mplts mplts: welcome to news line. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. >> police in belgium say about to pull off a large-scale terror attack. japan's prime minister has left for the middle east. leaders have raised their

terror threat to the second highest level after authorities say they foiled a major plot by islamists. an investigation into extremists returning from the war in syria prompted police to raid an apartment southeast from the capital, brus sellselsbrussels, where a fire fight broke out. nhk's craig dale is tracking developments for us. >> reporter: it doesn't appear to be related, but it's another reminder for europeans of the threat posed by radicals education specially those from syria iraq. that fire fight you mentioned was caught on camera. this amateur video shows the gun battle between special forces of the town. authorities say an investigation that started well before the attack was poised to launch a large-scale operation targeting police officers in belgium.

>> suspects immediately opened fire on the police and opened fire during several minutes before being returned fire. the thor sills say the terrorist cell they were investigateing involve people returning from syria involving growing concerns from canada to the u.s. to across europe. thousands of people go abroad to join the milltist group. what these individuals do when they return home, battle-hardened and a sharpened ideology.

possibly by getting him weapons. and french investigators are exploring the links between cuolabali and the radical islamists who carried out the terrorist actions working on behalf of al-qaida and yemen. so much investigators are not convinced they koord nated their actions. he spent time in jail with one of them, keep in mind islamic state cut ties about a year ago. so it's really still a two-pronged investigation at this stage. police say accomplices for all the men are still at large. that's why thousands of officers

are on patrol in paris and across france. investigators are also trying to figure out how they got their weapons, automatic rifles rocket launches, for example. in the case of france they weren't successful, however, they're not letting their guard down just yet. >> thank you very much craig dale of nhk world. japan's prime minister has left for a visit to the middle east. shinzo abe will travel to four countries and territories. and he's expected to announce support for the global fight against the militant group islamic state. abe will meet with leaders in egypt, jordan, israel and the palestinian territories. >> translator: based on our

principle of proactive contribution to peace, i'll tell the leaders that japan will provide support in the nonmilitary field. i hope we contribute to peace and stability in the region. >> this is his first official trip abroad since he launched his third cabinet last month. his first step is egypt where he will speak about his diplomatic and national security policies. in the wake of the terrorist attacks in france, abe is expected to call on world leaders to take gradual steps to create stability in the region. he's also expected to convey his policy goal of proactively contributing to the creation of peace in the region. this will include financial support to countries such as egypt, jordan, turkey, lebanon and others destabilized by the islamic state insurgents. amnesty international has released what it has said is shocking evidence. scale of the latest boko haram

attack. researchers with the international human rights group have satellite images of northeastern nigeria. and they say those images show widespread destruction of the country's worst ever massacre. extremists with the islamic insurgent groups swept into the town of baga in borno state and overran a military base. researchers analyzed satellite images of the area and interview eyewitnesses. they say the insurgents damaged or destroyed more than 3,700 buildings and killed hundreds of people. one of the witness interviews describes how boko haram was shooting indiscriminately even killing a woman in labor. amnesty says the attack has created thousands of refugees in chad as people flee the violence. they're calling on the

governments of the two countries to offer humanitarian assistance. the head of the u.n. peace keep ing operations says its department is trying to strengthen its ability to respond to islamic state insurgents and other groups. he spoke to nhk in tokyo. >> now we are facing terrorist groups who are affiliated to jihadists and other networks, al qaeda, but increasingly with links to the islamic statement. >> he welcomed japan's decision to provide $33 million in new funding for u.n. peacekeeping activities in africa. he's praised japan's plan to broaden the role of the self-defense force. he says the u.n. does not want japan to sends troops into combat.

he operates japan will offer logistical support. this could include transporting personnel and supplies. japanese defense authorities are preparing to resume a controversial underwater drilling survey. it's being done to construct a u.s. marine corps facility in okinawa. many residents there are resisting the move. the japanese government plans to relocate the u.s. marine corps futenma air station. it would move from the densely populated ginowan city to the nago prefecture. workers began building a floating pier on the shore of camp schwab. it is adjacent to the site of the new facility.

drilling at 24 places is done but typhoons have suspended the process since september. protesters clashed with police as they tried to block one underwater drilling site. they staged a sit-in and demanded the relocation plan stop. local opposition has become even more intense since the gubernatorial election in november. voters put into office takeshi onaga who opposes the plan. >> translator: during my campaign i pledged to stop the relocation of the base to henoko. i will do anything i can to keep my promise. >> but chief cabinet secretary yoshihide suga said the government will proceed with its plan. >> translator: the japanese government will make all efforts so that the futenma air base returns to japan as quickly as possible. we will safely continue the process of relocation in henoko. >> he added the government

received approval in 2013 for the relocation from the former governor. officials elsewhere in okinawa will be going to the polls to share opinions on whether to host a ground self-defense force observation unit. the japanese government plans to deploy about 150 personnel on the island. it's part of efforts to bolster defense in the southwestern island chain. site preparation is already under way in the southern part of the island. last november, the municipal assembly passed an order i nance calling for a referendum on the project. the assembly on thursday voted in favor of a revision of the ordnance to seek a referendum to be held on february 22nd. citizens of junior high school age or older will be allowed to vote. that will encourage young people

to think about the island's future. foreigners with permanent residency status will also be eligible to cast ballots. >> okay investors were totally taken back by sencentral bankers in switzerland. now, policymakers decided to remove its cap on the swiss frank, that is, and the euro. now, the frank dropped 30% right after the announcement and that shook up other equityies including here in tokyo. ramin has been following them all morning. get us updated on what's happening in the markts. >> thank you very much, ai. definitely added to market volatility with investors already going through a lot of jitters because a lot of the cheaper oil prices and deflation their concerns as well as global growth.

so all of that really played how into the nikkei and topix traded. some big declines in the nikkei. down 2.8% and the broader topix closing the morning at 1,344. the nikkei plunged at the open. and, as you can see there, it lost ground all morning as investors rushed out of the socks and into what they perceived as softer assets. now, the stronger yen caused a sell-off in major exporters. we're tracking just a few of the big names, sony nikon and mazda. but other sectors also saw some selling as well. and some of the big heavyweights such as the fast retailing there, 4.6% down and operating the clothing trades. now, amada did buck the trend earlier. it was up around 3% but then did come in for a bit of profit taking ending the morning down

almost 0.7% after posting a tripling of its operating profits for the nine-month period. now, still a big focus was, of course on currency markets, ai and investors pile into what they consider safer assets or lower risk assets. dollar yen broken below 116 at one stage. looking at it right now, 116.13-15. levels not seen since mid december. euro also falling below 135, first time since october last year. very quick look at asian indexes before we leave. shanghai composite bucking the overall trend. most indexes are in the negative down in australia down for the fifth day in a row. that's all for me. >> thanks a lot for that update. the world trade organization has ruled against argentina with a trade dispute in japan, the u.s. and the european union.

the issue is over the countries in port restrictions. argentina has been requiring companies that import foreign products to buy the same value of article jengentina products. it would be required to bring the same value of local products such as foreign produce. japan took the case to the w.t.o. three years ago. ruling imposing a heavy burden on importers and ruled its government to correct the importers. japan's trade minister says concerns over protectionism were growing over emergeing economies. he says the rulings are significant as it clearly shows the restrictions are unacceptable. this week we've been looking at the outlook for the global economy. we've spoken to leading

professors about japan, the u.s. and the euro zone. on the last day of our series we focused on the world's second largest economy, china. a new economic blueprint saying they'll pursue what they call a new normal pace of growth putting quality and efficiency before speed. the economy has slowed. what was double digit growth just seven years ago is now a single digit. to carry out structural reforms . >> this carefully plannaged slow ds down. but it's more than upside such

as the housing market. the good news is the central bank has a lot to monitor if necessary to the economy. >> the president wants the country to change from investment-led growth to consumption consumption-led growth. how do you see that playing out this year? >> the progress is too slow. whenever china's growth targets is at rit risksk the government tends to build additional plans and this shows the consumption part is not yet ready. and the current anti-corruption campaign doesn't help, either. because high-end spending is suffering. what they need to do is improve

the welfare like health care and pension so that people would be willing to spend more on con suchgs. >> what about employment? how is the situation in china? how can leaders create more opportunities. to the point that some overseas companies from china to other kpaeps. it's more incentives for american around japanese companies and china back home.

>> like the sluggish european japanese economies, the direction of the federal u.s. monetary policy. how do you see these affecting china? >> i see the biggest coming from europe, the potential crisis which is now the continents with china's exports. it's not just for federal employment also in china, the on

going tension between the two countries may lead to some japanese manufacturers to move their base to china, that is the labor-intensive jobs lost in china. the other is the strong u.s. dollar. a strong dollar may lead to emerging market crisis. although, could also have china's exports if emerging markets suffer crisis this may hurt china's capacity to overseas countries to infrastructure. but any recession in these developing countries may mean chinese infrastructure companies to lose overseas steels.

>> japanese officials are working on ways of expanding exports of infrastructure. in vietnam, they hope to make the post office more modern and efficient. japan's state minister and his vietnamese counter part exchange a memorandum in hanoi. ministry officials say japan wants to improve the postal system and trust in their postal services. japan also relies on banks and insurance businesses. the japanese government plans to work with its private sector in realizing the project. it would help introduce japanese companies. the government hopes to launch other emerging economies, too. it's already exchanged a mem random with myan mawr. now, japanese authorities are thinking about expanding the

role of safety inspectors. transport officials currently limit their focus to car makers. under the new proposal they would look at auto-parts makers as well. the devices can explode and spray metal fragments when deployed. fatal accidents have been reported in the united states and malaysia. automakers have conducted recalls throughout the world. in japan, more than 3 million vehicles have been affected. the ministry officials say they want to be able to respond more quickly to autoparts defekts. they're continuing on-site inspections to parts makers and are thinking about reporting defects found in their products. officials plan to study specific changes including revisions of the road transport vehicle law and plan to consult in the vehicle industry for the process. that's the latest on business in this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

time now for a check of the weather. people in parts of china have been dealing with hazardous air pollution. but residents in and around beijing are getting the heavy smog. robert speta joins us with the latest. >> it does look like the startoff on friday. it caused a little bit of a stir in the atmosphere. what we are seeing right now is pushing off there towards the east. but air quality starting to slowly improve. unfortunately, i don't think this is going to be lasting very long. there's a high coming right behind that. when you get these high pressures, it causes the inversion in the atmosphere. all the cold air stays right near the surface. it stays right near the surface. and, unfortunately, that deteriorates the air quality.

the other thing with that is you do have that cold air very close to the ground. i did mark it on the map here because it's not always as bad as those wintertime. i do want to show you one of the main attractions is this 300 meter ice slide. especially with extreme sports ice slides. still a little bit of a light note. also, make it to support in february. ice festival takes place due to all the snowfall that japan typically gets. look at this another storm system comes in by friday and saturday.

same thing all the way down across honchu. still tropical weather in the south. it eets still going to be bringing the rainfall. some areas over 00 millimeters of total precipitation could be seen. then, to the americas wet and chilly towards the southeast. 40 centimeters of snowfall with this next storm system. back towards the east we have some wintry precipitation in the great lakes area. behind that high pressure coming in yet again.

same thing here in north america. these were lows rite here. minus 6 in chicago. chilly in the deep south. but the windchill combined with some of these tempbtures especially in the north, minus 30 when it really starts to gust, it could near minus 50. absolutely just chilly out there for you. looking at some windy conditions still here into the british isles. also a little bit of troughing down towards the south. expect a few severe thunderstorms to flare up. i'll leave you for your extended forecast.

that concludes this edition of "newsline." thank you for staying with us.

good evening from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. tonight part two of our conversation with the only two poplarly elected african-americans to serve simultaneously in the u.s. senate. u.s. democrat cory booker and south carolina republican, tim scott. the new congress convenes and the republicans are controlling both chambers. questions from both senators on what to expect, common ground or gridlock. part two of our conversation with cory booker and tim scott coming up, right now. ♪