welcome to "newsline." >>> north korean officials have notified u.n. authorities they've closed the window on a planned rocket launch and state media is praising it as a success. but world leaders are condemning the move as a missile test and representatives from japan, south korea, and the u.s. are pressing for stiffer sanctions against the reclusive country. >> reporter: just hours after sunday's launch, members of the u.n. security council held an emergency meeting. the council chair said the launch could lead to the development of technology for carrying nuclear weapons. >> the members of the security council strongly condemn this launch. the members of the security council underscore that this launch is in serious violation of the security council resolution. >> reporter: north korean state media reported the rocket blasted off from the western part of the country. the launch was tracked by japan, south korea, and the u.s. >> we have to take this issue very seriously. it is not only the violation of security council resolution, but it is the real

>>> live from tokyo, this is "newsline." i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> gearing up. japanese officials are busy preparing for a possible launch of what north korea calls a satellite. >>> detained in china. chinese police have confirmed that three of five book sellers are being investigated. sparking concerns of freedom of the press in hong kong. >>> and boosting aid, donors have pledge $11 billion in war torn syria. >>> officials in japan are getting ready for a possible launch of what north korea claims is a satellite-carrying rocket. the officials conducted a warning system drill that immediately notifies people across the country. special terminals for the j-alert system received test signals in okinawa, located near the projected flight path. a message was also read out. about one minute later, the same message was broadcast through loudspeakers in schools and parks. north korea says they will launch a rocket between monday and february 25th. much of the international community thinks the cou

welcome to "newsline." "newslin" washington has submitted a security council resolution. >> the united states tabled a draft u.n. security council resolution that if adopted would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the security council in more than two decades. >> the proposed measures include a ban of exports of aviation fuel to north korea, they also prohibit exports of gold, titanium and rare earth metals. in addition, countries are to inspect any cargo ships leaving or entering the country. beijing was pyongyang's main ally and was reluctant to impose sanctions, but now it aggrieves. >> we hope that the sanctions will obtain the objective of peace and security. >> translator: we should note that although china is a close neighbor to the north, it is fulfilling its obligation as a responsible world power. >> officials in seoul also commended the draft. they say it is a stern warning that the international community will not allow pyongyang to obtain more weapons of m

we want to remind you that when you see news, call newsline nine. that number is 319-365-9999. you can also send us pictures and vivios to newsroom at kcrg dot com. first forecast. joe, a little with a lot of clouds. as a major winter storm moves east across the weather remains gray, but quiet. highs pressure moves in from the plains into the upper midwest later on thursday. this allows our winds to diminish later thursday and sets us up for a great start to the store for saturday as highs rebound well into the 50s. have a super night! tonight: partly cloudy, windy low: 22-28 winds: nw 15-30tomorrow: partly cloudy, windy high: 33-39 winds: nw 15-30

>>> this is the top of the hour in tokyo and this is nhk "newsline." i'm ross mihara. japan's government approved sanctions against north korea. the move is in response to a nuclear test and rocket launch. the cabinet endorsed the set of measures drawn up by the national security council and the measures include a ban on all port calls by north korean ships as well as other countries that have been to north korea. the minsters approved stronger restrictions, money transfers will be blocked and organizations and individuals involved in the nuclear missile programs will have assets frozen. >> translator: we are implementing measures based on the concepts of dialogue and pressure. and action for action. we are seeking comprehensive solutions with abductions and north korea's nuclear and missile programs. >> he also said the government will call on the un security council to implement sanctions. u.s. president barack obama has also signed legislation with sanctions against north do rhea. they will freeze the assets with business dealings or cyber crimes. the penalties incl

welcome to "newsline." we start off with a look at the hour's top stories. >>> north korea's rocket launch has prompted a response from the japanese in the form of new sanctions. >>> and striking back. turkey claims it will strike back against syrian kurds. >>> japan's government has formally approved unilateral sanctions against north korea. it endorsed a set of measures drawn up last week by the national security council. the move is in response to a recent launch. >> translator: we are implementing measures based on the concepts of dialog and pressure and action for action. we are seeking comprehensive solutions to issues, kluge abductions and north korea's nuclear and missile programs. >> the measures include a ban on all port calls by japanese ships and other ships that have been to north korea. the government will now ask the diet to approve the steps. the cabinet ministers also approved stronger financial restrictions. money transfers to north korea will be blocked and organization and individuals in

. >>> welcome to newsline, it is wednesday, february 17th. i'm catherine co bosh yee is tokyo. president bashar al-assad to implement a cease-fire agreed to last week. they made a surprise visit to damascus as fighting intensified after the deal. they held two meetings syria state run news agency reports he explained the cease-fire agreement from friday and urged the the assad administration to cooperate. global powers urged them to have a cease-fire by friday, and other aid to besieged areas. approved access to seven besieged areas. >> humanitarians are going to depart in the coming days. >> but it's unclear whether the assad government will implement the cease-fire. air strikes on monday hit hospitals and schools, killing about 50 people across the country. it's not clear who carried out the attacks. space researchers are in japan are set to a new astronomical satellite. the astro h, which scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the universe. launch scheduled for just before 6:00 p.m. local time wednesday. the rocket carrying the satelli satellite transported to the spa

this edition of newsline. it is wednesday, february 24th, i'm catherine doeb yosh she i this summer's upper house election could merge. joining forces will improve the electoral chances. the democratic party is the largest opposition party. it's executives agreed tuesday to prioritize a merger with the japan innovation party. democratic party president, okada is to meet on wednesday. they'll brief them on how to proceed on the merger and his stance on changing the party's name. the innovation party also plans to hold a meeting of lawmakers from both chambers on wednesday. meanwhile, the secretary general of the ruling liberal democratic party said a union simply for the sake of an election is a marriage of convenience. >> a political party or identity as a political party should be described as immature. >> the possible merger could expedite cooperation among opposition parties, including placing only one opposition candidate in certain constituent sees. the hope is the merger will hope them compete better wit

find out the challenges on newsline. >>> it is time now for a check of the weather. people in southern and eastern u.s. states are trying to recover after a severe winter storm hit, leaving widespread damage. robert speta joins us with more. >> tracking this storm system for several days now. it start started bringing it on tuesday night into wednesday, down towards louisiana, extending to mississippi. wednesday, tornadoes in western florida. recently here, heading into thursday morning, people waking up, seeing the devastation left behind by the storm system. now actually back towards the northeast now, pushing into parts of nova scotia, 90 kilometers per hour, even snow for those of you in parts of quebec. what i want to show you is some video coming out of pennsylvania. just north of washington, d.c. and about south of harrisburg, where a tornado rolled through this area, destroying numerous buildings, including a school. no injuries or deaths reported in this specific tornado. this occurred in the overnight hours. quite remarkable. but overall, what this storm sy

welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, february 10th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. investigators still struggling global rounds. benchmark went below another key level. we go straight to the business desk. you have all the details. how is the nikkei looking now. >> it's below 16,000. it's the first time below that level since october 31, 2014. now, investors still feeling anxiety over market moves, the decline in oil prices, putting a lot of pressure on traders to sell risker assets. the tokyo shares did open higher, but dipped below. currently at 15,911. that's a loss of more than 1%. the index is falling again after losing more than 5% on tuesday. let's check on the currencies. the dollar yen trading the lowest level since november 2014. the mid 114 level. 114.49. the ip vest tors buying the japanese currency as a safer asset. the strength on the dollar, the common currency, 1.1291 to 1294. that's after gaining 1% overnight. our markets across the asia pacific region. australia, shares are lower by 1.2%. seoul and many other markets in the region are still closed

>>> welcome to newsline. i'm keiko kitagawa in toek stock inn investors going on a selling sprae. the where is the index now. >> the nikkei is trimming the losses, but as you said, it fell below 15,000, for the first time since 2014. now, investors want to get out of stock when they're worried about the global economy. it underscores this idea. they see stocks as risky assets to hold on to right now. let's see where it is exactly at this moment. almost all sectors are trading lower at the tokyo stock exchange, the nikkei down just about 4%, holding above 15,000, but still, sharp losses. last time the index went below the 15,000 mark was before bank of japan launched his second round of monetary easing back in october 2014. now, investors aren't getting any sense of relief after what the u.s. reserve said. janet yellen testified before congress, repeatedly stressed caution overseas economy and volatile markets. >> we have been quite surprised by movements in oil prices. >> yellen said she is closely monitoring what is happening overseas and what is happening on the markets. she rec

>>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, february 11th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the world nuclear authority has weighed into the zika virus to discuss using radiation to combat the mosquito-borne disease. the international atomic energy on wednesday opened to reporters outside of austria, researching ways to use nuclear techniques to sterilize male mosquitos. the method involves exposing larvae to make them im potent, and they're released to the wild which don't produce offspring. the procedures has proven effective in controlling fruit fly populations. >> absolutely clean, safe, bio secure and environmentally friendly. >> one drawback is that the number of sterile mosquitos must be reat least ten times of wild ones launching the program in nations hit by zika virus outbreaks. authorities in taiwan believe shoddy construction caused a condominium to collapse when an earthquake hit last week. they learned the building had less than half the reenforcing steel in the structure. the authorities have confirmed 53 deaths so far in

welcome to newsline. it is thursday, february 18th. i'm catherine co yosh she in tokyo. washington is seriously concerned about china's increased in the south china sea. responding to reporting that beijing has deployed surface to air missiles in the region and pointed out the contradiction to remarks made by china's president last fall. >> they stood in the rose garden with president obama and said china will not military yoois in the south china sea. there is evidence everyday that there has been an increase of one kind or another. it's of serious concern. >> kerry told reporters the united states expects to have very serious talks with china over the coming days. on wednesday, u.s. officials confirmed the apparent deplo deployment in the miss sill systems on the par sol island chain. fox news appeared to show a radar system. the u.s. media say they may have been deployed last week. the foreign minister declined to confirm it, but justified the build-up. >> the facilities are for military and for self-defense. they're totally consistent with the right of self-defense g

welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, february 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> north korea's announcement it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week has japan taking action. on one front, it's stepping up diplomatic efforts with the north. on the other, it's preparing for the worst. it's widely believed the launch is actually a test of a long-range ballistic missile. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida met with u.s. ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy, on wednesday. >> translator: we agreed that we will work closely to urge pyongyang to exercise restraint in corporation with south korea and other related nations. >> vice foreign minister held separate talks with the ambassadors of china and russia. they agreed their countries will coordinate a response at the u.n. security council. and state minister for foreign affairs is scheduled to meet ambassador from nine nonpermanent members of the u.n. security council on thursday. he hopes to seek their cooperation on the matter. defense ministry officials believe if

welcome to "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> north korean media are highlighting their recent rocket launch while celebrating the birthday of late leader kim jung il. >>> and shocking confession, the question who is working at their homes. >>> and big plans for the far east. >>> north's korean's are celebrating the birthday of previous leader kim jung il. the launch is widely regarded as a long range ballistic missile test. ♪ people laid flowers at the foot of kim jung il's statue. his birthday is a national holiday. ♪ state run tv aired a performance an all women band at an event to celebrate the launch of the rockets. kim jung il was lauded for making north korea a nuclear state with the possession of satellites. >>> vice foreign ministers from china and south korea have been discussing how to respond to the recent test and rocket launch. jong conveyed his opposition to the deployment of the thaad defense system. after the talks, he told reporters he and yen had aagre

>>> welcome back to "newsline." i'm kanako sachno. >>> north korea state-run media has broadcast a video showing last sunday's rocket launch. the broadcast says it was carrying a satellite. it's widely believed the country was testing a long-range ballistic missile. korean central television aired the video on thursday. it shows a three-stage rocket rising into the sky. the rocket bears a korean word, the name of the alleged satellite. observers say north korea's leaders likely had two motives for showing the video. they wanted to hail the launch as a historic success, and they wanted to dissuade the u.n. security council from adopting new sanctions. >>> south korean leaders are imposing sanctions on the north because of the rocket launch and an earlier nuclear test. they said they would halt a business complex the koreans run together. now south korean businesses are pulling out. the keson complex lies in the north. people who run south korean firms there have been trucking out their equipment. the complex opened 1

welcome to newsline, it is friday, february 19th. i'm catherine kobayashi. the white house has announced president obama will make an historic trip to cuba and meet president raul castro, the first time for a sitting president to visit cuba in years. >> an important opportunity this trip. historic in nature, but we also see it as a means to pushing forward the normalization process. >> on social media, obama said he'll make the trip to advance efforts to improve the lives of the cuban people. in addition to his meeting with castro, obama is expected to meet members of civil society and stress the need to improve human rights. united states and cuba restored diplomatic ties in 2015. it had been 54 years. washington has been gradually lifting sanctions on the island and they've been slowly making economic reforms. obama has also signed legislation imposing new sanctions against north corey. it aims to punish pyongyang after its recent nuclear test and what is widely believed to be a long-range ballistic missile. the sanctions will freeze the assets of any pers

♪ ♪ >>> live from our studios here in tokyo, this is "newsline." i'm james tengan. the u.s.te department says north korea proposed holding peace talks before ending the korean war before its fourth nuclear test in january. both sides couldn't agree on a time for the meeting. >>> the u.s. state department says north korea proposed holding peace talks to formally end the korean war sometime before its fourth nuclear test in january. but both sides failed to agree on conditions for the meeting. spokesperson john kirby said on sunday that the obama administration considered pyongyang's proposal. he said the administration asked north korea to include denuclearization as part of the talks, but the country rejected it. kirby did not say exactly when north korea made the proposal. pyongyang has repeatedly asked washington to end what it calls a hostile policy towards it. the u.s. position is that it will not start any dialog unless north korea takes concrete action towards denuclearization. the fighting in the korean war ended in 1953, with an armistice instead of a peace treaty. >

>>ar hello and thank you for joining us on this edition of "newsline." i'm raja pradhan in tokyo. leaders appear to be rallying counterparts in japan. they halted the fate of japanese citizens missing including abductees. this follows the decision for new sanctions over a nuclear test and a rocket launch. north korean leaders used state media to announce disbanding the committee with the whereabouts of missing japanese. they threaten stronger counter measures and say the government in tokyo must bear responsibility for the consequences. the japanese government said north korean agents abducted at least 17 citizens for the 70s and 80s. what happened to 12 of them is not clear. the north koreans promised to investigate with the agreement. the foreign ministry told the leaders they had no intention of cancelling the agreement. they called the announcement regrettable and said they will keep urging the north koreans to take action. a relative of a japanese abductee said he expected the north koreans to suspend the investigation since japan decided on new sanctions. he wants officials

welcome to "newsline." it is tuesday february 23rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the chinese government announced on monday that prime minister wang ye will meet john kerry in washington. high up on the agenda, north korea and the south china sea. the u.s. and china have agreed on the need for new u.n. sanctions for north korea. pyongyang recently conducted a nuclear test and also launched a rocket which is widely believed to have been a long-range ballistic missile test. the u.s. is calling for a tough response. but china has cautioned that harsh penalties may destabilize the region. they will continue talks on the possible u.n. sanctions. it's anticipated wang will urge the u.s. to start discussions with north korea. he proposed last week that denuclearization talks should be paired with the consideration of a peace treaty which pyongyang wants. but the u.s. is refusing to sit down with north korea until it takes specific steps towards denuclearization. also on the agenda for kerry and wang, the south china sea. last week kerry criticized china for deploying a m

welcome to "newsline." it is tuesday, february 9th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. markets are tumbling as investors dump stocks due to the u.s. dollar. let's go to ai uchida from the business desk. >> when the yen initially, it declined then the nikkei gained. the investors are feeling anxious over a weakening global economy, the oil oversupply, the inability of central banks to stimulate their economies. those fears are pushing investors toward the safety of things like the yen. and tokyo stock prices in turn are falling sharply. let's take a look at where they are now. the nikkei average dropping 4.4%, 16,250 at the moment. tokyo stocks fall, the climgs that we saw in the u.s. and europe, banking and energy shares are among the major losers on the japanese boards as well as on global markets overnight. traders are flocking to the safe haven yen, and this is driving the japanese currency to its highest level against the dollar since november 2014. the dollar/yen pair is currently at 115.33 to 37. the euro, that gained about half a percent against the dollar. the c

welcome to "newsline." we start with the hour's top stories. >>> no end in sight as global market turmoil continues. tokyo's nikkei index falls below yet another key level. >>> world powers agree to deliver more aid to syrians caught up in fighting before a halt to violence within the week. >>> and landmark discovery. a u.s. research team says it has succeeded in detecting gravitational waves first predicted by einstein 100 years ago. >>> asian markets had another bad day. we go to gene otani for more. >> thanks, james. tokyo stocks slumped further. the nikkei dipped below the key 15,000 mark for the first time since october 2014. machltu yoshiro reports from the board. >> on top of worries over global growth and central bank's abilities to spur growth, fears are rising that the surging yen could squeeze earnings at japanese companies. tokyo slipped for three sessions in a row. friday the nikkei broke below 15,000 for the first time in a year and four months. the shares briefly showed losses on hopes for a

>>> welcome back to "newsline." it is tuesday february 2nd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the world health organization said the outbreak of the zika virus is an extraordinary event. the agency placed the virus in the same category of concern as ebola. w.h.o. director margaret chan told reporters on monday that coordinated international action was needed. she said the goal is to improve detection, speed up work on a vaccine, and develop better diagnostics for the disease. she also advised pregnant women to avoid traveling to affected areas. the first cases of the mosquito-borne virus were confirmed in brazil last may. the w.h.o. has noted a suspicious link between the zika's arrival in the country and a surge in the number of babies born with abnormally small heads. >> the experts agree that a cause al relationship between the zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly are connected, though not scientifically proven. >> infections have now been reported in 25 countries and territories, mainly as crocrossl and south america. other

welcome to "newsline." we start off with a look at the hour's top stories. >>> detecting deployment. the u.s. says china has sent a missile system to the spratly islands. >>> and taking to the skies. one of japan's top car makers is using lessons learned from selling cars to push a new plane. >>> in a move that could raise tension, the united states says china has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system on one of the disputed islands in the south china sea. according to the u.s., the chinese military deployed the system on woody island, part of the paracel island chain. china claims the island and it is also claimed by vietnam and taiwan. fox news reports that civilian satellite images show surface-to-air missile launchers and a radar system there. also in the south china sea, beijing has been constructing artificial islands by claiming several reefs in the disputed spratly islands. one of the airstrips is already in use and can accommodate military aircraft. the reports come just as u.s. preside

>>> live from tokyo, this is "newsline." i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> tight races. in the first selection process on the road to the white house ted cruz has won the republican side and hillary clinton on the democratic side. >>> a great divide. both sides in syria's civil war are still a long way off from sitting at the table for peace talks. >>> and a growing case. japan's food exports hit another record last year as more people around the world crave japanese cuisine. >>> this year's u.s. presidential selection process has kicked off with a key vote in iowa after a tight three-way contest. ted cruz has gone on the republican side. the democratic side is still too close to call. cruz wasn't the frontrunner coming to iowa, but he managed to come out on top. the texas senator is considered a hard-line conservative. he's taken a tough stance against illegal immigrants and in his approach with dealing with islamic state militants. cruz beat his main rivals, real estate mogul donald trump and flor

i'm james tengan, welcome to "newsline." here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> enhanced defenses. south korea says it has started talks on a defense missile system which china has protested >>> territorial tensions. >>> and big city, bright lights. the glow of traditional lights is fading in shanghai as china pushes to go green. >>> south korean defense officials say they've been holding formal missile defense talks with the u.s. they're discussing whether to deploy the advanced thaad system on south korean territory. north korea deployed what they said was a satellite. many believe it was ballistic missile technology. a spokesperson says they began formal talks nearly two weeks ago. the thaad system can take down missiles at higher altitudes than the patriot systems. china says it could be used to spy on its territory, but the spokesperson says that's not their intention. >> translator: we believe that the priority is to protect the lives and property of our citizens. so the south korean government is

"newsline" comes to you live from tokyo.n oh joins us with this weather update, starting with northern japan. >> hello, yes. definitely looking intense. we're talking about loads of snow that came into the picture, create conditions that are hard to travel much less look in terms of the situation. look at the video. it may give you an idea of how serious it is because of a low pressure system that really decided to intensify during the past 24 hours. so very stormy, winter weather in northern japan. more than 50 centimeters of snow falling in just 24 hours in portions of hokkaido. and dozens of flights and trains have been canceled. and in the city of cue sheer owe, an accident occurred and one woman is unconscious due dot accident. it is looking very intense, with traffic coming to a halt. this is not the worst of it. the storm is expected to intensify as we go throughout the day tuesday. already seeing reports in other places of up to 64 centimeters and gusts up to 117 kilometers per hour. that combination makes it difficu

"newsline" comes to you live from our studios here in tokyo. i'm james tengan. here are some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> counting down. new satellite images show activity around a north korean launch pad that could be preparation for a rocket launch. >>> facing a setback. u.n. officials have suspended negotiations to end syria's civil war as opposing sides blame each other for the impasse. >>> and early signs of spring. we'll show you cherry trees south of tokyo in bloom earlier than usual. >>> as the days count down to north korea's planned launch of what it calls a satellite carrying rocket, experts are pointing to more signs of preparations. they say new satellite images and a state media report indicate the country is getting ready. the photos titled countdown to launch on were released on a johns hopkins university website. the researchers say the photos were taken monday. they say nine vehicles are now visible where there was only one last week. they say that level of activity is similar to that seen before a launch in 2012. another sign

you're watching "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. >>> a u.n. investigator said kim jong-un should be officially told he could be held responsible for crimes against humanity. the special monitor of the north korean human rights association, in a new report he asked the international community to find ways to bring north korea's leadership to justice and recommend the creation of an expert panel on the matter. he's also urging pyongyang to stop human rights violations and engage with japan and south korea over their citizens that were kidnapped by the north. he met with the families when he visited japan in january. he said preserving criminal responsibility could be a way to free the victims. in december, the u.n. general assembly adopted a resolution accusing north korea's human rights violations, and recommended they should be referred to the international criminal court. but china and russia are against the move. kim jong-un said his country must send more satellites into space. he's calling on the country's scientists to use last week's roc

. >>> there's more to come here on newsline, but first, here's the three-day outlook on the world's weather. >>> here's one more story to share with you before we go. one of the legends of japanese soccer has turned 49. he's the oldest player in japan's professional football league, j-league. miura is preparing for his 31st season. he's currently on the second division team, yokohama fc. he proved his stamina during training for the season starting this weekend. during the previous season, he played in 16 matches and scored three goals. in june last year, he broke the record for the oldest scorer in the league. his fans celebrated his birthday. >> translator: i'd like to contribute to the team's success. i hope we can all celebrate getting another goal and another victory. >> miura started his professional career in santos, brazil, in 1986. he went on to play for clubs in many countries around the globe, including italy, australia, and croatia. he says he wants to still be a professional player when he turns 50. >>> that's all for now on this edition of newsline. i'm raja pradhan in tokyo.

welcome to "newsline." here are some of the story we're following this hour. >>> questioning the collapse. while people wait and hope for more survivors from the deadly taiwan quake, many are also looking at concerns over the building's construction. >>> calling for punishment. both chambers of japan's diet have unanimously adopted resolutions condemning north korea's latest rocket launch. >>> rising demand, falling rates. japanese ten-year bond yields drop below zero for the first time ever as investors grab up what they see as a safer bet. >>> rescue workers in southern taiwan have brought in heavy machinery to help them comb through the rubble of a lapsed building. they are looking for survivors of saturday's powerful earthquake. authorities have confirmed that 41 people have died and more than 100 might still be trapped. most of the victims were found under a 15-story condominium in the city of tainan. authorities are speeding up their search as the crucial 72-hour window has already passed. this woman

. >>> glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, february 11th.ne kobayashi in tokyo. >>> the world nuclear authority has weighed into the zika virus to discuss using radiation to combat the mosquito-borne disease. the international atomic energy on wednesday opened to reporters outside of austria, researching ways to use nuclear techniques to sterilize male mosquitos. the method involves exposing larvae to make them im potent, and they're released to the wild which don't

welcome to "newsline." it is thursday, february 4th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> north korea's announcement it plans to launch a satellite as early as next week has japan taking action. on one front, it's stepping up diplomatic efforts with the north. on the other, it's preparing for the worst. it's widely believed the launch is actually a test of a long-range ballistic missile. japanese foreign minister fumio kishida met with u.s. ambassador to japan, caroline kennedy, on wednesday. >> translator: we agreed that we will work closely to urge pyongyang to exercise restraint in corporation with south korea and other related nations.

welcome to newsline. it is thursday, february 18th. i'm catherine co yosh she in tokyo. washington is seriously concerned about china's increased in the south china sea. responding to reporting that beijing has deployed surface to air missiles in the region and pointed out the contradiction to remarks made by china's president last fall. >> they stood in the rose garden with president obama and said china will not military yoois in the south china sea. there is evidence everyday that there has been an

remember, whenever you see news, call newsline nine at 319-36369999. you can also send pictures and videos to newsroom at kcrg dot com. meteorologist joe winters joins us now. joe, we have a chance e some snow later tonigig? however you look at it we will enjoy a super weekend, especially weather-wise on saturday. light snow and flurries tonight give way to a partly cloudy sky for the start of the weekend. highs respond nicely with middle 30s common. sunday brings another chance for some light snow later in the day. this is part of a systetethat will linger with scattered snow showers into tuesday. although amounts look light at this point, we need to wat for some windy conditions monday bringing areas of blowiwi tonight: chance of light snow low: 20-26 winds: s 5-10tomorrow: partly cloudy high: 33-39 winds: w 5-15 bruce and beth... an iowa senate bill aimed at punishing stanford university for its band's rose bowl halftime show likely won't move forward in the senate. today, majority leader michael gronstal said he wouldn't schedule the measure for fl

remember, whenever you see news happening, call newsline nine at 319- 365-9999. you can n so send pictures and videos to newsroom at kcrg dot com. the flu virus is spreading throughout iowa. the centersrsor disease control lists iowa as one of 12 states that have widespread flu activity. in mid-january, iowa's flu activity was classified as rrional, color. but if we page forward a week, iowa jumped to widespread flu activity, indicated by the brown color. and if we page forward to the most recent wewe data is available, you can see more states are also seeing widespread flu activity. kcrg-tv nine's iowa city bureau chief mark cason joins us live. mark, this is ususlly the time year when we start t thinking that the flu season is almost over. a little bit of later season this year. and experts say we are still not at thth peak. but there is some good news and it has to do with this nicer weather. "you're starting to hear reports from around the country of some up-ticks in influenza activity, increasing hospitalizations, increasisi isolation, increasing detecting t