glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, december 24th. i'm craft yin kobayashi in to o tokyo. the ceo of sony pictures will let movie goeers see one of the most talked-about films in theaters. the company will now release the interview on december 25th. the interview is a comedy about the fictional assassination of north korean leader kim jong-un. they canceled the original release following a cyber attack allegedly carried out by north korea. michael linten said the company is trying to secure more platforms and more theaters. he said he wants the film to reach the largest possible

audience. he stressed sony pictures has not given in to intimidation and they're proud to make the movie available to the public and have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech. president barack obama has welcomed sony's decision. a u.s. expert says one of north korea's main connections to the outside world is struggling to stay online. he says the country's internet service is still intermittent. and he said it's likely due to an external cyber attack. american media outlets reported an internet blackout occurred on monday. and some embassy officials in pyongyang said on tuesday their connections were still unstable. cybersecurity expert doug medori told nhk that north korea went completely offline for 9 1/2 hours. links were restored briefly, but were then disrupted again. he says he found traces that showed north korean authorities struggled to restore internet connections.

and he says some indications show the hacker group anonymous, or other organizations could have carried out the cyber attack. >> what i can observe would be consistent with some kind of denial service attack with the north koreans. that type of attack on the spectrum of sophistication is very low. >> a u.s. state department spokesperson said they're unaware of what's causing north korea's internet troubles. >> ask the north koreans if their internet wasn't working. i can't speculate on why that was, if it waste. i can't confirm the reports that it actually wasn't. >> president obama said last week he's considering putting north korea back on a list of states that sponsor terrorism. following the hack on sony pictures. the hacking attack against sony pictures is raising concerns at the ited nations. >> the united nations and the whole international community should work very closely to

prevent this kind of senseless cyber attack. >> ban ki-moon did not refer especially to north korea. u.s. ambassador samantha power was more critical. >> the attackers threatened employees, actors, movie theaters and even people who dared to go to the theater. >> power said they were denying freedom of expression to their own people. kim song did not comment. cyber attacks are also worrying leaders in south korea. president park said they brought up defenses at nuclear plants. she mentioned the attack against sony pictures. >> translator: cyberspace is being called the world's latest battleground. it has become a new stage of terrorism. this latest incident reminds us

of the seriousness of cyber terrorism. we must be fully prepared. >> south korean authorities are already tackling cyber terrorism. they're investigating online linx of documents from the state-run nuclear plant operator. they suspect someone hacked into computer systems. the lead documents include drawings of cooling devices and valves. government officials say the leaks will not impact the security of nuclear facilities. still, they're taking no chances. workers at four plants conducted cyber defense drills earlier this month. australian prime minister tony abbott has warned of another terror attack. his comments come after last week's deadly cafe siege in sydney that left three people, including the hostage taker, dead. he cited a conversation intercepted by security officials. >> the briefing from the security agencies today

indicated that there has been a heightened level of terrorist chatter in the aftermath of the martin place siege. >> abbott told reporters on tuesday the terror level remains high. >> we don't know when and how an attack might come. but we do know that there are people with the intent and the capability to carry out further attacks. >> he also pledged to bolster security in busy areas during the christmas holidays. separate memorial services were held on tuesday for the two victims of the cafe siege in the city's central business district. investors trading at the new york stock exchange have something to cheer about. yuko, a festive mood over there at the stock market. what's going on? >> cheerful moods are spilling into the stock markets. you can see massive buy orders

in new york on tuesday. and the dow jones industrial average closed above 18,000 for the first time ever. many data including the revised gdp said it was because of the strength of the u.s. economy. up 3.6%. u.s. share prices have gone up nearly three times since march 2009. that's when index had plunged to 6,547. analysts say investors are convinced that the u.s. economy is growing steadily with the revised gdp. the july-september period grew by an annualized 5%. the strongest growth in 11 years. the rally on wall street and the strong gdp figures are also fueling a positive mood here in tokyo. the nikkei index was higher by more than 200 points, and it is still up by 1.2%. investors are buying stocks almost across the board.

especially major exporter shares due to a weaker yen, and talking about the currencies, traders are buying the dollar against the major currency. the euro is falling after the great parliament failed to elect the country's new president. the currency hit a 28-month low against the dollar. turning to other markets in the asia-pacific region, the kospi is up .2%. australia's index there, also slightly up .10%, trading at 5,386 at the moment. to other business headlines this hour. government officials are selling shares in the huge government owned holding company and its two financial units. the government passed laws to privatize in 2005.

but democratic party officials froze the process after they came to power. sources say japan post holdings, japan post bank and insurance will launch their offerings on the tokyo stock exchange as early as next autumn. the exact timing will depend on market conditions. the group will try to sell more than half the shares in the banking and insurance arms. japan post hopes the privatization will give units a greater degree of freedom. the companies currently need government approval to launch new financial products. but after the ipos, they will only have to notify authorities. diners around the world are developing an appetite for japanese beef. they hit a record high. officials of japan's agriculture ministry said the exports for january to october came to nearly $52 million. that's up 43% from the same period last year.

mad cow disease caused european officials to ban imports from japan, but they reopened their markets this year. the livestock industry are trying to create a boom in their beef called wagyu. they established a promotional group this month. agricultural confidence has launched in the european union with headquarters in london. agriculture ministry officials aim to increase annual beef exports to about $210 million by the year 2020. that's four times higher than this year's number. that's all for now in business. i'll leave you with the latest market figures.

british based human rights activists said u.s.-led air strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in syria. they say most of them are islamic state militants or linked to al qaeda. officials with the syrian observatory for human rights say at least 1,171 people have died. they say the bombings have also killed at least 52 civilians, including eight children. islamic state militants purportedly killed fighters in northern syria. analysts say the group's morale seems to be weakening, but they say the air strikes that started in september are only having a limited effect, because the militants are hiding among civilians.

the greek parliament has failed to elect the country's new president in a second vote, fueling concern about political turmoil. prime minister antonio hopes parliament will back his choice of former european commissioner stemos. he failed to obtain enough votes in the first round last week. the second of three attempts took place on tuesday. demos received 268 votes falling short of the 200 required for his election. demos will need 180 votes in the third, and final round scheduled for next monday. if he fails to be elected for a third time, the greek parliament will be dissolved early next year. >> translator: i am hopeful that in the third round we will avoid a national danger, a national adventure. >> translator: neither parliament nor the people will give a blank check to samaras,

so he can continue with bailouts and implement austerity measures. >> analysts say if an election is held, the main opposition radical left coalition is likely to make major gains. this could derail negotiations with the european union over financial assistance for greece. spanish authorities have indicted a member of their country's royal family. they've ordered the elder sister of the king to stand trial for corruption. princess christina stands accused of tax evasion, so does her husband, and 15 others. authorities believe they funneled public money from a nonprofit organization into their own company. the princess says she's innocent. other members of the royal family say they respect the independence of the courts. spaniards are enduring government-imposed austerity measures. some are losing faith in their institutions. able lists say allegations of

royal corruption could damage the credibility of the monarchy. some jap dmeez fishermen and environmentalists are counting the cost of poaching in a unesco world national heritage sites. there are reports for more than two months about suspected chinese boats sailing near the ogasara islands and tearing coral from the seabed. they say those vessels may have done serious damage. >> it's one of the largest islands in the chain. local fishermen retrieved many nets. left by chinese poachers gathering coral. >> translator: this is new. >> locals say they do not use nets where this one was found. they believe this is part of a net that was abandoned when the chinese fled.

>> translator: you can't detach the hook from the net and you can't retrieve the net because it catches on something. >> reporter: our camera crew shot this footage of people aboard a large chinese boat casting many nets to poach coral under cover of darkness. this underwater image was shot by one of nhk's robotic cameras. nets thought to have been left by chinese are strewn on the ocean floor. their weight has crushed some marine life. small fish approach the abandoned nets, get tangled in them, and die. other fish gather to eat trapped fish. then they get caught and die. this vicious cycle is called ghost fishing. the latest japanese study

estimates that losses due to ghost fishing account for 10% of the total catch around the globe. >> translator: a net like this doesn't break down in the ocean. so the problem might persist for a very long time. >> reporter: for the last two months, garbage has been washing up on the north shore of the island. it's thought to be chinese. much waste displays recent manufacturing dates, indicating it has been recently thrown away. this man works for an npo that cleans the shore of this national world heritage site. they agree the garbage was probably thrown from chinese fishing boats.

>> translator: each boat has more than ten crew members. 200 boats would hold 2,000 people, the same as the island's population. if the excrement and other waste were thrown into the ocean, it would create a tremendous amount of pollution. so our efforts would have been in vain. >> reporter: for two months chinese fishing boats damaged not only the coral, but also ruined local efforts to protect this world natural heritage site. rescue dogs are often seen in disaster areas searching for missing people. but in recent years they've been contributing in other fields. nhk world's reporter has more. >> reporter: amy is a rescue dog. she has a keen sense of smell to help rescue people in disaster areas.

in 2011, after the great east japan earthquake, ami took part in the rescue operations. over a period of four days she discovered two bodies. recently, dogs like ami are starting to show their value in other areas. not just disaster zones. in july, a person disappeared. he was suffering from dementia. the police mobilized a team of 40 to search for him. but they still hadn't found him as darkness fell. >> translator: he told us he was going out to his fields. but he was nowhere to be seen. >> reporter: so the police contacted ami's trainer, and they started looking the next

morning. it took ami just ten minutes to trace him. he was in a thicket near some tangerine orchards. >> translator: the weeds were as high as a person. even standing up he wouldn't have been visible. >> reporter: the man's wife was keen to show ami her appreciation. >> translator: you're a wonderful dog. thank you. >> reporter: how was ami able to find the missing man so easily? generally, police dogs focus on a smell and follow the scent of the person's footsteps. the smell can disappear over time or if there is rain, and police dogs can no longer pick up the scent. but rescue dogs don't focus on

one person's smell. they pick up scents drifting in the air to locate people who might be buried in the wreckage, or lost in a thicket. that's why ami just searched over a broader area. >> translator: she's a rescue dog, so she was able to find the man. >> reporter: rescue dogs are frequently being used to search for missing people, especially those with dementia. this is a facility that trains rescue dogs. there are 65 registered rescue dogs, making it the largest group of its kind in japan. ami and other rescue dogs have traced more than elderly people with dementia who went missing.

>> translator: we have to change the notion that rescue dogs are only for disaster-hit areas. unfortunately, there will be more and more cases of people with dementia going missing. we will do everything possible to train good rescue dogs that are prepared to take part in searches of that kind. >> reporter: up to now, rescue dogs are used in disaster zones, now their value is being recognized in other areas. nhk world, orita. it's time for a check of the weather. people on the big island of hawaii are seeing snow, and authorities have put a blizzard warning in place. mai shoji joins us with the latest. >> it may sound uncommon that it's more christmas-y in the big

island of hawaii, rather than new york. we're not just talking some snow flurries, but we do see a blizzard warning in place in the high peaks of the island here. as you can see, flash flood watches in place. this is due to the tail end of the cold front heading toward the pacific northwest. and that's what is sweeping across the islands as we speak. the clash of the two air masses are creating wet weather, which is not so uncommon for the wettest month of the year. and snow in the higher elevations, not so unusual as well. but 30 centimeters of snowfall combined with the gusty conditions, that's quite a rare site. it could be life-threatening for the hikers who are going to try to be going up to the summit. and also the hazardous conditions for the drivers as well. and you are going to be seeing more snowfall on your christmas eve, and also in honolulu, a little bit of that rainfall. it will be tapering off for your christmas day, though.

and looking quite favorable, too. this is the pineapple express that we always have been talking about through this time of the year. it is flowing all that moisture and the atmospheric river to the pacific northwest. that's why it's creating that coastal flooding rainfall as well as widespread snowfall across the cascades, the sierras and northern rockies. we may see about 40 centimeters of snowfall in the higher elevations here. and down towards the four corners, covering much of the area creating as much as 60 centimeters into friday. we already have a lot of that snowfall across the western great lakes region, and that's pulling into the east, and the potential of the low pressure system will then create severe weather across the east. it's already looking very messy with the traveling across the deep south. and we actually have at least four fatalities due to the tornado touchdowns in mississippi. in and around chicago, people are already seeing travel disturbances across the airports here. and people actually are weighing

their packs here because the delay is up to a couple of hours already. children are already getting really tired of it. chicago 3 degrees, snow in the forecast. low visibility, and hence that's creating that travel disturbance. here across europe, this is self-explanatory. very messy up in the north. we have some snowfall. and the two air masses combined are creating very gusty conditions around germany. up to about 100 kilometer per hour is possible. in the south looking fine, rome at 18 degrees, and athens at 19. let me finish off with the eastern continental nation where we have the high pressure system dominant on our christmas eve. we're likely to see the low pressure in lower japan to create very much a white christmas. apparently we haven't really seen a snowfall in tokyo. but the pacific side still

remains very dry. and there's no chance of snowfall today. so we are not going to be seeing -- we actually haven't seen snowfall for 50 years in tokyo. on your wednesday, this is your outlook. now i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

as the year 2014 draws to a close, people around japan are

taking part in seasonal events. about 500 children gathered in a town in oyta. they watched as santa claus dropped out of the sky. about ten self-defense force personnel and amateur paragliders handed out presents. at the main train station in osaka, 1,200 people wore santa claus outfits. they wrote down their wishes for the coming year on pieces of paper. they turned their papers around to make a giant christmas tree. ♪

beethoven's ninth symphony is played in japan this time of the year. the city was hit by some members lost their families, and are still living in temporary housing. >> translator: i'm happy to show that we, the survivors, can give such a performance. >> translator: we could do this because we work together. we can turn this unity into energy. [ applause ] that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. xxxx

>> hello and welcome to global 3000, your weekly check on the global issues that matter wherever you live. the discrimination of women is still one of them. a uganda manager called for a famous singer to be locked up after her former boyfriend posted nude images of her online. more on this in a moment. here is what is coming up. fiji needs financial support to avoid exploiting its forests. the new law in uganda that puts women on the defensive. and the reasons argentinian farmers are switching from steak