it's the top of the hour in tokyo. this is "newsline" and i'm ross mihara. the nuclear security summit in washington kicked off with a working dinner hosted by u.s. president, barack obama. world leaders exchanged views on how to keep terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. this is the fourth and final summit hosted by obama. he is asking the participants to confirm the commitment to fighting nuclear terrorism. leaders from more than 50 countries are attending the two-day event. shinzo abe is among them. he stressed the need to prevent the theft of nuclear materials, attacks on facilities and cyber

attacks. he called to share information and coordinate efforts with international organizations. u.s. secretary of state john kerry hosted a meeting of foreign minsters. >> to make the world a safer place. for some people that's sort of a slogan. for everybody in this room it's our daily work. >> the did deadly attacks have heightened the importance of the summit. the leaders are expected to discuss measures to respond to the islamic state group. the leaders of japan and the united states pledged to cooperate in strengthening global nuclear security. prime minister abe and president obama issued a joint statement at the summit. it said the two countries will cooperate in transporting uranium. fuel will be sent from the experimental reactor in western

japan to the u.s. for disposal. it's part of the effort to minimize stockpiles that could be used to produce weapons. the reactor was used for basic research and to teach students, but has been off line since 2014 to assess whether weather it meets new regulations. the facility has about 50 kilograms of over 70% visionable, highly enriched uranium. japan and the u.s. will increase cooperation to ensure the nuclear materials are safely transported. the leaders of the two nations highlighted the completion of the removal and separated plutonium from another facility in north eastern japan well ahead of schedule. they will share intelligence on nuclear security. the defense ministry said the north launched a short range sur

face to air missile. it was fired in the eastern province around 1:00 p.m. south korean time on friday. they said it fell in the sea of japan. the news agency said the missile flew about 100 kilometers. defense ministry officials are analyzing information. on top of a nuclear test and a rocket launch in recent months, pyongyang fired a series of projectiles. it launched short range ballistic missiles believed to be scuds. they are believed to be a new type of rocket. north korea's state media reported that pyongyang must use nuclear force if its sovereignty is threatened. leaders of china and south korea discussed in washington. ping urged them to refrain from

taking actions. officials said they called for resolutions on north korea as well as dialogue. and the strategic balance in the region. the remarks are aimed at keeping both in check. south korea is conducting the largest ever joint military drills and they are discussing the deployment of the state-of-the-art missile system in south korea. she stressed the importance of cooperation to stop the provocations. she said north korea's recent missile tests showed the importance of working together to min tan peace and stability in the region. a search and rescue operation has taken on a sense of urgencey and india.

the overpass collapsed and 24 people are dead and 90 others are injured. some people can be buried under the debris. the overpass was under construction in a bustling area when it collapsed. video footage of the collapse has been shown in india and abroad. >> if i had been two seconds later, i would be crushed under the bridge. i survived, but only by two seconds. it took that long to run and then i fell. >> police are investigating the company in charge of the project. a company representatives said they are prepared to cooperate with police. are we'll will cooperate with the investigation and review the maximum support. we are ankz to know why it happened. we want to know the reason why it happened. >> india is experiencing a construction boom and has seen a

series of fatal accidents at building sites. in 2013, at least 74 people were killed when a building under construction collapsed in the western city of mumbai. member countries of the association of southeast asia nations are or asean have been hit by large and tragic natural disasters. they responded with a training program to ensure that leaders are able to respond if disaster strikes again. 16 officials have started a six-month program and the aim is to develop the management and leadership skills as well as the connectivity to help others respond to disasters. they invited the participants affected by the earthquake and tsunami. they provided other training opportunities. >> this is one of the areas of asean cooperation and they host

they are here today. we will do our best to acquire the knowledge and experiences. >> for the search capacity or improving the capacity of our country, it's best that we coordinate with other member states. >> they have to impact and one country cannot handle by himself. he will be one response. >> in 2012, they set up a warehouse for the emergency supplies in malaysia. japan plans to expand assistance to the facility. although the long civil war in sri lanka ended seven years ago, the minority people who live at the scenes of past battles had limits on their freedoms of speech and assembly. since last year's change of government, they are finally able to express themselves freely. now a group of young actors is

trying to overcome the trauma of war through theater. we have a report. >> as the rebel stronghold, the town was the scene of fierce battle in the civil war. the war broke out in 1983 and lasted for 26 years, leaving tens of thousands dead. despite reconstruction efforts, people still bear deep mental scars. >> we lost almost everything in the war. even now it's painful to recall those days. >> last year a group of young lost family members in the civil war and international ngo runs the troops and pays them so they can live independently.

this girl lost her mother and older brother in the conflict. she now lives with her father and younger sister and family duties prevent her from working. still haunted by memories of the war, she made three suicide attempts. >> translator: eight of my neighbors were killed in the shelling. that brought home to me the terror of the war. i thought i would die and that i wouldn't survive. talking about this is just -- >> she couldn't talk to others or laugh like she did in the past. she joined the troop and at first she had trouble fitting in. >> she wouldn't talk to anyone. it seemed like she had a really hard time ever since she was a

child. the others lost loved ones. seeing others making great efforts, it gradually opened up. >> your acting was great today. >> translator: i lost my mother and brother and many people experienced much worse. so i began to think that doing something for them would make me happy. >> the troop performs about ten times a month. on this day about 50 local people showed up to watch. they gave people a chance to perform their problems thought to be caused by the war. they include alcohol dependence and domestic violence. this is an abusive alcoholic

father. she played a teacher who tries to protect the child. after that, the actors invite them to discuss possible solutions. >> what do you think should be done in such a situation? >> the older brother should tell his father not to drink. >> she now wants to be a counsellor to help people overcome trauma. >> i have all kinds of problems. but now i have come to appreciate life again. joining the troop gave me motivation. i want to keep acting with them. >> born and raised in the shadow of the civil war, many have

mental scars. but they are now trying hard to create their own lives. nhk world, sri lanka. new recruits marked the first day on the job with organizations across japan. friday was the start of fiscal year 2016. toshiba welcomed about 900 new hires with the ceremony near tokyo. some will be working at subsidiaries within the group. toshiba is restructuring the staff after a major bookkeeping scandal surfaced last year. the president first apologized to the new hires for causing them concern and asked for their understanding. >> we have to have higher consciousness and run our company in good faith. we must regain confidence from

society and our stakeholders. i hope our hearts will become as one and you do your best. >> one new employee said she is determined to turn them around. they slashed 13,800 jobs and will impose a hiring freeze in april 2017. a bank of japan survey shows sentiment has worsened. the quarterly survey covers more than 10,000 firms. the indeces represent the difference that say business is good and those who see it as bad. the sentiment was plus 6, down six points from the december survey. the results show manufacturers are increasingly concerned about the slow down in emerging economies and the higher yen. the index for large non-manufacturers fell three

points to plus 22. spending was losing steam. for three months ahead, large manufacturers expect the intext to fall. large non-manufacturers expect a five-point decline. moving on to the u.s. economy, the latest data shows employment increased solidly and wages rebounded in march, but the jobless rate inched up. labor department officials say payrolls in march increased by 215,000 from the previous month. that's higher than the market forecast of about 200,000. employment stayed strong and food services and construction while job losses were seen in manufacturing and mining. average wages were higher, up 2.3% from a year earlier. the unemployment rate was 5% in march. that's up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month.

it's the first rise in three months. policy makers at the u.s. federal reserve held rates at the current level so far this year because of market volitility. many analysts are predicting they will maintain the status quo when it meets later this month. >> it's the little space probe that could. after a near mission failure and years spent sailing through space, they are finally delivering the goods. it sent back images of venus and there is more to come. nhk report. >> thanks to the careful work of the project members. they are functioning without any problems. officials from the japan exploration agency are given an update on the progress. ed the probe was launched six

years ago on a mission to explore the climate of venus, but the main engine broke down and he spent the next five years circling the sun. but the engineers didn't give up. they made a second attempt reach venus last december and with the use of the structures, he managed to successfully enter orbit around the planet. it became japan's first spacecraft to circle a planet other than earth. only a few months and the probe is sending back observations. these images were taken by them. the black area is believed to be a hill about 4,000 meters high, stretching several thousand kilometers. this is an infrared image of the crowd. stretching from the northern to southern hemmis fierce is said

to be a cloud of nitric acid. the clouds stretched more than 20 kilometers. the main commission to determine how they are formed and sustained. it will try to find out what role they played. >> venus is offer referred to as earth's sister planet. the sizes and age are almost the same. experts believe researching venus can help with understanding global warming on earth. the grown house effect contributes to a surface temperature that can reach 470 degrees celsius. >> translator: i would like to understand the mechanism that circulates such a thick atmosphere of dozens of kilometers. this will deepen the understanding of the atmosphere here on earth. >> the mission is far from over. it is not functioning at the full capacity yet. that is expected to happen in a couple of weeks.

meanwhile, scientists are waiting to see what the probe sends back next. nhk world. >> another japanese based mission is not going so well. the satellite may have internal damage. they lost contact with it last week and they still have hope they can regain control. agency officials gave an update about the status of the craft and they launched it in february and it is orbiting the earth. they say it's spinning and losing control. it is designed to use x-rays to unravel mist reece of the universe including the evolution of black holes. >> we think the internal parts of damaged and there appeared to be fragments around the satellite. we believe the main body is still intact. >> officials say it looks like a

meter long portion of the satellite separated. they are working to identify it. they said it's unlikely the damage was caused by space debris. they will continue efforts to communicate with the craft. >> officials with amnesty international say migrant workers have been abused. the human rights organization criticized fifa and the governments of qatar. amnesty officials released a report that details conditions they said workers must endure. they are based on interviews with 200 laborers including those refurbishing one of the stadiums. >> they are deceived about the type of work they will be doing. some workers go for many, many months without being paid.

having worked long hours in harsh conditions. >> the group said the government and fifa failed to take proper measures to fix the situation, but qatar official said the research is limit and not representative of the entire workforce. they said many challenges remain and they are confident the authorities have taken appropriate steps to improve the situation. another set back for organizers of the rio de janeiro olympics. the head of the security force stepped down amid reports. he quit his post months before the games are to start. he oversaw the force of public security. he is a second senior official involved in planning the olympics to resign in recent days. the sports minster stepped down. the games are scheduled to start

in august. they have launched a scathing attack of officials and accuse of them of being obsessed with power and uninterested in the affairs. it was impossible for him to perform his job possible. american 1269s made a breakthrough in the study of the mosquito-bourne zika virus and managed to identify the structure, raising hopes for new ways to combat the virus. with allergies and findings in the latest issue with the u.s. journal science. they used a microscope to analyze the structure of the virus spreading across latin america. it notes a strong similarity to the pathogen that causes dengy. they noticed protrusions that

give it unique characteristics. it is believed that the protrusions attached to human cells and that could explain how the virus infects people. hopes are high that the findings will lead to the developments of vac teens and treatments and clarify the links between the virus and microcephaly that causes small head size in babies. japanese researchers have improved treatment with people with serious cardiac problems. they used ips cells to make muscle cells pure enough to transplant into humans. the professor and his team want to start clinical trials as early as next year. they can be turned into any kind of tissue. the researchers had succeeded in transforming them into heart and muscle cells, but when they tested them in pigs, a small

number could become tumors. the team said it used a special solution that killed off the potentially dangerous cells. >> we hope to use this technology to help treat people with major heart failure. >> he said he wants to help patients whose only option is a heart transplant. a research group said it has cloned mice from cells taken from europe. the technique may expand conditions needed to produce cloned animals. the team is led by a professor from the university. the members took urine-derived cells from mice and used nuclear transfer to implant them into eggs. they produced four cloned mice. they collected the urine-derived cells without harming the donors and the method could be used to rescue endangered species

without causing injury to the donor animals. >> i'm happy there is a possibility to produce cloned animals using a bit of urine. we may be able to save the species. >> the study results have been published in the british journal scientific reports. there is a new exercise for the elderly in japan. it doesn't just help seniors stay physically fit. as our next report shows, it helps them flex their mental muscles. >> it looks like a sedate senior citizen version of hop scotch. this new exercise is known as square stepping. the rules are simple. a map printed with a great of squares is laid out on the floor. they memorize the steps shown by the teacher. then they have to repeat it themselves. tens of thousands of people

around japan now take part in this kind of exercise. square stepping was developed about 20 years ago by an associate professor at the university to help reduce the risk of falling among elderly people. now it seem that is it may help prevent dementia too. in a recent study, around 250 elderly people did the exercise for three months and improvements were found in five categories of cognitive function. >> attention and memory have improved significantly. >> it's possible that this exercise could help prevent dementia if practiced for an extended period. >> for begins with a basicy is kwent like simply advancing one step at a time. as the participants master each level, more complex moves are

added. more backward steps and four finger movements in time with the feet. there over 200 patterns and by raising the difficulty level, participants are challenged and remain interested. participants are encouraged to communicate among each other. another factor thought to prevent dementia. >> i take part every week. i mess up and others laugh and show me the correct steps. >> i recommend others do this exercise. >> this exercise doesn't require much space or expensive equipment. it is in germany, brazil and parts of asia. around the world, senior citizens are taking big steps towards greater health. >> here's a quick look at the weekend weather.

>> that's all we have this hour on "newsline." thanks for staying with us on nhk world.

narrator: today, "global 3000" gives women a voice. like here in ramallah, where a palestinian woman is using radio to fight stereotypes in her community. and we'll be listening to this woman. uganda's youngest rap star is self-confident and politically outspoken. her aim -- becoming president. but first we go to guatemala, a country in which women rarely have a say and where teenage pregnancies make up 1/4 of the total. every year 7.3 million girls under 18 worldwide give birth. almost all of them are from developing countries. there are many