hello and welcome to "newsline." 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. u.s. president and david cameron say they will increase pressure on iran to abandon its nuclear develop program. the two leaders met at the white house.

>> again, because we have employed so many of the options that are available to us to persuade iran to take a different course, that the window for solving this issue diplomatically is shrinking. >> cameron also warned that iran has to meet its international obligations. if not, he said, britain will continue to increase political and economic pressure along with the u.s. the two leaders also insisted that security in afghanistan has been improving, despite the killing of 16 civilians in a shooting by a u.s. soldier. iran's president, ahmadinejad has been questioned by lawmakers on his mismanagement of the country's economy. nhk world reports from tehran.

>> reporter: the first since the country overthrew the pro-u.s. government in 1979. ahmadinejad was accused on wind of mismanaging the economy, which is struggling with inflation. lawmakers said the action defied the authority of the country's supreme leader. but ahmadinejad counted that he had no intention of defying him. he said the lawmakers must have better things to do for the people than summoning him. ahmadinejad is believed to disagree with the hardlined conservative. candidates in the president's political group lost heavily against loyalists in elections

earlier this month. analysts now fear that with iranian hard-liners rejecting compromise with the western israel, tensions are likely to grow. nhk world, tehran. >> north korea and russia have agreed to cooperate to resume the six-party talks. the north's vice foreign minister met on wednesday. the russian foreign ministry said the two envoys discussed north korea's nuclear development and confirmed they will work closely to restart the talks. the north agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and accept inspectors from the international atomic energy agency at last month's meeting with the united states. in return the u.s. will provide food aid. the russian government has welcomed the north's move. the two ministers also discussed natural gas pipeline projects

from russia's far east to south korea via north korea. the north korean vice foreign minister will stay in russia until friday. he's expected to meet the new russian chief negotiator for the six-party talks, deputy foreign minister igor morgulov. china's government says it wants to slow down the economy and focus on stability. the national people's congress closed its annual session on beijing on wednesday. the country's parliament approved budget and policy plans for the coming year. they included a half point reduction in the annual growth target. that announcement has got worldwide attention. china has been a key driver of the global economy. nhk world's kengo okamato is covering the story in beijing. >> reporter: the congress delegates convene at a crucial time for china. the communist party is setting the stage for a major leadership change this fall. after nine years at the top,

president hu jintao and premier wen jiabao are preparing to hand power to a new generation. social stability has emerged as a key issue. the public is unhappy about inflation and the widening gap between rich and poor. wen said slowing the economy will help tackle these problems. >> translator: the purpose of slowing down our economic growth is to reform the economic structure of china. ultimately, the most important thing is improving standards of living in this country. >> reporter: the congress set a gdp growth target of 7.5%. this is the first time below 8% since 2004. the first objective is to cool

overheated sectors and keep a lid on inflation. long time, though, the new target signals are changing priorities. the government wants to rebalance the economy for sustainable quality growth, shifting from an export focus to promoting consumer demand. rapid growth has created a number of problems. the auto industry is a prime example. china became the world's biggest auto producer in 2009. more than 300 companies are assembling vehicles, large and small. that's not an efficient use of capital. small makers have to invest heavily to expand production. vehicle sales last year rose by a modest 2.5%. if sales don't pick up soon, overextended automakers will go

bankrupt. >> some factories, some firms in these industries with excess of supply, may shut down. this may be a painful process, a painful time, but that's something that we have to experience. >> reporter: the changing labor market is another factor behind the lower growth target. abundant cheap labor has played a major role in the country's rapid economic expansion, but the influx of migrant workers from rural to urban areas is slowing. coastal areas are suffering from a chronic labor shortage. at the same time, there aren't enough jobs for university graduates. more and more young people have to survive on part-time jobs. party leaders are also concerned about an impending decline in

the working age population, a result of china's one-child policy. the number of people age 15 to 64 will start falling within a few years. this means that workers' productivity will have to be raised just to maintain current living standards. >> a large fraction of the population don't feel that they are leading a better life. so what we can do -- or what we should do right now is to reallocate capital to solve this structural problem. >> reporter: given all the problems, a half point adjustment to the national growth target is hardly a solution on its own. but after years of rapid growth, the downgrade is symbolic. china's leaders are signaling their determination to shift gears. the new focus is social stability. to achieve that effective measures will be needed.

for president hu and premier wen, making a start on these issues will be their final and perhaps most important test. chinese premier wen jiabao has publicly criticized a senior communist party official over allegations of corruption involving a close aide. the target of his criticism had been expected to fill a central leadership post. of a close aide of bo's wang lijun fled to the u.s. consulate general in chengdu last month after being fired as head of the city's public security bureau. wang has been under investigation since he left the u.s. mission on suspicion of involvement in corruption. wen jiabao spoke about the incident after the closing of the national people's congress. he said the party's central committee is taking the issue seriously and an investigation has started into the allegations. he said the investigation has

made progress, adding that wang would be punished severely. the premier suggested the government won't make the findings of the investigation public. japan says it expects to see improvement in china's restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals. in line with world trade organization rules. chief cabinet secretary says he expected the matter to be settled through the dispute settlement procedures. he said japan takes more shares of imports and has repeatedly asked for export restrictions to be eased. japan is filing a trade case against china with the united

states and the european union. they contend that china's breaking international law by limiting rare earth exports. ed deadly shooting rampage has taken the u.s. defense chief on a highly sensitive mission to afghanistan. will promise president karzai the strictest punishment for the crime, but it remains to be seen how well he'll be able to calm afghan anger. nhk reports. >> reporter: he's scheduled to meet president karzai in kabul. resentment towards the u.s. forces is mounting in the country after the soldiers stationed in the southern province of kandahar broke into

their homes and shot dead 16 people, 12 of them women and children. the united states is believed to have sent panetta to directly express its regrets and promise a thorough investigation. panetta has suggested the death penalty could be sought by the u.s. military justice system. by directly conveying its willingness to take serious action, the u.s. will be hoping to counter rising anti-american sentiment before it's too late. hideki, nhk world. a bus packed with school children has crashed on a highway in switzerland killing 28 people. the bus was one of three taking belgian elementary school students from a ski trip in the amount lps on tuesday night. the coach was carrying 52 passengers. it crashed into a tunnel wall

near the italian border. the dead include 22 children and six adults. another 24 children were hospitalized with injuries. there appears to be no other cars involved. police are investigating the accident. scientists believe they are getting closer to proving the existence of the higgs boson, the hypothetical subatomic particle thought to supply mass to the matter that makes up our universe. an experiment is to resume wednesday at the large hadron collider near geneva, designed to catch glimpses of the so-called god particle. the large hadron collider is operated by cern, the european organization for nuclear research. the large hadron collider sits in a tunnel about 100 meters under the ground. it has a circumference of 27 kilometers. the collider is designed to produce collisions between protons, one of the most elementary of subatomic

particles after accelerating them to close to the speed of light. this is done in an effort to re-create the conditions right after the big bang, which scientists say was responsible for the formation of the universe. scientists hope the higgs boson will be present in these collisions. the total cost of building the facility was over $6 billion. >> either we will discover the higgs or we will discover there is something else which has to replace the higgs. >> scientists at cern hope to confirm the existence of the higgs boson by the end of this year. the nuclear crisis in fukushima forced 88,000 people to leave their homes. government drew up a plan to hope some evacuees will eventually return, but many residents say they'll never feel safe there again. nhk world reports.

>> reporter: she and her family spend their days far from home. she, her husband, their father, and her two children rent an apartment in iwake city. >> translator: i'm just hanging on here. i don't know what my future will be. >> reporter: she lived in the town for 16 years. her home is 72 # meters from the front. on march 11th, everything changed. she and her family jumped in the car the day after and left town. >> reporter: i believe that the nuclear plant was 100% safe. i'm so confused. and cannot resolve my feelings.

>> reporter: she became concerned her daughter might have suffered internal exposure. a checkup revealed she was safe. still, she had trouble adjusting to her new environment. she didn't know her new neighbors. it took six months for her to feel she fit in. she was allowed to visit her home last month. if only for a few hours. >> translator: i don't want to take her to her home, but still she wants to go. i'll videotape it instead. >> translator: give me the chance to go back once. >> translator: i want to figure out how i feel, then bring our things back here and all the good memories that go along with them.

>> reporter: her mother videotaped her home. she wanted to show her children what had become of it. she and her husband will stand by what they found when they opened their door. the floors were littered with their belongings. some kind of animal had scratched the floors. dust covered everything. but their old piano was exactly as it was. their children used to spend hours practicing. local government checked the piano for radiation, then they brought it back to their apartment. then she showed them what had become of their old place.

elderly people say they want to return soon, but for me, considering the children's health and our jobs, i cannot even imagine going home. >> the japanese government hopes its work will encourage evacuees to return home, but many, like this family, say what they had is gone. they want to start again somewhere else. hiroki yajima, nhk world. now let's take a look at the market figures.

all right, time to check on some of the stories we've gathered from broadcasters around asia. we begin with this item speak g ing new dell lie, decades-old tracks and a large number of

unmanned railroad crossings cause deadly accidents in india every year. india's railway system is the third largest with a net worth of about 64,000 kilometers. it carries around 23 million people and 2.6 million tons of freight every day. a tropical forest in eastern malaysia has been identified as one of the world's oldest. it will be transformed into a new ecotourism destination. the national park is reported to be about 130 million years old. it's abundant with exotic forms of flora and fauna. including mushrooms, wild ginger, and teak. 20 limestone caves are said to be 24 million years old. the mark is already equipped with facilities like cabins, camping sites, and wooden walkways for visitors and will

undergo further development. thailand's government is working to improve the quality of its service economy in a bid to remain competitive, after the opportunity comes into effect in 2015. they have designated three areas of elderly care, spas and restaurants, have issued a campaign to raise standards to meet high international demands. the ministry says it will hold workshops to help the workforce improve their skills. in thailand, about 1 million businesses are engaged in the service sector, one of the country's key sources of revenue. let's now go to rachel ferguson, who has the world weather forecast. rachel, feeling like summer across much of the united states. what's happening there? >> you're absolutely right. here seeing may-like temperatures throughout much of the u.s. and canada, however, it's not all warm. we have a winter storm taking

place across the northwest, into northern california, we're seeing some really significant precipitation, it's going to be rain, of course, at the coast. up on the upper elevations, you could see about 90 centimeters of fresh snow on the cascades that's going to be. also, very strong winds coming in with this system, so with the heavy snow as well, there will be an increased risk of avalanches. winter storm warnings are posted for the moment and will last until 6:00 p.m. thursday, so that's about the next 24 hours for you. however, on the eastern side of the system, we are seeing exceptional warmth, and that rush of humidity and warmth from the south is helping to bring some thunderstorms across the southern plains and towards eastern canada, probably the most severe area is here to the great lakes, large hail, perhaps thunder and lightning, nothing too much on the severe side, however. take a look at temperatures, 22 in denver, 24 in chicago on your

thursday, 28 in d.c., take a closer look at the two-day forecast for some cities to show you the departure from average, in minneapolis, about 4 degrees in the middle of march, getting up to 23 on friday. as for memphis, tennessee, 10 degrees average and ottawa, usually hovering above the freezing point, seeing temperatures in the mid teens for the next couple of days. do enjoy that. you'll have it probably through the weekend. through eastern asia, things getting more unstable across much of central and southern china. developing low here and showers there get a little bit on the heavy side towards the eastern side of the river, then we head towards the west, snow showers will also be intensifying, might see about ten centimeters of snow into the next 24 hours. another area of snow moving northeast, this will be accompanied with strong gusts as well, snowstorm here in towards the northeast on your thursday.

meanwhile, japan's drying out, seeing showers moving away in much of the country, we'll see settled conditions and temperatures returning to some seasonal averages. tokyo 14 13 degrees, a bit warmer today, 11 in seoul, 10 in beijing, temperatures improving here also and down towards the south, hong kong starting to come up to average too. going to be a very hot day in bangkok, 36 for your high. into europe we go. not much of a change across much of central and western europe. we are going to see some very welcomed showers spreading across portugal and spain, where drought conditions have been persisting for the last week or so. getting a bit wet across northern parts of the united kingdom, scotland, as well as ireland with a stream of moisture, that's going to continue up the western coast of norway. down towards the southeast, turkey and into syria, seeing showers as well as lots of inland snow, particularly across turkey, temperatures continuing

to fall through the end of the week. ankara seeing 4 for the high on thursday and moscow at minus 3. then spring-like temperatures in central europe, 17 in athens, rome, mid-20s in madrid, 17 in london, not even bad for the summer. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, u.s. president barack obama and british prime minister david cameron say they will increase pressure on iran to abandon its nuclear development program. the two leaders met at the white house. >> again, it is because we have employed so many of the options that are available to us to persuade iran to take a different course that the window for solving this issue diplomatically is shrinking. >> cameron also warned that iran has to meet its international obligations. if not, he said, britain will continue to increase political and economic pressure along with the u.s. the two leaders also insisted that security in afghanistan has been improving, despite the killing of 16 civilians in a shooting by a u.s. soldier.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.