hello. welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, december 30th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. air strikes have killed ten leaders over the past month. steve warren as spokes kls person for the coalition made the announcement at a news conference on tuesday. warren said one killed in syria last thursday was directly linked to the paris attack leader. one man killed in iraq two days later also had links to the paris attack network. warren said other leaders that

plans and carries out attack against western targets. he indicated the coalition will step up air strikes against islamagainst the leaders. a childhood friend of one of the attackers who stormed a paris concert hall last month. the man was a french citizen of moroccan origin who went to syria in the summer of 2013. belgian police have arrested two people on suspicion of plotting an attack in the capital of brussels on new year's eve. prosecutors said in a statement on tuesday that the arrests came after they raided several places over the previous two days. they did not disclose the names, sex or nationality of the suspects. the prosecutor said no weapons or explosives were discovered, but the authorities seized military-style clothing and propaganda material of the islamic state group. they suspect those arrested may be linked to the militants.

the authorities said the arrests were not linked to the paris attacks in november. belgian police are still searching for a man wanted in connection with the attacks and believed they were highly likely planned in belgium. police in pakistan say a suicide bombing in the northwest has killed at least 25 civilians and injured more than 70. a man with explosives blew himself up on tuesday at a gate of a government building in the city of mardan. those affected include many people who lined up before the gates to get their identity cards. a group linked to the pakistani taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack. the palestini group has repeatedly carried out terrorist attacks. pakistani ground forces have been conducting massive military operations against them since june of last year. local police suspect that tuesday's bombing was to

retaliate against the military offensives. a japanese author is shedding light on an ongoing tragedy in the democratic republic of the congo. his work examines the plight of children who have been forced to become soldiers and take part in atrocities and he has written a memoir to express their cries for help. >> reporter: he starts as a kind-hearted boy loved by his family and neighbors but one day he has been tricked into becoming a fighter himself. the story develops based on a relationship kindled between the boy soldier zaza and a reporter from japan.

the characters are fictional, but the author says the events are all too real >> translator: i want people to know what's going on in africa, the things happening there right now. >> reporter: he has seen the situation firsthand during the democratic republic of the congo. civil war in congo has claimed the lives of more than 500 people. every village bears scars from the war and the suffering continues today. he was able to talk to former child soldiers and heard stories of unimaginable horror. >> translator: the armed militants forced us to transfer weapons and shot those who refused. >> reporter: he met another boy

suffering from deep psychological wounds. this former soldier couldn't even hold a conversation. >> translator: people say this boy was nearly an animal when he was brought here. i see why they had that impression. i really felt his heart rendering cry. >> reporter: after returning to j japan, he was determined to depict the slaughter taking place in congo and in graphic terms. >> translator: the depictions on these pages are very violent. do they really have to be this gruesome? >> translator: the situation cannot be conveyed in words alone. but it's also too violent to show in photographs. that's why we thought using manga would be good.

it's how much of the brutality i witnessed can be expressed. >> reporter: in the beginning zaza is reluctant to fire his gun but in a short while he is promoted to lead the other boys. >> translator: the children are killing each other! this is hell. i'm in the middle of hell! >> reporter: he refused to gloss over the harsh realities of war but his story also offers hope. it includes a scene where zaza lays down his weapon. >> translator: i know very well how adults deceive young children into becoming soldiers. i want to help as many boy soldiers like me as i can. >> translator: if readers can imagine their own children forced to become soldiers, they will feel for these boys just like i did.

>> reporter: life in tokyo feels a long way from the world of civil war and terrorism. but oishi says young people are suffering in africa and manga can express their cry for help. a paris-based journalist organization has withdrawn a report that an armed group in syria detained japanese journalist and demanded a ransome. reporters without borders said on the website on monday the news release was not drafted according to normal procedures and was not sufficiently verified and it has been withdrawn. it offered apologies to the family and friends. its initial report said yasuda had been kidnapped in an area controlled by the al qaeda affiliated front. it said the group was demanding a ransom for his release.

sources close to yasuda say he entered syria through southern turkey in late june with a guide to cover the country's civil war. yasuda was supposed to return to japan in july, but his whereabouts remain unknown. nhk has learned what the japanese government has in mind for the agenda for next year's summit of major nations. the government plans to take up terrorism. japan will share the summit to take place in may in the ise-shima area in japan. other participating nations on what the leaders should discuss. sources say the government is considering focusing on four main themes. they are world economy and trade, politics and diplomacy, climate change and energy and development. the sources say arrangements are also being made to cover fr infrastructure, health and women. the government plans to take up terrorism by islamic state militants and other groups.

another topic is move to unilaterally change the status quo by force, including china's increased e ed maritime activit. they hope for solidarity in opposing such moves by china and russia and resolutely responding to them. ♪ in our series "women of vision," we've been spotlighting women in japan who are influencing society and challenging its norms. the first female executive in the 70-year history of the japan business federation. yoshida is also a mother. she is expected to provide moment toum to women-omics.

nhk's kyoto yokimoto has story. >> thank you for your time. >> reporter: she is responsible for strategy and business operations and keeps in close touch with the company's other branches. yoshida found herself in the spotlight this year when japan's largest business lobby appointed yoshida as the company's first female executive. the only woman among 36 executives, she believes japanese companies could often use women's viewpoint. also it may not have been the norm in business. >> i call it brazil effect. i like this understanding,

wonderful japanese dish. as a final touch, grabs not ginger but basil. that happens to be me. i wanted to contribute to change the position in japan for female. >> reporter: women occupy 44% of the management positions in the u.s., 34% in britain. but in japan only 11%. japan's center and evolution system which endorsed long-working hours have prevented women from being promoted. >> the way we work right now in japan is, you know, proximity. you commute to the office 9:00 to almost 9:00 and elbow to elbow in the same office, always. otherwise, you are not considered you're working.

but in western countries wherever you are, as long as you deliver something you are expected to deliver, you're okay. >> reporter: yoshida moved to canada upon getting married. after her divorce she scored top marks in a telecom firm in new york as a working single mother. this is a drawing her daughter made when she was 5. it shows yoshida is an angel on a globe. in those days, she was so busy with work and business trips that she barely had any time to be with her daughter. on the back of the drawing is the inscription "you will always be here in my heart, mommy." >> i broke to tears when i saw that. my pure wish is time has come where my daughter can have as many options as possible, as she

likes, work or life. but she can have happy career at the same time she can have happy family. >> reporter: putting much of her energy in encouraging the member companies to put more women in management positions. to provide role models, she invites female executives from overseas to address a committee that she heads. >> real benefit is when a business starts treating those women as equals, when you have an inclusive, a truly inclusive -- not just a diverse work space. >> boys be ambitious, girls be demanding. is that right? this is more or less revolution that we never tried to change

century after century. i think diversity, inclusion, if we really want to make it happen, we have to have a society where barriers -- option is available for everybody. >> reporter: yoshida says now is the time to boost the role of women and change society where gender has been a dominant factor for far too long. keiko yamamoto, nhk world. thai authorities have started to use a smart phone application to help them combat illegal trade in ivory. it can distinguish between asian and african ivory. they used it tuesday to spot

check statues supposedly made from legal ivory. two of the five products turned out to be made from african ivory and were confiscated. the shop owner was told to report to police for questioning. it can differentiate between the two kinds of ivory based upon the chemical elements they contain. conventional tan te aal dna tes two weeks to make the distinction. it's illegal to smuggle african ivory. japanese public is more interested in space exploration than ever. more than 2,000 people rushed to apply for only eight openings for the space simulation sperm, the larger-than-expected number of entries has forced the exploration agency to cut short the period.

they plan to develop a new and easier method to detect the stress of astronauts staying at the space station. currently doctors on the ground check them every two weeks by studying their voices and complexion. the experiment will help them collect basic data. eight men between 20 and 55 will live together in a closed area, simulating a spacecraft for two weeks starting in february. the facility is also used to te -- for tests to select as kntronau. a passenger airplane is being developed in japan. mitsubishi jet had a successful flight in october. in the 1960s another mitsubishi plane took to the skies. mu-2 is still going strong and in demand. engineer who oversaw that

project came to the job after a devastating detour. nhk world reports. >> reporter: mu2 became a symbol of the industrial. the small plane was developed by mitsubishi industries. catsukuki at 93, he is still proud of the product. >> translator: it's a good plane. that's why more than 700 of them are manufactured and more than 300 are still in use. >> reporter: as a teenager, he was excited about airplanes and dreamed of flying his own some

day. in 1943 at the height of world war ii, he began working for the company. at the time, it was produce iin this plane. soon after he started his job, he was drafted by the navy. he was assigned to work at the development plant for military planes. an attack plane called the ouka was designed for suicide missions. it was, in essence, a rocket-powered flying bomb. japanese pilots used the aircraft to crash into enemy ships. the ouka was short so it would have to be hung from a conventional bomber and dropped off close to the target.

planes were show and often shut down before they could release the oukas. >> translator: it was like a coffin, a flying coffin. young pilots were put into the oukas and once they were up in the air, there was no turning back. the oukas had no equipment for landing. it was very sad. >> reporter: when the war ended the u.s. and allied forces banned production of airplanes in japan. oonoda and his colleagues were limited to designing agricultural equipment such as dredging machines. in the 1950s, the ban was lifted. oonoda joined the team that was dedicated to airplanes. >> translator: of course, i was very happy to be back in my real

profession. i worked very hard to create a good product. >> he was chosen as the project leader. >> translator: of course, my number one priority was safety. my main goal was to create an airplane that was safe and fast. in those days, bloouueprints we still around the company. i looked at all of them and borrowed ideas for the new project. >> reporter: seven years after the project began, mu-2 became a reality. it's been flying in places across the globe ever since. >> translator: flight is my dream and my ideal. my hope is that the technology

we developed and invented can be used for peaceful purposes. >> reporter: oonoda wants japan to continue to create the airplane that people fly first. with every flight his hopes takes wing. hiroki matsuyami, nhk world. it is time now for a check of the weather with meteorologist robert speta. people in western europe are dealing with severe wintry weather. what's the latest there? >> yes, we are really starting off today with another situation of this rough weather. now across parts of the uk, extending off north of iceland and much of the northern hemisphere, for that matter, continuing to see bursts of

severe weather, mainly el nino. let's first talk about this over here toward the west. this storm system, this is now being named winter storm frank. it has pressure down to 931 hectopascals. a high situated over europe will create a tight pressure gradient. we are looking at winds about 100 to 130 kilometers per hour, british isles toward iceland. the big situation here is that this storm system is coming on the heels of record-breaking floods, which has been devastated much of this area. in yorkshire, washing out bridges. many homes and businesses have been inundated. into the forecast along with those winds, an additional 30 to 40 mill liters of rainfall. some areas could even see much

more than that. back in the west, though, this has been bringing in strong southwesterly winds. iberian peninsula, temperatures have been above average. high of 17 in lisbon. as this part of the jet stream pulls up, look at all this blue out here. these are your highs. overnight lows, temperatures continue to dip down in the kiev, minus 11. much of turkey is looking at below zero temperatures extending across the black sea here. you're going to be looking at snowfall, believe it or not. even some areas of northern syria. definitely very serious situation for many refugees out across much of the area but residents alike, you'll be looking at a lot of that snowfall. it really will be making for those of you who are outside, wanting to get inside and hunker down as that storm system continues to drop 30 to 40 centimeters of total accumulation. as we move over toward north

america we have a very severe storm system pushing off to the northeast. ontario, quebec, new england, 70, 80 kilometer per hour winds. this is serious for travelers. montreal over toward philadelphia and new york as well, you've been looking at one to two-hour on average airport delays across the area. and even some cancellations have been reported. traveling in the northeast, be careful and ready for that. back down toward the south, we are looking at additional precipitation in the southeast. but really the central u.s., that's where you have been hit by the severe weather all week. even extending back before christmastime where out of st. louis, this is severe flooding that took place in total due to severe weather this past week. 40 casualties have been reported. people getting sand bags ready, maybe thinking if the rain is over with, why are we still putting up sand bags? the reason for that is

because -- look at the past week, the total rainfall across the mississippi river basin. some areas well over 700, 800 mill liters precipitation. it has to go somewhere. flowing downstream into the mississippi river. that will cause some severe river flooding not only this week but into next week as well. let's take a look over toward northeastern asia as well. i do want to mention the newier's forecast out here across much of japan. snowfall across the north. hokkaido. high pressure will work its way in. that will make for improving conditions as we head over the next 72 hours. very active low, though, over the korean peninsula, bringing snowfall out there for you. let's take a look at your three-day forecast into japan. tomorrow with snow on and off all the way out through friday. sendai, raino snow mix into your thursday. tokyo, right about average.

friday morning bundle up. low temperatures well into the single digits. i'll leave you now with your extended outlook.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." thank you so much for making us a part of your day.

>> hello and welcome to "global 3000." around the world, there is treasure just waiting to be found it can be precious metals... and also cash crops. in this edition of the program we'll be looking at the resources different countries hope will bring them prosperity and how they're trying to avoid exploitation. a curse or a blessing -- south sudan's global coffee industry booms while the country starves. new hope -- miners in bolivia turn to lithium to keep the industry alive. and nature without borders -- benin and togo join forces to protect the environment.