And venezuelas president and opposition leaders sat down for peace talks intended to quell months of political unrest that has claimed dozens of lives. Authorities are trying to negotiate an end to separatist protests in Eastern Ukraine. Prorussian demonstrators moved in to government buildings on sunday. The interim Prime Minister is headed to the region to try to defuse the crisis. But officials in his government havent ruled out the use of force. Nhk worlds craig dale reports. Reporter the barricades in Eastern Ukraine keep growing. The crowds and the provisions, too. But these prorussian demonstrators are facing an eviction order. Authorities want them to end their occupation of government buildings. The deputy interior minister says theyre trying to reach a negotiated settlement. Use of force remains an option. Talk didnt work in one city. Security forces went in and made arrests. These occupations have stretched on for nearly a week now. Demonstrators say they want to hold referendums on greater regional autonomy. Some even want to break away from ukraine. The evidence is overwhelming. Reporter but u. S. Officials say those wants come directly from moscow. They very carefully orchestrated, wellplanned, welltargeted, wellcoordinated effort. Reporter russian leaders deny theyre behind the protests. President Vladimir Putin says hes trying to improve the situation in ukraine. Members of his administration say nato is trying to make things worse by releasing these satellite images, which the russians say are months old. But officials with the alliance maintain the images are fresh and show up to 40,000 Russian Troops on the border with ukraine. Fixedwing aircraft, rotarywing aircraft, artillery. Reporter natos top general says the force has what it needs to accomplish military objectives. It certainly has the capability to do a limited incursion if directed into Eastern Ukraine. Reporter complicating matters is a growing dispute over energy. Putin is warning european leaders that natural gas supplies to ukraine will be cut off if the country doesnt pay its debt to russias gazprom. Some of the gas used by european nations is routed through ukraine. Its also fuel for a growing standoff between russia and the west. Senior officials with ukraine, the u. S. , the eu and russia, plan to meet next week to discuss a way forward. But one american official has already said her side doesnt have high expectations. Craig dale, nhk world. European leaders are worried the situation may rekindle a separatist movement in neighboring moldova. Residents of the transdniestria region declared independent in 1990. More than 90 of residents voted for a referendum in 2006 for incorporation with russia. The diplomatic chief said their goal remains the same. Translator we havent changed our diplomatic policy to join russia. This is not just our wish but our goal, and were moving forward that goal. She says ethnic russians are restricted in their movements along the border with ukraine. She accuses the Ukrainian Government of ignoring a call by president putin to protect them. And nato commanders say Russian Troops could easily move in to the region. Time to get you caught up now with the very latest in business. Finance ministers at Central Bank Governors from the group of 20 nations are discussing ukraine. Theyve agreed on the need to provide Financial Assistance to the country. The leaders have wrapped up their first day of talks in washington. Many of them agreed that ukraine needs help covering its debts. Theyre concerned that uncertainty in the country could spread beyond its borders, and pose a risk to the global economy. In a statement to be issued after the twoday meeting, theyre expected to support the move by the International Monetary fund to provide aid to ukraine. They also plan to stress the need to give assistance to the country. Negotiators from japan and the United States will meet in washington next week, in yet another bid to achieve a breakthrough in talks. Theyve spent months now trying to forge a Transpacific Partnership deal. But they wrapped up their latest meeting in tokyo with little progress. Economic revitalization minister akira amari met for two days with u. S. Trade representative michael froman. They debated japans tariffs on five categories of agricultural products, including beef and pork. Japanese negotiators tried to strike a compromise but their u. S. Counterparts wouldnt budge. They insisted japan should reduce the duties to almost zero. Both sides are keen to find a breakthrough before president barack obama visits later this month. The negotiators are ranging another meeting between amari and froman. Amari will go to washington next week. Thats if the diet approves the plan. Lets get a check of the markets now. Investors in asia pulled money out of stocks as heavy selling on wall street hurt investor confidence. Most asian bourses finished the day lower. Tokyos nikkei tumbled the most in nearly a month to sink for a low this year. The shanghai composite retreated from a sevenweek high that it hit on thursday. Now the nikkei average giving up about 2. 4 there, the 13,960. Thats the lowest close that weve seen in six months. The yens continued strength dampened overall sentiment. The operator of the eunuch low chain fast retailing chain plunged after cutting its profit forecast. The shanghai composite also with losses today. It was down just about 0. 2 , 2130. Market players took profits following a strong runup over the last four trading days. Also investors were somewhat less hopeful that beijing may provide further stimulus measures. And in taiwan, the taiex index losing almost half a percent, 8,908. That was a pullback from a 2014 high recorded on the previous day. High tech shares took a beating tracking the negative performance of the sector in the United States. Japanese consumers are tightening their purse strings. Theyre spending less now on tvs and other digital goods, ever since that consumption tax went up from 5 to 8 on april 1st. Analysts at a private Research Firm bcn surveyed 22 bulk Home Appliance retailers nationwide. They added up their preliminary sales figures from the week after the tax rise took effect. The analysts say sales of tvs fell 33 from the same period a year earlier. They say sales of dvd recorders and similar devices plunged by 41 . Sales of digital cameras were down 30 . The analysts also found sales of Notebook Computers declined by 10 . Thats despite the need for new machines following the change of the windows xp operating system. Japanese people went on a spending spree in march in the leadup to the tax hike. Experts predicted consumers would be more frugal after the rise. But the bcn analysts say the slump in spending is even worse than expected. However they say Strong Demand for 4k high ultradefinition tvs and products will revive sales by the summer. Meanwhile prices of goods traded among companies in japan have lizzen on the year for a 12th straight month. The bank of japan says the corporate goods price index edged up 1. 7 in march. Central Bank Officials say a weaker yen and Higher Oil Prices pushed up fuel import costs. Prices of electric power, gas, and water climbed 12. 6 . Petroleum and Coal Products were up 5. 6 . Iron and steel prices saw a 5. 2 gain. Demand for steel increased due to more public works, and urban development projects. Economists at the bank say they need to watch carefully how the consumption tax hike will affect prices. Japanese government officials have approved the First Energy Strategy since the Fukushima Nuclear accident three years ago. The new basic energy plan designates Nuclear Power generation as an important Baseload Energy source. As we faced reality of the degree of our dependence on imported fossil fuels is greeter than during the First Oil Crisis of the 1970s, i cannot easily say we can halt Nuclear Power generation. The plan approved bied cabinet is say devised version of the draft the government submitted in february. Some members of the ruling parties opposed the target. The government set on Renewable Energy. The new plan calls for the reopening of Nuclear Power plants if the government gets the thumbs up from regulators. But the plan also notes that the country should reduce its reliance on Nuclear Power through energy saving, as well as the use of Renewable Energy, and thermal power generation. Says the nation will aim to produce more Renewable Energy than it previously targeted. Construction companies in japan are thriving. Workers are already busy rebuilding towns across northeastern japan and theres going to be a lot more work to do, as well as tokyo prepares to host the 2020 olympic games. But the project managers are facing a big problem now. They just cant find enough people to do the work. The number of skilled construction workers peaked 17 years ago. And its been declining ever since that time. Managers know theyre just going to be getting busier so theyre searching elsewhere for employees. Theyre looking abroad for some trainees. Translator i come from the philippines. Translator i came from china to learn how to process steel. Reporter employers are turning to a Government Program that brings people from overseas to japan to learn vocational skills. Then put those skills in to practice. An estimated 15,000 people work in the Construction Industry as part of the program. Thats up 30 from two years ago. Guen arrived last spring from vietnam. He was assigned to a condominium construction site in tokyo. He says he wants to train in japan, then head home, where construction skills are in high demand. Translator im still learning this job. I think i can become good at it. Translator hes really quick with his hands. He doesnt look like a trainee. Reporter his employer says orders have been pouring in since japans economy started picking up. Translator we have received another order today. Reporter but project managers are struggling to keep up. They say on an average day theyre about 20 workers short. So theyve begun recruiting prospective employees in vietnam. Apprentices spend four months studying japanese and the basics of the job before they set foot in japan. Trnsz this advanced education means people are ready to become an effective part of the workforce when they arrive in japan. Reporter but Union Leaders are worried about the influx of foreign labor. They say their program could drive down wages and reduce the overall standard of work. Translator it takes more than just a few years to really learn these skills. Reporter the Union Leaders say they recognize the need for foreign trainees, but some say people in the industry may have to change their attitudes. Translator many people hold negative views about accepting foreigners. But are such views justifiable . We are now in the age where we have to think about accepting workers from overseas, and consider how to make best use of their strengths. Reporter its not just japans Construction Industry thats facing the labor shortage. Experts say managers in the agricultural sector, and in a number of other industries, may soon need to look abroad, too. And that is going to do it for biz this hour. Heres a check of the markets. Relief workers say a generation in syria risks being lost forever. They say more than 5 million children have been affected by the civil war, and many are facing a new threat from above. Nhk worlds aish to Shi Nishikawa reports. Reporter its been three years since the uprising started in syria. But at the border more and more Syrian People are coming to turkey. At the border many of them say they had to escape indiscriminate attacks by syrian troops. Translator deadly barrel bombs fall from the sky and harm people indiscriminately. Reporter troops loyal to president Bashar Al Assad last year started dropping barrel bombs. Theyre handmade and packed with explosives, nails, and other metal pieces. The bombs are often dropped from helicopters without precision to kill or maim people. Children and women, they are very fear from helicopters because they know if this barrel fall beside them, all of them will be killed. Reporter such bombs victims include many children. 14yearold ahmed is one of them. He was at home when a barrel bomb exploded. A metal piece as big as his fist hit him. Translator i never thought Something Like this would happen to me. Suddenly, a barrel bomb hit. I felt something hot on my legs, but didnt realize i was injured. Reporter the shrapnel shattered his right upper leg. He was evacuated to a turkish hospital, and has had two operations. The doctor says the bombs are inhumane. Translator barrel bombs can cause damage as horrific as that of chemical weapons. I want the world to know about them. Reporter ahmed doesnt know if hell be able to walk around like he used to. As peace talks between syrias government and opposition have stalled, children like him have little hope for a Bright Future in their country. Nhk world, on the syrian turkish border. The governor of okinawa has said he wants the u. S. Marines to shut down their futenma air station within five years. The marines commander says it wont happen until a replacement facility is ready. Lieutenant general John Whistler says it would be difficult to move aircraft and troops temporarily from futenma to bases elsewhere in japan. He says they arent equipped to take the same aircraft. The leaders of japan and the u. S. Have agreed to move the base from densely populated urban area to a coastal district within the prefecture. Okinawas governor last year approved the landfill project for replacement facility. Some residents are opposed to that plan. They want the base moved out of okinawa. The president of venezuela has sat down with opposition leaders to try and find a way to stem the countrys worst Political Violence in years. Talks between Nicolas Maduro and the opposition were the first since the unrest broke out in february. As many as 40 people have been killed in clashes between antigovernment demonstrators, and security forces. Nhk worlds yuji osawa has more. Reporter the road here was long and complicated. But it was worth it. Were going to listen patiently and with respect and tolerance to the compatriots of the opposition. Reporter the mediated talks were held at the president ial palace in caracas, and were broadcast live on state television. They were brokered in part by regional leaders and supervised by representatives from the vatican. Eleven opposition leaders took part. They demanded the release of alleged political prisoners, the creation of an independent Truth Commission to determine who is to blame for the violence, and the disarmament of groups loyal to maduro. Translator how are you going to ask for respect if you are not respectful . How are you going to ask the country to accept you if you call half the country fascists . Reporter the protest began in two western states in early february. Initially the protesters demanded increased security after female student was allegedly raped. The countrys crime rate is among the worst in the world. The demonstrations soon spread to other parts of the country. The protesters were joined by hardline opposition supporters, backed by the middle class. They contend the government for rampant inflation and shortages of basic goods such as milk and sugar. They demanded that maduro resign. They said, hes wrecking the country by sticking to the legacy of the late president hugo chavez. Chavez sought to redesign the country under the banner socialism of the 21st century. As part of his policy to redistribute wealth, chavez nationalized several industries. He won strong support among the poor. Not everyone opposes the policies of president maduro. People have rallied en masse to show their support. The government accuses the opposition of trying to stage a coup. It says the protesters are supported by the United States. The televised talks lasted for more than four hours. But there was some noticeable absences. Hardline activists boycotted the talks, while students, who make up the backbone of the protest movement, were not invited. For now, the student leaders have vowed not to end their protests any time soon. Yuji osawa, nhk world. Time now for check of the weather across the globe. An extremely powerful storm is nearing northeastern tip of australia. Our meteorologist robert speta is here with an update. Robert . Yes, this very severe cyclone ita currently coming onshore just north of cairns and this one is packing quite a punch. Actually got some imagery coming out of cooktown just north of cairns, as well. This is located right in the right front quadrant and this was taken just a few hours ago. Already have the Gale Force Winds continuing to push onshore here and no reports of damage just yet but im sure that is going to be changing through the coming hours as we go after sunset, and even structural damage. Actually people who are in houses built before 1985 have been told by local authorities to get out of those homes due to lower building standards at that time. And theyre saying that those homes will likely be destroyed due to these category 4 strength winds. Were talking about winds gusting up near 200 kilometers per hour. Take a look at the center of circulation. Right here, very welldefined eye. The southern periphery of this storm system, we have the arrows drawn in red. That is indicating those winds coming onshore, and this is where youre seeing the highest threat of storm surge. North of cairns, up towards cooktown, port douglas. These are the locations where you are going to be seeing that rising tide throughout the day. These very damaging winds, and take a look at the official track here. Winds right now 195 kilometers per hour, gusting, actually, up to 275 kilometers per hour. As this does come onshore, right around port flattery just north of cooktown and also, watch it, it continues to track down towards the south. Still a category 1 cyclone just towards the west of cairns. So your still under cyclone warnings as well with these damaging winds likely going in to your saturday. So this is going to be a prolonged storm system, continuing to gather moisture out of the coral sea so widespread flooding expected out here, as well. And definitely want to continue to check in on this storm system a little bit later on. Lets take a look at whats going on off towards the north. High pressure is dominating still across much of japan, back towards the west. We are seeing some showers just north of the Yangtze River basin, even extending over towards shanghai and off towards beijing. You can see some precipitation going through the next 24 hours. And eventually, this is going to continue to track off there towards the east. And we have this high over japan. That is going to be pumping moisture in along the western periphery of this. So as we see this go off, it has that rainfall come in and into the Southern Japanese islands. You can see some rain by the end of the weekend heading over towards monday. For now that high is in place and it is dry across most of japan. These are the dry air advisories. Almost everybody has it right now. And if you are experiencing this, you may be experiencing the itchy eyes, also well just dry skin, even nosebleeds possible, and take a look at this, mild shots of static electricity. Thats something you have to watch out for with your feet on the carpet and touch a doorknob for example you might get a little shock there. Thats something to look at for the next 24 hours across much of japan. Lets take a look over towards the americas now. A cold front pushing across the northeast. This is bringing some rain showers and even a threat of severe thunderstorms along it. But thats not the big topic for Severe Weather this coming weekend. Its going to be the next storm, that ones going to go off. Look at this right here, it comes in from the north and this is going to be erupting some thunderstorms, especially the Lower Mississippi river valley, this area right here by sunday night into monday, youre going to be looking at the threat of not only damaging winds but also tornadoes and even hail possibly. One thing in that will be these very warm temperatures that youre seeing throughout the first part of your weekend. Heres the extended forecast. Before we go, three japanese dancers have earned prizes for their performances in one of the Worlds Largest ballet competitions. They took part in the youth america grand prix. Haruo knee yam ma finished first in the mens senior division. June mass aud today received the honors in the mens juniors. And yuki came in second in the womens junior division. Nearly 7,000 young dancers aged 9 to 19 take part in the annual competition. And that concludes this edition of newsline. Im keikichi hanada. On behalf of our team, thank you for staying with us. Gg99nnwccnw hello and welcome to the france 24 newsroom. Looms fornews russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine in the standoff. The countrys Prime Minister heads to the region and we get an update from our correspondent. The United Nations gives the goahead to send a 12,000 strong peacekeeping force to the Central African republic. The country faces mounting sectarian violence. Mounting ties between france and mexico