syrian resolve. russia and china join in as the united nations calls for an end to the violence. welcome to nhk world "newsline." the u.n. security council has endorsed a blueprint to stop the violence in syria. former secretary-general kofi annan drew up a plan which calls for a cease-fire, talks between the government and the opposition and access for aid agencies. russian and chinese delegates approved the outline after

months of disagreement. nhk world has this report from new york. >> reporter: it has been over a year since assad's government began a fierce crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. the security council adopted a unanimous statement on the issue on wednesday. >> the security council expresses its full support for the efforts of the envoy. >> reporter: the statement urges assad's government for a limited cease-fire to allow humanitarian relief activities. it also demands that it halts the use of heavy weapons. the united states and european countries have sought a legally binding resolution, but russia and china have twice vetoed such moves. russia endorsed the statement this time because it refrains from directly calling on assad to step down. >> we're very pleased that the security council has finally chosen to take a pragmatic look

at this situation in syria. >> i think it's a product of a concern in russia about being isolated in the world community. an earlier vote on the general assembly was quite lopsided in criticism of the assad regime. but fundamentally i don't see great change in russia's concern. >> reporter: the move comes as a violent crackdown on civilians continues. troops have seized anti-government strongholds in central and northern syria. the security council has managed to show a unified position over the crisis, but the compromise means the council has failed to adopt stronger measures that would be more effective in stopping the violence. the adoption of this statement has made evident the inability of the international community to act effectively on the situation in syria. widad franco, nhk world, new york.

the international aatomic energy agency has begun talks with north korea. the iaea appears to be proceeding with the talks despite the north's announcement of an impending rocket launch. other countries have reacted angrily. an iaea source says the talks began after the agency received an invitation from the north on friday. details of the talks remain unknown. but iaea director general yukio amano said earlier he may visit the country if asked to do so. it coincided with the north's announcement it would launch a satellite-carrying rocket. the announcement drew angry reactions from the united states and its allies since the north had promised to suspend missile launches along with its uranium enrichment exchange for u.s. food aid.

world leaders are expected to focus on north korea and iran at a nuclear security summit in seoul. they will discuss common approaches to preventing terrorism and ensuring the safety of reactors. the first round of the summit took place two years ago in washington. the second round starts monday in the south korean capital. representatives from japan, the u.s., china and 50 other countries will take part. leaders are working on a draft of the summit's joint statement. they say nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to security. they say all nations must take responsibility in preventing terrorist organizations from getting their hands on nuclear materials. their draft statement also mentions the accident at fukushima daiichi and the need to address the safety of reactors. north korean officials are warning leaders at the summit not to raise the issue of their nuclear program. they say they will consider any statement as a declaration of war. the state-run korean central

news agency said any provocation would go down in history as a heinous crime. it said any provocative act would create an obstacle to the denuclearization of the korean peninsula. south korean leaders want their counterparts at the summit to send a message urging the north to abandon its nuclear ambitions. indian leaders say they are concerned about north korea's plan to launch a satellite. they are urging officials in pyongyang not to violate u.n. security council resolutions banning the north from using ballistic missile technology. prime minister singh plans to visit south korea on saturday. he will meet president lee myung bak. a senior official with the indian foreign affairs ministry said on wednesday that the two sides will discuss what's happening. >> nothing being done increases tensions in the region and goes

against unc resolutions, especially unc 1874. >> india has diplomatic ties with north korea, but the government officials have adopted a strong stance ahead of singh's visit. the suspect in monday's shooting in toulouse france remains holed up in a house. the 23-year-old man who they say is of algerian descent. police raided his home near the school early wednesday morning leading to a shootout that left three policemen wounded. police are trying to convince the suspect to turn himself in. sporadic gunfire and explosions have been heard in the neighborhood. authorities say the man had lived in afghanistan and pakistan and reportedly claims to be a member of al qaeda. the alleged killer also hinted that the attacks were in retaliation for israel's occupation of the palestinian

territories. reports say the man has also admitted to shooting three soldiers near toulouse last week. they were in protest against the french military deployment in afghanistan. u.s. officials say they'll send observers to monitor parliament aary bi-elections in myanmar. they will work alongside election monitors from southeast asian nations. state department spokesperson victoria nuland says myanmar has agreed to accept two observers and three journalists from the united states. she welcomed the move as a good first step. >> we would obviously encourage the burmese government to try to bring this monitoring effort as closely as they can to international standards. >> but the u.s. government says it's too early to lift economic sanctions on imports from and investments to myanmar. the bi-elections for both chambers of parliament, as well as regional assemblies, will take place on april 1st.

pro-democracy leader aung song suu kyi is running for a seat in parliament. the streets are quiet in many communities along the northeast coast. government officials drew lines around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant last year and ordered everyone inside out. still the radiation spread beyond those lines. areas of high radiation are shown here in red, yellow and green. government leaders say people who live outside the lines are safe, but many residents have decided to leave just the same. nhk world reports. >> reporter: toishi now knows more about radiation than she could have ever imagined. she reads everything she can. she worries about how what she can't see will affect her children's health. she has two daughters and a 6-year-old son. the number of children at this

kindergarten has dropped to a quarter of what it was before the disaster. >> translator: they are at the age when they need friends and to spend time outside. they lost both in the past year. >> reporter: the district of kashima city is 60 kilometers from the nuclear plant. government officials say the city is safe. still, workers begin to decontaminate it last month. they hope to clean up all 6,700 homes by the end of the year. residents have measured some locations that suggest an annual exposur exposure. government officials say levels above that are unsafe. and require that people evacuate. kamata checked her home last november. the children's room had three times the radiation as their

local school. and the government workers decontaminated the school. >> translator: it was the highest in the house. >> so the children stopped using their room. tamata started to think that leaving town was their only option. her husband is a doctor. he didn't agree. his colleague specializes in radiation and said there is nothing to worry about. her children didn't want to leave either. >> translator: it is our job as parents to protect our children. i don't want us to have regrets in the future. >> reporter: finally, they agreed that she and the children would leave next month. they are headed to hokkaido, far

from the evacuation zone for a year. >> translator: it is said the cleaning doesn't do much, so i'm worried about what will happen next year. will they really come back here? >> reporter: the government maintains there's no reason to leave. so there's little support for those who want to. kamata searches for homes and schools in hokkaido on her own. >> translator: it would be so much easier if the government would just say that watadi is definitely contaminated and we should all leave. >> reporter: kamata knows that's not going to happen. so she holds on to hope that after one more year, her town will be safe. susumu kojima, nhk world, fukushima city. drivers are often told they need to clean up their act to

trade gas-powered cars for greener varieties. some have been turning to hybrid and electric vehicles. and now hydrogen fuel cell powered cars. the upside, hydrogen vehicles only emit water vapor, but there's a down side few people know about. nhk world's rina nakano joins us from a hydrogen fueling station in tokyo. isn't hydrogen supposed to be clean and green? >> gene, it is. the car itself here is a green machine but, like you said, the only thing it emits is water vapor. so here's how it works. when hydrogen gets pumped into the car, it combines with oxygen. that combination creates electricity which powers the motor of the car. the problem isn't the car itself. the problem is the most common way to create that hydrogen actually results in a co2 byproduct. instead of releasing it out into

the atmosphere, scientists in chiba prefecture have found an interesting way to trap it and recycle it. one man's trash is another man's treasure. out here, co2 is considered trash. blamed for causing global warming. but in here -- carbon dioxide emissions are considered treasure. a valuable food source for these tomato plants. >> translator: we need a lot of co2 to help grow our plants. i think it's great this project lets us reuse something that had essentially been thrown out. >> reporter: some farmers have used co2 gas to give plants a boost. but the technique hasn't caught on. now scientists are experimenting

with the co2 that's emitted when hydrogen is created. it's a first in japan. chiba university researchers have slightly increased co2 levels in here from the normal 400 parts per million. the result? tomatoes so dense they need special supporters to protect the vines from snapping. >> translator: if we add co2, we can expect a much larger harvest and a great improvement in the quality of our tomatoes. >> that's one benefit. the other is helping grow a technology many hope will encourage drivers to steer away from gas-powered vehicles. >> take a look at the co2-infused tomatoes. they are sold in local supermarkets in chiba prefectures and consumers who try it, they say it not only looks and tastes just as good as

regular tomatoes. some say they're much better. joining me now from tokyo gas. his company is responsible for providing chiba university with the co2. thank you for joining us. >> you're welcome. >> thank you. so we saw how co2 from the creation of hydrogen helps grow these tomatoes. anything else? >> okay, we consider that the capture of co2 from the hydrogen station could be utilized for a wide variety of vegetables and foods. and to capture co2, we use in the industrial field such as dry ice. >> mass marketing of this hydrogen fuel cell technology seems to be far out in the future. what will happen when these cars become mainstream. >> the popularization of this car started in 2015. in the future, this system, we have introduced today is not simply taken as environmentally friendly system but also taken as a system that has positive

impact. >> so eco-friendly and good for the industry. thank you for joining us. >> pleasure. >> so currently there are 16 hydrogen pump stations in japan. but by 2015, industry officials hope that number will increase to about 100. the plan is to build these greenhouses next to these fuel pumping stations so that they can cut transportation costs between the gardens and the pumps. in tokyo, i'm rina nakano, nhk world. back to you. >> you learn something new every day. co2 into tomatoes. all right. thanks for that, rina. japan's trade balance in february moved into the black for the first time in five months as the pace of decline in exports slow ed. car exports to the u.s. improves

and the impact on supply chains of floods in thailand eased. the finance ministry said in its preliminary report on thursday the february trade balance posted a slight surplus of $400 million. exports were down nearly 3% in yen terms to about $65 billion from a year earlier. this is the fifth straight month of year-on-year declines. shipments of iron and steel as well as plastics fell. exports of mineral fuels also saw a large drop. at the same time imports rose for two years and two months in a row. they were up more than 9% in february to about $65 billion. liquefied natural gas imports to supply thermal power plants rose substantially with the high price of crude oil contributing to the rise. the japanese government will provide funds to vietnam so that the country can buy industrial goods made in northeastern japan. the two governments signed an agreement in vietnam's capital hanoi on wednesday. as part of an official

development assistance program, japan will offer over $3.5 million. using the money vietnam is to buy japanese equipment for training crew members on ships. >> the cooperation is very meaningful because it will help people worldwide remember the rebuilding efforts in japan. >> meanwhile, vietnam's transport minister welcomed the support. he said vietnam could learn japanese people's spirit of reconstruction by getting products from the disaster-hit area. japan plans to offer a combined $48 million in aid to 14 nations, including mongolia and sri lanka. on paper, the outlook for the people of tanzania looks promising. growth has been steady at 6% to 7% each year for the past decade. but the booming economy, the

official one, has bypassed most tanzanians. so they've created their own marketplace. nhk world reports. >> reporter: dar es salaam has bustled with trade for centuries. recently, business has been on the upswing. for investors from places like south africa and the middle east are arriving. and new buildings are sprouting up. however, once you head into the side streets you see tanzanians doing business the old-fashioned way. as you can see, the street venders are all around the town. so many vendors. so much merchandise. this one sells knickknacks he bought cheaply. >> translator: i sell things that the guys have collected

from the dump site. >> reporter: he makes $13 a day, about one-fifth of the average monthly income in the city. >> translator: if you want to test it, buy batteries. >> most customers like buying from the vendors. they are always available and their goods are cheap. some vendors are mobile. saleh, for example, travels around the city selling coconut juice. he knows the best locations. >> translator: i sell 100 a day. there's nothing else out there for me to do. i don't have any choice but to do this job. >> reporter: they started out as a socialist country. it depended on aid from the former soviet union. but after it collapsed in 1991, tanzania officially changed to a market economy. the government laid off many

public officials. they started selling goods on the street because it was cheap to get started. despite the influx of foreign investment, only countries wealthy benefit. the rest depend on the street to make a living. but the government is cracking down on vendors without a license because their income isn't taxable. >> translator: the police make it tougher for us, but they understand us. we are doing whatever we can because we don't want to support ourselves by robbing people. >> reporter: it's a tough way to make a living. but vendors like this 21-year-old hope for a better future. >> translator: i only finished elementary school, so now i want

to go to middle school. >> reporter: with such narrow options, vendors do whatever they can to get ahead. in doing so, each contributes to the country's economy. when you see a certain flower blooming in japan you know spring has arrived. sayaka mori with the weather forecast. >> hi there. we are experiencing a warm and dry day in japan. i want to start off video with some beautiful spring sights. this is from chiba prefecture. the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. these trees are famous as some of the earliest blooming cherry blossoms. the's outstanding characteristic is its large size. this particular variety usually blooms in february but because of the cold winter, they started

to bloom one month later than usual. so pretty sight out there. so again, japan is experiencing warm and dry conditions today. but things will change from tomorrow. a long frontal line spreading heavy thundershowers across much of central china and the southern half of the korean peninsula will move into japan. so things will turn wet. in tokyo, we are experiencing the warmest day of the year today. but the temperatures will dip into the single digits tomorrow. maybe about 8 degrees. so wintry weather will come back again. meanwhile, an area of snow is moving into northeastern china over the next 24 hours. down towards the south, unstable conditions are still continuing in much of the philippines, particularly in the southwestern corner of the country. now moving on to the east asia, it looks like much precipitation in eastern canada is gradually subsiding. however, the central u.s. will

continue to see stormy conditions, particularly wet near the center of this low-pressure system and the tail end of the cold fronts. areas like western texas, oklahoma and the lower mississippi valley. heavy rain is still continuing because the system has been moving very slowly. the rainfall total is significant. let me show you the rainfall accumulations since sunday. parts of louisiana received 404 millimeters in parts of texas received about 250 millimeters. so tremendous amounts of rainfall. over the next 24 hours, the system won't move very much, so the wet conditions will likely continue the risk of flooding will remain extremely high. as for temperatures, unprecedented warmth will continue on your thursday getting up to 25 degrees in chicago. 26 in toronto and 25 in washington, d.c. finally, let's go over to europe.

not much going on. a couple of low -- high pressure systems are keeping things dry and settled across much of continental europe. heavy rain and snow across the pirneys. up towards the north, wet and windy conditions across norway will move into finland as well as northwestern russia in the next 24 hours. with the exception of moscow, lots of double digits. getting up to 17 degrees in berlin. 19 degrees in vienna and reaching the 20s in paris. all right. here's your extended forecast.

some survivors of last year's march disaster are expressing their hope for reconstruction in an unusual way. they gathered in an immobilized train carriage for a karaoke

party. a local non-profit group organized the event on a disabled train at a station. operations on about two-thirds of the rail line were suspended after the tsunami swept away stations and tracks. about 30 people sang their favorite songs. ♪ ♪ >> translator: i think singing gives us energy and it also makes everyone here happy. singing brings us a ray of hope. >> the karaoke event on the train will be held once a month. the train will also be opened sundays when visitors can sing for free. all right. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

thanks very much for joining us on nhk world.