hello and welcome to "newsline." it's 24rds, august 29th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. president barack obama said officials concluded that syrian forces used chemical weapons on civilians. in an interview he said they

looked at the evidence and determined the syrian government is responsible, but he has not decided whether to order a military strike. >> we do not believe given the systems using rockets that the opposition could have carried out the attacks. we have concluded that the syrian government in fact carries out and if that's so, there needs to be international consequences. >> obama said world leaders have to make sure when they break norms on chemical weapons they are held accountable. he be backed up leaders who said last week forces attacked their neighborhoods and hundreds were killed. they are ready to launch strikes if president obama orders an attack. the program warned them not to. he told them and allies that syria would be their grave yard. the world remembers how the west

started the war on iraq years ago and said they possessed weapons and guided opinion in the wrong direction. residents of damascus are prepared for the worst and stocking up on food and other supplies and some who live near targets left their homes. un secretary general said diplomacy in syria must still be given a chance and the western powers must not rush into hasty military actions. >> the use of chemical weapons by anyone for any reasons under any circumstances would be a violation of international law. they should be brought to justice for their accountability. >> the team of un weapons inspectors is collecting valuable samples and interviewing victims. he said the inspectors need more time. irani's stream leader said

intervention would be a disaster if are the region. ayatollah ali said the united states would lose a lot as it did in iraq. he likened the region to a gunpowder score and said the future cannot be predicted. iran is one of the closest allies. the iranian president followed the previous regime in supporting the syrian president. time now for the latest in business news. traders are bracing for another busy day. developments in syria weighed on stocks earlier this week, but in new york markets staged a come back. joining us now from the business desk with more on that. what can you tell us? >>. >> concerns over the mideast have been driving up oil prices and energy stocks got a boost and wall street closed higher if are the first time, but investors appear cautious as they brace for further developments in syria. the dow jones average closed up

14,824, up a third of a percent and the at 3,593 up 4/10 of 1%. t'ramin for information from the stock exchange. how are they reacting at the open? >> are let's look at thepening levels here. the second to the last trading day. both are in the positive. the nikkei closed to the negative this week following the events overseas with them dominating the trader decisions. we continued to see that shift into risk averse moves meaning more poured into oil stocks with the price on the commodity markets rose 1% on wednesday. the benchmark futures hit $110 a barrel, a level not seen in more than two years. that followed the gape the day before. i will continue to focus on

related shares here such as oil and gas with the developer that actually was one of the stocks that gained almost 1%. also as the dollar remains weak against the yen, we will monitor exporters that despite recent earnings reports as well as the strong sales outlooks for this fiscal year, they have been caught up in the syria risk and ce related sell off. >> anxiety caused the dollar to fall, but have we seen a fall or is a further fall expected? >> it hit 9.8 on wednesday and we have seen the dollar rebound.

we may hear more action. let's shift to the euro again. that gapped a little bit of ground after having traded in the 129 levels on wednesday. 130.30 to 40. although from the outside factors, apart from that, i have to say key data for eurozone on friday may still be a crucial factor may go for the currency. as we have been talking about, oil-related shares with events unfolding in syria. back to you. south korea and the philippines are to discuss efforts to cover the catches of eel, a popular delicacy in the region.

representatives from the countries plan to hold a meeting in western ja ask pan next week. they will brief each other on farming and conservation measures. it caused supplies to drop sharply. japan's catch dropped to 5.2 tons this year. the fishery's agency is considering limiting domestic eel fishing and they hope to cooperate with other eel television consuming countries and draw up issue ins to recover the catches. more headlines next hour. i will leave you with a check on markets.

a series of bombs exploded and the blast killed at least 40 people. 160 were wounded. iraqi authorities said insurgents detonated bombs in parking lots and outdoor markets. the explosion occurred within the state in one hour. they targeted those out shopping and on their way to work. other influential shia leaders called for restraint while forces boosted counter insurgency operations.

the measures failed to stop the violence with more than 4,000 people killed so far this year. >> prime minister abe is promising a more active government role in dealing with the fukushima nuclear crisis. others say the government will spearhead the fight to contain leak ajs of highly contaminated water at the power plant. >> translator: >> the government should not leave the accident up to the operator, tokyo electric power company. they need to deal with it with a sense of urgency that includes the issue of contaminated water. >> he talked about the storage plant at the tank. some of the it may seeped into the ocean. he strauked the minster and the head of the regulation authority to look into the cause of the leakage. the industry minster has begun

drawing up measures to deal with contaminated water. >> americans are taking time to remember a man who spearheaded the civil rights movement. 50 years ago in washington, martin luther king delivered a speech and utter the words, i have a dream. thousands gathered at the lincoln me moria will on the national mall 50 years on. president obama was joined by two former presidents, bill clinton and jimmy carter. he said king and other leaders helped change a sem pleas and congress and even the white house. he expressed concern that disparities are widening and not shrinking. >> this has been noticed like unemployment remained almost twice as high as white unemployment and latinos close

behind. >> 79% of african-americans say the country has a long way to go before it achieved the society free of racial prejudices. king inspired americans from all parts of the country. 50 years after the speech, people are reflecting on his vision. martin luther king was born in 1929 in georgia and dedicated his to fighting discrimination. in august of 1963 he joined in the march on washington and thrived the words that would be repeated over and over. >> i have a dream. that my four little children

will one day live in a nation where they will not be judge issed by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. i have a dream today. >> his speech electrified millions of americans fighting if are civil rights. the following year he received the nobel peace prize. in 1968, he visited memphis, tennessee. a man opposed to the civil rights movement shot and killed him. king was 39 years old. thousands spent the week in washington remembering his words and what he did for the nation. the vision laid out by dr. king has been remembered and celebrated around the world. in tokyo a concert was held to honor his dream. a saxophone player from the state of mississippi arrived in tokyo on august 28th to commemorate the historic day. the message he brought is let

freedom ring. >> he played a spiritual song he has been listening to since the childhood. they helped them during the struggles. >> in the words of doctor martin luther king,jr. equality for everyone. freedom. you remind me that i have to be conscious of the inequality that does exist in the world. i don't know how much longer it's going to take with another 50 years or what.

we have to keep the march going. >> u.s. secretary of defense chuck hagel joined the minster defense leaders in the southeast asian nations. it contains a number of security challenges including disputes over the south china sea. the agenda was overtaken by events in the mideast and talk of possible u.s. military action against syria. the obama administration identified the asia pacific region as an area of importance for the united states. hagel attended the asean defense minster's meeting on wednesday. he will join a wider discussion on thursday when minsters from china, japan and other countries

join their counterparts from asean. it would be the second meeting of the asean defense minster's meeting. robert gates attended the first years ago when he stressed the trip to asia policy. the global security changed dramatically. a de facto military coup plunged to egypt. the civil war in syria drags on. he was suspected of using chemical weapons. analysts say the obama administration may have to put the focus back towards the mideast. southeast asia is watching closely how they respond to the challenges. they have disputes with china over the south china sea and view the strikers on asia as critically important to counter balance china's expanding power. a united nations team looking into human rights violations on

north korea is visiting japan. they are meeting withhe t faamlies of japanese nationals abducted by the north and listening to their plight. the patient parents of the high profile abductee spoke to the un members. the closed door interview lasted for about 90 minutes. they pulled out photos of loved ones and gave details about the abduction. >> translator: i hope the united nations will take measures that will force north korea to act. >> the panel invites to a public hearing on the abductions of tokyo on thursday. they plan to submit a preliminary report of findings to the un human rights counsel in september. japanese researchers began a project to identify human remains in north korea. they are looking for traces of japanese who died at the end of world war ii. to complete the attack, they

need cooperation from north korean experts. nhk has a report from pyongyang. >> i'm at the cemetery, a suburb of pyongyang. researchers have begun to inspect the remains. it is based on historical materials collected from the families of the victims and survivors. tens of thousands of japanese nationals died in what is the confusion where the japanese surrendered in world war ii. they laid there for nearly 70 years. an investigation in japan identified about 70 burial sites, but only several locations have been investigated so far.

they are pinpointing the exact location of the grave. the researchers are asking for respect from the north korean counterparts. they handed over eyewitness accounts and other documents. >> translator: our government has to provide historical materials and ask koreans to make field studies at the gravesites. >> translator: the issue is not just an individual problem krping relatives. the japanese government should take responsibility to help solve it. >> people on both sides agree for the joint investigation. it's a layer of atmosphere corporation considering the close situation between development. nhk world, pyongyang.

>> a family animal can provide comfort to those who are feeling lonely or blue. hospital patients can not always take advantage of the benefits. now they are training facility dogs to provide canine therapy. >> baby is a 5-year-old golden retriever therapy dog. he works at the children's medical center in yokohama. close to tokyo. his job is to make friends with children. his owner takes him on the rounds. >> you are hurting him. be gentle. that's a good boy. >> a therapy dog never yelps or

bites even when tormted. >> a dog makes a huge difference in a hospital. their behavior changes completely. >> bailey was trained as a therapy dog in hawaii. he is conditioned not to lose his temper even when a stranger touches him. morita is a qualified nurse and played a big part in bailey becoming the first facility dog in japan. bailey's schedule is like a staff member. six hours a day, five days a week. sorry to keep you waiting. >> it has been about a year since bailey arrived. he gives the children courage to go through treatment. >> i was able to take the medicine because bailey was with me. i don't want bailey to see me

being uncool. >> medical procedures inflict physical and psychological pain on patients. bailey supports our kids by getting close to them and building a strong bond. >> this 8-year-old has been hospitalizedor two months. an operation to re tumor apeers to have gone well. depres on. he moves his as he throws the ball. usually a quiet dog, bailey puts

on a little show. he is inspired to get up from his wheelchair. he plays some of his favorite sports, football. bailey is with him. >> he barked! >> translator: bailey looks happy. i'm so happy being with bailey. good for you, bailey. >> bailey helps the children cope with uncertainty and worry. his duties might be as simple as just snuggling up beside them. all in a day's work to make sick kids smile again. >> time for a check on the weather.

people in taiwan and the southern i lands of japan are dealing with stormy weather. meteorologists give us an update. >> clouds from a severe tropical storm blanketing taiwan and japan producing very, very stormy conditions. we have reports of a 110 kilometer western most inhabited island of japan. we are expecting gusts reaching 160 kilometers per hour with waves of up to eight meters across the area. it's going to force in many residents in mainland japan to reschedule the weekend plans. it's moving across japan into the weekend. the center of the storm could hit northern areas by saturday and then reach central parts of japan by sunday morning local time. they are across the big i lands on the weekend. across the south, heavy rains will be confined across the

southment we are expecting about 150 millimeters falling on the already saturated ground. flooding is going to high risk across the area. another heavy rainmaker is found across the korean peninsula. north korea could be hit the hardest with the estimated rainfall of 150 or 20 millimeters and set to move into friday. before the tropical disturbance and wight spread rain is likely on friday. on thursday, dry weather with a high of 32 degrees. cooling down to 26 degrees but back up with a high of thursday. across north america, heat is still with them affecting residents on the central and eastern parts of the u.s. i wanted to share this video from chicago. the heat wave forced some

schools without air conditioners to close. the temperatures hit a record temperature. one school cranked up the air conditioners and overloaded the circuit breakers. over 600 residents had to be sent home. you will expect many are enjoying the latest. the peak of the hot weather is over. across des moines, temperatures are 38 degrees on friday. it could reach a daily record. across the rest of north america, lots of rain across the high plains and thunderstorms are likely set to move into the great lakes region. conditions will be moving up across the north eastern parts of the u.s. into thursday. across the northwest the rain is not going to fall across inland locations.

finally in europe, dry conditions across the northern half of the contupon nent. very unstable conditions and unstable across the south of the iberian peninsula and the balkans. heavy rain and thunderstorms and very large hail are possible on thursday. the temperatures are comfortable. 24 in berlin and 23 degrees in warsaw. here's the extended forecast.

>> that coconcludes this edition of "newsline." thanks very much for joining us.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: good evening. i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: tonight, an exclusive interview with president obama at the white house. >> woodruff: we discuss the potential for military action in syria. >> we do have to make sure is that when countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could threaten us, that they are held accountable. >> ifill: and we get his take on race relations in america, following his speech at the lincoln memorial today, 50 years after the marc w