hello, you're watching "newsline." the european union has banned investment in crimea. this is part of its policy of not recognizing russia's annexation of the southern ukrainian region. the eu announced additional sanctions against russia on thursday as ue leaders met in brussels to discuss their response to the situation in ukraine. under the new measure, europeans are banned from buying real estate and providing loans to businesses in crimea. experts in technologies to companies in the fields of communications and energy are also prohibiteded.

>> it is that president putin and the russian leadership should think about the radical change in the attitude towards the rest of the world and to switch to a cooperative mode. >> the new measures are apparently aimed at pressuring russia to change its policies. president putin says russia's economy won't rebound from its woes and the ruble will stabilize, but he's warned it could take up to two years for that to happen. he appeared before 1,200 reporters for an end of year news conference. >> under the most unfavorable scenario, this situation may go on for about two years. >> the russian president referred to the devastating

impact of prices on the ruble. he defend ed the bank aes decision to raise is its key interest rate to protect the currency. >> the current situation has been proevoked by external factors. the central bank and the government are taking adequate measures. >> he also said russia must diversify its economy to reduce its dependence on oil and major export and the key source of income for the state. islamic extremists have attacked a village in northeastern nigeria. they killed more than 30 people. survivors say nearly 200 were kidnapped. authorities suspect the they are members of boca ha ram. they are saying eyewitnesses fired machine guns and burned houses in the remote village of -- they said the attackers kidnapped more than 185 people in trucks, mostly women and

children. the news of sunday's attack is just emerging because the government destroyed communication facilities in the village. survey vifrs had to walk four days to reach a nearby town. they kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in the same area in april. the group is calling for an islamic state and labels western style education as sinful. a suicide bomber in afghanistan has killed a policeman and wounded three others in kabul. taliban militants have claimed responsibility. the violence adds to growing concerns about dee tieruating security. authorities say the bomber blew up his vehicle when police tried to intercept it. the man was apparently trying to enter kabul to detonate explosives in a crowded part of the city. >> they recognized -- but he blew himself up.

>> insurgents have been stepping up offensive in recent months. multiple attacks in the last week have killed at least 20 people. the u.s. led international forces who end their combat mission at the end of the month, the remaining troops will transition to a support and training role. concerns are mounting whether afghanistan will be able to handle its own security situation. members of the united nations want pyongyang in international court for human rights abuses. the general assembly approved a resolution denouncing north korea's rights record. it's the harshest of all attacks by japan and the european union over the past ten years. the draft says north korean officials have carrieded out wide ranging abuses, including torture and public executions and it urges the u.n. security

council to refer the issue to the international criminal court to bring those responsible to justice. north korea's delegation strongly rejected the resolution. >> will not tolerate an attempt for overthrowing the social system. >> they passed by a majority vote. 20 members opposed, including china and russia. japan's representative said it should be a wake up call for pyongyang. >> north korea should take seriously the fact that the international community has showed strong concerns over the country's oppression of human rights. >> members of the u.n. security council are expected to discuss north korea's human rights situation the first time next week. jordan has submitted a

resolution on behalf of palestinians to the u.n. security council setting terms for a middle east peace deal. the text calls for an end to israel's occupation of palestinian territory by 2017. palestinian u.n. ambassador says the resolution is open to further negotiations with other nations. the u.s., an ally of israel, has opposed adopting any such resolution. they said the two parties should negotiate directly. middle east peace talks broke down in april. palestinian president abbas called for a firm timetable to end the occupation. >> we submitted a draft resolution to the united nations security council to make a deadline to end the israeli occupation of the state of palestine. we discussed with our brothers and friends during all stages of preparation of the draft.

>> israel has occupied the area since the 1967 middle east war. abbas said palestinians in arab countries had been working on the resolution, calling for negotiations to determine the future border. u.s. officials their their government will not support the palestinian draft resolution. >> we have seen the draft. it is not something we would support and we think others feel the same and are calling for further consultations. the palestinians understand that. >> she says the government will continue consultations with key stakeholders to find a way forward. european lawmakers have given palestinians drive for state hood a fresh push. they voted to recognize the palestinian state in principle. lawmakers met and documented a compromise resolution. the document is nonbinding.

it calls for the early resumption of peace talks suspended since april. it says recognition of palestinian state hood should go hand in hand with the talks. the document urges israelis and palestinians to refrain from doing anything that hampers the peace process. it condemns violence and says settlements in occupy territory and violate international law. lawmakers in france, britain and four other countries have documented resolution, urging their governments to recognize a palestinian state. sweden led the way, recognizing state hood in october. investors are on a shopping spree. they're taking stock markets higher and higher. we have more from the business desk. looks like investors are happy about something. what's on their minds? >> absolutely. analysts say investor sentiment is still being supported by what the federal reserve said on thursday on being patient about

rate hikes. in new york, the dow jones soared by more than 400 points. the biggest one-day gain in three years. the dow rose 2.4%. the tech heavy nasdaq gained 2.2% ending at 4,748. analysts say investors are buying stocks on hopes of further growth in the u.s. economy as fed policymakers decided to keep their key rates at near zero for a considerable time. now, tokyo investors are following the rally from wall street. at the open, the key index rose more than 300 points. it is holding on to those gains. now trading higher by 1.74% at 17,508. investors are buying stocks across the board. they're relieved to see the ruble is somewhat stabilizing. the dollar's moving in a tight range this morning and that's after yesterday's strong gains following the fed's decision.

now in the upper 118 yen levels. analysts say traders are waiting for the outcome of the bank of japan's policy meeting. they want to hear what the governor will say about the effects of the recent plunge of crude oil prices. we are seeing a stock market rally in this part of the world. south korea's kospi trading higher by 1.2%. australia up by 1.5%. the people who run japan's top business lobby have a message for executives aross the country. they want them to raise wages next spring to keep driving the cycle of economic growth and they say the executives should consider increasing base pay as one option. officials are writing guidelines for employers to use in upcoming wage negotiations. they have composed a draft that says the slump in con sums has dragged on longer than expected and the economy is at risk of

sliding backwards into deflation. they say in their draft, the government and private sector need to do everything possible to stop that from happening. they say businesses will do their best to boost pay as agreed by government, labor and business leaders this week and they urge exporters and other firms benefitting from the weaker yen to share their bigger profits with workers. they say these companies should consider increasing base pay. the largest plans to ask for 2% or more. labor management negotiations are to kick off late january. many people in japan have been promoetding a shift to green energy since the nuclear accident three and a half years ago. but they say one has caused more problems than one anticipated. they say a law forcing ewe fillties to buy from renewable

sources has caused an energy glut. they say they'll overhaul a subsidies scheme. they say the changes will make it easier to bayou tiuy utiliti more stable way. but they say there's been too much coming in and they're worried it will strain their power grids. in september, executives suspended purchases of solar power. people at other utilities followed suit. government officials say their reforms acknowledge that solar and wind power are unpredictable. so, you tillties will be allowed to stop all purchases of electricity from these sources if there's a risk of oversupply. they say the rule will only apply to new contracts. utilities will still have to y buy electricity from geothermal

and small scale hydraulic. they plan to implement is changes mid january. fisheries officials say they'll work with their counterparts to stamp out a growing problem. they'll set up a communications system to address coral poaching. officials struck the deal at a meeting in the chinese city of dalian. they say the chinese city will allow them to bypass unusual protocalls so they can exchange messages more quickly. chinese officials have pledged to tighten regulations against those who break the rules and vow to crack down on the market for poached coral. in november, they observed 200 ships far south of tokyo. they say many have left the area, but earlier this month,

they spotted more ships south of okinawa's main island. myanmar's government officials are on the way to opening up their first stock exchange as early as next autumn. they approved a company to operate the exchange. the new corporation will have japanese investment. officials agreed in 2012 to work together to create the bors. the state-run bank will hold a majority stake. the institute of research will develop the system and the japan exchange group which runs the tokyo stock exchange will provide no how to operate the bors. the new company may be set up from next month. trading is planned to start next autumn under the name yangon stock exchange. more next hour in business. here's a check on markets.

the tokyo market leads the way and markets around the world follow. >> from the decisions that should change the course of the economy. >> up to the minute market reports. and analysis by specialists from around the world. >> get all the latest business news in insight every day here on "newsline."

the ceo of tak arata has stepped up his response to a safety crisis. he has taken up newspaper ads to recall his corporation and recalling defective air bags. takata published a full page letter in seven u.s. and german newspapers and apologized for accidental deaths due to the company's faulty air bags. the devices have ruptured in several accidents and sprayed shrapnel. they say they will work with u.s. traffic safety authorities and automakers to expand the recall and says they will inl crease production of air bags. there are also investigations underway in the u.s. and japan. more and more japanese are

looking to make a switch to renewable energy. they lost their enthusiasm for the nuclear industry after the fukushima daiichi accident in 2011. residents of one town are tapping a source of power beneath their feet. nhk explains. >> reporter: handmade wooden dolls are a feature of the town. and hot springs surrounded by majestic nature. this was once a popular tourist destination, drawing 300,000 visitors a year. many inns were forced to shut down after the 2011 earthquake and fukushima nuclear disaster, about 70 kilometers away. this man is a former president of the tourist association. since the shock of the disaster, he's been trying to find ways to revitalize his town. the town has agreed to his idea to use the hot springs to build

a geothermal power plant. construction is under way where the hot spring wells are located on the mountain. when the plant is completed next july, energy from the steam and hot water will power the turbines for energy, enough for about 500 homes. the goal is to supply all of the town's electricity needs locally with renewable energy and

advertise as an eco friendly spa town. next march, a local hydroelectric power plant will also start up. >> translator: i could see that there was no future if all we did was go back to the way things were before the disaster. if the town can attract tourists and rebuild by promoting renewable energy we still have a chance here. >> reporter: and this isn't the only innovation in the town. the outside temperature is really cold at 5 celsius. but inside this greenhouse, it's much more comfortable. the space is being heated by surplus hot water. hot water from the geothermal plant will run through the pipe surrounding the greenhouse. the town is also growing the west african plant known as the miracle fruit. it altars your perception, making sour foods like lemon taste sweet. >> translator: it will be great if we can create a new specialty product to add to our town's

attraction. >> reporter: the fukushima nuclear accident still casts its shadow on the town. the people now have some hope. >> translator: all these efforts could boost our local economy while also bringing in tourists. >> reporter: the project is drawing attention from across the country. this month, a group is visiting from a hot springs in iwate prefecture. they were hearing concerns that it might change the quality and temperature of the hot springs. kato talked about how they got people's support. >> translator: last year's heavy rains devastated our town. we're trying to find a way to rebuild. i want to take back what i've learned here and try to build a consensus.

>> reporter: japanese government officials are ultimately aiming to build more large-scale geothermal plants. in the meantime, they will have to rely on the success of smaller plants like the one here. nhk world, fukushima. the japan football associate president says the head coach of the national team will take the helm of the squad next month. spanish prosecutors filed a complaint in court for allegedly fixing a match in 2011. he was then the manager of a team in spain's top league. the association held its first executive committee meeting on thursday after news of the case

became public. the president apologized for causing people concern. >> translator: at this point, we think that mr. aguirre should coach at the asian cup. we will try to make our players and supporters understand our decision. >> officials say they are exploring every option in case the court accepts the complaint and launches a full investigation. they interviewed aguirre again on thursday. he reportedly denied any wrongdoing. time for a check of the weather. people in many parts of japan have dealt with a severe winter storm. robert speta has the update and more.

>> we've been seeing a lot of heavy snowfall and there are some gusty winds. you could still see winds around 100 kilometers per how, plus more snowfall, but it is tapering off. we are still seeing the impacts here. take a look at these storm totals with this system back from tuesday into thursday and soon on 102 centimeters has come down. actually, 105 here and back towards western portions of honchu. now, remember, this did not fall on green grass out here. much of this fell on top of more snow, so the snow depth in some areas, nearly double and soon on 216 centimeters of snow now on the ground. let's go to some video we have coming out of out of this area. this resulted in a landslide here on friday morning. it caught about 200 people on a highway. this is a resort area, a small

town. it is known for its -- and snowfall. a lot of ski resorts in this area of japan, but you get too much snow in a short period of time, it causes problems. this total here is five times over the average what you typically see for this time of year, so you can make the argument yes, this is normal, but this is much more than what you normally see. now, as far as -- what we typically see is the heaviest snowfall take place. we often ask that question, why so much snow here. one is the mountains. the winds split and merge back together on the lee side of the mountains, so you get this big stream of moisture that goes across the entire sea of japan here and it hits these mountains and squeezes the moisture like a sponge. friday, conditions will be improving by the afternoon. high pressure is going to move in over japan.

down towards the south, we've still got gusty winds. moving as far south as hong kong, but another storm system is forming here, that's going to work its way towards the east. we're expecting widespread awful across jap here on saturda tokyo, look at that. a high of 12. stilrain in the forecast. sapporo, it's going warm up. rainfall, move back the snow by sunday. another sea effect snow event will work its way in once the low pushes off towards the east. over towards europe now, i want to talk about this storm which is still bringing gusty winds across the british isles to the scandanavian peninsula. reported winds around 80 kilometers, as well as heavy rain coming with this. areas could be damaging. we have seize warnings in place from scotland into the

netherlands across northern germany, also, a threat of tornados, believe it or not. a few of them could become quite strong. towards the south, we've seen several waterspouts into parts of greece. a high of 15, some sunny skies here. on your friday. here's your extented outlook.

that's all for now on "newsline." thank you for joining us on nhk world.

china's economy is slowing. leaders in beijing say get useded to it. back in the driver's seat. and cross border shoppers. we show you why budget carriers are so excited. hello. you're watching "asia biz forecast." i'm yuko fukushima. we're covering a lot of grounds today, but we start with the big picture. the global economy. it's a subject that has got a lot of people worried. falling oil prices, turmoil and grief and stalling growth rate are keeping