a holiday peace. the united nations envoy to syria surges government and rebel troops to agree to a temporary cease-fire. syrians may spend a holiday this weekend hearing something they haven't heard in a while, silence. the u.n. and arab league envoy proposed a government and opposition fighters lay down their arms during the islamic festival. still waiting for the government to confirm the truce. brahimi hopes to build on the hostilities from friday to monday. he said would he like to organize a longer and stronger cease-fire. but the two sides are still fighting in battles across the country. syrian government leaders have agreed in principle to the truce.

but they have yet to confirm their decision. opposition commanders harbor their own suspicions. they suspect government forces would use a pause in fighting to rebuild their strengths. u.n. officials say they may send peacekeepers into syria if government and opposition forces respect the truce. the united nations has welcomed brahimi's initiative. the security council calls it a first step towards a sustainable end to all violence. the council held a closed-door video conference with brahimi. he reported the latest

developments to council members. security council president rosenthal read out a statement urging all parties to support the cease-fire. >> the members of the security council called upon all parties in particular on the syrian arab republic as a stronger party to respond positively to the initiative of the joint special representative. >> counsel members urged the syrian government allow aid workers immediate and unimpeded access to those in need of help. the government of sudan is blaming israel for an air strike on the capital of kartune. several explosions sparked fires and destroyed the factory. information minister said four israeli jets had attacked. he said rocket debris found in

the rubble indicates the israelis were involved. he warned that sudan reserves the right to strike back. he said cabinet members will hold an emergency meeting. an israeli military official refused to comment on the allegations. the u.s. defense secretary says he has no clear insight into kim jung-un after watching the leader. he is unsure if kim will carry on his father's approach or soften his stance toward other nations. panetta met with the south korean defense minister at the pentagon. they said north korea's nuclear program and ballistic missile development pose a threat to east asia. they say the u.s. and south korea will continue working together to keep the north in check. >> we have a strong military relationship between the united states and south korea, that we work closely with other countries in the region. to make very clear that -- our

interest is in peace. not in any kind of provocative behavior. >> south korean and u.s. officials agreed this month to extend the range of ballistic missiles to 800 kilometers more than dublt current limit and would allow the missiles to reach any point in north korea. japan coast guard officers are warning chinese government ships to leave japanese waters around island in the east china sea. japan nationalized the sekaku island last month. china and taiwan claim them. coast guard officials spotted vessels inside japanese walters. they warned the crews of the ships to leave the area but the boats didn't leave. coast guard officers are monitoring two other chinese patrol boats sailing just outside those waters. vice foreign minister kawai lodged a protest with yonghua. kawai demanded they leave

immediately and claimed they are an inherent part of chinese territory. ongoing territorial disputes are causing japanese travelers to change holiday destinations. a survey shows bookings for package tours to china and south korea are at their lowest in years. the japan association of travel agents says that seven major travel agencies. the survey shows tour reservations to china in october fell more than 70% from a year earlier. bookings for november are down over 75%. tours to south korea also dropped nearly 50% this month and down more than 60% for november. in contrast, tour reservations to guam and saipan are on the rise. bookings up more than 80% in november. the japanese government is to decide on a stimulus package worth over $5 billion.

this will be the first round of measures aimed at propping up the nation's economy. officials are drawing up steps that are more urgent than others. the cabinet is expected to approve them on friday. about 1/4 of the planned spending will be al llocated fo restoration efforts. the measures in clawedinclude a program to subs die firms and stores. in fukushima prefecture companies will be granted subsidies for build new england plants. based on the government's economic revitalization plan, the package will include support for research and regenerative medicine such as studies on stem cells. the spending will be mainly covered by reserve fund in this year's budget. the u.s. federal reserve will not change its current monetary stance. it says the u.s. economy has continued to expand at a moderate pace.

it says household spending has advanced a bit more quickly while housing sector has shown some further signs of improvement. to continue stimulating the economy, the fed says it will keep its key interest rate at near 0 at least through the middle of 2015. the u.s. central bank is supporting economic growth through additional quantitative. the easing is supplying a huge amount of fund to the market. the president of the european central bank has stepped into the lion's den. introducing a plan last month to buy up government bonds from troubled euro zone nations. he told skeptical german lawmakers their fears of inflation are misplaced. draghi launched his defense at the parliament, met with members

of the budget and finance committees. and described the plan, buy the bond of spain. some owe pose that course of action. they say it is too close to printing money to repay debt and could cause inflation. germany its the largest contributor to fund supporting euro zone countries and lawmakers are cautious about expanding that support. after the meeting he dressed the bond buying plan is consistent with the ecbs role. >> these actions are fully and foremost in compliance with our mandate of the delivering stability for the whole of the euro area in the medium term. draghi said the meeting was an opportunity to build trust between the ecb and german public.

the company says it has won state guarantees on loans of up to $9 billion from 2013. the auto maker will suspend dividend payments in exchange for the loans. suffering sluggish sales in europe and decided to close an assembly plant outside paris. other automakers are struggling in the european market while the euro zone credit crisis is hurting car sales. u.s. automaker ford announced it will shut a key plant in belgium, that means 4,300 workers will lose their jobs bite eby the end of 2014. the owner of a business in northern japan looked across the sea to russia's far east and spotted an opportunity. resource projects have created an economic boom in a city, and incomes are rising. so one japanese firm is hoping residents will spend some of their cash on something they can't get.

fresh imported sushi ingredients. this shopping mall is located in the largest city. in late september, sushi was put on the shelves. it was made with fresh fish, imported for the first time directly from a region of japan. >> translator: i love sushi. tuna and yellow tail are popular sushi ingredients. but these fishes are not found in the the region's coastal waters. this caught the attention of a food company that has been running the supermarket for russian customers in wakkanai for 15 years. the president of the company exported the fishes not found in the waters off sakhalin on a

trial basis. >> translator: we ship them from wakai. we thought we could keep them fresh if we used a direct ferry service between wakanai and sakhalin. >> usually imported sushi ingredient are sent to sakhalin through moscow but this takes about three months and it is often difficult to keep them fresh. he spotted a business opportunity in wakkanai's geographical advantage. this city is only five and a half hours away by ferry from sakhalin. his company exported yellow tail and tuna to sakhalin. they used a ferry from wakkanai to sakhalin. they also had a refrigerator and a refrigerated truck ready at the port.

at the shopping mall, a pack of 12 pieces of sushi was sold for about $26. the price was higher than in japan but sales were brisk. >> translator: they look good. >> but some problems were found during the test export. because sakhalin quarantine authority weren't familiar with the inspection of foreign foods, the company thought it would need improvement the freshness of the ingredient is its selling point. >> translator: those problems will be solved eventually and customs and quarantine clearance will become faster. >> but it remains to be seen whether this new business will take route in sakhalin where the economy continues to boom.

china is ending a freeze on power projects. chinese officials say they're dop adopting safety standard the toughest in the world. cabinet members, endorsed safety rules and plans to build nuclear plants. authorities suspended approval of new facilities after the disaster last year at fukushima. they say the government will approve a small number of plants in coastal areas over three years they say they have no plans to build any facilities inland. the operator of fukushima daiichi has a bird's eye view. used a camera to inspect the upper parts of reactor number one. the engineers with tokyo

electric power company launched the balloon from the first floor. sent it up 30 meters. they equipped the balloon with four cameras and a radiation detector. the images showed concrete debris from a hydrogen explosion scatter edaround the upper floors, a crane for fuel rod and device for exchanging remained intact, they had not fallen into the pool as feared. confirmed radiation levels of 150 miliseverts an hour. a tepco spokesperson said they will use images to draw up a plan to scrap the reactor. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the 2011 disaster. but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on the road ahead. every wednesday at 1:00 p.m., japan time here on newsline.

japan's meteorological agency says the hole in the ozone layer over the antarctica is the smallest it has been in quarter a century. this does not mean the ozone layer is recovering. officials measured the hole at a maximum of 20.8 million square kilometers last month. 1 1/2 size of the antarctica continent. it was the smallest since 1987. when countries around the world created the montreal protocol in an attempt to preserve the ozone layer. emissions of chlorofluorocarbon and other gasses are blamed for damaging the ozone layer over the polar regions. a hole in the piece over the antarctica in august and cement when cooler air trips prevail. officials say the hole did not grow as large this year probably because air temperatures in the region remained comparatively high in july and august.

now, superman's alter ego as clark kent, quit his job as a newspaper reporter. in the latest edition of the superman coppic book, clark kent is berated by his boss at "the daily planet." clark kent laments how journalism has given way to opinions and entertainment pieces. after quarting with his boss and paper owner he quits. clark kent worked at the daily planet almost uninterrupted through the comic's 70-year history. >> comics do a great job of reflecting what is going on in our world. and right now, the news industry is going through a lot of changes. >> the superman comic current writer told a u.s. newspaper that clark kent will probably launch his own online news site. superman in the rugby world has changed up his career too.

williams gave japanese rugby a shot in the are when he joined the top league. >> i really want to thank you for coming to japan the i can't wait to see the world's best player in action. >> translator: i expect him to show us things we have never seen. nhk world's reporter tells us more about this rugby sensation. >> williams is 27 years old and has been playing rugby since he

was a child. in 2010, his dream came true when he became the key center of the new zealand national team. last year, his contributions helped the team win the rugby world cup. i'm here at tokyo's stadium, which is considered japanese rugby. they have come to see the kiwi superstar play. now he has come half way around the world to play in japan. about two months ago, williams joined one of the most powerful teams and he is really playing a key role. >> opportunities like this seem to have come into the can country, in a new culture, experiencing different things in your life, doesn't happen very often. so i've been pretty blessed in my lifetime and i guess coming to japan is another blessing. >> translator: i can watch the world's greatest player from close up. we're learning a lot from him. >> the signing of williams to the team attracted a huge amount of attention to japanese rugby and is boosting the sport's popularity.

in the 1980s and 90s, especially in university league, the rugby stadiums were packed. but the recent soccer boom has caused it to decline. japan is set to host the cup in 2019. the rugby football union says williams is bringing fans back into the stadium. >> he has brought the dream of rugby world cup, and i think japanese fans start thinking that oh, this rugby is coming to japan in seven years time. >> among williams attractions are his remarkable strength and physicality which he actually gained through completely

different sport. >> he started boxing just in the way to get more fit. but in 2 240u 9, he became a professional boxer. then in february of this year, williams captured knew nu zae land's heavyweight belt. the tough league takes a break next month, williams is scheduled to challenge a former world heavyweight champion. williams' ambition and dedication is inspiring his teammate. >> translator: he is successful in two sports and is bringing our team a lot of attention. his influence means a lot to us, and i'm very happy about this. >> i just want it keep playing good rugby when i'm playing rugby. keep fighting well when i'm boxing. keep fighting. a good humble approach and good work ethic and things will pay off. things work. >> a humble way in which

williams pursues his dream into huge inspiration for japanese fans and young players. nrk world, tokyo. >> a brazilian man shocked his family by turning up at his own funeral where an unidentified murder victim was being mourned. the man showed up at his mother's home in eastern brazil to discover that a whack was being held around a body. some of the mourners fainted and people rushed tine see what all the commotion was about. >> translator: when i walked through the door i saw a coffin and was a bit stunned. i asked what was going on. they said it was a service for me. i said to them, i am alive. i am not dead. >> he hadn't seen his family in four months. a friend happened to see him in the street and gave him the strange news that his family was mourning him. his brother said the murdered man resembled his brother so

closely he was convinced it was his sibling. police are frying to determine the identity of the dead man. time now to check the world weather forecast. here is meteorologist, sayaka mori with an update on the hurricane in the caribbean sea. >> hi there. hurricane sandy, battering the caribbean sea, producing rains and strong wind. in jamaica, mudslide, flooding occurred. two feel reportedly killed in haiti as well as the jamaica. now, sandy is due to intensify and will likely become a category ii hurricane and move through eastern cuba tonight. after that it could move through the bahamas into your friday and move east of the u.s. for the next several days. hurricane warnings posted in jamaica, and, as well as bahamas. in addition to strong wind, high surf, rough seas are going to be an ongoing issue that could cause coastal flooding.

heavy rain is going to continue, we anticipating that the rainfall, 300 millimeters, for a wide area, with locally, 500 millimeters. so, a mudslide is also, going to be a great concern here. as for the u.s. bulk of heavy ran should stay over the walters. parts of florida will see heavy rain as well as rough seas conditions over the next few daysai tropical system over the philippines. this is the tropical storm. the center move out to sea. gale force wind and heavy rain are impacting across the northern half of the philippines. it looks like it will become a severe tropical storm as the it moves over the south china sea and may make the second landfallen vietnam, on saturday. stormiest conditions are easing in the philippines. but we are anticipating 150 millimeters or more over the next 72 hours. mudslides. landslide. as well as the flooding will be a great risk here. and you will notice that heavy

rain will be -- will be moving into parts of the, vietnam as well as we head into the weekend. this is not because of a tropical storm, but a low pressure system has dumped quite heavy rain across the black sea region. we have some footage coming out of turkey. the floodwaters, caused injuries and damaged cars and houses, seriously. the same system caused the flash floods in the southeastern tip of the balkans monday, claiming the lives of three. conditions are improving in the locations. but parts of eastern and southern turkey will remain unsettled the next couple days. some where else dealing with heavy rain. southern italy. the good news, rain will be dissipating over the next several hours. out towards the west, remnants of hurricane, rafael, continue to track towards the east over the iberian peninsula and into the north, winter storm, is sliding towards the southeast. affecting the balkan, baltic states as well as the

northwestern russia. and heavy snow, ongoing across the mountain region in scandinavian peninsula. because of the storm, temperatures are quite chilly. look at this. only 3 degrees expected in stockholm. 4 in moscow. looking at a seasonal temperature in berlin. 12 degrees on thursday. dropping down, dramatically as we head into your saturday. that's it for me now. up next is your 3-day outlook.

our top story once again. the u.n. and arab league envoy

to syria wants to finalize a temporary truce. trying to get government and opposition forces to agree to the cease-fire during an islamic holiday this weekend. the two side are still fighting. government leaders have agreed in principle to the truce, but they have yet to confirm their decision. opposition commanders suspect government forces would use the pause in the fighting to rebuild their strength. and that is all for now on this edition of "newsline." i am yuko aotani in tokyo. we'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. please do join us then. thank you for watching.