hello there. welcome to "newsline." it is friday, february 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. delegates from more than 60 countries as well as representatives from the united nations and european union have attended an anti-extremism summit in washington. u.s. president barack obama has called on the world to unite in the fight against terrorism. >> we must remain unwavering in our fight against terrorist organizations. >> obama delivered the remarks at a ministerial level meeting on thursday. they also stressed that the international community should

try to enlighten people as well as counter poverty and support education. the president says this would keep youth from being attracted to radicalism. japan's state minister for foreign affairs condemned the recent killings of two japanese hostages by islamic state militants. >> translator: we strongly condemn these despicable acts of violence. japan will behave responsibly as a member of the international community in the fight against terrorism. >> he reiterated japan's plan to offer $15.5 million to fight terrorists in middle eastern and african countries. jordan's foreign minister nasser jude said they're fighting a war against extremist organizations and their ideals.

he added that anybody who justifies such extremism is an enemy of the international committee. he said it is important to resolve issue of unemployment and poverty because extremists recruit young people suffering from these conditions. islamic state militants are intensifying their activities in eastern and northern libya. we interviewed a man living in the northern city of sirte who described the situation in his area. nhk spoke with a 36-year-old resident on thursday. he said many of the islamic state fighters are from tunisia and egypt as well as other nations. >> the man said the militants are asserting their power by setting up checkpoints in the city and staging a major military parade involving more than 60 vehicles. >> the man said libyans are angry. he welcomed this week's air

strike by the egyptian military. the man appealed for the international community to supply arms to libyan troops. many of japan's corporate heavyweights are reporting healthy profits now that workers want their share. ai uchida joins us from the business desk. what can you tell us? >> business here in japan starts in april, so every year around this time there are wage negotiations taking place. well, union leaders often represent the workers, and officials representing japan's electronics giants have handed their demands to management.

the union at hitachi is demanding workers get a base pay hike of about $50 a month. that's three times higher than the raise they got a year ago. but management officials appear reluctant. one said a base pay raise is a possibility. the official adds they will take a comprehensive approach that could include bonuses. not all workers in the electronics business can expect hefty raises this year. sharp's union will likely pull out from the industry-wide wage negotiations as the company is expected to book a net loss this business year. fewer new condominiums were put on sale last year across japan. the number fell for the first time in five years. that was partly due to lower demand following a surge before the consumption tax hike last april. analysts at real estate economic institute say that 83,205 units were put on the market last year. that's down 21% from 2013. declines were seen in most areas of the country.

a decline of just over 20% was seen in the greater tokyo area. in that sense, i'd like to make it clear that we had no problem in our crisis management. >> abe has made a fresh vow to prevent acts of terrorism leading up to the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics. one of the most crucial points in the new security legislation is how the sdf should provide logistics support to foreign troops. nhk has obtained a draft of the proposal. it suggests sdf personnel would be allowed to provide the support to foreign troops trying

to eliminate terrorist threats or restore regional security. they would be able to do that without a u.n. security council resolution. and a law would be permanent. until now government leaders have sought a special law each time sdf units were sent abroad. such a law was used more than a decade ago when japanese personnel were sent to help reconstruct iraq. under the draft legislation, sdf members would be allowed to provide transportation and medical support. they could take part in search and rescue operations, and they would be able to gather information using aircraft and vessels. the draft will be presented friday at a meeting of lawmakers discussing the legislation. now, the japanese government is trying to widen its spheres of influence. it will hold the tokyo international conference on african development in kenya next year. the government is trying to strengthen ties with nations on the continent. all of the five previous conferences took place in japan. the last one was in yokohama in

june 2013 with the u.n. secretary-general and leaders of about 50 african nations attending. africa's economy has been expanding in recent years. it has benefited from exports of natural resources and increased investment. japan hopes to counter the growing influence of china in the region. >> a lot of companies are unions representing their workers. that is true for workers. they are attending a mass negotiation on behalf of everyone much on thursday those from major electronics firms handed their demands to management. the union at hitachi is recommending they get a base hike of $50 a month that, is

three times higher than the rate they got a year ago. management officials appear re reluctant reluctant. they will take a comprehensive approach that could include bonuses. not all workers in the electronics business can expect hefty raise this is year. sharp's union will likely pull out from the industry wide wage negotiations as the company is expected to book a net loss this business year. fewer new condominiums were put on sale last year across japan. the number fell for the first time in five years. that was partly due to lower demand following a surge before the consumption tax hike last april. analysts at real estate economic institute say that 83,205 units were put on the market last year. that's down 21% from 2013. declines were seen in most areas of the country. a decline of just over 20% was seen in the greater tokyo area. and hokkaido in northern japan

showed the steepest decline of almost 42%. the average condo unit price rose just over 3% in yen terms from the previous year to about $362,000. that's an increase for a second year in a row. the analysts at the institute expect the number of condos put up for sale this year will rise. they also expect condo prices to continue rising. that's because construction costs are increasing due to higher labor costs and other factors. >> japan's steel output fell for the third month in january. officials at the japan iron and steel federation say total output by domestic steel makers was down 4% from a year earlier.

one of the reasons is the rise in the consumption tax hike last april. demand demand surged and the market has been sluggish. demand for steel products used in civil engineering also declined. public works projects are in the first half of the fiscal year which gets under way from april. exports of steel products could increase slightly on the back of the weekakeren but the effects still linger and demand will not likely see any dramatic growth. europe eurozone finance ministers are going to sit down again in a bid to break the deadlock over greece's debt. on the agenda is the country's request for a six-month extension of financial assistance that expires this month. a european commission spokesperson calls the greek proposal a positive sign that could pave the way for a new agreement, but sources in athens say the request for the six-month loan extension is provisional. they say greece still has no intention of sticking with the current austerity measures, and it wants a new framework for financial support. a german official had harsh words for the proposal, stressing it isn't enough to be a solution. athens faces the possibility of

running out of funds next month if the eu and greece fail to reach an agreement and if the bailout program is scrapped. well, global investors were on edge following another stumble in talks between greece and its creditors. in greece and ukraine, investors here in japan managed to take it to near 15-year highs yesterday and the index was further boosted by corporate earnings that you also mentioned in japan and a return of foreign investors to japanese stocks. the euro is trading against the dollar in the mid 1.13 level.

the dollar rose on positive jobs data out of the u.s. and the dollar yen is now trading in the 119 levels. take a look at other markets. australian share prices are pulling back from seven year high that's we saw on wednesday. right now it's down a third of a percent. markets in south korea and others are closed for the lunar new year holidays. but we will keep track of the markets that are open for you throughout the day. i'll be back next hour with more of your business headlines. i'll leave you with a check on some other markets.

ukraine's government asked for peace keepers to monitor the cease-fire with pro russian separatists. the separatists immediately criticized the request as a violation of the cease-fire terms. ukraine's president petro poroshenko decided on the move at a meeting with key cabinet ministers and top military officials on wednesday night. >> translator: we will discuss the request for united nations peacekeepers in the eastern region. we need to prepare to defend our nation from pro-russian separatists. >> the officials agreed to call for deployment of the peacekeepers to the front line of the battle against the separatists and along the

ukraine/russia border. earlier in the day, government forces withdrew from the railway hub of debaltseve where fighting continued even after the truce began on sunday. the separatists say they've taken full control of the city. ukraine and western nations are criticizing russia for sending troops and weapons across the border to support the separatists. poroshenko's latest step is apparently to check this military buildup. senior separatist official dennis pushlin told a russian news agency on thursday that inviting u.n. peacekeepers would violate the cease-fire agreement. the deal calls for negotiations to settle the border issue after ukraine reforms its constitution. russia is also expected to oppose the deployment of peacekeepers to areas in its sphere of influence. meanwhile, the leaders of france, germany, russia and ukraine have agreed that last week's cease-fire deal in

ukraine should be strictly implemented. greek government leaders have asked the european union to extend the bailout program set to end this month. the request triggered an emergency meeting of you're ozone finance ministers set for friday. the office of greek prime minister alexis tsipras said the request was made to euro group president dijsselbloem. dijsselbloem said a meeting of 19 eurozone finance ministers will take place in brussels. the ministers have already met twice to discuss the loan issue but they failed to narrow the differences between the two sides. they recently made some progress in peace talks, but the participants said if fighting continues it could be an obstacle to building peace across myanmar. violent clashes erupted on february 9th. on tuesday, the government declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law in the kolkong region. many have fled to the chinese border province of yunnan. the number of civilian casualties and details of the conflict remain unclear. the kokong region is known for rampant smuggling of weapons, narcotics and timber to china. experts point out that the profits from such illegal trading could be financing the operations of ethnic insurgents.

thailand's attorney general has filed charges against the former prime minister. yingluck shinawatra has been charged with negligence of duty over a rice subsidy scheme. if found guilty, she could be jailed for up to ten years. yingluck denies the charges as politically motivated. nhk world's shoko matsumoto has the story from bangkok. >> reporter: under the subsidy program, the government purchad rice from farmers for more than rket prices. the scheme resulted in massive loes to stat ying luck's legal team says she's confident of her innocence and she have ample evidence to prove it. >> translator: former prime minister ygluck is receiving unfair treatment. so she's fighting to end i >> reporter: yingluck introduced a subsidy program to boost incomes in rural farming villages, her support base. the critics said the scheme was losing money and also breeding corruption. this provoked members of the

upper middle class and elites to become the driving force behind large scale anti-government demonstrations. military leaders staged a coup in may. they said they were acting to resolve the political unrest. they acted just days after the constitutional court removed yingluck from office. members of the interim parliament voted last month to impeach the former prime minister. as a result, yingluck has been banned from politics for five years. with this indictment, she's been pushed even farther into a corner. shoko matsumoto, nhk world, bangkok. >> tokyo police will get their hands on a former member of the japanese red army arrives in the city friday. shirosaki finishes his stay in the prison last month. shirosaki and five other members of the group gained freedom in 1977. japanese authorities exchanged

them for hostages in a red army hijacking of a japan airlines plane in the bangladesh. tokyo police suspect he took part on a bombing in the japanese embassy in jakarta indonesia in 1986. they put him on the international wanted list in 1992. authorities say he attempted arson to destroy evidence in a hotel in the indonesian capitol. he was transferred to the u.s. and convicted of attempted murder. japanese authorities will take him into custody upon landing in the country. brazil's carnival brings partygoers to rio. best of the performers are called pasitas. a japanese dancer discovered the healing power of the dance.

>> reporter: mikudo is the only foreign representer in the samba school. her squad is among the favorite. >> i gave it 120%. i danced so hard i didn't care if i collapsed on the spot. >> there is fears competition among the carnival's leading dancers. only 40 members are selected at basistas in the 4,000 strong team. they train under the sharp gaze of one of the prominent choreographers. >> kudo is feeling the pressure. >> i need to move three times more than the fleshier girls. otherwise i won't have any presence. >> kudo started practicing samba in japan at the age of nine. in 1995 her hometown of kobi was devastated by the great earthquake. a troop of 150 dancers arrived from brazil to bring a bit of sunshine to the survivors. >> it felt like i was in a dream. the dancers bodies over flowed with energy. and i told myself one day i want to take part in the rio carnival.

>> kudo's first trip to brazil came at the age of 19. she discovered the contagious enthusiasm of the brazilian culture and how music helps people live through poverty and hardship. she trained hard and her efforts paid off. until an encounter with the darker side of brazil. last year she was mugged. and the incident left her physically and mentally burst. >> i had sudden flashbacks that made me cry and hyperventilate. i couldn't take it anymore and i thought i needed to go back to japan. >> word spread on facebook that kudo was struggling and needed help. her teammates reached out. and one month later kudo was able to rejoin them. >> everyone told me, you are not a foreigner. now you are a member of the community.

that helped me realize i am not on my own. and now i feel like giving something back through samba. >> for the seventh time kudo is performing on the streets of rio. drivenpy the power of samba and the bonds she developed far away from home. nhk world, rio de janeiro. some hot moves under the brazilian sun but it's a different story in north america. people across the couldn't continent are dealing with extremely cold conditions. we have more. >> i feel like a broken record.

these areas are seeing record breaking cold temperatures. i want to show you a picture of niagara falls. the american side nearly froze over this week following the coldest temperatures of the year across much of north america. winter warnings have been issued at the falls for temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees. not as large of a scale but still shows how cold temperatures are in savannah georgia. several water fountains froze on thursday. many people with their cameras were drawn to the beautiful ice sculptures. freeze warnings remain in effect freezing sensitive vegetation as far as miami. look at this jet stream dipping into the florida panhandle and southern areas of florida is looking at freeze warnings. that is rare sightings. the bananas and oranges, this could affect economy quite a bit. the extreme cold up here is about minus 45 degrees for your wind chill factors. take a look at the actual temperatures. these are your highs. minus 12 in winnipeg. atlanta, 2 is for your high.

the other side of jet stream looking quite warm. yet again on the other side of that the actual temperatures for the low, atlanta, minus 20 degrees. look at miami hitting single digits. a lot of the people out here don't even own warm thick jackets. if you must go outside, do wear a thick layers and layers on top of layers i should say. dangerous cold will continue. these are your lows. the figures are just extreme. minus 22 in buffalo. your actual temperatures, that is. ottawa, minus 21 on your saturday. so it will be continuing even atlanta looking at minus 11. but orlando, dipping into the freezing point. so do bunld will up. some dangerous situations here. if you have to stay outside, you shouldn't be. these temperatures make it very easy for people to get hypothermia and frostbite. here aacross the street bigger picture, the high pressure system is responsible for that cold. any precipitation does turn white. so we're likely to see five sent meeters in lower mississippi valley and 45 sent meters across

the rockies. and then again we're now talking about a couple of storm systems that are slamming into australian konld nent. it is somewhere here. and these systems are brewing. we can see the clear eyewall making its way into queensland. this is marchia. some call it the moving beast. we're looking at some storm surge on dangerous level. that could even get heavier on your saturday. and then another system that is pulling into the top end, that has downgraded. so good news i can give you is that these two systems are actually on a weakening trend. but still a category two likely to become a category one into the near future. but about 400 millimeters of rainfall certainly is enough to cause flooding and dangerous situations. unfortunately, there's been more rain in your sunday. but on the other side where we

really need that precipitation, we'll be reaching up to 40 degrees. i'll leave you now for an extended forecast.

>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." thank you for joining us. did you know that over 50% of most people's water bill is for watering their lawn and garden! and remember - you can reduce your water bills by collecting rainwater - simply catching the rain that down through your gutters anyway - and storing it in any kind of tank you like. when you need to water your plants you've got free irrigation water through a hose at the base of your tank now that makes sense.

watching this hour's "newsline." \s the economy is growing faster than china's but economists are baffled by the numbers. . oil revenue down food prices up. finding it hard to swallow. and the new year backlash. they have had enough. >> it's too crowded.

>> hello, you're watching "asia biz forecast." we begin with a tale of two economic giant