbled by an injury, he's been fighting in

the top division for the first time since the november tournament. so far he's make being the most of it. a hard charge. he doesn't ease up and keeps going forward. he puts him away and still has only a pair of losses. finally here are the standings after ten days. despite his first set back, hakuho is still in first with nine wins and one loss. the title race is tighter than before. he's just one victory off the pace. well, hakuho seemed well on his way to another emperor's cup. hiss loss is giving hope to contenders. the amongst his opponents, his arch rival will be doing everything he can to stop him in the final days. i'll be with you next week to tell you how it all turns out.

time now to get a check on the weather with meteorologist. there you are. you have been following developments in southern japan. people are dealing with stormy conditions. what's the latest? >> there's a tropical storm across the a rans of japan. this is the storm. there's a clear eye in the center. this indicates that the system will not weaken any time soon. it's including parts of the islands in the stormy area. it looks like it will approach the islands tonight as a tropical storm and pass east of japan into saturday. main threat mainland japan going to be high probably about five meters across the coast of the

country region today and stormy conditions for thursday. a seasonal front is causing rain in northern japan. localized heavy rain possible with thunderstorms. there's a possibility of hail as well throughout the day. now across the west looking dry thanks to this big high pressure system over the northern half of china. wet weather continues for the south through remnants of typhoon asagi. the rain is worsening the situation of flooding. more rain is coming down because the tropical disturbance is enhancing. to show you the situation, i want to show you this footage. heavy rains caused by the monsoon triggered landslides and flash floods in the philippines killing 20 people. more than 36,000 residents were affected. thousands of families you sought shelter in evacuation centers.

roads were cut off. operations are clean up for clean up in the heavily hit areas. rains in the philippines have grown fiercer in recent years. into the next 72 hours, the most heavy rain is going to be found across the western part of 200 millimeters likely in the next few days. flooding and landslides are ongoing risks. temperatures are not doing that in many places. only 12 degrees for the high here and minus 2 for the low. across the americas, things looking like winter for the northern rockies. we have winter warnings in place for montana and idaho. lots of snow as well as windy conditions causing low visibility and dangerous driving conditions. light rain for the valley areas including a coastal areas pacific northwest. more heavy rain southeast coast of the u.s. especially across

the gulf coast. rain will likely linger the next several days. temperatures quite pleasant across the east. chilly across the northwest. 16 vancouver as well as seattle on the hump day. finally in europe, nice clear skies for the western continent. a low pressure system sitting and spinning over the eastern part of europe causing very wet conditions and also low temperatures. across the west, it's quite warm. you can see a contrast between west and east. moscow running 10 degrees below average. milan much warmer than average friday. here's the extended forecast.

that is all for this edition of news line.

i'm catherine in tokyo. thanks very much for watching. 

>> welcome. this is a place where