o. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. japanese leaders are working to free two hostages with 24 hours left by the militants. sources say efforts to free the pair have been going on for months after they disappeared.

surviving the winter months with heat. japanese government leaders are on a race against time. they say they have until friday afternoon to respond to a ransom demand. the top government spokesperson is trying find out the status for the hostages. >> we haven't been able to confirm their safety. shinzo abe spoke with the australian prime minister. he says he believes the people and government of japan will overcome the challenge. abe met indonesian trade minister in tokyo and thanked him for indonesia's condemnation of the hostage taking. the photo online shows jogo and

hat another hostage unless they pay the deadline in 72 hours around 2:50 p.m. japan time on friday. the japanese just promised aid to countries in the middle east. prime minister abe says the aid is for non-military and support for people across the middle east and wilton fight against global terrorism. the two men went missing months before they appeared tuesday on the internet. it seems efforts to free the pair have been going on for some time. we have more. >> reporter: a source told us that they sent an e-mail and captured a journalist but doesn't include any threat of

killing him. later information contained personal information known only to go toe and his family. a message sent earlier this month demands a ransom of more than $17 million. a representative that opposes islamic state poke to nhk about the other japanese hostage you cayou -- yukawa. they had been going through a negotiate to negotiate for yuckawa's release. he had heard a senior member of the islamic front had spoken to the japanese government but broke down two months ago when the islamic statement abruptly cut off negotiations with the mediator. the video shows two hostages online during a visit to the

middle east by shinzo abe. a spokesperson with islamic state communicated online. he was aware japan's state minister for foreign affairs had flown to jordan. analysts say the group is keeping a close watch on the situation. the spokesperson wrote that islamic state will achieve what it sets out to do. he said the militants actions aren't motivated only by money. the specks person didn't respond when asked if islamic state has been in touch with the japanese deposit. officials in tokyo say there's been no contact. nhk world. qe and eurozone and rob madison is here with more. >> that's right. quantitative easing. board members for the european central bank are set to make an

important decision on monetary policy to announce a quantitative easing plan for the struggling quantity and decide whether to buy government bonds and other assets. analysts are tipping them to vote in favor. it may be necessary to stop the region sliding into deflation. last month they saw plunging crude price ss edge into negative territory for the first time in years and concerned about the outcome in greece that could affect the financial market. last month, they hinted about the possibility of quantitative easing earlier this year. the head of germany's central bank and openersthers oppose it and worry it could weigh down the rest of the zone. the market is awaiting the outcome of the european central bank and expecting a large scale

bond buying program. they're pretty cautious aheads of that meeting seeing london up a quarter percent. frank frank frankfurt declining such a mar margin. reports are ecb will start buying bonds worth 50 billion euros a month. hong sang closed up .6 of a percent and hong kong investors took a wait and see approach closing up .3%. the dollar is in a tight rang versus the yen at 117.72. and the euro ticks down drawing close to the press conference. euro yen is trading at 136.86. chinese premiere lekexpressed

optimism saying it showed the first growth in 24 years saying china's economy might also face downward pressure in 2015. the situation in his country is part of a global slow down to hurt his country's exports and they will shift gears to reach peopled to high pead growth and will reach that goal by implement implementing structure reforms and improve efficiency. toyota's auto-maker say the stronger yawnuan is taking a hefty told on their business. they told more than ever before but wasn't enough to have the stronger currency take a chunk out of their pockets. they say sales were especially strong in china and turkey.

their operating profit plunged 9% to more than 7$7 billion. they are electricing to sell a little more than 5 million vehicles in 2015 up just a touch from last year. microsoft executives have unveiled their latest gambit to rescue market share from rivals and planning to give a waway windows 10 free of charge and won't cost a sent for those running the windows 8 and phone but only good for the first year of release. windows 10 will work the same way on all devices from smartphones up to pcs. hey, show me photos from december. >> designers have loaded up the operating system with a range of new features and comes with that voice control system and let users write or control directly

on the screen. it has the biggest license for operating system but lack behind competitors like google and apple for mobile. and they're banking on their latest strategy to turn things around and plan to release windows 10 in the second half of this year. japanese leaders want to spark the economy and have a dem demographics society on their hand with a low birthrate and aging. they are looking at robots and could soon do some of the work people do. the government will look into drones to survey the country's condition of roads and bridges and something humans do currently. they will team up with japanese businesses to set international standards with technology. they want to catch up with

germany and the u.s. the current leaders in this technology. a private-public partnership is expect expect invest billions of dollars in the next few years to move it four fold to $20 billion. that's it for tonight. let's close things out with the markets.

officials from the united states and cuba are taking a big step toward normalize inging diplomatic ties that have been strained over a half a century. they're meeting face to face for the first round of high level talks. they talked about the influx of cuban refugees into the u.s. both sides agreed they'll cooperate in patrolling the border. but they couldn't narrow the gap on american legislation that grants cubans permanent residence if they meet certain conditions. >> despite the clear differences that remain between our countries, the united states and cuba can find opportunities to advance our mutually shared interests as well as engage in a respectful and thoughtful dialogue. >> translator: cuba wishes for a normal relationship with the

united states in a broad sense but also in the area of immigration. >> they'll meet again on thursday and are expected to focus on the human rights situation in cuba. they will also discuss re-opening embassies. north korea's missile and development programs will be high on the agenda when officials from japan, united states and south korea meet in tokyo next week. six party talks on the north's programs have been suspended for over six years. >> translator: the officials will exchange views on recent developments in north korea and confirm to work together on various issues regarding the north. >> joining the meeting next thursday will be the u.s. special envoy for north korean

policy sun king and the two other officials. they will review the north korea's council's discussion of the north korean rights. and the cyber~ attacks on sony picture s pictures allegedly conducted by the north and they have proposed sanctions in response. chinese president ping is dealing with a dilemma. he has made the country's worsening air pollution a top priority but some of his tough measures are impacting the economy. >> reporter: these masking are equipped with high-tech filters

and cost more than $40 each. there is no shortage of customers. >> translator: i think it's good for my child's health. >> reporter: china's air pollution program is dire but the summit in november took place in blue skies because authorities restricted air traffic and suspended operations at nearby factories. >> translator: i would call it apec blue. some people say it will disappear when the summer ends. i believe with tireless effort the blue sky can be preserved. >> reporter: the government stronger environmental policies producing region shows shuttered factories.

a visit to this region. that's because the local government ordered coal burning factories to switch to natural gas by the end of december or shut down. >> translator: my monthly income has decreased by more than 30%. i don't have as much work. >> reporter: as one factory after another shuts down, the coal industry is starting to suffer. the local government is also said to have ordered a ban on coal sales. poor farmers are feeling the strain, too. temperatures often drop to minus 10 degrees celsius in this region. many families use coal because it's cheap and convenient. recently, though, the local government has instructed residents to switch to more

environmentally friendly biofuel made from corn husks. but farmers find it too expensive. >> translator: biofuels have an extremely short burning time. >> reporter: an expert says that fear lies behind the communist party's stronger environmental policies. >> translator: should the environmental problem reach a point where the people cannot cope with it the political order and the government's authority would be effective. the environmental problem has reached a critical point and the brakes must be applied. >> reporter: responding to the international community, authorities say carbon dioxide emissions will peak by 2030. the government will press ahead even though the new environmental policies will seriously affect local economies.

masaru takagi, nhk world. a group of volunteers in south korea is reaching out to give some home heating help. they're offering hundreds of thousands of cole brickettes to people who can't afford them during the winter months and helping to make sure everyone stays warm. >> reporter: the thermometer indicates it is currently minus 5 degrees and with windchills it feels much much colder. as you can see, volunteers are busy delivering brickettes to low income residents. many low income people live in this area of northern seoul. today, about 70 volunteers participated in the delivery

program. >> translator: it's cold and my face gets black. it's tough but i participate every year with my friends from work. >> reporter: this man heads this project. he says coal brick ets remind people of the old days. translate translated when the country was poor most people used coal brickettes to get through the winter. >> reporter: he launched this project named coal brickette ss, in the neighborhood in 2004. it started out with about 200 people on the outskirts. the media and websites reported on the project and eventually it grew into a nationwide program. operation costs are covered by donations from the general

project. he was motivated by an experience he had in his 30s. he was a labor consultant on issues involving coal miners and said some are freezing and almost dying from the cold. they were really happy when he gave them coal briquettes. >> reporter: their program is now so large it has around 50,000 volunteers. a striking number are young. a good opportunity for new experience and learning the spirit of sharing. >> reporter: this winter the volunteers include people mourning family members lost in the sinking ferry last april. one is this man. his 16-year-old son died in the tragedy. >> translator: we received a lot of support from other people. that's why i'm taking part in this initiative.

>> reporter: some mourners gave briquettes to an old man still cuffing from a photograph accident four years ago. it left him physically disabled. as he is unable to work he finds it hard to make ends meet. >> translator: i have a hard time getting by. but young people come by to help. that energizes me. i'm almost crying with joy. >> reporter: coal briquettes are being delivered to a total of 200,000 households across south korea this winter. every year juan receives many letters of fwrattude. for the past 11 years, they have motivated him to keep the program going. letters of gratitude. coal briquettes are not only a way of keeping warm they become a symbol of the spirit of sharing.

"nhk world," soul. cold weather is bringing snow to the texas panhandle with rain on the way to the deep south. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here. >> we are talking about texas with a low pressure system moving out of the southwest and making picking up low pressure system

and making it cold in the process. wednesday out of texas and amarillo amarillo, you can see the snow still blowing and falling to the ground. i expect this to continue throughout the day. there's the low pressure system continuing to move closer to the gulf of mexico. as it does some will moderate the temperature and houston and mississippi you will be dealing mainly in the liquid form of precipitation. as we continue we track down to the gulf and pick up more moisture. the deep south will get drenched looking at quite a bit of rainfall from mississippi to the carolinas, thursday and friday and saturday. further up north, we're talking drier weather and cooler temperatures as well. in oklahoma city and hewns,

you're much cooler at 7 degrees. 14 13 and clouds and rain comes in later on. the cold front slamming against the western coast will continue to bring rain and unstable weather. as we go to europe we're talking about a lot of rainfall to the south and pressure out of the i iberian peninsula and mediterranean sea and towards italy. it will pick up even more moisture and cause problems for the balkan peninsula. severe weather and powerful winds and large hail and maybe isolated tornado, talking about heavy rainfall and the flow to the south. look for that down in degrees and also the tip of italy and africa and thunderstorms as well. high of 12 and the cold will

sneak out moisture into stockholm, moscow and kia thursday. behind that area wrapping around cold air, single digit highs for london paris and madrid. the forecast into east asia very cold weather taking place for china because the high pressure system is dragging air where you can see the coloration where cold temperatures are on the ground level. something interesting happens looking at this photo, this phenomenon phenomenon that looks like three suns but actually one sun but because of the celsius and air kofrl covered in ice crystals it creates this optical illusion and it is cold. toward the east and into japan,

we're talking about wet weather. gusty washington d.c. in terms of winds and oak nowwie will look out for that and we see snow in al qaeda and northern regions of japan and temperatures in seoul and japan. here's your extended out look.

a japanese soccer star is bringing together former enemies. this time the rivalry is friendly. he he's opening and academy for young players in bosnia and another area. he is a former captain of japan's national soccer team and will set up his academy in the town of mostar. they signed a deal to get the ball rolling being able to learn

how local children suffered on the sides of ethnic conflicts and wants to help them move on as friends. soldier soldiers will train about 80 kids in different ethnic groups. soldiers are kicking in $200,000. kicking in a clubhouse and a pitch. they're excited. >> translator: i enjoy playing with children from other ethnic groups. >> translator: i want to do what i can't to create an environment for ethnic reconciliation through the academy. >> he hopes to start taking students later this year and says the kids will learn the spirit of fair play and how to respect others. that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. for all of us here at north korea world, thanks for joining us. until next time. good-bye.

♪ free two hostages threatened with death by the islamic state group unless a massive ransom is paid by tomorrow. this as an international counterterrorism meeting is underway in london. at least 13 are killed in eastern ukraine as shelling hits a city bus in donetsk. the ukrainian army seven has withdrawn from the part of a local airport. the territory has been fought over four months. and a cofounder of the german anti-muslim group pegida resigns after posting a selfie of himself as