hello, and welcome to nhk "newsline." it's friday june 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. delegates at a u.n. climate meeting have come together to take measures to protect the environment. they say they'll draft by late july the negotiating text for a new framework to curb global warming. it was reached at working level talks. they met for 11 days in bonn germany. they discussed goals for greenhouse gas emission cuts and they talked about ways to financially help developing countries tackle global warming. japanese government officials explained they'll seek to count their greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2013 from 2013 levels.

international nongovernment organizations and some developing nations have criticized the goal as too low. >> i hope that japan would have more ambitious start because everybody has to do their part to mitigate to make sure that we can avod the worst effects of climate change. >> they plan to seek understanding from other country. >> translator: i explained japan's targets to the participating delegates. and i also called on them to accelerate the talks. japan aims to create a framework for the countries emitting large amount of gases. >> participating nations hope to agree on a new framework another the c.o.p. 21 conference. the current agreement only requires industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

members of the european parliament have weighed into the growing scandal around soccer's world governing body. they passed a resolution urging president seth blatter to resign immediately. it comes as american and swiss authorities probe alleged corruption within the organization. >> now the vote on the resolution as a whole, who is in favor. again. it stands adopted. >> the parliament adopted a nonbinding resolution calling on fifa to select an interim leader before its extraordinary congress in december. blatter announced on june 2nd, he would step down but he said he would stay in his post until a new president is elected. parliament members also want fifa to launch structural reforms to improve transparency. they say corruption is having a devastating impact on the integrity of international football. and they've welcomed comments from the chairman of fifa fa's audit and compliance committee.

the chairman said russia and qatar could be stripped of world cup hosting rights if evidence emerged of bribery in the bidding process. u.s. judicial authorities have indicted 14 people including former and current fifa executives on bribery and other charges. swiss authorities are also investigating whether bids for the 2018 and 2022 world cups involved any wrongdoing. they're analyzing fifa's computer files. the bbc news reports that some of the data came from the offices of president blatter and secretary-general jerome baalke. other reports suggest swiss prosecutors are deciding whether or not to interview blatter. chinese president xi ginping's sweeping anti-corruption campaign has brought down the most prominent official yet. state media have reported that former domestic security chief zhou yongkang has been sentenced to life in prison. zhou was the ninth highest rank member of the communist

party's politburo standing committee until november 2012. state-run xinhua news agency says a court in tianjin near beijing sentenced zhou for accepting bribes, abuse of power and deliberately disclosing state secrets. zhou and his family allegedly took more than $20 million. >> prosecutors indicted zhou in april. he was tried behind closed doors. xinhua says the trial was not open to the public because it involved state secrets. chinese government officials have been investigating why the yangtze river cruise ship capsized suddenly. nhk has learned during interviewed with some be reeved family members that government officials told them the probe will require time to complete. 456 people were onboard the

vessel traveling through southern hubei province on june 1st. 14 passengers and crew members survived. 434 others have been confirmed dead. and 8 people are still missing. the state-run xinhua news agency says the government's investigation team is studying weather conditions at the time of the accident. the team is also looking into how the vessel was retrofitted and whether it was being operated properly. xinhua says investigators are questioning the captain, the other survivors and workers who made modifications to the ship. officials say the probe will require detailed scientific analysis and simulation tests. people from jiangsu province accounted for the largest number of passengers. chinese media report the provincial government has decided to make condolence payments to the victims' families. an artist in china is continuing a fight he began 26 years ago.

he saw the government's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in tiananmen square. while that's suppressed most calls for greater freedoms, it only strengthened his. nhk's takeshi togawa reports. >> reporter: citizens are appealing for democracy and freedom of speech on the internet. >> reporter: these images were taken by chinese artists. he has interviewed more than 400 people so far. >> translator: our society has problems. through my interviews, i want to clarify whether they are systemic or human problems. >> reporter: he was a university

student at the time of the tiananmen square incident. he joined pro democracy movement and witnessed firsthand how the government shut up citizens' voices with force. yang wants to see a democratic society in china. he's using his camera to capture and spread the voices of people. in addition to his internet postings, he has put some books together to reach out to as many people as he can. he used publishers in hong kong since he couldn't put them out in mainland china. but the government pressure remains strong. this woman is a prominent journalist. yang interviewed her in the past.

like him, she campaigned for freedom of speech, but she was detained by authorities last year. she received a seven-year prison sentence for her activity. police blocked photojournalists from covering her trial. in an incident in march, five women planned a street campaign to call for prevention of sexual harassment, but they were taken into custody by police on suspicion of disrupting public order. yang himself was put under surveillance and police seized his tapes. but yang is determined to continue his work despite the pressure.

>> translator: in the authoritarian society we have now, free and independent ways of thinking are not recognized. but i sincerely hope china will become a democratic nation one day. >> reporter: yang's quest for free and equitable society in china continues. takeshi togawa nhk world, beijing. chinese president xi jinping has met myanmar's opposition leader for the first time in beijing. he conveyed his intention to strengthen ties. aung san suu kyi said the two met. she hopes his message will continue to be consistent. he said he believes myanmar will proactively push for the friendly development of ties no matter how the domestic situation changes. aung san suu kyi replied her party, the national league for democracy, has admired china's

great achievements under the commune party's leadership. she said she hopes to strengthen ties. the two maintained friendly negotiations while myanmar was isolated from the west but relations have been strained since the country shifted from a military government to civilian rule in 2011. political observers expect aung san suu kyi's party to do well in a general election this year. they say it's rare for china's top leader to meet someone who is considered a symbol of myanmar's democratization. and they say china's leaders appear to be keen to keep in touch with the leader whose influence is likely to grow. leaders of an ethnic mirnt militant group in mayanyanmar have declired a cease-fire against government forces. they're following an apparent request from china to restore peace along the border region. the kokang militants are of ethnic chinese decent.

the rebel group issued a statement on wednesday saying the chinese government had made a strong appeal and a cease-fire would ensure elections expected in myanmar later this year are peaceful. fierce fighting broke out in february in the eastern state of shan. more than 200 people have been killed. the clashes have sent many fleeing to the neighboring chinese province. bombing runs by myanmar's planes have resulted in casualties on the chinese side of the border. the incidents prompted china to launch a strong protest with myanmar. they conducted a military drill near the border earlier this month. people in myanmar have been critical of china. they suspect the militants may be receiving its help. observers believed china pushed for the truce to help maintain ties between the two nations. the latest figures show american consumers are heading out to stores to spend more of their money. this after a cold winter kept them at home. ai uchida joins from us the business desk. good morning. so the data shows americans are

spending again. >> exactly. retail sales did rise in may. and this actually follows another set of data suggesting that the u.s. economy is firmly on a recovery track. the jobs data last week showed steady improvement along with a moderate increase in wages. the positive trends could help the federal reserve to hike interest rates sooner rather than later. the commerce department says retail sales stood at $445 billion last month, that's up 1.2% from april. that contrasts to sluggish figures through april when the cold weather put a damper on the economy. sales in may increased in many categories. americans spent more online and on clothing. sales of cars and auto parts were steady. americans spent more at the gas pump and on building materials, too. investors on wall street reacted positively to the strong figures. the dow jones industrial average rose 0.2% to stay above 18,000.

the tech-heavy nasdaq also finishing higher. let's see how this is affects markets here in tokyo. ramin mellegard joins us live from the tokyo stock exchange. what are you seeing? >> yeah the retail sales numbers coming in pretty much in line with what a lot of economists had expected. and that boosted stocks in the u.s. and we're seeing that translated into the opening levels for the nikkei. the topix for june 12th,ed from here 20,417. and the broader topix higher as well now 1651. yesterday the nikkei rallied rising 1.6%. investors becoming optimistic about a deal to solving the greek debt problems however, now it creditors have made it pretty clear time is running out fast and decisions not negotiations are needed as european council president actually urged and said to greek

the prime minister. all this overshadowed the robust data out of the u.s. retail sales and jobless claims remaining at historically low levels. and that of course did positively affect the dollar. >> tell us about that. where is the dollar trading now? >> yeah we've seen some fluctuation but all in all the dollar rose against the euro and the yen, u.s. economic indicators as investors really confirming that consumer demand is indeed picking up and that's one of the key factors that the fed looks at when it decides to raise rates. the federal reserve will actually meet next week for a two-day policy meeting starting june 16th. the economy, interest rates, growth projection and inflation will all be on the agenda. the euro is a little bit lower on reports that the imf delegation unexpectedly halted talks with greece citing major differences with athens. now, energy prices also. let's look at that area.

oil prices benchmark crude falling on thursday but prices have been pretty volatile as the global industry shifts with the u.s. shale production ramping up production now. asian indexes another focus. shanghai composite add eded some improvements but a slowdown in china's real estate development with its weakest growth since the first quarter of 2009 may be affecting resource shares for instance in australia and a lot of construction machinerimakers here in japan which may be affected by growth levels in china. the new zealand dollar fell 3% against the u.s. dollar yesterday when the central bank unexpectedly cut rates. so we'll keep track of how that develops as well today. that's all for me. back to you. >> all right, thanks a lot for that update. a survey shows the u.s. was the world's top producer of crude oil last year topping the ranking for the first time in 30 years. and that is according to a

report by britain's bp. bp says daily global output totaled nearly 88.7 million barrels. that's up 2.3% from 2013. the breakdown shows the u.s. pumped out 11.6 million barrels. that's a 15.9% surge and boosted by the shale revolution. it was the first time since 1984 for the u.s. to hold the top spot. saudi arabia followed very closely behind with 11.5 million barrels. russia came in third with 10.8 million. on the flip side libya saw its crude oil output plunge to less than one-third from a decade earlier as it reeled from the after-effects of the arab spring. production in syria dropped by more than 90%. models are parading a new type of fashion on the catwalk of europe. the ethical fashion movement is trying to distribute the benefits of a highly profitable

industry more fairly. the aim is to connect people who make traditional crafts with high-end brands. japanese companies are among those doing well by doing good. >> reporter: this major department store chain is known for its high-end merchandise. it offers a variety of ethical fashion items. these bags were made by women in a village in kenya. the fabric for this skirt was woven in burkina faso. it's made with a traditional technique. such items are produced by community artisans with support from technical advisers. anyway robe nairobi is a major production hub. many people in the kenyan capital live in poverty. the u.n.'s international straight center launched the

ethical fashion initiative in 2009. among the crafts being highlighted is traditional beadwork made by members of the masai tribe. officials check the quality of the products and ensure that the people who make them are being paid fairly. this woman's income has doubled, thanks to her beadwork. she used to work in a factory. >> translator: in this business the more we work the more we're paid. i love my job. >> reporter: this man is polishing a recycled piece of metal. it will be reborn as the logo of a british fashion brand. buyers and designers from around the world come to nairobi to

collaborate with the artisans. ethical fashion has captured the attention of japanese shoppers. >> translator: when an item is labeled ethical, i'm more likely to buy it. >> reporter: a major japanese clothing retailer launched an ethical fashion brand two years ago. the company sells more than ten kind of items and about 15 outlets. these items feature beadwork by kenyan women. items like these have been extremely popular. company officials visit the artisans in their communities to tailor their designs for the japanese market. >> translator: if we can

persuade even one or two people to empathize with ethical fashion, that will benefit our company. that's a new vision and we're still learning. >> reporter: ethical fashion goods may be the latest thing in the world of luxury brands. but advocates hope that the opportunity they bring to the communities where they're produced will be more than a passing trend. >> well officials at the international trade center are planning to launch production hubs in the palestinian autonomous region cambodia and mexico. more headlines for you in business next hour. here's a look at markets.

japanese government leaders are trying to solve a problem with their technical internship programs for trainees from developing countries. they want to stop the growing number of trainees who leave the program and illegally move on to new jobs. the program allows foreigners to acquire skills and know-how while working in japan up to three years. 160,000 trainees are enrolled in the program. data from japan's justice ministry shows more than 4,800 people left the program in 2014. the number is increasing year by year and nearly 40% of them went missing within one year after coming to japan. tokyo metropolitan university professor said some trainees try to find higher paying jobs as their real wages decline due to the weaker yen. >> translator: many trainees who come to japan want to earn money

rather than learn skills. as long as their motivations don't change this program won't function properly. >> other problems with the program have also surfaced. some firms refuse to pay prearranged amounts to trainees others force them to work longer hours than legally allowed. lawmakers say they'll deliberate bills to direct the situation. heavy rains in nepal have triggered a landslide in the country's northeast. more than a dozen people have been killed. the government said on thursday the landslide occurred overnight in the taplejung region. at least 15 people are dead and many are missing. the mountain villages are hard to access and the details are just still emerging. nepal's monsoon season starts in june and lasts until september, causing floods and landslides. the situation is considered especially dangerous this year after massive earthquakes in

april and may. the quake may have increased the chances of landslides at a time when many communities are starting to recover. people in the spanish capital of madrid are cleaning up after dealing with downpours and even hail. mai shoji joins us with the latest. >> it really doesn't look like summer weather. we're actually seeing some severe hail storms but this actually happens when you have that really cold air up above and then this is the scene that's coming out from madrid actually. some quite severe weather happening in the capitol on thursday and bringing the city to a standstill. but this does look like snow, doesn't really look like summer at all. a massive hailstorm that pounded the city. when the hail melted it resulted in severe flooding bringing traffic jams and disrupting subway services. good news no injuries reported. but the total number of damage is still being assessed and people are cleaning up from the

mess. you saw that picture due to the spiral of clouds. you can see the rain clouds developing across this area. the good news another one, is that it will be cleaning up from the area such as madrid a little bit left over in northern spain and the cold front will still be active in the southern areas but now pulling into southern france. that will be the bulk of the very heavy rainfall. the precipitation will be continuing. this is an area where severe flooding has been ongoing. that could actually bring some more damage and secondary disasters across these locations and another round of massive hail storms could be a potential. gusty conditions also and out towards here in southern uk that's another area where some potential upgrade and instability could happen. showers will be continues here in turkey but generally speaking to the north of that looking at calm and dry, mild conditions. in fact, kiev is reaching already above average temperature at 27 degrees. that's going to be even higher hitting the 30s on your saturday. and then becoming 33 degrees on

your sunday. so it's going to be a very hot weekend for you. across here in japan we've been mentioning that torrents of rainfall has been providing landslides and mud slides and injuries across southern kyushu. kagoshima up to 500 millimeters, hence the saturated grouped which will make for another risk of landslides and mud slides and that will continue for the next few days. a little bit of precipitation that's pulling into central japan. we are commuting, that's going to be tapering off for the afternoon hours. joan it today and the afternoon. the morning hours 25 degrees for the high. still very hot in seoul and 29 in beijing, also looking at the same digits out there. out here across oman we're looking at this system which is disperseing after it makes

landfall. it will contact with the land landmasses as a deep depression. nothing like a cyclonic storm. we are receiving reports of major flooding. and also flooding has occurred across the uae. but the aviation services will not be suspended across oman. the flooding though will be a huge concern. another area where we're looking at some flooding potential is here in southern mexico where we have a new tropical storm that formed. named carlos. it's packing gusts of 100 kilometers per hour and likely to become a hurricane into the weekend. but looks like it will be the heavy showers and swells that could build up in toward the weekend, not so much an impact in the inland locations. we'll keep you updated. i leave you for your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobiashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

stacey thunder: on this edition of native report we tour the mashantucket pequot museum and research center. we learn about the sculpture garden of the mohegan nation. and from the native report archives, we pay tribute to navajo code talker, chester nez. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders on this native report. narrator: production of native report is made possible by grants from thshakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation.

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