i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> intelligence analysts have been working for months to determine whether chemical weapons have been used in the syrian civil war. u.s. president barack obama wanted conclusive proof. now analysts say government forces have used chemical agents against opposition fighters. white house officials say forces loyal to president bashar al assad used the weapons on a small scale. they say the chemicals used include the nerve agent sarin. they estimate that 100 to 150 people are likely to have been killed. they say they'll share their information with their allies and with analysts at the united nations. white house officials say president obama will consider whether to provide more support to syrian opposition forces including military assistance. >>> the crisis in syria will be one of the main items on the agenda next week at the g-8 summit. japanese government officials say prime minister shinzo abe will announce aid for syrians displaced by the civil war.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. turkish leaders are struggling to end anti-government demonstrations across the country. they're angry about what they see. the deputy prime minister has met some of the protesters but failed to convince them to go home. the one hour meeting took place wednesday in the capital. the protest said they demanded the government scrap a redevelopment project in the park in istanbul and want the end of police officials crackdown on government protesters. they have not responded to the demands. the demonstrations started last friday. they were back in istanbul last wednesday evening. >> translator: i strongly protest against this government. >> translator: we will keep demonstrating until we get a satisfactory answer from the government. >> prime minister tayyip is returning from a factory and most are waiting to see what he has seen. >>> syria has captured an anti-government stronghold near the border with lebanon. the capture could give the army the upper hand in its battle against oppositi

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the presidents of china and south korea agreed to tackle one of the most difficult topics to take steps with north korea's nuclear development. they are holding a summit since they both took power. they signed a joint statement. >> we agreed on the denuclearization and maintained stability and solved problems through dialogue. the situation on the peninsula is changing for the better and we hope the-party talks resume as soon as possible. >> representatives of the two koreas, china, russia and japan and the united states last held the two-party talks in 2008. they also agreed to boost diplomatic and economic ties. they will create a new framework for high level talks and colleging to work towards a free trade dpreamt. >> a great change is happening in northeast asia. we share the view that create new bilateral relations. a new peninsula and northeast asia in this time of change. the south sends a quarter of ex-pours to china. they need to expand activities to survive the global econom

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. turkey's prime minister is pressing ahead in the face of demonstrate strarts caors callio step aside. he commented on the demonstrations during a visit to tunisia. he said there are extremists among the protesters. his comments inflamed tensions in istanbul. tens of thousands of people gathered. he plan to uproot a park there. the protesters are demanding that he resign. young people have been on the streets for a week now. their angry about his aauthoritarian style. >>> members of the obama administration are depending what some americans see as a breech of their privacy. britain's guardian newspaper published a secret court order for the telephone records of millions of americans. the report is based on a secret document issued by the u.s. foreign intelligence. they ordered verizon to submit phone records from april to july. it pertains only to phone numbers and the lengths of calls. it did not require verizon to provide customers identities or the nature of the calls. >>> the leade

it's wednesday, june 5th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. french leaders say they have proof that leaders in syria used a deadly nerve agent. french scientists tested samples from syria. he said results point to serin gas. >> there is no doubt of the use of the regime and its accomplices. >> he said a line has been crossed and french leaders will talk with their allies what to do next. all options are on the table including military action. he said they should not block an international peace conference trying to bring together representatives of the a sesean government and opposition forces and likely chemical weapons were used in syria. they cited four attacks between march and april. they did not specify whether it side used them. chemical weapons are banned under international law. >>> vladimir putin met to hash out opposing views. russian leaders are going ahead with a plan to export the s 300 surface to air missile system to syria. they want to support the forces. allowing it to expire, it would allow them to provide help. >> translato

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.nd here we are on a beautiful san francisco morning, heading out across san francisco bay. our destination is probably one of the most famous, not only in our state, but in the entire world. i'm talking, of course, about alcatraz. there it is, over there in the distance. the fog is just beginning to lift. now, everybody knows about alcatraz, but, as usual, this journey is gonna be just a little bit different, because we're gonna be spending a day taking a look at a side of alcatraz

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. diplomats say they'll meet this week with representatives of the taliban. american-led forces have fought the insurgents in afghanistan for almost 12 years. now both sides say they're ready to sit down again to resume their push for peace. the taliban opened an office in the qatari capital, doha. representatives say they'll use it to look for peaceful pollutions to the situation back home. the two sides started negotiating in doha in 2010. but last year, they got into a disagreement over whether delegates of the afghan government should take part. negotiators for the taliban are expected to repeat their demand that the americans release a group of prisoners. in return, the americans are expect to ask the taliban to break ties with al qaeda, and end their campaign of violence. the announcementses came on the same day that afghan forces took over the lead on security from nato soldiers. >>> the leaders of the world's wealthiest economies have shared their thoughts on everything from glo

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.aptioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> ifill: the head of the national security agency faced close questioning in the senate today over expansive, top-secret surveillance programs. govening, . > woodi'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, the n.s.a. director defended the agency's actions, stating, "we're trying to protect americans." jeffrey brown examines the public's attitudes toward balancing privacy and security. >> ifill: the government of turkey offered a possible olive branch to protesters today to bring an end to more than a week

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. be back with more at the top of the hour. [ music ] >> hello everybody. i'm huell howser and here we are at the natural history museum of los angeles county. we are standing here in fnt of their gold exhibit and a fine exhibit it is, too. we are not here by accident.

it's a tuesday, june 11th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japanese engineers may be able to start removing fuel from the reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant earlier than previously expected. officials of the government and the plant's operator say they want to speed up the process. they've drafted a new road map for getting the work done. the officials jointly released a revised timetable for decommissioning the four reactors damaged in the earthquake and tsunami two years ago. the plan covers various scenarios for removing the melted nuclear fuel from three of them. it calls for work to begin on separate dates for each of the reactors. engineers will start with the number one and two reactors in the year 2020 at the earliest. that's 18 months sooner than the previous plan. but work on reactor number two could be delayed until 2024. it will depend on how quickly engineers can decontaminate the reactor building. radiation levels remain high at the plant. engineers now depend on remote-controlled robots to work inside the reactors. the tim

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> u.s. president barack obama has used the symbol of the cold war to talk about moving beyond the tensions of that era. he stood at the brandenburg gate, which once overlooked the berlin wall. he called on russian leaders to renew a push for world without nuclear weapons. >> after a comprehensive review, i've determined that we can ensure the security of america and our allies and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one-third, and i intend to seek negotiated cuts with russia to move beyond cold war nuclear postures. >> obama's predecessors john f. kennedy and ronald reagan both delivered speeches from the brandenburg gate. obama urged emergence of the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty between the u.s. and russia went into effect in 2011. the two countries agreed to reduce their nuclear warheads to 1,550 by 2018. obama said his government also intends to sharply reduce the number of its shorter-ranged nuclear weapons deployed i

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.tioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> what do we want? equality! when do we want it? now! >> ifill: gay rights advocates scored two victories at the supreme court today, as justices ruled same sex couples are entitled to federal benefits and cleared the way for gay marriages to resume in california. good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on t "we examine the action on this last day of the term with analysis from marcia coyle, plus reaction to the much-awaited decisions. >>l

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. edward snowden is holed up in the moscow airport, and looking for a way out. u.s. authorities want the former intelligence contractor on espionage charges. they want russian officials to extradite him. president vladimir putin is refusing to hand him over. >> translator: russia does not have an agreement with the u.s. to extradite criminals. snowden committed no crimes in russia. >> putin is on a state visit to finland. he confirmed snowden is in the transit area of the airport. he stressed his government was surprised by the arrival of the former national security agency contractor, and he said the sooner snowden chooses a final destination, the better it will be for him and for russia. snowden revealed earlier this month nsa agents collect private phone and internet data at home and abroad. he is seeking asylum in ecuador. he was expected to fly to cuba earlier this week but didn't board the plane. ricardo patino spoke in the malaysia capital. he confirmed snowden is in russia but r

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> edwards snowden is in a holding pattern at moscow's airport and he may stay that way for days. the former u.s. intelligence contractor wants to flee but authorities in russia and the united states are wrangling over his fate. snowden has been at the airport since sunday. he flew there from hong kong, where he had been in hiding since revealing details about secret u.s. government surveillance programs. russian media reports say snowden is unable to enter the country or buy a flight ticket because the u.s. government has revoked his passport. u.s. authorities have charged snowden with espionage and are demanding that russia extradite him, but vladimir putin, the president, has refused. snowden has requested asylum in the latin american nation of ecuador, but foreign minister ricardo petigno said not to expect any decision any time soon. wikileaks is none for its disclosures of classified documents and is traveling with him. >>> concerns is u.s. military computers could be vulnerabl

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people across turkey are gearing up for a nationwide strike. demonstrators have spent the past for days on the street. the unrest began on friday. police attacked them with tear gas and water canyons. protest began on friday. police attacked them with tear gas and water canyons. protesters across the country rally. they accused o prime minister of trying to institute islamist policies. they are calling on him to step down. >> translator: i'm here for freedom. i'm here as an educated person to protest against facism. >> some protersters approached the prime minister's office but they were sent away. >>> authorities in taiwan says former president has tried to commit suicide. they say prison guards stopped him and he's in stable condition. he's serving a 20-year prison sentence for corruption. he tried to hang himself with a towel on sunday evening. they say they'll monitor his health more closely and increase surveillance to prevent another attempt. he was diagnosed with severe depression last october. he recently applied to rejoin the main oppo

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.red by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: president obama announced a shakeup at the top of his foreign policy team today, naming u.n. ambassador and long time ally susan rice to be national security adviser. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, we take a closer look at rice's record, the nominee to replace her as u.n. ambassador and what that means for america's role abroad. >> woodruff: then, we get the latest on the battle for a key syrian city, as government

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the man who exposed government surveillance programs is at the center of diplomatic discussions. the state representatives are trying to get their hands on edward snowden. they are negotiating with russia to extradite the former contractor who is charged with espionage. state department spokesperson said the americans believe snowden is still in moscow. he nodes deputy secretary william burns and otherer officials are holding

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.the presidents of china and south korea agreed to tackle one of the most difficult topics to take steps with north korea's nuclear development. they are holding a summit since they both took power. they signed a joint statement.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: president obama joined a gathering of leaders from the world's wealthiest nations today. topping the agenda: what to do about the bloody civil war in syria. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we explore the u.s.-russian split over syria, and the shared goal of stopping the violence. >> woodruff: then, the supreme court ruled arizona may not require proof of citizenship in order to vote. marcia coyle breaks down the decision.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people across turkey are gearing up for a nationwide strike.demonstrators have spent the past for days on the street. the unrest began on friday. police attackeem

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. investors headed into work not sure of the kind of day they would have. they watched colleagues on wall street struggle through one of the worst days in months. traders started fretting when policy makers suggested they could reduce economic stimulus later this year. the average tumbled more than 350 points. the federal reserve had fuelled gapes for months investing billions to get more money 234r0eing through the economy. the central bankers suggested that if the recovery continued, they could scale back investments. ben bernanke said they would evaluate threats and believe the risk for the economy have diminished. investors don't like what nay are hearing. they fell by about 3%. and they are hoping for more stability to close out the week. managers at japan's biggest banks have their own executives at bank of tokyo ufj agreed to pay $250 million to regulators in new york. they transferred billions to countries facing u.s. sanctions. they moved $100 billion to iran, myanmar and sudan

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. people across turkey are gearing up for a nationwide strike. demonstrators have spent the past for days on the street.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. japanese leaders look toward africa and see endless opportunities. they want a piece of the economic growth there. they're wrapping up three days of discussions at the tokyo international conference on african development. they and leaders from across the continent are promising to create a better climate for investment. delegates from japan and around 50 african nations are attending the meetings in yokohama. japanese prime minister shinzo abe has announced a plan to invest $1 billion to increase food production, improve education and train security personnel. the delegates are set to adopt the yokohama declaration on this final day. conference. they're expected to commit to improving legal systems and upgrading infrastructure. they want to promote the use of advanced agricultural technology. they're expected to set a target of 6% growth for the agricultural sector. and they want to double rice production within the next five years. >>> people in africa face some of the world's tough

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s.say they'll meet this week with representatives of the taliban. american-led forces have fought the insurgents in afghanistan for almost 12 years. now both sides say they're ready to sit down again to resume their push for peace. the taliban opened an office in the qatari capital, doha. representatives say they'll use it to look for peaceful pollutions to the situation back home. the two sides started negotiating in doha in 2010. but last year, they got into a disagreement over whether delegates of the

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. turkish leaders are struggling to end anti-government demonstrations across the country. they're angry about what they see. the deputy prime minister has met some of the protesters but failed to convince them to go home.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the man who exposed government surveillance programs is at the center of diplomatic discussions. the state representatives are trying to get their hands on edward snowden. they are negotiating with russia to extradite the former contractor who is charged with espionage. state department spokesperson said the americans believe snowden is still in moscow. he nodes deputy secretary william burns and otherer officials are holding talks with their russian counterparts and hope the russian government will look at all available options to return snowden back to the u.s. to face justice. the state department officials believe russian authorities did not allow snowden to leave the country in consideration of the u.s. position. snowden arrived in moscow on sunday from hong kong and did not board a plane on monday for the cuban capital even though his name was on the passenger list. the foreign minster said snowden requested asylum and said a u.s. embassy requested his government not comply, but

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> intelligence analysts have been working for months to determine whether chemical weapons have been used in the syrian civil war. u.s. president barack obama wanted conclusive proof. now analysts say government forces have used chemical agents against opposition fighters. white house officials say forces loyal to president bashar al assad used the weapons on a small scale. they say the chemicals used include the nerve agent sarin. they estimate that 100 to 150 people are likely to have been killed.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.edward snowden is holed up in the moscow airport, and looking for a way out. u.s. authorities want the former intelligence contractor on espionage charges. they want russian officials to extradite him. president vladimir putin is refusing to hand him over. >> translator: russia does not have an agreement with the u.s. to extradite criminals. snowden committed no crimes in russia.

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.prime minister is pressing ahead in the face of demonstrate strarts caors callim

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. >> ted kooser was an insurance man for 35 years before he became poet laureate of the united states. he lives with his wife and two dogs near the town of garland, nebraska, where he writes about life on the great plains. >> here, on fine long legs springy as steel a life rides, sealed in a small brown pill that skims along over the basement floor wrapped up in a simple obsession. eight legs reach out like the master ribs of a web in which some thought is caught dead center in its own small world, a thought so far from the touch of things that we can only guess at it. if mine, it would be the secret dream of walking alone across the floor of my life with an easy grace, and with love enough to live on at the center of myself. ( applause ) >> hello everybody, i'm huell howser, and here we are in our state's capital, sacramento. now we're standing in front of one of the most beautiful and important buildings in sacramento. built in 1929, it's called the library and

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> u.s. president barack obama has used the symbol of the cold war to talk about moving beyond the tensions of that era. he stood at the brandenburg gate, which once overlooked the berlin wall. he called on russian leaders to renew a p

it's wednesday, june 5th, i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. french leaders say they have proof that leaders in syria used a deadly nerve agent. french scientists tested samples from syria. he said results point to serin gas. >> there is no doubt of the use of the regime and its accomplices. >> he said a line has been crossed and french leadersl

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.rs headed into work not sure of the kind of day they would have. they watched colleagues on wall street struggle through one of the worst days in months. traders started fretting when policy makers suggested they could reduce economic stimulus later this year. the average tumbled more than 350 points. the federal reserve had fuelled gapes for months investing billions to get more money 234r0eing through the

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> intelligence analysts have been working for months to determine whether chemical weapons have been used in the syrian civil war. u.s. president barack obama wanted conclusive proof. now analysts say government forces he

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >> the leaders of turkey's ruling party have offered an olive branch with protesters. ruling party

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. u.s. diplomats say they'll meet this week with representatives of the taliban. american-led forces have fought the insurgents in afghanistan for almost 12 years. now both sides say they're ready to sit down again to resume their push for peace.