hello, this is nhk "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. malaysian authorities say autopsy reports on the korean leader's half-brother are so far inconclusive. they suspect that kim jong-nam was poisoned in the airport and two of the suspects complained of burning pain after they put a substance on his face. one woman is from indonesia, the other is from vietnam. police have detained a north korean man. and they've identified four more as suspects. a local chinese language newspaper says the women told police they put a cream on kim jong-nam's face and says police

suspect the men used the women to avoid exposure to the substance. north korea's ambassador to malaysia is casting doubt on the investigation and the identity of the dead men. his comments sparked harsh words from malaysia's leader. >> we have no reason to paint a kind of negative brush on the image of north korea. we're very objective. the statement by the ambassador was totally uncalled for. it is considered diplomatically rude on his part. >> kuala lumpur has recalled its ambassador to pyongyang in protest. police have been trying to track the four north korean suspects. malaysia's state news agency says they left for indonesia

shortly after the attack. the news agency reports the men took a flight to jakarta less than an hour after the assault. an indonesian immigration official says three of them left jakarta for dubai on the same day. nhk obtained surveillance footage from the jakarta airport. these three men at the check-in counter appear to be the suspects. indonesian officials say they cannot confirm whether the fourth suspect has left the country. with all the questions surrounding the death we asked one expert about kim's final moments caught on camera. he's a specialist in chemical weapons. after reviewing the airport video he was certain he knew what happened. >> basically people used very toxic substances to conduct this kind of murder.

because of his movement, he's very healthy -- looks healthy. and during the walk, the movement gradually slows, and after that he falls down. and also here we're omitting something. and it's very obvious symptom of the -- >> it's been a week since the killing. he says it doesn't take long to determine if someone was killed by a nerve agent. >> from the blood sample, we can easily find out the product. it is quite easy to find out the

cause of the toxicity. relationship with two countries, north korea and malaysia, they have to think about such kind of relationship with north korea. such kind of political reason causes the -- >> he says nerve agents are strictly prohibited and even their ingredients are hard to acquire. he says more than 190 countries have ratified the chemical weapons convention that bans such weapons, but he pointed out north korea is not one of them.

the department of homeland security will also expand holding facilities for illegal immigrants. under the obama administration, only those caught within about 190 kilometers of the border were sent back to mexico but that range will now be expanded. secretary of state rex tillerson and homeland security secretary john kelly are scheduled to visit mexico. they also talk about building a wall between the u.s. and mexico. trump insists mexico will pay for it. the white house press secretary says the new measures mean trump is keeping his campaign promises. >> the memo regarding the executive order for border

security and immigration enforcement improvements outlines the steps that will be taken to secure the border. >> spicer says it will stop illegal immigration and speed up deportations. the foreign ministers of southeast asian countries hope that u.s. president donald trump will soon unveil his policies toward china and southeast asia. >> we all recognize the fact that american policy under the trump administration is still evolving. we do not know the complete picture of what the foreign policy might be and its relationship with china is concerned and china's relationship with the united states is concerned or america's relationship with the rest of the asean members. >> yasay was commenting after meeting his counterparts from the association of southeast asian nations or asean. yasay says ministers of the ten-member bloc expressed

concern over the south china sea. >> on the south china sea, a number of ministers expressed concern over recent developments and escalation of activities in the area which may further raise tensions and erode trust and confidence in the region. at the same time they noted the need to sustain the momentum of dialogue in order to ease tensions in the region. >> yasay said asean wants a maritime code of conduct between china and asean to be completed by june. let me tell you about the u.s. treasury secretary.

he has urged the international monetary fund to conduct a frank and candid analysis of the foreign exchange policy member states. he's aiming to keep in check what he sees as attempts by other countries to devalue their currencies. he talked about the importance of the administration. president trump said on saturday his administration is starting to crack down on currency manipulation. he said the practice is hurting companies and workers and it must end. >> broker aage brokerage -- the thorough medical check up.

employers are under law to offer check ups. these are short and simple physicals. a more extensive one takes an entire day but is optional so not all workers go for it. the new measure will apply to employees age 30 or older. they will be able to apply to take the time off from april to december every year. executives may be hoping that they will be able to opt for a more thorough examine. such programs by businesses to have objectsives to go beyond cutting the financial cost of medical care. they boost productivity and improve corporate image. some firms are providing workers with pedometers to encourage walking. they are giving financial rewards to employees who manage to quit smoking.

the growing number of tourist are prompting japanese companies for foreign talent. the government is trying to help out. they have been sitting down with members of a government panel. he pro pose e proposed a systemn workers to gain residential status. the minister said workers with specialized skills are in particular demand in tourism, fashion and animation. he said the zone should set up committees to screen the business plans of companies. we're going to check on markets now. tokyo share prices open a bit higher. that followed a record close on wall street. the dow jones industrial average ended at an all time high for an eighth straight day.

the nikkei dipped into negative territory. it's wobbling around the flat line. it's basically flat right now. 19,3 19,381. a slightly lower yen. that's helping some exporters but investors lack trading cues as they wait for minutes from the federal reserves last policy meeting. let's check on currencies now. the dollar holding firm at mid 113 yen level. that's after gaining ground overnight. a couple of fed officials say the bank could raise interest rates soon. some analysts say the dollar strength is due to weaker euro. the single currency fell to a one week low overnight on concerns over the upcoming french presidential election as well as greek debt. let's move onto markets open this hour in the asia pacific. we're seeing gains elsewhere. seoul's kospi trading higher australia up .1 of a percent.

china markets will open in under an hour. the japanese government has set up task force to give a biggers boost to osaka for its plan to host in 2025. the group headed by economy minister plans to help osaka prefecture in its bid by representing the stance of the central government. >> osaka must be selected to host the expo to achieve that goal. we'll work on a concrete scheme to win support for osaka hosting the event from both inside and outside the country. >> france has already filed its candidacy to host the 2025 world expo. russia is also reportedly considering it. the bureau of international expositions will hold a vote to decide on the host city and its general meeting in fall of next year.

the event is showcasing 120 i m items including kimono and hair pins. the retailer began as a whole sailer hand -- wholesaler. the includes kimono that expossesse expresses a sense of the samurai woman. it features colorful items. >> in france people have been interested in kimon. the french have loved them ever since japaneseism when the kimon arrived. >> they include to incorporate textiles and how they were dyed. >> it's an appreciation of beauty and harmony. it's wonderful.

>> the exhibition also features works by popular japanese and french fashion designers who incorporated kimono into their modern designs. that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets. a u.n. agency says nearly 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of starving to death. it says famine is looming in nigeria, somalia, south sudan and yemen.

and it's appealing for help from the international community saying time is running out. unicef released an emergency statement after famine was formally declared in south sudan. parts of the country are embroiled in civil war and armed clashes flared between the government and opposition forces. conflict is also being blamed for food insecurity in northeastern nigeria. the extremist group boko haram frequently carries out attacks in the region. unicef says the number of children with acute malnutrition there is expected to reach 450,000 this year. >> the fact is, these conflicts are largely manmade. children are dying because of man-made conflict affected disasters. in 2017, that's shameful. >> conflict has also been raging in yemen. unicef says the number of children suffering from malnutrition has increased 200% since 2014 and it says drought

is threatening an already fragile population in somalia battered by decades of conflict. south korean foreign ministry officials are creating waves with their japanese counterparts over a name. they posted an online video referring to the waters between the two countries as the east sea instead of the more internationally known sea of japan. this is the video by the south korean foreign ministry, the website has versions in korean and it shows maps of the sea and al docum itays that the east sea is the oldest name of the waters and has been used for over 2,000 years. japan's foreign ministry launched a protestn response. it says the sea of japan is the only internationally established name and the east sea is unacceptable.

185 people were killed in the earthquake. 115 of them died in the collapsed building that held a language school. 28 were students from japan. on tuesday the police briefed members of their families. they were told that a decision to charge those involved with the buildings design and construction may be made by the end of the month. >> translator: we kept waiting all these years. all question do is wait for the police to make their decision and pray for a good decision. >> the police explained the investigation took a long time as they wanted it to be thorough. >> truck drivers in japan and many other places have a reputation for being a tough bunch, but they can be soft as well.

children stories are being wrapped on their rigs to be reminded of the importance of safe driving. >> this man rides the roads long distances. it's a hard job but the back of his truck tells a different story. the picture shows someone at work and his smiling family. they were drawn by his children. he has three kids, 6-year-old rico drew the family portrait. she's learning to write and included a message to her father. his 5-year-old son drew a picture of a truck to remind his dad to pay attention. >> translator: don't fall into the ocean, daddy.

>> translator: wouldn't it be awful if i fell into the ocean while driving? >> translator: you would drown and bubbles would come up. >> translator: my children's drawings help me stay alert and avoid getting into an accident. i drive as if my kids were riding in the truck with me. >> the idea of decorating trucks with children's drawings originated at freight companies. the initiative began in 2013 after one of the drivers was involved in an accident. the truck hit a motorcycle while turning at the intersection. the cyclist died. the company president says he'll never forget what the victim's father said at the hospital. >> translator: he told me his son had just died and said, i want you to know my son has a daughter in elementary school.

>> miyata took action to spare any other families such grief. his companies upgraded its safety training given drivers a clear message. miyata came up with the idea to have drin the trucks. he hopes the connection with their own children would inspire them to pay attention all the time. so far so good since the program started three years ago, no accidents. driver is single. but he didn't want to be left out. >> translator: i'm envious of the other drivers whose trucks are covered with their kids' drawings. i often admire them from afar. >> he enlisted his son to make a picture for that man. the boy thought about carefully

observing his dad's friend taking care of his truck. then he let inspiration guide his hand. >> translator: if accidents happen frequently maybe no one would want to drive trucks any more. what's going to take their place? i hope they all follow traffic rules more closely. >> the drawing is doing it's part to improve driving. >> translator: it's done. it's done. >> his illustrations and message make for a moving billboard. he even drew a portrait of the driver. >> it's good. i can see he put a lot into this. >> now when he sets out he proudly displays the decoration and he's inspired to keep calm

and concentrate on the cars around him. another delivery. another safe arrival, auto another safe arrival, auto delivery. >> translator: i felt a bit nervous because i knew that people on the road could see the drawings. this motivated me to drive more safely. >> each trip a work of art in itself. nhk world, osaka. pakistan's capital are observing traditional japanese prints for ties between the country's. on display are masterpieces and other artists created would block prints. it was a school of art dominant from the 17th to 19th centuries

in japan. it commemorates the 65 years between pakistan and japan and was opened by the japanese ambassador. >> i hope many of you if you could would visit the gallery as well and enjoy an extensive display of artwork. >> translator: i find it very historical, basically. never knew the paintings of different things. >> many of the works were lent to the exhibition by a renowned pakistani artist. japanese diplomats hope the event will promote intercultural dialogue. time for the world weather

update. robert speta has the details. >> definitely a bit of warm up this week. now temperatures have dropped down quite considerably across most of japan. kind of like a roller coaster ride here. we're going to be going right back up heading into thursday. the culprit is this area of low pressure coming in from the west of out ahead of that we have strong southerly winds moving in. plus this big ridge in upper level jet to the east of this. that will usher in the warmer temperatures. one thing i want to note is it's a pretty large system. colder sector back toward the north. warmer sector down eastern areas of china bringing precipitation around the river basin. all that warm air will be tracking towards the east. most of japan with the exception of hokkaido will be looking at rain and not snow as we go ahead throughout the day and thursday. that's even in be higher elevations including the mountains toward the west of tokyo. be prepared for that

precipitation if you are traveling across the area here on thursday. for now soeoul looking at a hig for beijing at 11. ta taipei at 11. a high of 4 with that snow in your forecast. similar conditions in tokyo minus the snow. getting up to 18 by thursday but not very beautiful. not a day to spend at the park because it's going to be raining all day. talking about rain and when you're getting too much of it is in the western half of the u.s. specifically around california e tending through oregon and back towards washington where we have been seeing rain and snow. not only over the past week but for the past several weeks. this has been putting strain on the river systems out here and a few of the reservoirs. one reservoir, the anderson dam, towards the south of sacramento

around san jose, add its breaching point. they had to open up a spillway. the end result, i'll show you this video out of san jose where there's significant flooding there. the river got clogged up. they had heavy rain on top of that and you can see what the result is. about 200 people were forced to evacuate. some by boat as well. you can see some of the animals trapped this the rising flood waters. still an ongoing situation. there's more rain in the forecast for some of these areas especially a bit further towards the north but at least for around the san francisco down through l.a., sunny skies. maybing their way in. we have more snow further toward the east around salt lake city. you'll see plenty on thursday and over towards friday as well. good thing is that california, remember a year ago, it was under significant drought, exceptional drought was the technical term. all that rain is improving the

situation at the very least. it's been too much as of late. do want to mention back towards east we have the storm system coming in but out ahead look at chicago. 23, well above your average. oklahoalahoma city at 25. here is your extended outlook. ♪ >> that's all for this edition of nhk "newsline." thanks for watching.

♪ announcer: "euromaxx highlights." and here's your host, carlos mcconnie. carlos: hello, everyone. it's great to be here. we have a really nice show for you today, so stay with us, or you might miss this. winter sports. roving reporter meike kruger heads for the slopes. artificial intelligence. robots create human portraits in a new exhibition. city lights. the russian capital moscow shines out in winter. we start off today's show with a little fun in the snow. our euromaxx colleague meike kruger headed over to the bavarian alps. what awaited her there were different kinds of downhill equipment.