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

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

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the former u.s. intelligence contractor wanted for espionage is seeking asylum in ecuador. >> chinese dissident slammed authorities. and officials from one of the most ancient cities are trying to master the tea ceremony. they are learning it's not as easy as it looks. >>> the man who has threatened u.s. government surveillance practices is trying to get to ecuador to seek asylum. american authorities want former national security agency contractor edward snowden on espionage charges. he revealed nsa agents collected private phone and internet data at home and abroad. snowden arrived in moscow sunday, and left the night at an airport hotel. russian media report he had finished boarding procedures. the flight left on monday but there was no confirmation that snowden was on board. leaders in ecuador say they will consider helping him whenever he arrives. >> translator: our government is prepared to accept snowden's requ

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the leaders of china and south korea want to use dialogue to resolve the issue of north korea's nuclear program. >>> kevin rudd has been sworn in for a second time as australia's prime minister after winning a political showdown. >>> and family fun. the largest trade expo dedicated to products for young children opens in tokyo. and we'll show you the latest trends. >>> the presidents of south korea and china have met in beijing. park geun-hye traveled to beijing to the summit. she joined a statement with president xi jinping. >> reporter: we agreed to work for the korean peninsula, maintain stability and solve problems through dialogue. the situation on the peninsula is changing for the better. we hope the six-party talks will resume as soon as possible. >> the two leaders also agreed to boost diplomatic and economic ties. they say they will create a new framework for high level talks. they also agree to work for the

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

it's a hot morning in tokyo. our meteorologist tells us what we can expect to have in world weather. >> exactly. it's going to be another hot and sunny day in tokyo. the high could rise to 27 degrees. a bit lower than yesterday but with the high humidity, it could become oppressively hot. a spell of sunshine expected in japan the next several days but not the case for the southwestern islands of japan seeing heavy rain due to this low pressure and frontal system. 50 millimeters of rain in just one hour and a big concern. it's affecting taiwan and south korea as well. and for the indochina peninsula, rain is heavy across the west coast and already had 85 millimeters of rain in north thailand and rain and thunderstorms in northwestern china. temperatures on the high side. 26 degrees despite the rainy weather and over 30 degrees in kyoto on wednesday. north america, nothing like last week's storm, but a strong low pressure system hitting areas of the midwest. this red area, isolated tornados likely and thunderstorms

tokyo overcast at 26 degrees.ing over to north america, we had a hurricane, this is cosme, now a tropical storm status, however, it does have the potential of swelling largely around the coastal areas of mexico and over water, rip currents could be at a life-threatening level still so please do stay out from those waters. we have two systems over canada and the united states, and this is creating some severe weather. in fact, we already have a report of one tornado touching down in iowa. the same system will be moving over to the ohio/tennessee valley, making its way towards the eastern seabounds and this is where there will be risks of high flooding. take a look at this extreme heat with the heat dome becoming wider and bigger. las vegas at 47 degrees on your saturday, 50s in death valley already and phoenix reaching record high already on friday at 48 degrees. do stay hydrated. here a quick look in europe now. it will be quite unsettled over the scandinavian peninsula. in the eastern half of this continent, high

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we are following this hour. >>> the u.s. ambassador to china has visited tibet where he urged authorities to loosen security restrictions and welcome more foreigners. >>> chinese authorities are trying to ease concerns about a credit crunch that has many investors on edge. >>> and from russia with style, the far eastern city first fashion week fueling dreams of aspiring models across the country. >>> the aftermath of rioting in northern china is worse than first thought. state-run media say the unrest in the uygur autonomous region has left 35 people dead. members of the minority have risen up against the majority in the past. xinhua news agency says rioters started stabbing people on wednesday at police stations, a local government building and a construction site in lukqun. it reports 24 police officers and civilians died. 11 rioters are dead, too. the incident is one of the worst since riots in 2009 in the regional capital urumqi. the chinese go

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

it's going to be a hot and sunny day here in tokyo. the high could rise 28 degree, elinmoreike ly tay. the reason is that we have a big high pressure system cresting overhead. that is keeping things dry, and also keeping the frontal system away from the country. a wealth of sunshine will continue into the next several days for much of the country. mean whale, the southwestern islands of japan, taiwan and southeastern china are still dealing with heavy rain due to a stalled system. one province may get up to 1 millimeters of rain. mostly dry for the northern half of china. but there are two areas of rain around beijing and monsoonal rain for much of the indochina peninsula. 28 degrees for you in seoul. and coming at 31 degrees in osaka. and very hot in chongqing, 35 degrees in store for your tuesday. in north america we can see a long frontal system lying over the eastern u.s. underneath lots of heavy rain. flooding has been reported including urban cities. i want to show you the scene coming out of new york city. thunderstorms battered

nhk world, tokyo. >>> heavy rain in japan as well as in china. rachel ferguson joins us with the latest. >> it has been a day of heavy rain for many places in the southern half of japan. thursday looks more promising. we'll see this low and frontal system moving away further down towards the south. let me show you the totals from the last 24 hours. many areas picking up in excess of 100 millimeters in parts of kochi, more than 200 millimeters. now down in kyushu, 4 millimeters fell because it wasn't just a day of rain, the rain band has been sitting stationary across western japan for the last couple of days. although it will be improving on thursday for japan, not so unfortunately for china. the tail end of this rain band will be stretching down along the river basin and falling this heavy rain on already saturated land. along the rain band, expect 100 to 200 millimeters of rain on a daily basis and this will be continuing for the next couple of days. flooding and landslides definitely going to be of very high concern. here are the temperatures

nhk world, tokyo. >>> time now for a check on the weather. many areas of europe, especially central europe, are flooded. our weather desk gives us the latest. >> good morning, catherine, you're right. the brunt of the flooding rain continue to cross central europe, which includes the germany, the czech republic, as well as hungary, but also the peninsula is looking at some flooding conditions. let me show you video from both of these areas. central europe has been hit by its worst flooding in years. conditions are slowly easing but a dike gave way. meanwhile, northern spain residents said they have never seen the river rise so high. taking you back to the satellite picture, this is going to be good news for everyone out there. it's going to be clear across the peninsula, as well as the low countries in much of the central regions of europe. czech republic, you still have the red warnings for flooding, but finally these rains will be dissipating. but it will be making its way towards the east to the balkan peninsula. and this is the area where

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. stay with us. we'll be back with more at the top of the hour. >> welcome to "skyweek." let's see what's happening in the sky from monday, june 10th to sunday, june 16th. a beautifully thin crescent moon forms a triangle with mercury and venus low in the west after sunset on monday. the moon is upper left of the planets on tuesday, and it moves rapidly away from them as the week progresses. meanwhile, venus appears a little higher each evening and mercury a little lower. mercury is easy to see on monday, but by the end of the week, it's considerably fainter and getting tricky to spot. this is tony flanders from sky & telescope magazine, wishing you clear skies and great views. >> brought to you by meade instruments corporation, manufacturers of telescopes and binoculars. >> "california's gold" is produced in association with kcet los angeles and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by the california teachers association, the california school boards association,

the latest case unfolded in tokyo. a tokyo district court issued a preliminary verdict on friday in favor of apple. the judge said that technology used in some samsung products infringes on an apple patent. the patent in question includes technology that's used for scrolling the screen on smartphones and tablets. pages snap back when users come to end. apple lawyers argue the sale of samsung products involving the infringed patent total about $760 million. the trial will continue to determine damages for a final verdict. samsung's spokesperson says they will study the ruling to decide whether to file an appeal. they say the technology in question is no longer used in any products currently on sale. >>> a district badly contaminated by radiation from fukushima daiichi will soon be powering the community's recovery. the mayor says it will be home to a solar electricity plant. norio kanno is mayor of iitate village. he says local leaders are joining hands with an electric equipment company in tokyo. he says they'll build

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> the prime minister of turkey says demonstrators will have to leave the square in central istanbul within 24 hours. >>> the slide on the tokyo stock market has erased gains after japan took action to boost the economy. a japanese composers has written a piano sonata for the quake victims. >>> turkish prime minister recep tayyip erdogan showing no signs of let up. he urged young people to stop camping out in nearby gezi park. he says police will have to disburse them otherwise. the anti-government demonstrations began two weeks ago. people were angry about a plan to redevelop the park. protesters joined in a movement against what they called the government's heavy handed tact ims. riot police are used tear gas and water cannons. erdogan offered to hold a referendum on the plan. some demonstrators say they won't stop the protests until the prime minister steps down. >>> the american whistleblower who broke the silence on

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

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

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >>> voters in iran choose between hardline conservatives or a moderate candidate as they cast ballots in a presidential election. >>> the united states says it will provide more support to opposition forces in syria now that analysts have concluded the assad regime used chemical weapons. >>> toy lovers flock to an expo in tokyo where the latest products in smartphone, tablet technology offer a new experience. >> people in iran are lining up at polling stations and filling out ballots to pick a successor to replace mahmoud ahmadinejad. a moderate candidate is still hoping for a breakthrough. we are watching things unfold in tehran. >> reporter: the line has been long. more than 50 million iranians are eligible to cast ballots at 60,000 locations across the country. police have tightened security. massive anti-government riots broke out in 2009 soon after results were announced. the government has lifted restriction on inte

the following day the nikkei and tokyo index stumbled. comments also changed the currently trends and the dollar briefly fell to the 93 yen level earlier this month. economists point out that chairman bernanke's comments could positively impact the japanese economy if it can get rid of market uncertainties. >> translator: once the u.s. policy direction becomes clear, investors may move more into riskier assets then the yen could again enter a declining trend and spur hopes for stock market advance. >>> it hasn't been long since the idea of 3d printing seem like pure fantasy. now the people who make these machines are displaying their latest models as one of the biggest manufacturing xpoes. about 2,000 companies from 16 countries are exhibiting new products and technologies at manufacturing world 2013 in tokyo. 3d printers use resin and other materials to produce complicated structures from computer data. exhibiters are showing printers for personal use as well as industrial models for manufacturers. visitors have the chance to play with t

temperatures in tokyo getting into the high 20s. to down to the west, and some areas seeing about 245 millimeters of rain there. that will all continue to shift off toward the east. it is just pumping up one low after another. it will move across central and eastern china. a tropical depression there. the bulk of the precipitation remaining off shore. it that inflow will help it strengthen. the local allege warding on those, and asking the public to take the proper precautions as that rainfall continues to kick up and bring that risk of flooding. we will continue to watch this also because going into next week it will cause heavy rains and still time to continue to really watch where exactly that's going to continue to go. temperatures into the tropics though, 30s for you tokyo 36 on saturday. tropical storm andrea still the big topic here. we want to show you a photocoming out of florida. just some heavy rainfall, the risk of flooding, winding kicking up here. still see some tropical storm warnings, but heavy rain associated wd thi

. >>> tokyo. this is one of the largest entertainment districts in asia. a photographer has been taking photos for the last 16 years. kwon choul is a korean photo journalist. >> translator: it seems to me that this whole district is ruled by desire. kwon choul has captured

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

i'm katherine kobayashi in tokyo. engineers may be able to start removing fuel at fukushima plant earlier than previously expected. officials of the government and the plant's operators say they want to speed up the process. they drafted a new road map for getting the work done. the officials jointly released a time table for decommissioning the reactors damaged in the earthquake and tsunami two years ago. they cover various scenarios for removing the nuclear fuel from three of them. it calls for work to begin on separate parts of each reactor. they will start with the number one and two reactors in the year 2020 at earliest. that's 18 months sooner than the previous plan. work on reactor number two could be delayed until 2024. it will depend on how quickly they can decontaminate the building. radiation levels remain high at the plant and they depend on robots to work in the reactors. the time table is subject to change depending on whether they can develop new technology. they have been facing challenging situations.

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. prime minister shinzo abe has announced more details of his economic growth plan. they include bold deregulation moves aimed at revitalizing the japanese economy. >>> more trouble at fukushima daiichi. tepco officials say they've found a leak in a tank storing contaminated water. >>> turkey's deputy prime minister has met protesters to listen to their demands in a bid to end unrest in the country. >>> japanese prime minister shinzo abe has proposed what he calls three arrows he will use to revitalize the economy. he's already fired off one to get the central bank to pour more money into the markets and another to boost government spending to stimulate the economy. now he's shooting off his third arrow, a plan for growth. and the plan has been presented to a government panel for in-depth discussions. the draft has three pillars -- reviving the industrial sector, creating new markets and promoting cross-border economic alliances. timetables and numerical targets are included. to revive

he arrived in tokyo to a welcome of embassy officials. he said he wants to meet with many japanese people as ambassador. relations between south korea and japan have been trained by different views including issues related to world war two. >> i'm eager convey the feelings of japanese people to south korea, and to convey the feelings of south koreas to japan. >> reporters asked him about the possibility of a japan and south korean summit. he said they should meet at a time that is mutually convenient. >> there is severe flooding in china. robert speta is here with more. >> yes, this front just ling lingering over southeastern china. it has been adding up for some heavy rainfall, and like you said, flooding out here. i want to show you some footage. somebody in a rather periless season. they helped the man to safety by using a rope and a crane. the driver was distressed afterwards. he was not injured and that's the good news. always, if you see a flooded road, do not try to drive across it. this front is still thingers in the area, about 5

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

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following at this hour. >>> people in singapore are being advise today stay indoors as a hazardous haze causes pollution readings to hit a record high. >>> at least 800,000 brazilians join anti-government protests as the growing unrest forces the president to cancel a trip to japan. >>> and preserving opera makeup artists with masks. china's cultural thriving once again. >>> singapore residents barely recognize their city. a thick haze has been hanging in the air for days making breathing difficult and dangerous. smoke from fires raging in indonesia is to blame. government officials are telling even healthy citizens to stay indoors. analysts with the environmental agency say the main pollution gauge hit a record high on friday beating a record set in 1997. air quality has been in a range considered unhealthy to hazardous. >> my eyes are kind of sore. when i woke up this morning, my throat was kind of sore. as an employer i've also asked my em

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. >> turkish police fire tear gas and water cannons at protesters on a square in istanbul. >>> astronauts aboard a chinese space craft blast off and head for an experimental laboratory orbiting the the earth. >>> and japan's best bmx bike rider has been tearing down the track for the world championships. at 14 she's already racing to become number one in the world. >>> riot police in turkey moved in on protesters occupying a square in istanbul. the protesters fought back. the demonstrations started as a push to save a city park but have spread to reflect a growing anger toward government. police moved barricades set up by the demonstrators and they fired tear gas and water cannons to disburse the crowds. the demonstrators retaliated. police say they won't advance to nearby gezi park where protesters have put up tents and camping out. protesters are protesting against what they call prime minister recep tayyip erdogan's gove

i'm gene otani in tokyo. ♪ >>> david killick. new zealand journalist visits an area stricken by the 3/11 disaster. on february the 22nd, 2011, less than three weeks before the great east japan earthquake, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit new zealand destroying many buildings around christchurch. over 20,000 houses were effected by liquid faction and parts of

tokyo cooling off to 23 on friday.d news by the weekend, it will start to rebound back into the high 20s. that is a look at the world weather. here's your extended forecast. >>> and that's all for this hour. i'm shery ahn. thank you for watching. tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis tonight a conversation with phil jackson. his new book is entitled "eleven rings: the soul of --"elevenre quote rings: the soul of success." >> there is a saying that dr. king had that said there is always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only halfway to completely eliminating hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. phil jackson retired from basketball after earning 11 rings and another to rings as a player with the knickerbockers. that does not stop every team from pursuing

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

>>> hello and welcome back to nhk "newsline" with the news from tokyo. monsoon rain triggered flooding and land slides in india and confirmed nearly 600 deaths. that number is expected to rise. swollen rivers swept away houses and roads. state government officials say they launched full-scale search operations on thursday. emergency workers found more than 400s on friday alone. the state officials confirmed 576 deaths. landslides blocked roads and 60,000 tourists and hindu pilgrims are stranded in towns across the area. military helicopters are tearing people to safety. north korea's first vice foreign minster and china's foreign minster agreed to the effective of a multinational dialogue. they met in beijing on friday for lurch. the foreign ministry said they discussed in detail the stalled six-party talks on the north's nuclear program and the situation on the peninsula. the talks have been suspended for over 4 1/2 years. he reiterated the north's willingness to resolve issues peacefully through negotiations. later kim held meetings with officials, the

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

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. the governments of north and south korea agree to talk about divisive issues including a jointly run industrial complex that's currently closed. >>> members of an advisory panel have come up with a proposal to chip away at japan's mountain of death. they plan to reduce the debt-to-gdp ratio from 20 to 1. >>> delegates gather in myanmar for the world economic forum on east asia. we'll take you there live to examine the geopolitical shifts under way in this region. >>> officials in pyongyang and seoul have exchanged a flurry of messages throughout the day. as they work to reopen lines of communication. now south korean representatives have set a date and place for the first ministerial discussions between the neighbors in years. a number of issues will be on the table. including the reopening of the shared kaesong industrial complex. things started with an announcement on the state-run korean central news agency. the north koreans proposed the talks. they say they want to normalize oper

i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following at this hour. >> fire fight in kabul. militants launch an attack near the presidential palace. we have an exclusive report. >> brazil's leader is pledging more money for public services in response to widespread public demonstrations. >>> the lebanese militant group hezbollah, is deepening its involvement in the syria civil war and deepening sectarian divides at home. the taliban penetrated deep inside kabul on tuesday launching a daring raid near the presidential palace. nhk world was inside the palace at the time of the attack. we have footage and description of what happened. >> reporter: the assault began around 6:30 in the morning. i was at the president's palace to cover an event hosted by president hamid karzai. the sound was a series of deafening explosions. i counted at least seven blasts. soon after, a gunfight erupted between militants and security forces. the journalists were taken into the basement of the palace. we cou

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

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

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

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