suicide bombings. world powers condemn the deadliest attack in damascus in more than a year of fighting and urge syrians to commit to a cease fire. members of the security council have been reminded of the challenges of the u.n. cease-fire in syria. explosions echoed through the streets of damascus during the morning rush hour. suicide bombers killed 55 people in a twin attack. and they wounded more than 370 others. two suicide car bombs exploded in close succession near a military intelligence building. government and opposition forces blamed each other for the

bombings. the security council issued a statement strongly condemning the attack. >> the members of security council condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks that occurred in damascus, syria, on 10 may causing numerous deaths and injuries. >> the statement called on all parties to stop fighting. council members stressed that they support the mission of u.n. observers monitoring the cease-fire. secretary-general ban ki-moon said u.n. officials will continue to do their utmost to bring an end to the violence. and officials at the u.s. state department said the blame rests with the regime of president bashar al assad and they, too, strongly condemn the attacks. >> any and at all violence that results in the indiscriminant killing and injury of civilians is reprehensible and cannot be justified. >> gnuland said the tactics used

in the attack are different from those used by opposition forces. she said what she called spoilers may have been responsible. she said u.s. officials will seek a security council resolution, including an arms embargo if u.n. monitors fail to achieve their goal. russia's foreign minister has reiterated his country's opposition to foreign interference in syria. sergey lavrov said russia will not vote to approve intervention. only syrian government and opposition forces can end the violence. the leader of greece's socialist party has made some progress in talks to form a government. but the sprsh still on. his group has to form a coalition to avoid sending greeks back to the polls. the two-party coalition that failed greece failed to win back its majority in an election on sunday. the parties that came in first and second in the vote could not agree to form a coalition. the socialist pasok party won

the third largest number of seats but gave its leaders a chance to try their hand at forming a government. its members oppose the austerity measure required for an international bailout. the democratic left's leader offered to cooperate on the condition that those measures would be eased gradually. voters appear to be rethinking their choices. the radical left coalition came in second in the election. opinion polls taken suggest now it has more support than the winning party. the radical left's leaders are expected to reject further talks and push for a new election. eu officials have decided to postpone payment of some financial assistance to greece due to the turmoil. investors have grown more and more nervous the more talks over coalition drag on there considering all scenarios. >> translator: i can't rule out the possibility that greece will leave the eurozone. if it does, it's likely to cause more problems for the greek

economy. >> the impact on other countries would be limited compared to what investors have seen in greece in the last year. the value of greek government bonds held by financial institutions has decreased significantly. still, the turmoil could spread to neighboring countries. newly released data on greece's jobless rate could further fuel public anger at the severe austerity measures introduced by the government. the figures show unemployment is at a record high with officials warning that the situation may get worse. the jobless numbers for the february reveal that unemployment up 0.4 percentage points from a month earlier stood at 21.7%. over the past year, the jobless rate has surged 6.5 points. the situation is particularly serious for people under the age of 25 with 1 in 2 out of work. behind the grim unemployment situation, is an increase in

corporation bankruptcy in the wake of steep spending cuts. >> translator: half of the people in our circle are now without work. half. in one family, there may be two or three people who are unemployed. in some cases, more. >> a business association estimates that 60,000 greek firms went under in the past two years. it warns another 60,000 are on the verge of failing. china is now facing a range of serious environmental problems, and the world is watching to see how it's trying to tackle them. air and water pollution, desertification and global warming are all huge and complex issues. with china still enjoying robust economic growth, it's becoming increasingly important to encourage companies to adopt eco-friendly approaches. nhk world susumu koijima has more.

>> reporter: last month, top business leaders and government gathered. the aim to encourage businesses to improve their environmental footprint. the meeting was organized by a non-profit group set up by influential entrepreneurs in china. the group focuses on about 1,000 companies that generate annual profits in china of over $160 million. it screens the environmental steps they are taking and awards prizes to 100 green companies that have the most outstanding records. >> there are chinese examples of companies who are, i think, doing extremely well, and they have dreams and visions for

their companies. >> reporter: one of this year's winner was the beijing-based company that built the luxury hotel where the event was held. the hotel incorporates many energy saving ideas such as using l.e.d. lights. these light bulbs use only a -- of power. although they are 50 times the price of conventional bulbs, the company says using the l.e.d. lamps will help cut long-term operating expenses. >> translator: on average, we recoup on our energy saving investments in four years. it's wrong to think of energy saving as just an outlay. >> reporter: the same company built this giant shopping mall which opened in beijing. four years ago. the ceiling is mostly glass.

it is covered with shades to reduce the glare when necessary. the aim is to harness the sunlight to reduce power consumption to a minimum. the design has cut electricity expenses to $410,000 a year. 25% less than if the structure had a conventional roof. there are sensors installed throughout the mall to check the number of visitors. that data is used to adjust the air conditioning to maintain an optimal temperature inside. but when it comes to building homes, things are different. the same real estate firm is now constructing a high-end condominium building. once completed, the 900 units will be sold.

but there are no plans to fit them with energy saving features. there is just not enough interest among buyers. >> translator: it's up to the owners to decide on their own energy use. we're not in a position to control how much they consume. >> reporter: environmental measures are meaningless unless companies can turn a profit. for the organizers of the green company summit, the key factor they look for is, how companies can become greener while maintaining their profit margins. >> translator: to achieve growth while taking environmental steps, companies also need to sharpen their business edge. >> reporter: the challenge for china now is how to maintain its strong economic growth while tackling its environmental problems. as a first step, companies are starting to come up with eco-friendly solutions that also

make sense for the bottom line. >> and susumu joins us now from beijing. so the number of ecoconscious companies seem to be on the rise in china. can you tell us more about it? >> it is true that more companies are starting to develop measures better for the environment. so far this has been limited to major companies. the question is, will their efforts be enough to make a difference? a key area is the construction sector. there has been growing concern about china's economy slowing down. but the total area of new houses and condos under construction during the first quarter of this year came to 3 billion square meters. however, progress has been slow toward making these homes more eco-friendly. >> so what needs to be done to encourage companies to take measures that are more environmentally friendly?

>> well, authorities need to create a framework for promoting those efforts. china is now the world's second largest economy, and is drawing up plans to address problems such as the pollution caused by its rapid economic growth. but it faces a dilemma. if it takes steps that weaken economic activity, this could lead to an economic slowdown. >> thank you very much susu susumu kojima in beijing. major u.s. bank jpmorgan suffered a loss of $2 billion in derivatives transactions. the company's top executive jamie dimon made the announcement in a conference call on monday. on thursday, rather. their loss occurred in a unit that the bank says was designed to manage risks across all areas of the firm.

dimon apologized for the loss saying the strategy was flawed, poorly executed and poorly monitored. there was no illegal act, he said. dimon did not elaborate on the cause of the loss but some people in the market say the bank suffered from adverse moves in the european sovereign bond market where fears about debt problems are resurfacing. china's inflation is slowing, giving rise to speculation that the country's government might move to ease monetary policy. the national bureau of statistics of china said the consumer price index rose 3.4% in april from the same month last year. that's down 0.2 percentage point from march. the index is below the government target of 4% for a third term -- third month in a row. china's inflation peaked at 6.5% last july. the lower inflation rate comes at a time when there's a slowdown. this includes both exports and imports and sluggish domestic

demand. expectations are mounting that the managerial authorities may relax reserve requirements for banks to prop up the economy. a state-owned chinese bank will buy the u.s. unit of the bank of east asia. officials at the u.s. federal reserve gave the green light to the deal which will be the first to involve a chinese government-related institution. the industrial and commerce bank of china, together with other chinese firms, will buy out the bank of east asia usa. the american local operations have 13 branches in new york and california that mainly handle retail banking. its headquarters are in hong kong. the fed also authorized the bank of china to open a branch in chicago and the agriculture bank of china to set up a branch in new york. china has been asking the u.s. to let chinese banks expand in the country. the trade ministers of japan, south korea and china are said to debate trade when they

meet in beijing on saturday. the ministers will likely agree to speed up talks on an economic partnerships involving 16 asian nations. they also are expected to agree that the three nations should play a leading role in forging the regional partnership. a joint statement will set out those points. last month the trade ministers of japan and the asean nations agreed to begin the negotiations within the year. the trade block would include india, australia, new zealand and ten members of the association of southeast asian nations. u.s. officials say they are in contact with chinese authorities over reports that a relative of human rights activist cheng guangcheng has been detained. >> we have had contact with chinese authorities about these concerning reports. beyond that, we are awaiting

further information on some of these issues. >> chen is being treated in a beijing hospital. he fled from house arrest last month and took refuge in the u.s. embassy. chinese officials eventually reached a deal with the americans. they agreed chen could leave for the u.s. for study purposes. professors at new york university have invited him to be a visiting scholar. chen served a four-year prison sentence after he exposed abuses in china's family planning policy, including forced abortion. in egypt, people power ousted the regime of hosni mubarak. but the fight continues for democracy and human rights. during last year's uprising, the demonstrators threw rocks. now their weapons of choice are paint brushes and wall paintings. nhk reports from cairo. >> reporter: portraits of young egyptians killed during the uprising. women marching in formation, weapons in their hands.

government leaders portrayed as snakes. walk the streets of cairo and everywhere you look, the walls are covered with paintings. it's all the work of amateur artists, most of them young people, with a message to get acro across. they show up in their free time armed with their paint brushes. before the start of the arab spring movement last year, anyone caught painting on the walls risked being tortured by the secret police. nobody was allowed to criticize the regime. >> translator: up till now, egyptians have been unable to express themselves. we were only given food and clothing. we were treated like animals.

>> reporter: for the people in egypt, this art is a way to voice their dissatisfaction in public and express their hopes for the future. >> translator: throughout history, egyptians have used drawings to record their culture. there are ancient documents showing that the people would not be suppressed by their rulers. >> reporter: street artist hosni lives in alexandria. last year, he took part in the demonstration in cairo to protest the corruption of the ruling political elite. some of his friends were badly wounded in the military crackdown. he also noticed many of the protesters had nothing to eat. abdul himself was detained and

tortured by the security forces. he says that experience changed him profound ly. >> translator: instead of raising my voice in protest, i realized it's better to express my message through art. >> reporter: abdel-soboor sees his art as a way to inspire his fellow egyptians to build a new country. having painted his street art for a year now, his focus had turned to what comes next after the uprising in which so many lives were sacrificed. he paints slogans to remind people not to let their ambition lead them in the strong direction. >> translator: we are all nervous. we don't know who the next president will be. will our next leader be an

islamist? that's why these words are so striking for me. >> i put simple words in my art. right now egypt is like a sick person. but she'll not collapse. i think the country needs more street artists to help bring about change. >> reporter: the aim to help create a new country for the street artist of egypt, the paint brush is mightier than the sword. mitsumato, nhk world, cairo. politicians in myanmar have reached another milestone on the path to democracy. members of the legislature have visited the european parliament for the first time. lower house speaker led the group. he was once a key figure in the military government. the lawmakers also met with european council president herman von pompai and catherine ashton. eu officials announced last month that they were suspending

trade sanctions against myanmar. an arms embargo remains in place. ashton met with pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi last month. she was in myanmar to open an eu office promoting trade and investment pb. a japanese city that suffered in last year's tsunami. the collective relocation in sendai city is the largest so far in a state-sponsored program to help rebuild devastated communities. the plan covers about 1700 households in the city's two wards along the pacific coast. the city will offer plots in more than ten inland lations for people who want to rebuild their houses. the relocation will cost sendai an estimated $750 million. the money will cover buying the land where the residents formally lived and developing the inland sites. the city will submit the plan to the central government later this month for approval. city officials hope the

relocation will be completed by the end of 2015. with less than three months to go before the year's biggest sporting event, the torch for the london olympics was lit in a ceremony on thursday in olympia, southern greece. at the temple of ruins by the ancient olympic stadium. ♪ the ritual began with men dressed as heralds to represent athletic strength and women in the roles of royal ancient high priestesses. a priestess kindled the olympic flame after capturing sunlight in a parabollic mirror. the flame was transferred to a torch. the torch will be flown to britain on may the 18th carried by a total of 8,000 people and

used to ignite the caldron at the opening ceremony on july the 27th. clear, sunny skies here in tokyo on friday afternoon. let's turn now to sayaka mori for the world weather forecast. hi there. a cold air mass is covering northern japan, producing wet and windy conditions. hokkaido could be seeing some snow from this afternoon. but to the south, staying dry. dry conditions should continue into the weekend. but behind it, another dry day for you across the korean peninsula, but to the west, there's a strong low pressure system affecting northeastern china producing heavy rain and strong winds. and back behind it, very cold air is sweeping in, dropping down temperatures. so uhlan ba tour may be seeing some snow on saturday. down towards the south, seasonal rain is expanding over southern china. two deadly floods occurred in

southern china, however, any additional rain is -- additional rain is in the forecast. so additional flooding n landslides are possible here. now moving over to the americas, things have settled across much of the eastern half of the u.s. so nice conditions should remain into your mother's day. through the north, heavy rain and mountain snow will remain in southern quebec and the canadian maritimes by friday evening. to the south, to rential rain is still ongoing across the southern u.s. and northeastern section of mexico. and an additional 100 millimeters of rain is in the forecast. over the next 24 hours across southern texas. on friday, heavy rain should be moving into louisiana, as well as oklahoma. to the north, there is a separate system producing light showers in parts of the midwestern states and snow showers in and around colorado. once the precipitation comes in, temperatures will drop

significantly, cooling down to 12 degrees in denver. still on the warmer side in chicago, but cooling down to the mid teens on your saturday. down towards the south, getting up to 26 degrees in houston and 30 degrees in miami. now moving over to europe, much of continental europe is experiencing summer-like conditions. the hottest spot is going to be the iberian peninsula. let's go to take a look at some video coming out of spain. after a very rainy april, summer has arrived early in spain across the country highs are reaching above 30 degrees. some people have hit the beaches while the sun has left others looking a little hot and bothered. the heat is likely to prevail into next week. the reason why we are seeing summer-like conditions across much of continental europe is that the jet stream is extending all the way up to the northeast allowing hot air to flow into this area. but to the north, things are different. chilly and wet. and over the weekend, the jet is

expected to sag southward allowing cold air to flow in. so temperatures on friday will be on the warmer side. in berlin with a high of 29 degrees and the same goes for vienna. but should be dropping into the mid teens over the weekend. but as i mentioned, the iberian peninsula will continue to see hot conditions for the next few days. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and our top story at this hour once again, the u.n. security council has condemned twin bombings in damascus. suicide bombers killed 55 people

in an attack in the syrian capital. they wound more than 370 others. two suicide car bombs exploded in close succession near a military intelligence building. government and opposition forces blamed each other for the bombings. the security council issued a statement strongly condemning the attack. >> the members of security council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks that occurred in damascus, syria, on 10 may causing numerous deaths and injuries. >> the statement called on all parties to stop fighting. council members stressed that they support the mission of u.n. observers monitoring the cease-fire. secretary-general ban ki-moon said u.n. officials will continue to do their utmost to bring an end to the violence. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo. thanks very much for watching.