police obtained an arrest warrant on wednesday for an unidentified suspect and released a sketch of the man. they say he took a motorcycle taxi from a point about 400 meters south of the blast site. he got off near a park about one

kilometer away and they say his appearance indicated that he may not be from thailand. authorities say security camera footage taken shortly before the explosion, shows two other men who appeared to be providing the suspect with cover as he placed his backpack in the crowd. they suspect the attack was a plan involving multiple people. islamic state militants have killed a prominent archaeologist. who dedicated more than 50 years of his life to studying the ruins of the ancient city of palm ira, a world heritage site. the britain-based observatory for human rights said 82-year-old al assad was killed on tuesday in a city square, as residents looked on. he had reportedly been held hostage by militants for about a month. a japanese archaeologist who had known al assad for more than 20

years has expressed anger. >> translator: i'm shocked and stunned beyond words at such a terrible murder. i'm angry. people in the town were close to him. and i'm worried about the future of palmyra. >> palmyra is famous for its roman ruins, which include temples and an amphitheater. they date back about 2,000 years. the extremists seized palmyra earlier this year and reportedly smashed a number of roman statues. the militants have been destroying cultural relics elsewhere in syria and iraq. russia's foreign minister has indicated that president vladimir putin may meet president barack obama next month. putin plans to visit new york for the u.n. general assembly. >> translator: -- is sending the signals that washington wants to

maintain contact with leaders in moscow. >> he said putin would consider a meeting if there's a proposal for one. the two leaders have not spoken face to face since last november when they came into brief con tablth at the apeck summit. they remain at odds over the crisis in eastern ukraine. fighting continues there between government forces and pro-russian separatists. relations worsened after russia annexed crimea last year. both countries have imposed sanctions on each other. observers say the ties between the two nations are the worst sind the end of the cold war. eurozone finance ministers have approved the first bail-out money for greece. 26 billion euros, or $29 billion are now available for greece to help it rebuild its economy. the money was released after german and dutch parliaments finalized their approvals.

the members agreed last week to provide up to 86 billion euros, or $95 billion in financial assistance to greece over three years. the country will use the first money to make a debt repayment thursday to the european central bank. someplace of t the eurozone members will discuss further support plans in october. but a rift among greece's ruling party members over austerity measures could jeopardize the future of the bail-out program. residents in tianjin china are concerned about the voirmtal impact of last week's deadly explosions. they're waiting if are word from authorities on the cause of the blast. experts have been checking water, soil and rubble to see what chemicals were involved. the state-run xinhua news agency quoted a source as saying a fire may have ignited a chemical called ammonium nitrate.

more than 200 tons of the substance was stored near where the fire broke out. it was one of 40 kinds of hazardous chemicals in the warehouse. the explosions last wednesday killed at least 114 people. officials say 13 other dead are still unidentified. 65 people remain missing. residents are concerned about pollution from the blasts. chinese state-run broadcasters cctv quoted senior fire officials saying highly toxic sodium cyanide and nerve gas were detected tuesday in air samples. but xinhua on wednesday afternoon reported that specialists ruled out the possibility of nerve gas at the blast site. cctv deleted any mention of nerve gas from its website. officials monitoring a volcano in southwestern japan are urging locals to stay alert.

they've reported a very minorar bigger one could follow. officials are keeping an eye on the mountain. they say the eruption sent smoke 500 meters into the air. video they captured beforehand showed nearby clouds and smoke glowing red, a sign of volcanic gas. the officials recorded a string of volcanic earthquakes, and they say the mountain is swollen. they raised the eruption alert level on saturday. they're urging people who live within 3 kilometers to watch out. they say a bigger blast could send rocks flying and trigger flows of hot stone and ash. business owners in a popular hot spring resort near tokyo are seeing fewer tourists. they're near a mountain which experienced small-scale volcanic eruptions a few months ago. now they're trying to lure back visitors with new safety

measures and a festival. >> reporter: a large fire lit up a corner on sunday. bonfires have a history of almost 100 years. but this year, this traditional event was nearly canceled. an increase of volcanic activity since may has resulted in a sharp drop in the number of visitors. tamara runs a japanese restaurant. and is a member of the local tourism association. he felt he needed to help his hometown, so he left his kitchen, and is trying to bring back visitors. >> translator: we have to do something. we decided to eliminate the concerns about the volcano in this difficult situation one by one. >> reporter: tamura pinned his

hopes on the annual bonfire as a way to show tourists the area is safe to visit. but some fellow members of the tourism association voiced concerns. >> translator: we should think about the risks involved if visitors gather for an outdoor event. >> translator: i don't want to give the impression that we'll cancel the event because it's dangerous to visit. >> reporter: he managed to persuade them into holding the bonfire after a thorough review of safety measures. he led the tourism association to draw up and distribute new disaster prevention manuals, so everyone would know how to evacuate to safety. thousands of people flock to hokuna to watch the festivities.

[ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: 350 torches were lit to make a 100-meter-wide bonfire on the mountain slope. >> translator: despite the volcano issue, i'm glad that we could come and watch it. >> the whole festival is really a lot of fun. the fireworks show was awesome. the mountain was new to us. >> translator: the volcanoes are a natural blessing that made this region into what it is. we must never forget that, and find ways of developing a new type of tourism. >> reporter: tamura and the others are determined to move forward, reassuring visitors, and respecting the volcano.

yuji osawa, nhk world. officials at japan's space agency say a cargo ship that was launched on wednesday has encountered no problems. the unmanned aircraft is going bringing supplies to the space station. it was lifted into space on a japanese h2b rocket. engineers say the craft separated 15 minutes later when it was nearly 300 kilometers above the earth and entered a planned course. the president of japan aerospace exploration agency said the team succeeded in carrying out the launch despite pressure. >> translator: the operation has been successful so far. we withstood huge pressure and took the first step. i think this success will attract more attention from foreign countries to japanese

technology. >> the cargo ship is expected to reach the space station on monday. the mission is an important reminder of the role japan is playing in the operation of the international space station. >> reporter: it takes its name from the japanese word for stork, a bird that is said to bring babies and other precious things. and now, another important journey for the spacecraft. it's the fifth mission in the past six years. the previous four were all successful. other space cargo ships transporting supplies to the iss haven't always been as successful. the iss has been facing a shortage of supplies since last

october because of a series of problems that hit u.s. and russian cargo craft. the problem can be serious when something absolutely necessary for living is lacking. on the station, drinking water is made by purifying urine and sweat collected from the astronauts. now the stock of filters for the purification system has run out, and astronauts are using filters with an expired usage period. it was early july that the u.s. space agency nasa urgently requested the japan aerospace exploration agency, or jaxa, to transport the needed supplies. nasa flew its emergency supplies to an airport late last month. but the cargo has been decided six months earlier.

there was no room onboard, but jaxa came up with a way to make space for the badly needed supplies in the last-minute effort. >> translator: with only one month left, the jaxa staff members managed it just in time. it was also a difficult task for the workers at the site. we are confident about the decision, and are determined to make the mission a success. >> reporter: two japanese astronauts are playing an important role in the mission. yui has been onboard the iss since last month. he will operate a robotic arm to dock the spacecraft. >> translator: we want to show japan's power to make people in japan proud, and give them strength to move up. we want to show the world what we can do. >> reporter: also closely involved is wakata, who served

last year as the iss's first japanese commander. he's communicating with yui to support him on the ground at the nasa control center in houston. it's the first time a japanese team is working both in space and on the ground at the same time. these days many people associate entrepreneurs with technology and innovation. but the two young businesswomen in our next story have found opportunities in traditional crafts and they're working in some remote areas of the economy. >> reporter: something is catching the eye of passing shoppers. it's a display of handy crafts and sweets.

these are so cute and good quality. i feel like buying them. >> reporter: the women work on the packaging and design. this start a consulting company three years ago while still at university. they specialize in traditional products from regional areas of japan. >> translator: we like happy sparkling items, so we named our company, happy sparkling factory. >> caller: the women grew up in tokyo. their interest in local specialties started in their student days. they discovered the local region had a lot to offer, but they also noticed an image problem. >> translator: if we say local areas are nice and full of nature, city girls won't be interested.

they like cute things. so we decided to raise their interest in local products by focusing on cute things. >> reporter: the first product they worked on was a specialty of nagano. this is the traditional packaging. and this is what the young advisers came up with, a design certain to catch the eye of tokyo girls. >> translator: this is so tasty. girls love the taste. the problem was the color and design. it didn't look cute to young girls. >> reporter: the repackaged sweets were ready in time for valentine's day. sales for the two-week campaign were up five times from the year before. next the advisers turned their attention to traditional crafts.

this is a measuring cup from the old days. the women told the maker they could design a product more appealing to young women. >> translator: i was skeptical at first. they were dressed like young city girls. but soon, i realized how serious they were. they had good business ideas and enthusiasm. >> reporter: the women tried out their designs on potential customers. they even went to new york to test the overseas market. this is the result of their research. fluorescent boxes. it makes an attractive item, or an accessory case. word is spreading about the happy sparkling factory. on this day, the consultants are

meeting with officials of a prefectural government. the officials want to promote a nationwide market for local sweets. [ speaking foreign language ] >> reporter: the advisers recommended that they team up and offer assorted products in a cute gift box. >> translator: it can be hard promoting local specialties, using the old methods. we think we can make them appeal to city people by acting as interpreters and presenting them with a story. i think that is our role. >> translator: so do i. >> reporter: applying a modern polish to traditional gems. two young entrepreneurs are revealing the bright spots in japan's regional economy.

kick boxing or muay thai is thailand's national sport. the mshl art is a way to climb out of poverty. so thousands of fighters are training to be champions. the dream seekers include a large family of youngsters who say the sport has helped them to keep united. >> reporter: almost every weekend thousands of fans gather to watch muay thai across the nation. this man is the further of 14 children. all of them are or have been kick boxers. he's known as big daddy to his

fighters. he runs a gym for his children in a deprived area in the suburbs of bangkok. the gym looks nothing like a regular boxing gym, but it's the first step on the path to realizing their ambition, to become high-ranking boxers in the future. boxers use own gloves and sandbags. he trains his children closely. the family trains even on weekends. brothers and sisters support their younger siblings. classes last about two hours. >> the only important thing is to put our hearts together, united in our family. all the children understand this. >> reporter: some of his children have become muay thai and boxing world champions. the rewards go to pay the fees of their younger siblings.

when he was a fighter, he struggled with money and the family sometimes share a single noodle bowl. at the time, he said neighboring youngsters we youngsters were helped by kick boxing. >> without muay thai, my children will lose their way. they may have plenty of time to do bad things. >> reporter: he and his wife have managed to raise their children. there's not enough space, but they can enjoy meals together. in this muslim family -- [ indiscernible ] >> the father teaches his children how to read the koran.

>> translator: i teach them fundamental practical lessons from our religion, islam. at least children need to know how to behave as people. >> reporter: now the father is focusing his attention on his 16-year-old daughter. today she is up against a local fighter. the family comes to the ringside to cheer her on. after five rounds of hard fighting, she wins over her rival. >> translator: my family's presence is powerful and energizing me to fight. the family will come to cheer and help me win in the future. >> translator: we have encouraged each other, so that we can walk through the obstacles together. kids can earn money by

themselves and get an education and a better life. >> reporter: it's not easy for families to be strong in the face of life's difficulties. but in this family's case, kick boxing has been key to fighting poverty, respecting morality and staying united. and at the center of it all is the father. it is time now for a check of the weather. there's a typhoon heading toward okinawa in southern japan. meteorologist robert speta has the details. >> this time it does look like we'll be seeing typhoon-strength winds by the end of this weekend. take a look at the satellite picture. you can see our storm system right now, it looks like it's

heading over towards luzan, but good news for you, it's expected to make a right-hand turn, heading through the friday into saturday. unfortunately, it will be bringing heavy rainfall for those of you across eastern portions of taiwan. last week, we had soudelor come through, caused extensive flading and landslides before turning northeast and then just towards the west of okinawa by monday. so if you are across this area, you want to be making typhoon preparations at this time. meanwhile, we are looking at heavy rainfall. so across much of luzan, even though you're not seeing a direct impact, you're seeing showers, some areas as much as 2 to 300 millimeters of precipitation. in ish gaky and na ha, you see the showers push in, and by monday in na ha, you could be seeing typhoon-strength winds.

but also put chich jeema and tokyo on this forecast. because we'll have two large and powerful typhoons impacting japan at the same time. over here towards the east, well south of tokyo, you're going to be seeing some violent intensity typhoon winds, upwards of 250 kilometers per hour. this storm passing just east of these islands. but by sunday, you'll be seeing high winds across this area. good news, definitely used to these storm systems there. north of that, we have this front here in much of mainland japan, and that's the big buffer and the main reason why this storm system is staying down here towards the south. and this one is curving off to the north. it is unfortunately still bringing heavy rainfall. so you are looking at risk of some showers. upwards of 100 millimeters in the korean peninsula. danny, off to the west, expect

to be our first named hurricane of 2015 in the atlantic. staying with this, significant drought in place across this area, 20% of the normal rainfall. millions of people getting water trucked in. so you need the rain there in cuba, if that storm system were to come. by the way, cold front moving through the northeastern u.s. travel delays across that area. leave you now with your extended outlook. ♪ ♪

that concludes this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

host: the waiting is over and here we are with a brand-new edition of this show. welcome to "in good shape" from berlin. take a good look at the picture behind me. scary, isn't it? we will be taking you to the dentist today, but no worries, this show will cause you no pain at all. here is what else we have for you. danger in your skin, white tattoos pose a health hazard. terror in your dreams, what nightmares may have to tell us. and the future of