. welcome to thursday news -- welcome to "newsline." a new report is highly critical of how japan's leaders acted in the hours and days of the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. it calls their response off the cuff. and too late. the six experts on the panel base their findings on interviews with 300 people including top ranking japanese and american officials. they spent months studying the response to the fukushima accident which happened after

last year's march 11th earthquake and tsunami. they tried interviewing authorities at tokyo electric power company, the operator of the plant, but tepco turned down their request. >> translator: is direct causes of the nuclear accident where the unpreparedness of tokyo electric power for a serious accident ant the government's lack of responsibility. >> it rendered the crisis management manual useless. the report says the problem was compounded by lack of basic legal knowledge. it urges immediate debate on improving the situation. the report condemns nuclear and industrial safety agency from failing to give professionals proper safety training. it says the agency cannot drop

plans to put the plant under control. the report blames tepco for initially making things worse at the facility not better. tepco workers did not immediately switch to an alternative cooling system after realizing the emergency condenser was not working. then they took too long to start the venting procedure to avert a major crisis. the committee chairman says the investigation has revealed what was going on inside the prime minister's office and elsewhere at the time of the accident. the chairman also says japan's organizations are ill prepared to deal with the crisis, a problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. the independent panel also criticized the government because it did not know about a system to help predict the spread of radiation. developers say speedi can monitor radioactive material in the environment. the panel said the prime minister and his cabinet were not aware of speedi's existence. the document says they and four

other ministers blamed ministry officials for not informing them. former chief cabinet secretary said he found out about the system in a media report several days after the disaster. at the time, the plant's number two reactor was spewing radioactive material. he said bureaucrats told him later that they decided not toen foirm him about speedi because his calculations were considered not credible. they cited a lack of precise data. the panel charges the report that operators talked up speed drs i. the report says authorities should have used the system more effectively to reduce residents' exposure to radiation. the japanese government released a short statement about the independent panel's report. it will examine the findings in detail. the main opposition party wants the former prime minister to be

questioned. secretary general said kahn should appear before the nuke lack accident committee so lawmakers can verify the government's initial response to the fukushima accident. meanwhile a government panel has proposed setting up two separate facilities to help local communities respond to future nuclear crisis. this comes after an offsite emergency response center failed to function properly during the fukushima ltdown. rising levels of radiation and the impact of the earthquake and tsunami prevented local officials from gathering at the center about five kilometers away from the fukushima plant. a working panel of the nuclear safety commission sib mitted a list of recommendations on tuesday. it proposes re-enforcing the emergency response system by recreating two separate facilities. one would serve as a nerve center to give residents evacuation instructions.

the second from would sesh as a front base to monitor radiation levels and conduct evacuations. the government has set new national guidelines following the panel's recommendations throughout early march. japan's agriculture ministry has decided to conditionally allow rice planting in some areas where unsafe levels of radiation were detected last year. the local governments are to make sure that the crops will not be distributed if such high levels are found again. the ministry drew up new standards on tuesday for rice planting after the government tightened it safety standards for food starting in april. the ministry says that farmers will be banned from planting rice where more than 500 beck reals of radioactive substances were found. in areas between 100 and 500 were detected in last season's rice, planting will also be banned in principal. but farmers in those areas will be allowed to plant rice if they

agree to the condition that municipalities monitor production in each field and all harvest of rice is checked for radiation before shipment. and comes a response to calls from farmers in fukushima prefecture saying that stricter rice planting restrictions would cause more people to give up farming at a time when the farming population is aging. >> translator: rice with readings of more than 100 will not be distributed. to enforce such a system we need to work closely with local governments. >> the ministry aims to hear from local governments in early march whether they will opt from a total ban of follow the total commission scheme. next we go to bangkok to find out what's going on in the region. >> nepal has been rocked by a rare bomb blast that killed at least three people in katmandu.

suspicion for the attacks has fallen on a little known ethnic separatist group. the bomb went off in the center of the capital. police believe the explosive was homemade as were the three confirmed dead at least seven people were injured. the blast happened near the headquarters of the state oil company on monday afternoon. residents of the capital expressed shock. >> translator: i just can't believe such an explosion happened in broad daylight. it must be a security failure. >> nepal's home minister says the blast was the first such incident in four years. a group calling itself the united ethnic liberation front said it was responsible. several ethnic groups in southern nepal have been calling for more autonomy. some of them claim to be armed and have threatened to use violence. a pakistani film maker is celebrating after winning an

academy award for a short documentary about vicious attacks on women in her country. >> "saving face." >> i just -- danny and i want to dedicate this award to all the heroes working on the ground in pakistan. to all the women in pakistan working for change, don't give up on your dreams this is for you. >> the director is the first pakistani ever to win an oscar. her film "saving face." tells the story of two womens who were victims of ace acid attacks. one was disfigured by her husband after filed for divorce. more than 100 women in pakistan are disfigured by acid attacks every year. the film's crew and supporters said they hope the award will highlight a topic that's taboo in pakistan and help bring an end to the hideous crime.

a survey by the thompson reuters foundation has called pakistan the world's third most dangerous country for women afghanistan and the democratic republic of congo. from the screen to the stage now. a troupe of actors in afghanistan has begun rehearsing a play by shakespeare. they aim to perform at london's legendary globe theater. this version of shakespeare's comedy of errors has been recreated using the afghan language. actors wear local costumes. the music, story line and characters have all within given an afghan twist. the troupe plans to join a culture festival leading up to the london olympics. >> translator: three decades of conflict destroyed our artistic culture. gradually we are trying to rebuild the arts.

hepfully, one day, we'll regain our glory days again. >> the group has been targeted by islamic militants who say what they're doing is unislamic. actresses especially have been threatened. in you happen to be in london in late may, why not go and show them your support. that's it for our bulletin today. >> researchers around the globe are working on a vaccine against the most deadly type of bird flu, the h 5 n 1 strain. this collective effort is facing a new challenge. the u.s. government halted the publication of some of the latest research saying the information could be used by

terrorists. >> reporter: earlier this month some of the world's leading viralologists attended a symposium on the bird flu strain in new york. the debate on this issue was heated. >> so you could have benefits ten years down the line and that's why it's important to share the information with everyone. you never know who's going to do the right experiment. >> and if we are wrong, the consequences will be so catastrophic that we'll all go back and ask ourselves why did we let it happen. >> the debate was triggered by a study on how bird flu is transmitted. researchers have never observed a natural mutation of the h 5 n 1 virus that can be transported between mammals. but a doctor in the netherlands has demonstrated that a pandemic could occur depending on how it mutates. he infected one ferret with a

partially modified strain of h 5 n 1. the virus then spread to other ferrets that weren't in direct physical contact. >> it was on all of those research agendas. we agreed the work needed to be done. >> reporter: his report urged countermeasures on a global scale. it was to be published many the journal of science in november 2011. but publication was suspended after the u.s. government claimed the report would benefit terrorists. he has criticized the intervention. he says sharing information on how the gene mutates is essential. >> with this airborne virus we can better evaluate existing vaccines and anti-virals and perhaps develop new ones.

>> reporter: an expert on anthrax at northern arizona university disagrees. he chairs the government advisory committee that recommended withholding the data. he says a mutant strain of bird flu that spreads among mammals would pose a greater threat than anthrax. >> this new virus that we're looking at is very dangerous and it would commit not only murder, but mass murder. >> how should society balance the need to share information with the risk of that information being misused. the debate continues. >> alex is in new york. alex, what is the u.s. government's view on the possibility that these studies could be misused by terrorists? >> reporter: the professor mentioned a consult which used gas to attack the tokyo subway system 17 years ago.

the group also scattered anthrax around the capital, but it wasn't toxic enough to cause damage. he says they could have created a more toxic strain of anthrax if it had had access to more sophisticated information. that's why he's calling for special caution about sharing research findings. >> what does the debate mean for the field of science? >> reporter: it gets at the very heart of the way scientific research is conducted. until now, researchers have had pretty free reign. nobel prize quality discoveries are the result of unrestricted research and competition. society has to protect itself against highly virulent strains of bird flu, but it must balance that need against the threat of terrorism. that is why specific guidelines on how to handle sensitive scientific data are urgently needed. >> thank you, alex.

an earthquake that jolted a nation. a tsunami that swallowed a coastline. a nuclear plant that spiralled out of control. japan marks the first anniversary of the march 11th disaster. what lessons have been learned? find out on "newsline" starting monday, march 5th, then sunday, join us at 2:00 p.m. japan time for lessons of march 1 19, one year on. >> a teenager wielding a gun opened fire at a high school in the u.s. state of ohio. one student died and four others were wounded. the gunman shot the five students, four males and one female in the cafeteria of the high school east of cleveland. one 16-year-old male student died. the gunman was taken into custody by police. >> they were going to close the school for two weeks because the kids were fighting so much.

this is a shock. that someone brought a gun to school. >> police have so far declined to comment on a possible motive for the shootings. the president and chairman of japan's electronics giant panasonic are stepping down. the company's bracing for the biggest loss in its history this fiscal year. panasonic's board of directors made the decision on tuesday. the company says the president will become chairman and the current chairman an advisor. their appointments will be made official at a meeting in june. >> translator: i apologize and feel responsible for the huge loss we expect in this fiscal year. but i think we have laid down the clear foundation for growth and i have fulfilled my responsibility as president. >> translator: we can learn and

grow in the future. learning a lesson from this experience. >> they re-organized the panasonic group by taking over a subsidiary. panasonic is expected to post a net loss of about $10 billion for the business year ending in march. that's due to poor sales in its core tv business. japan's fuji heavy industry is know as sue ba rue is pulling out of the mini car production. the company says it's allocating its resources to make more value added models to survive global competition. they began producing theniny car subaru often called the lady bird in 1958. the company has produced some eight million mini vehicles

since then. the production line has been working at full capacity trying to handle last minute orders. >> translator: we will cherish the trust we've acquired from our customers and keep producing quality vehicles. we will adapt to the changing times and begin a new chapter in car production to meet shifting demand. >> the assembly line will be used to develop a sports car with toyota motor. the chinese government sees a live forum as a potential threat to stability. officials used to delete politically sensitive comments. but a micro blogging service is so influential that government officials can no longer ignore

public opinion. >> reporter: a high speed train accident put -- the accident killed 40 people. but government officials allowed trains to run again just a day and a half later. the handling of the accident sparked a storm of public criticism. officials used traditional media to try to control the story. but citizens used a blog to spread information on the accident and give a public voice to survivors. government officials couldn't ignore the reaction. they promised to thoroughly investigate the accident and

share the results. this man is one of the many blog users who posted comments on the accident. he says the authorities have some control over conventional blogs, but he says they can't control this blog because users are updating it all the time. about 300 million have signed up. more than half of china's online population. new postings appear second by second. >> translator: in just a few minutes 40 people have posted comments and 64 have responded. responses are very fast. the government needs to understand that it can't

suppress public opinion. >> reporter: the influence of the blog has forced the government to come up with new ways to respond. this is an online monitoring center. it's run by the people's daily a communist party newspaper. staff monitor the site around the clock. they came up with detailed instructions for government responses. they say officials should head off criticism by engaging with citizens on the site. >> translator: it's a good way to promote understanding with the public. i think it will lead to less friction and resentment. >> reporter: some local governments have embraced the site as a way to communicate with the public. officials in a city post news

and information about 20 times a day. they immediately respond to comments from citizens. >> translator: we provide information that's relevant to people's daily lives. we hope it will bring us closer to the public and help us build a relationship based on trust. >> reporter: more and more users join the site all the time. they post more than 100 million messages every day too many for the government to sensor. now users suggest the site may be the best platform for free speech in the country.

>> we have weather up next. hi there and welcome back. let's first talk about australia. outbursts of heavy rain is continuing here in australia. as you can see this rain clouds as this rain band is actually going to be persisting here for the next few days this is the 24-hour precipitation outlook. you can see some pink parts popping up heavy rain accumulation could reach up to as much as 300 millimetres in the total of three days. so as you can see you can already see red popping up here that's 150 millimeters or more. same here in the coastal areas just below sydney. in sydney, the three-day total could accumulate up to 18 millimeters already in new south wales and in victoria many parts are already warned against

flooding. also not only flooding but very heavy rain could create flash flooding all of a sudden as well. and thunderstorms are warned against some of these areas as well. we'll definitely keep a very close eye on this for you. now eastern continental asia is going to be a little snowy event here for much of the north especially and in japan. even in tokyo central tokyo could accumulate snow starting midnight today and in towards tomorrow noon could be about two centimeters which doesn't sound like enough of anything but actually it's going to be causing a significant stage for travel disturbances here. toward the western half you can see it's going to be a wet and windy activity. snow in the heaviest regions could accumulate up to 20 centimeters. snow here will be seen and expand on wednesday in northeastern china. winds are very strong, too.

so blowing snow could reduce the visibilities. inland china could be spreading the snow as well. in higher elevations ten centimeters could accumulate. low pressure system that's well developed one bringing heavy thundershowers here above bangkok. that's going to be continuing and maybe even bringing some severe activity. here also thundershowers still persistent in the philippines and coastal heavy rain could be troublesome for triggering flooding situation. and landslides. manila 32 degrees. bangkok 35. tokyo 5 degrees. seoul 11. that warm air is going to be moving towards japan which is good news because on thursday we might even see the temperatures reaching up to about 14 degrees. next tuesday we may even see 19 degrees that's going to be spring like weather. but in between those very warm temperatures dipping down to about 6 on sunday. it's going to be a bumpy ride for us this week. let's head over to europe. still in the southeastern

portion things are very, very frigid. let's take a look at some slides coming up from romania. the danube is still frozen over in many sectors. the thick layer of ice is preventing fishermen from doing their jobs. despite the temperatures rising last week, the river has not yet thawed enough for activity to pick up. still very messy conditions. southern turkey we've seen lots of rain still yet to come up to about 80 millimeters of rain. very strong gusts also. and snow could pile up. also very heavy snow could be piling up in germany, poland and in austria as well. now out towards the west very different story. spring like weather here in madrid at 20 degrees. lisbon at 18. 14 in london. and very different story as i mentioned. ankar minus 3. it's going to be dipping down even more. here's your extended forecast.

>> that's our broadcast for this hour on "newsline." we'll be back with more news in half an hour.

thank you for watching. bye-bye. .

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