democracy in transition, protesters in egypt aren't satisfied with what they got from their revolution. egyptians have seen a lot of change the last year, but many say they have not seen enough. tens of thousands of protesters rallied on the first anniversary of a popular uprising.

the move pushed president hosni mubarak from power. the protesters held rallies in cities around the country. some of them had posted messages online. they called for a new round of demonstrations against the rules generals who took over from mubarak. similar calls on the internet last january sparked the uprising that forced the mubarak administration out of power within 18 days. thousands of protesters gathered in tahrir square in the capitol cairo. the plaza was the focal point of last year's uprising. they said nothing has changed since the fall of mubarak. >> people are angry because they haven't settled yet. their demands were not met yet. >> the generals have promised to surrender power to a democratically-elected president by this summer.

even as some fear that war is again brewing in the middle east, an event is underway in iran aimed at promoting ties with japan. >> reporter: this is a japanese ceremony and a lot of people are enjoying it. the event opened in the iranian capitol of tehran on wednesday. in the venue, visitors can experience traditional tea ceremony, while seated on a matted floor. a group of iranians also perform swordsmanship and other japanese marital arts. >> translator: japan always follows what the u.s. says. it worsens our relations with japan. >> translator: i had never seen

japanese marital arts, but they are similar to marital arts in iran. we seem to have many things in common. >> reporter: photographs of areas in northeastern japan that were devastated in last march's disaster are also on the display. visitors are paying a lot of attention to the exhibition, as iran is also a quake-prone country. the two countries have enjoyed economic and cultural relations for decades. but japan is in a difficult position now that the united states and the european countries have stepped up their economic sanctions against iran. some japanese firms operating in iran have already withdrawn from the country. nhk world, tehran. >> human rights activists have

reported more violence in the chinese province, security forces shot two ethnic tibetans. those forces killed two other protesters earlier in the week. members of the tibetan government in exile say the protesters rallied against a chinese government crackdown on religious activities. government officials confirmed the unrest, but they say the police acted to restore order. a u.s. state department spokesperson criticized china's policies. victoria newland called on the leaders to speak with tibetan's spiritual leader. >> and we urge the chinese government to engage in constructive dialogue with the dalai lama or his representatives as a means to address tibetan concerns. >> newland said china is threatening the religious,

cultural, and linguistic identity of the tibetan people. she said u.s. officials will likely raise the issue during a visit to the u.s. next month by chinese vice president. chinese officials have hung portraits of leading figures on government buildings in the region's central city. the pictures include those of former leader and current president. the officials have handed out thousands of photographs and flags at homes and buddhist temples. analysts believe the chinese government is trying to promote patriotism while expressing discontent about the handling of tibetan issues. ben bernanke has extended policy, good morning. >> good morning, catherine. the super low lending rates were set to expire in the middle of 2013. that's been extended by more than one year. the u.s. central bank says it

will keep key interest rates at very low levels until at least late 2014. in a statement released after an open market committee meeting on wednesday, the federal reserve said it will extend its ultra easy monetary policy by more than a year. the fed says corporate capital investments are slowing and the u.s. housing market remains sluggish. fed chairman ben bernanke says credit woes in europe has strained financial markets around the world and could pose a risk of severe economic deterioration. >> we continue to see head winds emanating from europe, coming from the slowing global economy, and some other factors as well. i don't think we're ready to declare that we've entered a new, stronger phase at this point. >> bernanke also said the fed is prepared to take further steps if it sees the recovery is

faltering or inflation is not moving towards its target. the fed newly adopted a 2% inflation target for consumer prices. the fed announces its economic growth projection every quarter, this time it downgraded its forecast for 2012 to between 2.2% and 2.7%. two months ago, the fed projected a growth of 2.5% to 2.9%. for 2013, the fed downgraded the projection of 3% and 3.5% to 2.8% to 3.2%. however, on the unemployment rate, the fed revised the jobless rate projection for 2012. the projection two months ago was 8.5% to 8.7%. the dow jones industrial average rose for the foreseeable future to see how stocks are opening

here in tokyo this thursday, let's go to the tokyo stock exchange. how are stocks here reacting this morning? >> good morning, ai. let's look at levels here in tokyo for the nikkei and topix, both are marginally higher. we have seen the nikkei gain on the back of the weaker yen, but we're also going to watch out for products and shares related to apple, such as component makers and mobile phone carriers after apple's shares hit a record all-time high following record earnings the day before, so we'll keep track of those as well. also, we're going to get earnings from key japanese companies such as sony and panasonic, nintendo, and also kddi, which along with soft bank, sells the iphone here in

japan. now, let's have a look at the currency levels as well. we've seen the euro gaining for most of this week, currently trading around the upper 101 levels, 101.91 to 96, but look at the dollar yen as well following the fed's decision to keep interest rates very low, we did see buying of the yen, which pushed the dollar lower. as you can see there on your screens, ai? >> focusing on the u.s. economy, what else is expected for the remainder of the week? >> we have key weekly jobless claims numbers later today and as you were mentioning there, also tomorrow will be a key focus on fourth quarter gdp to see how fast the u.s. economy was growing late last year. >> still some key events for investors to watch out for. >> definitely, a lot of the asian indexes closed this week for chinese lunar new year, a lot of market direction has been coming from the u.s., not only

from economic data but also from earnings. for now, the nikkei and topix slightly mixed this thursday morning. back to you. >> all right, looks like the nikkei and topix are in negative territory. ramin from the tokyo stock exchange. looking now at the movements in the european government bond market, the price of the portuguese hit a ten-year low. the price climbed to the 15% level at one point, selling pressure increased on portugal's sovereign debt. the country received a bailout package last year. meanwhile, the ten-year bond yield of italy traded at the lower 6% level, while spain's was at the lower 5% level. all right, let's get a check on where markets are this hour.

and that is the latest in business, back to catherine now. >> thanks very much, ai. let's go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region. myanmar's foreign minister said the government is fully committed to the path of democratic reform. his comments came during an official visit to india on wednesday. >> myanmar has entered into a new era, the new constitutional government is pursuing the

national goal of building a modern, developed democratic nation. >> he underlined the achievements already made, and he said the government is working with the people to create a democratic nation. he referred to the participation by myanmar's pro-democracy leader in a lower house by election in april. he said such reforms are challenging, but myanmar is committed to democratization. >> the reform process that we have started is irreversible. there will be no turning back or derailment on the road to democracy. >> european countries, the united states, and japan, have taken steps to improve relations with myanmar following the recent reforms. the foreign minister's remarks are likely intended to encourage further reconciliation such as the lifting of economic sanctions.

and those sanctions have left myanmar isolated for much of the world economy for years, and that's one reason why its medical facilities lag behind those of some other countries, but efforts are now underway to service even the most remote areas of the country using a solution that's both portable and affordable. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the state of rakhine lies on the border of bangladesh. residents are mostly ethnic rakhine. they are spread across a wide area with few health care facilities. instead, the government distributes medical kits with the assistance of a japanese charity organization.

representatives from remote villages gather at the ceremony in the state capitol to receive them. the project was around three years ago to help make drugs available to people in rural areas. rakhine is the last state in myanmar to receive the kits. inside are basic drugs, herbal remedies and other first aid supplies. each community receives one kit and villages can use them for less than a dollar, sometimes just a few cents. when supplies run out, government officers come and restock.

>> translator: this is a great change for villagers who could barely receive medical treatment. >> reporter: this village of 1,000 people has just received its medical kit. a village meeting is held to tell people how to use it and what effect each drug has. he and his wife make their living from fishing. they are worried about their 6-month child, who often gets sick. having access to cheap drugs is a great relief.

>> translator: the baby will get well soon. i'm really happy. >> translator: we will work hard to deliver medicines to more villages. it would be great if we could provide every village with a medical kit. >> reporter: the medical kits are providing some relief in people's daily lives, especially in remote villages that used to have little access to health care. nhk world, rakhine, myanmar. >> turning now to some flash news from around the region. we start here in thailand where a lunar new year celebration became a tragedy.

festivals turned deadly after fireworks exploded into flames, showering a dense residential community with burning debris. at least three people were killed and more than 50 injured. over 50 homes and structures in the area were damaged. police are still investigating the cause of the blast. in sri lanka's largest city of colombo, at least 31 people have been injured following a riot at a prison. local media say tuesday's unrest broke out when guards conducted a raid inside the jail. the facility is the country's largest maximum-security prison and holds hundreds of suspected rebels. that will wrap up our bulletin in bangkok. "newsline" is the place to

turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th. we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis, and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." another japanese nuclear power plant is about to be shut down for regular inspections. the decision to close the plant means 51 of japan's 54 reactors will soon be offline. the power company says it will begin shutting down reactor number two at its power plant on thursday evening. the work is scheduled to be completed by early friday morning. the plant's only other reactor is already offline and is undergoing a check-up. the additional shutdown means

all the nuclear power plants run by the company will be suspended. the company's conducting stress tests, a prerequisite for deciding whether to resume. they are insisting the utility should first thoroughly examine last year's nuclear reaction in fukushima and seek better understanding of local residents. all 54 reactors in japan will be offline in late april if there are no restarts before then. many people in the disaster areas still aren't getting the quality of medical care as before last march 11th. a lot of hospitals are short of doctors and other staff. some facilities have not been restored and the number of patients who need attention strain existing services. we have a report on how a staff in a hospital in miyagi prefecture are holding up. >> reporter: the coldest time of the year in the disaster area.

patients crowd this hospital for treatment or a flu shot. >> translator: the walk-in pediatric ward has been shut down. we couldn't get an appointment at another hospital, so we came here. >> reporter: the hospital is the only medical facility in an area with about 10,000 inhabitants. this is the hospital just after the disaster. flooding due to the tsunami ruined the ct and x-ray equipment. ten days after the earthquake, the full-time doctor quit for health reasons. the hospital had to make do with a basic staff of 15 nurses. then in october, the hospital's fortunes turned. a doctor had often dropped in to help, but he decided the

hospital was so hard pressed that he would take over as director. >> translator: i felt i had to do something since the hospital didn't have a full-time doctor, i thought i would give it a try. >> reporter: immediately, he came up against a serious challenge. they still cannot open the in-patient ward. the building needs a lot of restoration. the city has budgeted about $3.4 million for the work, but construction companies are in such heavy demand, they can't handle all the work. >> translator: the reality is, we can't provide the service the community needs. there aren't enough supplies and workers. >> reporter: so he is trying a new approach. he makes house calls to patients who have trouble getting to the

hospital, but despite the facility's poor condition, he wants locals to rely on it for their medical services. emergency patients kept coming in, even on new year's day. this hospital still has a long way to go before it operates at full capacity. can the staff meet the medical needs of the residents? the doctor and his team go all out to make sure they do. >> translator: i can't say we're on the right course yet. my deep hope is to help the medical services in the disaster area recover. my goal is to create a facility that will be easy for the community to access. >> administrators say the hospital will be back to full strength by this summer. in the meantime, many other

medical facilities badly need repairs, so until they return to normal, the staff at the hospital will have their hands full. it's hovering around freezing in tokyo this morning, but that's warm compared to other parts of the country. let's go to the weather picture here and else where. hello, welcome to your weather update. let's first begin with japan. the most frigid air is still with us, bringing a lot of wintery precipitation on the western side. the heaviest snow is impacting about 50 centimeters of snow have already accumulated but an additional 80 are expected in the next 24 hours. strong winds are prevailing nationwide, so that is resulting in high waves along the coast, but the pacific side will see another dry day today. as for china, a high pressure

system is blanketing much of the area, bringing dry weather, but showers will develop across the southern area starting this afternoon. so today's highs are looking like this, getting up to 14 degrees in hong kong and 15 in taipei. after a long period of cold weather, temperatures are returning to normal. we are expecting 2 degrees today and 6 degrees in tokyo. quite the sunshine. now, heading over to the americas, a powerful low pressure system has been dumping a lot of heavy rain in the southern plains, and lots of active weather is happening right now. texas and louisiana have already seen tornados as well as large hail and over 100 millimeters of rain have fallen in dallas. and as the system moves eastward, much of the deep south region will be affected by the severe weather, so the threat of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, and even tornados cannot be ruled out on

thursday here. and some of the precipitation will also spread to the lower great lakes as well as the mid-atlantic region in the next 24 hours, so we are concerned about the flooding risk. now, across the west, we have another winter storm here, and this is a series of low pressure system has impacting western canada and the northwestern section of the u.s. with rain, mountain snow, as well as gusty winds. now, temperatures are looking like this. we're expecting 7 degrees in vancouver for the high on thursday and the same goes for seattle and another summer-like day for you in los angeles. highs are getting up to 28 degrees and 21 degrees expected in atlanta. finally, let's go over to europe. a stubborn and strong low pressure system has been creating a lot of heavy precipitation and gusty winds across the balkin peninsula and turkey. many thunderstorms have been

reported in greece, unfortunately, those stormy conditions will continue here all day thursday. and across the west, we have a very large low pressure system that's impacting the british isles and bringing heavy snow. over the next 24 hours, southern norway will start to see heavy snow and a line of showers will move over western europe, so expected highs on wednesday are looking like this. 9 degrees in london and 11 degrees in paris. and across the east, an arctic chill continue to sag southward affecting kiev. we are expecting only minus 11 degrees here. all right, i will leave you now with your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kyobiashi in tokyo, do stay with us.