instead, they spent the day discussion the activity of the u.s. agency. they warned they may even have tapped her cell phone. >> translator: europe and the u.s. are partners. i incyst that this partnership be based on trust and respect. >> britain already has a no spying deal with the u.s. they hope to reach agreements before the end of the year. japanese prime minister shinzo abe's cabinet has approved a bill about secrets. they say the legislation is necessary to allow japan to share intelligence with other countries. the government is preparing to

launch a national security council to oversee foreign and security policies. the bill will enable heads of government officers such as ministers to designate information related to national security. it would only be handled by certain officials. public officials who leak such information could face a sentence of 10 years. it supports a need for freedom of the press. journalists would not be penalized for their activities unless they violated the law or used methods deemed extremely improper. the government hopes to pass the bill in the current diet session. a chinese high court has

upheld a lower court's ruling of life in prison for a disgraced politician. a lower court had handed down the life sentence for the former communist party chief after convicting him of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. bo's appeal was heard by a provincial higher people's court. on friday morning, the court upheld the sentence of life imprisonment against him. last month a court ruled that bo must serve a life sentence for take bribes of about $6.3 million and misusing public funds. he was also convicted of blocking an investigation into the murder of a british businessman by bo's wife. nhk has more from beijing. >> reporter: the authorities held a news conference on the

outcome soon after the trial. bo still enjoys strong support amongst the public and some members of the communist party. that's apparently why the court is aiming for some degree of transparency. the court of appeal was thought unlikely to have overturned the lower court ruling because communist party leaders are believed to have a hand in the outcome of both trials. this takes place just one month before a committee meeting, a key meeting in deciding policy. his verdict is in line with xi jinping's tough stance against corruption. >> that was nhk's reporter in beijing. ministers from the 12 trans-pacific partnership country also have a final chance to seal their trade deal this

year. they've scheduled a meeting in sing pore for december. it will follow on the heels of a world trade organization summit. they will finish business in indonesia on december 6th. but they've yet to reveal a date for the tpp talks. they targeted a broad agreement by the end of the year. they'll have to get past a few obstacles. lower level personnel are currently in tokyo to deal with the thorny issue of intellectual property rights. negotiators will also struggle with differences on wiping out agricultural and industrial tariffs. and they'll face a fight over fair competition between state enterprises and private firms. the japanese consumers paid more in september for their goods and services.

the consumer price index rose for a fourth straight month. internal affairs ministry said the price index was up 0.7% over last year. it does not include volatile fresh food prices. the pace of increase in energy prices has mod rated but still remains high due to a weaker yen. concerns over the middle east situation has also pushed up crude oil prices. motorists paid 9% more for gasoline. and households paid more for their utility bills. electricity went up by more than 7% and gas was 5% higher. the price hikes for computers and printers also contributed to the upward trend. meanwhile bank of japan officials said the price of services also rose 0.7% in september. this marks increases for the fifth straight month.

shipping rates for vessels have been on the rise. the rents for offices in tokyo and osaka also increased. it development fees for smartphone software and office computer systems have been rising as well. independent lawyers are delving into japanese bank mizuho's actions. they claim they weren't aware of the gravity of the problem. they said the loans were made indirectly through a consumer finance scheme. and bank personnel were facing confusion at a time of computer troubles. regulators about a month ago paved the way for investigation when they accused mizuho of illicit loans. the current chairman was

president at the time. bank officials are considering a disciplinary action against him and two other presidents. twitter is scheduled to be listed on the new york stock exchange in mid november. the total market value of the u.s. online messaging service is expected to reach up to $10.9 billion. twitter disclosed a plan to price range documents filed with the securities and ebs change commission. they will price its stock at between $17 and $20 per share. they man to offer 70 million shares. that will race 1.2 to $1.4 billion. it is expected to be the largest after facebook's listing last year. french soccer fans will have to find something else to do at the end of november. clubs are reacting to a new super tax from the government by

going on strike. officials from the clubs' union announced a one-weekend strike in response to the planned tax. the government of francois hollande has announced new tax on salaries over $1.3 million. >> it's the first time that french would go from maybe 40 years ago that we decided not to play this special day of the end of november. >> about 120 players are estimated to earn in that top bracket. that means an additional tax burden of about $60 million on the clubs. union executives have demanded that the government drop its plan. hollande will talk next week with union officials, but he's not expected to change his mind.

he proposed the tax hike as part of his fiscal restoration measures. anti-government forces in syria say people living in opposition strongholds near damascus are on the brink of starvation. government troops have surrounded a town since around january. this has prevented food and fuel from reaching the approximately 9,000 people living there. this footage is said to have been recorded there last month by anti-government activists. it shows images of severely emaciated young children. an opposition activist says the residents are facing a serious food shortage. >> translator: food supplies ran out four months ago. people now only have leaves and olives left to eat. >> he said 11 women and children have starved to death and more

than 100 others are in critical condition. battles between the government and opposition forces rage on in many parts of the country. observers say many lives are being lost not just in combat but also from starvation. the plight of north koreans who flee their country for china is drawing international attention. the chairman of a u.n. commission on human rights in the north says such people are often sent back and suffer harsh consequences. the commission held hearings in london this week. it's held similar sessions in tokyo and seoul. >> the fact is that people who go into china of whom there have been very, very many, who are sent back to north korea suffer sanctions which can be extremely severe. >> kirby said international law compels nations to protect

people who would be mistreated if they were sent home. he said the commission would likely ask chinese officials to account for their policy toward north koreans seeking refuge. the u.n. panel is scheduled to release a report next march. the governor of japan's southern most prefecture is trying to keep local fishermen safe when boats from taiwan operate in the same waters. it's pushing the central government to create rules that would prevent accidents in the east china sea. the okinawa governor met and said he wants leaders in tokyo to talk with taiwanese officials about how to handle accidents between fishing boats. the kborn says a fisheries agreement reached in april by japanese and taiwanese threatens the livelihoods.

that allows some taiwanese fisherman to operate in the special japanese zone. boats collided last month. the islands are owned by japan and claimed by clinton and taiwan. leaders in tokyo maintain the islands are japanese in terms of history and international law. the chief cabinet secretary said they will study the demands and act on them. japanese and chinese experts have put their heads together on something they both struggle with -- natural disasters. organizers from china and a japan external trade organization hosted a symposium on disaster response. residents of the province have been hit by repeated earthquakes over the years. a magnitude 8 quake five years ago killed thousands of people.

japanese have lots of experience in search and rescue. he said he and his colleagues could learn from japanese approaches to disaster response. a representative of a japanese equipment firm introduced a loudspeaker system that can broadcast spoupd about 1 kilometer. he said the device is useful in relaying evacuation instructions. workers in russia are racing to get venues for the winter olympics completed on time. the games are only months away. foreign media have taken a look at how the preparations are going. reporters visited venues on the black seacoast and in the nearby mountains. workers are still building the main stadium, but organizers say it will be completed before the end of the year. workers have finished the facilities on the coast, including those that will host figure skating and speed skating. the athletes' village is almost complete. it should be ready on time.

organizers say the facilities for ski jumping and biathlon are ready too. a new 40 kilometer railway linking coastal and mountain venues will start service in a week. russian leaders invested billions of dollars to build infrastructure for the games. but costs have ballooned to $50 billion, four times the initial the amount. president putin is now personally overseeing the olympic project to make sure everything is ready on time. indonesia's explosive economic growth has improved the lives of millions, but with it comes a new dilemma, what to do with all the waste. some japanese experts are stepping in with strategies that could turn an environmental liability into an economic asset.

>> reporter: this city is indonesia's second largest city, with 3 million people. its economy and population is growing rapidly. so is the amount of trash. and that's creating a problem. this is the only disposal site in the city. 1500 tons of garbage is dumped at the site every day. at this rate, the site you will be full in a few years. as the city searches for ways to handle all the trash, a waste recycling company from western japan has started operating here in march. workers efficiently sort recyclable waste like plastic and metal and items for composting. as a result, the amount of garbage dumped has dropped by 50%. new jobs have been created as well. this man is a sales representative for the recycling company. he says the indonesian waste and

recycling market offers great business opportunities. >> translator: all waste used to be buried on site. in japan a lot of it would have been recycled. now the recycling gets done and locals earn money. there are many business opportunities here. >> reporter: the city government also supports the company's expansion. for ten years, the japanese city has also advised them about waste disposal. last november officials from both cities agreed to an environmental sister city relationship. this city introduced a local company that has the technology and know how to help improve the living environment here. now this man manages the project from the japanese side. together they set off to meet their indonesian counterparts. they discuss problems related to

a new plant that the company plans to build. it will convert raw garbage into compost. it is the key to cutting back on their future waste. however, there's a problem. even though it's been three months since both sides agreed to the plan, construction hasn't started. >> translator: the work should be under way, but our hands are tied. >> reporter: officials keep saying that national government authorities must authorize construction. they say that will take time. negotiators on both sides have bargained intensely. they promise to urge the indonesian government to authorize building the plant. >> translator: the japanese are very enthusiastic, so we must

work harder too. we want to make this a beautiful city. >> translator: we have to keep working hard in order to get more japanese companies to take on the waste disposal business here. >> reporter: business people see a great opportunity in improving the living environment of asia's emerging economies. the government and local companies work together overseas. this could become a good model for expansion of japanese businesses into emerging nations. it's time now for world weather. it's wet and windy across much of japan, meteorologist sayaka mori joae morei joins us with the latest. >> we have an active frontal system. as francisco takes an easterly

direction, heavy rain will expand to the east as we go into saturday. the tokyo area will start to see heavy rain from tonight and that will continue into saturday morning. now up towards the north we have another system heading into hokkaido starting to produce torrents of rain. and we have a strong typhoon south of the country. different conditions for the continent. we are looking gorgeous blue skies across china, mongolia and the korean peninsula. but heavy rain is coming down in india as well as bangladesh through your friday. now across the americas, first of all i want to show this beautiful picture, beautiful sunny skies. this was taken in boston. and this high pressure system is a sunny maker. and also a cold weather maker. the coldest air of the region so far is blanketing the eastern half the u.s. and canada we have

preez warnings and frost advisories here. and strong northwesterly winds are causing lake-effect snow for the great lakes region. some arias may get as much as 15 cent meters of snowfall into your friday noon. temperatures are extremely low in parts of the northeast. minus 2 degrees for the low in chicago. minus 4 degrees in winnipeg. so dress warmly. very chilly to the south as well. now across europe then we talked about a powerful storm system which battered the western continent a couple days ago. the system has moved toward the east while weakening, but a new system is approaching the western continent once again. i think the most severe area is going to be found across the iberian peninsula. very large hail, damaging wind and isolated tornados throughout your friday. wet and windy conditions are

expected for much of the british isles as well. meanwhile, lots of sunshine and dry conditions are going to be found in the center and also the eastern part of europe on your friday. looking at 22 degrees for the high in budapest. 26 in rome. nice conditions will likely continue into the weekend. enjoy your weekend under gorgeous, nice, clear skies. 10 degrees in stockholm, and really pleasant in london and paris as well. in the high 20s or high teens. all right. here's your extended forecast around the globe.

and that concludes this edition of "newsline."

on behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with one the world's most acclaimed .onductors, esa-pekka salonen he is also the conductor laureate of the los angeles philharmonic. an ongoing part of the 10th anniversary celebration of disney hall. are glad you have joined us. a conversation with esa-pekka salonen, coming up right now.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: conductor and composer esa-pekka salonen was the artistic leader of the l.a. philharmonic before turning over his duties. he has now returned to the l.a. field for a series of concerts, including the premier of frank zappa's 200 motels. yes, you heard that right.

plus his own violin concerto. let's take a look at esa-pekka salonen as they play his violin concerto. ♪ tavis: you really consider yourself a composer more than a conductor, yes? it started out like that. conducting is something that happens. fluke. i wasns by

studying composition, and we had a group of composers back in the 1970s, and the real conductors, we felt that we had to have one conductor in the group to do all that, so i was kind of voted to be that one. i realized it was actually something i like doing, so it started like that. anever thought i would have international career as a conductor. it was not part of my plan. tavis: what is the joy, the difference between the joy that composing brings you and the joy that conducting brings you? >> conducting is intensely social. you work with a hundred people collaborate, you try to focus their thoughts, you try to give them a concept, you

try to inspire them, and it's actually exhausting. [laughter] energy.there is so much you get back a lot of course, but you also have to give a lot. things,of high-energy we rehearse for a few days are sometimes a week and then the concert, and then it is over. whereas composing is the total opposite of that. if you would like to describe composing as an act with one w" would be the word. sometimes you spend nine months, 10 months, a year composing, you never see anyone. it is very sort