hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, october 8th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. world leaders are trying to make trade easier in a region with great potential for growth. representatives of 21 economies are rolling up their lives in bali, indonesia, in a summit of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum. they want to find ways to facilitate investments and freer trade. japanese prime minister shinzo abe is expected to outline his

plans to attract firms and investors to his country. like many of his down parts he'll head on after the summit to a meeting of the transpacific partnership. abe has been pushing to have negotiators agree on the details of the free trade deal by the end of the year. the leaders are expected to adopt a joint statement to that effect. chinese president xi jinping has spoken out at the summit against a traditional ally. he said china will support u.n. sanctions to prevent north korea from possessing nuclear arms. xi pit with south korean president park kuhn 88. he reassured her about relations between their two countries. >> translator: china and south korea have a great relationship. we have built a good partnership in various fields. >> translator: we'd like to ask for china's support to help north korea abandon nuclear arms and seek economic development.

>> the leaders discussed six-party talks on the north korean nuclear program. president xi says he he wants negotiators can work together to get back to the table. park said north korean leaders need to demonstrate a sincere desire to reopen talks. china's vice foreign minister says premier li keqiang will use the talks in brunei to hold direct talks with other asian leaders, but he says japan's prime minister isn't on their list. he said li has no plans to sit down with shinzo abe. he also ruled out discussions with leaders of the philippines. officials from china and the philippines are locked in a dispute over islands in the south china sea. li warned other countries against intervening in the dispute. he said the issue should be solved between relevant parties. many leaders at the apec say

they're disappointed u.s. president barack obama will not be there. he's staying in the united states to deal with the government sut-down. vladimir putin says he made the right choice. putin spoke at a business conference on the sidelines of the apec summit in bali. he said obama can't focus on international issues while he's facing the shutdown and a budget impasse. putin said he would have done the same thing. but he suggested obama's absence was a blow to the summit. he said the u.s. is the world's largest economy and what it does is important to the entire world. he said apec leaders hope u.s. officials solve the crisis as soon as possible. international inspectors have launched the process of destroying syrian president bashar al assad's most feared weapon. they're trying to get rid of

syria's arsenal of chemical arms. experts from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons and the united nations have arrived in the capital, damascus, almost a week ago. they're following through on a u.n. security council resolution demanding that syria dismantle its stockpiles. the inspectors visited military facilities and began the process of destroying rockets that can carry chemical arms and facilities that produce such weapons. some of those facilities are located in areas controlled by opposition fighters or in areas where they are fighting government forces, and the inspectors fear that could delay their mission. they want to get rid of all stockpiles by the middle of next year. the inspectors say that syrian authorities have so far been cooperative in eliminating their chemical arsenal. opcw officials released a statement after an advanced team of inspectors returned to the hague. they called on syrian leaders to

submit details by october 27th on the rest of their stockpile. dozens more inspectors will travel to syria to help put labs and factories out of action. opcw personnel will release a plan next month for the full decommissioning of syria's chemical armament. u.s. secretary of state john kerry is giving syrian leaders credit for complying with the effort to destroy the weapons. kerry spoke alongside russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. they came up with the original agreement to eliminate the stockpiles. kerry says it's significant that inspectors are destroying chemical weapons within a week of the passage of a security council resolution. >> i think it's also credit to the assad regime for complying rapidly, as they are supposed to. it's a good beginning, and we should welcome a good beginning. >> kerry says he's willing to work with russia to convene an

international peace conference next month in geneva. the meeting would bring together representatives from the syrian government and opposition groups. egyptians are counting the cost of the latest flare-up of violence between two camps with competing visions of the country's future. more than 50 people are dead after supporters and opponents of the military faced off in the streets. members of the muslim brotherhood called for anti-military protests on sunday, the 40th anniversary of the start of the 1973 arab-israeli war. they backed former president mohamed morsi who top generals overthrew in july. they tried to interrupt a prompt pro-military event in cairo's tahrir square. security forces used tear gas to keep them away. then fighting and gunfire broke out. a similar scene played out in other cities. health ministry officials say 51

people died and 375 were injured across the country. it's the most violent day since mid-august when security forces cracked down on brotherhood supporters. egypt's interim government has detained more than 400 demonstrators. brotherhood leaders are calling for more protests. thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast tracts of land are still waiting to be restored. and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in northeastern japan still face challenges following the 2011 disaster, but step by step, they're moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on "the road ahead" right here on "newsline." after the fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, dairy farmers over a wide area had to suspend

operations or even shut them down. their pastureland had been contaminated by radioactive fallout. but in this report we meet a farmer who's determined to reclaim what the disaster took away. >> reporter: the contamination of this farm began last month. it is less than 90 kilometers from fukushima daiichi power plant. yamakawa owns the farm. >> translator: the work has finally started though we've run up against so many difficulties. >> reporter: before the disaster, yamakawa let his 30 cows graze freely. they ate grass in the woods. milk from this diet has a different taste and composition every season. this milk made yamakawa proud. >> translator: i love this landscape.

the cows in the forest. not only the cows but also the natural surroundings. it's precious to me. >> reporter: but after the nuclear disaster, radiation contaminated the foliage and soil at higher levels than the government limit. yamakawa stopped the agreesing around the forest. he didn't know when the grading could restart. so he had to let his employees go. he hasn't used his milking equipment in more than two years. he almost gave up farming but r farmers talked him out of it. a local farmer, sakama, took care of his cows. he also milked them after making sure the feed was not contaminated. >> translator: i'm not helping him per se.

we're trying to survive together, looking for ways to go on together. >> yamakawa avoided closing his farm by selling the milk and selling a creamy dessert at his farm cafe. gradually customers have come back. his sales are 80% of what they were before the earthquake. >> mm! nice! >> reporter: first, yamakawa had to decontaminate his land. he thought he might be able to leave the trees and remove only the soil and ground cover. but small equipment needed for the job would cost over $200,000. the nuclear plant told him they will not pay him the full amount. so yamakawa had to cut down his cherished trees. it was a bitter decision.

the topsoil held radioactive substances that contaminated the grass. he and sakuma removed it. the underlying earth became the new surface. they treated it with potassium to absorb radioactivity. yamakawa wants 40% of the forest cleaned up fornow. and his cows grazing in the spring. >> translator: you really should not give up. there were many times when i was about to. the most important thing was that i didn't. now i'm determined to bring my cows out here and let them graze again. what i really want to do is regrow the forest and make another outstanding farm. >> reporter: yamakawa yearns to bring back the good old days when his cows were free to roam

and the milk was his pride and joy. a court in japan has ruled against a group that repeatedly targeted a korean school in kyoto with hate speech. it ordered the anti-korea group to pay compensation and banned it from future demonstrations in the area. the organization that manages the school filed a complaint with the kyoto district court. members of the group used loudspeakers to deliver hateful messages near the school from 2009 to 2010. administrators said the activities infringed on the school's ethnic education. they demanded about $300,000 in damages, and asked that the group cease its activities in the area. during the trial, representatives of the

anti-korean group said they were protesting against the school's use of a nearby park without permission. they argued they were exercising their right to freedom of expression. the presiding judge said the group's actions horrified students and faculty and disrupted classes. he said the speeches were highly offensive, saying they amounted to racial discrimination which is banned under an international convention. the court ordered the group to pay about $120,000 in damages, and stop its activities near the school. a lawyer for the school says this is the first time a japanese court has recognized hate speech as illegal, and ordered monetary compensation. the top government spokesperson says he's concerned about hate speech. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga won't comment on the individual civil suit, but he says anything that disrupts business and school activities should be stopped. >> translator: it is vital that the relevant authorities act to

prevent such things from happening. >> suga responded to a question on whether there are plans to introduce new laws in the wake of the ruling. he says the government will keep an eye on developments and take appropriate action. the head of the company in charge of japan's crippled nuclear plant says he plans to make improvements to prevent human error. recent mistakes at fukushima daiichi have led to the leak of radioactive rainwater and the brief suspension of a damaged reactor's cooling system. the president of tokyo electric power company told lawmakers that workers at the plant are overstretched. >> translator: we need to increase the workforce. we also believe it's very important to improve their working environment. >> earlier on monday, human error caused a partial power failure at the plant. tepco officials say a worker mistakenly pushed the stop

button of a switchboard during an inspection. that cut power to a pump that injects water to cool nuclear fuel inside reactor one. a backup pump quickly kicked in. officials say the reactor's temperature didn't change. the chairman of the nuclear regulation authority says the situation at fukushima daiichi could have an impact on tepco's bid to restart its largest nuclear plant, one on the sea of japan coast. >> translator: the situation at fukushima daiichi has not been sufficiently stabilized to reassure the public about safety. we will proceed very carefully with our safety inspections at kashiwazaki-kariwa. >> tanaka says he ordered tepco to submit a report on safety management at kashiwazaki-kariwa by the end of this week. japan airlines will be buying 56 mid-size passenger

jets from european aircraft maker airbus. this is jal's first order for airbus planes. the two companies announced the deal in a joint news conference in tokyo. jal plans to introduce the a-350 planes over the six-year period from 2019. the carrier says they will replace u.s. maker boeing's 777s. >> translator: we've considered the aircraft safety and product quality in making this decision. >> as fuel costs rise, demand for fuel-efficient and long-haul aircraft is growing in the commercial aircraft market. the airbus a-350 and boying 787 dreamliner are competing for the largest market share.

find out about the challenges china faces. on "newsline." a white diamond the size of a small egg has sold for a record amount in hong kong. more than $30 million. two people spent about six minutes vying for the 118-carat gem. the auctioneer says the winner wishes to remain anonymous. miners unearthed the diamond two years ago in south africa. the price tag of $30.6 million is the most ever paid for a white diamond but it's well short of the $46 million paid in 2010 for a pink diamond. hong kong is joining geneva and new york as a leading auction center. its jewel auctions are popular with wealthy asian clients. three scientists who study

how cells move molecules around and how that relates to our health have won the nobel prize for physiology or medicine. >> 2013 nobel prize in physiology or medicine, jointly, to james rothman, randy shankman, and thomas sudoff. >> members of the nobel committee made the announcement in stockholm, sweden. all work at leading american universities. shankman discovered genes that control movement of substances such as hormones and enzymes within cells. in his research, rothman identified a group of proteins that help in the transfer of molecules. sudoff's work revealed how nerve cells direct precision delivery. their discoveries will throw light on the way transport malfunctions contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases and diabetes. divers in italy have been

recovering more bodies from the fishing boat carrying african refugees that sank in the mediterranean last week. they found more than 190 bodies so far including children. the death toll is expected to rise as more people who are trapped inside the boat are found. coast guard divers recovered more than 80 bodies on sunday from the seabed of lampedusa island. authorities say that more than 110 people are still missing. the boat was packed with 500 african migrants. mostly from eritrea. it capsized off southern italy on saturday. lampedusa has been a big destination for immigrants from the middle east and syria. tens of thousands of people have attempted the dangerous crossing since the arab spring uprisings began in the region. accidents are commonplace. one survivor says the crippled ship tilted to one side after

the skipper tried to light a fire to draw attention of passing ships. anner eritrean man said he pai $1,600 to brokers who promised to take him to italy. authorities in mexico are trying to determine why a driver of a monster truck lost control of the modified pickup and plowed into the crowd. eight people died and 79 others hurt. the happened in chihuahua on saturday in chihuahua state. it jumped cars and rammed into the audience. police have retained the driver. the driver reportedly told them he hit his head during the stunt and fainted. investigators are looking into whether the vehicle was properly maintained. the venue has no protective walls between the spectators and the vehicles. and next, let's take a brief look at the markets.

it is time for a check on the weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. good morning. people in some parts of western japan are dealing with stormy weather conditions. what's the latest there? >> kyushu is starting to see stormy conditions. as you can see the eye has gone but the clouds are still densely packed. that means this is a very strong

typhoon still. it's the second highest rank for typhoon. the system is expected to move to the north and then veer toward the northeast. it could probably get close to south korea or kyushu this evening and then move over the sea of japan and then may attach to the -- may land on northern parts of japan by thursday morning local time. now as we go into tomorrow morning, the stormiest parts are going to be found across south korea, kyushu, as well . waves could be as high as nine meters if the storm's arrival coincides with high tide. flooding rests could be especially high, gusts as high as 200 kilometers per hour in places. as for rainfall b. 200 millimeters of rain is likely in parts of kyushu and southern parts of south korea. i think most of the heavy rain should stay over the waters because the center is expected to move over the waters.

wind is going to be found over mainland japan. so that could cause traffic delays as we go into the next several daze across most of japan. across china, we talked about the tropical storm yesterday. it has gone but the remnant is lingering with a lot of the moisture. that could cause rainfall and any amount of rain is not welcome here. across the south, more heavy rain is coming down across the south and central parts of thailand. rain is not welcome at all, the ground is already very well saturated out there. temperatures are going to be warmer than average, 30 in tokyo, warmer than seasonal. about 5 degrees higher than th winds brought by the typhoon. across the merges an active system is sliding over the eastern end of the u.s. with thundershowers. lots of rain across this area, as well as very strong winds out there. and as we go into tuesday, we're expecting to see snow showers in

the northern parts of quebec and some lingering rain for the southeastern end of the u.s. dry for much of the u.s. but wet and windy conditions once again for british columbia and the pacific northwest. and on wednesday, actually tuesday, wet conditions will be spread to northern parts of california and some snow is likely for the sierras as well as the cascades. the cascades may get as much as 50 centimeters of snow in just one day. cooler than average across the northwest. and cooling down to 22 in los angeles. it could cool down even further as we go into wednesday. so watch out for that. cooling down as well in new york city at 21 degrees, despite the sunny wemther. finally in europe, lots of cloud in this the north. wet and windy conditions remain. heavy rain is persisting across the south of norway. and a risk of severe weather once again for italy and the western parts of the balkan peninsula. dry area for the midsection of europe. and temperatures are running way above average in some places in

europe. here's is extended forecast.

an exhibition highlighting the world's environmental problems is under way in southwestern japan.

the event is a run-up to a u.n. conference that will convene later this week in minamata. the city is known for an outbreak of mercury poisoning more than 50 years ago. it caused a neurological syndrome that came to be known as the minamata disease. the exhibition features works by new york-based artist ingo gunther. on one globe, white dots indicate areas affected by mercury pollution. on another globe, blacked-out parts show areas where the soil is deteriorating due to desertification. >> translator: i hope the works by ingo will inspire visitors to think about the fact that all kinds of environmental problems are affecting our world. what happened in minamata is still occurring today. >> the u.n. conference will start on wednesday. delegates are set to adopt a legally binding treaty regulating the use and trade of mercury.

that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us. 

>> good afternoon. please find a seat. everybody. here we go. we have an overflow crowd. that is because this program will be so good. the movable feast continues. this is the third of a series of activities celebrating