welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the five permanent members of the u.n. security council have agreed on a draft resolution to eliminate syria's chemical weapons. officials at tepco have taken the big step of restarting two idle reactors, the same type as those that melted down at fukushima daiichi.

and a bank loaned $2 million to organized crime groups and took steps to rectify the situation for more than two years. a major breek-through has been made on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. the five permanent members have agreed ton a draft resolution through a compromise. since the conflict began, three security council draft resolutions on syria have been voted down. nhk world has the details. >> reporter: the draft was presented to the security council in a closed-door meeting on thursday night. it could be voted on as soon as friday. >> it is something which is working very pragmatically and strongly for this effort of the elimination of chemical weapons in syria. >> reporter: the draft stipul ls

for the disarming of chemical weapons. it also calls for an international conference to bring together the syrian government and opposition groups. the aim would be to establish an interim government that both sides agree on. the u.s. and european countries were pushing to include in the draft the threat of military action. if syria fails to comply. russia and china had opposed the idea. the draft resolution says if syria does not follow through, the council will impose measures on the chapter 7 of the u.n. charter. that will allow for sanctions and military action. but the agreement does not automatically authorize such measures. this is an apparent compromise between western powers and the russia/china camp.

>> what this measure does is for the first time in many months, it brings together in a strong message of unity of the security council. and for that, it was worth making some compromises. >> reporter: according to the u.n., more than 100,000 people have been killed in the syrian conflict. over 2 million others have fled. the adoption of the resolution of syria could mark the first step in resolving the situation in the country. nhk world. officials from tepco want to restart two nuclear reactors, the same kind that experienced meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi plant. the reactors are part of the nuclear power plant in central japan. tepco officials submitted an application for safety screening

to the nuclear regulation authority on friday. rules that went into effect in july require that boiling water reactors like those at the plant have filtered vents. such vents are designed to release pressure in reactor containment vessels during emergencies while limiting the emission of radioactive substances. tepco's managing executive officer said the governor has asked that the use of such vents be approved by the prefecture. he said he will relay that request to regulatory agency officials. a team of 80 experts at the regulatory agency are screening applications for six other plants where there are pressurized water reactors. this is the first time for applications have been subject to such review. the plant is the world's largest in terms of total output. it has seven reactors. they've been idle for up to six years. but before they were put back

online, the company has to prove that the reactors will be safe in the event of an accident. here's more. >> reporter: the governor has long opposed a restart. but hir ohi could changed his mind on saturday after the concerns on the local economy. however, he attached conditions. >> translator: i suggested tepco not use filtered vents to ensure people's safety. >> reporter: he said no matter how well the vents work, there's always a chance that they will release radioactivity into the atmosphere. that could expose residents in surrounding areas to radiation. so the governor said tepco must discuss operational rules for

the venting system with local authorities. tepco officials say they would not use filter vents without the approval of local authorities. they also say they would not use the system before they confirmed that all the residents had been evacuated. >> translator: we must work hard to meet the local people's requests. this does not yet mean that tepco will be able to restart the reactors on a certain date. >> reporter: an expert says that more discussions are needed between the utility and local governments. >> translator: tepco should talk with the local authorities, as they belong to the same community. >> reporter: the effectiveness of the filter vents will be a main focus of the screening process.

nuclear regulators say the challenge of confirming the reactors' safety, taking into consideration the lessons learned in fukushima. nhk world. after all nuclear reactors in japan went offline for safety inspections, more fossil fuel was required to generate the shortfall in electrical power. now a u.n. panel of scientists is calling for even more drastic steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. the intergovernmental panel on climate change has released a report on physical evidence behind the warming climate. the report says it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause since the 1950s. it projects that the world's average temperature could rise by 4.8 degrees celsius by the end of this century if the density of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to increase. the experts estimate that sea levels could also rise by 82

centimeters. they say it is highly likely that massive storm surges and heat waves will become more frequent in the latter half of the century. >> we are certainly making enormous effort to simplify the messages, even though they represent very rigorous scientific phenomena. so i expect that the world will understand the simplicity, but the gravity of the message that we provide. >> the japanese government pledged four years ago to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a quarter to 1990 levels by the year 2020. but now officials say they have to review the goal as nuclear power reactors across the country have gone offline. they're trying to set a new goal by the next conference in november. japan's financial regulators have ordered musical bank to improve its business practices. they have taken the step because

of the bank's business ties with organized crime groups. officials at the financial services agency say their investigation last december showed that mizuho extended about $2 million in 230 loans to organized crime groups. the money was for purchasing cars and other things. agency officials say mizuho managers didn't take any measures to correct the situation for more than two years, though a board member in charge was aware of the transactions. mizuho officials said they first screened applications for those loans. if there are no problems, they say the bank approves them almost automatically. officials note that the involvement of organized cri ed was discovered after the screening. they will put in a plan to the agency by october 28th. japan's olympus corporation has agreed to pay about $2.6 million to settle an investor lawsuit in the united states.

this is the first time that the optical equipment maker has announced an out-of-court settlement in connection with this accounting scandal. investors filed a suit against olympus in a u.s. district court in pennsylvania in november 2011. they said they suffered losses because of a drop in the value of olympus shares they held. the investors claim the stock price fell because the company had concealed investment losses totaling over $1.2 billion. this is the first of 20 similar lawsuits olympus is facing in and out of japan. investors are demanding damages that would amount to about $520 million. a u.s. court has put a freeze on the assets of american asset management firm mri international and its president. the las vegas-based firm is suspected of losing more than $1.3 billion after misleading its japanese clients. a district court in nevada

issued the freeze order at the request of the u.s. securities and exchange. s.e.c. officials believe mri staff defrauded investors by collecting funds through a ponzi scheme. the commission is cooperating with u.s. authorities in the investigation. in japan, some investors sued mri in june to demand a return of funds. japanese investors in the u.s. have filed a similar complaint as well. japanese textile and fiber maker toray is buying a u.s. carbon fiber maker. officials say toray will acquire the entire stake. they say the acquisition is aimed at strengthening toray's wind energy. carbon fibers are lighter and stronger than steel. toray's carbon fibers are used in aircraft bodies.

company officials say it's been difficult to cut costs for expanding applications for the use of the material. they say soltech technology is at a lower cost and offers opportunity for further growth. here are the latest market figures.

a bomb has exploded on a bus transporting government employees in troubled northwest pakistan. at least 17 people were killed, and more than 40 wounded. police say the bomb went off in the back of the bus, as it was traveling through the outskirts of the city of peshawar on friday. there was no immediate claim of responsibility, but militants in northwest pakistan often target troops, government officials, and other symbols of authority. the incident happened close to pakistan's lawless tribal areas along the afghan border known to be a haven for militants. last week suicide bombers attacked a church in peshawar. six years have passed since myanmar's military government used force to quell a massive anti-government protest. 31 people were killed in the crackdown. the truth behind the deadly protest has yet to be revealed,

even after the country returned to civilian rule in 2011. an eyewitness has told nhk what he saw on that day after keeping quiet all these years. nhk world's tha twe reports. >> reporter: last week, monks gather in the largest city. they have taken part in the deadly demonstrations in 2007. they pressed the government to disclose the truth of the incident which they claim remains unresolved. >> translator: the government should disclose the cause of the incident. in line with its democratic reforms. >> reporter: on september 27th, 2007, they protested against the government's economic policies. which they blamed for soaring

prices. the military government resorted to force to suppress the protests. 31 people were killed. ganji was covering the demonstration and was killed. the military government later said that a stray bullet had struck and killed him. even today, the government has been refusing to return his video camera, and the tapes. despite the repeated requests from his family, and the japanese government. the tapes could provide decisive evidence to show what happened to him in his last moments. one of the eyewitnesses has fled the country and lives in malaysia. ambrose is hoping to return to

his home country to take care of the children of those who left myanmar. he was a student at the time. an aspire iing student, he was there op the day and saw everything. ambrose kept comments on the footage on the scenes at the time. >> translator: you can see many soldiers aiming their rifles. they must have targeted the protest leaders and journalists to keep the international community from finding out what happened. >> reporter: ambrose said the military shot nagi deliberately. >> translator: if it had been incidental, he would not have collapsed the moment i heard the first shot. he was already lying on the

ground when the warning shots began. >> reporter: in 2011, they made the transition from military rule to a government after a general election. still, ambrose kept a distrust attitude of the government which refused to reveal the truth of the incident. and he cannot return to his home country for fear of retaliation by the military. >> translator: myanmar is not a safe place yet. president tingesing is doing well, but military forces remain in the government. i won't run to myanmar until the upcoming elections bring genuine democracy. >> reporter: six years have passed since the bloody demonstration. ambrose yearns for the truth to

be told and for a full recovery of democracy. nhk world. some of japan's indigenous ainu people find themselves in a difficult situation once again. in the 19th century, the government took their land on the northern island of hokkaido. it banned some of their tradition and customs, including their language and fishing practices. now the ainu are fighting to preserve another part of their heritage, the remains of their ancestors. they're trying to get the remains back from universities. here's more about this struggle. >> reporter: this is a 90-year-old ainu. for nearly 60 years, she's

prayed for the return of her ancestors' remains. she says university researchers stole them. >> translator: i want people to acknowledge the abuse done to my ancestors' remains. >> reporter: a recent government survey revealed 11 universities in japan are keeping the remains of more than 1,600 ainu people. researchers began taking bones from grave yards in the late 19th century, mainly for anthropological studies. a group of ainu people were buried here in this area. researchers broke open the graves without the consent of relatives. >> translator: there were many holes all along here. >> reporter: she said researchers removed the remains of her grandparents and other ainu in this village around 1955.

her mother told her, hokkaido university had the remains. shortly before she died, she begged her daughter to get them back. she worked with other ainu to file a lawsuit against the school. >> translator: i'm determined to get them back. it doesn't matter if i can't get all of them. but if there's a single bone, i want it. >> reporter: administrators at hokkaido university say they will return the remains in accordance with government policy. officials proposed the basic policy. they say universities should hand over remains if they can identify direct descendents. a difficult, or impossible task in most cases. other-wise, the government plans

to preserve them at the commemorative facility to be build in hokkaido. it says it will also consider using them for more research. but they want the remains sent back to where they were once buried. some countries, such as australia, have introduced policies for repatriating remains to the countries of origin. this expert in international law said a united nations declaration also requires the remains to be returned. he argues japanese leaders should follow the international rule to allow ainu people to decide on this matter. >> translator: the government should examine and clarify why and how the universities, most national universities at the time, collected the remains. it should apologize, or even offer compensation for what happened.

>> reporter: yuri said an apology is a must. >> translator: if the universities and the government say sorry, and promise they'll never do such terrible things again, we can finally feel at peace. >> reporter: for the ainu, the return of the remains is not only about justice, it's about healing, too. they want japanese leaders to show they're committed to righting the wrongs of the past. nhk world, hokkaido. japanese government officials say they will give more consideration on how to return the remains, including to descendents of ainu communities.

a tropical storm over the south china sea is heading toward the indochina peninsula. mike from the weather team has been following the story. mai, what's the latest? >> the south china sea has been developing a lot of storms over the water. this is the one that just formed. it is now a named storm system at the speed of 10 kilometers per hour, making its way toward vietnam. already packing up to 90 kilometers per hour and waves as high as much as two to three meters in the surrounding countries. the waves and also the winds will be winding down. however, the tropical moisture development will not be -- will be very persistent. it will be bringing ongoing downpours through western luzon and here in the philippines. the surge of the moisture, this is the -- it will be dumping a lot of moisture to the western side of the storm.

and if it does make its way toward central vietnam, this is like likely to certainly up the flooding and landslides. we'll watch this for the next 72 hours. now, across much of the northern areas, high pressure will be predominant with clear skies. except for this area in china, and in towards south korea. a little bit of heavy rain. generally speaking here in japan, we're on for a lovely weekend weather-wise. this afternoon, on friday, this is a picture i took today before coming into the studios, so it's very close to the tv station, very beautiful clear skies. the morning lows are very low. and frost showed up. so let me show you a picture coming up from there. these are images from central hokkaido. the influx of cold air caused

the city's temperature to drop to 1.6 degrees. the lowest so far this autumn. six degrees lower than average this year. the first frost has been observed 11 days earlier than average in some inland areas. temperatures have fallen below zero for the first time this autumn. americas, where we're seeing some snow. autumn is now already looking like winter. we're seeing very heavy rainfall also. up to about 200 millimeters is possible ahead of that system. cold air pulling down from canada, will be making things quite white. now, towards the central plains, this is the battle zone of severe thunderstorms due to the cold air mass coming in from the north and clashing with the southerly very warm air. thunderstorms are capable of unleashing some tornadic activities as well. looking fine and nice and dry across chicago. 27 degrees.

now, to europe. we have a formation moving into western europe. this is likely to bring severe thunderstorms across the bering peninsula. as the cold front moves into the inland region, madrid, you'll see the temperatures really dropping down. if you can recall, friday, you were seeing 29 degrees. that's a huge drop. and in munich where the octoberfest is taking place, not bad at all on saturday at 19 degrees. here's our extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. .

♪ ♪ this political rally was held in august in the kingdom of cambodia.