international influence. and it notes that russia granted asylum to former u.s. intelligence contractor edward snowden despite u.s. objections. the chien naeetz president placd third. government leaders have complicated peace talks with palestinians just after they got going again. they approved a plan to obuild more new homes in occupied territory. united nations officials say the settlements are a violation of international law. but the israelis continue building plans. they started talks in july after a three-year hiatus, but palestinian leaders say they're not taking the process seriously. >> if they want to continue settlements, as everyone can sigh, it neens that there is no possibility of a two-state

solution. israeli leaders have released dozens of palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement to restart the talks. they just freed another 26 inmates in a gesture of goodwill. that angered some right wing politicians and citizens. some say israeli leaders approved of the new settlements in an effort to 'peas the hard liners. german intelligence leaders have gone to the white house asking for an explanation. they want to know more about reports that u.s. agents have been spying on german chancellor angela merkel. a u.s. state department spokesperson says american intelligence leaders met with german counterparts. jen said the allies reaffirm corporation but gave no further details. the germans are angry about reports american agents tapped merkel's cell phone. white house officials have spent the last few months defending themselves against a range of spying allegations.

they say it was part of the efforts to dispel concerns. south koreans have seen a stream of people from north korea cross their shared border over the years. more than 25,000 people who defected from the north are now living in south. police have arrested 49 people who they say is working as spies. 29 of them had been disguising themselves as defectors. more and more north koreans started to flee in the 1990s. up until now, the south korean government admitted all those claiming to be defectors and has helped them adapt. those from north grew up in a different system with different rules, still government leaders in seoul look upon them as fellow koreans. they set up programs to help new arrivals adjust in a free and competitive society. news there were spies among the defectors come to a shock as many. some say it's clear those

policies present a security risk. now professor studies it issue of defectors and intelligence gather on the korean peninsula. how do these agents manage to integrate into south korean society? >> well, when north korean defectors or refugees, i should say, enter south korea, they go through extensive and intensive interrogation process, up to 180 days. and, in fact, most of the captured spies are agents are captured during those interrogation process. but still, some are highly trained spies might get evaded the process. intelligence experts are also counterintelligence experts as well. throughout history, north korea has sent spies and agents from various sources through various routes. some are from the intelligence

agency, some are from the military, and some from the workers party. and each has developed various routes of infiltration, for example, disguised tourists with fake. it d., use of submarine and boats, et cetera. so mass influx of north koreans via refugees may have provided them just another route or infiltration to take advantage of it. >> and what kinds of things are these agents doing in the south? >> according to media reports, ten of those 21 defected spies are from national security agency which is primarily responsible for capturing defectors. so probably they want to capture and return some important defectors. and by doing so, prevent or deter future defectors. or maybe to get information about existing defectors for future operations.

or, as it turned out, if you try to assassinate high profile defectors, if they are successful in those assassinations, it may create additional factor of deterring future defectors through intimidation. but still, spies are spies, so they engage in searching and gathering intelligence, maybe engaging in activities of public opinion, using internet these days. >> how do you think this might change how the south koreans treat people who say they are defectors? >> well, south korea has maintained a foreign policy to receive all of those who want to come and settle down in korea. there are two principle reasons for this policy. the first is because of the constitution. the constitution of south korea states that the territory of

public korea covers the entire korean peninsula, which includes north korea. and this means people who are living in north korea are ultimately citizens of south korea. and second is humanitarian reason. north koreans do not have proper document, so they do not receive proper legal protection everywhere. so they have been subject to unspeakable abuses of human rights in their koird countries. if south korean people begin to think the north koreans that they are meeting or they are working with maybe work as spies, they would not be able and willing to work with north korean deneck tors in the same way as they did in the past. so maintaining such a policy, i would urge our government to

tighten the rope when they invest incomers in order to prevent further instances. >> thank you very much there. professor kim, thank you very much for your insight once again. japan's largest i.t. services company ntt data has decided to buy a spanish technology firm. the company wants to expand its market share in europe and latin america. industry sources say ntt data will spend about $710 million to buy slu. everest designs and develops information systems for large corporations. another ntt group, ntt communications announced earlier this week it will buy two u.s. information technology firms. these moves are accelerating the strategies to expand overseas as the domestic market weakens.

u.s. automaker general motor showed a sharp decline in net profit due to poor business in europe. gm posted a net profit of $698 million for the period. that's less than half of what they reported a yore ago. g m's european subsidiary opal has been struggling amid credit worries. total sales for gm around the world rose more than 5%, reaching about 2.4 million units. the company sold many fuel efficient compact models in north and south america. meanwhile, facebook posted a sharp rise in revenue for the july to september period, thanks to strong mobile advertising. the world's biggest social networking site said that its sales in the third quarter came to more than $2 billion. that's an increase of nearly 60% from the same period last year. facebook posted a net profit of $425 million, reversing a loss from a yore ago.

90% of the revenue came from online advertising business. the number of facebook users was is.2 billion, up 18% from a year ago. but facebook executives said in a telephone interview, the number of pc users and teenagers turned lower. >> another uptick of japan's economy is pushing up property prices in the country. and foreign investors are scrambling to get into the market. for many, the timing couldn't be better. nhk explains. >> reporter: this state agent tiawanese investors, many find it easy to do business in japan because it's nearby but asia has seen a surge in clients since the beginning of the year. >> translator: i'm attracted by prime minister's abe's policies and the exchange rate. many tiawanese people are starting to realize a change is taking place. >> translator: real estate is

peaking in taiwan and the u.s. i believe japan is the next promising property market. it's time for it to start going up. >> reporter: the agent closed 70% more deals in september than during the whole of last year. prime minister abe's fiscal policies known as abenomics are behind the boom. land prices around urban areas rose for the first time in five years. investors expect abenomics to maintain the rising trend. foreigners are also attracted to the cheaper yen. the japanese currency has dropped against the u.s. dollar by 25% in one year. and they are inspired by the olympic games, as well.

tokyo will host the event in 2020 means properties could rise in value. >> considering relatively low prices, japan being the third largest economy and the upcoming olympic games, i don't think the current market boom is a bubble. >> reporter: in addition to individual investor, overseas investors are also get into the japanese property market. this singapore investment manager puts money into logistic facilities with a specific functions. they expect the demand to increase as the e-commerce industry expands. this is one of their portfolios. delivery trucks can save clients time by driving up the ramp to a specific floor. people using the warehouse can also enjoy better security.

since they read license plates meaning unauthorized cars can't get in. the investment managers can ask for more rent at this complex because of the added services. they plan to stay competitive by buying more facilities. they believe abenomics will cause the market to expand. >> there is still lack of the fundamentally lack of the large more than renter warehouse in japan, so as gop group, we see this as a very good market, growing market. >> reporter: he says japan's investment boom is based on factors. >> translator: the european debt problems seems not to be solved yet. economic growth in emerging countries is slowing down. from this view point, japan

seems a good market to invest in. >> reporter: for investors are looking to the japanese property market but they want long-term improvements if they are going to stick around. >> tokyo. japanese have already won the bid to host olympics in 2020. now they're turning that are attention to winning the events themselves. japanese athletes won seven gold medal last year in the london olympics. the people who oversee sport in the country have set a goal to winning 25 to 30 golds at the games in tokyo. effective program for finding and training athletes.

the prefecture introduced its sports talent i.d. project four years ago. first they test each student's abilities in agent, stamina and reflexes. the top scoring students are picked out for the intensive training program. students from the fifth grade of elementary school through junior high school are tested in 28 different sports, both individual and team events to see which they might do best in at the international level. >> this student is in her final year of high school. she's an up and coming star since displaying her talent of hitting a target ten meters away. in january of this year, she

displayed extraordinary concentration to win bronze at a youth tournament in usaustralia. her prospects look good for the 2016 olympics and in tokyo four years later. >> translator: when i was young, my mother used to always stay i couldn't sit still. but when i'm shooting, i need total focus. i never dreamed that i had this ability. i'm really surprised at myself. >> her big transition came four years ago when she was in the second year of junior high. it was at a talent i.d. project meet that she first tried rifle shooting. she displayed uncanny accuracy from the start. after a few training sections, she surprised experts in the

sport with her high scores. >> that's a great score for just your third try. you should take up rifle shooting. >> at the time, she was on her school basketball team and she was reluctant to switch away from her favorite sport. but after trying rifle shooting for a while and doing well in tournaments, she decided to carry on with it. >> translator: now, i can imagine myself competing at the tokyo olympics, and even winning a medal. >> similar programs exist in other prefectures and cities. but they are still at the local level. from next year, the education and sports ministry plans to divide the country into three regions, each with its own headquarters. connecting local governments like this should make it easier to spotromising young

athletes. >> by further improving the programs, we hope we can find many more potential medallists out there. it's our number one aim, to nurture our young athletes as part of team japan. >> the race is on, and the clock is ticking. with just seven years to go until the tokyo olympics, the process of discovering and nurturing young sporting talent will require team work on the national level. >> bank of japan policymakers have unanimously decided to maintain their current monetary easing measures introduced in april. boj policy makers are aiming to move the country out of deflation. they also discussed the economic and price outlook between now and fiscal 2015. details of the meeting will be announced later in the day. all right, time now to check skies across the globe. now thlet's turn to the latest

the storm affecting the philippines. >> we are mon stonitoring the 2 tropical storm of the season now heading towards the philippines. it is flying over the waters now, trying to make land fall over northern luzan. possibly this evening local time, and it doesn't look like it will be decreasing its intensity, even over land. it looks like it's, in fact, going to be intensifying into a strong sty foon status over the south china sea. the water temperature is still very warm. so it's going to be feeding the system and becoming typhoon status. it looks leak it's packing gusts of 162 kilometres per hour at this moment. in the center of the system, and creating waves of up to about six meters around these areas. so high waves and storm surges and the rainfall accumulation could trigger flooding. landslides and mud slides will also be at high risk.

early next week, it looks like it may make land fall over southern china. taiwan is going to be battered with heavy rain over the eastern coast and southwestern islands of japan are feeling the moisture surge and dumping heavy waters across the areas. generally speaking, across the rest of the japan, clear and fun with atumal temperatures, widespread showers will be remaining across the central regions of china. western areas will likely see some snow in the higher elevations. considering the prefecture, we're looking at the beautiful pictures across this hour. let me give you this video of today for you. mountains are aflame with autumn colors. leaves started to become gold enand reddish a couple of weeks ago at the top of the mountain and the change has now reached the foothills. the seasonal change is about ten days later than usual because the weather stayed warm until mid october. many hikers are enjoying this

beautiful scene. and the fall colors will continue until early next month. so we'll likely enjoy this for a little while longer. let's move over to the european continent. we have been talking about that wind storm, if you can recall a couple of days ago. it was a deadly gusty condition that killed more than a dozen people. the gusty conditions, i can't tell you that it has been completely worn down. we have another system into the scandinavian peninsula. a sudden burst of showers as the gusty, very windy situation will stip be persisting across the similar areas. and on top of that, we have another atlantic system moving in, which looks like it's going to be taking a similar path as the previous wind maker. it's not going to be as significant in developing that much, but we'll be likely to see more gusty conditions across the similar areas. take a look at your temperatures. about 12 sdst, but plenty of sunshine in vienna and in

warsaw. moscow, just at 9 degrees with rainy skies. over here in the americas, we're looking at halloween storm on your halloween day. mixed outlook towards the pacific northwest and snow in the higher elevations there. we're alsoing looing at some flash flood watches that will be affecting more than 2 million people. they are under the watches. lots of rain, especially in arkansas of about 120 millime r millimeters of additional rainfall. some thunderstorms could ignite some tornadoes. not really a nice day to go out for trick or treating. but winnipeg very chilly down here. up here actually. 8 degrees for your high. i'll leave you now for the extended forecast.

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with j.j. abrams. he is one of the most are living writers today whose work can be seen in tv series such as "revolution" and "person of interest." he is about to take over "star wars." he has found the time to complete and interactive novel. we are glad you joined us. a contribution by author jj abrams coming up right now. jja conversation with author

abrams coming up now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> jj abrams has conquered television with a string of series and the upcoming "almost

human." has just taken over "star wars" from george lucas. somehow he found the time to complete and interactive novel. it is being described as an interactive puzzle between two readers sending messages in the text. let's take a look. >> he arrived knowing nothing of himself. who is he? know, because what begins at a water shell and there, and what and there shall once more began -- shall and there shallhat ends

began. this is what happens when men reborn. jjt -- tavis: you are the best at intrigue. abrams could do a trailer for a book. to do something that makes people wonder what it was. is valid.a book how, so ion't know

didn't attempt to describe what this is. i am glad you are here to describe it. >> 15 years ago i was at lax and i saw a book on the bench. novel.a robert ludlum i opened it up, and somebody read the book and brought me to -- it said, somebody read this book and brought me to lax. please pick me up and take me somewhere else. i thought, that was such an optimistic thing. it made me think of when i was in college and people would underline text. i would think, why is that im