i am megan lopez. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- hello and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday october 15th. i'm catherine kobayashi. leaders are closing in on a deal that could avoid financial catastrophe. they have been finding ways to solve the debt and end the government shutdown. they need to reach a deal before the thursday deadline. >> there has been some progress

on the senate side with republicans recognizing it's not smart or good for the american people to let america default. >> president obama made the comments during a visit to a charity organization for families with low income. leaders in congress are pushing hard to reach a deal on the total amount of money the government is authorized to borrow. the democrats want to increase the debt ceiling for about a year without condition. republicans agree the limit needs to be extended, but only until january and demand changes to the health care reform. the democrats need the republican support. the republicans hold the majority of seats in the house of representatives. at the same time the lawmakers are trying to end the government shut down. the debates over a bill led to the suspension two weeks ago of a range of government services. aid workers in syria have

learned time and again about the risks of humanitarian work in a war zone. the spokesperson said gunman kidnapped seven aid workers and four have been freed and the rest are still missing. the workers were delivering medical supplies on sunday in the northwestern city. they were heading back to damascus when gunmen staged an ambush. a volunteer for the red crescent. the state-run news agency said they opened fire on the worker's vehicles. they commonly use the word terrorist to refer to opposition fighters. the government and op sigz forces have been fighting for control of the area. opposition units have been engaged in separate battles with militants engaminged in al qaeda. extremists were behind the

kidnapping. a teen from the nuclear watch dog is in japan to help the government deal with know one of the toughest problems. radiation experts are advising on the decontamination work that is going on near the damaged nuclear plant in fukushima. they stayed for a week and the leader said the effective reduction of radiation levels and disposal of contaminated soil are key. they brought in two years ago before full-scale decontamination work began around fukushima. they advised the government to focus on areas with highered aiation first rather than all areas. that would generate unnecessarily large volumes of tainted soil. they plan to submit another report to the government next monday. the iaa will help with radiation levels in the waters off the

plant. south korea will take part in the effort and they have seafood from fukushima and other parts of japan. they briefed lawmakers in parliament on the testing. south koreans and people in other nations have been worried about the ongoing link of contaminated water. they had the import of fishery products and seven other prefectures, saying they are responding to concerns among consumers. the counterparts have been asking for the ban to be lifted. the decision lacks scientific evidence. fishermen stopped hauling in the catches following the nuclear accident, but they resumed running something known as white bait and they are shipping it again for the first time in more than 2 1/2 years. members of the fishery cooperative sent out 900

kilograms of white bait caught last week on a trial basis. they have the before and after processing and detected no traces of radiation. they shipped the white bait to local stores. the shoppers in the city of soma bought the fish and looked at the certificate showing the test results. >> translator: i'm so happy. i think this is the best. >> translator: it's the local produce. i know customers have been waiting a long time to buy it again. >> it's expected to be auctioned on tuesday at tokyo's market. the 2011 disaster was not just hard on fishermen, but young people in the northeast struggled in the aftermath and lost homes and places to play. some had to go to schools and it has been an adjustment. they have one of the latest visitors to offer support.

they led a workshop on the healing power of music. nhk world has the story. >> the conductor is a young m t maest maestro. they 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. >> there no words. it's very sad. i think the important thing is the hope. the hope of the people to keep working and living.

>> they led a workshop at the local music festival with 120 junior high and high school kids from the region. >> music has power. mou music can fill young people with hope. >> they were there with a large gap between rich and poor. many young people who can't escape poverty turn to crime. they have the option of free music education. leaders hope young people can find a way out of poverty through music. it was through this system that they were discovered and he quickly became a global star.

>> in life you go through difficult times. sometimes you get lost, but there is always the light of hope, finding music that can leave you something special in that moment. it should provide the light of hope to the disaster area. he took part in the workshop and faced the haiku orchestra. she took the instrument about years ago, but her family was hit hard and home was washed away. she couldn't play music for a long time. she wanted to learn how to make her music more expressive.

>> translator: since the disaster, i have really wanted people to listen to music. now i wanted even more. >> he asked students to put emotion into music and they tried hard to communicate their feelings to the audience. >> he gave us a lot of advice. in the future, i want to use what i learned today. >> they are wonderful. they are great. they play so wonderful. you see the hope and the love and life in their eyes. that is the most important.

>> it's the power of music. the students are starting to find out what the power can mean for their communities. nhk world, miyagi prefecture. >> thousands of residents are still waiting to go home. vast traffics of land are waiting to be restored and more than half of fishing ports on the pacific coast must be rebuilt. people in north eastern japan face challenges following the 2o 11 disaster, but step by step, they are moving forward. see their stories every wednesday on the road ahead right here on "newsline." >> police in moscow detained hundreds of people after a national protest turned violent. protesters attacked shops and vehicles. the demonstrators were angry

about the killing of a russian man. within blame the migrant. russian nationalist stick to the streets in an area of migrants that clashed with security forces. police detaped around 400 protesters and about 30 were injured. russian interior minster tightened security where migrants work. a south korean lawmaker said leaders in north korea are crowding a united nations ban on the import of luxury goods and said the numbers have soared since kim jung un took power. he said north korea's young leader may be using the products to boost his regime. >> translator: kim jung un uses the luxury goods to keep his top

officials loyal. and to strengthen his grip on power. >> they said north korea imported about $320 million worth of banned items in 2000 noin. he said the figure has doubled last yore to more than $640 million. the lawmakers said there was a spike in electronics and watches. he urged china's authorities to do more to implement the un sanctions. authorities have begun offering certificates in internet monitoring. they will learn to observe comments on websites and social networks. a vision in china senses their websites and delete politically sensitive comments. nearly 600 million people have access to the internet. the state-run media said 2 million people work as online monitors, but officials of the public opinion office are

looking to train more. they are offering a five-day course. cabinets will learn how to analyze public opinions and when to report them to the government. many chinese are having trouble finding a place to bury the remains of family members. sprawling mountain chains and deserts and urbanization leave about 10% suitable for burials. building projects and population is making the cost of land soar. many can't afford to buy a burial plot. >> at a kem tear tcemetery the cost is about $8,000, the average a resident earns in a year. some gravesites cost as much as

$300,000. >> translator: available land is limited. cemetery prices are way beyond my reach. >> they are more expensive. >> concern has spread among cemetery operators. members of the association controlled. >> translator: nine million people die in china every year. preparing graves for each of them is quite a challenge. >> he lived in shanghai. he buried the remains of his father in law last year. >> he bought burial for $150. far cheaper than an ordinary

grave. he was allocated a plot measuring 30 square cent meters on the flower bed. his father in law died five years ago. joe couldn't afford a grave. so he placed the remains at the crematorium. >> translator: before he died, he told mow to throw away his bones. who can do that? >> the remains of six other families are buried under the same flower bed. after ten years, the ashes of other people will also be placed here. the central government takes an issue here. it's been calling on people to spread the ashes of their loved ones in the field. this is a ceremony of ocean

burial of china's north eastern city. it is nearly 100 people. >> translator: i'm time to bid farewell to a loved one and it's also times like this. >> the containers hold the ashes and these cost around $190. the goal government pays if are it. to promote a barrier, authority builds the facility. it shows how the burial was. some exhibits highlight the former government leaders.

>> the ashes were scattered out to sea. we do what the government says. >> so many chinese might find untraditional ways to bury loved ones. one tradition was the devotion of the bereaved party. nhk world, shanghai. >> farmers from different backgrounds are working together in russia's far east. growers from russia and japan join forces in an agricultural cooperation program. 12 officials inspected a lot in the region. it was about the size of 350 sports fields. farmers grow soy beans and buckwheat. they wanted to check the quality of the soy bean harvest. farmers can plant their crops in

rich soil, but a decline in population caused agricultural position to slide. >> translator: if japan and russia are shared technology, they will be able to cut down on cost in this farmland. >> the japanese and russian leadersed helped to bauchb the program in a meeting in april. officials say they will consider exporting the parties back home. many children love a good sword fight. a battle has been reenacted in a field in japan. adults and children plunged into the futile excitement without the pain. >> brave soldiers do battle this this clash. the mock fight in the last days of summer involve some 400 grown

ups and children. their weapons are toy swords. balloons on their arms represent their lives. you slice one off and you eliminate your enemy. this is a childhood educator who organizes the battle. he had changes in how kids play these days. >> children spend more and more time alone on the internet or with computer games. i wanted to create other situations for them to have fun together. >> like many grown men, he played a sword fight as a child. despite the tales, he decided to revive them.

on this date, he organized a battle as a request of a local family. >> who wants to join? >> the ranks of the warriors grew steadily. >> it looks like fun. >> the lord of the forces is ready to fight. its enemy leads the bull with both cheeks wearing armor and anticipation rises. the winner is first played with the rival. >> after a struggle, the reds

defense. the green rushes in. descending on the red board, they smit his symbol to the ground. the greens crow over their victory. in another round, the greens fall to unfortunate defeat. he strikes like a ninja. >> as a grown up, i never get a chance to play. it was splendid. >> it couldn't have gone any better. i want to do more at different locations and involve as many people as possible. >> as he sets his sights on new

battle, he is feeling requests for other event organizers to set up futile action for them. >> it's time now for the market figures. >> let's get a check on the weather now. people in northwestern india talk about a cyclone that hit the region.

>> right, catherine. it did make land fall over the weekend off the eastern soeft of india. it brought devastation and evacuated one million people. the government took precautions and look at the devastation here across the area. the most powerful storm in decades made landfall. several people have been killed. heavy rain in surging seawater destroyed more than 500,000 and $400 million worth of crops. people began returning home on monday to repair their flooded towns. the good news is the area is under recovery. the system is a remnant losing over the northern areas of india. we will likely see flooding across to keep a close eye on this system. in asia, we have this huge

system. this is a typhoon and it's large and a strong system knocking on the doors in japan. as it 3450u6s closer, it is already 250 kilometers per hour, even though it looks like it will be decreasing before it makes landfall across the plain. it will be bringing gusty conditions and the wave will be up to about 12 meters high in the islands. it will be up to 12 meters high. anywhere across the area, 6 to 12 meters high. the storm surge will be a huge concern due to the combination of this. it will be teamed up with a heavy rainfall in localized areas and this will be passing through the region. the heaviest peak being wednesday morning which is the commuting time.

it will be bringing destructive traveling across the area. this is all the way into northern japan. key will keep a close eye on this. we have another system that we have been tracking and this is a typhoon. a strong one making impact in central vietnam. this will be bringing gusts of 180 kilometers an hour. after it makes landfall, it will be a slow moving system and the rainfall will be accumulating near hanoi. that's enough to cause flooding. another area we have been monitoring is this. this is a tropical storm. we have tropical storm warnings from santa fe down into this region. the rainfall accumulation and storm surge with currents.

do stay out of these waters. we have active low pressure system bringing flooding rains. the winter storm with snowfall across wyoming and south dakota. the temperatures are not bad at all. ahead of that system, new york looking at 22 with plenty of sunshine and down towards the south, they are 31 degrees. what a summer day there. i will leave you now with the extended forecast.

we have active low pressure i will leave you now with the that is all for this edition

of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we will be back at the top of the hour. 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