welcome to "newsline" coming to you live from our studios in tokyo, i'm james tengan. it's crunch time in paris. french foreign minister laurent fabius exclusively told nhk that delegates om around the world will seal an agreement on saturday on a new international framework to combat climate change. nhk world has more. >> reporter: laurent fabius told says they are getting closer to a deal. >> things are moving forward. now i have to consult with the different groups and, therefore, i will make my proposal on saturday morning and the decision must be taken saturday at noon. >> reporter: they say the first time fabius publicly announced an agreement is about to be reached by all member parties. what he told nhk world is that the international community is entering a new era where every nation recognizes the need to tackle global warming and for the first time ever, all countries, whether rich or poor, participate in a framework to reduce carbon emissions. nhk world, paris. >> he'll keep us updated here on "newsline." >>> after weeks of waiting, the winners of this year

>>> hello, and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. >>> u.s. investigators say a couple suspected of going on a shooting spree in southern california had a large stockpile of weapons and explosives. it's been alleged the pair may have had contacts with islamic extremists, but authorities have not confirmed this. nhk world's yoshitaka haroshi reports. >> reporter: police say syed rizwan farook and his wife tashfeen malik opened fire in san bernardino on wednesday morning. 14 died and 21 others were injured in the attack. most of the victims were farook's colleagues from a local county office. they were having a holiday party at a social services center. witnesses say farook had been at the party but stumped off in anger. he returned with his wife and began shooting. >> it is possible this was terrorist related, but we don't know. it's also possible that this was workplace related. >> reporter: police released photos of weapons the couple had. the guns and rifles were purchased legally. but they also had explos

welcome to this hour's "newsline." myanmar's pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi and outgoing president thein sein have agreed to cooperate on a smooth transition off power. they met for the first time since aung san suu kyi party, the national league for democracy won a landslide victory in the general election last month. >>> a presidential spokesperson said thein sein congratulated aung san suu kyi on her election victory and promised a smooth transfer of power. the new administration will be sworn in at the end of march next year, ending decades of rule by the mill tru or a military-backed government. the military will, however, retain considerable unfluns over the country's politics. the constitution allocates it a quart he of parliamentary seats, getting it veto power over constitutional change and the head of the military can pick the ministers of defense, home affairs and border affairs. aung san suu kyi met military chief who said they had a fruitful discussion. japanese officials are calculating how much ta

you're watching "newsline." live from our studios here in tokyo. >>> now for weather, deadly storms have claimed lives and property throughout the southern u.s. as jonathan oh tells us in the weather update. >>> well, it it looks like in terms of the messiest of the weather it's something that we'll going to pay attention to as we go through christmas eve. the syste is not over yet in terms of impact. look at the clouds that are well developed and then the clearing line behind it. that typically happens when you have a very strong and vigorous system coming into the area. in fact, this storm has had a history of producing a lot of damage. d also, some tornadoes. here's a look at the doppler radar as of approximately 05 ucc. and you can see a line of storms that's rolling through a portion of kentucky, in through the ohio river valley. and ahead of that, another line of storms crossings over the appalachian mountains, south carolina and georgia. this system has had a history of producing tornadoes. in fact, one p

this edition of "newsline." it's friday, december 25th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister is taking a diplomatic move to resolve a war-time issue referred to as comfort women. he's senting his foreign minister to seoul for talks. officials are working to schedule a meeting next monday. abe and south korean president park geun-hye had their first summit last month. they agreed to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. president park has been calling for the issue to be resolved by the end of this year, which marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of ties. disagreement on the issue has been a continuous cause of friction. park insists the solution must be accepted by the former comfort women and convincing to south korean people. south korea's foreign ministry said it will comment after it makes a concrete decision.

rememberwhenever you see nenes happening, call newsline nine at 319- 365-9999. you can also send pictures and videos to newsroom at kcrg dot com. this s ar, senior dining sites have served d re than 75 thousand meals and delivered more than 250 thousand. now, aging equipment at some sites is making the preparation of those it's mid morning at the cedar county senior county

welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, december 30th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> air strikes have killed ten leaders over the past month. steve warren as spokes kls person for the coalition made the announcement at a news conference on tuesday. warren said one killed in syria last thursday was directly linked to the paris attack leader. one man killed in iraq two days later also had links to the paris attack network. warren said other leaders that plans and carries out attack against western targets. he indicated the coalition will step up air strikes against islamagainst the leaders. a childhood friend of one of the attackers who stormed a paris concert hall last month. the man was a french citizen of moroccan origin who went to syria in the summer of 2013. >>> belgian police have arrested two people on suspicion of plotting an attack in the capital of brussels on new year's eve. prosecutors said in a statement on tuesday that the arrests came after they raided several places over the previous two days. they did not disclose

welcome to newsline. it's wednesday, december 2nd. i'm katherine in tokyo. a blast in turkey's largest. the blast that kept occurred. and shows a large light. and triggered panic. police closed roads nearby and helicopters began patrolling. turkish authorities. they are taking further steps to help turkey defend its borders from the threat of the islamic state group. the discussion was part of a two-day meeting in brussels that started tuesday. the ministers agreed that nato a allies face a threat to the group that controls parts of syria and iraq. it has also claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in paris and the shooting of a russian airliner in egypt. all nato allies will contribute to the u.s.-led coalition fighting against the group. the dhowny more planes and more governments hold the direct dialogue to prevent escalation. on the situation in afghanistan, he said the alliance will keep about 12,000 nato gricountries the case. and negotiators from around the world the climate change conference in paris have gone off to a rocky start and whether it s

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline". it is tuesday december 22nd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. rescuers in southern china are wading through a sea of mud searching for survivors. they're looking for people missing after a wave of dirt and construction debris engulfed an industrial park. the landslide could be the latest man made disaster in china raising concerns about the country's rapid growth. the landslide struck sunday burying 33 buildings. authorities say some 900 residents have been evacuated. 85 people remain unaccounted for. no deaths have been reported. >> translator: many people live here. i believe lots of them are still buried under the mud. >> shenzhen is home to one of china's largest industrial complexes. authorities believe the growing amount of dirt and construction debris became unstable, triggering the disaster. a satellite photo from 2002 shows a deep quarry that used to be the site of a mountain, but the scene has totally transformed in this image from last year. the picture show s that deep quarry now filled. locals say t

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's thursday, december 17th. i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. >>> officials at the u.s. federal reserve have decided to change monetary policy. a landmark decision given that direction hasn't change in years. they debated the move over two days of meetings and they will implement the strategy right away. let's go to ai uchida at our business desk. give us the details. >> they are tightening monetary policy. they decided to raise their key interest rate which has been near zero since the 2008 financial crisis. it will 0 go up for .25% point. mortgage rates and car loans will go up because commercial banks will raise their rates too. they reached their decision overnight signaling confidence in the u.s. economy and job market. they released a statement after a two-day meeting. they raised their rate from 0.25 to 0.5% on thursday. it's a first increase in almost a decade. the labor market has shown considerable improvement this year and economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. fed chair janet yellen said

you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> the japanese government is planning to implement measures to support those referred to as comfort women following an agreement with south korea. japanese officials say they will improve ties through more summit meetings at international conferences and other occasions. the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed monday on a plan for the japanese government to pay more than $8 million to a south korean foundation. the funds will go to medical care and welfare benefits for the women. the ministers confirmed that they would resolve the issue finally and irreversibly. japanese government officials say prime minister shinzo abe talked with president park geun-hye by telephone. abe conveyed to park sincere apologies and remorse for the women. park replied that if the agreement is implemented, the issue would never be raised again. some japanese officials have questioned how south korea will deal with the statue of a girl symbolizing the comfort women.

"newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. first a look at the headlines. we have a winner. the design for the main stadium of the 2020 tokyo olympics. >>> japan's society continues to get older younger generations are struggling to cope with how to care for them putting their jobs on the line. >>> and an artifact from the battle of okinawa reunites the man with the brother he never knew. >>> japanese leaders have settled months of controversy over the center piece at the 2020 tokyo olympics and paralympics. they've chosen a new design for the main stadium after scrapping the original due to a cost blowout. >> the architect and his team submitted the new blueprint, one of two options that were under consideration. it features terraces and a roof made partly of wood. it also incorporates aspects of traditional japanese architecture. prime minister shinzo abe said the design meets all the criteria for a national stadium and is quintessentially japanese. >> translator: i hope the >> translator: the government will continue to make an all out effort to impress people. i home the

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, december 15th. i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. >>> u.s. president barack obama is taking a harder line on the group islamic state. he's been facing criticism for his strategy on the militants. now he says the u.s.-led military coalition will intensify the campaign. obama was briefed about the military operations at a national security council meeting at the pentagon. he said the coalition has been hitting the militants harder than ever. >> as we squeeze its heart, it will make it harder for isil to pump its terror and propaganda to the rest of the world. >> obama says the coalition has launched nearly 9,000 air strikes, killing militant leaders. he says the group has lost about 40% of the areas it once controlled in iraq, thanks in part to iraqi military advances on the ground, and he said his defense secretary will travel to the middle east this week to ask coalition partners to provide more military assistance. >>> officials from doctors without borders have revised the death toll from a u.s. air strike on their hospital in afghanistan,

. >>> hello, you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> foreign ministers from japan and south korea are looking to settle a war-time issue that has long strained bilateral ties. foreign ministers from both countries wrapped up talks on the issues of those referred to as comfort women. they say they have resolved the issue finally and irversably. fumio kishida and yun byung-se met in seoul on monday for about an hour and then they spoke to reporters. >> translator: the honor and dignity of many women was hurt with the involvement of the imperial japanese army during war time. the japanese government feels responsibility for that. prime minister shinzo abe will make an official apology and express deep remorse for all the women who suffered from psychological and physical wounds that cannot be healed. >> kishida also said the japanese government will pay more than $8 million to a foundation to be established by the south korean government. he said the foundation is aimed at helping the women regain dignity a

>>> hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's december 31, new year's eve in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi counting down to 2016 with the top stories this hour. ten member countries launched an economic community on thursday which promotes trade liberalization. they signed a declaration in malaysia last month to establish it. a government sponsored event to celebrate the launch of the asean economic community was held in the thai capital bangkok. the community has a population of 600 million and gdp of $2.5 trillion. member economies will promote the elimination of import duties and liberalization of tourism and other service industries. they will allow freer movement to skilled workers such as medical doctors and architects within the region. they expect the economic community will help accelerate the pace of growth in the region. however, economic differentials in the region pose a challenge for the single market. the per capita gdp of singapore is about 60 times that of myanmar. member economies also have domestic regulations against foreign affiliated companies

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." it's friday, december 4. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> u.s. officials are charging 16 more fifa officials including current and former executives with bribery. the charges come after continuing investigations into corruption at football's world governing body. u.s. attorney general loretta lynch detailed the charges related to marketing and broadcast rights for games. >> and the message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows hoping to evade this ongoing investigation. you will not wait us out and you will not escape our focus. >> two fifa vice presidents, alfred dehoward of honduras and paraguay are among those charged. hours before the indictment they were arrested in zurich where they were to attend a meeting on organizational reforms. lynch says she's attempting to extradite them. in may nine officials were indicted for corruption. that led to the resignation of the organization's president seth blatter. u.s. investigators say a couple suspect

that wraps up this edition of "newsline."for staying with us. >> on this edition of "native report," we view the alternative portraiture and landscape photography of joseph allen... >> it's helped to revive some of the film, you know, keep it alive. >> we learn about the client outreach efforts by the office of special trustee, and we attend the graduation of the first master of tribal administration and governance cohort. we also learn something new about indian country and hear from our elders on this "native report." >> production of "native report" is made possible by grants from the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community and the blandin foundation. [indistinct chatter]

>>> welcome back to this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, december 24th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. a court in central japan is expected to announce a decision on a matter that has divided nuclear plant operators. it's on whether two facilities should be restarted. reactors are among those taken offline across the country following the 2011 fukushima nuclear disaster. kansai electric power company was looking to restart two reactors at the takahama plant early next year. but residents were granted a court injunction to keep them offline. then plant operators filed an objection. the utility argued it has taken thorough anti-quake measures and is confident the equipment is safe. residents said the utility is underestimating the amount of earthquake that could hit the plant. japan's nuclear regulators decided in february that takaham satisfied stricter requirements they introduced after the nuclear accident. the court will announce the decision in a separate case in which they are seeking an injunction to block the restart of reactors at the ohi plant.

welcome to "newsline." we start off with a quick look at the hour's top stories. >>> one last chance, japan's space engineers are trying to send a probe into venus's orbit after failed first attempts. >>> tackling terror, u.s. president barack obama has vowed to overcome terrorism in a live tv speech to the nation. >>> anticipate japan's security's watchdog calls for a record $60 million penalty against toshiba for falsifying financial statements. >>> space engineers in japan are trying to salvage a research mission. they missed a chance five years ago at launching a probe into the orbit of venus. and now they've ignited akatsuki's engines for a second and final attempt. nhk has this report. >> reporter: jaxa engineers had high hopes monday when they fired up engines on the akatsuki venus probe. after five long years, it's getting one final shot. >> translator: we have great expectations that the probe will enter orbit as planned. >> reporter: venus is often referred to as the sister planet of earth. they'r

>>> welcome to "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> schools were closed on tuesday because of a terror threat. they will remain closed until the threat is cleared. here's more. >> reporter: the unified school district is the second largest in the country. it has 640,000 students who attend 1,200 schools. and all those students stayed home because of an e-mail threat. >> the e-mail was very specific to l.a. unified school district campuses, and it included all of them. it was also very specific about the threat, the implied threat. the implied threat was explosive devices. the specific threat was attack with assault rifles and machine pistols. >> reporter: the news left parents in this area worried for the safety of their children. >> it's real. watching from what happened in san bernardino, that's pretty close to home. now this one here is even closer. that's kind of scary. >> reporter: the threat came less than two weeks after an attack by a husband and wife who were inspired by islamic state militants

>>> glad you can join us for nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara in tokyo. >>> people across japan are celebrating a countryman's safe return to earth. kimiya yui is among three men who came become from the international space station. a russian soyuz capsule brought them down in kazakhstan. >> the japanese space agency says yui is in good physical condition. yui had a number of responsibilities while on board the iss. perhaps the most memorable was managing to catch hold of an unmanned cargo craft in august. nhk world's shunsuke ide reports. >> reporter: kimiya yui played a key role in helping japan's cargo ship dock with the iss. the cargo vessel was loaded with food, equipment and other supplies for the astronauts. his skillful operation of the robotic arm ensured the delivery was a success. >> we successfully captured the vehicle. looks like a golden treasure box. >> reporter: assisting yui from mission control in houston, texas, was fellow japanese astronaut koichi wakata. it was the first time japanese astronauts had worked to

>>> live from our studios here in tokyo, this is "newsline." i'm james tengan. prosecutors in south korea say they will not appeal a ruling for japanese journalist charged with defaming president park geun-hye of. the ruling was issued last week. the trial has been a diplomatic issue with japan. kato is the former seoul bureau chief of the japanese daily. in a column he referred to a south korean newspaper report that questioned park's whereabouts on the day of a deadly ferry sinking last year. he suggested she may have been meeting her former male secretary. the seoul central district court acquitted him, ruling that it was difficult to conclude that kato had attempted to defame the president as a public figure. it said the column was written to report south korea's political and social situation for japanese readers. the japanese government had expressed concern about the trial with respect to freedom of the media. >>> the japanese government has revealed its choice for the main stadium of the 2020 olympic and pa paralympic tokyo games. prime minister shinzo a

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, december 1st. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the u.n. climate conference in paris opened with speeches by leaders of some of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, but all countries, big and small, faced a tough challenge at the meeting, agreeing to a global framework to tackle warming temperatures. >> reporter: french president hollande kicked off the conference in the presence of about 150 government leaders and heads of state. among them, u.s. president barack obama. >> i've come here personally as leader of the world's largest economy and the second largest emitter to say that the united states of america not only recognizes our role in creating this problem, we embrace our responsibility to do something about it. >> reporter: obama prefer as strategy that will allow all countries to reduce the burden. >> progress paves the way for regularly updated targets. targets that are not set for each of us but by each of us. taking into account the differences each nation faces. here in par

welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, december 8th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>. >> there are signs of compromise at the u.s. conference talks in paris. they've been trying to narrow the gap between developed and developing nations. one sticking point is financial aid to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. developing countries have called on richer countries to increase assistance from the current level of $100 billion a year. >> i do see a growing consensus on the part of industrialized countries to recognize that the $100 billion will be understood as a floor and not a ceiling, and that there is going to be the requirement for more finance. >> sources close to the negotiations say eu delegates expressed their willingness to increase funds. the u.s. says aid should be provided in return for developing countries' efforts to cut emissions. it claims emerging countries with robust economies should share the cost. japan's environment minister outlined japan's financial assistance. she said her country plans increases the annual co

>>> hello, and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. >>> the leaders of japan and australia have been getting to know each other better. they talked about the role their countries play in regional peace and prosperity and they promised to work together more closely. >> translator: we affirmed our unwavering strategic relationship. i'm determined to work hand in hand with prime minister turnbull to build even stronger cooperative ties. >> we know that we share the same values as indeed our two countries do. our relationship is getting deeper, stronger and more enduring. >> turnbull is visiting japan for the first time since he took office in september. abe described the relationship between japan and australia as special. he said it plays a central role in the peace and prosperity of the asia-pacific region. abe and turnbull turned their attention to the chinese artificial islands in the south china sea. they agreed to call for an end to land reclamation and construction and for the islands not to be used by th

>>> it's the top of the hour here in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline," i'm ross mihara. >>> indian prime minister narendra modi has made a surprise visit to pakistan. he went to the city of lahore to talk with his counterpart, nawaz sharif. he got a personal welcome from sharif. they talked for about an hour at sharif's home. the pakistani foreign ministry said they agreed to continue dialogue as a way to deepen trust. and give citizens more chances for contact. officials say the visit was decided when modi called sharif to wish him a happy birthday. india and pakistan have reportedly fought or repeatedly fought over control of the kashmir region. modi's visit has raised hopes of better relations. >>> china's finance ministry says the asian infrastructure industrial investment bank has been formally established. the institution aims to help developing countries across the region build infrastructure. the ministry says the bank's articles of agreement went into effect on friday. the document has been ratified by 17 countries, with a combined stake of over 50%. they include britain and sou

>>> hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. tens of thousands of people have visited the imperial palace in tokyo to offer very special birthday wishes. akihito turned 82 on wednesday. many visitors had already arrived by the palace gates opened at 9:30 a.m. local time. the emperor greeted the well wishers in person and gave an address looking back on the past year. other members of the imperial family joined the celebration. they included the empress, crown prince, princess and a prince and princess and their daughters. the emperor said he hopes the coming year will be a bright one for everybody. >>> emergency workers have pulled a survivor from the rubble more than 60 hours after a massive landslide hit the southern chinese city of shenzhen. rescuers are rushing to beat the 72-hour deadline that's seen as crucial to saving more victims of the disaster. state-run media say the survivor is a 19-year-old man who was buried under a dormitory. he's reportedly conscious and told rescuers another survivor was nearby. the landslide w

>>> hello, welcome to "newsline." our top story this hour, police in southern california are in a -- hunting for suspects after mass shooting. they say gunmen opened fire at a center for people with developmental disabilities. 14 people are dead. and 17 others are injured. this was the scene earlier in san bernardino. about 100 kilometers east of los angeles. police say there are as many as three suspects. cnn reports one of them has been shot dead. police haven't revealed any details about the identities of the suspects or their motives. they say the men were carrying rifles. president obama reacted to the shooting restating his call for stronger gun control laws. >> there are some steps we could take not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently. common sense gun safety laws. stronger background checks. >> obama has made a similar call following other recent high-profile shootings but there hasn't been much legs lative action. >>> law makers in brita

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's friday, december 18th. i'm miki yamamoto in tokyo. >>> diplomats in japan and south korea are watching to see how seoul prosecutors react to a ruling in a case that has strange ties. a japanese journalist was found not guilty thursday of defaming south korea's president. tatsuya kato is the former bureau chief for sankei shimbun. he was charged after reporting rumors of park geun-hye's whereabouts on the day of the "sewol" ferry disaster. prosecutors have sought an ape-month prison term. kato defended the piece. the japanese prime minister welcomed the ruling. >> translator: i value the court's decision of acquittal. i expect it will have positive effects on our relations with south korea. >> south korea's biggest news wire says the decision will help leaders focus on other issues of mutual concern, including those referred to as comfort women. prosecutors in seoul say they will decide whether they will challenge the ruling after discussing contents of the sentence. they can appeal to a higher court within