stories we're following this hour. a transasia airways plane has crash landed in a taipei river. rescue workers are searching for survivors. people in jordan are in shock over a video that appears to show the killing of an air force pilot moaz kasasbeh.

the fight to drive islamic state militants out of syria and iraq. investigators in taiwan are trying to find out what caused a passenger plane to crash into a taipei river. authorities say the transasia aircraft went down with 58 passengers and crew members aboard. they say at least 12 people have been killed. images taken by a dashboard camera show the aircraft losing altitude with its left wing pointing down it hits a taxi clips an overpass, and plunges into the river. the twin engine turboprop crashed shortly after takeoff on wednesday morning. police and firefighters are leading the effort to find survivors. taipei authorities say 15 people have been taken to the hospital. about 30 are still missing. the plane took off from taipei's shonshan airport heading for

kinmen island off the coast of mainland china. last july a transasia aircraft crashed and burst into flames near the airport in the taiwan straits. 48 people were killed. experts blamed that crash on bad weather caused by a typhoon. the taipei crash involved the same type of pro-feller plane. authorities in jordan have wasted little time following through with a vow to avenge the murder of one of their citizens by islamic state. they executed two al qaeda prisoners hours after seeing a video that apparently shows that pilot moaz kasasbeh being burned alive. islamic state had initially pushed for one of the inmates to be freed in exchange for a japanese hostage. nhk world's craig dale has more. >> reporter: jordanian leaders promised a strong respond after confirming islamic state killed moaz kasasbeh by burning him alive in a cage. the quest for revenge began with these imprisoned jihadists who'd been facing the death penalty.

one was sajida al rush wow, an iraqi. her name has come up in recent days. she helped carry out deadly bombings in 2005 in amman. her fate had been tied to that of kasasbeh and japanese hostage kenji goto a journalist who islamic state apparently killed according to a video they released last weekend. a week before that the militants said they murdered another japanese hostage. it was at that point they dropped a demand for a hefty cash ransom and offered to release goto in exchange for rishawi rishawi. but jordanian authorities stepped in and demanded kasasbeh's freedom as part of the deal to let rishawi go. he was captured after his plane went down in northern syria during air strikes by the coalition that clueless the u.s. jordan and a few other arab nations. now during the negotiations the jordanians asked islamic state to provide proof the 26-year-old was alive. but it seems they didn't get it. they now say they believe he was actually killed in early january, so weeks before the high profile bid to secure his release. our cameras were rolling in amman when kasasbeh's father

found out what happened to his son. he appears utterly deflated. he then canceled a media briefing and relatives had to help him leave. king abdullah of jordan was in the u.s. when he heard the news. he met with president barack obama after releasing a statement for jordanian tv. abdullah condemned the killing and he called on his people to stand united in the face of the islamic state threat. the king cut short his trip and went home to deal with the situation. jordanians are seething with anger over kasasbeh's barbaric killing and the hostile religious message it sends. muslims believe if someone is burned to death nay can't be resurrected in the afterlife. so islamic state's message here is clear. but it's still unclear what the group was aiming at overall. if they really wanted rishawi in the first place, or if she, goto and the pilot kasasbeh were all pawns in an elaborate game. keep in mind islamic state isn't

allied with al qaeda anymore so it begs the question why would the group push for the release of an al qaeda operative. the militants have killed many iraqis and syrian both citizen and soldier and they made shocking videos showing murders of americans, britains japanese and now this jordanian. government leaders around the world are trying to show they won't be swayed following this latest killing. >> i think we'll redouble the vigilance and determination on the part of a global coalition to make sure that they are degraded and ultimately defeated. >> translator: at this difficult time japan is with jordan. i feel great indignation towards this cruel and despicable act of terrorism. >> jordanian authorities have said their response to the pilot's murder will be quote earthshaking. so it's unlikely they'll stop with the execution of these jihadist prisoners. some experts say they may ramp up their air attacks on islamic

state and they say the authorities may crack down on the group at home namely on recruitment and the travel of militants to and from syria and iraq. craig dale, nhk world. u.s. military chiefs say an international coalition is gaining the upper hand against islamic state in iraq and syria. but authorities in other parts of the middle east and africa say the fight has now spread to their doorstep. nhk world's tomoko kamata has more. >> reporter: the u.s. began air strikes in iraq in august and in syria the following month. commanders say pilots have carried out about 2,000 attacks. they say they've destroyed hundreds of military facilities and killed several thousand fighters. they claim the number of islamic state commanders has been cut in half. fighting on the ground is also picking up. for four months militants had to wage a battle for the town of ayn al arab in northern syria.

they were hoping to gain a stronghold along the border with turkey. the violence forced about 200,000 refugees to flee across the border. a u.s. military official said kurdish fighters were able to beat back the militants from the city. then, last month, islamic state fighters began another siege. this one on the oil city of kirkuk in northern iraq. coalition pilots hit back with more than 30 air strikes. u.s. officials issued a statement on tuesday saying the operation was a success. >> so they are losing ground they're more defensive, they're more worried now about their lines of communications and supply routes. this is a different group than it was seven months ago. >> reporter: islamic state is calling on supporters to launch attacks around the world.

extremists in libya have heeded the call. militants loyal to islamic state claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel in the capital tripoli. nine people were killed. authorities in egypt believe islamic state inspired militants who attacked military and police facilities. about 30 people died. in nigeria, boko haram extremists carried out attacks on schools and villages. they say they want to establish an islamic caliphate, too. u.s. commanders say the military operation against islamic state could last for three to five years. but, they say it's even more important to eliminate extremist beliefs. the spread of radical movements around the world means this won't be an easy task.

tomoko kamata, nhk world. authorities in france say a man with a knife has attacked a soldier guarding a jewish cultural center. the soldier and a colleague suffered minor injuries and the suspect has been arrested. security forces have been on high alert following last month's attacks on the "charlie hebdo" weekly and a jewish supermarket. officials at the interior ministry say the soldier was guarding the cultural center in the southern city of nice. he and another soldier helped subdue the subject. a magistrate charge of counterterrorism is looking into the attack. it's not known whether the man has links to radical groups. local media are reporting that authorities had detained the man last week when he tried to enter turkey. he was flown back to france and questioned by intelligence officials. the attacks last month killed 17 people. police and military personnel have been stepping up patrols of transportation facilities tourist areas, and religious centers. french authorities have carried out anti-terrorism

raids, and they've arrested eight people on suspicion of recruiting french youth into jihadism. interior minister bernard kasaneuve said the arrests were made in the suburbs of paris and lyon. french media report the suspects are in there 30s and 40s and of tur, or north african origin. they're accused of being involved in a network that recruited fighters in 2013 to join islamist extremists in syria. french authorities arrested five people late last month on similar charges. a video posted yn line appears to show islamic state militants calling for more attacks on police and military personnel in france. british lawmakers have voted in favor of baby making procedure that's driving an ethical debate. they approved a process that combines dna from three people to prevent inherited diseases in children.

critics say it will open the way to so-called designer babies. members of the house of commons voted in favor of the in vitro fertilization method. they say it will allow parents to replace defective dna with a healthy sample ensuring they don't pass on incurable diseases to children. in one approach scientists take an egg from the mother and remove the nucleus. they insert the nucleus into a healthy egg provided by a donor. finally, they use sperm from the father to fertilize the egg. vicky holliday and her partner keith newell are thrilled by the decision. their daughter jessica has a disease caused by defective dna. she struggles to swallow and can't hold her head up. >> it's a massive opportunity for us to have a child that would be free from mitochondrial disease. not just for us but for many families, as well. >> media reports say the procedure could be in use before

the end of the year. and they say it could be used to artificially conceive 150 babies annually. but many people say the procedure crosses an ethical line. >> the answer has to be that we stop here. the answer has to be that we say, this is a red line in our country, as in every other country in the world, that we will not cross. >> members of the house of lords are due to consider the issue next. if they vote in favor, they make britain the first place in the world to allow the procedure. toyota has done something its stockholders are happy to hear. ron madison is here with more on this story. >> as we all know toyota's just been selling just a bunch of cars. and now we're finding out that that's translated into some record earnings for the company. people at toyota say the weaker yen has helped them bring in bumper sales overseas. they say they've notched up their best-ever operating profit for the first time in nine months of a fiscal year.

officials at the japanese carmaker released their latest earnings report. they say operating profit from april to december rose nearly 14% in yen terms from a year earlier. they say it came to about $18 billion. officials say sales were up by about 5% to roughly $170 billion. they also revised up their forecast for the fiscal year ending in march to new record highs. they're expecting sales of $230 billion, and an operating profit of $23 billion. but they scaled down their forecast for global production to 9 million vehicles. they say the lingering impact of the consumption tax hike in japan is a factor. sony executives have also announced earnings results. they revised upward their forecast. strong sales of game consoles and image sensors for smartphones boosted the company's performance. >> translator: our larger image sensors could be beneficial in the automotive and medical fields.

we plan to apply the technology in those areas. this is a new challenge for sony. >> the sony executives say sales for the nine-month period came to around $53 billion. that's 6% higher than a year earlier. operating profit rose to roughly $1.5 billion, up 17.5%. sony's ailing tv business saw an upturn in sales in europe and the u.s. the executives expect to trim their earlier estimated loss by $500 million. even so they say they expect to post a net loss of about $1.4 billion. well the weak yen has also helped to deliver higher profits to japan's other big companies. listed firms have reported healthy business results for the first time -- for the first nine months of the current fiscal year which began in april. analysts at snbc nikko securities surveyed 500 companies on the first section of the tokyo stock exchange. combined pretax profit between last april and december came in

at around $112 billion. in yen terms the number is just shy of a 12% year-on-year rise. electronics companies logged a roughly 50% increase. precision equipment makers nearly 40%. and machinery firms more than 20%. but textile firms reported lower profits as the weaker yen pushed up the cost of imported materials. retail and real estate companies also saw profit declines largely due to effects from the consumption tax hike in april. oil wholesalers and major trading houses also revised their outlook downward after being hurt by the plunge in crude oil prices. all right let's get a check of the markets now. major european indexes are trading lower. that's after posting some pretty solid gains yesterday. investors are closely watching talks between eu leaders, and ministers of greece's newly elected administration. as you can see there, all of the markets are in negative territory. frankfurt and paris both losing 0.1%, while london is down 0.5%.

asia markets with a pretty good day today. japan's nikkei was up nearly 2%. sydney closed at a fresh seven-year high after that surprise rate cut yesterday. shanghai ended nearly 1% lower, though. on the currencies the dollar is moving much clearer direction against the yen right now. analysts say traders are refraining from making big bets on the greenback before key u.s. jobs data comes out on friday. the euro is stronger against the dollar and the yen. traders are hoping that the greek officials can find common ground with eurozone nations over the country's debt. well officials from japan and the united states have wrapped up their latest round of working level talks on the trans-pacific partnership free trade deal and their next meeting is already being planned. japanese negotiators say progress is being made but there are several sticking points remaining. among them are tariffs on certain agricultural products, as well as auto parts. hiroshi oe is the japanese negotiators in charge of the

agricultural sector. he said more details need to be hammered out before ministerial level negotiations between japan and the u.s. can take place. >> translator: we've made some progress. but there are still problems that need to be addressed at the working level. >> oe indicated that the next round of discussions could come as early as the end of this month. the japanese negotiator in charge of the auto sector said the two sides addressed many minor issues during the latest talks, but many of the larger issues have yet to be resolved. all right that is going to do it for biz tonight. i'll leave you with the markets.

ski resort operators in japan are seeing fewer people on their slopes. older skiers have put away their poles and the younger generation isn't taking their place. so operators are trying to lure back their loyal customers by showing them they're not yet over the hill. >> this dashing skier is -- >> translator: i started in my 70s. i wanted to feel young again. >> reporter: this one wears a smile. even during a snowstorm. >> translator: i turned 62 this year. i was inspired by watching the olympics. >> reporter: recently more and more elderly people have been

taking to the slopes in niigata prefecture. >> translator: i've come to pick up my special senior voucher. >> reporter: in 2014 this ski resort started offering a special deal to people who are 66 77, or 88 years old. >> translator: it's a good deal. i can use the hot spring baths and the ski lift for free. >> reporter: the resort manager hopes people who take advantage of the offer will bring others with them. the number of visitors here increased by 20%. >> translator: it would be great if the campaign brought a lot of people to our resort. i hope more senior citizens will come and bring their friends, and relatives with them. >> reporter: another ski resort is appealing to seniors by making an addition to their

facilities to help them get around. the steep path to the lift was a challenging climb for older people. so a moving walkway was installed this year. it cost about $170,000. >> translator: it's good. i get out of breath really easily when i climb up hills. >> reporter: the high cost of equipment and transportation prevents many young people from skiing. but seniors who enjoy the sport in their youth could become new customers if there are suitable amenities and services. at another resort more than half the classes are designed for the elderly.

65-year-old sayuri will be skiing for the first time in 30 years. >> translator: i decided to start again so i could stay fit and not become a burden to my family. >> translator: skis have been improved over the years. they turn for you now. >> reporter: she has to correct her old skiing habits as she uses a little too much force. the most important thing for seniors is not to exhaust or injure themselves. >> translator: this style of skiing is very different. i'm very pleased, because it feels new, and i don't have to use much strength.

>> reporter: looking into the future struggling ski slope operators are hoping japan's seniors will help turn their business around. storms are packing a punch on both sides of north america. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with the details. jonathan? >> hello, gene. yes, we're going to begin first on the eastern coast of north america, where we've been discussing about the storms that have been rolling through. the snow that has blown past and has accumulated in high numbers. let me show you what it looks like in boston. it's obvious when we talk about winter we're talking about snow in this area. heavy snow powerful winds bringing chaos to many cities in the northeast u.s. on tuesday. unfortunately, aside from the snow, there's also some unfortunate news as well. where the weather has killed at least 15 people. significant snow fell in boston forcing authorities to suspend public schools, and, in fact also delayed celebrations for

the new england patriots super bowl victory. that parade taking place wednesday. 108 centimeters of snow has accumulated during the past seven days in boston making it the heaviest in the city's history. we are looking at the snowfall to continue extending from southern quebec all the way down into the mid-atlantic states. a low pressure system is coming out of the great lakes, picking up the moisture and also all that cold air. that combination will dump even more snowfall on top of an area that already has plenty of snow. in fact the temperatures are not even warming up above freezing, and if it is it's not doing enough to melt away what snow is around the area and so when you see more snow that is going to compound the situation. looking at the forecast for boston, look at this temperatures staying below freezing, wednesday with some snow, thursday below freezing and even into friday with another chance of some snowfall. so this pattern will continue into maine. we're going to see temperatures below freezing. in new york city you will also see some snowfall, and dealing with some icy situations. that's going to be compounded

once again with some snow later on this week. meanwhile in the west coast, we have a pineapple express set up where all this moisture is moving toward the western side of the united states. we're looking at some high rainfall totals starting on thursday, extending into friday. some areas seeing up to 150 millimeters of rainfall. so flooding problems are of concern especially as we go toward the mountains. looking at the forecast for seattle, the rain extends from dnesday all the way into friday. some hazy conditions for wednesday in san francisco and sacramento, and then the rain starts picking back up. and, in fact it will pick up with some intensity by friday with windy conditions. we are talking about winter as we go to the forecast for japan. we have a little bit of a break except for some snowfall over into hokkaido and now we're going to see the same setup that we saw last week when it came to snowfall in the central portions of japan. one low east of the korean peninsula. another low south of japan. that's where you're going to pick u that moisture and that cold air. all of it wrapping around. so we're looking at accumulations on the ground level at 2 to 3 centimeters in

the lower elevations along the pacific coast. with some areas up to 5 as we go further inland into tokyo and then other areas, especially looking up to 30 centimeters possible of snowfall. that's as the system starts to push eastward. so look out for that. looking at snow osaka you may see some snowfall into friday. and then temperatures will start to warm up as we go into saturday. so, that's really the big story happening over in asia. and in terms of the weather, the high pressure system over in china will bring in some chilly temperatures so look at this high of 4 in seoul, 8 in beijing, and snow on thursday with a high of 3. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.

theater goers in tokyo are being treated to a new take on a traditional performing art. they've been flocking to a kabuki play with a science fiction twist. the performance is the first of its kind at a theater in the downtown rop okay i go district. about 900 spectators packed the seats and the play was unlike anything they'd seen before.

the story is about spacemen who land in edo, the old name for tokyo. the lead alien is played by star kabuki actor shido. he wowed the audience by emerging from the spaceship with a big sword. popular young actor ebizo played the hero who fights against the invaders. pro deucers are trying out new twists to attract younger fans to kabuki. the audience can watch the actors change costumes, and put on makeup. frnz it was the first time for me to see kabuki. but it was really fun. >> the organizers say they eventually want to stage the play to audiences overseas.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

. a new operation here in france has led to two arrests after three french soldiers were stabbed. a draft of an arrest warrant for the president of argentina is discovered in the home of alberto nisman. he was found dead last month under mysterious circumstances.