hello there, welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, may 15th, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. in a last-ditch bid to avoid an election rerun, greece's president proposed forming a government of private sector technocrats. karolos papoulias.

an ultra right party rejected the idea. the other leaders agreed to continue discussion. former finance minister, leader of the third place pasok said the negotiations would not be easy, but he wants to fulfill his responsibilities. the second place radical left coalition reiterated it will not join any government that pushes austerity measures. the ministers from 17 euro nations on monday urged greece to swiftly form a government that can implement austerity measures. the measures are a prerequisite for receiving new bailout funds. the political impasse in greece is casting growing uncertainty over the belt tightening program. those uncertainties, of course, have worried investors over the last week. let's see how the markets are doing now.

people in okinawa are looking back and forward. residents of japan's southernmost prefecture are observing a milestone. it's been 40 years since it was returned to japan from u.s. rule. a lot has changed in okinawa in the past 40 years. people in the prefecture hope this year will bring even more change. they want more economic development and want issues surrounding u.s. bases to be settled. the national government has

invested about $125 billion in okinawa since the prefecture was returned. yet, a worker there can only expect to earn about three quarters of the average income in japan. many are frustrated with the continuing u.s. military presence. more than 70% of u.s. military facilities in japan are located in okinawa. the national government has been trying to relocate the u.s. marine corps futenma air station to nago city on the coast. negotiators from the u.s. and japan agreed to move in 1996. now, okinawa government leaders want the base moved out of the prefecture. an nhk survey suggests 71% of okinawa residents think people elsewhere in japan don't understand their concerns. the figure has increased by 10 percentage points from another survey ten years ago. japanese government leaders say they intend to provide more stimulus to okinawa throughout

this year. the marines' plan to deploy a controversial aircraft at futenma, u.s. and japanese officials agreed starting in july they'll test the mv 22 osprey. the plane has a history of accidents. u.s. officials will deliver 12 ospreys to futenma this year and send another 12 next year. thousands of people live right around the base. the advanced transport aircraft can take off, land vertically as helicopters do. but the osprey flies like a fixed-wing airplane. the planes will replace helicopters now in service. okinawa leaders and residents are worried about the aircraft's track record. an osprey crashed in morocco during a drill last month, killing two soldiers onboard. u.s. and japanese government officials considered deploying the aircraft temporarily at a base on the mainland to ease safety concerns. it was then to be used at futenma. they abandoned that plan in the face of opposition from

potential host sites. u.s. military leaders now plan to start regular flights from futenma starting in october. for many islanders, the return of okinawa offered the promise of peace. but many say it marked the beginning of more hardship. former governor led the drive in the 1990s to get the bases out of okinawa. nhk world spoke with him about his disappointments and his hopes. >> reporter: now 86 years old, he served as the okinaw governor from 1990 to 1998. after surviving the war, he d devoted himself to studies at yusts in okinawa, tokyo, and the united states, to try and understand why his islands had to make such a great sacrifice. during his tenure as governor,

the okinawan people's -- in 1996, after a series of negotiations with the pentagon and tokyo oda won a concession. including the notorious futenma marine air station. however, after the governor retired from the politics, the base issue became deadlocked over where to relocate it. >> people question so strongly that that the okinawa military bases should be cut down, in mainland japan. so nowadays, anger toward the

central government. local people feel that they are betrayed by the current center of government after 40 years. >> reporter: anything have changed about the issue of the bases? >> nothing has changed at all. even worse. >> reporter: ohta survived the battle of okinawa as a child soldier. he says the sacrifice of a third of the islanders made him determined to eliminate military bases from his homeland. >> i'm afraid unless the people understand the local people, during the battle of okinawa, they cannot understand why local people are strongly opposed to the u.s. military bases. we believe that local people will be protected by the japanese defense forces, but

we -- japanese defense forces soldiers killed the local people. they ordered mothers to kill child simply to keep quiet, you know, so they would find out by the enemy forces. such terrible things which we never dreamed of even. so we're very much disappointed. the big lesson, that the military does not protect the civilians. >> reporter: ohta is disappointed. which could lead to the permanent establishment of bases in okinawa. >> japanese central government always say that the u.s. --

security is so important. it's national interest of japan. and in order to maintain the peace and security of the asia-pacific regions, u.s. military bases on okinawa are indispensable. however, even though they insist that it is so important in its national interest, japan does not want to bring in the military bases into your backyard, you know? >> reporter: what do you think about that? >> this is nonsense for us, because if it's national interest, you know, they should share the obligation under the name of democracy. you know, democracy, majority rules, you know. so that the okinawa -- will not

be solved unless those majority pay attention or take okinawa programs, their own programs. >> reporter: ohta says an increase in the number of young islanders who can clearly say no to what they see as an unfair burden could achieve an okinawa without bases. >> we watch the college, local youngsters, voices of okinawa to be independent, if the central government -- local people as they used to. there any longer. central government has to listen to the minority groups. people like okinawan people.

you know. this is -- i have the hope that they will change. the death toll from several days of rain and hailstorms in northwestern china has climbed to more than 40. in the southern county of minxiang in guangzhou province heavy rain has fallen. as of sunday, 42 people have died and another 17 are still missing in landslides and flash floods triggered by the storms. heavy rainfall has destroyed houses and caused blackouts affecting more than 400,000 people in the province and surrounding areas. in some mountainous regions the rain has turned into snow. tents, blankets and other relief supplies are being delivered to

the affected zones. meanwhile in pingjiang county, water crushed several boats into a bridge which then collapsed. six people are still missing after they fell from the bridge into the river. china and the philippines are working to end their month-long standoff over a disputed shoal. china's agriculture ministry said it will temporarily ban fishing around the scarborough shoal for 2 1/2 months from wednesday. the shoal is located in the south china sea. chinese foreign minister spokesperson hong lei said the country wants a settlement through dialogue. april 10th chinese survey boats blocked a philippine naval ship in the area. the ship was attempting to seize chinese fishing boats. vessels from both sides remain in the area. last friday, protesters in manila denounced china's government. the philippines said it does not

recognize the ban as it covers the country's exclusive economic zone. but the country also said that due to accelerated depletion of its marine resources, it should issue its own ban to replenish fish stocks. afghan security forces are ready to play a greater security role in the country. the government has announced that its troops will take over security for three more provinces from nato-led forces. cholaphousa narula has the details. >> by the end of the year, it plan to be responsible for the security of 75% of the country's people. there's been little sign of any progress stabilizing the country. that's leading some observers to raise questions about the wisdom of the plan. nhk world aimal faizi reports. >> reporter: anti-government groups will continue to pose a threat, but we will keep our peace-building efforts.

>> reporter: afghanistan on sunday announced, a plan to transfer security responsibility from nato-led forces to afghan troops. the first and second stages are already in place and give afghanistan control of its provinces in some other areas. in total, covering about half the country's population. will see that expanded to another three provinces as well as all 54 provincial capitals. the afghan government has been ramping up calls for a swift hand-over of security control. its scandals involving troops that have fueled anti-u.s. sentiment including burning of the copies of the koran. support for a quick withdrawal

of nato-led forces also growing in western nations. a private research institute revealed the number troops killed in the decade-long war has reached 3,000. nato is scheduled to hear a summit in the u.s. city of chicago next week. the transfer plan is seen as an attempt by afghan government to show that their efforts toward the troop pullout are going smoothly. but amid continued attacks by taliban insurgents, observers have voiced concern about afghanistan military and police to maintain security. nhk world, kabul. turning to laos now. the land locked country economic development has left behind neighbors like vietnam and taiwan.

it relies on assistance but wants to supplement that with investment. private/public from japan is offering an example of how that cooperation could work. nhk world's akiko ichihara has the story. >> reporter: in saravan province, laos, a pharmaceutical company has been running this farm for two years. this is one medical tree, cinnamon. it is used as a medicine for cough or ache of throat. the farm is used to grow medicinal herbs used in traditional medicine that originated in china. dozens of types of herbs grow over 200 hectares of land. the company chose laos because of the quality of its land.

the soil has been kept relatively free from contamination. >> translator: we tested many countries, but laos performed best. it's also relatively easy to acquire land here. >> reporter: he works on the farm with 200 other workers. he started out as a day laborer but worked hard and earned himself a full-time job. now he's in charge of training other employees. >> translator: i enjoy the work. i teach many people and they're all eager to learn. >> reporter: the company has plans to expand its land fivefold. it also wants to hire more than 1,000 workers, but there's a problem.

laos has unexploded bombs from the vietnam war. last year, they killed more than 90 people. few foreign companies are willing to shore a cost. in this case, the pharmaceutical company was able to turn to the japanese government for assistance. the japanese government hopes that partnering with the private sector will help streamline the delivery of development assistance to laos. the government, it decided the farm had great prospects of creating jobs and supporting local development. it raised about $1 million to pay for land. >> translator: the government of

laos doesn't regard our oda as sufficient enough for the development of the local economy. they think it depends on how much we can promote local employment or technology transfer. for these areas, japanese companies can contribute more. >> reporter: the oda france h p helped reduce the investment risks for the farm. local people are now hopeful the expansion will go ahead. >> translator: the farm is contributing to the economic development of the area. i hope that by helping each other, the village will become prosperous. >> reporter: this combination of public and private investment is helping improve the lives of people living in the small village in laos. it could also serve as a model

for other developing countries. akiko ichihara, nhk world. people across southeast asia are preparing for the monsoon season. last year the rain caused widespread hardship across the region. so, many people are hoping and praying that this year will be luckier. in thailand, survivors of last year's deadly floods participated in an annual rocket festival on sunday. villagers fired rockets into the sky in honor of the local guard of rain. the ceremony calls on the god to fertilize the fields and bless farmers with abundant crops. the rocket that stays airborne for longest wins a prize worth some $5,000 u.s. dollars. in the philippines, vessels made from recycled materials and garbage took part in a boat race. they competed on time,

durability, and innovation. the competition aims to promote recycling but helps people prepare for emergencies. >> translator: they can build a boat in their backyard. especially when there's a flood. >> the philippines is one of the most flood-prone countries in the region with hundreds of thousands of people displaced each year. learning how to build a boat out of garbage could be a valuable skill when the rainy season arrives. that wraps up our bull fen for today. i'm cholaphansa narula in ba bangkok. let's go straight to rachel ferguson standing by with the world weather forecast. rachel, good morning. >> good morning, catherine. >> i noticed you had your rubber boots on this morning. >> i did. i saw you with your umbrella as well. japan, it is a wet day for much of the country. unfortunately, we'll see almost as much as 120 millimeters in

some places. central japan is going to get the worst of it. we have this frontal and low coming across toward the country enveloping most of it in this pretty unstable weather. strong gusts, some thunderstorms embedded in that as well. should be clearing up as we head on into wednesday. meanwhile, the korean peninsula is looking quite dry. you still see a few popup thunderstorms across the peninsula as well. ings also starting to clear out here in southeastern china. however, just along the edge of the country here down toward the southeast coast, you will still see some pretty significant rainfall. fujan, you could see maybe 50, 100 millimeters in some places. which is certainly going to be very unwelcomed rain falling on already saturated land. another place that has a high risk of flooding and landslides is going to be eastern indochina. we're seeing sustained heavy rain. it's starting to shift further toward the west as well.

temperature-wise, another scorching day in bangkok. 38 degrees. 34 in manila. 30 in taipei as well as in hong kong. little cooler in tokyo. 19 degrees under the influence of that rain coming through. but wednesday we'll be sunny and jumping up to 27 degrees. so a hot day. all right. let's head into north america. out west, right across much of the north of the u.s. and canada, things are looking fairly clear and calm. there is more severe weather, though, today. and it hasn't changed much in terms of position from yesterday. it's going to be new mexico through texas and down into northern northeastern mexico. potential for hail, damaging winds, and also for tornadoes. we're getting a lot of humidity coming up from the gulf of mexico here. that's also helping to produce lots of showers across the atlantic coast from miami, excuse me, florida, i should say, to the northeast, and the heavy rain is going to be pushing into new england today. another wet day also for the upper midwest. we're going to see a system coming in here. you can see it dashing through ontario there.

it's going to be producing some severe thunderstorms today. partly because of the heat that is reaching all the way up to the upper midwest. 27 degrees in chicago. we're looking at 28 in oklahoma city. as for you in seattle, above average. another warm day at 23. and keeping the heat down in the desert southwest. phoenix, 41 degrees for you. you can see these oranges here in parts of western mexico. southern california. southern arizona and down the baja peninsula. keep care in the extreme heat. in europe, we're also seeing some really hot temperatures. down in parts of southern portugal as well as spain. temperatures are just soaring here. we'll show you all of those figures in just a second. up toward the north, norway as well as the british isles still under the influence of this large storm system. going to be quite unsettled through much of the british isles. particularly england and wales. maybe potential for gusts and hail. mountain snow for norway. winds getting up to 79 kilometers an hour. out toward the southeast, we

have the low moving across the balkan peninsula. that will be spreading to the black sea region. thunderstorms. let's talk about those temperatures. 30 degrees in lisbon. that will be moving up to 34 as we head on into wednesday. i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour. in a last-ditch bid to avoid an

election rerun, greece's president proposed forming a government of private sector technocrats. karolos papoulias made the proposal at a meeting with the leaders of two former ruling parties and one minor party. an ultra right party rejected the idea. the other leaders agreed to continue discussions on tuesday. former finance minister and leader of the third place pasok, said the negotiations would not be easy, but he wants to fulfill his responsibility. the second place radical left coalition reiterated it will not join any government that pushes austerity measures. the ministers from 17 euro nations on monday urged greece to swiftly form a stable government that can implement austerity measures. the european union said the measures are a prerequisite for receiving new bailout funds. the political impasse in greece is casting growing uncertainty over the belt tightening program. that wraps up this edition of "newsline."

i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.