craig dale, nhk world. >>> people in the united states are seeing more job opportunities.he number of new openings last month came in higher than analysts expected. department of labor officials say employers created 257,000 jobs. economists had been expecting 230,000. americans saw more than 200,000 new openings for the 11th month in a row. officials revised up their numbers for job growth in november and december. the jobless rate last month inched up a tenth of a point. it came in at 5.7%. analysts say that's because unemployed people came back to the workforce. economists are studying the data and trying to figure out when fed policymakers will raise interest rates. we spoke with john stofas at oppenheimer. he says he is focusing on the impact of wage increases. >> within the jobs number, what we particularly like to see was an increase in jobs in construction, in retail, as well as an improvement in other areas in health care. we did notice that there was a decline in jobs, for example, in mining and in the energy sector. but we think that would be expected based on i

nh nhk world's craig dale reports. >> reporter: ukrainian soldiers embraced happy to be alive after a harrowing few days. they're among the thousands of troops who retreated from the eastern town after a sustained assault by pro russian separatists. there are no words to describe it, says this soldier. along the way we were blanketed with shots. some died some are wounded, much like ukraine's national pride, perhaps. president petro poroshenko visited the front line to praise the soldiers for their courage. he and his military commanders called this an organized withdrawal but it bears all the signs of a defeat. separatist fighters raised their flag saying they overpowered the ukrainian military. both sides fought for days despite a cease-fire that was supposed to start sunday. the rebels argued they encircled the town before the truce went into effect so it wasn't technically part of the front line. taking control of the railway hub allows them to link two stronghold strongholds, but the pride is a damaged one. look at this aerial video. guns, tanks and other weapons caused heavy des

craig dale, nhk world. >>> rescue crews in bangladesh are looking for survivors of a ferry accident.t least 66 people have been confirmed dead. the ferry was crossing the padma river west of the capital dhaka. it collided with a cargo vessel and sank. local media quoted an official saying about 90 people were rescued or managed to swim ashore. survivors reportedly said that the vote was carrying more than 200 people well over its capacity. ferries remain a key means of transportation in bangladesh where there are many rivers but not enough bridges. >>> communities around japan have been celebrating something traditionally chinese. they've held street parties to mark the lunar new year. a woman from china helped build friendship using her skills as a dancer. more from nhk world. >> reporter: every year celebrated with a festival. about 100,000 people attend in the local chinese community. ♪ this year one of the stand up performances was given by a dance group called nagoya color. originally it was an all-japanese group. but last june a chinese dancer joined them. her aim is to bridge

nhk world's craig dale is tracking developments for us. >>> president sisi promised retaliation. now egypt has waded into the chaotic situation in libya, where there are two rival governments, and a tangled web of militia groups including islamist extremists. egyptian fighter jets carried out the airstrikes on monday. military officials say they destroyed training camps and arms depots for the islamic state group. dozens of militants reportedly died. the strikes happened near the city of dparna militants affiliated with the group have a presence there. they also have a present in sirte close to where the egyptians were kidnapped. and they have a foothold in tripoli, too. now keep in mind here egypt has also been trying to stop an islamic insurgency at home on the sinai peninsula. president sisi has called the militants to carried out the killings murderers and criminals and he said he'd do what he can to bring the thousands of egyptians who work in libya home safely. egyptians have been shocked by what happened. they've watched things in libya get worse and worse since the 2011 a

nhk world's craig dale has more. >> reporter: with bombing after bombing, jordan's air force chief says his country is pummeling islamic state. >> where they sleep and eat. training centers, depots weapons, ammunitions, fuel. >> reporter: major general mansour al jobour says fighter jets carried out 56 air strikes from thursday to saturday. jordan ramped up its bombings on islamic state in syria after the group announced it killed jordanian pilot moaz kasasbeh by burning him to death. now the militants say an american hostage died in one of those bombings. they say they were holding aid worker kayla jean mueller in this building. officials in jordan called the claim propaganda and those in the u.s. say they have no evidence the 26-year-old is dead. the militants kidnapped her in august 2013 in syria. family and friends in her hometown are struggling to stay hopeful. >> the strain of not knowing where their daughter is at and whether or not she's alive or not, is something that is starting to wear on them. >> reporter: it's yet another reason why government leaders say the fight against

more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: european union leaders have spent the better part of a year talking about the crisis in ukraine. as they gathered in brussels they made it clear there's a lot riding on the latest cease-fire. >> this is not just about the independence and stability or integrity of ukraine. the whole geopolitical order in europe after 1989 is at stake. >> reporter: ukrainian military forces have been fighting since last april to contain an uprising in the country's east. pro-russian separatists want independence. many agree they've been receiving help in the form of weapons and troops from russia. something officials in moscow deny. german chancellor angela merkel and french president francois hollande guided difficult discussions this week to get a new cease-fire. they worked through the night with the presidents of ukraine and russia. no one was 100% happy, but they walked away with an agreement, nonetheless. one that resembles a previous deal. among the terms, ukrainian forces and the separatists will begin a cease-fire as of the start of february 15th.

nhk world's craig dale has more on the media investigation that revealed his name background and why he may have joined the fight in syria. >> reporter: a cluster of journalists gathered outside the apartment block believed to be the former home of one of the world's most infamous islamist militants. >> an entire army, thirsty for your blood. >> reporter: this masked man became the menacing face and voice of the islamic state group. in video after video that showed the murders of hostages. he was known as jihadi john. now a "washington post" investigation has identified him as mohammed emwazi. a british skutcomputer programmer, born in kuwait but raised in london. >> widely known in the intelligence communities. so i was assembling bits and pieces along the way. and then we also relied on what we knew from the video. and what we knew from hostages who had been with john. >> reporter: "washington post" reporters say they eventually confirmed emwazi's identity with his friends, along with a representative of a british human rights group who knew him. >> you might be surprised to know t

craig dale, nhk world. >>> japan's prime minister says he plans to boost the ability of the country's coast guard to strengthen maritime patrols. shinzo abe made the remark after referring to intrusions by chinese patrol vessels into japanese territorial waters in the east china sea. >> translator: the government will take all possible measures to assure maritime security around the areas with the resolve to defend the country's territorial land and waters. >> abe said chinese government boats and other vessels repeatedly approach and operate around the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands, china and taiwan claim them. abe also said that crews of many fishing boats have been observed poaching coral since last september around the ogasawara islands south of tokyo. he said the boats are apparently from china. he said the coast guard has two few patrol vessels to deal effectively with the fishing boats. abe says the government will allocate funds to improve the fleet of patrol ships and aircraft to cope with changing situations. >>> fbi agents are looking into the largest health c

more from nhk world's craig dale. >> reporter: spanish police led away one of four people accused of recruiting young muslims to join radical groups such as islamic state. the suspects allegedly targeted women, in particular using social media and videos to win them over. the arrests happened a week after three british schoolgirls caught a flight to turkey on their way to syria, and possibly into the arms of islamic state. and they came a day after authorities in france seized the passports of six french radicals who planned to depart for syria and join the fight. it's yet more proof the islamic state group and other extremist organizations continue to attract people from all over the world. their strict apocalyptic brand of islam resonates with all types, seemingly moderate muslims, radical and violent muslims, recent converts people opposed to western intervention in the middle east and those just looking for meaning in their lives. >> translator: they take advantage of people's frustrations in life. hatred in society and discould be tent with their domestic environment. >> reporte

craig dale, nhk world. >>> the governments of the u.s. and five european powers have issued a statement condemning the killings of 21 egyptian christians in libya. and they say it underscores the need for libya's warring factions to resolve their conflict. the u.s. britain, france germany, spain and italy expressed concern that the instability is strengthening the islamic state group and other terrorist organizations. the statement urged all parties to take part in u.n.-led talks for unity government. secular forces and islamic militants have been fighting in libya since the ouster of longtime leader moammar gadhafi more than three years ago. thousands of libyans have been fleeing the conflict. many of them are risking their lives trying to controls the mediterranean sea. officials with the international organization for migration say rescuers have saved nearly 4,000 people in the past five days. many of them were crammed onto rubber dinghies. the officials say more than 300 refugees died last week while trying to make the voyage to safet

craig dale, nhk world. >>> toyota is gearing up to mass produce its future car. ron madison is here with the latest on this story. ron? >> yep that's right. the future is here for toyota. its car aptly named. it does mean future in english, gene. toyota has launched full-scale production now of the world's first mass market car powered by fuel cells. it is rolling out of the carmaker's factory in central japan. fuel cell vehicles run on electricity produced by the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. they emit no carbon dioxide while running. mirai has been available since last december. toyota received 1500 orders in just one sales month. public offices, corporations, and private individuals signed up. now the automaker plans to begin selling the mirai in the u.s. and europe this year. >> translator: toyota alone cannot create a hydrogen society. many companies must also contribute to the effort. >> toyota plans to produce 700 cars by the end of the year. it plans to boost production at the factory to about 2,000 vehicles in 2016. and about 3,000 in 2017. >

craig dale, nhk world. >>> u.s. military chiefs say an international coalition is gaining the upper hand against islamic state in iraq and syria. but authorities in other parts of the middle east and africa say the fight has now spread to their doorstep. nhk world's tomoko kamata has more. >> reporter: the u.s. began air strikes in iraq in august and in syria the following month. commanders say pilots have carried out about 2,000 attacks. they say they've destroyed hundreds of military facilities and killed several thousand fighters. they claim the number of islamic state commanders has been cut in half. fighting on the ground is also picking up. for four months militants had to wage a battle for the town of ayn al arab in northern syria. they were hoping to gain a stronghold along the border with turkey. the violence forced about 200,000 refugees to flee across the border. a u.s. military official said kurdish fighters were able to beat back the militants from the city. then, last month, islamic state fighters bega

craig dale, nhk world. >>> u.s. military officials say a campaign to retake iraq's second largest city of mosul from islamic state militants could begin as soon as april. islamic state militants have controlled mosul since last june. the u.s. military estimates there are up to 2,000 militants in the city. it is now one of the group's main strongholds. the officials say the u.s. will train iraqi and kurdish forces at facilities in iran. between 20,000 and 25,000 personnel are expected to take part. the u.s. military will support the operation with air raids. american personnel will also conduct intelligence, and surveillance activities. >>> the japanese government is trying to widen its sphere of influence. they will hold the tokyo international conference on african development in kenya next year. the government is trying to strengthen ties with nations on the continent. all of the five previous conferences took place in japan. the last one was in yokohama in june, 2013 with the u.n. secretary-general and leaders of

more from mhk world's craig dale. >> russian president vladimir putin has issued an all too familiar warning to ukraine, pay your gas bill or face the consequences. putin notice that advanced payments have been made for three or four days. if nothing further comes, he says the supply will be cut off. management from the company have done that on several occasions in the gas. putin is again using gas as a political weapon. he's at odds with european leaders over the war in earn ukraine where separatists have been struggling to implement a cease-fire. a cut off has an impact and it sends a message. with winter still not over eu officials in brussels are working on a solution. >> we're trying to convene a meeting between ukrainian and russian energy ministers and me and the commission. >> the uncertainty swirling around the gas supply is hurting ukraine's already weak kbhi. the country's currency continue to take a beating. in 2014 it lost half of its value and already this year its value is halved again. as the prime minister points out, the exchange rate affects the budget food prices