hiding in the ecuadorian embassy in london for two months. now he's been granted asylum in ecuador. wikileaks released thousands of documents two years ago. authorities in sweden want to question him about accusations that he sexually assaulted two women. police in britain arrested him two years ago. a british court ruled he should be extradited to sweden. he said ecuadorian leaders believe his political persecution is legitimate and his human rights might be violated. he took refuge inside ecuador's embassy in london in june and applied for asylum. they cheered when they heard the ecuadorian government's decision. the british foreign secretary said his government was legally bound to extradite him to sweden. >> we will not allow him safe passage out of the united kingdom, nor is there any legal

basis for us to do so. the united kingdom does not accept the principle of diplomatic asylum. >> dweed dish foreign ministry officials cannot accept the decision to offer asylum. they would summon ecuador's bams dor to launch a protest. on twitter they said he will give a statement on sunday from the embassy. british police are on stand-by around the building. they could arrest him if he tries to leave the grounds. the u.n. security council has officially decided to withdraw it's observer mission from syria. france's ambassador to the u.n. is the current president of the council. he announced the decision on thursday. that's three days before the mission's mandate expires. >> which means we'll fade out, but there will be what is the most important there will be a u.n. presence, and we do hope a useful u.n. presence. >> he said that the council also

decided to set up a u.n. liaison office in syrian's capital of da mass cuss. they started the mission in april but it's paralyzed by the military and opposition forces. in one incident they came under attack from both sides. the peace plan pro posted by u.n. arab league envoycoughfy annan fail kofi annan failed. the japanese government plans to defor the 14 hong kong activists on friday for entering japanese territory. it involves the disputed senkaku islands. japan continues the territory part of okinawa. china and taiwan both claim as their own. on wednesday five of the activists land the on one of the islands. they asserted china's

sovereignty over the islands. they're handing them over to the immigration bureau. nine other activists who did not land on the island were transferred to the bureau on thursday as police determined their only crime was illegal entry. in march 2004 japan deported seven chinese activists two days after authorities arrested them for illegally handing on the islands. prime minister noda will call a meeting of relevant ministers on friday to discuss how to prevent a recrencf suc iegal landings othe islands. nhk world in beijing tells us about china's reaction to the incident in the east china sea. >> reporter: chinese newspapers have given wide coverage to the arrest. the communist party affiliated global times says in its editorial that they're chinese territory. it says china will not accept any legal procedure by japan,

and the arrested activists should be released without any conditions. protests were held in some major cities. in hong kong pro and anti-china political parties have called for protests. demonstrators gathered in front of the japanese consulate general in hong kong. they chanted slogans demanding the return of the activists and an apology from japan. in the southern city of guangzhou more than 50 young people gathered outside the japanese consulate general. police stood guard at the entrance of the building. the chinese government is criticizing the arrests, but at the same time it's believed there's concern that the

anti-japanese sentiment will grow in china and affect economic ties if the role is prolonged. china's commerce ministry has called on japan to make sure that the arrest will not negatively affect bilateral economic relations. >> translator: china's economic and trade relations with japan are expanding. the situation calls for in-depth dialogue from a broader perspective. >> reporter: china apparently wants to avoid any problem aheld of this fall's scheduled leadership change. chinese leaders are likely to seek a role while maintaining a tough stance towards japan. nhk world, beijing. on another territory issue, japanese cabinet ministers expected to meet as early as next week to discuss how to

respond to a disagree with south korea. they consider what to do about south korean president bak's visit to islands in paterno. japanese insist the islands are japanese territory. he said his visit contradicts that stance. they recalled the japanese ambassador to south korea in response to his visit. the ministers are expected to it review economic cooperation with seoul, and they may consider setting up a government office to deal with the issue. the japanese government is expected to give a group of people permission to do something they haven't been allowed to do for years, visit north korea. the people want to inspect what they believe are the remains of their relatives. the group is made up of family members of japanese who died on the korean peninsula before and during world war ii. they've been asking the

government for permission to visit north korea to inspect the remains. government officials imposed sanctions against the north in 2006 for its nuclear program and missile tests. they asked the public to refrain from visiting the country. officials from both countries have agreed to hold their first talks in four years and expected to neat in beijing later this month. they will discuss what to do with the remai and other issues. ifhe government gives the go-ahead members of the group whim be among five people to visit the north later this month. japan will resume exports of beef to the united states on saturday. a ban on japanese products was in place for more than two years after some cows were found to have foot-and-mouth disease. countries including the u.s. and vietnam imposed a temporary ban on beef from japan in 2010. that's after finding infected cows in a southwestern prefecture.

an international organization confirmed in february 2011 that the disease was no longer aa problem in japan. so many trading partners started to lift the import ban. japan's agriculture ministry officials say they received a notice from the u.s. early this month it would resume imports of japanese beef. the u.s. market had accounted for about 10% of japanese beef exports. japan hopes that the lifting of the restriction will become a step toward increasing beef exports. ministry officials will urge vietnam to ft i xworimport ban. the country accounted for over half of japan's beef exports. japanese government leaders have made it their priority to strengthen growth while fighting deflation. they're set to announce a key gauge of national price trends will rise for the first time in 16 years. nominal economic growth in the next fiscal year is expected to exceed the real rate that one adjusted for inflation. government analysts estimate the

economy will expand 1.9% in nominal terms in the fiscal year starting next april. they expect real growth of 1.7%. the analyst forecast prices will pick up modestly. they expect domestic consumption will improve along with reconstruction in areas hit by last year's disaster. many private think tank projects think it will be deflationary in the next fiscal year. they point to continuing effects of debt crisis in europe. the people at toyota motor are trying to appeal to drivers who don't just view vehicles as wayo getrom a to they've unveiled the fir new sports car, the first in 16 years. it can be customized and drivers can use it to improve their skills. one of the automaker's chief engineers led the design team. he talked to us about how he thinks the model fits in the new world of car manufacturing and marketing.

>> the team took five years to develop the toyota 86. it's equipped with a new two-liter engine generating up to 200 horsepower. the car's performance is not the best compared to other sports cars on the market, but its low center of gravity and good cornering make a pleasurable drive. >> translator: the driver should play the leading role, not the car. that's the concept we produced for the 86. the car itself is very low tech. no special technology is used. we took good, old technology and matured it making sure the motorist is excited when driving the vehicle. >> after a tough two years toyota is recovering its status with strong sales in the first half of this year. the automaker's best selling models are the eco-friendly

prius and its fuel efficient compact cars. what prompted toyota to come out with with a new sports car, and why now? >> translator: it said that people are losing interest in cars. toyota has taken steps to reverse this trend, but we can't stop it. a vehicle is becoming another commodity. we're about to face an era when car prices are going to be decided simply by size and fuel efficiency. to overcome that, we have to add some extra value, such as status or a better driving experience. we create cars that would not become mere commodities. to do that, a sports car is the perfect offer. >> toyota broke with past toyota practice to prevent the sports car from becoming just another commodity.

>> translator: toyota cars, including lexus, are put on the market only after clearing all three board meetings, which are called design examinations. almost all executives attend them. in the meetings designs becoming sophisticated, eliminating all strange elements. the proce it's often said that unie features will also be cut. when it comes to sports cars, likes and dislikes matter, not good or bad points. those meetings cannot decide what consumers like or dislike, so after much debate i asked for the design examinations to be stopped. >> toyota showed his prototype of the new vehicle to the 200 toyota employees who drive sports cars to work. the 86 is the result of their feedback. in the first three months toyota sold 13,000 units.

that was more than had originally been predicted. the sales environment for the vehicle is also unique. the leadership is equipped with a variety of parts, and staff are ready to help buyers customize their vehicles. the automaker has also created a system that produces data from an actual driving run that can be transferred to a game console. drivers can use this system to assess their skills. >> translato i tnk that the business model forakin a profit through car sales has changed. after the collapse of lehman brothers, we learned than infinite increase in auto sales is nothing but an illusion. what's next, we concluded we need to shift towards making a smaller profit for a long time. sports car drivers basically have a habit of enjoying various events and changing auto parts after they buy the car. i thought we should take

advantage of that tendency in the 86. >> toyota engineers took many bold steps to create the 86. he hopes it would become a major test case for the future of car making in a changing auto market. saudi arabia's massive oil wealth has ushered in huge social changes, but not all of them are for the better. unemployment is rising and is now 40% for people in the early 20s. the governnt i concerned, but its measures are having little impacts. the problem? it seems that young saudis are just not keen on working. we have more. >> in saudi arabia they held their first ever job fair. organized by the government, it

featured 60 saudi companies in a range of fields from construction to private security. >> translator: we intend to use all means available to give young people opportunities to find work. >> but it's not that simple for the government. although 15,000 young saudis attend a job fair, few of them are seriously looking for employment. >> translator: i'm looking for work as an accountant, but there aren't many openings. >> i wa >> translator: i want an office job where i can sit in a nice air-conditioned room. >> life is easy for the citizens of oil-rich saudi arabia. they don't pay taxes or medical expenses, and their education is also free.

this means that many young people don't have to work. they just live off their parents' wealth. however, the population is growing fast, and now 60% are under the age of 30. if mend more of these young saudis are not working, then the current system, depending on oil venues, may collapse. these days 90% of the private sector workers in saudi arabia are from other countries. this has led the government to revise its policy on foreign workers. it wants to encourage companies to hire more young saudis. last year mandatory quotas came into force requiring private sector companies to hire a certain number of saudis.

>> the government is hoping its new policy will lead to 300,000 saudis getting jobs. there is one problem. young, affluent saudis are not interested in the kind of jobs that companies are offering. this factory hired 12 young saudis last year. they were paid over $750 a month. it was more than twice what an experienced foreign worker would get. even so, two-thirds of them

found the work too hard and left. >> translator: i understand that it's my responsibility to society to hire saudis, even if it cuts into my profits. young saudis have no work ethic. they quit right away. >> a growing population of young people and unemployment rate that just keeps rising, saudi arabia is srting to find that its oil riches may not be enough tohield it fro social unrest. . >> like the government, young saudis are unconcerned about the growing burden on the welfare system. in fact, they're demanding even higher unemployment benefits. naylon is a major fashion trend around the world. one is a cut above the rest.

as you see, the company makes it's precision tools by sticking with tried and true traditional craftsmanship. >> nail art can be as beautiful and colorful as walking through an art gallery. japan's largest nail art expo was held in may in tokyo. many professional manicurists cams to learn the latest techniqu techniques. an special tool for the manicurist, there's a long tradition behind the creation of nail clippers. the clippers are used in almost all japanese nail salons. >> translator: they cut beautifully, so i can work quickly and get excellent results. i love them, and i can't do without them anymore. >> this bamboo cross-section shows how finely these clippers can cut compared to others. other clippers crush the bamboo.

these clippers leave a clean cut. the clipper maker has a long tradition of crafting cutting tools. they have been hand-making all their clippers for almost 100 years. employees at the factory work on some 50 processes to make the clippers, like tempering and polishing. the most important process in making sure the clippers are sharp is calmed aiba. here two blades are joined to match perfectly. names are positioned between the blades to be clipped off. so to get a clean cut, the blades must align without any gaps. any spaces are filed away. this man is the oldest craftsman at the workshop and a master of the process.

>> translator: the difficult part is to learn the feel. i mean, feeling where the file is on the blade, and how much to file off. >> he judges the size and angle of the gap. he then decides where and how much to take off and carefully files the blade. he cannot see the blade, which is hidden by the file. he can take off 100th of a millimeter. he uses his skilled hands to adjust the file and create the perfect edge. it's a world that relies on highly developed senses. he's been working on this particular skill for 65 years. >> translator: we value handcrafting o products with care. many of the processes can be mechanicized, but i wonder how much heart a machine has.

a craftsman is made of flesh and blood, so his skill matures every day. that's what makes man and machine different. >> the sharp, handmade nail clippers are gaining more and more fans, especially in places like germany, britain and italy. japan has a famous tradition of crafting blades. the artisans creating these particular cutting tools believe in the fine sensitivity of the human body and are still working today to reach a higher level of perfection. >> the skill to it match the blades aiba is being taught to young craftsman by kobayashi. people in southern china are braci bracing themselves for a storm about to happen there. severe tropical impact is affecting hong kong. here's the current situation of

the sustains. sustained winds are 108 kilometers per hour with gusts of nearly 160. it will make landfall by guandong this morning. once it reaches unaan, it should have weakened to a tropical depression. waves could reach 6 meters along the coast because winds are very, very strong. in terms of precipitation, they will likely see up to 250 llimeters of rain into tomorrow morning. you can see the bulk of of heavy rain quickly moved towards the west. not only areas in the path of the storm, but also many areas in the indochina peninsula will see lots of heavy rain because contact is enhancing the southwestern flow. we'll keep you posted on the progress. meanwhile, a frontal system which brought significant amounts of rain in south korea and northern japan is

dissipates, but south korea is not out of the woods yet because the next system is approaching from inld china. so things will turn quite wet again over the weekend. as for the highs, a dome of heat is blanketing central and eastern china getting up to 40 degrees and 35 in shanghai. tokyo comes in at 32. we may see pop-up thunderstorms during the heat of the day. heading into the americas, a serious low pressure system is moving through the eastern u.s. and canada bringing wet and windy weather. today we have a strong low pressure system in front stretching from ontario down through the southern plains. ilthe size of a tennis ball, has been reported in illinois. over the next 24 hours, the system will move towards the east, and we will see a risk of severe weather from west virginia down through mississippi. so strong winds and thunderstorms are expected on your friday. out towards the west, the southwestern corner of the u.s. will see increasing monsoonal

showers. in contrast it's dry and really hot to the north. temperatures will be getting up to 38 degrees in portland on your friday. 35 in seattle, so about 10 grees higher thanavage. ove erage temperatures will likely continue at least into your weekend here. finally, let's go over to europe. a massive low pressure system is sitting east of the eastern islands producing stormy weather for much the british isles. the scandinavian peninsula will see the same waik situation in 24 hours. staying dry and quiet and hot to the south. temperatures rise to 39 degrees in madrid, and it will stay the same at least into your monday. paris had a 32 on your friday. we're eecting 35 degreesn your satday in paris. here's your extended forecast.

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." thank you very much for watching.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: officials in the dallas area prepare for an aerial assault on mosquitoes to combat the spread of the deadly west nile virus. good evening, i'm judy woodruff >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight, we have the latest on the outbreak that's killed 16 in texas alone. the state that accounts for more than half of some 700 cases nationwide. >> woodruff: then, we update the diplomatic showdown brewing