hello there, and welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, may 22nd, 8:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. international forces invaded afghanistan more than a decade ago to target the taliban and al qaeda. now nato leaders are preparing for the end of the war that has claimed thousands of lives. soldiers, militants and civilians. they've reconfirmed their plan to wrap up their troops' combat role by the end of 2014. the leaders ended up a two-day summit monday in chicago.

u.s. president barack obama says afghan forces will take the lead in combat operations across the country in 2013. >> there is real improvement in those areas where we've had a significant presence. you can see the taliban not having a foothold, that there is genuine improvement in the performance of afghan national security forces. >> obama and the other leaders decided to temporarily increase the number of afghan security personnel to 350,000. the size of the force will eventually be cut back to 230,000. nato members will continue to offer financial assistance to afghanistan after their troops pull out, but there are concerns about the sustainability of this support because many nato countries are dealing with financial difficulties. now, despite those economic challenges, japan's foreign minister is urging nato leaders

to continue to help afghanistan after their withdraw their combat troops. koichiro gemba made the appeal in a speech at the summit in chicago and said it's important afghanistan becomes stable after nato troops leave so it can realize its potential. gem ma noted the japanese government will host a ministerial level meeting on july 8th in tokyo to discuss the country's reconstruction and development. he's urging nato member states to support afghanistan for ten years after troops pull out. japan is not part of the north atlantic treaty negotiation. gemba attended the summit to promote the tokyo meeting. he spoke to u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton before leaving chicago. he told her japan will continue to help afghanistan improve its security after 2015. a terrorist group in yemen with ties to al qaeda is claiming responsibility for a deadly bombing. the explosion happened monday in the capital sanaa.

it killed at least 90 soldiers. a spokesperson for the group tells nhk the suicide bomber was revenge for killings by government forces. he's vowing militants in yemen will carry out similar attacks in the future. officials with the country's defense ministry say a suicide bomber debt tatonated the devicr the presidential palace. no high ranking military officials were injured. the terrorist group had won control of parts of southern yemen but a recent campaign by government forces and the u.s. military has uprooted the militants from some of their strongholds. delegates from iran and the international atomic energy agency returned to the negotiating table. the agency is hoping to win access to iran's nuclear facilities. iaea director yukiya amano arrived in the iranian capital

tehran an monday. on his first trip to the country since taking office in 2009, amano held talks with iran's nuclear negotiator. amano also talked with the head of iran's nuclear energy organization and is expected to meet the foreign minister. iran's nuclear energy organization issued a statement describing the talks as candid. the two sides are thought to have discussed ways to carry out nuclear verification. the iaea wants access to the parchin military complex near the capital. experts suspect the site is being used for nuclear experiments. the united states and european union are poised to implement an oil embargo against iran in late june and july. iranian officials will meet delegates from the u.s. and europe in baghdad on wednesday. iran is hoping to persuade the western powers to ease the sanctions. an agreement with the iaea could give iran leverage in those talks.

senior diplomats from japan, south korea, and the united states met in seoul to talk about how to deal with a common threat. they agreed to take concerted action against north korea if the reclusive nation tests another nuclear weapon. the diplomats are chief delegates to the six party talks on the north's nuclear program. it's the first time the group met since north korean authorities failed last month to launch what they called a satellite carrying rocket. >> if the dplk goes for further escalation, we are to take unified and coordinated actions and responses. >> we're united in our resolve to respond, not just the three allies but russia and china as well. >> u.s. delegate glyn davies again pushed china to play a

greater role in preventing north korean officials from carrying out provocative acts. the u.n. security council adopted a statement condemning last month's launch. that sparked concerns the north's leaders could respond with the new nuclear test. a security camera has caught footage of a bus accident in china that injured 14 people. the crash occurred during an argument over payment between the driver and a passenger. the bus was operating in an eastern province on sunday evening when it veered off the road and slammed into the front of a roadside fire station. the female driver was among the injured. local media say a 49-year-old woman got into a quarrel with the driver over whether she had swiped her electronic payment card. the passenger took her seat but soon returned to the driver to demand an apology. the medias say the driver lost control of the bus after the woman tugged her arm. police arrested the passenger on

monday. nato leaders meet to plan their afghan pullout, but a deadly taliban attack underscores how volatile the country still is. patchari raksawong in bangkok has details of the latest bombing. >> a suicide bomb egg killed at least two foreign troops in southern afghanistan on sunday. now, the attack appeared timed to coincide with the nato summit. the "associated press" reports that two nato service members were killed. afghan officials say the attack was carried out by insurgents at a police checkpoint in a province and six children were reportedly wounded. a taliban spokesperson has claimed responsibility. sunday's deaths bring the number of foreign troops killed in afghanistan this month to 25, and 156 so far this year. some observers have questioned whether afghanistan's own security forces are ready to

take over amid the lingering violence. but the rising death toll among ally forces is likely to increase domestic pressure on western governments to bring their troops home. east timor has celebrated the tenth anniversary of independence from indonesia, but for many observers the pace of development in this impoverished country remains painfully slow. we got the perspective of a foreign writer who's been tracking east timor since long before independence and he remains cautiously optimistic. nhk world reports from the capital, dili. >> reporter: east timor gained independence on may 20th, 2002, after a quarter century rule by indonesia and government of the united nations. a ceremony marking ten years since independence was held, i

the president's office sunday. about 1,000 people attended including representatives from other countries. he won last month's presidential election with an appeal for national unity. >> translator: the challenges our country has to face will require my full attention and dedication during the first year of my term in office. i have decided that i will not travel abroad before may next year. >> reporter: a japanese writer visits east timor every year. having spent long periods of time in the country, he can judge its progress. in the 1990s, he learned of human rights violations under indonesian rule. he began to support the struggle for an independent east timor.

he had published books on east timor about this poorly understood nation. east timor is frustrated by the lack of progress. he took us to a local market to see the realities of daily life. >> translator: the people of east timor are too reliant on imported produce. most ingredients for daily meals come from indonesia. >> translator: prices are very expensive. i brought $10, but it wasn't enough, so i decided to go back home. >> reporter: unemployment is high, and domestic industries are underdeveloped. the poverty rate is as high as 40%, and more than 50% of children age 5 or younger are

malnourished. the government has been working to increase self-sufficiency, but public officials say progress is slow. agriculture infrastructure is primitive and poorly maintained. this irrigation canal is filled with sand and mud, preventing the flow of water. the process of nation building in east timor appears desperately slow, but morito says the first decade was just the beginning. >> translator: they want development, but there are no engineers available. east timor hasn't seen any progress, especially in areas like improving infrastructure and cultivating human resources. it's said that education is a 100-year plan. i think it's too heartless for east timor to be asked to achieve results in 10 to 20

years. >> reporter: one of the biggest reasons for this development is simply human nature. east timor was under foreign rule for centuries, so it seems the community needs a longer perspective as it monitors the pace of change in the nation. nhk world, dili. that's going to wrap ur up bullet bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. the world's tallest tower, the 634 meter tokyo sky tree opens tuesday. the tower has two panoramic observation decks at 350 and 450 meters above ground. on a clear day, it offers a view of mt. fuji on the horizon. the tower will officially open at 10:00 a.m. to a ribbon cutting ceremony.

at noon the doors will open to the public. 7,500 people won a lottery to visit the broadcasting tower on its first day. the tower's operator issued tickets for the first 50 days to keep visitor numbers under control. japanese have been at the mercy of natural disasters throughout their history. earthquakes, stsunami, floods. many believe they have to be better prepared if they're going to save lives. participants at a recent international conference in nagasaki prefecture exchanged ideas. 600 people from 31 countries took part. one idea that drew a lot of attention was the use of geoparks. nhk world covered the international unesco conference on such parks. she tells us about a geopark in

nagasaki. >> it's a natural park that has one or more sites of geological importance. an example is a crack in the earth's crust or a fault line. it's associated with quakes. and it reveals something about how the earth is composed. mt. unzen, an active volcano in nagasaki prefecture. it erupted in 1991. it spewed out a massive flow of lava and hot volcanic ash that killed 43 people. we spoke to a man who survived that disaster. he's going to great lengths to stress a crucial message. lessons from that disaster can help everyone be better prepared once in the future. >> translator: you can see the lava reached here. >> reporter: he gives tours of the disaster area. the volunteer guide showed conference participants the damage caused when mt. unzen

erupted. he lost three friends who lived in this neighborhood. >> translator: i didn't want to think my friends died for nothing. someone has to pass on what they've learned from experiencing a natural disaster to prevent others from suffering. >> reporter: ten years ago, he set up a group of volunteer guides. they show young people and tourists how destructive a volcano's eruption can be. he thought the conference was a great way to pass along this information. >> translator: the 1991 lava burned down the elementary school.

>> reporter: participants asked lots of questions. >> translator: i wonder if some locals wanted to get rid of the rooms. >> translator: there were no objections to it at all. we all agreed that at least one momento had to be preserved. >> i'm very glad that it hasn't been demolished and then rebuilt. it's important that it's left. >> now people could visit this place and understand how was the intensity of the eruption. >> translator: human beings cannot completely overcome natural disasters. unless we continue to pass on our experiences, we'll be at the mercy of disasters. that's why i ask you to join us in conveying disaster experiences to others. >> people in the areas devastated by last year's earthquake plan to set up geoparks. they want to conserve destroyed buildings and coastal landscapes ravaged by the tsunami.

they hope this will help teach people the dangers of natural disasters. in fact, conference delegates were told about some of the projects. i was left with the impression that the geoparks were having the desired effect. the fact that the gathering took place at an area struck by a disaster may have contributed to that. >> that was nhk world there from nagasaki. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 this saster. it won't with easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we'll show you their struggles and their successes on "the road ahead" every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. swjapan time here on "newsline." consumers in japan are paying more for one of their traditional staples. the price of domestic rice has risen since the 2011 disaster.

some people have had enough. they're switching to foreign varieties, but japan's rice imports are fixed on an annual basis. so growers of this grain around the world are jockeying to get their product on as many plates as possible. nhk world reports from sydney, on what australian companies are doing. >> reporter: australia is a major agricultural producer. the eastern state of new south wales is a well known rice growing region. its climate, a vast gap in morning and evening temperatures, for instance, makes it an ideal place for growing rice. australia is now in the midst of harvest season, using large equipment, farmers are busy. peter draper has been growing rice here for nearly 30 years. he's hoping to see his high-quality rice boost the country's exports of the grain

to japan. >> the japanese like our style of rice because it's very similar to theirs, and it's very good quality like their rice. a very good quality. the fact we can grow rice without using any small amount of chemicals very early in the crop. >> reporter: since last year's major disaster which hit one of japan's rice producing regions, australia's rice shipments to the asian country have nearly doubled. australia's making every effort to pitch its rice to japanese people. >> at sunrise, we got rice from all over the world growing here in australia. like a sticky rice used for sushi. a creamy rice ideal for rossato. and fragrant jasmine, perfect for asian. we even have a variety of rice that doesn't stick. >> reporter: australia exports

about 80% of its rice. that has prompted the country to embark on global market research projects. this institute spends about $6.3 million a year studying a variety of rice grown in different parts of the world. it's conducting taste and texture tests and doing dna analysis. to meet the needs of japanese consumers, it has to develop a sticky type of rice. it's costly and time consuming, but if the effort pays off, the variety could churn out big profits. that tantalizing prospect has prompted the institute to develop an improved variety. this rice is popular in japan, but difficult to grow in australia. >> this is a japanese variety.

premium quality japanese cuisine. australia grows a wide range of different quality types in the program, and it's in the australian industry. and it's important to have japanese-style rice in amongst that to cater to changes in market demand. >> reporter: this is a newly developed variety. it's considered as good. what's more, the stem is short which keeps the rice plant from falling in bad weather and helps boost harvest. australia is pinning high hopes on this rice. it's hoping that the grain will grab a lead in the japanese market. >> a number of companies have come out publicly and explained that they're going to use australian rice. and i guess that's developed a little confidence amongst others to come and ask questions about rice as well.

so breeding the right varieties that they want, milling it to the right quality, and then delivering it in a timely fashion. >> reporter: the australian government and private farmers are expected to join hands in the future in intensifying efforts to carve out a larger share of the japanese rice market. nhk world, sydney. all right. now let's take a look at the market figures.

sayaka mori joins us now with the world weather forecast. sayaka, it was a warm day yesterday, but this morning it's feeling a little chilly. what's behind that? >> good morning, catherine. it's going to be cool and wet today because a strong low-pressure system is approaching us, dragging cold and moist air from the northeast. the system is expected to move along the pacific coast. northern japan will see dreary conditions today. tomorrow is a different story. it's going to be sunny and warm. back behind it, dry across the korean peninsula and much of eastern portions of china. heavy rain in central portions of southern china is expected. more than 100 millimeters of rain is on the cards over the next 24 hours. the ground is already very well saturated, so any additional rain could trigger flooding as well as landslides. down toward southeast asia,

scattered thundershowers, again, particularly wet in northern vietnam, as well as northern sections of the philippines today. temperature wise, 35 degrees expected for both manila and bangkok. clearing conditions in hong kong, with a high of 29 degrees. tokyo, very cool. 15 degrees. as we've been reporting, tokyo sky tree will open today, but it may be surrounded by clouds. now, heading over to the americas, we are keeping an eye on tropical storm alberto, which is still sitting off the southeast coast of the u.s. it's likely to move away from mainland u.s. and could become a remnant low by your wednesday morning. however, dangerous surf and rip currents should remain along the southeast coast through monday. as we pull back, wet conditions across the eastern section of the u.s. and canada, and out toward the west, there are a couple of low-pressure systems moving along the u.s./canada

border. things will turn quite severe in parts of the northern plains. thunderstorms, gusty wednesday and ev winds and hail are possible on your tuesday. down toward the west, severe weather can be found in parts of texas as well as eastern oklahoma tonight. temperature wise, still on the hot side across the southern u.s. and northern mexico. and even denver will be seeing a very hot day. 34 degrees expected on your tuesday. 29 in oklahoma city. out toward the east, a little bit warmer than monday. 26 degrees expected in d.c. finally, let's go over to europe. a couple of low-pressure systems will continue to produce inclement weather across the areas like western germany and italy. in northern italy, after a big earthquake occurred on your sunday, still more than 3,000 people are living in shelters. so conditions are quite tough for them. unfortunately, unstable weather

here should remain into your wednesday. as for the highs, still very warm for this time of year across many locations. 27 in moscow. 28 in warsaw. 29 tredegrees in berlin. about average temperatures, 24 in london. but the exception is going to be rome, 17 degrees expected, under the influence of this storm. all right. here's your extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo.

thanks for joining us.