hello and welcome to nhk "newsline". i'm ross mihara in tokyo. french security forces stormed two hostage sites. the two suspects in the charlie hebdo attack were holed up in a building with someone they took prisoner. another gunman was holding several people in a kosher supermarket. all three suspects were killed. nhk reporters say they heard gunfire and explosions near the town about 40 kilometers northeast of paris. [ gunshots ] two men broke into a building and took one person hostage. police surrounded the site, then stormed in.

interior minister confirmed the hostage takers were the suspects in the attack on the satirical weekly charlie hebdo. french media quote police as saying both came oust building and fired at officers and got killed. they say the hostage was released safely. the suspects were brothers, said kouachi was 34 years old and cherif was 32. ten minutes later in the other standoff, police in paris stormed into a kosher supermarket where a gunman was holed up with several hostages. french media say he was holding at least five people. the hostage-taker was thought to have killed a policewoman in paris on thursday. police named him as amedi coulibaly. they're also looking for the woman named hayat boumeddiene. french president the hollande said four people died at the supermarket. he called for national

solidarity. >> translator: unity is our best weapon. we have an obligation to stand up against terrorism. >> hollande said the french should remain implacable in the face of racism and anti-semitism. he said the attacks and their perpetrators have nothing to do with islam as a religion. employers in the united states have created more jobs than expected. the latest numbers show the u.s. economy is on a solid recovery path. officials at the department of labor say that the payrolls increased by 252,000 from november, that's higher than a market forecasts of about 240,000. the unemployment rate was 5.6% last month, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. this is the lowest level since june of 2008. economists are studying the jobs data and trying to work out when the federal reserve will raise

interest rates. most expect that announcement around the middle of this year. some think it will come a little later. here's the view from ethan harris at bank of america/merrill lynch global research. >> this was another very strong jobs report, a little bit more than 250,000 jobs gained and another drop in the unemployment rate. this continues a solid trend we've had since the beginning of 2014. payrolls have kind of moved into higher gear in the united states. we think this stronger momentum is sustainable. we think that two things have happened in the u.s. economy to give us better job growth. broken sectors of the economy from the 2008-2009 crisis have healed now. so, we have a healthy banking industry and healthy housing market. that means stronger growth going forward. the other good news is that washington is no longer a source of shocks to the economy. we no longer have fiscal

austerity with tax increases and spending cuts. we no longer have the dramatic battles in washington that we've had in recent years. so that better backdrop for washington is good for confidence. that's good for the economy and good for job growth. so, we think jobs can continue to grow at above 200,000 pace through 2015. so, the fed, we think, will probably wait until late in the year to hike interest rates. they've got a very tough challenge ahead because while the job market is improving, inflation remains very low, including weak wage growth as we just saw in the employment report. that's going to slow the fed down. but we do think that by the end of the year, they'll be ready to hike interest rates. we think even with low inflation they'll start to anticipate that the better economy will eventually create the kind of inflation they want to see. so, yes, we do think the fed will wait a bit longer than many

in the marketplace think, but we do think before year end we will see the beginning of the fed rate cycle. >> here are the latest market figures -- japan's government has endorsed an extra budget that contains money for stimulus. the cabinet of abe wants to give a boost to consumption and revitalize local economies. they have green lighted a bill for the 2014 supplementary budget.

the measure is worth 3.1 trillion yen. or about $26 billion. it provides funding for the stimulus package worth $30 billion. government officials plan to allocate nearly $10 billion to shore up spending by households and small and medium sized enterprises. that's to soften the blow of a consumption tax hike and a weaker yen. regional economies will get more than $4.8 billion. about $14.6 billion is allocated for post-disaster reconstruction efforts. the finance minister says the allocations are appropriate. >> translator: we compiled the extra budget, focusing on weak sectors in japan's economy. we also believe the budget will facilitate the speedy implementation of projects. >> officials plan to finance the extra budget without issuing new bonds. it will tap unspent money from fiscal 2013 and tax revenues from fiscal 2014.

the government plans to present the budget bill to a diet session later this month. japanese government officials have released data that suggests a weak recovery. a key economic indicator fell in november for the first time in three months. officials at the cabinet office say the coincident index came in at 108.9. that was down one point from the previous month. they calculate the index by looking at a range of data such as factory output, employment and personal spending. the officials blame sluggish shipments of cars and other products following a hike in the consumption tax last april. lower crude oil prices also pushed down gasoline sales in value terms. the officials left their assessment of the index unchanged from the previous month. they describe it as a possible turning point toward a downturn. the leading index which predicts

the economy a few months ahead also fell. it was off 0.7 of a point, the second monthly fall in a row. china's inflation rate last year fell far short of the government target. the consumer price index released by the national bureau of statistics rose 1.5% in december from a year earlier. higher labor costs pushed prices up in some industries, although falling crude oil prices have slowed the gains. what this means is china's cpi rose 2% for 2014 as a whole down 0.6 points from 2013. the figure was far below the government's target of around 3.5%. the producer price index for 2014 also fell 1.9% from the previous year. the index has now fallen for the third straight year. the figure measures the average change in prices of goods and services sold by manufacturers. bureau officials say real estate investment continues, although sluggishly.

and prices have collapsed for construction materials. chinese economists say there is strong downward pressure on prices, which suggests continued weak demand. the result could not have been predicted a few months ago. here's more. inchts opposition parties accused rajapaksa of corruption. the former health minister won 53% of the vote while rajapaksa garnered 47%. sirisena drew support after

accusing him of autocratic rule. >> translator: i canask you to take this forward with love. he left after conceding defeat. sri lanka was plagued by a civil war that continued over 25 years. the conflict between tamil insurgents and government troops ended in 2009. 100,000 people are said to have died. the campaign stressed his achievement of ending the civil war. he had sought an unprecedented third term. the constitution banned a third term for presidents until it was revised. but many were critical of rajapaksa and accused of nep

otism. he worked to improve the economy after the war while strengthen strengthening ties with china. the government was at odds with united nations and western countries and want him to account for mass killings in the stages of the civil war. china is helping to construct seaports in sri lanka and other nations near india. this strategy of encircling india is sometimes referred to as a string of pearls. sirisena expressed willingness to ensure balanced diplomacy by placing emphasis on ties with the u.s., europe, and japan. thailand's interim national legislative assembly has begun an impeachment hearing against former prime minister yingluck. the national anti-corruption commission accuses yingluck of dereliction of duty saying the rice production program incurred massive losses and says she overlooked corruption.

yingluck denied all charges at friday's hearing. >> translator: i instructed officials to never overlook wrongdoing and to take proper measures. the scheme was effective in bringing farmers out of poverty. >> under the scheme, the thai government purchased rice from farmers at prices above the market value. the program was one of yingluck's key policies that helped to gain votes, especially in the populous northeast. the scheme triggered widespread criticism and anti-government protests. many opposition supporters demonstrated against the huge losses. yingluck was removed from office for abusive of power in may. days later, her government was ousted in a military coup. the assembly says a decision could be made by the end of the month. a guilty verdict would ban yingluck from politics for five years. some fear impeaching the former

prime minister could break the fragile calm under military rule and reignite political conflict. zblt 2004 indian ocean tsunami left more than 8,000 dead or missing in thailand. ten years on, a woman and a girl who both lost their families have started new lives with help from each other. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the providence in thailand was hit hard by the massive tsunami a decade ago. an orphanage of built in the area after the disaster. it was once them to about 70 people, mostly children orphaned by the tsunami. this girl lived there for a short time and then later became part of the staff. she lost her husband and her two

children, age the 2 and 10, to the disaster. the waves struck her home during the short period of time when her children were looking after the house. >> translator: i should have never left my children that day. i'm the only one to blame even if i were with them. i wouldn't have been able to save them. if i could only turn back the clock. i want them to return. >> reporter: today she has a new family. seven years after the tsunami, she remarried. her second husband also lost his family. both were filled with sorrow but decided to start a new phase of their lives together. she's also gained another companion. this girl was 3 when she lost her mother to the tsunami. her father survived but didn't have the means to raise the girl on his own.

they met at the orphanage. >> translator: i love her like my mother. >> reporter: she's 14 now and staying with her father and her older sister's family. she said she was too young to remember the tsunami clearly. >> translator: the only thing i remember about it is that my older sister took me to safety, and i miss my mom when mother's day comes around. >> reporter: as she's grown older, she has entered her sensitive teens. she's worried about the girl's future. >> translator: i'm grateful to

her and all the people who helped me, and i'm not sad anymore because i have so many people who love me. >> translator: i'm glad to know she's studying hard and living her life. i hope to go on helping her in the future. >> reporter: ten years after the devastating tsunami, two women in thailand are healing the deep scars in their hearts with each other's help. nhk world, thailand. >> reporter: that wraps up our bulletin from bangkok. the number of cyber-attacks in japan is surging. now the government is taking steps it hopes will stamp out hacking both from within the

country and from overseas. nhk world looks at what the group hopes to achieve and possible concerns. >> reporter: japanese leaders have launched a new body to tackle threats to cybersecurity. >> translator: i want you to make every effort to safeguard the lives, property, and well-being of people in japan by strengthening cybersecurity. >> reporter: the new body will look at ways to strengthen security and gathering information about suspected cyber-attacks. that includes staying on top of the latest anti-hacking software to ensure the country's servers remain safe. it seems no one is safe from cyber-attacks anymore. in fiscal 2013 alone, more than five million cases were reported in japan. that's nearly a five-fold increase from a year earlier. the problem of hacking is an

international issue. at the end of 2014, a movie about the fictional plot to kill the north korean leader led to a cyberattack on sony pictures. the u.s. government accused north korea of involvement. the leaders in pyongyang denied it. the incident developed into a diplomatic dispute. washington eventually slapped more sanctions on the north. an expert on cyber-space says it's reasonable that the japanese government has decided to act now. >> it's true that the cyberattack to japan is increasing, and japan is vulnerable for that kind of attacks. and these days, software controls many instruments including automobiles. so actually now the threat is not only in cyber-world, now threat is in physical world.

>> reporter: he says taking countermeasures against counterattacks must not infringe on people's privacy. >> it's true that we are facing a cyber-war. but the agencies can sometimes lead to invading privacies or controlling people. i'm concerned with overgrowth of the agencies. we really should keep -- keep check on existing moves by government. >> reporter: he says people cannot just let the government handle the problem by itself. he says says every individual must educate themselves about the issue and remain alert. nhk world. fukushima prefecture wants

to make renewable energy a pillar of its reconstruction following the 2011 disaster and nuclear accident. now tokyo electric power company says it will do what it can to help. the heads of tepco power company met with the minister to work out details. tepco's president says the company will buy electricity from renewable sources in the prefecture. it will renovate a seldom used transformer substation near the damaged fukushima-daiichi nuclear plant to make that possible. the head of tohoku electric power agreed to give priority to buying electricity generated in former evacuation zones. the central government is set to /* to implement a plan that will allow utilities to stop buying solar and wind-generated power when there is a rick of oversupply. currently utilities are obliged

to get all offers of electricity from renewable sources. the chinese government is facing a program that's partly the making of its one-child policy. a lack of children to look after elderly parents. and the country is certainly aging. some 130 million people or 10% of the population is aged over 65. government agencies are responding to the challenges of a rapidly graying society. nhk world reports. >> reporter: this facility in dalian began as a retirement home for laborers. ten years ago, the city changed the rules. ordinary citizens can now live here, too.

can t costs about $200 a month. that's within the average worker's pension. the residents number around 300. >> good meals, good beds, and good chats. i'm 90, but i can still play mah jongg. >> reporter: nurses can also provide medical treatment. many people living here can't move by themselves, so they need to be taken care of. caregivers are on site 24 hours a day. so there are no worries if a resident suddenly becomes sick. this 93-year-old man moved in last year. his daughter could no longer care for him when he became unable to walk. >> translator: it's hard work to take care of him because he's very old now. i'm relieved they look after him. he likes it, too.

>> reporter: but the home's resources are stretched. there are only 40 caregivers, and each of them must look after six residents. the homeless managers say it's difficult to find skilled workers. the managers plan to build another home this year to accommodate a further 150 residents. but even this won't cover an ever-rising demand. >> translator: our strong points are our high level of medical care and staff and long experience. we can meet the needs of our residents. we have a limited number of beds. we can't accept everyone. >> reporter: against a national shortage of care facilities, government bodies are studying the needs of the elderly. researchers from the national academy of social sciences regularly call on senior

citizens in beijing. this woman takes care of her husband who has dementia. her sons live far away and cannot live with their parents. the researchers are studying changes to the couple's condition. as her husband's dementia worsens, it will become impossible to care for him by herself. they constantly worry about finding a nursing home for both of them. the number of government-run homes is limited, and private facilities are either too expensive or do not provide the right care. >> translator: i'm anxious about continuing to live as we do now. my husband always needs me. i must always be by his side. >> reporter: the researchers will compile a report on beijing's elderly and make

recommendations to the government. >> translator: i hope our study activity will alleviate the problem with china's aging population and contribute to building a society in which the elderly can live at ease. >> reporter: as birth rates among young people decline, the elderly population continues to rise. the government will continue to support china through this major change. nhk world. soccer teams from countries across asia have kicked off a tournament to find out who's the best. 16 countries are vying to win the asian cup. and host australians got off to a strong start by hammering kuwait in the opening match. the kuwaitis got the first goal in. veteran tim cahill scored in 33rd minute. the midfielder gave the australians another goal in the 44th minute.

the aussies scored twice more in the second half beating the kuwaitis 4-1. the 16 teams are divided into four groups. the top two in each group will go through to the finals. the japanese are hoping to defend the title they won four years ago. the final is scheduled for the last day of this month. here's the weather forecast for the weekend --

that's all we have this hour on "newsline." thank you for watching. have a good day.

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