our look at communities in japan continues here on "newsline." later we'll have a story about this country's muslim population and the challenge it faces. the international nature conservation authority says that wild lions are a species that faces extinction. in kenya, for example, lions are in trouble. a severe drought has killed off a lot of their major food source, grass eating animals. now the hungry lions are raiding villages for live stock to feed on. >> reporter: a hungry lion recently showed up in the masai village in southern kenya, crawled its way into a house, and attacked the sheep inside. >> translator: this is rare. in fact, it's the first insta e instance. even the old men of this place are wondering. of course, a next time might be possible. >> reporter: amboseli national park, one of kenya's most famous, lies near the border with tanzania. over 440 animal species live in the wild life sanctuary. but a three-year drought has dried up the wetlands where animals can drink. the kenya wildlife service says nearly 80% of the herbivore

welcome to another edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, october 5th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. >>> japanese prime minister naoto kan and chinese premier wen jiabao have agreed to mend bilateral ties that deteriorated after a collision between a chinese trawler and japanese patrol vessels in the east china sea. kan told reporters that he had a half hour talk with wen on the sidelines of the asem summit in brussels on monday. kan said he stated that the senkaku islands are an integral part of japan and that no territorial issue is present. wen reportedly reiterated his position. kan said that the two leaders agreed that the current situation is not favorable and that japan and china should work toward establishing a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship. he also said they agreed to hold high level talks between their governments and resume private sector exchanges that were canceled or postponed after the maritime incident. >>> now in his statement, prime minister kan has emphasized the importance of international rules on trade and natural resources. he said t

welcome to another edition of "newsline." it's thursday october 7th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we first take a look at the latest business news with shery ahn. >> thanks, catherine. >>> chinese premier wen jiabao has urged the european union to stop pressuring china to revalue its currency in a speech in belgium. wen spoke at a meeting of european business people in brussels on wednesday, ahead of a summit with the eu leaders. wen said a rapid revaluation would force many chinese exporters out of business and migrant workers to return to their villages, causing social turmoil. the eu has stepped up calls for china to allow the yuan to appreciate, arguing that its exchange rate is being kept too low. wen pointed out, however, that china has helped european countries saddled with fiscal deficits. >>> meanwhile, in washington u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner has urged emerging economies to be more flexible in their foreign exchange policies. geithner made the remark in a speech on wednesday that came just before the weekend meetings of the group of

>>> this is "newsline." welcome. it's friday, october 8th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> the chilean government says rescue teams digging tunnels to reach 33 men trapped in a collapsed mine are getting closer to their goal. the minister says one of the three rescue shafts is now 535 meters deep, less than 100 meters short of the miners' cavern. rescuers plan to install steel piping inside the shaft to reduce the risk of rock fall before pulling out the miners one by one in a rescue capsule. the installation of the piping may take up to eight days. it's possible all the miners will be brought to the surface by the end of next week. the miners have been stranded in an underground shelter since the august 5th cave-in at a mine near the northern city of co of copiapo. >>> france's top constitutional authority has endorsed a law to ban women from wearing islamic face-covering veils. this clears the hurdle for the first such law in europe to take effect next spring. the law to ban islamic veils called burqa or nikab passed both houses of parliament

>>> welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, october 19th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> a powerful typhoon has swept over the northern philippines. it's expected to move north towards china on wednesday. typhoon megi passed over the philippines on monday leaving one man dead and forcing about 3,100 people to evacuate their homes. the japan meteorological agency says it's the first typhoon in 19 years to reach a central pressure below 900. at one point the storm zone expanded to a radius of 190 kilometers, encompassing most parts of luzon. they're preparing to distribute food and are urging people to watch out for floods and landslides. telephone service is out in large areas of luzon. flights or ferries have been canceled or delays. at least 100,000 evacuated due to flooding during the weekend. the local government there says floodwaters have destroyed about 1,000 houses and have caused the evacuation of at least 100,000 residents. it adds some rivers and dams are reaching flood warning levels. another report says more than 400,000 people hav

>>> glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday october 6th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> japan has renewed calls to rid the world of nuclear weapons at the united nations. speaking before a u.n. committee on tuesday, japanese delegate t maintain momentum in nuclear disarmament efforts. he was referring to last may's conference, reviewing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. after those talks signatory nations unanimously adopted a final document calling for a nuclear-free world. >> the task before us now is to maintain and further strengthen this momentum and to fully and faithfully implement the hard-won action plan. >> but those efforts for a nuclear-free world are facing an obstacle in the fissile material cutoff treaty meant to ban production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. negotiations haven't started. u.s. assistant secretary of state rose gottenmuller is now urging member nations to work on the treaty. despite that challenge, japan's delegation plans to submit a resolution along with the united states calling for uni

this is "newsline." welcome. it's friday, october 15th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. most of the 33 miners rescued from a collapsed mine in chile are said to be in good health one day after the successful rescue operation. the miners had been trapped about 700 meters underground for more than two months since a cave-in. doctors say three of them could return home soon. the miners received checkups at a hospital in nearby copiapo city. hospital workers say three men underwent surgery to treat dental infections. 63-year-old mario gomez, the oldest of the group, is said to be recovering from acute pneumonia after treatment with antibiotics. a few of the miners have shown symptoms of light stress. the hospital is filled with the miners' families. chilean president sebastian pinera also visited the hospital on thursday to congratulate them. the president indicated that laws will be reviewed to increase mine safety now, the miners' leader, luis urzua, is in the limelight. the 54-year-old shift foreman reached the surface at 9:57 p.m. on wednesday. a

welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, october 12th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. china is showing more displeasure about the nobel peace prize going to pro-democracy activist liu xiaobo. norway says beijing is calling off a bilateral fisheries meeting scheduled for this week. the cancellation comes amid growing tension between the two countries after the oslo-based committee made the announcement. norwegian fisheries and coastal affairs minister lisbeth berg-hansen was supposed to meet with china's vice fish minister niu dun on wednesday. the norwegian government says china did not give any reason for counseling the meeting. the chinese government has criticized the committee's decision. it said liu is a convict under the country's law. he is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence. the authorities have set up checkpoints around the prison in leelian liaoning province, where liu is being kept. they're also denying media access to the facility. surveillance have also stepped up in beijing and here in the apartment where his wife lives. everyone except resident

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> u.s. researchers sayhey have dcovere a potentially h habitable new plan tent. it was led by astronomers at the university of california and carnegie institution of washington made the announcement on wednesday. the astronomers spent 11 years using a telescope in hawaii, one of the world's largest to observe a fixed star in the constellation libra. they say that a newly discovered planet yoorbiting gliese's gravy is similar to that earth of which would make atmosphere possible and life could be sustained in such an environment. two other previously detected planets may also contain life but the astronomers say that this most recent find offers better conditions. the exist tense of water and an atmosphere on the planet has not yet been confirmed. nasa says more research is need to back up the astronomers' theory. >>> three of the four japanese detained in china have been released but one man remains in custody. the four were de

glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline." it's friday, october 8 in tokyo. the u.s. dollar is trade ing in the lower 82 yen range in new york on thursday. this comes after it fell to a new 15-year low against the yen. the dollar fell to 82.11 yen at one point earlier in the day in new york on speculation that u.s. authorities may implement further monetary easing. heavy selling of the dollar for the yen is also being fueled by expectations that weaker than excted u.s. employment data may be released on friday. >>> the european central bank has decided to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 1% for the 17th straight month. the bank made the decision for the 16-nation euro-zone during a board meeting in frankfurt, germany, on thursday. the ecb apparently hopes the move will prop up the region's economy amid lingering concerns over the prospects for a global recovery. the bank of england also decided on thursday to hold its own rates steady at 0.5%. on tuesday, the bank of japan decided to reinstate a virtual 0% interest rate policy. the u.s. fede

>>> hello again and welcome back to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> north korea's envoy to the six-party talks says his country is ready to resume talks on the program. the talks have been suspended since december 2008. first the vice foreign minister made the remark to reporters on friday in beijing after meeting with the chair of the six-party talks. he added that while the north is positive, the united states, south korea and japan remain cautious. kim then referred to u.n. security council sanctions against the north over its nuclear tests. kim said the north has no obligation to participate in talks as long as sanctions are in place but that members of the talks could still find a solution. nhk's correspondent in beijing says kim appeared to be using a possible return to the talks as a bargaining chip for the removal of sanctions and direct negotiations with the u.s. >>> three former japanese abductees who were taken by north korean agents in the 1970s have made a fresh plea for an early

welcome to this edition of "newsline." >>> ministerial-level talks of the tenth conference of parties to the u.n. convention on biological diversity has started. cop10 has been held for nine days in nagoya, central japan. developing countries and developed nations remain at odds over setting a global target for preserving biodiversity and crafting new international rules on sharing the commercial benefits derived from genetic resources. ministerial-level officials from more than 110 countries will try to break the deadlock. informal discussions will be held alongside the working-level talks. japanese environment minister ryu matsumoto, who chairs cop10, told nhk about his determination to achieve a breakthrough. participants at the u.n. conference on biological diversity got a touch of hollywood on tuesday. actor harrison ford attended a reception at the conference, aiming to get political leaders to make the commitment to preserving biodiversity around the world. >> we are the problem. we are the solution. >> ford has been working for more than 15 years with conservation internationa

dissiden >>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> jailed chinese dissident and human rights activist liu xiaobo has won this year's nobel peace prize. the nobel committee in norway made the announcement on friday. >> the nobel committee has decided to award the nobel peace prize of 2010 to liu xiaobo for his long struggle for fundamental human rights in china. >> the 54-year-old became active a human rights activist while attending university. human rig attending university. in 1989 he joined a pro-democracy demonstrations in tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown.at tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown. tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdow tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdowa tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdt tiananmen square, which ended in a bloody military crackdown. authorities arrested liu as one of the protest's leaders and he was sentenced to 18 month

>>> this is "newsline." glad to have you. it's wednesday, october 20th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. japanese department store operator isetan mitsukoshi holdings has cancelled a plan to open a second store in tianjin, china saying it is not the right time. the decision followed a series of large anti-japan protests in the country. the firm planned to open its second outlet in tianjin by the end of this year. it regards china as one of its most promising markets and has already launched four outlets in the country so far. but the company changed its expansion plan after its store in chengdu, sichuan province was forced to close because of anti-japanese protests. the firm had also face the a hard time reaching agreements with local governments over conditions. isetan mitsukoshi holdings says china will remain the pillar of its overseas operations because of the country's strong economy. but the firm says it is reviewing its business plan for the near future including a store opening in beijing. >>> a former president of japan's upper house sa

welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday, october 6th, 8:00.m. in kyo. i'cathinekoyash e bankf japan has decided to further lower the key interest rate taking it down to around 0.1% for the first time in four years. the central bank took the step amid growing fears the economy may not be able to pull itself out of deflation any time soon. the boj decision came at a two-day regular policy board meeting that ended on tuesday. the board members agreed that while the economy has been recovering gradually, its pace could slow due to the sluggish u.s. economy and the soaring yen. these factors have dampened japanese exporters' outlook according to the latest tankan survey released last week. based on the data the boj decided to loosen its credit grip further adding to previous measures taken in august. they also decided to consider setting up a $420 billion fund to be used to keep the interest rate down and spur asset back to investment. the central bank is thinking of dipping into the fund to buy government as well as corporate bonds and other financial produ

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> in japan, two senior prosecutors have been arrested for allegedly covering up for a subordinate who tampered with evidence. they're reportedly denying the charges. japan's prosecutor's office has been investigating the case linked to the arrest of the aka district prosecutor. he is accused of altering data on a floppy disk seized as evidence in a postal fraud investigation involving welfare ministry officials. prosecutors suspect his supervisors deliberately concealed his crime. the two who were arrested are otsubo, a special investigator in osaka, and his deputy sega. sources say mida admitted to a colleague he altered data when the case became an issue a trial this year. mida was interview-- >> translator: prosecutors feared they'd lose face. they were intent on making her a criminal and that created this result. >> they had no courage once they recognized they'd made mistakes. >> translator: prosecutors should reveal the t

glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, october 5th, 8:00 al in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> naoto kan and wen jiabao have agreed to mend bilateral ties that deteriorated after a collision between a trawler and vessels in the east china sea. kan told reporters that he had a half hour talk with wen oton sidelines of the asem summit in brussels on sunday. >> kan said he stated that the senkaku islands are a part of jan annd that no territorial issue is present. wen reportedly reiterated his position. the current situation is not favorable and that japan and china should work toward establishing a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship. he also said they agreed to hold high level talks between their governments and resume private sector exchanges that were canceled or postponed after the maritime incident. now, prime minister kan has emphasized the importance of international rules on trade and natural resources. he was speaking on the opening day of the asia-europe meeting in brussels. he said that to deepen relations between asia and europe

>>> hello again and welcome back to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> north korea's envoy to the six-party talks says his country is ready to resume talks on the program. the talks have been suspended since december 2008. first the vice foreign minister made the remark to reporters on friday in beijing after meeting with the chair of the six-party talks. he added that while the north is positive, the united states, south korea and japan remain cautious. kim then referred to u.n. security council sanctions against the north over its nuclear tests. kim said the north has no obligation to participate in talks as long as sanctions are in place but that members of the talks could still find a solution. nhk's correspondent in beijing says kim appeared to be using a possible return to the talks as a bargaining chip for the removal of sanctions and direct negotiations with the u.s. >>> three former japanese abductees who were taken by north korean agents in the 1970s have made a fresh plea for an early

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the group of 20 nations have wrapped up the first day of meetings. they're discussing a proposal to set a numerical target for the size of national current account balances. the move is meant to discourage devaluing their currency to boost exports. the two-day gathering began in south korea on friday. the participants include japan's finance minister yoshihiko noda and bank of japan governor masaaki shirakawa. the u.s. and south korea proposed each country should try to contain its current account deficit or surplus within 4% of its gross domestic product by 2015. to hit that target, countries with a massive current account surplus like china may be forced to let their currencies appreciate. observers say china and other emerging economies may oppose the proposal. negotiations are likely to continue until saturday when a joint statement will be issued. noda was cautious about the

>>> this is "newsline." glad to have you. it's thursday october 21st, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we have a big day for numbers out of china today with gdp figures just out. here's ines matsuyama with the details. ines. >> thank you very much, catherine. hello. >>> chuna's national bureau of statistics says china's gdp group 9.6% in the three months through september from a year earlier. the third quarter gdp growth slowed from 10.3% from the previous period, marking the second straight quarter of slowdowns. it is also the first time in a year that gdp growth was in the single digits. the chinese government has been taking measures to cool the economy, and those are possibly reflected in the slower growth rate. >>> the british government will cut its spending by 80 billion pounds, or $120 billion, by 2014 to slash its fiscal deficits. the uk's massive budget deficits in fiscal 2009 amounted to 11% of its gdp, one of the worst among industrialized countries. >> today is the day when britain steps back from the brink. tackling this budget deficit is unavoida

>>> this is "newsline." welcome. it's tuesday, october 12th, 11:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. >>> a u.s. biotechnology firm says it has started the world's first test using embryonic stem cells on a human patient. geron corporation said on monday that it's treating a patient with spinal paralysis. researchers are injecting embryonic nerve cells into the person's spinal cord. embryonic stem cells come from human embryos. they have the potential to be cultivated into any tissue or organ. there is high expectation that they can be used in regenerative medicine. the company says the purpose is to establish that stem cells can be used safely on humans. through the research, it hopes to provide a cure for people with spinal cord damage in the future. stem cell use is controversial in the u.s. christian right groups say it's unethical to use fertilized eggs because it destroys human life. in august, a u.s. federal court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the argument that it's illegal for the government to support such experiments.

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> a chinese foreign ministry official says it may now be difficult to hold summit talks with japan in vietnam. the meeting was scheduled for friday evening. china's state run news agency quotes assistant foreign minister hu zhengyue as saying japan made untrue statements about talks between the two countries' foreign ministers. they met in the vietnamese capital hanoi earlier on friday. hu said the japanese move ruined the atmosphere for the leaders from the two sides to meet. he added that the japanese side should take full responsibility for any consequences that arise. the two countries had earlier agreed that prime minister naoto kan would hold talks on the sidelines of the os onmeetings with the chinese foreign minister. during friday's talk he says japan made incorrect statements about china's position. the islands are effectively under japanese control. hu also expressed displeasure about the issue of the islands being t

glad you could join us on this edition of newsline. a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> massive demonstrations by police led to the closures of hi at an international airport. police officers held rallies in ecuador's capitol, the largest city and elsewhere to protest the passage of a law that cuts bonuses for police and members of the military. the demonstrations prompted the closures of businesses and most schools in the city. the president was reportedly hospitalized from the effects of tear gas after attempting to speak at a police barracks. the state of emergency puts the military in charge of security. no one has been killed so far. the government is urging the public to remain calm. it's trying to appease protesters by arguing that police pay has improved significantly. >>> china has reacted sharply. on thursday chinese commerce spokesperson said they are attributed the deficit to the unjustifiably weak, while many asian economies relish in trade surpluses. in june china let them fluctuate again, virtually pegging the currency to the u

. >>> that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo. we'll be back in a half-hour. thanks for watching nhk world.

welcome to this edition of "newsline." environmentalists are set to join the u.n. conference on biodiversity. host nation japan is hoping to broker political deals on the divisive issues. the conference is taking place in nagoya. working level talks focused on two key goals. one is to craft new international rules on sharing the commercial benefits derived from genetic resources. the second is to set a global target for preserving biodwergs diversity. observers say negotiators appear unlikely to reach a consensus before working level talks end on ftuesday. on wednesday, 120 officials begin their meetings. japan is hoping to extend the working level talks while also coaxing the ministers to find common ground by focusing on practical issues. the cop-10 conference is due to end on friday. >>> one of the top agenda items at the cop-ten meeting is marine biodiversity. the strong interest in this issue in japan as alien species have entered the nation's coastal waters, threatening its ecosystem. >>> yatsu tideland stretches from tokyo bay. over 130 species visit the tid

>>> hello and welcome to "newsline." i'm hideshi hara in tokyo with the latest at this hour. >>> in japan, two senior prosecutors have been arrested for allegedly covering up for a subordinate who tampered with evidence. they're reportedly denying the charges. japan's prosecutor's office has been investigating the case linked to the arrest of the osaka district prosecutor. he is accused of altering data on a floppy disk seized as evidence in a postal fraud investigation involving welfare ministry officials. prosecutors suspect his supervisors deliberately concealed his crime. the two who were arrested are otsubo, a special investigator in osaka, and his deputy sega. sources say mida admitted to a colleague he altered data when the case became an issue at trial this year. mida was interview-- >> translator: prosecutors feared they'd lose face. they were intent on making her a criminal and that created this result. >> they had no courage once they recognized they'd made mistakes. >> translator: prosecutors should reveal th

glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline" on wednesday, october 13th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. final preparations are under way to rescue 33 chilean miners trapped 700 meters underground for more than two months. the president of chile told reporters on tuesday evening that the rescue operation will begin by 8:00 p.m. local time or 23 hours utc. he said the rescue work that demanded many sacrifices is about to end happily and families will be able to hug their loved ones before the sunrise. the miners will be brought to the surface one by one in a specially made capsule. only 54 centimeters de, about the depth of their shoulders. the device includes an oxygen supply and telephone. it will take 15 to 20 minutes for the capsule to travel to the surface including turn-around time it is expected to take about two days to bring up all the miners. because this is an unprecedented operation the rescuers must be prepared for problems. families and journalists are waiting for the men at the makeshift camp hope which has taken on a festive atmosphere as

. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. lñxñx

welcome to this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, october 14th in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. >>> now we're of course following the story in chile, miner richard vili havvillaroel become the 28th miner rescued. the operation was progressing faster than expected. they hope to rescue all the miners during the night. at a nearby camp where the men's relatives are standing by shouts of joy have erupted with each rescue. people were seen hugging and crying. the men were taken to a hospital in copiapo for a full health checkup. at first it took about an hour to rescue each one but the pace has quickened. the chilean government says the rescued man and those still underground have no major health problems. now we're currently looking at of course the live footage coming out of san jose mine where 33 miners were trapped 700 meters underground for over two months. it's currently 8:00 p.m. wednesday night in copiapo, chile. 28 miners have so far been rescued. there are five more to go exactly. we're awaiting the rescue of the 29th miner. the fenix capsule just e

. >>> and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the next hour. hope you stay with us.

>>> glad you could join us on this edition of "newsline." it's thursday, october 14th in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi with your updates. >>> now, the extraordinary operation in chile to rescue 33 miners trapped about 700 meters underground has finally ended. the last miner has stepped out from the fenix capsule, and people around the rescue site shouted for joy. [ cheers and applause ] the last miner to be rescued, 54-year-old shift foreman luis urzuwa emerged from the capsule at 9:57 p.m. wednesday. family menz ambers and rescuers hugged each other and cheered. urzua is the leader of the team. he volunteered to be the last man rescued so he could confirm that all the others had made it out safely. the miners were trapped when the gold and copper mine near copiapo in northern chile caved in on august 5th. they were confirmed alive 17 days later. rescue work to pull the men out one by one began before midnight on tuesday local time. the miners were lifted up in a capsule through a vertical shaft. the capsule is four meters high and just 56 centimeters wide. the chilean governme

glad you could join us on another edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, october 13th, in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. in copiapo, chile it is 11:00 p.m. tuesday night. the rescue operation for 33 chilean miners trapped 700 meters underground for more than two months is to start soon. an unmanned capsule has been sent underground to test the operation. the 33 men will be pulled up to the surface one by one in the special capsule. only 54 centimeters wide, about the width of their shoulders. the device includes an oxygen supply and telephone. a rescue worker will first go down to the shelter to check on the miners' physical condition. the first miner will then be put in the capsule. four or five rescue workers will descend into the shelter to help the miners during the operation. four experienced miners will be pulled out first because they are expected to be able to cope with unforeseen situations. miners with health problems will be next, followed by the physically fit. chilean president sebastian pinera, who is now at the site, we can see him now in the live footage coming o