a spokesperson for a british-based monitoring group says militants are trying to use the ruins as shields from air strikes and shelling. he says the fighters think government forces will not target a world heritage site. unesco's chief says she's worried. >> i appeal to all parties in the conflict for an immediate cease-fire in and around palmyra. it is an extremely important world heritage site that belongs to the whole of humanity and we have the responsibility to protect and preserve it. i can't imagine that the world will never see palmyra any more. >> islamic state military militants have repeatedly destroyed artifacts and monuments in northern iraq calling them idol worship. top diplomats from the united states and cuba have opened their fourth round of talks on normalizing diplomatic relations. they are talking about opening embassies in each other's capitals. the chief of the cuban foreign ministry's foreign division met in washington. the countries began the series of talks in january. u.s. president barack obama and cuban president raul castro held the first summit between the nations since they severed diplomatic relations in 1961. obama also notified congress of his decision to remove cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism. the measure is expected to take effect as soon as next week. a senior american official said ahead of the latest meeting that a cuban request for opening bank accounts in the u.s. would be met. foreign ministry officials in havana say they welcome washington's decisions. they say their statements have restored a suitable environment for reis storing diplomatic ties. envoys from southeast asia and the u.s. are visiting myanmar to discuss a growing problem. they are trying to find ways to deal with the thousands of rohingya migrants who have landed in malaysia and indonesia and the thousands stranded at sea. malaysia's foreign affairs minister discussed migrant crisis. he says officials will work to resolve tension between the rohingya muslims and buddhist ma joert. malaysian prime minister tweeted on thursday that he has ordered the navy and the coast guard to rescue people drifting in boats. officials in malaysia and indonesia said they would reopen temporary shelters if other country resettle or repatriate the migrants within one year. international criticism has made them stop refusing the migrants. >> translator: we work with international bodies to offer shelter. it's never been indonesia's official policy to turn back boats. >> the u.s. deputy secretary of state visited myanmar to hold talks with the president. he urged officials to work with regional partners to tackle the issue. some rohingya migrants are telling how they got call the up in this humanitarian crisis. nhk world's yusuke ota reports. >> reporter: some of the rescued migrants are staying in a port city in aceh province, western indonesia. rohingya muslims from myanmar are queuing for food at this temporary shelter. about 260 rohingya people are being housed here. they drifted at sea for many days before they were rescued by a fishing boat. muhammad amin decided to flee persecution in myanmar, but the harsh reality of his sea journey was very different from what he had expected. amin paid more than $1,300 to a smuggler to set out on a boat with his two younger sisters, aged 13 and 15. their vessel was joined by others off the coast of thailand. amin says they were transferred to one boat. >> translator: there were so many people on the boat, we couldn't even sit down. >> reporter: with no country offering help, the migrants were forced to drift at sea. many died on board. >> translator: we were running out of food. we got into fights with the other passengers. my friend drowned when he was hit and pushed into the sea. >> reporter: amin drifted at sea for three months before the boat sunk. he barely survived the ordeal, but his two sisters are still missing. he can't help being pessimistic when he thinks about the future. >> translator: where can we go? we will be killed if we return to myanmar. >> reporter: the immigration authorities are struggling to deal with the huge number of people heading for the country's shore. >> translator: all foreigners entering indonesia must have the correct legal documents. migrants arriving in boats can only go to third countries or return to their homelands. >> reporter: lives are still being lost at sea. calls are mounting for the international community to take urgent action. yusuke ota, nhk world, indonesia. japanese air self-defense force pilots have been tracking potential intruders. they scrambled when two chinese bombers flew close to some of japan's southern islands. defense officials say the chinese were spotted over the east china sea between okinawa and miyako. they say fighter pilots took off to get a closer look. the officials say the chinese flew out to the pacific then returned to the east china sea without violating japanese air space. chinese air force officials say their bombers flew between the two japanese islands for the first time. they say their pilots were training in line with international law and did not target any specific country. a chinese intelligence-gathering plane flew on a similar course in february. japanese defense officials say aircraft from china prompted fighters to scramble 464 times during the year through march. so-called fast-track legislation that would help speed up progress towards the transpacific partnership free trade deal has moved another step closer to becoming law. ai uchida joins us now with the details. what is happening? >> as you know this bill would give president barack obama greater authority in negotiations over the free-trade deal. he wants to be able to accelerate approval of the tpp agreement by congress. the u.s. senate is set to vote on the fast-track bill this week after clearing the last procedural vote. senators have adopted a motion to put the trade authority bill to a full vote. some democrats are cautious about the tpp bill. they tried to delay the bill but the senate passed the motion. the senate is expected to pass the fast-track legislation. attention is now focused on how the house of representatives will deal with the bill. its passage is expected to give fresh momentum to the tpp talks. it would allow the congress to accept or reject the treaty without amendments. but the house has not set a schedule for discussing the bill. a third party panel set up by toshiba has decided to widen the probe into the accounting irregularities. the investigation is looking into cases where the firm allegedly padded profits by underestimating construction costs in infrastructure related projects. the panel has decided to widen the probe into the tv personal computer and semiconductor businesses. cost estimates in their accounting have been carried out in an unusual way. the firm will check the value and amount of property for the five years ending in march and look into costs and when they were recorded were proper. in-house investigations so far have found more than $410 million in accounting irregularities at the company. toshiba officials have already said they expect the firm to revise down its operating profit for the past three years up to march last year. overnight on wall street the dow jones industrial average ended almost unchanged and the nasdaq ended up slightly. we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning and happy friday. what are you seeing on the final day of the week? >> a lot of investors are asking the question of when the federal reserve may actually raise rates given the fact that data releases out of the u.s. have largely disappointed a lot of investors, pushing back their estimation for a rise in interest rates. so that's clouding the market somewhat. but let's have a look at how the nikkei and the topix are opening. a negative open so far. both indexes trading lower. we'll see how thats develops in the morning session it notched up a fresh 15-year highs. and that's the longest winning streak for around three months. let's see if we can maintain that today. head winds may come from manufacturing data out of the u.s. and china which shows that growth is not as robust as a lot of investors would like to see for the world's first and second biggest economies and that's a little bit of a concern playing into the markets. the philadelphia fed manufacturing index for instance on thursday marking a fifth straight month of single digit growth but it fell in may. also we saw china's flash hsbc pmi manufacturing data on thursday coming in a little bit below estimates. but investors in japan have been cheered by earnings results and central bank policy meeting which wraps up for the bank of japan will also be a focus. a lot of investors will want to see if they're going to upgrade their assesment of the economy and any further words on boosting growth. the government upgraded its assessment of the economy in march. >> we saw a decline in the dollar, where is it now? >> it dipped below the 121 yen level and is at the lower end of that now after weekly jobless claims and u.s. home sales all were weaker than expected denting the outlook for a rate hike and strong recovery in the u.s. economy for a second quarter. manufacturing pmi data in eurozone also lagged. >> we did see a spike in crude oil prices. what is going on there? >> we saw a pop higher there. some of the benchmarks west texas intermediate jump 3%. decline in u.s. inventories, brent crude was up around 2%. also very quick look at asian indexes, the shanghai composite continues to outperform asian indexes on thursday gaining almost 2% when all the others were flat or lower on the day. we will keep track of all of that. back to you. >> thanks for that we'll talk to you in few hours' time. prime minister shinzo abe says that japan will work with the adb to invest $110 billion for infrastructure projects in the next ten years. he said that the adb's lending policies for short term loans have been too strict. >> translator: we aim to spread high quality and innovative infrastructure throughout asia taking a long-term view. >> abe noted that there is huge demand in asia for infrastructure. he said it's as high as $825 billion annually. he added that it's important to balance quality and quantity in investment projects. friday marks one year since thailand's military took control of the country after a coup. the nation's economy took a hit. countries including japan are having second thoughts about their commitment. nhk world's daisuke azuma reports. >> reporter: about 4,000 japanese firms are doing business in thailand. they account for 30% of the nation's foreign direct investment of fdi flows from japanese companies in thailand fell in 2011 following a major flood. investment rose sharply in 2012 and 2013. but last year it shrank to less than half of the year before. an economist says the interim government has found it difficult to attract foreign investment. >> investment for foreign companies has face dead lays. the military government also was unable to authorize the number of project allowed. its evident that political programs have negatively impact it business activity. >> reporter: in february her team surveyed 200 japanese firms that operate in the region about their plans. they asked them to identify which asean nation they considered most important. 49% picked thailand but it's that figure is nearly 10 points lower than it was in 2012 and it's the first time it's fallen below 50%. >> this has caused concern among company officials in japan about thailand's political situation. japanese company official have been eyeing the large market of indonesia and -- they have also noticed the continue hide growth of those economies. if thai officials can't ensure political security the economic presence will decrease and japanese company executives will invest elsewhere. >> reporter: the survey also asked the firms to choose the markets they were most eager to explore in the next few years. myanmar, cambodia and indonesia were up more than three points. but thailand was down two points. the economic slowdown will last through the year. she says political change is necessary. >> it will hamper the competitiveness of export. the military government can't negotiate the free trade agreement with the united states and europe both prohibit finalizing the treaty with thailand's military regime. another issue is that the leadership can't resolve the labor shortage. thailand's preparation is aging so they need foreign backers. but the military government has not helped to increase the number of these workers. >> reporter: sugita says the interim government must transfer power to a new civilian body as soon as possible or investors may look elsewhere. daisuke azuma, nhk world. more for you next hour in business here's another check on markets. every five years, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference takes place at the u.n. headquarters. this year, delegates heard from a man who knows about the consequences of nuclear weapons a survivor of the bombing of hiroshima. nhk world's yu ozumi reports. >> translator: there was a flash of light and then it felt like i was scalded with boiling water. >> reporter: -- saito is a man with a mission. at 90, he knows the time for him to bear witness. so he travels across japan, recounting his experience through words and paintings. saito had been a second lieutenant in the now-defunct japanese imperial army. he trained non-commissioned officers in hiroshima. on august 6, 1945, he was just 1.8 kilometers from ground zero. >> translator: see this scar? there's a dent. can you see it? >> reporter: the explosion burned him and knocked him unconscious. he woke up feeling extreme heat. just as he was about to be cremated. saito's paintings recount those fate of civilians disfigured by the bomb. >> translator: people's clothes were torn off instantaneously. their entire bodies burned and festered. internal organs, eyes, intestines bulged out. they looked like tomatoes dropped in boiling water. all their skin had peeled off. many were gasping for water. >> reporter: saito keeps the clocks in his living room set to 8:15, the time the atomic bomb was dropped. they reflect his conviction that that moment must never be repeated. problems have plagued him throughout his life since he was exposed to radiation. the symptoms have grown worse with age. he wants to use the time left to continue his testimony to the world. >> translator: i think god wants me to tell you the truth. atomic bombs must never be used again. i'm not a eloquent speaker, but i have to tell you what i know. >> reporter: saito says recent developments in international affairs have given him a sense of crisis. he believes the threat of nuclear weapons is growing in areas such as north korea and crimea. >> translator: a bottomless crisis exists. this retrogression is a setback for nuclear disarmament. >> reporter: the treaty conference began late last month in new york. representatives from 190 countries have been discussing the direction of nuclear arms reduction. saito took part as the oldest presenter in the panel organized by japanese atomic bomb survivors. through an interpreter he delivered his message to people from other countries. >> translator: atomic bombs must not be dropped. nuclear weapons must be abolished. we should leave a green planet for the next generation. >> it was just very moving. it's the first time i've ever had an opportunity like this to speak to someone who was actually a victim of that. >> translator: for as long as i live and as long as i'm breathing, i will cry out to appeal for the abolishment of atomic bombs and nuclear weapons. i want to see a world without nuclear weapons before i die. that's this old man's greatest desire. >> reporter: saito has a theory that those who hear him believe him. he hopes to convince many more on behalf of those who died from the bombings and future generations who could be saved. yu uozumi, nhk world. people in tokyo are seeing sunny skies this morning. meteorologist robert speta joins us with what's happening here and elsewhere in world weather. >> high pressure hassle moved in across most of japan. we do have a few thunderstorms in northern portions of the country around hokkaido a passing low, but seeing decent weather on friday and saturday in the tokyo area. i only say friday and saturday because the weekend, by the end of it, some passing showers move their way in by sunday and what's causing that was an area of low pressure back here toward the west. we have a stationary bound re. the rainy season front is going to continue to bring showers there. it is going to develop and move its way off to the northeast but it's already causing problems. let's go to some video we have coming out of southern china. take a look at this. a building collapse resulted after days of heavy rainfall on tuesday. at least one person died. 15 people were are still missing in this nine-story apartment. residents in nearby buildings were also evacuated. workers are being cautious because they discovered a one-meter-long crack in the mountain that is right nearby. that temporarily stopped rescue operations. and more rain is still in the forecast out here. actually, some areas have reported in the past several days 3,0004 -- 300 to 400 millimeters of rainfall. the forecast is still looking at that much or even more as we head through the weekend. around parts of hong kong, especially over there toward taiwan as well, and of course, still back here toward the west, at least it's going to taper off a little bit, still going to be seeing showers here, see what our 72-hour rainfall outlook here. look back there to the east it starts to accumulate up as it moves into western japan as we head into saturday night and eventually into sunday passing around the tokyo area. so, definitely something you want to look out for, now ahead of this low, going to be seeing some warmer air, in tokyo, friday, a high of 26, saturday into the high 20s, but by sunday, temperatures are going to start to cool down once that starts to pass by. let's see what's going on in the americas now. well actually we still got the severe weather flaring up yet again in texas and parts of the central plains. it's the same low. i said it yesterday is it bringing much-needed rainfall in the california area. it didn't just stop there, moving off here to the east. the threat of thunderstorms. i think the big issue is the moisture coming out of this. parts of texas have seen two to four times their average rainfall for the month of may. you got more showers in the forecast. flooding is definitely a threat. meanwhile, back toward the east, a separate low has also been bringing foul weather around the carolinas. a few tornado warnings issued there, travel plans a rough one there for you. as that drifts off there toward the east, temperatures cooling down behind it. it's going to be actually pretty chilly for a lot of you. you want a jacket ready especially in ontario and the great lakes region. look at the overnight lows here on friday and saturday. actually, ontario, getting below the freezing point, pittsburgh around 2, syracuse at 2, frost and freeze watches are in effect. good news by sunday and into monday, these temperatures begin to rebound. do want to talk about europe also here. you still have these thunderstorms flaring up across italy over there toward the balkan peninsula. big issue is the rainfall. thing strong thunderstorms could be plaering up with this as well. good news is the low toward the north is moving east so some clearing conditions there in poland and germany. i will leave you now with your extended outlook. and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us. -on this edition of "native report," we attend a summer youth program at the university of wisconsin-eau claire, we visit leech lake tribal college and learn about the development of the campus, and we revisit the "cobell" litigation. - --by having all these lands held in trust for individual indians. -we also learn something new about indian country here from our elders on this "native report." narrator: production of "native report" is made possible by grants from shakopee mdewakton sioux community and the blandin foundation.