hello there. welcome to "newsline." it's friday, may 31st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. president assad said he will attend a talk on syria.

his appearance at the talk seems far from certain. he granted the interview to a lebanese television station. # he said he would not go if he found the conditions unacceptable. he also discussed the delivery of weapons from russia. russians leaders say they are following through on the surface to air missiles. russia and u.s. officials are working together to organize the peace talks. they'll meet with u.n. officials next week to discuss ways to bring the parties together. chinese president is trying to reclaim relations with emerging economies. he's setting off on a tour to latin america. he will make his second overseas trip since march.

he'll make the first visit to trinidad and tobago by a chinese president. the nation has large reserves of oil and natural gas. but the chinese are weary of have appearing too eager. costa rica has established relations with china six years ago. he also wants to make more inroads in mexico. like china, it's enjoying rapid growth. xi will meet next week with president obama. they will sit town in california. they are expected to discuss their concerns about trade, cyber security and north korea's nuclear program. defense ministers and military chiefs in the asia pacific region may soon have a chance to hear how chinese military leaders view territorial disputes. one of china's most senior military officers is getting ready to speak in singapore at an annual the security conference.

delegates will hear from the deputy chief of the general staff of the people's army. they will talk about areas of cross border cooperation. japan controls the senkaku islands. members of a chinese think tank released their analysis of asia pacific issues. they say the problems have spread from the ocean to the air and the risk of military conflict is growing. many will meet with abe ahead on a conference on developing africa's resources. delegates from about 50 nations

will attend the opening on saturday of the tokyo international conference on african development. abe plans to meet with most of them on the sidelines. he's expected to hold talks with ten leaders on friday including those with abe is expected to unveil a plan for measures to fight piracy. they are expected to adopt a plan on monday. they're also to proposed muss ears to improve agriculture and counter terrorism. children in many parts of africa go to bed with an aching in their stomach. people have worked for years to stop shortages of food. the people at one small japanese company have developed technology they hope will help.

>> reporter: in south africa, more than half of the land is dry. and less than 20% is suitable for farming. but a new technology developed by a japanese company is helping to turn the land green. this is a type of chinese cabbage. and in the next row, spinach. >> that's too big now. so we have to cut it out. >> reporter: these are the new plants. laid on the ground, they look like long white sausages. the tubes are made of a special knitted fabric filled with earth. the seed willings are placed.

for their roots grow down into the soil. because the knit is very fine, the soil row tapes moisture. so less water is needed. this means vegetables can be grown almost any where that has access to water. the plants are made by a japanese textile company. this man is in charge of the project in south africa. >> translator: i'm very pleased. everything's going so well. >> reporter: the company's headquarters is close to the japan seacoast. the manufacturer has a long reputation for its innovative business strategies. its high tech fabric has been used in uniforms used by japan's national soccer team. but the company decided it would have to enter other markets besides clothing. >> translator: we've been looking for a product the

chinese can't copy. if we carry on working on ordinary ideas we'll never win. >> reporter: matsumoto saw an opportunity in the agriculture sector and commissioned a major textile maker to develop a special fabric. matsumoto arrived in africa three years ago. it was a whole new area for him, but the potential was huge. >> translator: our technology is unique, because it allows people to grow things any where. we're taking our first steps in africa. >> reporter: matsumoto also sees business opportunities in other areas, a suburb of johannesburg. he believes that growing crops more efficiently in residential

areas could help improve people's lives. he gave a planting demonstration for some of the local people. matsumoto's project is also being impacted by the united nations development program. >> it may be a good technology to be used to benefit e companies around. so i don't see why other communities, including other countries in africa could embrace the technology. >> translator: i'm happy to feel that other people are interested. i have a feeling our project will soon bear fruit. >> reporter: for people in south africa, this project offers hope. they can increase their food supply. nhk world. u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon has made solving the

problems africa faces one of his top priorities. we'll be broadcasting a special conversation between ban at the times and dates on your screen. don't miss rising africa here on nhk world. mpblt bank of japan governor has a target. 2% inflation in two years. how much closer is he to his target? >> he still has a ways to go. that 2% inflation in two years is the monetary side. officials at the internal affairs since it fell 0.4% from the year before. the index includes fresh food prices. they say the low cost of household appliances like

televisions is factor behind the drop. tv prices fell more than 16%. the prices of energy related prices are down. gasoline fell 2% the utility charges such as electricity and gas rose due to a weaker yen. electricity rose more than 4% while gas was up 1.3%. now let's get a check on markets. stock prices in new york rose on thursday. that's as weak data pointed to stimulus by the federal reserve. stocks fell sharply to the 13,000 level which is the lowest level we've seen this month. for more let's go to eileen. she is at the stock exchange. it's been a volatile month for

equities and you have additional japanese data for us. >> before the market opened japan announce ed industrial production in april is 1.7%. let's have a look at the opening levels for friday, may 31st. the nikkei is up almost 2% at 13,859. investors seem to be encouraged by the overnight gains in new york and the expectations that the federal reserve will maintain monetary easing progra programs. just a quick recap of the japanese equity market the nikkei rose to a five and a half year high and looks to end the

month on the strong north. the index climbed more than 7% last thursday and more than 5% yesterday. this marked a drop of almost 30% in about a week. with gains made this month erase we'll see if the nikkei can make a comeback to date. the yen has gained against major currencies and this hurt the stocks of japanese auto makers and later today we'll receive a report on japanese car production in april. let's have a look at some currency pairs. the dollar/yen is 101.01 to 02. investors are holding back from buying the dollar too much as they receive the weak economic data received earlier. let's have a look at the euro/yen is 131.76 to 78

rebounding from the 130 level on thursday. we'll continue to keep track of the markets and see how japanese shares finally end in may. back to you. >> sounds good. thanks for that update. the nikkei is up 1.7%. a senior imf official has thrown his weight behind japan's growth strategy but he says leaders must do more to create lasting effect. david lipton met on thursday with finance minister. lipton gave full support to economic policies like monetary easing. he said japan needs concrete fiscal reforms to gain lasting market support. imf officials have advised japan

to reduce its debts that are nearly double its gdp. more headlines next hour. here is a check on markets. officials from the three cities vying to host have gone head to head. delegates lined up to make their case from sports groups from around the world.

delegates said they city would be the first to host the olympics at the junction of europe and asia. tokyo officials stress their city's safety record and strong financial foundation. >> we'll see your sports shine. >> madrid officials said they were ready to host the games despite spain's economic woes. they said they'll use existing facilities for 80% of the olympic venues.

>> spain's economic fundamentals are sound, diverse and fully able to support the 2020 olympic and preolympic games. >> they will choose to host city in september. u.s. officials are unwilling to say if one of their drones killed someone. some have suggests these developments could make it harder to reach a peace deal. >> translator: they have said the second in command of the pakistani taliban was among the

six people killed by the u.s. drone attack in north western pakistan. the u.s. wanted him in connection with an attack on a base in 2009. the attack killed 7 americans working for the cia. the u.s. has been offering a $5 million reward for any information leading to the arrest. the white house while carefully choosing its words is trying to stress that the drone attack may have produced results. >> it will deprive them of their second in command and chief military strategist.

>> reporter: during campaigning he said he would seek a breakthrough dialogue with the pakistani taliban rather than resulting to force. pakistani security officials suggest that if the death is confirmed it will deal a heavy blow to his group. it could increase the likelihood of the militants actually coming to the negotiating table. there's also speculation that the taliban group may go the other way and take a stance including attacks. nachl rally the pakistc pakista is attack. experts are divided over the

possible impact of the reported killing. nhk world. tourists from around the world enjoy vietnam's culture. they have started a new drive to stamp out the problem of scamming. the state run television network aired a special feature. officials want to regulate overcharging by taxi drivers. >> reporter: the driver of this taxi charged his passengers way too much. the couple from ireland were told to pay $24 just to go 2 kilometers into hanoi. >> they moved quickly to sort out two problems. the report said the drivers were fined up to $1,000.

>> reporter: the taxi association has set up a hotline to protect passengers, especially overseas tourists. taxi drivers in the capital hanoi found to be behaving inappropriately will be dealt with strictly. >> they have many attractions, including the old capitol. they are pouring funds into parts of the country never previously considered tourist draws.

japan's aerospace agency has unveiled the supersonic aircraft. it is expected to be tested in sweden this summer. they showed the prototype to reporters on thursday in a factory near tokyo. the plane has streamline main wings and a long nose which is flat at the tip. the underside is rounded to reduce shock waves. aircraft flying faster than the speed of sound create a sonic boom which is considered to be a form of noise pollution. the test in sweden will use a large balloon to lift the aircraft to an altitude of 30 kilometers before releasing it. officials plan to assess the model's design by measuring the sonic boom when it passes the speed of sound during free fall. the agency has spent about $160 million to develop what it calls the next generation quiet supersonic passenger aircraft.

>> translator: i think this technology is the only one of its kind. first we have to prove it, then we want to promote our latest technology to the world. >> jaxa officials say they have no specific timeline yet for the aircraft's commercial use, but hope to make related technologies available by 2020. time for a check on world weather. >> we're expecting sunny and warm conditions across tokyo. the high could reach as high as 27 degrees looks like late june, but it's going to be a little bit on the humid side. similar conditions for the rest of japan. dry condition for the peninsula and much warmer than average temperatures but a seasonal rain

band is still lying over china. we have reports of 150 millimeters of rain. the heaviest reiain is going toe found along the river today. you'll see a nice break in the rainy weather. temperatures will be 33 degrees in hong kong and towards the north, 32 in beijing. it was 35 degrees yesterday, making it the warmest day of the year. and kyoto, lots of sunshine for you with a high of 30 degrees. now in north america, thursday brings another round of storms and tornados from texas up into the upper midwestern states. at least 13 tornados, and hail the size of a golf ball and heavy wind gusts have been reported. this is your outlook for thursday. the most severe area is going to be found in oklahoma. more tornados are highly likely. if you remember last week this area was hid by the deadly tornado. so additional severe weather is certainly not welcomed.

now as we go into friday, we are not expecting a big improvement, because the system is continuously moving to the east at a slow pace. across the west looking dry, across the western half of the u.s., conditions are favorable for wildfires in northern mexico and california. but i'm afraid no improvement is on the horizon for the foreseeable future because of a spell of sunshine and much warmer than average temperatures. for example in sacramento, your high could be 34 degrees on friday. it could go up to 37 degrees on your saturday. now meanwhile, extremely hot across the northeast as well, dangerously hot. 32 in new york city and 34 in boston, the average here is about 22 degrees. so 22 degrees higher -- excuse me -- 12 degrees higher than usual.

now finally in europe then, not much changed since yesterday. rotating clouds are still hovering over the same area. we have reports of funnel clouds, very large hail, as large as a tennis ball in some places. and lots of heavy rain still coming down in southern germany, in addition to that late season snow for some areas. it will likely linger into your friday. but a new system will be moving into the western continent through the weekend. warmer temperatures and drier conditions are in the forecast for the weekend in places like paris. on friday, it could be rainy weather. and also 18 degrees for you. but, again, it could go up and drier conditions over the weekend. london going up to the lower 20s and the heat is rebuilding across the east. 28 in kiev. here's your extended forecast.

one more story. japanese archaeologists have unearthed the oldest wooden mask. it's believed to date back more than 1800 years. the team made the find among ancient ruins. only half of the object remains. pottery found nearby suggested dates from the last century. they believe this enabled the wearer to attach string before putting it on. they believe it was used for

religious ceremonies. and that is all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do join us again.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: a letter sent to the white house was similar to two poison-laced envelopes mailed to new york city mayor michael bloomberg and his gun control group. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we get the latest on the suspicious packages that contained threats of gun violence and possibly the deadly poison ricin. >> brown: then, we take a closer look at james comey, a former top justice department official in the bush administration, widely reported to be president obama's pick to head the f.b.i. >> wdr