nuclear watch, only on "newsline." >>> u.n. officials are still struggling to get a picture of the devastation in vanuatu. cyclone pam ripped through the south pacific island late last week. the storm killed at least 11 people, and destroyed thousands of homes. officials at the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs say more than 3300 people have evacuated to emergency shelters. they say the storm shut down roads across the country. electricity is out in about 80% of the capital port vila. phone communication with other islands is still difficult. u.n. officials say 19,000 households are in need of food assistance, and that the storm damaged bananas and other crops. >> no food. no lights. all destroyed by the wind. >> authorities in new zealand and australia have sent military aircraft to deliver water and medicine. members of a japanese aid team are expected to arrive on tuesday. >>> the head of unicef says tens of thousands of children affected by cyclone pam need help. anthony lake has called for worldwide

>>> hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. leaders from japan and france are building stronger security ties. they've agreed to have their countries work more closely to develop and share defense technologies. the foreign and defense ministers from both countries gathered for what they called a two plus two security meeting. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida called japan and france special partners. he said he wants them to cooperate further for the sake of world peace. french foreign minister laurent fabius says he sees opportunities in many areas. he gave examples including counterterrorism measures and defense equipment. fabius said people in france stand in solidarity with the japanese and to want work more closely. the ministers agreed to have their countries develop defenses gear together and share technologies. they promise to limit transfers of equipment to other nations. >> translator: our agreement and specific ways to cooperate is a great result. >> translator: france and japan have established an exceptional

here's your extended outlook. >> that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo. /ñ>xxúlúl r a deadly attack on any jewish deli in paris. six people were killed in the shop in 1982. dozens of people are feared dead in a coal mining motion in a rebel held area of eastern ukraine. and two australians in new niche are set to be executed after 10 years on death road -- in indonesia are set to be executed after 10 years on death row. please currently have been ignored.

>>> hello there, and welcome to newsline it's wednesday march 25th i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. rescue crews in the french alpes are waiting for the sun to rise to continue their search operations. the passenger plane crashed into a mountainside. french officials say it's highly likely all 150 people on board are dead. the airbus was operated by luf tanz saturday's airline. it went down in southeastern france. debris is scattered for hundreds of meters in the french alps. authorities have recovered the black box. aviation experts are trying to figure out the cause of the crash. the ceo of the airlines said the plane was flying at 38,000 feet when it lost altitude and rapidly descended for eight minutes. he said the aircraft lost contact with a control tower about 50 minutes after it took off. german wings believes citizens of germany, spain and france were on board. german chancellor angela merkel say people in her country share deep grief with the other countries. >> translator: there are many victims from this disaster, including germans. we'll do everything we can to find the

>>> welcome back to "newsline." i'm meeky yamamoto in tokyo. >>> saudi arabia and other gulf nations have begun air strikes in yemen. >>> authorities are looking into the link between an extremist group and the gunmen who carried out the fatal museum attack. and french investigators are analyzing audio from a german airliners cockpit voice recorder to try to figure out why it crashed. >>> saudi military officials are making moves to protect their border in what they call yemen's legitimate government. they launched military operations in the capital sanaa with a newly formed coalition of gulf-region allies. the say the air strikes are to counter rebel forces that drove out their president. saudi airplanes have targeted houthi strongholds. they dropped bombs on the

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." we begin with a quick look at the hour's top stories. authorities in tokyo have decided to extend sanctions against north korea. after pyongyang failed to report on the fate of missing japanese citizens. >>> japan's prime minister wants party officials to study how a new chinese bank will work so he can decide whether to join. >>> and a ward in tokyo has passed a landmark bylaw recognizing same-sex partnerships as the equivalent of marriage. >>> families of japanese citizens abducted to north korea in the 1970s and '80s are still hoping to learn about the fates of their loved ones. officials in pyongyang pledged last may to launch a new investigation into what happened to them. but they failed to deliver reports on their progress. so japanese leaders have decided to extend economic sanctions for two more years. cabinet ministers approved the extension on tuesday. the sanctions had been set to expire in two weeks. >> translator: japan will use pressure and dialogue to resolve the abduction issue, and other pending issues related to north

♪ >>> welcome to "newsline." it's friday march 20th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.unisian authorities have detained nine men on suspicion of involvement in the deadly museum attack in the capital tunis. gunmen opened fire on foreign tourists at the national bardo museum on wednesday. then they barged into the building and took hostages. the siege ended when security forces stormed the facility and shot dead two of the assailants. people gathered at the museum on thursday to lay flowers and light candles. government officials earlier said 23 people were killed. but they later revised the number to 21 to exclude the gunman. authorities said 47 people were wounded. european union leaders observed a minute of silence at the beginning of their meeting in brussels. >> we need to be absolutely clear about what we face. this is the latest example of extremist terror. and we have to fight it with everything we have. >> a statement purportedly issued by the islamic state group appeared online thursday claiming responsibility for the attack. it described the gunmen as the grou

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline," i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. beijing is making final preparations with china's biggest annual event, the national people's congress set to kick off in two days. >>> japan's prime minister and the leader of the main opposition party face tough questions after reports show they received controversial donations. >>> and we begin this hour with our special series on china's national people's congress. the people of china are facing many changes, including slowing economic growth. president xi jinping is asking them not to worry too much about these developments describing them as the new normal. xi is also proposing new policies to tackle various issues. on thursday china's national people's congress will open to discuss the direction of the country's policies in the upcoming year. "newsline" will bring you details of the event in our three-day series. china's top political advisory body has started its annual meeting ahead of the national people's congr

welcome to "newsline." it's thursday march 26th.'m catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the saudi ambassador to the u.s. says his country has begun military operations in yemen. abdel al jabber revealed the development to reporters in washington. armed shia rebels in yemen continue to advance across the country. they seized the capital sanaa last month and are now moving toward the port city of aden the stronghold of president abdul rabi mansour hadi. reports say rebels from the huthis faction seized the al annan air base about 60 kilometers from aden. they were backed by affirmrmored units. militiamen overran the capital. last week rebel aircraft attacked the president's palace in aden reportedly forcing him to flee again. the rebel forces have offered a reward of about $100,000 for anyone who captures hadi. the yemeni government has asked the arab league for military support. saudi arabia had earlier massed military forces along the border with yemen. >>> u.s. forces are now backing up iraqi troops in the key city of tikrit. their wa

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday march 6th. i'm catherine kobayashi in cokeio. japanese and chinese foreign and defense officials are preparing to discuss mutual security matters later this month. this will be their first japan/china security dialogue in four years. representatives with japan's foreign ministry announced on thursday deputy foreign minister shinsuke sugiyama and china's assistant foreign minister will both attend. they say both of them want to outline new security legislation aimed at contributing to global peace and stability. the proposal would give japanese leaders the right to exercise collective self-defense. the two sides will also discuss the issue of china's growing defense budget. officials in beijing say spending will increase by more than 10% this year. their counterparts in tokyo say they're looking for more transparency in china's defense policies. diplomats from the two nations will join their south korean counterpart next week in seoul. they'll try to hammer out an agenda for a meeting of foreign

>>> welcome back to "newsline," i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. international aid teams are hurrying to search for survivors in vanuatu after a powerful cyclone devastated the south pacific nation. >>> more and more people in japan are taking advantage of crowd sourcing to connect people with jobs they might not otherwise find. >>> and delegates to a u.n. conference on disaster risk reduction are visiting japan's northeast coast to learn lessons from the 2011 tsunami. >>> teams of international rescuers are on the ground in vanuatu in the south pacific. they're trying to help survivors of a powerful cyclone that ripped through the island nation. red cross officials say at least eight people died in the capital port vila. but some areas remain cut off and aid workers say the death toll could rise. nhk world is on the scene and has this report. >> reporter: cyclone pam struck on friday packing powerful winds and torrential rains. by saturday, it had left a path of destruction across vanuatu. the storm tore roofs off concrete buildings andled trees o

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." from all of us at nhk world, thanks for watching and have a good day. >> this canadian born r & b diva began singing commercial jingles but then on to session work and background singing before she found her own place in the spotlight. since then she's had a dozen number one billboard hits and headline ed on broadway. i'm ernie manouse coming up on this edition of innerviews our conversation with r & b super star and award winner deborah cox. >> how does the theater crowd differ for you from a concert audience in. >> the theater crowd differs from

"newsline" will have announcements and live reports from beijing throughout the 11-day congress. >>> in other news japanese government officials have launched a protest with their chinese counterparts over a website. officials in beijing added english and japanese versions of their official position on a group of islands in the east china sea. the news agency reports that china's state oceanic administration launched the site in december and claims they've been under the country's jurisdiction for several centuries. the chief cabinet secretary says the japanese government launched a strong protest through its embassy in beijing. >> translator: the islands are an inherent part of japan's history. china distorts the facts and reiterates its unilateral claim. >> japan is demanding china take down the site. >> u.s. federal agents have found a number of chinese women during a raid on so-called maternity hotels. they swooped down on dozens of location in california where pregnant foreigners give birth. the agents searched about 40 maternity hotels. some were private residences. they suspec

>>> hello and welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. members of japan's ruling parties have spent the last eight months trying to agree on a new national security policy. now they have signed off on a plan's outline to make it easier to deploy the self-defense forces abroad. they say it will allow japan to make greater contributions to international peace. leaders of the liberal democratic party and junior coalition party komeito have agreed on three principles for draing up legislation. it must be justified under international law and must have public support and civilian over sight and the safety of personnel must be guaranteed. leaders of both parties want the sdf to provide logistical support for foreign troops if it agreed to peace and stability. they agreed to lift limits on geographical limits. under the current system the government must get approval from the diet each time they are sent abroad. there have been fierce debates among lawmakers. they hope a new package of legislation will remove that hurdle. >>> more than 100 prote

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of newsline. i'm katherine co buycatherine kobayashi in tokyo. a tv exit poll shows it's a close race between benjamin netanyahu's party and the zionist union. the party has 28 out of 120 seats in the parliament. the zionist union is expected to win 27 seats. netanyahu is running for his fourth term in office he has adopted a hardline stance against the palestinians. he has attacked netanyahu's policies. netanyahu claimed victory in front of a large crowd in tel aviv aviv. >> against all odds we achieved a victory many. >> the result allows us to go back to power. we will wait for the real result because this is just a projection. everything is still open. >> it's still not clear yet who the president will order to form the next government. the zionist union are seeking the support of centrist parties. negotiations to form a coalition are expected to be tough. >> three men who used a psychedelic image of buddha wearing headphones to promote their bar have been sentenced to two and a half years in

>>> glad to have us with us on this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, march 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is warning american leaders they are negotiating a bad deal with iran. he says it would pave the way for the country to develop a nuclear bomb. analysts say u.s./israel y relations are worsening as talks between world powers and teheran reach a crucial final stage. netanyahu told a joint congress on tuesday that iran poses a grave threat to israel and global peace and he warned any agreement with iranian officials would include major concessions. >> that deal will not prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons. it would all but guarantee that iran gets those weapons, lots of them. >> netanyahu addressed u.s. lawmakers at the invitation of republican house speaker john boehner. about 60 democrats boycotted the session. obama says netanyahu offered nothing new in his speech. >> the prime minister didn't offer any viable alternatives. >> he says sanctions and military action in iran can't bring about change

>>> welcome to "newsline." i'm keikichi hanada in tokyo. here are some of the stories we are following this hour. >>> nuclear power plant operators in japan decided to scrap two aging reactors. >>> as annual wage negotiations in japan wrap up many workers are looking forward to big pay wages. >>> managers in companies affected by the march 11th disaster are rethinking their business models in the hope of being better prepared for any community calamities. >>> nuclear power plant operators in japan will scrap two aging reactors. that brings to five the number of reactors to be decommissioned aside from those at fukushima daiichi. directors of the power company say they'll scrap a reactor at their plant. members of kyushu will dereact a plant. they say it would be too expensive to upgrade reactors. they had relatively small output. the government introduced tougher regulations after the fukushima accident in 2011. all nuclear reactors in japan are offline. while the people who run kyushu plan to scrub one reactor, they are looking to restart

>>> welcome back to "newsline" i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. a newly released video shows the tunisian anti-terror unit as they stormed a museum last week to free a group of hostages. >>> people around the world are waiting for the results of an investigation into why a german co-pilot purposely crashed a passenger plane into a mountain this week. >>> and south korean leaders see gains for the country's infrastructure companies by joining aiib a china-backed international development bank. >>> the tunisian government has released a video showing the recent storming of a museum by police to free hostages held. in the assault last week the terrorists killed 21 people including three tourists from japan. the video begins with members of a special police unit getting ready for the mission as they approach the museum in the capital tunis. the anti-terror unit then enters the building. the members are carrying automatic rifles and shields. the video shows the police officers gathering the hostages in a room before leading them safely out of the build

>>> welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. >>> leaders in south korea are condemning an attack on the u.s. ambassador. they're vowing to punish the person responsible and they're propsing to step up their protection for all foreign diplomats. police say a man wielding a fruit knife slashed mark lippert in the face and arm on thursday at a lecture hall in seoul. the ambassador was set to give a speech on the unification of the korean peninsula. doctors say lippert suffered nonlife threatening injuries including a 3-centimeter-deep gash on his cheek. they say he received 80 stitches. witnesses say the attacker was at sitting at a table near the ambassador. he reportedly shouted at lippert. they say people attending the event took the man down but police officers didn't immediately respond to the incident. authorities say he had received a suspended prison term in 2010 for throwing pieces of concrete at the japanese ambassador. they say he was angry about japan's claims over islands between the two nation

welcome to newsline it's wednesday march 11th i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. residents of northeastern japan have spent the past four years hearing the echos of 3/11. the earthquake and tsunami devastated their towns and cities and took away their family and friends. the accident drove tens of thousands from their homes. month after month, year after year, people in the region have been works to re3wi8d and move forward. they're also making efforts to pass on memories of what happened, what they lost, and what they learned. many people in the northeast will come early to pay tribute to the victims. >> he visited the site for his home used to stand in the city of miyagi prefecture. when the tsunami rolled inland he fled with his dog. he didn't know his son was still in the house. the 36-year-old died. >> i'm trying to forget even a little. this kind of cold weather clearly reminds me of what happened that day. tears still come. >> residents in the city took part in an evacuation drill starting at 6:00 a.m. officials base the exercise on the presumption of a mag

>>> welcome back to "newsline" i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. search crews in the french alps will head back to the crash site of a german passenger plane. all 150 people on board are feared dead. >>> the united states will delay the withdrawal of troops from afghanistan as a result of the worsening security situation. ♪ >>> children in some parts of japan are bidding farewell to their schools. they're closing down due to the shrinking population. >>> authorities and experts are looking for clues after a german jetliner crashed into the french alps. they fear all 100 people who were on board are dead. they're hoping information from the flight data recorder will reveal what happened. nhk world reports. >> reporter: the plane was traveling from barcelona to dusseldorf on tuesday morning. the airbus a320 was operated by lufthansa's budget carrier germanwings. 144 passengers and 6 crew members, were on board. about an hour into the flight the plane crashed into a mountainside. police and firefighters used helicopters to search the area until sunset

welcome to "newsline." it's thursday march 12th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. first an update on ukraine. the united states imposed sanctions on pro-russian separatists and announces more non-lethal aid for the ukrainian government government. the u.s. also accuses russian-backed rebels of breaking a cease-fire agreement. the announcement issued by the u.s. government says the united states has frozen assets of eight pro-russian separatists and a russian organization recruiting fighters. three officials including a close aide to former ukrainian president viktor yanukovych who fled to russia have been added to the list of targets for asset freezing. the sanctions also target a russian bank that began operating in crimea after russia annexed it. u.s. firms are barred from doing business with the bank. for the ukrainian government the united states says it will provide an additional $75 million in assistance that includes unmanned surveillance drones and communications equipment. officials from the u.s. government say the ukrainian military will receive up to 230

>>> welcome back to "newsline" i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. prime minister shinzo abe is meeting with german chancellor angela merkel and they're discussing a variety of issues including china's activities in disputed waters. those activities seem to be gaining ground as images obtained by nhk suggest chinese leaders are pushing ahead with a reclamation project in the south china sea. >>> and business owners in a city on the japan sea coast are hoping the launch of a new high speed train line linking them to tokyo will bring them new opportunities. >>> prime minister shinzo abe is meeting with german chancellor angela merkel to discuss issues of mutual concern. this is the first time in seven years that merkel has visited japan. japanese government sources say abe wants to confirm the two countries will continue to play an active role in contributing to global peace and stability. they say abe use merkel's efforts to force dialogue resolving the conflict in eastern ukraine. scattered fighting between pro-russian separatists and government forc

>>> welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japan's foreign minister fumio kishida has confirmed japanese people are among the victims in a deadly shooting at a museum in tunisia. he says one national has been killed and three others are wounded. gunmen fired at tourists and took several people hostage in the capital tunis. the country's prime minister habib essid says at least 19 are dead and about 40 others wounded. the attack happened in front of the national bardo museum. gunmen then entered the building and held people inside captive. tunisian officials say security forces stormed the museum and killed the two shooters. they say the victims include 17 foreign tourists including four italians and one french. and they say two tunesians were also killed. japan's foreign minister fumio kishida updated reporters in tokyo. >> translator: i feel strong anger about the shooting. we confirmed that one japanese national is dead and three others are wounded. and we also have information that ther

yeah, very powerful. >>> that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.etermined israeli prime minister and angered white house. benjamin netanyahu is in washington to tell lawmakers why there should be no deal with iran over the nuclear program. new video emerges of the murder as thousands march in moscow to pay tribute to the prominent kremlin critic. fears over russian fuel a narrow victory for pro-western parties in estonia's parliamentary elections. those are the top stories this hour. also coming up, the batt

welcome to "newsline." it's friday march 27th.'m catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> french prosecutors investigating the crash of a german passenger plane say it was no accident. they say the cockpit's audio reveals the culprit was at the controls. they say it appears the co-pilot wanted to destroy the plane and took the lives of 149 people with him. >> translator: the co-pilot pressed the button on the flight monitoring system to descend. that can only have been intentional. >> the prosecutor outlined what happened based on an initial analysis of the voice recorder. the pilot left the cockpit and co-pilot andreas lubitz took the controls. lubitz then started the plane's deadly descent into the alps. he ignored air traffic controllers and the pilot banging on the door. he also ignored an alarm that went off when the plane got close to the mountains. the prosecutor said lubitz must have been conscious as he can be heard breathing. lubitz was a 28-year-old german. prosecutors say he had no apparent connection to any terrorist organiz

welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, march 3rd.'m catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> iraqi government leaders have mobilized tanks and troops into battle. they've launched a major offensive to try to retake the city of tikrit. and they say they're determined to drive the islamic state group out of their strongholds. thousands of soldiers and militia volunteers are trying to enter tikrit from different locations. they're being backed by air strikes. the northern city has been held by insurgents since june. the advance of government forces has been slowed by ambushes and suicide bombings. tikrit is strategically important, lying between baghdad and mosul, the militants' largest stronghold. tsunami muslims make up most of the population. many residents felt oppressed under the previous shia-dominated government and have come to support the sunni-dominated group. prime minister hader al abadi has called on sunni residents to lay down their arms and break away from the group. the militants posted a video on monday showing they will killi

♪ ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ >>> hello there and welcome to "newsline."tuesday, march 17th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> two of japan's nuclear power plant operators will meet on tuesday to decide the fate of their aging reactors. they're expected to announce that three will be scrapped. if their plan is approved it would be the first reactors with the exception of fukushima daiichi to be dismantled since the 2011 nuclear disaster. the directors of kansai electric power company will accept to decommission two of their reactors at the mihama nuclear power plant in fuguekui prefecture. japan atomic power company will pull the plug or tsuruga nuclear power plant in the same prefecture. after the accident at fukushima daiichi four years ago the government limited nuclear reactors to a 40-year life-span unless they meet tougher safety standards. officials at the ministry of economy, trade and industry have been urging operators to decide what to do with reactors that have already passed that age. the reactors have a relatively small output and the pow

. ♪ ♪ ♪ -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> hello there and welcome to "newsline."tuesday march 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. pakistani military personnel celebrated national day marching through the streets of the capital. they held their first parade in seven years. experts say it's meant to show their resolve to fight terrorism. the parade took place on monday during pakistan day. it was suspended for seven years due to security concerns. the show of force included a first look at a domestically developed drone. military officials announced earlier in the month that the unmanned craft successfully test-fired rockets. members of special anti-terror units marched in front of foreign diplomats. pakistan authorities announced that their armed forces have killed more than 2,000 islamic militants in massive operations since last june. these follow an attack on an airport in the largest city of karachi. the extremists have retaliated. they've killed numerous civilians in attacks at tourist destinations and schools. >>> people in japan will observe a solemn hom

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's friday march 13th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. iraqi military forces appear to be getting closer to taking back a key northern city from the islamic state group. government soldiers and militias have seized more than half of tikrit, the hometown of late president saddam hussein. thousands of troops are involved in the operation, and they're now into their second day of a street offensive against the militants. local authorities say government forces have seized 60% of tikrit despite counterattacks and are advancing toward the city center. prime minister haider al abadi instructed them to ensure the safety of residents. defense minister haled al obeyedi also suggested that troops should avoid harming the hundreds of civilians still trapped in the heart of tikrit. he noted it will take several more days to gain full control of the city. islamic state militants captured tikrit last june. the operation to take back the city involves iraqi soldiers and shia muslim militiamen. the u.s. and other governments are concerned the fighting co

welcome to "newsline.” it's tuesday, march 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.e in japan are being warned to stay alert for another earthquake. scientists at the geospatial information authority believe two tectonic plates off northeastern japan have slipped more than 20 meters. the area was the epicenter of the 2011 earthquake. researchers looking at activity deep under the sea found the plates did not move as much as projected. they say this could lead to a build-up in geological stress. they say one of the plates has moved eastward a distance of 95 centimeters near miyagi prefecture's oshika peninsula. another plate pushed the city of kitaibaraki 48 centimeters. they believe one of the reasons plates are moving is to free geological stress. hit hitashi sato is a head researcher at the research division. he used a gps-equipped device installed on the sea bed to examine western movements of the continental plates. he found the mantle underneath the earth's crust can be a strong influence on crustal movements after an earthquake. >> translator: during the quake

>>> welcome back to "newsline," i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. first the headlines for this hour. people in tokyo are marking the 20th anniversary of the day a religious cult released sarin nerve gas into the subway system, killing 13 people. >>> the founder of the cult is on death row in connection with the attacks. we have an exclusive interview with the judge who presided over his trial. >>> and tuneishen authorities have arrested several suspects after a deadly museum attack and they're pledging to tighten the nation's security. >>> many people in japan paused on march 20th to reflect on what was a scary and painful time in their history. 20 years ago today members of a religious cult released sarin gas on the tokyo subway system during the morning rush hour. 13 people died and 6300 others were hurt. people held a memorial ceremony at one of the subway stations targeted in the attack. they held a moment of silence at 8:00 a.m. around the time members of aum shinri kyo released the nerve gas. families of the victims and others laid flowers and offered prayers. >> translator: i'