welcome to newsline, it's wednesday september 18th. delegates from around the world are meeting face to face to discuss a debate some areas of common concern. they've gathered together in new

york for the opening of the united nations general assembly. already they're finding their discussions are focused on syria. delegates from 193 major nations will examine broad themes of development concerning women, youth and human rights. ban ki-moon says syria is their biggest challenge. >> we have also -- must look at broader issues, not only this chemical weapons, but there are ongoing fightings, refugee issues, human rights issues. we have to address all these issues. >> ban outlined how rockets filled with nerve gaskilled hundreds of civilians last month in a suburb of de mass cass. he asked delegates to work together to end the conflict. leaders from some of the major powers can't agree on what approach to take. those from russia have defended the sear yarns for years.

and they find themselves at odds with the french carrying the threat of military action. french foreign minister travelled to moscow to meet with his russian counterparts, labrov thanked officials for supporting a framework to collect and destroy all chemical weapons. they disagreed over a report by u.n. investigators on the chemical weapons attack last month. >> according to our own foreign intelligence, we believe this report proves that the responsibility for the august 21st chemical attack lies with the syrian regime. >> we immediately had questions. and we asked them, there's no answer as to where the weapons were produced. >> blabrov said they need to

establish what happened in the attack. turkish leaders have seen the conflict spill over their border. on monday turkish forces shot down a syrian helicopter that had entered their airspace. now a car bomb has exploded on the syrian side of the border. it wounded at least 12 people. the bomb went off near a checkpoint manned by syrian opposition fighters. those who were hurt were trying to get away from the fighting. and they say government soldiers were responsible. turkish forces have shored up their borders. officials with the united nations children's fund say school children in syria are missing out on their education. they say 40% of children cannot

attend school. thousands of children have fled the country with their parents or left for safer places within syria. more than 130,000 syrians have taken shelter in neighboring jordan. 30,000 of them are school aged children. aide workers have opened schools in the camp, those with unicef say half the children are attending classes. parents don't see the importance of education. others believe children should help them with their jobs. unicef officials are trying to persuade parents to send their children back to school. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu says what's happening in syria shows that a threat of military action is needed for disarmament. and diplomatic pressure alone is not enough to deal with states that have weapons of mass destruction. world leaders need to take a different approach in dealing with iran's nuclear program.

>> translator: a wayward state that is developing weapons of mass destruction is certainly apt to use such weapons. >> netanyahu said leaders elsewhere need to persuade those in iran to stop enriching uranium and get rid of their stockpile. he plans to make the same argument at a speech next month. netanyahu will head to the white house during the same trip to discuss the iranian nuclear program with president barack obama. he's expected to encourage obama to increase the pressure on iranian leaders with the use of force as an option. time now for the latest in business, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke has hinted for months that the current round of quantitative easing could be tapered soon. investors are wondering exactly when that might .be good morning. >> yes, the fed has kept investors on their toes.

these investors will know a little more in less than 24 hours. top officials are sitting down for two days of policy meetings. investors around the globe are waiting to see if they scale back on quantitative easing. the federal reserve now buys $85 billion worth of treasury bonds and mortgage backed securities every month. officials at the fed have hinted they may curb the policy if the outlook improves for the labor market and the economy. many investors believe the fed will decide to scale back on quantitative easing. others aren't so sure. the latest set of employment data showed weaker than expected job growth. speculation over the feds monetary policy has already prompted investors to pull out money from emerging economies and that's weakened their currencies. fed officials are set to issue a policy statement on wednesday. and ahead of this, u.s. stocks ended higher on tuesday.

the dow jones industrial average rose more than a fifth of a% to 15,000529 and the nasdaq gained three quarters of a% to end at 3,745. the highest level this year. >> let's go to ramin. >> let's go straight to the opening levels, and have a look at where we stand today, september 18th, and both indexes well into the positive. 14,426 for the nikkei. and the topix over 14%. given the gains we've seen in the dow, the nasdaq investors are largely accepting that the federal reserve will begin to cut back on its $85 billion a month bond buy back program. given the overall tone of u.s. data, how will stocks react if

the fed meets expectations, exceeds them or falls short? analysts i've spoken to say that markets seemed poised for further gains in the long term. here in japan, they're positives as well, the strong policies put forward by the prime minister. and also an overall weaker yen has helped exporters, and business sentiment and encouraging words for the bank of japan have also given positives and boosted sentiments overall. we'll see how the markets react following the fomc meeting. for now, pretty positive. >> people in the markets are also keeping a close eye on the dollar, aren't they? how is it trading this wednesday morning? >> yes, the dollar is a big focus, of course. we'll see how that trades. it's in a bit of a race right now. investors may push it higher if the fed reduces its bond

purchases. we've already seen trading above 100 yen this week. obviously the fomc meeting will be key, and investors will want to know the timetable for the fed's policy after the fomc meeting. let's have a look at the euro yen as well. holding steady at these levels, the euro did rise after the key business sentiment, survey out of germany pointed to further growth mow american item as well. we'll keep track of key sectors here. we expect trading to be within a narrow range. and keep note of how asian indexes open up, and if that has any further effect during the rest of the day on japanese stocks as well. pretty positive start so far. we'll see if that continues. >> thanks for that update. foreign and direct investments in china grew at a

lower rate. after significant increases in the previous two months. officials of china's ministry of commerce said foreign firms may direct investments worth about $8.4 billion last month. they included factory construction. that's an increase of only 0.6% from a year earlier. foreign direct investments in july and june both posted increases of more than 20%. among the investing countries, japan spending expanded less than 10% in the first eight months of this year, while south korea's surged nearly 55%. the three asian nations are holding talks on a free trade agreement, but prolonged political streams between japan and china are weighing on their economic ties. that's the latest in business news. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

diplomatic sources have told nhk that north korea has tested an engine for a new intercontinental ballistic missile. the tests happened last month at a launch site in the northwest. the engine testing could be used in this type of missile which was recently on display at a military parade. this comes amid suspicion that pyongyang has restarted a nuclear reactor capable of making weapons grade plutonium.

senior officials are expected to attend a symposium in beijing on wednesday on their nuclear program. analysts say they're using the tests to pressure the u.s. into restarting talks on nuclear issues. north korea has been under international sanctions for nearly a decade and it's taken a toll on the country's economy. the government's decision in 2003 to allow limited free enterprise injected much needed investment into its capital in pyongyang. its people can be seen in fashionable clothes and even buying tablet computers. foreign reporting is highly restricted in north korea, but nhk world was allowed to visit from late august to early september. all that you wealth seems to be reaching parts of the capital, it's a different scene once you go outside. >> this is becoming increasingly

popular way to get around pye g pyongya pyongyang. just a few years ago, the number of taxis were few and far between. but this driver tells me they are now on the rise. >> supreme leader kim jong-un wantses to increase the number of taxis to 5,000. there are already more than 500 on the streets. >> a six kilometer ride costs just $3. it may not sound too expensive, but for the average citizen here, it's about one tenth their monthly wage. taxis are still very much reserved for the rich. but the government says more involved people are becoming members of the upper class. >> this residential area is covered with high rise buildings

where only the most privileged classes can afford the rent. and many more towers are currently under construction. >> the city plans to build enough condominiums to house 100,000 citizens. people who have made fortunes after the central government started allowing the small scale private businesses a decade ago. they can be seen buying goods by the bag fulls. and even buying tablet computers. even though it costs five times the average monthly salary. >> the area has changed a great deal. our comrade's initiatives are producing the fruitful results.

>> but then there's what the government doesn't want you to see. driving out of the capitol is like going back in time. the road turns from paved to bu bumpy. steady stream of cars that run on charcoal. most people rely on bicycles to travel around. officials don't talk about these issue issues. they'd rather focus on what they say is a country's rising policies that have stimulated economic conditions. this is currently being built by some 10,000 soldiers and students. officials say it's expected to

be complete this year. it will house 11 ski slopes, a high class hotel. >> translator: this resort aims to be profitable. but it's also a place where north koreans, including the young can enjoy skiing. >> and this project is already complete. a suite with an ocean view costs $262 for a night. >> translator: we came from pyongyang. >> i feel very good. people can enjoy themselves at resorts like this, thanks to the profound love of our leader kim jong-un. >> a luxury getaway for north

koreans lucky enough to benefit from the government. they want to give the impression the entire country is booming. but the difference between the capitol and the countryside suggests a difference. u.n. investigators say systematic and gross human rights violations are taking place in north korea. the members of a commission of inquiry gave their interim report to the u.n. human rights council in geneva. they conducted interviews last month with families of japanese and south koreans abducted by north korea. they also heard statements by defectors. michael kirby heads the commission, he said he was deeply moved from a message by the japanese inductee relatives. they said kim must know family ties are precious. kirby also introduced a

testimony by a defector who was sent to a labor camp. >> the individual testimonies emerging from the public hearings of which these are just instances, do not represent isolated cases. they are representative of large scale patents that may constitute systematic and gross violations of human rights. >> but the north korean delegates rejected the report. >> my delegation rejects the order update by the commission of inquiry on the human rights investigation in the republic of korea. the order update is another copy of faked materials under the situation of human rights in my country. >> they plan to submit their final report next march.

investigators will ask to give them access to the country. many survivors of the earthquake and tsunami in northeastern japan developed health problems along with all their other challenges. dietitians have found a poor diet was partly to blame. they've come up withay tbrinmor to emergency rations. >> a piping hot bowl of chinese food. curry with rice, soup with plenty of vegetables. all of these meals were developed for use during disasters. they can be preserved for more than three years. here's how people reacted to the food at a disaster prevention event last month in tokyo. >> yes, ma'am. it's pretty good. >> emergency rations used to be

bland. but now they're tasty. >> after the 2011 earthquake, researchers studied what disaster victims ate in shelters. many people have lived in these temporary lodgings for months, and they developed health problems because they ate lots of unbalanced meals. the japan dietetic association surveyed their health. this is the menu at one of the evacuation centers two weeks after the quake. the residents ate mainly rice balls and bread, an overload of carbohydrates. the meals did not have enough vegetables and meat. even a month after the disaster, people were still eating the same food. researchers found that the residents were taking in about 40% of the recommended amount of vitamin c. because of the vitamin shortage, many people suffered colds.

at the same time, many residents found their blood pressure rising. researchers believe it was because the residents were consuming one and a half times the average intake of so he had this man works with the food processing company to develop emergency rations. they focused on the containers. >> we made the aluminum thicker. >> this special layer of film allows rations to be preserved for up to three and a half years. the user can warm up the food without the use of a stove. they also considered the nutritional balance of the meals, adding a lot of food rich in vitamins like carrots and peas to compliment the protein

in the meat balls. >> it's great the meals last so long. >> but before these rations are made available to the public, some problems must be overcome. one issue raised at a tasting event was price. >> how much for each? >> 8 to 9 dollars. >> really? >> that's a bit steep. >> it's too much. >> the special container is what pushes up the cost. >> if people come to understand the importance of well balanced food during disaster recovery, the costs will come down. and the food can help people survive longer and give them comfort whenever the next disaster occurs. >> the team wants to keep developing emergency rations

that satisfy the needs of a diverse group of survivors. next on the list are the elderly and people with allergies. >> it's time now for a check on the weather. people in many areas of mexico are dealing with severe flooding. good morning, catherine, we were talking about a remnant low pressure system over western mexico, which used to be a tropical storm manuel. now it redeveloped into a tropical depression. so around these regions, flooding continues. and it's some serious situations. take a look at this video. flooding chaos began last week in southern mexico as tropical storms ingrid and emmanuelle brought massive amounts of rain. more than 50 people have been killed so far. the city of acapulco was

flooded. residents were walking in waste deep water. more than one million people are still affected by the flooding. i must say it has redeveloped as i mentioned, this is manuel. it's a zombie of a storm. it will develop into a tropical storm possibly late wednesday night and make landfall in the southern baja california peninsula. stormy conditions to these regions, including cabo san lucas. we're talking about 120 to 250 millimeters, anywhere around this storm system. and also topping as much as 400 millimeters in isolated locations. down toward the south, another low pressure system will be bringing buckets of rainfall, so anywhere across mexico we're likely to see life threatening

floods into the next few days. now, across the bigger picture to the north we're looking at some red flag alerts. and even further to the north, another active system is providing thunderstorms. in fact, this storm system has produced a couple tornadic activity in idaho and is likely to unleash tornadic activities as well as large hail, gusts and a damaging level as well as heavy downpours. combination of another cold front with this system will be bringing very stormy conditions across the saskatchewan, manitoba regions. down toward the south we're looking at summer temperatures. phoenix, to the new england states, the highs are recovering, but the lows will be dipping down the single digits again. take a look at the update of the

storm system here. it will be tracking all the way toward the north. could be possibly making landfall in southern taiwan, and will be affecting the north with very heavy rain. it could become a typhoon status in the next 48 hours. another storm system, this is now a tropical depression. it could becoming tropical storm status any time soon, making landfall in the eastern china peninsula. these systems will be bringing drenching amounts of rainfall. across this region we're looking at just down to 19 degrees, summer like here in seoul with plenty of sunshine. i'll leave you now for your extended forecast about

that is all for this edition of newsline. do stay with us.

captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: the gunman who murdered 12 people at washington's navy yard showed signs of mental illness and complained of hearing voices, but was still able to keep his security clearance. >> ifill: plus, the story of families whose lives have been washed away by devastating floods in colorado. >> i actually saw the face of my house, my gut went to my feet. there was nothing salvageable. i don't even know how to describe it.