welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the jordanian air force carries out massive raids against islamic state militants after the killing of one of its pilots. the leaders of germany and france are proposing a new peace plan to try to end the bitter and bloody conflict in ukraine. and the owner of a cafe in beijing is inspired by the

example of steve jobs to nurture new i.t. talent. members of jordan's air force have launched new air strikes targeting the groups islamic state. they're carrying out king abdullah's promise to avenge the killing of the pilot by waging a harsh war against the militants. jordan's state-run television broadcast video of f-16 jets taking off from an air base and striking ground targets. officials say dozens of planes bombed the group's training centers and arms depot. military officials did not disclose where the air strikes took place. media reports say they happened in the northern syrian city of raqqah, a major militant stronghold. people in jordan rallied in the capital amman to commemorate the pilot. they expressed their anger against his killers, and demanded retaliation. >> translator: we are not afraid of islamic state militants. we will win, absolutely.

>> translator: jordan should go all-out against islamic state. >> the u.s. state department spokesperson welcomed jordan's move. >> jordan which suffered this horrible loss themselves is not only clearly comfortable continuing to fly missions which really shows the strength of the coalition, but has intensified their efforts and doubled down on their commitment to defeat isil. >> king abdullah has attended the funeral of lieutenant moaz kasasbeh. the service for the air force pilot took place in his hometown in central jordan. the king met kasasbeh's relatives for the first time since the murder. the monarch expressed his condolences and said the pilot's name will be proudly inscribed to the hearts of all jordanians. officials with the u.s. defense department are trying to improve their ability to rescue pilots shot down during air strikes. they've redeployed search and rescue units to northern iraq.

u.s. media report that such units were previously deployed in situate. the move is seen in part as an effort to build confidence among countries participating in the u.s.-led strikes. officials in the united arab emirates reportedly suspended their involvement out of concerns for the safety of their pilots. they reportedly wanted u.s. forces to improve their search and rescue capabilities in iraq before resuming air strikes. two key european leaders are pushing a new peace plan for ukraine. german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande are taking their proposal to moscow for a meeting with president vladimir putin. they've already given details to the ukrainians. still, western governments are working on other strategies should the conflict continue to get worse. more from nhk world's craig dale.

>> reporter: the leaders of germany and france are using their diplomatic muscle to try to stop the bloodshed in ukraine. angela merkel and francois hollande presented a new, highly confidential peace plan to ukrainian president petro poroshenko. before they meet with russian president vladimir putin. poroshenko outlined his expectations. >> translator: the release of all the hostages cloeszing the border, the internationally recognized border for all the foreign troops. >> reporter: those terms are part of a failed cease-fire signed five months ago between ukraine, pro-russian separatists, and russia. ukrainian soldiers have been struggling to hold the country together since last april as the separatists work to carve out independent territory in the east. despite denials from officials in moscow most agree russia is fuelling this war with arms, and troops. >> we are not fighting with so-called rebels or guerrillas.

we are fighting with the russian regular army. >> reporter: caught in the middle civilians who have seen their towns and cities destroyed, their lives turned upside down. we were in a shop and suddenly there was a blast, says this woman. then in a few seconds there was another one. the fighting had tapered off in december, but it's worsened since the end of january. evidence of that can be seen in in debitseve. ukrainians are trying to maintain their positions. residents are fleeing. we will not leave anyone here who does not want to stay says this ukrainian official. the continuing conflict has prompted more action from the nato military alliance. defense ministers are launching a quick response force that would deal with russia and other potential threats. and they're setting up multinational command and control centers in six nations surrounding ukraine and russia.

>> if a cray sis arises they will assure nato forces are able to act as one. >> reporter: u.s. leaders are debating action of their own. after meetings in kiev secretary of state john kerry said they're reviewing options. >> among those options is the possibility of providing defensive, defensive assistance to ukraine. >> reporter: defensive assistance means giving weapons to ukrainian soldiers. it's something president obama is debating and key u.s. lawmakers are encouraging. but the russians have warned against it. many fear it could make the conflict even worse. and so there's even more riding on the peace plan being pushed by germany and france. both nations want to help ukraine defend its sovereignty. and above all they want to help end a conflict that has claimed more than 5,000 lives. and create a deep division between russia and the west. craig dale, nhk world. japan's prime minister says he plans to boost the ability of

the country's coast guard to strengthen maritime patrols. shinzo abe made the remark after referring to intrusions by chinese patrol vessels into japanese territorial waters in the east china sea. >> translator: the government will take all possible measures to assure maritime security around the areas with the resolve to defend the country's territorial land and waters. >> abe said chinese government boats and other vessels repeatedly approach and operate around the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands, china and taiwan claim them. abe also said that crews of many fishing boats have been observed poaching coral since last september around the ogasawara islands south of tokyo. he said the boats are apparently from china. he said the coast guard has two few patrol vessels to deal effectively with the fishing boats. abe says the government will allocate funds to improve the fleet of patrol ships and aircraft to cope with changing situations.

fbi agents are looking into the largest health care sector data breach as many as 80 million customers of a major insurance company may have had their personal information stolen. anthem is the country's second largest health insurer. its executives say the company was hit by a very sophisticated, external cyber attack. they say hackers gained access to personal records, and information including customer names, social security numbers, and sensitive information was stolen. investigators reportedly said the attack resembled previous data theft by chinese hackers. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has flatly denied the allegations. >> translator: cyber attacks are difficult to trace. if it's a cross-border attack then it's even more difficult to identify the source. pointing a finger without any sort of proof is unreasonable. >> hong said his country is willing to work with the international community to fight

cyber crime. people in tunisia took to the streets to demand democracy during the arab spring uprising in 2011 the country's new democratically elected government is now getting to work. tunisia lawmakers have approved a coalition cabinet. it includes secularists, islamists, and members of smaller parties. prime minister assid heads the cabinet. he was interior minister in an interim government that was formed by zine el abidine ben ali who was ousted. ben ali ruled tunisia for 23 years. tunisian voters in december elected beji caid essebi as president. he is the leader of a secular party. creating jobs raising the standard of living and increasing economic opportunities are priorities for tunisians. analysts warn that islamic extremists are becoming more active. they're reportedly recruiting many young tunisians. the country's new leaders face the dual challenge of maintaining security and stabilizing the economy.

the positive pulse on the japanese economy, ron madison has the details on the latest data just released. >> yeah that's right, gene. a key japanese economic indicator rose in december. this has prompted officials and the cabinet office to raise their assessment of the economy for the first time in 17 months. officials now describe the economy as improving. they cite the 1.5 point increase in the coincident index to 110.7, compared to november. the index is based on a range of data from factory output to personal spending. the officials attribute the improvement to higher output of car parts and electrical products. the index projecting the health of the economy a few months down the road also rose by 1.5. government linked insurance agency in japan will expand coverage against terrorism. natural disasters and other risks abroad. the agency says it wants to support smaller japanese companies operating overseas. officials at nippon export and

investment insurance have been explaining the new insurance system to 56 regional banks across the country. the officials say their trade insurance covers losses incurred on exports or overseas investments caused by terrorism, natural disasters, and other mass happens. they say they will also lower the hurdle for covering regional banks exposed to potential foreign risks. the change means the banks will be able to get insurance for loans in amounts less than $8.5 million per overseas visit. officials say small and medium sized firms are increasingly taking out such insurance to hedge against risk. japan's finance minister says g-20 finance chiefs will examine what steps countries are taking to counter the financing of terrorism after upcoming meeting in turkey. taro aso referred to the recent apparent killing of two japanese by islamic state militants. >> translator: two japanese were victims. terrorist groups need money to buy weapons.

g-20 members need to discuss how we can stop the flow of funds to these groups. >> aso said he will restate japan's position that it will provide humanitarian assistance to the middle east. and also deal with terrorists in the proper way. central bank governors and finance ministers from the group of 20 nations will meet in istanbul on monday. well government officials in laos are preparing for their nation to play an important role in regional economic integration in southeast asia. the country is also steadily forging business ties with japan. those two key developments form the backdrop to the laotian prime minister's visit to japan next month. the japanese government's top spokesperson said japan invited him to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said he will hold talks with prime minister shinzo abe during his four-day stay. the laotian leader arrived in

tokyo on march 4th. suga says the two countries have farnlged closer economic relations in recent years. >> translator: we hope during the laotian program's stay in japan we will exchange views not only on bilateral relations, but also on the regional and international situations. >> laos will hold the first asean presidency after the economic integration of the regional group, which is scheduled for the end of 2015. all right. let's move on to the markets now. investors are getting a little bit nervous ahead of u.s. nonfarm payroll data which is due out later on today. here's how major bench marks in europe are looking. all of them are in negative territory right now. all of them lower than less than a percent, so london is seeing declines of 0.3%. paris is down half a percent. frankfurt seeing declines of 0.8%. japanese shares rose after oil prices rebounded in the morning. but investors turned to profit taking in the afternoon. and that capped the rise.

the nikkei index sended 0.8% higher at 17,648. in china the shanghai composite index closed down nearly 2% 3,075. that's the lowest closing in a month and a half. traders held back in preparation of a flurry of initial public offerings. in taiwan the main index ended 9,456. investors sold shares due to worse than expected earnings reports of semiconductor makers. airline related stocks were also sold today on the back of that deadly plane crash on wednesday. let's take a look now at the overall region. congress hang closed lower 0.3%. australia, though seeing its 12th straight day of gains. moving on to currencies the dollar is moving in a pretty narrow range against the majors. dollar/yen is at 117.30. euro dollar is at 1.1441. market players are taking a look at u.s. jobs and wages data due out later on in the day for some further clues as to when the fed might be raise interesting rates.

okay. that is going to wrap it up for biz tonight. let's get a check of the markets.

a poll by the reuters news agency suggests a majority of people in the u.s. are concerned about privately owned drones. more than 70% of respondents said they should be regulated. u.s. aviation authorities have banned most commercial uses of small remote controlled aircraft, but they allow people to operate them as a hobby. reports suggest there have been a number of close calls with other aircraft and drones with cameras violating people's privacies. a small drone crash landed last months on the grounds of the white house. reuters polled more than 2400 adults. 42% of them said they opposed private ownership of drones. 30% said they thought it should be allowed. 73% of respondents said they want restrictions on their use. authorities in northern japan practiced how to evacuate a nuclear plant in the event of a blizzard. it revealed potential problems with getting people to safety in snowy conditions. the evacuation took place near

tomari plant. the facility is currently off line. the nuclear plant sits in the western -- in western hokkaido. heavy snow and blizzards frequently hit this part of the country in winter. central government and local officials used video conferencing to coordinate the responses. the drill simulated a loss of power to the reactor's cooling system. it also assumed the blizzard prevented workers from reaching the control room. emergency responders helped residents leave the town by bus but officials found some potential problems. they found that snow covered roads and houses could stall evacuation efforts. some residents said they are pleased, or they were pleased with the authorities had identified these issues. >> translator: i'm glad to have this drill. it's better to have a drill like this instead of experiencing the real thing without preparation. >> authorities say they will look for ways to improve the plans for emergencies.

think of tech start-ups or i.t. innovations and you probably picture san francisco or silicon valley. the chinese entrepreneur wants to add a district in beijing to that list. he set up a place for techies and investors to meet and trade ideas and hopefully power a digital revolution made in china. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the district is packed with electronics stores and i.t. companies. and it's home to one particular hub of high-tech ideas. the sign says garage cafe a place for innovation and investment. let's take a look inside. people who don't yet have their own offices come here to work. the cafe can seat up to 300.

there are power sources at every table, and free access to the internet. customers only have to pay for their food and drink. it's designed as a place in which young entrepreneurs and investors can meet share ideas, and get new businesses off the ground. the owner said he called it garage cafe because companies like apple began in a simple garage. >> translator: it's a good place to start a business because it has a high concentration of research and financial institutions. all it was missing was affordable work spaces for aspiring entrepreneurs. and opportunities to connect ambitious and determined people. >> reporter: each day at 1:00 people present their ideas or projects to other customers.

>> translator: our business is just taking off. we've secured funding and government assistance. the only thing we're missing is a partner we can work with to expand our business. >> translator: i work for a government published business journal. we urgently need skilled workers. so i've come here to find some. >> reporter: if anyone likes what they hear they can start negotiating. there's a conference room at the ready. the notice boards are covered in help wanted ads, and appeals for investment. >> translator: the atmosphere here is special. it's attracting so many talented people. so, we feel there's a good chance we'll meet people with similar ambitions here.

>> reporter: some entrepreneurs were given a demonstration of robots they are developing. engineers are designing them to move around freely and respond verbally to questions. the entrepreneurs say that the inventions could be good for guiding people in restaurants or supermarkets. operators will be able to program them via a control panel, or enter commands on a smartphone. business school graduate wu yong came up with the idea. he used the cafe to find people with the type of school and financial backers. they invested a reported $48 million. his team will now move into an office that can hold 100 employees. they are planning to begin full-scale development next month.

>> it's a fantastic and brilliant place for people to gather their partners and for people to just make their team. it's really a good place. >> reporter: the steve jobs of china could be sitting in this cafe right now, working long hours over cups of coffee find out the challenges china faces. on "newsline." former weather will give way to wetter conditions in tokyo during the weekend. our meteorologist jonathan oh is here with a look at the forecast. jonathan? >> hello, gene. yes, we are going to be seeing a transition from some of the chillier weather that we experience during the week and then we'll see the snow and the rain picking up for the northern portions of japan as we go through the next few days. here's a look at what's happening right now. we had a low pressure system rolling out of japan, and now

that it's moving away we have a little bit of a calmer weather pat earn. the winds are relaxing. so the high pressure system back toward the west is is allowing for us to get a little bit of a calmer weather pattern and that's going to allow us to see a little bit more sunshine. maybe a few clouds from time to time as we go in to saturday. however, there is a change in the pattern as we go in to sunday or what is happening is we're going to have a small disturbance down toward the southwest of japan. a low pressure system will develop, move toward the north and east and end up picking up a lot of moisture and so we will see the rain really picking up on sunday going into monday as well. and then northern portions of japan will end up picking up some of the colder air allowing for some snowfall in the process. in the mean time, saturday is going to be decently warm. we're seeing a high of 11 degrees with partly cloudy skies. a high of 5 in seoul, 3 in beijing. now as the high shifts toward the east we'll have that southerly flow, so some clouds and rain for shanghai and taipei as we go in to saturday.

let me take you over in to southeastern africa where we have a tropical disturbance now in process. here's madagascar and there's that tropical disturbance that is spinning around. it is expected to become a little bit stronger as we progress throughout the day, friday into saturday. but, as it moves down toward the south, it is going to also pick up a lot of moisture. this is going to be a big rain system. that's the concern here. up to 200 millimeters of rainfall just in the next couple of days. along the west coast of madagascar, and then as it continues to move down toward the south still bringing in that moisture so make sure that you are aware of the weather situation, because this is going to be a big rain producer. speaking of rain we're going to go up to europe now, where we have been talking about a low pressure system that is starting to actually lose a little bit of that spinning characteristic in terms of the circulation. now becoming more elongated in the process. that is indicated by an occluded front, an area where air is running into each other. and so that's going to be an area of some very unstable weather. we're looking at possibility of

some severe thunderstorms. looking into especially for western turkey look out for this. because we talked about flooding problems for this area during the past couple of weeks. more rain is expected with some strong thunderstorms, some strong gusts from time to time. and that rain extends all the way into italy with the higher elevations further up north seeing some snow. so it's going to be rain snow thunderstorm type of situation. so athens and rome thunderstorms expected. cooler air further toward the north. single digits into paris and london. and then back toward the east very chilly. in fact moscow you're looking at snow once again with a high of negative 6 for friday. wrapping things up we're going to move on to north america and the west coast, we have that big low pressure system moving in. we've been talking about this system, the pineapple express that was going to be moving inland. it has started to move onshore so northern california all the way in to seattle, and vancouver, and further up north, seeing the very wet weather. even more rainfall expected as we go through friday with gusts up to 120 kilometers per hour. waves up to eight meters.

look out for the flash flooding. the rain will extend through friday all the way into sunday with wet conditions, and sometimes very windy conditions as well. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended forecast.

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

portion coke, the leaders of germany and france are heading to --. ukraine and western allies accuse the kremlin of supporting a separatist rebellion. fighting has flared with civilians caught in the middle