u.s. president barack obama has emphasized his pledge to end the afghan war during his time in office. he's announced a decision to scrap a plan to withdraw american troops. 5,500 u.s. personnel will remain beyond 2016. >> as commander in chief, i will not allow afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again. our forces, therefore, remain engaged in two narrow but critical missions -- training afghan forces and supporting counterterrorism operations against the remnants of al qaeda.

>> obama stated he does not support the idea of endless war. he says the mission is vital to u.s. national interests. the president warned the security situation is very fragile in key areas of afghanistan and that there is a risk of distribution. he says the taliban has made gains, particularly in rural areas, and can still launch deadly attacks in cities. 9,800 u.s. troops are stationed there for most of next year. the executive office of the afghan president has issued a statement welcoming the announcement. it says afghanistan will further cooperate with the u.s. in fighting terrorists. but many people in the country have mixed feelings over the news. >> translator: if u.s. troops work really hard for afghans and serve our poor nation, they will be able to defeat the terrorists. so i'm happy that they will remain longer. >> translator: we don't need u.s. troops in afghanistan.

we afghans defend our own country by ourselves. >> the obama administration has been under criticism for allowing the islamic state group to gain ground in iraq after the pullout of american troops. analysts say obama wants to avoid a similar situation in afghanistan. personnel from japan's self distance forces are set to carry out naval drill in the indian ocean and it's the first time in eight years they'll join exercises conducted by the u.s. and india. senior officers from the three nations say they'll cooperate in securing freedom of navigation in the region. ten naval ships will participate. the u.s. will deploy an aircraft carrier. destroyers of the japanese maritime self-defense force and frigate ships of the indian navy will take part. vice admirals of the three countries spoke about the importance of the exercises. >> it's quite clear that the

democracies involved -- u.s., japan, and india -- we are in the business of promoting peace and stability. >> we would like japan to participate on a more regular basis. to develop a cooperative maritime security environment in the asia-pacific region. >> japan's senior msdf officials stressed the need to come together to improve cooperation. >> the purpose of participating in this exercise is to improve the tactical capability as well as to strengthen cooperation with the u.s. and indian navys. japan has received a nonpermanent seat on the u.n. security council for the 11th

time, the most of any member country. its term will start in january. >> egypt, japan, senegal, ukraine, and uruguay are elected members of the security council. >> the five countries selected gained at least two-thirds membership support. the ten nonpermanent seats represent regional groups. they're held for two years and five come up for election every year. japan will be a nonpermanent member for the first time in five years. the focus will be on whether the country can take a leadership role in efforts to stabilize east asia by helping resolve issues, including north korea's nuclear program already japanese officials hope to lead efforts to reform the security council so the country could become a permanent member. the council is currently split over conflicts in syria and ukraine. with western nations on one side and russia and china on the other, japan will have to make tough choices.

>> translator: japan has held the longest nonpermanent membership on the security council next to the permanent members. nations expect the country to demonstrate its experience. >> japan's u.n. ambassador said the country wants to contribute on such matters as conflict reresolution and peacekeeping operations. germany's transport authority has ordered volkswagen to recall over 2 million diesel cars in the country over the emissionsw the automaker says i carry out more recalls. ramin mellegard joins us with all the details. >> the numbers slightly bigger than we all expected. let's go into the details here. volkswagen says it's going to recall a total of 8.5 million diesel vehicles in the european union. the cars may contain software intended to manipulate emissions test results. volkswagen issued a statement

for recalls across the 28-nation european union. the company says it will approach customers and provide further information. the automaker says it will repair vehicles at the request of users in germany but the regular body said it should recall all vehicles in question. volkswagen installed illegal software in its diesel cars to evade emissions tests. some 11 million vehicles around the world may use the softwar y softwarery. let's check the markets. a quick recap on trading in the u.s., let's go through some of the numbers here. global stocks resume their rally on thursday with u.s. indexes closing up over 1%. speculation the u.s. federal reserve will delay an interest rate hike helped lift shares. now in asia, markets kick off final trading day of the week. for more let's go to high ushida standing by at the tokyo stock exchange. happy friday, what have you got for us? >> happy friday. looks like investors are fairly pleased with the rally we're seeing around the world. stocks are higher, the dollar

has slightly rebounded, we're seeing a rise in commodities like gold and oil. we're seeing a positive open in japan. take a look at the open levels this friday. it's the 16th of october. the nikkei is opening up nearly 1% and the topix is up .9%, a strong start. we're seeing the rally resume in japan. for the week profit-taking was widespread. the nikkei down 1.9% this week through thursday. let's see how other benchmarks are performing this friday morning. we're seeing a positive friday. seoul is up barely into positive. australia's asx is up .9%. since the fed decided not to raise rates in september, there's been a lot of speculation over when the fed might increase rates. some made bets for october or december. some guessed next year. however, recent economic data has turned out not so strong. pretty much everywhere, including germany, the u.s., and china. so investors think signs of a

global slow-down could keep fed policymakers stay on the sidelines longer and this means that bad news as in bad data is good for the markets for now. in currency markets we're seeing traders sell the dollar as they speculate the rate hike will come later. the greenback dipped to 118.04 yen overnight. the lowest level in two months. the dollar as you can see then recouped some of those losses after u.s. inflation data came in stronger than estimates. the dollar/yen above the 119 level. it's still pretty weak compared to 120 yen seen earlier this week. the euro fell after comments from the policymaker, below the 1.14 level. >> what about corporate earnings, a big focus. attention on the performance of u.s. companies. we'll have several earnings reports in japan as well. so a lot of focus for investors. >> that's right. and we're seeing a lot of earnings from major banks in the

states and yesterday goldman sachs, really disappointing third quarter results, a drop in bond trading knocked down profit by nearly 40%. earlier this week jpmorgan released weak earnings. both of them are blaming volatile market records volatility may be the key for this quarter. and speaking of goldman, gold is back. the metal made a comeback as it recovered some of the year's losses. it rose to a four-month high in new york. so all in all, commodities are higher. the dollar is moving. and we're seeing stocks higher. so let's see if they can hold on to these gains throughout the day. for now that's it from me, back to you. >> let's see if we can hold those levels. that was high ju ushida live from the tokyo stock exchange. whirling around like a merry go round, conveyor belt sushi has been popular since it was invented here in the 1950s. recently, though, some of them have been taking a bit of a new spin on an old favorite.

nhk world's sakura kayama reports. >> reporter: at this major restaurant chain in suburban tokyo, small plates of sushi make their way along the counter. the chain restaurants also serve made to order sushi. customers make their requests using a touch panel, then fresh sushi is transported to their table. these days, more diners want their sushi made to order. the company says they account for about 80% of their customers. so in the chain's new restaurant in tokyo there's no sign of the familiar plates. instead a single lane shoots orders straight out to customers. >> translator: it's delicious because it's all freshly made.

>> reporter: since everything's made to order, there's less waste. and takes up less space. the company's plan to open 100 similar outlets by 2019, the year before the olympics. >> translator: we've always focused on the suburbs. so central tokyo is almost untouched. that's why we're developing our business in that area and concentrating on this kind of store. >> reporter: another restaurant chain is making large profits even though it has no branchs in central tokyo. this sushi restaurant is taking a different approach to winning over customers.

the restaurant features curry and other items in addition to sushi. and it's added a number of desserts in hopes of attracting budget diners of people looking for a quick bite. taste is the primary concern. once a week a team reviews prototype dishes. last year they tasted 1,200 items but only 50 made it onto the menu. >> translator: not spicy enough, is it? >> reporter: the company started opening its expanded menu three years ago and profits are up since then. >> translator: i think it's a great idea to let customers choose from a variety of items besides sushi. >> translator: these days, we're facing competition both from restaurants and convenience

stores offering high-quality items. if we want to survive, we'll have to keep adapting and moving forward. >> reporter: competition in japan's food service industry is intense. but this company's hoping such fresh approaches will put them in the express lane to higher profits. >> that's all for business news. chinese medical researcher tu yoyo won this year's nobel prize in physiology or medicine for developing an anti-malarial drug based on ancient remedy. she's the first chinese nobel laureate in the field of natural science. she has spent her entire career researching traditional chinese medicine. china has been striving recently to promote medical tourism in the country for its traditional medicine.

the nobel win is expected to boost the trend. nhk world's naoki makita reports. >> reporter: a group of tourists is visiting a botanical garden on the outskirts of beijing. they are here to learn about plants used in chinese medicine. the garden cultivates more than 2,000 varieties of medicinal herbs and plants. >> translator: this herb, called sanchi, grows near riverbanks or along shorelines. it contains a lot of calcium. >> reporter: four years ago, the city of beijing began to identify institutions dealing with traditional medicine. there are currently more than 20 such places in the city.

this garden alone gets about 50,000 visitors a year. >> translator: i think it's a good idea to promote these places as tourist sites. people here are proud of our traditional medicine. >> reporter: the facility has a restaurant that features dishes made of medicinal herbs. herbs and root vegetables are freshly picked from the garden. this is deep-fried aloe vera, a plant often used in health and beauty products. and this is one of the restaurant's signature dishes. it contains indigo root, a plant that promotes detoxification. >> translator: everything is very mild, but i can taste the distinct flavors of every plant or vegetable because there are no other heavy seasonings. >> reporter: to create these

menus, chefs at the restaurant get advice from experts on the medicinal effects of various herbs. >> translator: this weed helps digestion in the summer, and it can prevent colds in the autumn. >> reporter: as living standards improve in china, people are paying increasing attention to their overall health and to medicinal cooking. >> translator: i hope many more people will learn about chinese traditional medicine by eating our medicinal cuisine. i want them to see how this kind of food therapy can be used to treat ailments like headaches and fevers. >> reporter: to boost tourism, the city government is adding hospitals to its list of visitor interactions. this hospital was opened in 2013

as a one-stop health care center, specializing in traditional treatments such as herbal medicines, massage and acupuncture. it welcomes tourists from overseas and has already treated about 600 travelers so far this year. officials believe that combining western and chinese methods is an important step in popularizing china's traditional medicine around the world. >> translator: in chinese medicine, we diagnose patients by analyzing the entire body. at our hospital, we try to improve the sometimes vague aspects of chinese practice by incorporating more targeted methods used in western medicine. >> reporter: china's government celebrated the nobel prize win by saying it reflects the contribution china's traditional medicine and pharmacy has made to health of humankind.

it remains to be seen whether this is a turning point in global attention for chinese traditional therapies. naoki makita, nhk world, beijing. a group titled power and betrayal has been staged from japanese and western traditions. what could have been a clash of cultures turn the out to be a smooth collaboration. ♪ >> reporter: whether murder or suicide, tokyo audiences this week witnessed the betrayal and death of medieval japanese warlords. a russian ballet dancer plays

the power-hungry warrior. traditional japanese dancer and traditional ballet dancers. a cooperation was born in 2010 when the russian dancer visited japan. >> translator: i was very impressed by how few jet streuj expressed himself onstage. i could feel the strength beneath his quiet movements. it really made me want to share the stain with him. >> reporter: when kujima heard of that russian dancer's wish he proposed they collaborate to highlight their different artistic styles. >> translator: i think true collaboration is when people bring their best abilities together. you share and learn from each other. in that way you create something new. >> reporter: the two styles could hardly be more different. traditional japanese dancers

stay low to the floor and move stealthily. but the dancers are energetic. they stand on their toes and reach for the sky. fujima enlisted a choreographer to combine the two forms. iwaka danced with the bolshoi ballet. he was the company's first nonrussian soloist. he used ballet as his base but he also applied the japanese concept known as creating space in time. the performers moved through their own steps but started and finished together. >> translator: the point is for two different stage techniques

to harmonize as each dancer performs. you could say an interesting chemical reaction takes place. >> reporter: the dancers combine ballet's graceful energy and stateliness of the japanese steps. when they dance together, their synchronized movements create a powerful harmony. ♪ >> when they started dancing, moving at the same time, and actually each of them respected the traditional -- like his own dance. >> translator: i almost forgot that they were dancing in

different genres. >> translator: the audience seemed happy. i could feel how everyone was open and warm-hearted. >> translator: whoever we are, we have the same ma or breath in our bodies. when people like us who are steeped in tradition come together and use our intuition to create something, it often comes out really well. >> reporter: this unity sprang from a respect for differences . on the heels of their success the three artists plan to take the show on a world tour, starting in russia. >> just an amazing collaboration. it is time now for a check of the weather. people in central europe have been dealing with severe conditions. that includes residents in parts of italy. mai shoji joins us with the details. >> yes, i've been talking about this for the past whole week,

catherine. it's still happening, unfortunately. we've been talking about the heavy rain which caused severe flooding across parts of central europe and the heavy snowfall that has been causing a lot of accidents out here. we're still getting impacted with a storm system that is still lingering over the similar locations and that's why italy is getting that hard-hit severe floods. we have video coming from this area. take a look at this. at least five people are now dead following severe storms that rolled over italy on wednesday. several riverbanks broke in the countryside, allowing floodwaters to spill into the villages submerging homes and businesses. the storm itself was very serious and warnings were given but this recent event has revived the old controversy in the country that disaster prevention measures are not up to par, unfortunately. and this includes reckless construction in flood-prone areas and inadequate maintenance on levees.

unfortunately this is likely to continue. we still have this storm system right here with warm air pulling in and the cold air surging. so this clash right on the heels of italy as well as sicily and parts of northern balkans and the adriatic countries. and the higher potential for severe weather will happen here again. and that includes even tornados and excessive precipitation again. places like bosnia have been receiving 180 millimeters of rainfall in the past 24 hours. on top of that an additional 100 millimeters could cause flooding there as well. not a lot of snow already in sight. it's going to be dissipating. however, the gusts will still be reaching about 80 kilometers per hour. to the west of this, we're not looking at a really severe kind of weather out there in the iberian peninsula, madrid 20 with sunshine. eastern locations also looking very mild with kiev reaching 12 degrees where your average is

around 5 for this time of the year. it's still hot here in the tropics and it's feeding these systems. let's talk about koppu, "cup" in japanese, it's going to be pounding these areas, especially in northern luzon, with many cups of water. drenching amounts of rainfall could be pulling into these areas as possibly a very strong typhoon status before hitting the eastern coast. that's going to be possibly creating some catastrophic disaster with severe flooding because this system is going to be making landfall here, staying here over the 48 hours. so the rain will be building up to about 400 millimeters. kite reach about 900 millimeter in the course of three days. and the gusts reaching 252 kilometers per hour. the coastal locations, populations are scarce. but inland areas, we're talking about big cities. this is something to watch out for and prepare right now as we

speak. severe tropical storm champi is bringing tropical storm warn lgds in place in northern marianas and that could pull in the next few days. this is something to be watching out for. high pressure system is predominant across the bigger picture. we may see on and off showers across southern canta today into tomorrow. here's your extended forecast. >> that's all for this edition of "newsline." thanks for watching.

>> on this edition of "native report," we'll learn about the rare lac la croix indian pony, we'll look at the night sky for a lesson in native astronomy... >> tribes and families need to step up and make sure children are taken care of early. >> and we'll learn about the indian child welfare act. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders on this "native report." >> production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation.