hello, welcome to nhk "newsline." it is tuesday, december 20th, 10:00 a.m. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. police in berlin suspect it was a deliberate attack after a truck driver plowed through a busy christmas market. at least nine people are dead and many more are injured. it happened monday night in the center of the german capital. this man was part of the crowd who gathered for food and christmas goods and describes his close call. >> it went just past me, past my girlfriend. i think it missed me by three meters, missed her by five. it came in through the entrance,

hit the sides of the barriers, then carried on past us. >> police have arrested a suspect they say was driving the truck. another suspect reportedly died at the scene. german news agency dpa say police believe terrorists were involved. authorities are urging people to stay home and remain alert. a similar attack happened in july in the french city of nice. a truck driver killed more than 80 people who had gathered for a celebration. the leaders of russia and turkey say they'll step up their fight against terrorism. their vow comes after the assassination of russia's ambassador to turkey. andrei karlov was gunned down by an off-duty police officer in ankara. karlov was shot in the back while speaking at the opening of an art exhibit. the gunman shouted "don't forget aleppo, don't forget syria." he was later killed by security. he's been identified as a member of ankara's riot police. turkish president recep tayyip erdogan and russian president vladimir putin spoke by phone.

they said their solidarity and cooperation in fighting terrorism should be stronger. relations were strained after the turkish military shot down a russian war plane last year near the syrian border. they've been making attempts to normalize relations, negotiating a syrian cease-fire and arranging evacuations from aleppo. the united nations security council is making moves to ensure the safe passage of those people. it has voted in favor of deploying mop fors to aleppo. members of the council, including russia, unanimously adopted the resolution. it's the first show of unity in months among world powers struggling to end syria's war. evacuation from the besieged city resumed sunday. the red cross says 17,000 have left so far. buses were brought in to help transport people, including anti-government fighters, and their families. aleppo was the opposition stronghold in northern syria. the government of president

basharal al assad has repeatedly changed its position about the evacuation. u.n. officials are urging the syrian government and its allies to allow monitors immediate access. aleppo's recapture seems to be cementing assad's advantage in the war as well as the survival of his regime. nhk's correspondent keichi mori is following what it means for rebel supporters. >> reporter: for days, people who have been caught in the fighting in aleppo have been sending desperate pleas over social media. >> dear world, there's intense bombing right now. why are you silent? why? why? why? >> this may be my last video. save aleppo. save the humanity. >> don't believe anymore in united nations. don't believe anymore in the international community.

>> reporter: what started as a civil war has turned into a battle as countries like united states, russia, turkey, and iran got involved. experts say the city governance strong push in aleppo may have been timed for a dramatic vacuum, the upcoming change in power in the u.s. and that could alter things drastically. president-elect donald trump says he will focus on wiping out islamic state militants and will work with russia, a u.s. arch-rival that strongly supported assad. syrian refugees who support the opposition are struggling to stay hopeful. nasma is one of them. the 22-year-old escaped the

security forces offensive, taking shelter in southeastern turkey. >> i want everyone to get out safely. and then maybe i can meet all my friends again. >> reporter: in particular, nasma is concerned about her boyfriend who remains in the city. he is part of the rebel forces and has been posting footage of the conflict. >> translator: many people have been wounded from the shelling. but there is no medical facility to accept them. >> reporter: he says the situation is urgent and won't leave until the residents have gotten out safely. >> translator: we need to evacuate the residents quickly or there will be more bloodshed. >> reporter: nasma fears one of the implications are finished her boyfriend might be taken by government forces.

>> why does everyone have normal lives but we don't? everyone gets to see each other and we don't. we lost our land. this is the land we were born in. this is the land that we loved each other in. this is where we met. and now we lost it. we can never go back. >> reporter: and for people like nasma, the anguish isn't over. government troops are now expected to turn their offensive rebels elsewhere in the country. keichi mori, nhk world. on to other stories we're following this hour. foreign ministers from several

southeast asian countries have made a breakthrough of sorts regarding rohingya muslims. they got myanmar to agree to allow humanitarian aid. the government says since october 17, soldiers and police have been killed as well as 69 militants. rohingya sources say the number of casualties is actually much higher. independent monitors haven't been allowed in. the foreign ministers met in yangon on monday after an international outcry. the asian foreign minister called for an end to the crisis saying the situation has become a regional concern and countries should work together to resolve it. myanmar's leader aung san suu kyi was pressed to take action and the meeting ended in consensus. >> myanmar appreciates very much the overture from the asean

countries from the humanitarian assistance. so the access of the humanitarian assistance will be open. >> u.n. officials say there are daily reports of rapes and killings of rohingyas. muslims have staged protests outside myanmar's embassies in the region. that increased pressure on myanmar to deal with its ethnic conflicts. let see what's making headlines in the business world. the chairman of japanese telecom operator softbank group has his eye on an american venture firm. son says he is ready to invest. let's find out more from ai uchida. tell us about this company. >> the company is one web. what they're doing is making small, low-flying satellites that could provide internet to a lot of places that don't currently have access due to things like harsh terrain or unstable economy. son says softbank will invest $1 billion in the firm and he called it the first step toward delivering on a promise made with u.s. president-elect donald

trump to invest heavily in the united states. one web plans to launch over 720 satellites. the aim is to extend internet coverage to include developing countries and disaster-hit areas. officials at the virginia-based company say they are going to build a plant in florida to manufacture its next-generation satellites. softbank's money will mainly go to building the factory. the project is estimated to create about 3,000 jobs over the next four years. son has told trump he plans to invest a total of $50 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the u.s. a foreign ministry official in tokyo says japanese and eu negotiators are arranging to continue talks on an economic partnership agreement in january. the comment came after the officials left the table without a broad agreement. the official was speaking at an agriculture meeting of ruling liberal democratic legislators. the official reported on the

outcome of the latest round of talks that japan and the eu held last week. the official said they're close to reaching a broad agreement but still have some issues to resolve. the remarks suggest the negotiators failed to bridge their differences on automotive and farm tariffs. the eu's chief negotiator told reporters the talks will need to continue for several weeks. the ldp lawmakers plan to ask the government to estimate the possible effects any lifting or removal of tariffs on farm imports would have on japan's agriculture industry. they're also going to study assistance for farm producers. a french court has found the head of the international monetary fund guilty of negligence over the misuse of public funds during her time as france's finance minister. it imposed no punishment on christine lagarde. she approved an award of about

400 million euros or $416 million to a businessman for the disputed sale of a company. the court found no fault in lagarde's decision to launch an arbitration procedure but found her guilty of negligence for not appealing the arbitration panel's ruling. local media quoted the verdict as saying lagarde found herself amid the global financial crisis at the time, a fact that should be taken into account. she became the first woman to lead the washington-based imf in 2011. she's currently serving her second term. the imf will open a board meeting to discuss its response to the latest developments. lagarde's defense council is reportedly considering filing an appeal. now let's check on markets. tokyo stock prices opened slightly lower on concerns over geopolitical risks but the benchmark nikkei is moving in a narrow range ahead of a bank of japan policy decision. take a look at the nikkei right now. it is trading just ever so slightly in the positive.

basically flat at 19,395. energy-related and financials are dragging down the index. major exporters are also lower on the stronger yen. later on tuesday, the bank of japan will wrap up its policy meeting. many analysts are expecting no change in its monetary easing. the focus will be what the statement says about recent moves in currencies and bond yields. take a look at couraurrenciecur. the dollar briefly fell below 117 yen but has recovered a bit of ground at 117.3. traders are buying safe haven assets like the yen on geopolitical concerns after the killing of russia's ambassador in turkey and the deadly incident in berlin. let's turn to markets open now across the asia-pacific. we are seeing gains elsewhere. seoul's kospi is up by .25%. and in sydney the benchmark index is trading higher by .6%. china markets will open in just under half an hour.

cars, trains, boats, and planes. these are the transportation modes that we are most familiar with. now a company in the u.s. is working on a new technology that promises to revolutionize travel by transporting people and cargo at near-supersonic speeds. >> reporter: this is what travel could look like in the not too distant future. first, you reserve your seat and settle into a small pod at a nearby station. then you're shot through a tube at extremely high speeds to your destination. the top speed is more than 1,000 kilometers per hour. meet the hyperloop. an entirely new mode of transportation. travelers will be able to get from los angeles to san francisco, a distance of over 600 kilometers, in around 30 minutes. despite the high speeds, the pod

will travel silently. this l.a. company is developing the groundbreaking transportation system. about 200 people are working on it, with specialties ranging from aerodynamics to i.t. this is the actual size of a hyperloop tube. it will be carrying pods that will travel faster than an airplane. a vacuum created inside the tube is key to those high speeds. it eliminates air resistance so there's nothing to slow the pods down. also, the system will use magnetic levitation to allow the pods to glide above the track with minimal friction. it relies on permanent magnets that don't require a lot of electricity. firm officials say it will be cheaper to operate than regular high-speed trains.

they say the system is ready to go, and all that's left is to figure out how to integrate it with existing technology. >> when the wright brothers built the first aircraft, they essentially used a lot of technologies that didn't exist at the time. we are taking existing pieces of technology and we are connecting them together in ways that have never been connected before. >> three, two, one -- >> reporter: the system has passed a series of tests using prototypes. as it nears completion, it's attracted the interest of government officials in the united arab emirates and finland. >> when i think of transportation and the networks we've built over the last 50, 100 years, generally they're not keeping up. it would be transformational as much as the internet was to the

world we expect today and broadband, i think hyperloop will make that same transformation in the transportation world in the future. >> reporter: the developers are aiming to make the hyperloop passenger-ready by around 2020. and they're hoping it will fundamentally change the future of travel. rosa sabrino, nhk world, los angeles. >> that's the latest in business for this hour. here's a check on markets.

on to other stories we're following at this hour. india has managed to maintain high economic growth in recent years. but at the same time, the country is estimated to have around 1.2 million children living on the streets. today one indian newspaper is attracting increasing attention by giving its readers a chance to listen to the real voices of these children. >> reporter: this 16-year-old is a reporter. she writes about children in the slums and on the streets. >> translator: what are you doing now? you're selling batteries. do you have someone to help you? >> translator: no, nobody helps me. >> reporter: she works for a newspaper, "children's voice" in hindi.

she describes violence to street children and the harsh conditions of child labor. her stories depict the difficult lives of indian children from poor families. the newspaper comes out monthly. it's published by a group of local ngos that supports street children. the newspaper has a circulation of 8,000 and sells for about 7 u.s. cents a copy. >> translator: i think it's a good newspaper. it helps us learn about street children. >> reporter: all the reporters are boys and girls, aged between 12 and 18. they are all former street children, including jyoti. the child reporters are happy to work without pay, because they want to spread the word about the true plight of homeless children.

they learn to read and write at a class. the group of ngos helped to organize it. jyoti was convinced that people could change their lives if they made an effort. >> translator: for the first time in my life, i was able to feel that my existence had some meaning in society. >> reporter: on this day, jyoti is visiting a slum in new delhi, the lum is located alongside a railway. several girls are collecting materials in a cloud of dust. >> translator: do you have any problems with this job? >> translator: i sometimes hurt my hands and i have to keep standing all the time. and the dust often makes me feel bad. >> reporter: they have to work next to the line, so many have been injured by passing trains.

>> translator: those girls are not allowed to quit work. they're being denied their rights to education. it pained my heart to hear their stories. >> reporter: this is the newest edition of the newspaper. it contains an article by jyoti titled "children who quit school for their families." it describes the daily life of the young girls, who make a living finding ways to give their families financial support. >> translator: i want to be a professional journalist in the future. my life changed drastically when i became a reporter. i want to give other children a chance to change and have hopes for the future. >> reporter: jyoti knows she can write about street children more convincingly than anybody else

because of her firsthand experience. her pen is constantly in her hand, to spread her message and the children's voices. shifting gears now. japanese animation has been smashing box office records in asia. "your name" is now the highest-grossing japanese movie of all-time in china and thailand. the film is a bittersweet love story about two high school students who swap bodies. it's been winning the director a lot of international attention. the film's distributor says box office sales in china have topped $9 billion, or about $76 million, in less than three weeks. it broke the record set by another japanese animation, "stand by me." the director has earned more

th the film has earned over $1 million in thailand. it may be a good time for people in china to stay indoors. weather officials are warning the haze there is hazardous. robert speta joins us with more. >> yes, in fact since this past friday, we had red alerts issued into the beijing area. because of this high pressure that is dominating overhead. and it has been just creating very stable atmosphere out there. that means the ver is very stagnant, it stays in place. what we have set up is inversion across much of that air. that is that warm air aloft and that is why the china meteorological agency has issued these high levels of air pollution advise rits out there, from beijing basically just out here towards the south. not only impacting the air quality but also travel as well. when we talk about the inversion out here in the northeastern china, this is what we're talking about.

cold air aloft, warm air down near the surface. that typically is the way the atmosphere is set up. whenever you get that inversion that means that cold air comes near the surface. cold air tends to sink and that traps that pollution down near the ground. now i'll show you video coming out of beijing. this is what we're talking about. you can see it in this video right here. look at the clear skies near the top of the screen. that is that inversion line i was just talking about here trapping those pollutants down near the surface. we still have red alerts issued here since friday. kindergartens and elementary schools have been closed and suspended since monday to wednesday. also there's been restrictions on vehicles which are allowed only -- only certain vehicles are allowed on alternate days depending on the license plate number. there should be half as many cars on the roadways. so definitely beijing combating this haze. and the weather may be helping out as we go ahead into wednesday. we do have a low down here

towards the south. that's going to be kicking up the atmosphere a little bit, stirring things around, hopefully getting rid of that inversion line i was talking about there and allowing some clear air to kind of work its way into the forecast. also it is bringing rainshowers to eastern china, eventually korea, and most of japan later this week. that's warm air working its way in from the south. that means temperatures will be on the rise. so if you are in the shanghai, high of 16. scattered showers for you. seoul at 15. tokyo getting up to 15. but take a look at the four-day forecast. tokyo goes from 15 to 16 and 17 by thursday into friday. same thing really goes for most of japan. yamagata, sapporo, above-average temperatures before things start to cool down, nearly a 10-degree drop thursday into friday. getting much more winter-like there heading into the second half of the week. all right, here across north america, we are still looking at some scattered showers down

towards florida. high pressure setting in behind that though. that's keeping some clearer conditions there for you. i also am watching a low coming into the pacific northwest. that's going to bring some scattered showers to areas like vancouver and seattle, snowfall into higher elevations. some of these valleys you could be looking at widespread freezing lane. slick and dangerous travel conditions if you are caught up in that. back toward the east, on the other hand, sunnier skies to mesh with high pressure but it's cold. new york only a high of 3. d.c. getting up to 4 on tuesday. here's your extended outlook.

in berlin at least 12 are dead after a truck driver plowed through a busy christmas market. police suspect it was a deliberate attack. one of our reporters was at the scene and has more details. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a festive night out at berlin's main christmas market suddenly turned deadly. behind the police cars, there is a truck which went through the market. it came from this direction and drove for 50 meters before coming to a stop. the police sealed off the area and are continuing the investigation. dozens of people have been wounded. many more were witnesses to the horror.

one man describes his close call. >> it went just past me, past my girlfriend. i think it missed me by three meters, missed her by five. it came in through the entrance, hit the sides of the barriers, then carried on past us. >> reporter: police have arrested a suspect they believe was a driver. another suspect reportedly died at the scene. the police say the truck belonged to a polish transportation company. the firm had lost contact with the driver hours before the incident. german authorities had been warning people there could be attacks on public places. and now they are urging people to stay home and remain alert. junko noda, nhk world, berlin. >> we'll keep an eye on the situation there and update you as details become available. and that wraps up this edition of nhk "newsline." we'll be back at the top of the hour. thanks for joining us. xnóx

warm welcome to our highlights edition - glad you could join us and here's a quick look at our top stories for today: open house the greek city thessaloniki invites visitors to step right in. la dolce vita a visit to the italian region of tuscia location, location, location!mus to a sleek new building. the third thursday in november marks a special day in the wine world: that's when the beaujolais nouveau hits the market. these are the very first wines of the 2016 vintage - typically very fruity and low in tannins - and have to be consumed quite