hello. i'm james tengan in tokyo. welcome to nhk "newsline." an online video of a bloody and shocked boy has gained attention in syria. the boy was rescued from rubble in aleppo. the video shows the 5-year-old being taken to hospital by ambulance on wednesday. he was pulled from t the remain of a building destroyed by an air strike. covered d with dust, he looksks dazed and shocked to see blood

on his hand after wiping his face. russia announced it carried out another strike using a base in iran. in some parts of aleppo, more than 2 million residenents are stranded without food or drinking water. the u.n. has asked both sides to accept a a cease-fire so that emergency supplies can be delivered to civilians. russian defense ministry spokesperson told media on thursday that moscow will back the u.n. proposal observing a a 48-hour weekly cease-fire in the city from next week. the president of turkey is blaming a series of deadly bombings on kurdish militants and a movement from a cleric. the blast killed a total of 12 people. on thursday a car loaded with explosives blew up outside the police. at least 200 people were injured. a roadside bomb went off the

same day in the province of bitlis. six people were killed including soldiers. another bombing near a police station left three people dead and more than 70 wounded on wednesday. turkish president erdogan said the attacks were the works of the pkk. he added that the network headed by fethullah gulen also played a role. but he has not elaborated on why he thinks the movement was involved. ankara insists the failed coup. it has detained thousands of people. china's premier has met with myanmar's aung san suu kyi in

beijing. she is myanmar's state counselor and foreign minister. china's state run central television and other media are reporting that li praised suu kyi for choosing china. since myanmar'ss new government took office in march. the media said li also expressed praise for suiting its situatioion. hopes to promote ties between it and asean. the reports also say the two sides agree to work together to find a breakthrough for a china-led project to construct a large dam in myanmar. the myanmar government suspended work in 2011 citing opposition from local people and other reasons. many people in myanmar remain wary of china due to its close relationship with the former military government. a russian cabinet minister says president vladimir putin

and shinzo abe will hold a summit meeting on september 2nd. minister for the development of the russian far east spoke to reporters on thursday. abe is scheduled to attend the economic forum early next month. the event is aimed at encouraging asian pacific countries to invest in russia. officials from japan and russia have been planning the summit on the sidelines of the forum. during a meeting with abe in may, putin said the economy is his most important concern. japan has proposed an eight-point cooperation plan to boost the russian economy. china's earfforts to cut oi production is struggling. achieved less than half the annual targets in the first

seven months of this year. the government has set reduction goals of 45 million tons of steel and 250 million tons for coal this year. officials have achieved 47% of that in steel. and 38% for coal by july. the government wants to cut overproduction to boost the economy. an official of the national development and reform commission insisted the targege will be achieveved. he said some regions were making slow progress and the commission will step up supervision. checking the markets. a jump in oil prices. ramin mellegard has more from the tokyo stock exchange. >> a recovery in the price of key crude oil benchmarks helped gains for this friday, august 19th. the nikkei closing at 16,545 up

0.36%. and the broader topix up 0.38%. crude futures jumped overnight and that's following news that petroleum producing countries may start taux on a freeze in output levels so oil and energy shares led the pack. we did follow inpex and japex rose on the day. also japanese trading houses did well. they rely on energy and commodity profits. mitsubishi corporation and mitsui also up. honda, mazda, and toyota are higher. despite friday's gains, however, the nikkei does end the week in the negative. i'm ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. >> and moving on to other

markets in the asia pacific region. in china the shanghai composite inched up to end three days of losses for the week. rose on hopes for stimulus measures by the government. hong kong's hang seng index retreated from the nine-month high. ended in the positive but casino operators were down. seoul's kospi finished almost flat and the benchmark in sydney were up 0.3%. rose on higher commodity prices. >> swedish based auto firm volvo hass agreed to work with uber t develop a self-driving car. the companies will invest $300 million to jointly develop the autonomous vehicle based on volvo models. they'll also cooperate to develop highly accurate three dimensional maps and sensors to detect objects on busy streets.

executives at volvo want the alliance to create self-driving technology as soon as possible. uber hopes to introduce ride sharing services featuring the cars with sophisticated safety features. the two are among several auto companies teaming up to develop the technology. ford has invested in ventures to put driverless vehicles on the roads in five years. general motors is working with an uber rival. a leading japanese paper maker is preparing to build a new factory and start producing as next generation that is extremely thin, light, and strong. the material is called cellulose nanofiber. to change wood, rice straw, and other plants into the material. a s single cellulose nanofiberr

leless thann a h human hair. researcherers are considering t use of the new material in a wide range of fields. from autoparts to nursing care products to food. officials at nippon papaper say they will -- it's scheduled to be completed by september next year and roll out about 30 tons of the material annually for the food and cosmetics industries. amid continuing uncertainty over the global economy, many people feel anxious about the future. that's encouraged a new kind of investor to look to the property market in search of greater financial security. we report on the potential rewards and the risks. >> reporter: a seminar for first-time property investors. they're learning how to make a profit by renting out an apartment.

>> translator: the key to investing in apartments is to avoid vacancies. >> reporter: more japanese people are company workers in their 30s and 40s. they're uncertain about the economy and worried about their future. by renting apartments, they hope to secure a new channel of income. hopefully one that's stable and long-term. >> translator: i want to have another source of income in addition to my current job. >> translator: the pension system might not work by the time we reach the age to receive it. so i think i need to be better prepared. >> translator: property investment used to be thought of as a matter for only a limited group of people. but now it is becoming more common for ordininary people to invest. >> reporter: another factor sent

people to property is low interest rates caused by monetary easing. mizuguci started investing in real estate this year. he's already bought one rental apartment. today an agent is showing him another candidate. mizuguchi says his motive is simple. financial security for his family. very low interest rates means he gets almost no return from a bank deposit. on the other hand, it's never been easier to take out a property loan. a 21 square meter apartment on the outskirts of tokyo sellsls r aroundnd $250,000. >> translator:r: interest rates are very low at the moment, i think it's a chance to borrow money and do investment. >> reporter: the real estate agent has put together a revenue forecast for mizuguchi.

the average interest rate is 1.65%. thanks to the low rate, his monthly payment is $100 less than it would have been years ago. >> translator: it's easier to take out loans from financial institutions these days. people earning around $40,000 a year now have a shot. >> reporter: of course, there are risks. the big one for rental properties is a vacant apartment. renter income can't be guaranteed. and market analyst ishizawa says investors need to prepare for hard times. >> translator: investors should keep extra cash in case something happens. most investors limit the amount of money they borrow, but some rely 100% on a loan for funding. >> reporter: more young people want to become landlords.

that's generating competition in the market and making it more important than ever for investors to be educated and aware of the risks. keiko tomura, nhk world, tokyo. japanese cuisine is starting to catch on in the middle east. there aree over 600 japanese restaurants in the region. twice as many as a decade ago. providing opportunities for rice farmers in fukushima who were hit hard by the 2011 disaster. hideki nakayama reports. >> reporter: this high-end supermarket launched a new brand of japanese rice. this premium variety is grown in fukushima prefecture. it's prized for its firm texture

which makes it perfect for sushi. customers say they are worried about radiation from the nuclear disaster in fukushima. this is the first rice from the region to pass inspections and go on sale in the middle east. >> the only concern i have is because of the origin of the place. we trust the system very well. hence we'll trust your certification. >> reporter: he's spearheading the promotion drive for the rice. >> translator: there are a a l e number of japanese restaurants in the middle east. i think i it's a market with strong potential for us. >> reporter: so i'm here in a warehouse of japanese food importer. the rice they are selling is mostly made in california thoefz united states. rice from california looks similar to japananese rice,, bu it's cheaeaper.

so it t has domiminated ththe m until now. but as prices rise, japanese rice no longer looks at such a disadvantage. >> translalator: it's not just e california rice.. overall rice prices are going up. anand that closes the conspicuo price difference. i think this is an opportunity for japanese rice. >> reporter: he and his team came up with a way for customers to choose japanese rice for its quality. uses california rice for its sushi and in other dishes here. but the chef says he'd prefer a higher quality product. >> i want people to understand what the japanese really eat. not just photocopy the dish and make something out of it. authentic what they eat. >> translator: in the middle

east people have a strong desire for authentic cuisine. i'm hoping we can expand our sales and our brand of rice becomes better known here. >> reporter: rice is one of fukushima's most highly valued products. he wants to ship his hometown quality to the world. hideki nakayama, nhk world, dubai. on the 14th day of the rio olympic games, japanese around the world had many reasons to rejoice including snatching its first-ever gold medal in badminton. japan' ayaka takahashi and missssaki matsuitomo won. they lost the first game to the danes but wowon the second with

teamwork. in the third they led 19-16 but the japanese took five consecutive points to turn things around. back home family and friends cheered their champions. >> translator: i was so nervous the whole time. all i can say is that i'm so happy for them. >> translator: i want to give her a big hug, but i think my daughter would be too embarrassed. >> the gold means new heights for japanese badminton. the danes took silver and great britain settled for bronze. and in women's badminton singles, okuhara was to play on friday but will win by default. china's player has dropped out from a leg injury. in other competitions, kawai

faced belarus in the 63 kilogram final. kawai won 6-0. it's the fourth consecutive gold medal in this category for japan. it was toughgher for the team captain in the 53 kilogram final. her goal was to win a fourth consecutive gold medal. she faced the u.s. yoshida was leading by one point but it turned around in the second period. she lost two more points in the last minute and was beaten for the first time in the olympics. in the men's 200-meter dash, usain bolt led the race throughout in his last olympic games. he is the first ever to win gold in both 100-meter and 200-meter dashes in three consecutive games. and here's the medal count at

the end of day 14. the u.s. is way out there with 35 golds. britain has 22. and china 20. japan is in sixth place with 12 golds. people in rio de janeiro are getting a glimpse of japanese culture. tokyo as the next host of the summer olympics has organized events for people attending the current rio games. japanese play wright noda help ed do workshops aimed at transcending borders, languages, and cultures. visitors were allowed to watch rehearsal for a performance. >> traranslator: i loved it. the mix of asian and brazilian culture was excellent.

>> people had a chance to try their hand at the japanese craft of origami. they could also learn how to make ornamental flowers from japanese cloth. >> translator: we called the project caravan because we hope to travel through brazil and then return to japan with new experiences. >> noda says dance and music are well loved in brazil so he thinks people will embrace the event. the u.s. olympic committee has apologized for four american swimmers who were found to have lied about being robbed at gunpoint in rio de janeiro. the committee called their behavior unacceptable. the four included ryan lochte, the winner of the men's 4 x

200-meter relay. >> translator: we found no proof to back up their claims. they were not victims in this case. >> the police say their investigation has revealed a s discrepancy in the stories. while the men w were returning the athlete village from a party, their taxi stopped at a gagas station where t t resestr was vandalized. an argument t then broke o out bebetween the athletes and two security staff. one of the security guards drew a gun. they say the four americans were allowed to leave a after they handed over about $50 to pay for the damage to the gas station. the u.s. olympic committee has called the athletes' behavior unacceptable in a statement. it apologized to the people of brazil. police removed two of the swimmers from their plane for questioning as they were preparing to leave on wednesday. they were later allowed to leave for home. ryan lochte left brazil earlier

in the week while the fourth swimmer is still in the country. the weekend is approaching, but it may not be that sunny for those of us living here in tokyo. jonathan oh joins us with the details. jonathan, i know you love to sunbathe, but perhaps not this weekend? >> well, yeah. we're looking at some more cloud cover as we go throughout the weekend. so yeah it's going to have to wait until a little bit later. but we are tracking a couple of storms that may be keeping things even cloudi ieier as we through the weekend. >> does that mean more typhoons? >> well, i think we are looking at the possibility of seeing some of these turning into something much stronger. in fact, here's a look at the perspective for east asia.. we have two tropical depressions. one right down by japan. another toward the east. bubut then way to t the south w have a new tropical storm. that will make it the ninth one in the western pacific for this

season. we've been dealing with a bit of a mix of different factors. first we had a trough moving into the area. we had a tropical system move through earlier this week. now the trough has passed further toward the east. but a tropical depression is bringing in more clouds and potentially more rain forward in time. so we are seeing the possibility of some wet weather especially as we go through saturday and sunday. it looks like we're going to see those clouds hang around even into the first part of next week. ththe reon w whys this system t thsouth. th tropil storm is expected to moveowoward the north as we go through the weekend. weo into mony and it looks liket't's setting its sights once again for the central portioofof japan. we will kp a close eye on this as we go into next week.. it may b be a very wet start to the work week next week. meanwhile we go over toward the west and we have another tropical storm that's causing the problem over into hainan.

this is monday. more than 1.2 meters of rain has fallen in this area. i mean, that is not a good amount. that's way too much for those who are living in the region. for those in the northern portions of vietnam, you're really getting slammed right now with this tropical storm moving to the west northwest at 15 kilometers per hour. now, we are expecting the system to lose i its tropipical characteristics into saturdrday. but the rainin that's associaia wi it,, that's not going to end that quickly. some areas could see potentially up to 150 millimeters of rainfall in is short period of time. flooding is still a concern for these areas as we go throughout the weekend into the first part of next week. be prepared for that. rain from taipei to hong kong, bangkok looking at thunderstorms as well. chongqing and shanghai, you're looking at hot conditions. highs in the upper 30s coming up on friday. rain for tokyo as we see the

moisture moving into the area. as the look at north america, there's a lot going on here. we're still seeing instability in areas we do not need more rainfall, texas, louisiana, arkansas. looking at the possibility of more rainfall forward in time. then another low crossing over the midwest. and that's packing quite a bit of cold air higher up in the atmosphere. high pressure also forcing its way down. so we haveve cooler temperature into the rocky mountains. then we have floododing potenti into the mimidwest. yes, bauause of t the collision between the cold airir from the north and very warm a air from e south. so look out for the possibility of maybe dealiling with flash flooding from titime to o time. some strong thunderstorms may also be part of the equation here. very hot weather toward the west, though. seattle, watch out for thihis. 36 degrees coming up on friday. that's very hot for you. be carefuful. as we wrap things up, the last weekend of the olympics in rio

de janeiro. we have a system rolling over the area. that could bring rain during the closing ceremony with highs only into the mid-20s into the weekend. hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are, here's your extended outlook.

and that was the news and weather from our studios here in tokyo. from all of us here on nhk "newsline," thanks for watching. ú

anchor: welcome to the "france 24" newsroom. goes for his second gold medal of the rio olympics. he will aim for a historic third title in the relay. backa says it is ready to a cease-fire in aleppo, syria, this is the footage of a young boy's rescued from the aftermath of airstrikes pose a haunting reminder of the war. germany's integration debate heats up. interior minister says he supports a partial ban.