tv Newsline LINKTV December 9, 2015 5:00am-5:31am PST
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probe. russia is hitting targets in syria. and questioning coal as pressure mounts on governments to move away from fossil fuels, one of the world's leading exporters is facing a big dilemma. japan's space agency says it has succeeded in putting a probe called akatkuki into venus. it's the first time to be put into orbit around a planet in a solar system other than earth. >> translator: we've confirmed the venus climate orbiter has successfully entered the orbit has planned. >> he said they plan to go through a test period of three months. the experts used clean images of venus which were taken using ultraviolet cameras and infrared cameras. they said it's the first time for such clear images.
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it was launched in may 2010 to survey the planet's weather and atmosphere. it was scheduled to begin circling venus in december of that year but the main engine break down. the latest success came after jaxa controllers thrusted the four smaller engines on monday japan time. in a second attempt to put the probe into orbit. the controllers confirmed the thrusters burn for over 20 minutes. it's the second time for japan to rive one of its probein space following the hiabusa which in 2010 completed a seven-year return trip from an asteroid after overcoming system malfunctions. from iraq to russia to the u.s.-led coalition, many governments are stepping up their fight against islamic state militants. a senior official of anbar prove since told nhk militants have been driving out of large parts
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of the provincial capital ramadi. the official said sunni muslim tribesmen took part in the operation. many islamic state militants are sunnis. the militants have controlled central ramadi since may. the city is on the main highway between baghdad and rushg's border with syria. russia's defense minister sergei shoigu says missiles fired from a russian submarine have hit targets in syria for the first time. he said they destroyed a munitions depot and a bomb factory. russian president vladimir putin said the missiles can be equipped with nuclear warheads. shoigu also presented the flight recorder from the russian jet shot down last month.
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it will be analyzed to determine what happened. the front-runner for the republican presidential nomination is wading deeper into controversy. on american television he defended his call to ban muslims from entering the u.s. and compared it to the country's world war ii detention of japanese, germans and italians. critics continue to condemn his comments, including those within his party. >> freedom of religion is a fundamental constitutional principle. it's a founding principle of this country. >> ryan said trump's proposal is contrary to the values of the republican party. white house spokesperson bjorn ernest also weighed in, saying the billionaire businessman's comments disqualify him from the office of president. he urged other republican contenders to quickly distance themselves from trump's position. officials at the u.n. refugee agency have also voicedconcern.
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>> that is being used in the election campaign is putting incredibly important resettlement program at risk. >> trump, however, remains well ahead of the field in the race for the republican presidential nomination. analysts say concerns about the threat of terrorism are boosting his lead. japanese police have arrested a south korean man they suspect is connected with an explosion that occurred at a shrine in tokyo last month. investigate ares are still looking for a motive. police are charginge ining the 27-year-old for entering the yasukuni compound with no reason. the minor explosion occurrein a rest room near the shrine south gate on novber 23d. at the time, the shrine was crowded with visitors attending a festival. a small fire broke out but no one was injured. police later identified him as a
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man who is seen on camera leaving the rest room just before the blast. according to investigators, he came to japan two days before the incident. he left for south korea on the day of the explosion and re-entered japan wednesday morning. police say he's denying the allegations. yasukuni honors japan's war dead, those remember include military and political leaders convicted of war crimes after world war ii. the united states has imposed sanctions on north korean bank executives and shipping companies for their alleged involvement in the north's arms trade. the u.s. treasury department announced on tuesday sanctions on six banking representatives, including individuals based in vietnam and syria working for a commercial bank. the department alleges that the representatives worked on behalf of north korean financial institutions already hit by u.s. sanctions. and sent funds abroad from the sanctioned targeted korea mining
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development trading corporation. the department also black listed three shipping firms for allegedly transporting weapons and weapons related parts for companies already sanctions by the u.s. the u.s. government will freeze the assets of both the dividuals involved and the companies in the united states and ban monetary transactions with the u.s. delegates at the u.n. climate talks in paris is trying to hammer out a new internatnal framework to tackle climate change. finding a way to reduce dependence on coal to generate power is high on their agenda. nhk world has more. >> reporter: representatives held a panel discussion on the impact of the coal industry. >> we're not talking about a big
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number. 63% of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution began. >> reporter: the panel stressed that people affected by climate change are paying the cost of coal burning while coal producers reap huge profits. they say the world needs to shift to alternative sources of energy. developing countries like china or india depend heavily on coal. they say it is a cheap way of fueling economic growth. but they are not alone. in 2013, 30% of japan's electricity production came from coal fired power plants. that's three times more than in 1991. one of the main reasons of this coal renaissance is the fukushima accident. it shut down most of japan's nuclear reactors and look to fossil fuels to make up the
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difference. power companies are now planning to build at least 40 coal-fired plants across the country. ngo members following the climate talks warn that japan's policy will draw severe criticism. >> almost all countries started to move away from coal and only japan still plans to build new coal plants. it is true that compared to the conventional technologies current state-of-the-art japanese technology is better. still, the most efficient technologies are coal powered plants emit a lot of co2. you cannot ignore those emissions. >> reporter: many people here in paris say japan's low-profile in the battle against global warming is disappointing.
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they say leaders in tokyo care more about cost effective power generation than they do about the environment. a bad image that's undermining japan's fading influence at the climate talks. nhk world, paris. in efforts to fight climate change, an anti-coal movement is gaining momentum in many parts of the world, including australia, one of the world's biggest coal exporters. how to keep the country's economy strong while looking after the environment, however, is stirring fierce debate. nhk world's dan cook reports. >> people united. >> reporter: as climate talks go on in paris, thousands of people demonstrated in sydney, urging their government to take bold action on climate change. some believe the world should stop using coal altogether. >> we just can't keep on
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exploiting coal. it has to stay in the ground. a few hundred yrs later we don't need it anymore. >> reporter: the city of new castle, about 200 kilometers north of sydney has the world's largest coal port. but its council has joined others around the country that has moved investment out of carbon intensive assets. >> we need to make sure we're looking to the future, not only for our rion and for jobs in our region but also for the security of the environment for the world. >> reporter: since the decision, two major banks announced they would no longer fund new coal-fired power plants and would irease investment in renewable energy projects. coal is the most important industry in the region and mine workers are worried they could lose their jobs. in the community, it mining is y
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important. >> reporter: they advertised a campaign, highlighting coal. >> $40 billion each year and it can now reduce emissions by up to 40%. it's called isn't it amazing. >> reporter: the industry is also backing carbon capture and other storage technology to reduce emissions. >> coal's carbon footprint is rapidly reducing and it's still the best bet for base load affordle power both here in australia anparticularly in east asia. >> reporter: at the negotiations in paris, australian prime minister malcolm turnbull stopd short of suggesting a moratorium on coal mines. >> if australia would stop all coal exports, it would not reduce global emissions one iota. in fact, arguably it would increase them, because our coal, by and large is cleaner than the coal in many other countries
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>> reporter: australia has drawn strong criticism, both at home and abroad with an emissions reduction target smaller than those hit by many other developed nations. how to deal with coal will ntinue to pose big challenges in the years ahead. dan cook, nhk wod, sydney. >> thanks to are that report, dan. the latest economic data out of japan suggests that many businesses are optimistic. gene otani has the headlines. managers have been spending more and upgrading their equipment and facilities. officials have upgraded the basic assessment of machinery orders for the first time in six months. they say there are signs of improvement. the officials say japanese companies placed orders worth $7.3 billion in october, up 10.7% in yen terms from the month before, marking a two-month consecutive rise. manufacturers increase of spending by 14.5%.
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improvements by nonmanufacturers were up 10.7%. new dataut of china showed domestic demand in the world's second biggest economy is still weak. the national bureau of statistics says producer prices are down. officials say they fell 5.9% in november, yearn-year, the fourth straight month when they've fallen byearly 6%. they say that's because weak real estate investment has reduced demand for steel and copper wire. higher vegetable prices sent the consumer price index 1.5% higher, up 1.3% in october. yet prices of automobiles and other durables fell more sharply. the goff has set a target of 3% inflation for consumer goods this year. checking the markets, a slump in commodity prices weighed on investor sentiment in tok tokyo. the nikkei average fell to a one-month low. we go to mayu yoshida at the tokyo stock exchange. mayu? >> the commodity and weak
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numbers from chinan tuesday convinced investors that now is not the timeo buy risky asset likeequities. japanese shares dropped for two days in a row. the nikkei closed down 1% at 19,301. that's the lowest level since november 6th. the broader topix fell 0.8% on wednesday. also closing at a one-month low. but one analyst said the stronger than expected machinery orders and gdp numbers helped limit losses. if the numbers had come in weak, the nikkei would have been down an additional 100 or 200 points. yesterday's numbers out of china raised worries over the chinese economy. and investors are worried about the impact on japanese companies. in fact be with the diapermaker pigeon says sales in china have been sluggish in the past few months. shares of pigeon dropped 6.7%. on the upside with energy stocks surprised investors by gaining today, because investors bought them back at bargain prices.
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jx holdings and inpex both traded higher today. all in all, market players are trading cautiously. italy ahead of the u.s. federal reserve's policy meeting next week. i'm mayu yoshida, reporting from the tokyo stock exchange. >> thank you. moving on to othermarkets. in china, the shanghai composite edged higher. property related stocks rose on hopes that the government will take more measures to support the sector. over in sydney, the s&p asx shed 0.5% hitting a three-week low. investors pick up cheaper resource related shares. the stocks had beenvi healy sold following a plunge in commodity prices. the hang seng decleaned to the lowest level in more than two months. singapore lost 5% after a central bank sury showed many economists lowered expectations. myanmar has opened its first
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stock exchange in yangon. the people operating the exchange are getting some help from japan. japan exchange group and the institute of research own stakes in the firm. they've assigned six employees to help evolve the stock trading syst and provide operational know-how. >> we need a marketplace which can provide good investment alternatives to the general public. >> myanmar's economy is growing at an annual rate of over 7%. entrepreneurs find it hard to get loans from banks to fund new businesses. the stock exchange plans to start by accepting requests from six companies for listing and begin trans,s as early as february. here's a look at se of the other business stories we're following. a group of japanese firms is teaming up with a brazilian rail company. they'll build and operate urban
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transit systems in time for the rio olympics next year. the japanese companies will spend up to $280 million for a 40% stake in the new firm. they'll be in charge of repairs and operations of urban railways, subways and light rail transit systems in three cities. india wants to buy japanese nuclear technology to cope with a serious shortage of electric power. japan is willing to help. japanese prime minister shinzo abe will sit down with narendra modi during his visit friday through sunday. talks are in the final stages but they want india to promise spent nuclear fuel won't be used to make nuclear weapons. that's it for business news. i'll leave you with the markets.
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the japanese co-winner of this year's nobel prize, takaaki kajita is due to receive his award on thsday. he was helped in his research by huge underground observatory developed with the expertise and skills of japese engineers. nhk world has the details. >> reporter: this observatory is central to kajita's research. this water tank is called the super conservatory. it's it equipped with sensors.
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the observatory is locked in the city of hira, 1,000 meters deep underground. a local mining firm came up with a unique method of drilling the huge underground space safely. normally, miners drill upward while adding soil and sand to drill parts to secure a foothold. for this project, that was impossible as ground water would have increased the risk of collapse. workers from the firm drained the water and carefully drilled downward. >> translator: it was a challenge for engineers, too. >> reporter: another company applied space technology used in the japanese probes to develop the light detecting sensors needed for the project. researchers at the company spent two years making the sensors for the observatory capable of
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detebing a glimmer from a flashlight on the moon. >> translator: people at our company were willing to try something new, something that might never have been tried before around the world. working on such projects makes our people happy. >> reporter: the 50,000 tons of water in the observatory tank are a vital part of the operation. that's because they emit traces of light when they hit water. engineers needed to find a way to remove all the impurities from the water to make the observation more accurate. to tackle the issue, kajita worked with engineers from a water treatment company. he reportedly made many proposals. they included creating a vacuum around special filters to efficiently remove the last remaining impure matter from the water. this new water treatment device was completed in five years.
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it's so effective that it cuts the density ofimpure matter to 0.01 of the previous level. kajita recalls those days. >> translator: everyone was working together to achieve the same goal. i couldn't do it alone. we've accomplished something because all of us worked as a team. >> reporter: the observatory was built thanks to cutting edge japanese technology. the award of the nobel prize to kajita is a source of tremendous pride for the engineers involved in the construction project. nhk world. >> the excitement of making technological and scientific strides, thank you. tokyo is experiencing a mild winter but people in iceland are witnessing record storms as jonathan oh tells us.
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well, the good news is, it looks like nobody was injured as this storm came onshore and really battered iceland during the day tuesday. we had a series of different systems rolling through but one particular powerful one hit through iceland and then moved under the circumstances way over the united kingdom over the scandinavian peninsula. let me show you the video coming out of iceland on tuesday where in 25 years, you know, this has been the most severe weather system to hit iceland. and officials told residents stay indoors during this time period and the good news is, because of that, it looks like that -- because of the efforts, the injuries -- there were no injuries reported to be more specific here. strong winds, drifting snow also caused traffic headaches. you can see here some property damage was also reported from the storm. there are avalanche concerns in northern iceland as we move forward in time. so this is something we have to
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look at for as we move forward in time. the system that impacted iceland is moving toward the british isles. we're looking for stormy conditions throughout the day on wednesday. rainfall, 60 to 80 millimeters possible with gusts up to 115 kilometers per hour. that's not the only area impacted by the system. we're seeing plenty of snow and moisture impacting the scann scandinavian peninsula. showers into vienna, single digit highs over toward places like moscow and also into kiev. moscow, still a touch warmer than the average high of negative 3 degrees. it's much cooler than what was spurned earlier this week. as you look at the forecast for east asia, high pressure is controlling the weather over japan and also the korean peninsula. we have a stubborn stationary front that continues to bring a lot of rainfall from shanghai
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down toward the south. and so it's going to be a wet forecast as we go into thursday once again. so please make sure you're aware of the weather situation. further toward the north, high pressure is creating stagnant air and so we are looking at the concerns about air pollution to remain through thursday a lot of the concerns now moving closer toward the south and so this is something that officials have to monitor because it's not going away very quickly. we're looking at the rain from the stationary front to finally exit out of china as we head toward thursda south korea, western portions of japan looking at wet weather coming up for thursday and then as we go into the weekend, further toward the east and north, more rain expected there. tokyo 15, 11 in seoul. the three-day forecast, wet weather from tokyo for friday and saturday and also kagoshima. as we look at the western portions of north america, we are keeping an eye on a very wet system.
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we have a cold front that's not moving very quickly. in fact, we're seeing waves of moisture constantly coming out of the pacific ocean io places like vancouver and seattle. snow in the higher elevations once again. heavy rainfall also associated with the system. drier toward the central portion of the united states, may see snow into winnipeg, rain toronto and miami once again. we'll see rain, high of 27 degrees coming up on wednesday. hope you have a good day wherever you are. here's your extended outlook.
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genie: i'm genie godula to these are the headlines. the main opposition groups in syria hold unprecedented peace talks, this as the war that has killed more than 250,000 people rages on. new draft agreement from the climate change conference is presented today. that will leave 48 hours before the deadline to work the toughest issues out, just which countries
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