every day and we'd love to get your opinion on our show. so visit please raise their hand. >> the u.n. security council punishing north korea with tough new sanctions. members of the united nations

security council warned north korean leaders together and separately not to carry out another nuclear test. authorities disregarded those warnings and went ahead with a third underground test. the security council has responded with new sanctions. the resolution requires union nations to deport official who is violate resolutions. the sanctions include a freeze on assets believed to be linked to the country's nuclear or missile programs. it's now mandatory to inspect cargo that would be related to weapons development. crews of ships who refuse inspections will not be allowed to dock. previous resolutions only requested such action. council members have expressed concern over the use of diplomatic privileges.

>> these sanctions will bite an bite hard. they increase north korea's isolation and raise the cost to north korea's leaders of defiing the international security. >> to address the nuclear address and to prevent isolation. >> japan's u.n. ambassador urged officials to think hard about what path they should take. it took the security council just over three weeks to pass this resolution. we've beenollowing the story. how did the security council act so unanimously in. >> the key here was the u.s. and china worked together.

in the past china has opposed tough sanctions against its long time ally. this time china helped the u.s. draft the resolution. china doesn't want its neighbor north korea to be armed with nuclear weapons. at the same time chinese leaders are concerned sanctions that are too severe could further deteriorate the north korean economy. that cld result in a flood of refugees crossing their border. the wording of the resolution underlines that the sanctions apply only to actions related to north korea's nuclear and missile program so that focus may have made the chinese comfortable enough to authorize the resolution. >> we've seen the security council agree to repeated penalties in the past. how will these be any different? >> it's not clear whether this will do anything to change north

korea's behavior immediately. we've heard some hostile rhetoric over the last few days. to borrow u.s. ambassador rice's words the sanctions are designed to bite hard. for instance, there have been cases reported to the u.n. sanctions committee of north korean agents carrying cash in bulk. the effectiveness will depend on how measures are implemented in each country and to make the sanctions work member nations must cooperate in exchanging information regarding north korea's activities and act upon them. >> thanks very much.

>> they threatened t u.s. with a preemptive strike. >> the officials said countermeasures will be necessary if the u.s. does not change what they called its hostile attitude. they accused the u.s. of trying to spark a nuclear war. they said they will exercise their right to a preemptive attack on what they called the headquarters of the aggressors. the aurves officer told the crowd that north korea is ready to fire a nuclear missile at washington, d.c.

state run tv broadcast the rally. military personnel and civilians filled the square. the country's second in command attended the event. one officer said north ykorea i ready to launch several missiles. he said the north diversified nuclear warheads and made them smaller. he said the missiles would turn washington, d.c. into a sea of fire and they're prepared to hit targets in countries that support the u.s. too. american and south korean forces drilled on thursday at a u.s. base in the south. about 250 soldiers took part in the maneuvers. malaysian security forces say they have killed 23 people on the island of borneo.

they've called for a cease fire. they've been operating a village in borneo since the middle of february. they're led by sultans of the sulu. malaysia sent security troops last friday. they attacked the militants from the air and ground. they said eight security personnel have been killed. the prime minister rejected an offer of a truce. he said the military will continue its assaults. he said the militants should lay down their weapon and surrender unconditionally. an italian court has convicted silvio berlusconi on charges of leaking police information. he was sentenced on thursday to one year in prison. a newspaper owned by berlusconi published the contents of a phone call in 2005. the call was between the leader of the then opposition

democratic party and an official involved in a bid to take over a financial institution. berlusconi is believed to have been trying damage the reputation of the opposition party in a run-up to a parliamentary election the following year. the prime minister is expected to appeal the ruling. it is rare in italy for anyone to be put behind bars unless for a very serious crime. berlusconi was convicted last october of major tax u fraud. he is also due to face trial for allegedly paying an underaged girl for sex. his center right coalition finished second in last month's election. gnchts gdp was revised

upward.dp was revised upward. it's the first time since 1985 that three straight months of deficit were posted. the january current account deficit was about $3.8 billion. the trade balance registered a deficit of more than $15 billion. exports were up 6.7% while imports increased 6.6%. market observers saw a surplus of $12 billion in the income balance. that was up 6.8% in yen terms from a year earlier. japan's economy posted growth.

the office said in its preliminary report that the gdp declined on an annualized basis in the same period. let's get a check on the markets. the dollar is higher against the yen. as you can see it's currently quoted right below that 94.95 to 97. traders are buying dollars as their more optimistic about the u.s. economy. that's after weekly jobless claims came in better than the market consensus. the euro is also higher against the yen. that's after the european central bank president said on thursday that the regional economy is stabilizing. the euro against the yen being quoted at 124.34 to 40. now onto stocks. tokyo share prices continue to rally. that's after six straight days of a winning streak.

the nikkei average at that's gain of 1.26% from thursday's close. soul's kospi is down by .12 percent.soul's kospi is down by a percent.esoul's kospi is downf a percent.osoul's kospi is down of a percent.usoul's kospi is d of a perce.lso's kpi idowny .1 of a percent.'s kospi is down b a percent. traders in japan will have more flexibility to short sell stocks later this year. regulators plan to ease restrictions amid an upturn.

officials strengthened restrictions when the 2008 global financial crisis erupted. they said short selling could cause market confusion. investors were prohibited at a lower price than the market rate. officials now say investors will be allowed to short sell shares until the share prices fall 10% from the previous days closing rate. opinions will be sought from market experts before enacting changes in november. i'll plan to increase flights between japan and china will be postponed. that's because negotiations were hampered by bilateral relations. japanese and chinese government officials had agreed last august to increase flights between the

two countries. they were to start four regular daily flights between tokyo's airport later this month. daily flights were to be doubled to 16. airlines have not made requests to increase flights. japanese governmt officials think the territory dispute had a negative effect on the expansion plan. they are also concerned be failed talks will have a negative impact on economic ties between the two countries. here in tokyo the nikkei is trading higher. let's see how other regional markets are doing.

cradle of culture. economic powerhouse. many enjoy the fruits of prosperity along the path to a new china. but millions are still missing out, and public discontent is growing. against that backdrop, officials are choosing a fresh slate of government leaders. "newsline" correspondents will bring you full coverage of incoming president jinping's new ideas. japanese government leaders say they don't like the pace of the cleanup at fukushima daichii. so they've launched a panel to speed up the deconditioning of

reactors at the nuclear plant. industry minister will lead the oup. the power president will sit on it along with the presidents of major manufacturers of electrical equipment. members met for the first time on thursday. they discussed a timetable drawn up by officials from the former government, he told them to review the schedule and come up with a new one by the end of june. >> translator: the deconditioning work should be put on a faster track, to rebuild the area marked by the disasters. >> the current timetable includes a plan to start removinguclear melted fuel within ten years. panel members plan to speak with officials in fukushima and academics in drawing up the new road map. tens of thousands of people have visited japan's northeastern toko region in the two years since it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami.

some volunteered. >> reporter: the website is a joined project between japan and communications ministry and the national diet library. officials launched it on thursday. they say anyone, anywhere can use it. a website provides an online clearinghouse for mountains of data about the earthquake and tsunami. academics, government officials as well as members of the media and nonprofit each looked after a portion, but that created

challenges. people had a hard time tracking down information. there was a risk that materials would be lost. the website makes it much easier to search for images. just punching key words like tsunami and the name of a town and you're interested in. a map pops up with details about video of when and where they were filmed. people can access recordings. the website manager say they'll keep adding at it until it becomes a variable. >> translator: we think the database will help people in other countries make their own disaster preparations.

>> reporter: the website's creator say they want to be more than just a report. they hope the archive will help turn japan's disaster into something meaningful for people that all over. tomoko kamata, nhk world. tensf thousands of people have lhit in the years since th tsunami hit. the disaster encouraged a buddhist nun to return. she's since become a beacon of strength for survivors. we spoke with her at her home in kyoto. >> reporter: dukto sadochi is 90 years old. since the disaster, she's been

visiting tokyo to see what she can do and to give encouragement and support to the people there. before becoming a nun, dukto was known as the best-selling novelist. she has written 400 books over a career that has spanned more than 60 years. because of her strong connection with the region, she's visited many areas, giving people an opportunity to share their problems with her. >> translator: when i visit the region, the only way i can help is by preaching. actually, my sermons are not so much me speaking as listening to other people talk about their

problems and difficulties. i tell them not to hold back. by sharing their feelings, they won't feel so weighed down. they will find it easier to breathe and will feel more relaxed. i told them, if you've hit rock bottom now, that means there is nowhere lower to sink, right? there is nowhere to go but up. so we shouldn't lose hope. instead of despairing, we should take heart. >> even after two years, little has been done to rebuild housing and infrastructure in the devastated areas. there are 320,000 people who have no homes to go back to. many of them are still suffering and in need of psychological support. it's getting harder for dukto to travel, but last month she made another visit to toku. she said her spirits were lifted by what she found. >> translator: nothing has changed regarding people's living conditions. it's been two years, but nothing has been done by the government.

so they've had to start rebuilding on their own, because they can't just wait for someone to come and help them. they realize the only way to make progress is by doing things themselves. they started helping each other. it really impressed me. people are so amazing, aren't they? >> another sign of hope that dukto found was the smiles on the faces of the children she spoke to in the area. >> translator: they lost their homes. and i'm sure some also lost family members. before meeting them, i was worried because i imagined they would look sad. were animated and their eyes ces were shining so brightly. they weren't depressed at all. i told them the earthquake and tsunami were calls by natural forces. it was a natural disaster. i said disasters like that have happened throughout history and

people can't prevent them. i told them to study hard so they can figure out ways to prevent natural disasters. and they started clapping. children really understand if we talk with them. i was so happy i went there. >> living far from toku, it's easy to carry on as if nothing happened. we've not forgotten, but for many it's not so immediate now. >> translator: for many of us, it was just luck that we avoided this disaster. it was just luck that we survived without losing everything. but those who lost their lives didn't do anything wrong. those of us who are still living

have probably done things that were much worse. so those of us who have been spared must thank those who took on our suffering and died in our place. we must never forget them. >> that's dukto, a writer and buddhist nun speaking with nhk world. you can see the full interview on march 9 and 10 on nhk world. people in chicago are dealing with more than just stro gusts. >> the storm that has been battering the eastern half of this continent is finally pulling away. you can see this big spiral moving to the atlantic coast finally moving off into the shore. it has done the damage. let me show you a video coming up from chicago. a strong winter storm battered chicago on tuesday bringing heavy snow and strong winds. 28 centimeters of snowfall making it the largest winter storm to hit this area since 2011. the blizzard brought it to stand

still. many residents found ways to enjoy the colder weather too. people are having snowball fights out there. finally the conditions will be improving in the eastern coast. the new england states will still be feeling the very gusty conditions as well as mixed precipitation due to a system intensifying over water. you can see how big it has become since yesterday due to the warm sea surface temperature. the flights could get cancelled in and around new york both airports as well as boston. if you are flying in and out of these vicinities do check your flight schedule. we have this very big high pressure system that's back behind it pushes the system away. very good news. the warmth will be returning much of the midsection of the united states will be able to enjoy your first weekend of your spring break. out towards the west we have another pacific system moving in. this will be a heavy snow maker

across the southern areas especially in higher elevations the snow could be piling up in copious amounts. we already have winter storm warnings and advisories posted. the snow will be shifting toward the four corners regions out toward southern south dakota as well as minnesota. you'll see freezing rain which will very difficult for driving conditions. the texas panhandle will start to see severe thunderstorms on your late friday. houston at 22. denver at 13. you're looking at washington, d.c. take a look at this. it's going to be on the rise. chicago 11 degrees above your average range. washington, d.c. finally reaching the norm at 15 degrees on your sunday into the double digits finally from that cold winter you had. denver will be a different story. one degree due to another cold system moving in. that's for your high.

here across western hemisphere we have another tropical sky clone. this is sandra which is now a category 1 moving towards the easterly direction. it's not going to be directly hitting any land masses, it will be affecting the solomon islandss with very stormy conditions. severe weather warning is in place. you can see how heavy the rain could be and the low lying areas could cause flooding. we'll keep a close eye on this system for you. out towards eastern continental asia we're talking about the warmth here. northern japan will see se thunderstorms and mixed precipitation. that will be quickly pulling away. we're also talking about yellow sand forecasted northern china. you have heavy amounts. it's going to be quite significant there. the temperatures are shaping up like this.

tokyo reaching 22. that's about beginning of summer temperatures. here is our extended forecast.