this edition of "newsline." it's thursday november 19th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. french police have detained eight people in a paris suburb in a major operation that left two people dead. officers stormed a building in search of people suspected in involvement in last week's terror attacks that killed 129 people. police officers stormed a building in the early hours of the morning and fired over 5,000 rounds at the armed suspects. the police were searching for suspects in last week's attacks.

the morning's raids happened in the saint denis district which has a high percentage of muslim residents. >> translator: i was out on the street and i heard shots. >> a senior french prosecutor says police found bodies of two militants in the building and detained eight others and have prevented a new terrorist attack. >> translator: we subdued another terrorist group. >> but the prosecutor says the fate of a key suspect is not yet known. the police had received a tip. a tip that abdul abaaoud was hiding there. he's suspected in playing a key role in the attacks. he was interviewed. he claims he and two others travelled to europe to terrorize countriess he says are waging

war on muslims and said they were able to detain weapons and set up a safe housh. another french prosecuting revealed new accounts and said nine terrorists mounted attacks on at least six locations. this means there were at least two more suspects at the scenes. the seven others were shot dead or blew themselves up. interior minister said the anti-terrorist operation will continue over the next several days. the european union has decided to impose stricter controls on fire arms following the police attacks rather the paris attacks. the european commission adopted the package of measures on wednesday. it says they are necessary to preent have the weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and include reducing the types of fire arms and

banning online fire arm sales between individuals. eu member nations will work for better exchanges of information on any fire arm sales. the eu will hold an emergency meeting on friday to discuss how to counter terrorism. the leaders of 21 pacific rim economies are in manila to discuss economic issues. the summit of the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum opened in the philippine capital on wednesday. japan president shinzo abe, u.s. president obama, chinese president xi jinping and other leaders attended a banquet hosted by philippine president benigno aquino. they'll hold detailed discussions on thursday. high on the agenda will be ways to achieve trade and investment in the region as well as sustainable growth of the area's entire economy. the area's entire economy. the leaders are expected to adopt a declaration that includes the outcome of the discussion.

prime minister abe and other leaders earlier met with business executives who are members of the apec business advisory council. abe said the economic order to be forged by the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal will serve as a springboard to establish rules for the proposed free trade area of the asia-pacific. territorial disputes are also likely to be an issue. nhk world reports from manila. >> reporter: security in the philippine capital is tight following the attacks in paris. about 25,000 police and military personnel are deployed across the city. roads near the venues have been cordoned off to ensure the safety of delegates. japan's prime minister shinzo abe has a series of meetings on his agenda with policymakers and business leaders. he is expected to announce japan's commitment to regional economic integration. abe met with leaders of the 11 other trans-pacific partnership members on the sidelines of the summit. it was the first gathering since a broad agreement was reached last month.

the leaders issued a joint declaration to complete ratification of the deal in their own countries quickly so that the tpp can come into effect at an early date. but not only trade is being discussed here. u.s. president barack obama has praised patience over china's claim to the south china sea on to the agenda. obama inspected a philippine naval vessel to underline the u.s. commitment to the freedom of navigation in asian waters. >> my visit here underscores our shared commitment to the security of the waters of this region and of the freedom of navigation. >> reporter: obama also met separately with the host of the meeting, philippine president benigno aquino in manila. the philippines is among those countries claiming territory in the south china sea. obama stressed that maintaining

order based on the rules is indispensable for the security and economic development of the region. he added that china must cease land reclamation in the south china sea, a position that was picked up by the philippine leader. >> that the freedom of navigation and overflight in the south china sea must be continuously upheld, consistent with international law. >> reporter: meanwhile, chinese president xi jinping is avoiding the south china sea issue at the apec talks. instead, he stressed the summit should focus on the regional economic integration and for the swift euroization of the comprehensive free trade zone in the asia-pacific known as the ftaap. this framework would include china, which is not a member of tpp. >> translator: we should never allow anything to disrupt the development of the asia-pacific

region. differences should be resolved through dialogue. >> reporter: apec is a platform to discuss regional growth and trade, but territorial disputes in the region will likely creep into their talks. kunihiro yamamoto, nhk world, manila. members of a u.s. congressional panel are taking a dim view of the security situation between washington and beijing. they say china's activities in the south china sea and its it points out that bay jung wants to project power and possibly create an air defense identification zone. the report refers to the improved missile capability and space program and says beijing is harming the u.s. economy by supporting theft of trade secrets and personal data.

it urges congress to consider counter measures. japanese officials released key data. joins us now from the business desk. what can you tell us about the latest figures? >> they are back in the black after the trade balance posted losses for the past seven months. even so a glance shows exports are down. the reason for the surplus is that imports also fell and we are talking about a big drop. officials say japan's trade surplus for october stood at about 111 billion yen about $900 million. imports were down over 13% from a year before due to cheaper crude oil and liquefied natural gas. exports also fell and it was their first drop in 14 months. the value of all exports was down about 2.1% from a year

earlier. shipments to china and other countries in asia were sluggish. minutes show some were met to hike the key interest rate. most of the policy makers expected conditions to be right by their next meeting in december. they decided to leave the interest rate unchanged at near 0%. they agreed they would decide whether to make a move at next month's meeting after assessing the economic recovery. after the october meeting yooust employers added 271,000 jobs. that's far more than what analysts expected. market players also say economic indexes favor a rate rise next month. let's see what is happening on the markets. tokyo share prices are higher this thursday morning with all

sectors up jumping up 1.47% posting a three-month high. investors are reading the minutes of the october fed meeting as a sign the u.s. economy is strong. moving on to currencies the dollar rose to a fresh high against peers after the minutes put a rate hike on the horizon for 2015. the greenback is trading against the yen. analysts expect more dollar buying as the bank of japan is unlikely to take further monetary easing measures after concluding their policy meeting today. let's take a look at other markets across the asia pacific. we are seeing a positive picture this morning. sidney share prices off to a strong start up 1.18%. in seoul the kospi higher by more than 0.8%. we will see where trading takes us throughout the morning. people across south korea have

been drawn into a scandal that is affecting millions of motorists world wide. many are demanding refunds from german car maker volkswagon. now government officials are expanding the scope of their investigation into the matter. nhk world has more. >> reporter: volkswagen's emissions scandal has been snow balling across many countries including south korea. drivers are furious. she owns one of 120,000 vehicles in her country that are affected. she wanted a car that would produce fewer toxic emissions on her daily drive to work. and she believed that her diesel option would be more environmentally friendly. it volkswagen's reputation has plummeted. i can no longer sell my car.

it's value has sunk in the used car market. >> reporter: more and more motorists in south korea have been embracing diesel. they like the idea of driving something that is fuel efficient and eco friendly. volkswagen group officials say their sales have been climbing especially since the free trade agreement last year between south korea and eu eliminated a tariff on cars with engines over 1,500 cc. they say last year south koreans bought more than 30,000 volkswagens and they say sales for audi increased to 28,000. but now many owners are lining up to demand refunds. >> translator: these people are

very upset. vw hasn't come up with a clear plan for a recall or compensation. >> reporter: he says the number of plaintiffs could rise to 6,000. the south korean government is responding to volkswagen's emission scandal. officials began conducting tests on the auto maker groups sold in the country. investigators are putting the cars through their paces on highways, hills and other outdoor surfaces so that they can emit the effect of the legal software that only works during tests performed indoors. authorities plan to release the findings soon and they say they will consider punitive measures for any violations. >> translator: consumers want to know if their cars are involved in this fraud. we want to carry out the tests

as carefully as we can. >> reporter: that's not all. government officials say they plan to check not only volkswagen vehicles but all diesel cars in south korea. they launched the inquiry in september. nhk world, seoul. >> and i will have more headlines for you in business news next hour. for now i will leave you with the market figures.

prime minister shinzo abe will be the first to attend cop 21 later this month. the top government spokesperson yoshihide suga announced the prime minister will make a four-day trip to europe from november 29th. he says at the conference, japan will show its proactive stance toward reaching an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. >> translator: world leaders will try to negotiate a new global framework to replace the current kyoto protocol after 2020. prime minister abe considers it very important and has decided to attend himself. and following the series of attacks in paris, french officials said no world leaders have asked for the conference to be postponed, but they say some side events may be canceled. prime minister abe set a target of 26% cut by 2030.

the tokyo metropolitan government is looking to set a more ambitious goal. nhk learned officials with the capital hope to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to around 30%. tokyo officials say it is close to the european union's target. they will speed up energy saving measures requiring operators of large office buildings to reduce their emissions. the tokyo government will decide on the goal by march after it hears the opinions of residents. officials say claims of cheating in russia show there is a need for a new approach to testing. they say an independent global body should take charge of drug inspections. officials released a report last week accusing russian athletics federation of systematic doping

and cover ups and stripped of the accreditation. russian track and field athletes are banned from taking part in international competitions. on tuesday members of the agency's executive committee met in the u.s. city of colorado springs. they agreed that responsibility for the doping test should go to a new international organization. currently competition organizers oversee inspections. the board members discuss whether they should strip russia's anti doping lab of certification. members of the agency's foundation board plan to talk about the issues at a meeting on wednesday. every year a few thousand young assistant teachers from

abroad helped students in japansied english. the government sponsored initiative call it the teaching program or jet. for one irish woman it was an experience that inspired her to dedicate her life to promoting japanese food. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the medieval irish city recently held a food festival. she shared her expertise in japanese cuisine. she showed how to make hand rolled sushi. >> translator: it's that simple and it is a corn shape. to close it off you use a few spare grains of rice. >> reporter: she tells people they can use local ingredients and that making japanese food is not too challenging. >> first time. really nice. >> it was so easy to make. very good for the kids. >> reporter: she arrived in japan on the program in 2002.

she taught english for two years. a few years after returning home she was diagnosed with cancer. she had to go through chemotherapy. then she says all she could eat was japanese food. >> it was the one food that i could eat and feel good about afterwards and easily digest it. so i found i think the japanese food helped me to get better. and helps me keep well today. >> reporter: she started cooking simple dishes she learned in japan every day. she regained her health and now has two sons. japanese food became her passion and developed into a profession. she published her first japanese cook book in september. she has since travelled around for signings. last week she took her family to

nigata for the first time. she was looking forward to seeing an elderly couple. she knew the taste of local rice and vegetables thanks to them and their farm. >> translator: we grow rice so we wanted her to eat it. >> the rice was so delicious and felt good to eat local rice. >> reporter: wanted to learn more about local cuisine from her long-time friends. >> when something is in season japanese people it like chestnuts in the rice. and then it is quite simple so japanese food they let the food taste come through, the natural taste so it is not overpowered.

>> reporter: she visited a high school where she used to teach. she wanted to see the lunch system. the menu included rice, salad, soug pork and vegetable soup all prepared using local ingredients. she says child obesity is becoming a big problem. she says japanese take over food for children first valuable lessons. >> japanese food definitely saved me and even if people take a few elements from the japanese way of eating then i think it will help with how healthy they are and how long they live. >> reporter: she says her two years on the program changed her life. she wants to continue being a bridge between japan and ireland as long as she can.

nhk world. people in central u.s. states are dealing with severe weather. residents are seeing widespread travel delays. meteorologist robert speta joins us with the latest. >> this storm system we have been tracking all week really has been a messy situation out here for many people starting from the rockies. we saw widespread snowfall and then texas, oklahoma, numerous reports of tornadoes out here and then towards iowa. all of this is continuing to shift towards the east. across the eastern seaboard as we go ahead through your thursday you are seeing heavy rain especially towards the south the risk of flash flooding and the chance of severe thunderstorms possibility of tornado or two coming out of this. also, you are looking back towards the north. coming around the western

periphery we have a tight pressure gradient. also the snowfall. some areas of ontario see 20 centimeters of snow and heavy snow and blowing snow warnings in effect across the area. so reducing visibility. traveling is going to be a slow go on the roads and at the airports. back towards the west i want to make note we have the very blustery conditions continuing to stream on shore in the pacific northwest actually in washington two reports of casualties out here due to high winds toppling trees but also snow in higher elevations and flooding is being seen as areas around seattle. i do mention both of these storms here because both are going to be playing a role in the weather by this weekend. this one will be gone and towards the northeast. we have the cold air sweeping in from the north. so for some of you you get a little bit of a break here by thursday into friday. that's a little back towards the west. once that next storm system

makes its way across the plains you have the windy and snow conditions in your forecast going to make its way toward the east by saturday. take a look at chicago, 8 for your high on thursday. sunny skies dropping down to just 2 there. toronto 12 down to 3. all of you will be seeing snowfall, as well. some of you the first snow here into the winter of 2015 into 2016 across the great lakes region. let's take a look on the other side of the world completely opposite from snow. in western australia we have been looking at dry conditions. you can see this front right here. this actually has been bringing storms for a few of you and lightning. i want to show you video out of this area. you get the dry weather combined and creates these very large bush fires. throughout the first half of the week it has been just blazing across this area near the coast. there has been at least four reports of casualties.

temperatures continuing to climb. it's really serious situation. hundreds of residents had to be evacuated. firefighters having a problem. take a look at the forecast dry conditions expected through your thursday into the weekend. very little in the form of relief as far as precipitation coming into this area. meanwhile back towards the north we are getting drier weather across japan. that is good news for those of you. that low that brought the rainfall on thursday or wednesday is now tracking towards the east. behind a high pressure working in making for cooler conditions, cold for some of you out here. actually across parts of northeastern china snowfall. beijing just 4 for your high. rain/snow mix on your thursday and thereat has to go somewhere beijing, rain and snow. look at your highs, not even reaching the freezing point into the weekend. if you want to go somewhere with

snowfall how about sapporo. snow all the way through saturday. i will leave you now with your extended outlook.

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

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