welcome to "newsline." it's thursday november 3rd, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. leaders of the world's biggest economies are meeting in france to discuss how to steer the global economy through the european debt crisis. but greek prime minister george papandreou's sudden announcement of a referendum on the latest bailout package has stolen the spotlight. nhk world's akihito otaki has more. >> reporter: ahead of the g-7 meeting french president sarkozy, german chancellor merkel, and other officials met with papandreou on wednesday night. they asked papandreou to clarify when he called a referendum on the planned 130 billion euro bailout hammered out by e.u. leaders last week. his sudden announcement has caused anger and surprise around the world. the g20 summit is an opportunity for eu leaders to explain the

bailout package and ask the countries including china to contribute to the bailout fund. but the greek prime minister's latest move dominates the summit for good reason. if greece votes no to the referendum, the entire bailout package will collapse. first, though, papandreou has to survive a confidence vote on friday, which is far from certain because of his party's slim majority in the greek parliament. then the law on the referendum must also be passed. it remains to be seen how things will proceed. but the only way for greece to avoid bankruptcy is to accept and implement the bailout package as soon as possible. akihiko o'tacki, nhk world. >> we'll continue to update you on details coming out of the g20 summit throughout the day. in other news, the u.s. federal reserve board says it will keep interest rates at

their current near-zero levels until mid 2013. the fed ended a two-day open market committee meeting on wednesday after endorsing the monetary policy action with a majority of votes. the central bank said in a statement that economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, but that overall labor market conditions continued to be weak. the statement points out that there are significant downside risks to the economic outlook including strains in global financial markets. the remark reflects the fed's concern over the impact of expanding credit fears in europe. the statement says to foster economic growth the fed will continue swapping short-term government bonds with long-term ones to lower long-term interest rates. a large-scale naval drill involving japanese and u.s. forces has gotten under way in southwestern japan. the exercise comes amid increasing activity by the chinese navy in water off

okinawa. there are about 50 maritime self-defense force and u.s. vessels taking part in the exercise. on thursday journalists were invited on to the "george washington" aircraft carrier to witness takeoffs and landings. japan adopted new defense guidelines last december to strengthen defenses along its southwestern islands. it's concerned about the increase in chinese naval activities in the east china sea. >> all the time it is a comfort to know that there are those of us working together to maintain the security of the maritime environment. >> translator: it's important to further improve the interoperability with the u.s. in order to strengthen the bilateral alliance. bangkok is struggling to avert a crisis by draining

floodwater heading there. but a large-scale pumping system built with japanese help to protect the thai capital is failing to reduce water moving toward the city center. the flood water is inching south to an area about ten kilometers from central bangkok after causing serious damage to industrial parks in central thailand. the government is under growing pressure to pump the water into the sea. but despite expectations, the drainage system set up near the mouth of the chao phraya river has failed to improve the situation. a canal linked to the pumping system flows through very flat land, causing the canal water to overflow. the system was constructed with japanese government help and can drain 115 tons of water per second. the manager of the system spoke about the reason why the system can't work enough. >> translator: this system was not designed to handle such a huge amount of water.

the government is now setting up propellers in the canal to accelerate its currents. the march 11th disaster created not only millions of tons of debris but the dilemma of what to do with it. on wednesday the first step was taken to help clean up the devastated northeast when a trainload of rubble from iwate prefecture left for tokyo. tokyo is the only place outside the tohoku region that has so far agreed to accept debris for disposal. other prefectures are reluctant, fearing the rubble may be contaminated with radiation. work to transfer debris from a temporary storage site began in miyako city on wednesday. the loaded cargo is checked for possible radiation contamination and was found to be within an agreed safety limit. a freight train carrying about 30 tons of debris then left for tokyo. iwate prefecture has more than 4 million tons of debris. the tokyo metropolitan government has agreed to accept

11,000 tons of it. it's estimated that the disaster left 23 million tons of debris in iwate, miyagi, and fukushima prefectures. it's impossible to dispose of all the waste within the region. >> translator: many places said they would help. but tokyo is the first local government to take any action. i think today's operation is very significant. in an effort to increase profitability sony is set to restructure its dwindling flagship tv operations. this comes in the face of fierce international competition. sony announced on wednesday that its tv business is likely to post a record loss of about $2.2 billion this year for the eighth straight year. the company acontributes the loss mainly to poor sales in the united states and europe. sony says with no sign of the situation improving anytime soon it will revise downward its

midterm sales target by a half to the 20 million unit level per year. the company unveiled a plan that aims to improve the profitability of the business and return it to the black by 2013. the firm plans to review the ways it obtains liquid crystal displays, which it currently gets from a joint venture with south korea's samsung electronics. liquid crystal displays are the most costly components in the firm's tv sets. it will also reduce the range of tv sets for the japanese and western markets in an effort to cut sales expenses. executive deputy president kazu hirai says sony is determined to reform the business by scrutinizing everything, including the number of personnel and without allowing any exemptions. pan sonic and sharp have also announced plans to review their tv production systems. now let's take a look at the selected cities around the world.

♪ ♪ before we wrap up the program, we'd like to show you an old-fashioned winter fair in tokyo. many japanese people visit the fair to get ready for the new year. the annual winter event known as torinoichi is under way in downtown tokyo. the fair is held each november at shrines dedicated to the gods of business success. the torinoichi fair in otori shrine dates back to the 17th century. about 200 stalls sell handmade

decorative rakes known as kumade, believed to rake in good fortune for the coming year. the rakes are flamboyantly decorated with stuffed toys, lucky charms, images of celebrities, and this year messages of encouragement for quake-hit northern japan. ♪ you're watching nhk world. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. ♪ earth. teeming with life. "world eco tours will take you to the most beautiful places on the planet." we'll look at earth now and

consider its future. tum along with us come along with us on a tour to explore nature. this time we'll take you to greece, which is surrounded by the mediterranean sea. the country's warm throughout the year, and we can enjoy abundant marine life on our eco tour. here we'll find wonderful views created by limestone as well as clear blue sea. we'll encounter sea turtles and thinking about how to co-exist with nature. let's take an eco tour.

our tour begins in athens, greece's capital, which has prospered as a center of european civilization since ancient times. it's a city with many historical sights. our first destination is zakynthos, an island to the west of the greek mainland. we'll drive west four hours from athens to the port of kalini where we take a ferry to the island. zakynthos is a famous resort island in europe. particularly popular here is the sea turtle watching tour. it's time to sail. the ferry ride to the island takes about an hour. the fare is 8.2 euros per

person. we see zakynthos, a lush green island with a mild climate. the island-w a population of 30,000, attracts more than 700,000 tourists annually. first, we head for the island's most beautiful spot, a 30-minute drive from the port. an observation deck juts out from the cliff, overlooking the mediterranean. >> whoa. okay. >> the deck stands 100 meters

above the sea. we gaze at the rugged coast and clear blue mediterranean beneath. >> also, you know, it's more blue. and the reason is the sand. it's not a stand. it's like a stone. for the white. so the reflection of the sun and the stone with the sea water brings this blue. on this island you find two, three different kind of volcano rock. very rich in mineral. this is the kind of beauty it has. but everywhere you go on the island you find. >> on a fine day you can see a beautiful sunset from the deck.

. after viewing the mediterranean from land we take a cruise on the blue sea. from the cruise boat we can see the natural beauty of zakynthos, from colorful flowers to birds nesting in the limestone cliffs. cruising along the eastern side of the island, we head for laganas bay, where many green turtles gather. dolphins have suddenly come to swim with our ship. on our way to laganas bay, we

visit an interesting place. in this area, called karim, caves open out to the sea. waves blown by strong westerly winds have carved away the rock to form more than 2,000 caves. the water in a cove is so clear that we can see to the bottom. fish come to feed right in front of us.

how about swimming in the cobalt blue sea? since the water is quite salty, we float easily and can swim safely. we've finally entered laganas bay, which has been designated a national park. >> there. there. look. >> turtle. >> really? >> yes. >> it's big. >> the green turtle grows to be 120 centimeters in length and 150 kilograms in weight. more than 4,000 turtles lay eggs

on zakynthos every year. the turtles breed in the summer and always lay their eggs at night. mother turtles dig a deep hole in the soft sand and deposit their eggs there. they lay about 100 eggs at a time. after leaving precious lives in the sand, the mother turtles return to the sea. >> turtle everywhere. and you know why? the water's very shallow here. it get really warm. really hot in the summer. and water's good for the

turtles. it's a bay. it's protecting. it's warm. all the elements is perfect for turtles. >> the best season for the zakynthos cruise tour is from june through september when you can view many sea tushlrtles. the sun is strong then. so don't forget to protect yourself from sunburn. with the recent expansion of resort development on zakynthos, the number of tourists has grown. some beaches have been packed hard by people and cars. to protect turtle breeding sites various measures have been taken on gerakas beach, facing laganas bay. at the entrance to the beach fences keep out cars and

motorcycl motorcycles. the beautifully maintained gerakas beach has come into view. >> when you have wet feet, you walk in there on the sand, you touch, you take it with you. so this is a good idea, i think. and also this is the first time we have a straight line to the beach. into the water. and stay three to five meters. and do not walk on the back of the beach because of the nests. so this is a straight line. some people walk straight even. hello. >> hey. >> people can use the beach only between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., when turtles do not come out of

the sea. the beach is off limits at night. all parasols and beach chairs are put away at night. because they keep turtles from laying eggs. admission to gerakas beach is free, but please note the hours when it's open. next, we'll visit a beach in kyparissia, southeast of zakynthos island. the beach is used by loggerhead turtles for breeding. here we can volunteer to protect the few turtle breeding sites. >> okay. and the area called elia. this is like olive. this is a very, very long sandy

beach. i can say many, many kilometers long. and this, many, many -- very nice. oh. that's interesting. this is from last year. there's the egg. from last year. >> on this beach volunteers monitor the breeding sites and protect loggerhead turtle eggs. people come from all over the world to work as volunteers from may to october. >> hello. >> nice to meet you. >> it depends. in june we're very busy with the start of the nesting season.

so we -- we also need a lot of help to prepare the beach, to mark out the beach and measure it. >> two hours. or like ten kilometers. when you see that nest, it makes it worth it because you've been walking and walking and waiting to see this nest. when you see the eggs, you're happy. >> the work begins at sunrise. volunteers walk about ten kilometers along the beach, trying to find out where turtles have lain eggs. these are turtle footprints. >> okay. so down to the bottom, up track, down track. down to the bottom. >> we follow them. >> so she -- somewhere in here

she's laid an egg. she's then moved forward and thrown a lot of sand over behind it. >> we use bamboo stakes to mark off an area that looks to be a turtle's nest. we scoop out sand to see if eggs are buried there. >> so pull your sand right back past your bamboo. don't move the bamboo. there's lots of very soft sand here. okay. we can have a little look. >> the nest's sand is soft. so we use our fingers to slowly feel for eggs. >> yeah. >> we dig carefully so as not to break the eggs.

>> okay. >> after finding the eggs, we record breeding site data such as the depth of the hole. we also have to survey the surroundings. we measure the distance between the water's edge and the nest to specify its location. about 700 nests have been recorded this way so far. we quickly close the hole and lay a grid over the nest. >> it's good practice because we came to find that dogs and foxes who try to get to the nest tend to do it with their back to the sea, face the back of the beach. they come around the front of the grid and do it.

>> we hammer bamboo stakes around the grid so people won't walk on it. we also place a log as a marker so drivers will know a turtle's nest is near. this concludes our work. you need to apply in advance to be a sea turtle volunteer. during your stay you'll sleep in a tent at a camping site. for the last stop of our tour we'll visit a place in athens. it's a rescue center operated by the sea turtle protection society of greece. injured loggerhead turtles are brought here from all over greece.

>> this is rafael. he was not really lucky because he was trapped in fishing lines, and that's why he lost his front left flipper. a piece is still missing. i mean, it goes like that. the head was like going like that and like that afterwards. that's why we didn't believe that he was going to survive. >> this turtle was brought to the center, and after treatment can now swim with its three remaining flippers. the rescue center accepts about 50 turtles every year. the number of injured or sick turtles is growing. some collide with a tourist ship

or fishing boat. others eat plastic waste. guided by experts at the center, volunteers care for injured turtles. >> we're going to put it there, okay? >> some turtles can't eat food on their own. >> there's a hook from this side of the mouth. you can still see the fishing line. they're going to keep the head up. >> because of the hook in its throat, this turtle seems to be in terrible pain when it eats. >> like this, yes. but he doesn't want to eat on his own. so that's why we have to do

this. >> we don't like it at all. we don't want to do. we are really, really happy when turtles start to eat by themselves. >> the turtle has miraculously recovered at the center. >> you can see the hook she has inside. and it's -- >> this is the -- >> and she's going to be released with the hook. it's like a person with a hook in the stomach that has no problem. so the body makes a protection bubble around the hook, and it can stay there. >> after carefully nursing turtles back to health, the center returns t