welcome to "newsle." it's friday, october 26th. crowds gathered for a countdown watched by crowds around the world. they were waiting for launch of

windows 8. >> it really is an exciting, exciting day. windows 8, yeah, i'm excited. >> the biggest windows upgrade in 17 years went on sale around the world at the stroke of midnight. shoppers counted down to the launch. the operating system displayed square icons called tiles that provide touch screen functions. engineers designed the feature with tablet computers in mind. new pc models will have screens that can be separated from their keyboard and used as tablet devices. they hope the launch of windows 8 will boost sales.

syrian military commanders say they will abide by a cease-fire during a muslim holiday over the weekend. they accepted a truce proposed by the united nations. governments in opposition forces have showed little sign of letting up in their fighting and the cease-fire could be tested on several fronts. syrian's army command said it will respect the cease-fire. the truce will run from friday through monday. the military statement says army commanders reserve the right to retaliate against rebel attacks. the head of the opposition forces military council said they agreed to the cease-fire.

the two sides kept up the fight in several places ahead of the truce. government forces are reported to have sent in reenforcements. neither sides respected a cease-fire in april. the spokesperson said they welcomed the cease-fire and urged both sides to adhere to it. >> obviously the world is now watching to see what will happen on friday morning. the guns do fall silent that there is a suspension in the violence so that humanitarian workers can help those who are most in need.

>> workers with the u.n. high commissioner have stored emergency packages in the capital da m capital damascus. they have been unable to get to aleppo. they plan to distribute food, blankets and other materials. they'll try to reach at 65,000 residents. political and financial leaders in japan admit the economic recovery is losing steam. they want the policy makers at the bank of japan to do something about it. what's hapningith the boj? >> it's holding its regular policy setting meeting. boj watchers say they could take some kind of action. they are expected to discuss more monetary easing measures at a policy meeting next week. it will mark the second straight month of taking such steps.

policy makers are expected to discuss whether to expand an asset buying program at the policy meeting next tuesday. the current amount is 80 trillion yen or about $1 trillion. that will include buy more exchange credit funds. the central bank says the japanese economy is getting weaker due to an economic slowdown in china and other countries. the bank of japan expects its goal of pushing up consumer prices by 1% cannot be achieved within two years. it's time to check on the markets. the dow jones gained after two days of decline. the key stock index ended .2 of a percent. we cross over to ramin who is at the tokyo stock exchange. what can you tell us at the o n

open? >> reporter: consumer price index for december was down 0.1%. this marks the fifth straight months of declines for cpi. let's go to the opening level heers f here for this friday morning. getting a bit of ground back from yesterday. the nikkei rebounded strongly yesterday surging to a one-month high. question may get some carryover momentum from the u.s. later in the session. for now just dipping in the negative. we did have some data from long lasting goods in the u.s which disurge by almos 10% in september. right after the bell on thursday we had earnings from apple and although it posted a record

profit with net profit up 24% from the same quarter last year, the results did fall short of some expectations. we did see apple shares trading lower. we're going to keep track of apple related shares. a lot of component makers in japan which go into a lot of products such as the iphone as well as the ipad range. >> also a lot of focus on the yen especially ahead of the boy meeting. where do we stand? >> reporter: let's have a look at the currencies and the bank of japan meeting next week. dollar/yen holding prey

steady. euro/yen 1.2935. the strong overall yen has been a factor in weaker forecast but japane japanese co japanese corporations have seen the likes of nintendo. a lot of focus there on sales in china as well as the stronger yen. a lot of earnings coming up next week in autos and financials as well as the bank of japan meeting. back to you. >> thank you very much for the update. politicians are making cautious efforts to boost trade with japan. members of the european parliament are calling for free

trade talks but setting strict conditions. they voted thursday to clear the way for talks on an economic part partnership agreement. nay said they will suspend negotiations if there's no progress. members of the european parliament says japan has not done enough to remove trade barriers. that's all for w. here is a look at some of the latest market figures.

japanese researchers are using something that's got their blood pumping. they did it another a significantly lower cost. researchers tested 9,600 kinds of compounds on stem cells. they wanted to see which one was the most efficient for growing heart muscle. they found that one organic compounds has a more than 90% chance of bringing about the transformation. scientists need abt 1 billio cell for a heart transplant. researchers found they could do that with the compounds for about 1/20th the cost of other methods. >> translator: we hope this method will be used in clinical treatments to help patients

around the world. we want to contribute to that. >> the researchers say now they need to test their discovery on animals to see how safe it is. japan's nuclear regulation authority will study a wider range o catastrophic scenarios when reviewing safety standards for power plants nationwide. the nuclear disaster at fukushima revealed their inability for other catastrophic episod episodes. new standards will be used in deciding whether to allow the firms to restart nuclear plants that are ofine. thnra held a meeting on thursday with five experts reviewing the guidelines which had been limited to earthquakes

and tsunami waves. officials say they will study various types of serious dangers or accidents. these include terrorist attacks, plane crashes, volcanic activities and the loss of cooling functions. an outline of the review will be announced as early as next new safety standards are expected to be compiled by july. the decision by japan and germany to phase out nuclear power has one u.s. official concerned about a possible decline in the number of trained engineers. u.s. nuclear regulatory commission chief spoke at a public meeting in washington on thursday. she expressed concern about the challenges nuclear administrators face after last year's accident at japan's power plant. >> you're not probably going to see a lot of young people becoming nuclear engineers.

this is a concern not only to the nuclear industry but to the regulators because you want to make sure that you have adequate staff to ensure that these facilities operate safely. >> she also mentioned japan's nuclear regulation authority which was launched last month. she thinks the new organization is better than its predecessor. some of the latest innovations e on dilay a th digital content expo in tokyo. they put a new spin on driving making music, even eating. >> reporter: anyone hoping to peer years into the future just needs to drop by japan's digital c content expo. the event features 22 booths filled with high-tech toys designed to change life as we

know it. >> translator: previously, digital content was just a flashy display of the virtual world. now it's becoming a reality. i believe every industry is experiencing a digital revolution. >> reporter: japan's digital content industry is the second largest in the world after the united states. it's worth more than $150 billion annually and includes everything from animation in gaming to software development and multimedia. the best part of this expo is the number of prototypes you the sample. the best in ideas that haven't hit the market. can't read sheet music? no problem. researchers created something that does it for you.

users write notes then scan them with this device. a camera turns what it sees into data and inputs that into an algorithm. it's played back in realtime. >> translator: i want people to have fun and experience something new when they add digital technology to an analog format. >> reporter: researchers at the university of tokyo focus their efforts on helping people control their weight and their cravings. they created these goggles which change the size of your food according to its nutritional value. you think you eat. the more the result, you feel fuller, faster. >> translator: i know that the cookie isn't changing but it felt like it was growing and shrinking in my hand.

>> reporter: even parking your car is now easier. researchers and students created something they call optical camouflage technology that makes backing into a spot even simpler. retrreflective fabric.with a they look to see what's behind the vehicle reflected on the fabric. the digital content world isn't just behind television or computer screens anymore. it's quickly becoming something that's very much a part of our u.s. notiate have aays been challenged to get militants in afghanistan to agree to a peace deal. leaders of the taliban say they

want to resume talks. the americans might not like the conditions. >> reporter: the u.s. government had peace talks in 2010 and carried them in locations such as qatar. he indicated the group's intention to resume dialogue with the u.s. saying the taliban could continue. they said the work and negotiations after the u.s. demanded that afghanistan

president be included. he added that the taliban is ready to discuss peace if taliban members are free. they are displaying a sense of urgency now that negotiations are not moving forward. the u.s. is in the middle of the president's arrest and is not likely to respond to calls for dialogue at the moment.

two women from different corners ofheorld have teamed up to sell something carried by women everywhere. one is from japan. the other from ethiopia. their partnership to sell hand bags began years ago. they had to overcome something. >> reporter: the story begins in ethiopia. in recent years a more stable government has encouraged investors. the economy has grown more than 10% a year. employees at this small workshop make handbags. it was founded two years ago. now works with the local people.

>> reporter: leather products are very good. when i discovered this i immediately saw the great potential. >> reporter: it's made possible by sheep. ri most sheep skins are sent outside the country but four years ago the government began to promote the industry. now it's possible to obtain high quality for making handbags right in ethiopia. at first she was frustrated.

many people were so used to living on foreign aid they seemed to have lost the incentive the work. the partnership began. she works all night to finish up labor products. >> seeing her work so hard and treat each piece with such care made me want to collaborate with someone who had those values. in fact, i wanted to create a brand that would express those values. >> it's nice. we like it. >> reporter: she wanted to make the bags that showed essence of ethiopia. this drink inspired the two to

design a basic handbag pattern. >> translator: it's unique and interesting. it gave me an idea. >> reporter: the workshop opened two years ago, but the company delayed selling goods in japan and its workers made better quality goods. she still keeps some. >> translator: what is this? there's flaw here. >> reporter: she does not compromise. >> translator: i felt i could contribute by working with people who do not have as many opportunities as people in japan. i hope that our products will show ethiopia's beay and

potential. >> reporter: the next step is to make new handbags but first they need to train new workers. even though it could take lots of time, the two women will press ahead. >> a creative collaboration bringing two countries together there. time to check weather conditions around the world. a storm has swept through the philippines and now is heading towa vinam. >> exactly. tropical storm son-tinh is moving through. sometime between saturday afternoon and sunday morning. stormy conditions will start to

impact vietnam by saturday morning. rainfall could be quite huge. more heavy rain will be coming down in parts of central vietnam. heavy rain is ongoing as much as 150 millimeters is likely in the northern half of the country. as for the rest of east asia a rain band will form over the river valley. rain will be intensifying and head toward the korea peninsula. turning quite wet in tokyo on sunday but for the time being dry conditions and nice clear skies with high of 22 degrees. very chilly. only one degree expected. t the chilly temperatures will make its way toward the south. let's go to the americas. let's talk about what's happening across the caribbean

sea. this is hurricane sandy. a category 2 system. yesterday it blew through jamaica and produced map slides as well as land slides. the center is located over the central bahamas and is heading toward the north western bahamas. it looks like it's going to move to the east coast for the next couple of days and may make landfall in the mid-atlantic coast by tuesday. hurricane force winds will likely continue in the bahamas into tomorrow. storm surge combined with destructive waves as well as high tide. strong win a ongoing risk on eastern seaboard of the u.s. for the next days in about 300 millimeters. vrn east of florida may be

expecting to see 150 millimeters of rain. we'll keep you updated on the storm's progress. conditions are quite severe in the western great lakes region. as the system moves toward the east frigid air comes in. temperatures will drop significantly. we'll show the figures in just a moment. out toward the west snow showers are decreasing. as i mentioned quite chilly. only 9 degrees expected in chicago and 12 sdedegrees in oklahoma city. here is the extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.