welcome to "newsline." it's friday, october 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. republicans in the u.s. house of representatives have offered up a plan that could end a standoff over the national debt. they say they're considering legislation that would allow for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling. but they stopped short of agreeing to stop the government shutdown. republican leaders outlined

their proposal to avoid a default on the debt. the government needs approval from congress to borrow more money. otherwise, by next week, it might not be able to pay its bills. u.s. media has reported the legislation would allow the government to avoid a default for six weeks. >> i would hope that the president will look at this as an opportunity and a good-faith effort on our part to move halfway, halfway to what he's demanded, in order to have these conversations begin. >> the proposal does not include any measures to resolve the shutdown of government services that started last week. but it would give republicans and democrats more time to negotiate a deal for a deficit reduction over the long-term. >> the president is happy that cooler heads at least seem to be prevailing. in the house. that there at least seems to be a recognition that default is not an option. >> carney welcomed the

republicans' offer but he said white house officials have not seen the details of the proposal. the head of the international monetary fund has added her voice to those warning democrats and republicans to do whatever they can to reach a deal. christine lagarde says the effects of a default would go well beyond u.s. borders. >> we know and the you know by now that failure to raise the debt ceiling would cause serious damage to the u.s. economy but also to the global economy as a result of the spill-over effect. >> lagarde spoke just hours before a meeting of group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors. she said imf leaders need to communicate with their counterparts in member nations to help them prepare for possible consequences. the prime minister of libya is shaken but safe after being held captive for part of the day by rebel forces. armed men kidnapped ali zeidan from a hotel in the capital tripoli then released him hours

later. the abduction was apparently in retaliation for the government's role in the capture of a top al qaeda suspect in libya by u.s. forces. the president of libya's general national congress confirmed the rebels had released the prime minister. al arabiya tv broadcast photos of zeidan surrounded by men. a rebel group posted a message on its facebook page, saying it arrested the prime minister along with security personnel. it said it was investigating his unlawful actions. the prime minister lives in the corinthia hotel. it's in central tripoli and known for tight security. many foreign guests stay there. zeidan was a member of a group opposed to late leader moammar al gadhafi. gadhafi was overthrown in a revolution two years ago. zeidan took office in november of last year. his government has been struggling to maintain a grip on security. rival militias have been fighting for control.

several politicians have been kidnapped. earlier this month, u.s. forces staged a counterterrorism raid on libyan soil to capture a senior leader of al qaeda. last month zeidan told cnn that his nation is trying to rebuild after decades under gadhafi' a pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt is getting international recognition for her human rights campaign. malala yousafzai has received a european union prize for promoting better education for women. the european parliament awarded the sakharov prize for freedom of thought to the 16-year-old activist. the annual honor commemorates soviet scientist and dissident andrei sakharov. he won a nobel peace prize in 1975. the president of the parliament martin schultz praised malala for her strength. she narrowly survived an attack by islamist militants who shot her in the head as she was returning home from school.

>> translator: her example encouraged a whole range of young girls and women to stand up for their rights and not allow themselves to be intimidated. >> the awards ceremony will take place at the parliament in november. malala is a favorite among experts and betting agencies to win the year's nobel peace prize to be announced on friday. japanese prime minister shinzo abe wants to improve relations with two important neighbors. disagreements over territory and history have left japan's ties with china and south korea strained. abe proposed some changes after attending the east asia summit in brunei. >> translator: we shouldn't close the door on dialogue just because we have an issue. i believe we should hold summit level dialogues particularly

when we have problems. >> abe said improved diplomatic relations would contribute to peace and stability in the asia-pacific region. he said he regretted not having the chance to speak in brunei with the chinese and south korean leaders but he said they need to resolve territorial dispute in the south china sea between china and some southeast asian nations. >> translator: we should respect the basic rules on the oceans, including international laws on resolving conflicts peacefully, freedom of marine navigation and the united nations convention on the law of the sea. >> japanese government sources say leaders of ten countries got together to share their views on the disputes and seven shared abe's views. chinese premier li

keqiang was among those in the regional summit in brunei. he warned countries not directly involved in territorial disputes not to interfere. li said disputes in the south china sea should be settled peacefully through talks with china and other southeast asian nations that claim the islands. the united states and vietnam have signed a deal allowing the transfer of nuclear technology to the asian nation. vietnam's nuclear industry is expected to grow to $50 billion by 2030. u.s. secretary of state john kerry inked the deal with vietnamese foreign minister pham binh minh after they met on the sidelines of the east asia summit. the two officials pledged that u.s. technology will not be used by vietnam to develop nuclear weapons. the vietnamese minister also promised that his country will not enrich or reprocess nuclear fuel. president barack obama must add his signature and the u.s. congress give its approval for

the deal to take effect. russia and japan were the successful bidders for vietnam's first and second nuclear power plants. more nuclear facilities are planned in the country. taiwan's president mass been reaching out to their closest neighbor, china. nhk world reports from taipei. >> reporter: president ma addressed the taiwanese at the foundation day ceremony and urged them to reach out to people on the mainland. >> translator: we should use frequent contacts and

interaction to boost political trust, and we should continue expanding and deepening exchanges in a variety of fields to further the people's welfare. >> reporter: ma said he's briefed chinese and taiwanese ministers in charge of relations that met last weekend for the first time. and he highlighted some benefits of a deal china and taiwan reached in june to open up their service sectors. he said that agreement will create jobs in taiwan. still, not everyone on the island supports the president's policy of opening up to the mainland. a demonstration is in progress near the ceremony site. protesters are demanding president ma ying-jeou step down. the area is crowded with people who have come into the streets in large numbers. >> translator: my biggest complaint is that president ma

doesn't listen to his people. he should take democracy more seriously and not ignore the public. >> reporter: demonstrators say ma has caused political turmoil and they say his efforts to let mainland companies enter taiwan's service sector could push local farms out of business. president ma has seen his approval rates fall to a low of 10%. whether he's able to improve relations with china could ride on his ability to win more support at home. governments around the world have joined hands to better control a substance people can't live with or without. they adopted a treaty to regulate the trade and use of mercury, a metal that's a threat to health and a vital part of many products. officials from 140 countries and

territories gathered to sign the minamata convention. the treaty bans digging for rcury at new mines. and starting in 2020 it will regulate the manufacture, import and export of products containing the metal. the minamata convention is named after a japanese city where mercury poisoned residents over half a century ago. thousands suffered severe health problems. a chemical manufacturer had been releasing the metal into the ocean. this man has been supporting victims for decades. he welcomes the treaty but said that governments could do a lot more. >> translator: knowing the efforts we've made have borne fruit in the form of this treaty is very moving. but this is just a starting point. we need to get more regulations put into effect all over the world. >> mercury pollution is still spreading. mine workers in emerging nations use the metal when they dig for gold.

the leaders of those countries want to tackle the resulting pollution and say they need help from japan. >> this competition is very important. because it will assist us in the country to make policy regarding fighting against mercury use. japan has to be at the forefront, has to be the leading country to get others, to assist others. >> japanese leaders promised $2 billion to help developing countries deal with mercury pollution. officials with the u.n. environment program aim to get the minamata convention ratified and put into effect in 2016. a canadian writer known for her short stories about women in small towns has won the nobel prize for literature. >> the noble prize in literature for 2013 is awarded to canadian author alice munro. >> members of the swedish

academy made the announcement in stockholm. they said munro was a master of the contemporary short story. her section collection, "something i've been meaning to tell you," was published in 1974 and became a canadian bestseller. in "the view from castle rock" she wrote about three generations of a family that emigrated from scotland to canada. the work drew high praise from critics. munro is 82 years old. she said she has retired from writing. nuclear regulators in japan will soon be getting international support in their effort to monitor the impact the fukushima daiichi crisis is having on the ocean. specialists with the u.n.'s nuclear watchdog will join teams checking radiation levels in the waters off the damaged facility. >> translator: monitoring radioactivity in sea water is very important. so the iaea would like to cooperate with the japanese authority.

>> iaea chief yukiya amano offered the assistance to the head of japan's nuclear regulation authority shunichi tanaka. tanaka says working together would help alleviate concerns among neighboring countries. officials with the authority have been testing sea water in different locations in fukushima daiichi's port. they say radiation levels are below the government safety standard, but a series of contaminated water leaks has sparked more concern among people in japan and abroad. south korea recently banned import of marine products from fukushima prefecture and elsewhere in japan. iaea officials say figures obtained and released by japanese officials alone would not convince the people the food was safe. the iaea plans to send a team of specialists in mid-november to study how to carry out the joint monitoring. staff at a school in northern japan have come up with a two-wheeled plan to keep their students safe from tsunami. instead of heading to higher

ground on foot or by car, the students will get there by bike. most students at this junior high school in the coastal city of misawi commute by bike. during a mock tsunami drill, 44 of them started pedaling to higher ground, roughly three kilometers away. they got there in about 20 minutes. staff originally thought it would take them twice that amount of time. >> translator: a good thing about a bicycle is that you can evacuate quickly. but i think it might be dangerous compared to walking or driving. >> the school's principal says the students will continue practicing so they can learn to navigate bumpy roads safely. 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." a renowned conductor has struck a chord with students far from his home. gustavo dudamel traveled from venezuela to northeastern japan. he taught young people who'd been through the disaster two years ago about the healing power of music. ♪ >> reporter: venezuelan conductor gustavo dudamel is a renowned maestro on the world scene. at age 32 he's already conducted famous orchestras like the berlin fiphilharmonic.

dudamel performed last month in japan. but he made time at the end of his trip for a special stop. he visited an area of miyagi prefecture devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. >> no -- no words. it's very sad. but i think the important thing is the hope. the hope of the people to keep working and living. ♪ >> reporter: dudamel led a workshop at the local music festival. he conducted about 120 junior high and high school kids from the region. >> translator: music has power. music can fill young people with hope. >> reporter: dudamel grew up in

venezuela where there's a large gap between rich and poor. many young people who can't escape poverty turn to crime. ♪ >> reporter: venezuelans have the option of free music education. leaders hope young people can find a way out of poverty through music. it was through the system that dudamel was discovered, and he quickly became a global star. >> translator: in life you go through difficult times. and sometimes you get lost. but there's always the light of hope. finding music can lead you to something special in that moment. it should provide the light of hope to the youtin the disaster area.

>> reporter: ma ka that you can ka took part in the workshop. she plays trumpet in her high school orchestra. her family was hit hard by the tsunami. her home was washed away. she couldn't play music for a long time. kamata wanted to learn from dudamel how to make her music more expressive. >> translator: since the disaster i have really wanted people to listen to music. now i want it even more. >> reporter: dudamel asks students to put emotion into their music. they try hard to communicate their feelings to the audience. ♪

>> translator: he gave us a lot of advice. in the future, i want to use what i have learned today. >> wonderful, they are great. great players, wonderful. and you see the hope and the love and life in their eyes. so that is the most important. >> reporter: dudamel posted about the power of music. the students who met him are starting to find out what this power can mean for their communities. nhk world, miyagi prefecture. it's time now to check the market figures.

it's time now for a look at the weather with meteorologist sayaka mori. what's the latest in the philippines? >> typhoon nari is starting to affect the northern half of the philippines. in this month we've had typhoon fito, typhoon dennis, this one is the third all right tropics are really firing up.

the center is expected to move across luzon. it could make landfall in eastern part of luzon by saturday morning local time and then head out to sea. it could probably aim for vietnam or hainan early next week. now, as we go into saturday, the most heavy rain should be confined to the eastern part of luzon and from sunday, the western part could be battered by extremely heavy rain and rain could linger for several days across the western parts. not just rain but also we're seeing some quite strong winds. about 200 kilometers per hour gusts are likely to hit luzon. now, not just the storm, we have another heavy rainmaker back behind it. this is a tropical storm at this moment. right now a minimal tropical storm but it could intensify to a strong typhoon. and then move up towards the north. we'll keep you posted on the storm's progress. now across the bay of bengal, we have another powerful storm. this is a very severe cyclonic

storm at this moment. and it's lingering across this location. but it could reach the northeast coast of india over the weekend and across odessa, you could be hit by about 250 millimeters of rain from saturday morning into sunday. and this area is really prone to coastal flooding so very serious situation is on the cards for you unfortunately over the weekend. not just the tropics areas. we're seeing some quite heavy rain and thunderstorms across most of japan today. we have a developing low pressure system approaching the country. along the cold front we may see heavy rain, thunderstorms, and a risk of a tornado. but behind the system, very cool air is flowing in. so ultimately cool air will be flowing into western japan tomorrow. across the northern half of japan will remain on the wet side as we go into saturday. now across europe, then, very nasty weather across many of the contine

continent. we have very strong low pressure system which is causing low temperatures as well as heavy mountains now in the alpine region. we have some video from this location. people in austria were surprised at the unusual snowfall on thursday. the first heavy dump for the season covered the higher elevations in the extreme western mountains. snowplows were busy clearing the roads. unseasonably low temperatures were expected to continue throughout the weekend, and this area will continue to see heavy snow throughout your friday. about 30 centimeters of snow is likely. now, not just snow, we are expecting very heavy rainfall in the low-lying areas such as italy and the western balkan peninsula. the risk of flooding and mudslides are getting very high across the continent. clear across the northern half of the british isles. temperatures are as follows. extremely chilly, 13 in berlin. on your friday.

all right, that's it for now. here's the extended forecast.

34 crested ibises have been released into the wild in a joint conservation project between japan and china. the young ibises have been learning to fly and find food inside a large enclosure at a

conservation center in hunan province. many are the offspring of 13 birds that were raised at a conservation center in sato, japan. they were returned to china in november 2007. when officials opened the aviary, the young birds happily flew to freedom. crested ibises were on the verge of extinction in china with their numbers plunging to just seven by the early 1980s. the species died out in japan decades ago. international conservation efforts since then have helped their numbers recover to more than 2,000 across china, japan and south korea. >> translator: i have high expectations for more birds raised by japan and china to return to the wild. i hope that bilateral relations will deepen as a result. >> it was the first time crested ibises raised in japan have produced offspring that were released in china.

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

dvd. >> 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 woodrow wilson