the latest at this hour. the u.s. unemployment rate in august climbed 0.1% to 9.6. non-farm payroll employment was down for the third month in a row. the u.s. labor department released the figures on friday. 54,000 jobs were lost in august in the non-farm sector were sensitive to economic trends,

nine patients at a hospital in tokyo have died after exposure to a drug-resistant bacterium during treatment there. the university hospital announced that the patients died between october 2009 and august of this year after being infected with a bacteria. >> translator: i'm sorry, i should have consulted with a public agency earlier. >> the hospital told reporters on friday it detected the bacterium in 46 in-patients age 35 to 89 between august 2009 and last wednesday. 27 of the infected patients have died and nine of those deaths have been linked to the infection. the nine patients had weakened immune systems due to conditions include leukemia and kidney failure. it rarely infects healthy people but could be fatal to those with

low immunity causing pneumonia and blood poisoning. the hospital is trying to determine the origin of the infection. naval forces from south korea and the united states will start their second round of joint exercises off the korean peninsula next week and at the same time china is also planning a drill of its own in an apparent show of defiance. south korean defense ministry officials said on friday the five-day anti-submarine drills will start on sunday west of the korean peninsula in the yellow sea where a south korean war ship sank in march. south korea's government has blame the incident on a north korea torpedo attack. south korea's joint chiefs of staff say it sends a clear message of deterrence to north korea's leaders. the maneuvs are will involve about 1,700 u.s. and south korean sailors. south korea will send four ships and a submarine to take part in the drills, while the u.s. is sending a ship and submarine. china's government announced its military plans to stage live

ammunition exercises in the yellow sea from wednesday to saturday next week. but in an apparent effort to allay china's fears, the u.s. will not send a nuclear powered aircraft carrier to participate in this weekend's joint exercises as it did for previous drills in july east of the korean peninsula in the sea of japan. the leadership race for japan's democratic party is fully under way. the two contenders trying to drum up support for their policy proposals. prime minister naoto kan seeking re-election as party president is being challenged by the party's former secretary-general ichiro ozawa. on friday, the third day of official campaigning, ozawa dropped by the offices of each of the party's upper house members. those he visited included naoki tanaka, son-in-law of the late former prime minister kakuei

tanaka whose faction ozawa belonged to while he was in the liberal democratic party. meanwhile, carrying out prime ministerial duties, kan met nobuaki koga, head of rengo, the labor federation. kan's campaign decided that lawmakers in his group will return to their constituencies over the weekend to solicit support from the party's local assembly members as well as other registered party members and supporters. the race is heating up following kan and ozawa's public debate on the japan press club on thursday. the election will be held on september 14th with the winner effectively assured of becoming prime minister because the dpj holds a majority in the lower house. japan has decided to impose additional sanctions on iran which has been ignoring demands to halt the nuclear development program. the sanctions will ban 15 institutions with suspected links to nuclear proliferation from doing business with

japanese national partners. they also include a freeze on the assets of 88 organizations and 24 individuals linked to iran's revolutionary guard which is involved with the nuclear development. >> the trade ministry says the sanctions will not affect crude oil procurement, even though iran is the fourth-largest oil exporter to japan. but japanese companies will now face tougher conditions to qualify for insurance payments for any damage to their projects in iran. the sanctions also ban japanese firms from making new investment in iran's energy sector. a japanese research team

succeeded in a growing a large rat's pancreas. the first that has produced an animal organ using a different species as host. the stem cells were able to develop into various body tissues or organs. the university of tokyo's institute of medical science conducted an experiment to see whether the cells from one animal can develop into an organ even when the cells are transplanted into a different species. the group put the cells created from a rat's skin into a mouse's fertilized egg that modified to prevent the development of a pancreas. the egg was implanted into the mouse's womb. the mouse born with the egg had a normally-functioning pancreas and confirmed the pancreas originated from the rat's cells by deexiting marking proteins from the organ that had been artificially inserted. >> translator: your experiment will turn into a basic

technology for transplanting human organs created in large animals, such as pigs into, humans. israel and the palestinian authorities started negotiations in washington thursday and agreed to seek a permanent peace deal within a year. but there are major differences in their positions and the talks are expected to be difficult. nhk world has more from washington. >> reporter: u.s. president barack obama considers israeli palestinian peace process his administration's top diplomatic issue. secretary of state hillary clinton, the host of the talks, has set a bold target of reaching an agreement within a year. >> we can resolve all of the core issues within one year.

>> reporter: but on the first day of the talks, the differing positions of the two sides became clear. israel prime minister benjamin netanyahu asked the palestinian side to take strict terror. measures. >> security is the foundation of peace. without it peace will unravel. >> reporter: but the palestinian president, mahmoud abbas demanded israeli government to freeze the settlement expansion and the future palestinian territory. >> reporter: meanwhile, in the series of incidents in the west bank, armed palestinians opened fire on jewish settlers.

the attacks prompted israelis to voice their opposition to direct peace talks. the palestinian israeli group hamas has declared that it will continue attacks on jewish settlers in apparent attempt to block the peace process. on the first day of the direct talks, the two sides condemned the violence to civilians. they then agreed to meet every further details. in the past, u.s. administrations have failed in the attempt to mediate a middle east peace process. in addition to the different positions of the two sides, moves to disrupt the peace process have already come to light. the attention is focused on how determined the israelis and the palestinians are to reach a

peace deal and how strong the u.s. leadership moving toward that goal. nhk world, washington. >> since taking office, u.s. president barack obama has been calling for face-to-face talks between israel and the palestinians. in 2008, israel launched an aerial bombardment of the gaza strip, saying it aimed to stop islamic militants from launching rocket attacks against its territory. the three-week campaign resulted in the deaths of 1,300 palestinians, including many children. palestinian president abbas broke off peace talks with israel. barack obama was elected u.s. president soon after the campaign.

he stressed that the resumption of the middle east peace talks was an important issue for him. >> but if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth. the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states where israelis and palestinians each live in peace and security. >> reporter: obama urged netanyahu and abbas to resume the negotiations. obama also sent a special envoy to the region many times to break the impasse. in may of this year, the talks resumed but indirectly. abbas insisted that he could not accept direct talks without a complete freeze of jewish settlement building in the occupied west bank. netanyahu said he was ready to return to the negotiations but

did not want any preconditions. with both sides unwilling to make a compromise, the talks became deadlocked. to make matters worse, israeli troops attacked an aid flotilla headed for gaza and pro- palestinian activists were killed. the negotiations became increasingly difficult. however, the obama's administration's proactive stance has helped to bring both sides back to the negotiation table. >> in the studio, covering the middle east peace process. yes, why are the direct talks being held now? >> the u.s. government pushed hard for the talks. the middle east peace process has been a top diplomatic priority for president obama. obama wanted to see progress on the issue before the midterm elections in november. the u.s. also faces two

deadlines in september. one is the end of the indirect talks between israel and the palestinians that began in may, and are being mediated by the u.s. and on september 26th, israel's partial freeze on settlement construction will expire. for these reasons, the obama administration needs to create a new negotiation framework in early september. >> and that may be the u.s. intention, but why did the palestinians and the israelis agree to meet face-to-face? >> israel most likely judged that it would be unwise to reject the talks and strain bilateral relations with the u.s. at a time when it faces a growing threat from iran. israel has always preferred direct talks for any negotiations with the palestinians. israel apparently believes it will be better to take the initiative. >> reporter: proximity talks must lead to direct talks, as

soon as possible. peace can't be made with distance or by remote control. we are neighbors of the palestinians and they are our neighbors. >> on the other hand, palestinian president mahmoud abbas has consistently rejected direct talks without a guaranteed total freeze on israeli settlement construction but it couldn't refuse any more as the arab league, which backs palestine endorsed the talk, as did the quartet on the middle east which consists of u.s., russia, the european union and united nations. >> and what can we expect from the talks? >> the overwhelming view is that there will be no major progress. there is too big a divide between the two sides on a mountain of issues, including the settlements and borders for future palestinian state. it is thought that israel will

resume settlement construction after the ten-month moratorium expires on september 26. the palestinians say they will walk out of the talks if that happens. >> translator: the israeli government holds full responsibility for the failure and the collapse of this negotiation. if it continues the expansion of settlements. >> the two sides also face internal problems. the islamic fundamentalist group hamas has always been a headache for abbas. the group has declared that it will continue terror attacks to sabotage the talks. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has to tread carefully with his government, which includes the far right and religious parties. making concessions could cause uproar, and destabilize his government. although strong pressure from

the obama administration managed to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table. there is little optimism for any progress. >> thanks very much. north korean leader kim jong-il just returned from an unusual visit to china. >> his latest visit to china was very different from the previous trips to the country. kim last visited china three months ago. this is the first time he made two trips to the country in the same year. another first was the summit meeting with the chinese leader outside the capital in beijing. >> the first footage was

broadcast by china's state-run tv network on august 30th, after he wrapped up his five-day visit. kim went to a junior high school attended by his late father, kim il sung. the next day kim moved to the provisional capital where he had a long meeting with the chinese president, hu jintao. chinese media reported that president hu reiterated the need to resume the stalled six-party talks on north korea's nuclear program. they reported that kim said that his staff of seeking a nuclear free peninsula remains unchanged, and he expressed hope for an early resumption of the talks. there is speculation that kim held talks with chinese officials ahead of a meeting of north korea's ruling workers party with his third son may be deemed his successor.

it is not clear, however, if kim jong un accompanied his father to china. >> we're now joined by our beijing correspondent. what significance did kim's visit have for china and north korea? >> the official reason for the visit was that kim was invited by president hu. but it's obvious that the north wanted the visit to take place at this time. now this is because accelerated moves are expected at the upcoming meeting of the workers party to establish kim jong un as his father's successor. it's worth noting that north korea selected northeastern china as the destination for kim's visit just before this important meeting. many sites are associated with kim's late father, kim il sung. they include a junior high school where he is said to have begun his revolutionary activities. we can see that by visiting

these sacred places for the north koreans, kim is trying to justify his son's succession. needless to say, the chinese side was fully aware of kim's intention, and accepted the visit. >> well, it's been reported that hu and kim discussed a resumption of the six-party talks. do you think any progress was made in bringing the north back to the negotiation table? >> well, the other member countries doubt that kim is serious about rejoining the negotiations. chinese media say kim expressed hope for an early resumption of the talks. the north korean media have not reported any of kim's remarks on this topic. in fact, they have not mentioned the six-party talks at all. reporting, instead, on kim's comments hinting at the succession issue. >> then what exactly do you think the media said about the remarks? >> kim reportedly said that given the complicated international situation, it's an important, historic mission to

hand over the baton of traditional friendship between the two countries to the next generation. as the chair of the six-party talks, china wanted to draw a positive response from the north to encourage the country's return to the talks. but the main aim of kim's visit was to emphasize the importance of the succession issue. here we can see the big gap between the two sides. >> now about what about the chinese stance? what stan do you think china will take in dealing with north korea's nuclear development and also succession issues? >> there's no question that the chinese leadership objects to the north's succession. however, what china wants more than anything for the korean peninsula is stability. in other words, the last thing china wants is the north spiralling out of control or collapsing. if china openly opposes kim's planned dynastic transfer of

power, it could badly provoke the north. instead, china is aiming for a soft landing by guiding north korea's future leadership towards chinese-style reform and to abandon nuclear ambitions. >> well, thank you very much for your report. now some of the news received from broadcasting stations across asia. we begin this item in thailand. after months of tension between thailand and cambodia over a border dispute and other issues the prime minister says, a meeting with his cambodian counterpart may take place by the end of the year. on friday, a thai envoy returning said the prime minister is willing to hold a summit meeting in order to

reinforce bilateral ties. the two neighbors must find ways to live happily together. both countries' ambassadors have recently returned to their posts in bangkok. china is sending trops for members of the shanghai organization. it includes defense, with russia and four central asian nations. 1,000 members of the chinese member and air force have left their base by train. the drills will take place tweents september 9th and 25th with the focus on counterterrorism operations. hi, time for the weather again. let's go to eastern asia and talk about our tropical storm. you can see it here in the clouds. . this is a tropical storm moving

at 30 kilometers per hour. we're going to see obviously very stormy conditions, a lot of heavy rain, strong winds into saturday and sunday across the southern japanese islands. remember that we've just had pretty much the same thing from typhoon kompasu. this typhoon made landfall yesterday, near seoul in south korea. but that was after tracking pretty much the same path into the yellow sea. we've already seen a bit of a battering from storms in the islands that will be high risk for flooding and landslides. the rest of japan, mainland japan, is doingly absolutely fi. heavy rain down no northeastern china, the south as well. another area to watch across mongolia, heavy rain coming. actually the win is the biggest problem and that is bringing the temperature down by ten degrees between saturday and monday. more heavy rain also continuing across parts of western

indo-china. that's our monsoon rain. temperatures in the 30s across south. shanghai, down into manila, bangkok as well, tokyo. 35 degrees here as the heat wave continues across the country. north america now, talking about storms here, too. i new tropical depression that formed south of the baja peninsula, heading west. then there's earl, a different story altogether. this is our very large system that is moving up the atlantic coast. let's take a look at the most recent figures. earl is a category 2 storm. it is moving at 30 kilometers per hour. looks like it's going to be making landfall either in new brunswick, probably on saturday morning, local time. now, you need to make sure you check all of your local watches and warnings that are being posted for areas all along the coast. there's going to be heavy rain and that will mean flooding as well as dangerous storm force

winds. another storm we want to talk about is fiona. a much weaker storm, but this is passing close to bermuda and could bring quite a bit of strong wind and heavy rain as well, as much as 70 millimeters in 24 hours, and that's going to be on saturday as well. for the rest of north america, clear out quite well in the u.s. but we'll see heavy rain heading up into eastern parts of canada. temperaturewise, hot in the southwest. and up to the east. but those temperatures should come down by quite a bit on saturday. all right. let's take a look at europe. most of the continent is going to be dry and settled on the weekend. but down in the south, we have been dealing with severe storms. good news is they're going to start to weaken and head out towards the southern portion of the balkans. ireland, you could be seeing fairly strong wind and heavy rain in the next couple of days. but it should weaken off. this is actually -- used to be hurricane danielle, if you remember that one. this the remnants and it's going

to spill over ireland but weakening as it goes. temperatu temperaturewise, things on the cool side. 14 in staockholstockholm. better in paris. warmer in the south. 30s for athens, madrid and lisbon. here's your extended forecast.

twin giant pandas have been thrown to the media for the first time since they were born at a zoo in western japan. the adventure world zoo introduced the male and female cubs on friday. they were born at the zoo on august 11th. the male has now grown from 158 grams to 725 and the female from 123 grams to 655. according to the zoo, the babiey are already covered with downey black and white fur. during the media debut, the cubs played in an incubator and on a breeder's hand. they later started dozing off.

the pandas will make the first public appearance on saturday. that's it for "newsline." thanks for joining us on nhk world.