further intimidation. china expels an al jazeera journalist as it tries to pressure the media before its once in a decade change in leadership. welcome to nhk world "newsline." china refused to renew a visa for al jazeera's beijing correspondent who has now been forced to leave the country. nhk world has more from beijing. >> reporter: the qatar-based satellite broadcaster said chinese authorities refused to renew melissa chan's visa. al jazeera says it's closed its chinese bureau for its english

language channel because authorities also refused to issue a visa for her replacement. chan is a u.s. citizen and had been reporting from china for al jazeera's english channel since 2007. she has covered social problems including what goes on at facilities that temporarily detain people who try to lodge petitions with the government. the foreign correspondents club of china has denounced the incident. it says that this is the most extreme example of a recent pattern of china's government using visas to censor and intimidate journalists from abroad. in 1998, china expelled a japanese generalist. chinese spokesperson hong lei said they must obey by chinese laws and regulations while

covering stories in the country. china is tightening the control of the foreign media before the convention. a new leadership will be established at the meeting. nhk world, beijing. human rights in china are again in the spotlight. the latest incident centers on activist chan. chen escaped from house arrest last month and sought protection at the u.s. embassy. he's now waiting at a beijing hospital for a possible move to the united states. the deal was reached after days of tense negotiations between the u.s. and chinese officials. today, we look at how the two major powers negotiated a diplomatic mine field. >> reporter: a blind man escapes house arrest in shandong province and the crisis meetings begin. civil rights activist chen

guangcheng slipped past his guards on april 22nd. four days later, he sought sanctuary at the u.s. embassy in beijing. chen had campaigned against forced abortions under china's one child policy. he complained of illegal detention, beatings and persecution of his family. his internet protest couldn't have come at a worse time for chinese authorities. just days before, they had talks with washington. but u.s. officials were equally keen to avoid a diplomatic confrontation. they need cooperation from china on hostile economic and strategic issues, not least in tackling nuclear programs of north korea and iran. on may 2nd, u.s. officials announced they had worked out a deal with the chinese government. chen was transferred to a

hospital for treatment. the activist was in china, his safety guaranteed by beijing authorities. the case looked to be over. behind me, the hospital where chen guangcheng is staying. dozens of press are in front of the hospital trying to capture his image, but police officers prevent us from going inside and reaching him. it shows how sensitive this case is to the chinese government. but then, chen suddenly changed his mind. he said he wanted to leave for the u.s. with his family. >> reporter: u.s. officials seem

to be caught off guard. they were forced to negotiate again with the chinese side. another agreement emerged on friday, china's foreign ministry announced that chen would be allowed to leave the country to study abroad. officials are now said to be preparing for chen's departure to the u.s., but diplomats will remain on edge until the blind activist and his family boards the plane. >> earlier, nhk world spoke with susumu kojima in beijing. >> susumu, can you tell us why this case has become so complicated? >> it's still not clear what went wrong after the initial arrangement agreed by the u.s. and chinese officials. but according to a chinese activist who's been supporting chen, after moving to the hospital, chen said that he felt

stressed and became desperate because so many uncomfortable things happened, including threats to his wife. so, it's believed that he had no choice but to change his mind about staying in china. >> i see. so, then how do you think this case will affect u.s./china relations? >> well, top officials from the u.s. and china held their annual talks in beijing last week, but all the attention was on chen's case. the two countries made their position clear concerning human rights issues in china. >> we will continue engaging with the chinese government at the highest levels in putting these concerns at the heart of our diplomacy.

>> china repeatedly expressed their frustration, saying that the u.s. was interfering in their domestic affairs and that this was unacceptable. but it seems like china's true intention is to prevent the issue from getting any bigger. one expert says the exchange of strong words is just a part of political rhetoric. >> neither side wanted this case to stand indefinitely. it doesn't work for any side. for president obama, it simply provides a new card for mr. romney to hit back. for china, for the chinese leaders of the government, people would be more dissatisfied with the government. >> right. another case receiving a lot of international attention is the sudden fall of bo xilai, former party chief of chongqing and rising star in the communist party. so, susumu, are there any

similarities in the way the chinese government has been handling this and the chairmanship? >> yes, there are some similarities. nhk's international tv reports on chen have been interrupted several times in china. the same measures were taken when bo's case came out. also, the search results for both bo's and chen's names are blocked on china's popular blogging sites. china seems concerned that if the chen issue drags on, it might lead to mounting criticism from human rights activists on the country's one-party rule. china will have its own leadership transition in the fall. what the chinese leader wants most now is a smooth transfer of power and to maintain social stability. >> susumu kojima in beijing. greece may be headed for another round of national elections next month, if a

coalition can't be created. voters rejected the government's austerity measures, that the partners couldn't gain a combined majority in sunday's elections. the leader of the new democracy party, antonis samaras. couldn't convince others to join him in a coalition led by his party. >> translator: we turn to all the political parties that could participate, but they either said they wouldn't join straight away, or they said other parties would have to join if they were to accept. >> greece's president, karolos papoulias says he would ask them to form a cabinet within four three days but its leader alexis tsipras says he only wanls to work with leftist groups. that would open a way back for pasok to win the election, but

the party polls have already been rejected. >> translator: it's impossible to have a government with a small percentage. there are many parties and there's no allocation of power, so we would have elections again. that is what i believe. >> the growing likelihood of new elections has triggered fears of the credit crisis flaring again across europe. israel's prime minister and opposition leader have agreed to form a unity government. this comes a day after the israeli camp on monday endorsed the prime minister's plan to hold parliamentary elections in september. israeli media said the agreement came at a meeting early on tuesday between netanyahu, who heads the ruling likud party and shaul mofaz, the leader of the opposition kadima party. but benjamin netanyahu's plan for an early the election will be called off. the vote was scheduled for october of next year. observers say with a new unity

government, netanyahu can now gain a foot hold to enforce his hard-line policies without having to call an election. the centrist kadima party is the largest bloc in the parliament. but recent surveys indicate that it would suffer a significant setback if an early election was held. 4 the agreement gives the coalition more than a three quarters of the seats in parliament. this gives benjamin netanyahu greater power in any decisions to be made on the iranian nuclear issue and the stalled middle east peace talks. a disagreement over sanctions against iran is dominating u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton's visit to india. patchari raksawong is at our bureau in bangkok has more on clinton's indian tour. >> reporter: u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton is pressing india to curb oil imports from iran. nhk world has the story. >> reporter: hillary clinton's visit to india comes less than two months before additional

sanctions against iran go into force. the united states has outlined new sanctions against tehran in response to iran's nuclear program. but so far, india, which imports around 10% of its oil from iran, has shown no intention of following washington's lead. one factor at play is the importance of energy security seen by the government of the prime minister manhoman singh as a crucial element of india's economic growth. clinton emphasized that the u.s. is ready to provide expert advice on how india can diversify its sources of oil. in line with its sanctions against iran washington is hoping that india will agree to reduce imports from iran. >> we commend india for the steps its refineries are taking to reduce imports from iran. there's no doubt that india and the united states are after the

same goal. >> reporter: while india is not prepared to join western sanctions, curbing oil imports from iran would motivate the country to diversify its sources of oil, leading to greater energy security. >> with growing demand it is natural for us to try and diversify our resources of imports of oil and gas to meet the objective of energy security. >> reporter: india is keen to award further economic slowdown caused by the european debt crisis. on the other hand, the united states wants to make sanctions against iran as effective as possible. clinton and krishna are set to meet again in washington in june. the search for a compromise over iranian oil imports is likely to

continue until just before the sanctions begin. nhk world, new delhi. several months have passed since thailand was crippled by its worse flooding in decades. the government's poor response to the crisis has only added to the suffering. ngo's have been prevented to step in and help the victims. we have a report from a highly devastated area. >> reporter: insufficient government aid is causing flood victims like this one to continue to live among the wreckage. her house is unsanitary. most of her belongings are damaged and covered in grime. she has no source of income and is living on donations of food, water and other necessities.

rust stains on the walls shows the house was submerged under two meters of water for months. >> translator: it's been a really big struggle. we lost everything. we couldn't save anything. we didn't know what to do. >> reporter: last year's floods destroyed at least 170,000 homes in thailand. many residents watched the deluge wash away all their belongings, leaving behind a trail of devastation. but there's hope for her. she's one of hundreds of people who are getting a new home for free thanks to the efforts of charitable groups. the goal is to rebuild over 900 homes in eight provinces affected by the floods. so far 106 have been completed.

here at the construction site where the homes are being built, for the flood victims and each home is built at least two meters above the ground as a flood preventive measure. the walls are made of a special material called viva boards. they are known for being water-resistant and easy to install. unlike traditional homes in the area, these houses have indoor plumbing, so residents have access to bathrooms in case of emergency. experts fear another major flood will hit thailand this year. heavier than usual rain is forecast from may to october. ngo's are working around the clock to prevent a repeat of the national disaster. >> translator: a strategy we're using to prepare is to compile a fund that can be used for first

response. we're already gearing up just in case. one example is we plan to provide tents as temporary shelters. >> reporter: she feels grateful for her new house. others who have yet to receive help continue to worry. the public is urging the government to implement preventative measures as soon as possible. nhk world, thailand. and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. let's take a look at the latest market figures.

next, we look at a shift in the u.s. energy industry. natural gas is being touted as an alternative to oil amid the global hike in oil prices. the shift is particularly notable in the u.s. the country has become a major natural gas producer during the past couple of years. and many types of companies are using natural gas not just as a source of fuel but as a raw material for products. >> reporter: this factory in pennsylvania specializes in the maintenance of heavy trucks. more and more companies across the united states are adapting their vehicles so they can use natural gas as well as gasoline and diesel. >> you have to find a way to add enough fuel storage on board to carry the natural gas. >> reporter: installing a natural gas tank on a heavy

truck costs about $38,000 but it enables it to use conventional diesel oil and natural gas as fuel. using the computer to control the amount of diesel oil and natural gas used as fuel can cut running costs by half. why is it becoming more popular to use natural gas? the reason behind the development is the price of crude oil which remains high. sam works for a company that disposes of industrial waste. he manages the company's fleet of vehicles and is thinking about adapting them so they can run on natural gas to greatly reduce fuel costs. >> well, we consume approximately $30,000 worth of fuel. >> reporter: kecler was concerned even though natural gas can reduce the cost of fuel, it might also reduce the horsepower of the trucks. on this day he decided to test

drive a natural gas-powered vehicle. >> i like it. you cannot tell the difference. when you transition from the diesel to the natural gas you cannot tell a difference in the way the truck runs. >> reporter: this truck maintenance factory estimates that its revenue will grow to about $250 million in the next ten years. >> we have an incredible amount of interest from our customers to convert their diesel engines into dual fuel, diesel and natural gas. and when we are able to supply the demand that we have, we think the business will go tremendously. >> reporter: an increase in the production of natural gas in the u.s. will have a ripple effect on a wide variety of industry. dow chemical, the world's largest manufacturer of chemical products plans to harness the resource. last month the company announced

it will build a new factory in texas, investing about $40 billion. >> this announcement is a game changer for the dow chemical company. >> reporter: the company produces raw materials from crude oil and natural gas. the materials are used to make plastic containers. over the past ten years it has been investing heavily in countries in the middle east and asia that produce crude oil and natural gas. but the environment has changed. now that it's able to get natural gas cheaply within the united states. >> 400,000 new jobs in the chemical industry. and more than $132 billion in new manufacturing output that with a small amount of taxes can go back to the american economy. >> the movement for natural gas is growing among other chemical manufacturers and now nearly 20 such companies are planning to

build new factories in the u.s. mai shoji with the weather forecast for here and elsewhere. >> hi there. copious amount of rainstorms are targeting central to eastern china. we have a rain event that is almost stationary that will be drooping towards the south, descending a little bit, but staying in similar places and targeting the area with very heavy downpours. we have a report of 160 millimeters in hubei province. hunan province could be targeted with additional rainfall of 25 to 50 millimeters and locally some areas could be targeted with 100 millimeters, so there are chances of floodings to be aware of, also mud slides and landslides. these are all at high risk here in central to eastern china. this rain band will be stretching towards southwestern islands of japan, so those

islands will be looking at very wet conditions for your next 24 hours. also, very wet and unstable here in the philippines as well as the indochina peninsula, especially in northern thailand and parts of malaysia and also northern philippines. these are the places where we have been seeing ongoing heavy downpours. 284 millimeters of rainfall has been reported here in northern philippines and looks like these heavy downpours could be continuing for the next couple of days, which could trigger some flooding situations. as for japan, things are going to get very unstable yet again on our wednesday. this looks very similar to what we saw on sunday. there are going to be chances of tornadoes that cannot be ruled out yet again for tomorrow. this is because we have an upper cold air that is going to be surging down from the north, sinking down towards the surface where the temperatures are much warmer and because of the huge temperature differences, thunder clouds will be formed and they

could generate severe thunderstorms which could result in chances of tornadic activity. now, if there are going to be tornadoes, these are things that you should be watching out for, be precautious of dark, thick clouds, frequent thunder and lightning and you're going to be feeling chilly. cold air surging in, also, you will be seeing massive cloud formation. and if there are tornadoes, if you see them, what to do. well, if you are in a house, do stay away from those windows and try to move into the central part of the houses f you're in high rise buildings, do take shelter in staircases and if you are outdoors, please do take shelter anywhere possible. now, we have a report of tornado touchdown here in texas. that looks like it is going to be continuing, also hail, damaging winds and some severe thunderstorms could be erupting in and around similar areas across new mexico. southwestern texas, where some heavy rainfall, about 130 mill

meeters in the next 24 hours is possible and the cold front droops down to mexico as well. along and ahead of the system is where some severe activity could be found. new england, you may be seeing some heavier downpours as well. the snow that was making appearance here in the colorado mountains and the higher elevations, well, that's going to be dissipating but the temperatures are going to be staying still at 17 degrees. so that's well below average. looking at los angeles, 28 degrees. summer-like temperatures there. and lots of sunny spells for you. and a pair of 23s in new york and in washington, d.c. here's the extended forecast.

a team of japanese university students is ready to do battle in this year's international computer hacking contest. the students' participation is a first for japan. the annual capture the flag contest began about 20 years ago

and now draws about 200 teams from the united states, europe, asia and elsewhere. japan is sending a team of eight students from the university of tokyo and three other universities. this marks the first for japanese students, though corporate engineers have taken part in past contests. team members enjoying -- enjoyed a sending off party on tuesday, hosted by the computer security firm that sponsors them. they will join a preliminary round beginning on may 30th in russia. the finals will be held in las vegas in august. >> translator: i want to solve as many quizes as i can and learn a lot. >> translator: i will try and do as well as i can. >> par tis pantds will test their skills in defending data in their computers while attacking those of their opponents within a set time. they will also compete in a quiz to test their knowledge of cyberatta cyberattacks. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes.

i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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