deadly crash. a hot air balloon carrying tourists falls from the sky in a popular destination in egypt. welcome to nhk world "newsline." people hop aboard hot air balloons daily but a morning soaring in the skies above this ancient city by the nile ended in disaster for one group. their balloon plunged into a field. egyptian government officials say 18 aboard died and three others were hurt. a witness told nhk he saw the

pilot had a passenger jump out after the basket caught fire. he said the balloon rose high er and was soon engulfed in flames and then crashed in a sugarcane field. associated press reports there was an explosion saying it plunged 300 meters from the sky. state-run media say casualties included people from hong kong, belgium, britain and france. four japanese names were on the passenger list. the operator of the about a lba two accidents in the past two years. >> accident in the morning about 6:30. this company i call rubbish company and i tell the people this way. >> why is that? >> he have two fires before. >> hot air ballooning is popular

with tourists who visit luxor. the ancient city has various attractions. one of them is the tombs of the valley of the kings. following the accident, the province of luxor ordered all hot air balloon companies to suspend operations for safety checks. italy's parliamentary election produced no clear winner. the political instability is expected to continue as it struggles with fiscal problems. the vote on sunday and monday was focused on fiscal reforms, launched by prime minister mario monti. pier luigi bersani's party won a majority of seats in the lower house, but not in the upper seat. the center right won the upper house. the five-star movement also took many seats. beppe grillo leads the new party.

forming a new administration requires approval by both houses of parliament. various parties will have talks before parliament convenes, but launching a stable administration won't be easy. voters in rome were pessimistic about the election outcome. >> translator: i'm afraid italy will become greece. >> translator: i want the politicians to fix the problem. >> berlusconi wants to avoid a political vacuum but has not made specific plans. investors have been keeping a close eye on this election. they, too, have expectations for italy's next government. we have more on that.

>> reporter: the debt crisis has subsided since last september when the european central bank detection. ecb officials decide they would buy an unlimited number of government bonds from companies in serious financial trouble. however, investors are growing concerned in wake of italian election. they fear the european debt crisis may be reignited. no party has won a majority in the upper house and that political parties may try to form a grand coalition, but the differences among them, especially over austerity measures are great. and they may not be able to form a government that strongly enough to implement reforms. this could trigger another election. debt-ridden nations must carry out financial reconstruction and structure reform if they want the ecb to buy their bonds. if italian leaders fail to meet these requirements, they risk losing the confidence of the ecb and the markets.

following the election, the euro fell sharply against the dollar and the yen. some economists say this trend may be short-lived. investors believe the euro is likely to rebound while the yen will continue to fall as japanese prime minister shinzo abe pushes his policies forward, including stimulus measures and monetary easing. many agree this yen weakening trend will have a more lasting impact on the markets. italy has already saddled with a heavy debt burden and that could get worse. if its politicians can't set up a stable government, that could raise their borrowing costs and deepen their financial and fiscal quagmire. economists say, whichever party or coalition assumes power, investors will expect it to continue to carry out austerity and reform measures. japan's diet has approved a supplementary budget for fiscal 2012. the government is planning to use the budget totaling more

than $140 billion to get the economy going again. the upper house passed the extra budget bill by 117-116 on tuesday following approval by the lower house. members of some opposition parties joined the ruling coalition parties to vote in favor. officials in the ruling liberal democratic party stressed that the budget will push up japan's real gross domestic product by about 2% and create 600,000 jobs. but the largest opposition democratic party said the government is ignoring efforts to cut the country's fiscal deficit. party leaders pointed out that the government is raising money to fund public works projects by issuing deficit financing bonds. these projects will total more than $54 billion. and government bond offerings will exceed tax revenues during the fiscal year. the budget will finance safety inspections and repairs of tunnels and roads and provide subsidies for businesses that install energy-efficient

facilities. the extra budget brings this general account budget to almost $1.1 trillion. that's the third biggest on record. u.s. president barack obama has renewed his call on congress to avoid automatic spending cuts to scheduled on march 1st. >> these cuts do not have to happen. congress can turn them off any time with just a little bit of compromise. >> obama urged lawmakers to agree on a provisional measure that combines tax increases mainly on the wealthy and some reductions in government expenditures. but the negotiations between republicans and democrats have made little progress. republicans have rejected the president's call. >> listen, the president says we have to have another tax increase in order to avoid the

sequester. well, mr. president, you got your tax increase. it's time to cut spending here in washington. >> the white house warns the automatic spending cuts could curtail activities of u.s. troops deployed worldwide, cause congress reached a compromise two months ago to avert the fiscal cliff crisis. a japan based free phone and messaging service is teaming up with finland's mobile phone maker nokia. they're trying to expand into emerging markets. nokia's no low end smart phones will carry a preinstalled line application. they're hoping that will boost the number of line users in latin america and asia. the service marked a milestone of 100 million users in january

but more than 40% of them are in japan. the users -- or its use of smart phones is expected to spread rapidly in emerging markets led by low priced models. we'll see how these services do in these countries. syria's foreign minister says the government is ready for dialogue. but opposition forces are skeptical. they've been working to form a professional government. foreign minister met in moscow with his russian counterpart lagrov. he said the syrian government will talk with anyone, even those holding weapons. an opposition activist told nhk the assad administration is not serious about dialogue. he suggested the foreign minister is trying to buy time so syrian troops can continue

their attacks. leaders of the opposition syrian national coalition insist president assad must be removed as a precondition for any talks. the conflict in syria has dogged diplomats and governments around the world for nearly two years. the deputy secretary-general of the united nations calls the situation absolutely urgent and extremely critical. jan eliasson is spending the rest of the week in japan after stops in japan and south korea. we spoke with him before he left u.s. headquarters in new york about syria and the threats posed by north korea. >> reporter: the u.n. deputy secretary-general, january el eliason, former foreign minister

of sweden, has served many years for the united nations in the feed of meditating peace and humanitarian affairs around the world. this is his first visit to japan since he took his post last july. one of the top concerns for the united nations is the crisis in syria. the humanitarian situation of the war-torn country, he says, is becoming more serious by the day. he says the pledges made at the conference for syria in kuwait in january are slow in coming. >> the first one is how important it is for all nations, but in particular the security council and most particularly the permanent members of the security council, is to come to

a common position. a common position which would give our mediator a chance to more actively pursue what we want for the time, namely a negotiated transition. we have an absolutely urgent and critical situation in syria right now. four million people are in need of assistance, two million are refugees. we take pledges at conferences and then takes a long time before it's dispersed. you know, the reality on the ground is so dramatic now. schools are closed, hospitals are closed and don't have equipment. electricity is out. they have now lost almost half of the clean water, safe water. >> reporter: eliasson's visit comes as tensions run high in east asia, especially after the third nuclear test by north korea.

>> well, the secretary-general and i are extremely concerned about the situation. i notice from different directions the language taking on very vehement form. i hope that we will see a reduction of those tensions. east asia is one of the most promising areas in the world in terms of security and prosperity, but these tensions are, of course, very damaging. >> reporter: he stresses the need to revive the six-party talks aiming to find a peaceful resolution to the north korean nuclear weapons program. the last talks took place in 2007. you are a very seasoned diplomat. you've worked inside the u.n. or outside the u.n. how would you -- >> right now -- right now the situation is very tense and we have to handle the present, the critical situation, the nuclear test. what is important is that we do not see an escalation of threats, and that there is a

process where the beginning of a political dialogue is possible. we hope very much there will be political contacts occurring between the actors in the region at the six-nation talk, that they will proceed. for the u.n., we will see whether the united nations. >> reporter: as nations in east asia go through a period of transition, eliasson hopes to get new signals from the new leaderships and will urge japan to enhance multi-lateral diplomacy, strengthening the rule of law and working towards de-escalating tension in the region. new south korean president, kim monitored an artillery exercise. he reportedly said he was

convinced officers are ready for his orders on maximum alert. kim was accompanied by senior military officials believed to have directed the 2010 shelling of the south korean island. four people were killed in the attack. kim referred to the incident praising the artillery unit for attacking their so-called enemies on the island. analysts say kim is applying pressure on new south korean president park guen-hye to improve new ties. president park is facing new challenges at home. she appointed her prime minister but she may face a struggle appointing her other key ministers. she appointed her prime minister on tuesday with parliamentary approval. her first choice turned down the post last month amid controversy over his properties. ministers in south korea remain in power after presidential elections. park has to get parliamentary approval to appoint her

replacements. park's candidates for other posts such as defense face strict hearings. they're under scrutiny over possible scandals. the president's plan to reorganize government agencies has not been approved by parliament. park will have to wait a little longer to establish her own administration. japan's defense officials are going to the people in their effort to implement a long-standing agreement with the united states. american military leaders plan to move one of their bases to a less populated area on okinawa's main island. defense officials are talking about reclaiming a part of the east coast. they visited a fisheries cooperative association in the city of nago to drop off consent forms. they will apply for a permit to reclaim the land. japanese prime minister abe promised president obama that he will relocate the u.s. futenma air station. >> translator: we'd like to proceed steadily based on the bilateral agreement in order to

ease the burden locals face regarding the u.s. bases. >> the futenma base is located in a densely populated area. officials are calling for it to be moved out of okinawa entirely. they oppose the central government's plan to keep the facility inside the prefecture. people in northeastern japan are reminded daily on what they lost on march 11, 2011. the earthquake and tsunami took away loved ones, homes, entire communities. survivors are moving ahead but they still face obstacles at the damaged nuclear plant and all along the pacific coast. "newsline" will bring you their stories. don't miss "path to recovery: two years on." myanmar is home to more than

130 ethnic groups. japanese photographer has dedicated himself to documenting minority groups in the country. now he is sharing his photo collection with the public. here's more. >> reporter: the peoples in the title of this book refers to the diverse ethnic groups in myanmar. it portrays people's daily lives and the scenery of the country. this photojournalist has been taking pictures in myanmar for two decades. he studied at a time when it was difficult for photojournalists to even enter the country. on this day, he is headed to where many members of an ethnic group live. he wants to capture their customs and culture, such as the worshipping nature.

the region is frequently hit by cyclones, and the people here see nature as a god. he hopes many people will see the photos and discover the diversity of myanmar. >> translator: i want people to see these mountains, seas and different groups of people. i'm not pursuing a major goal like ethnic peace. rather, i want to offer a clue to how everyone can live together. >> reporter: this company publishes a weekly newsmagazine. myanmar's democratization movement has spread to news media. last year the government abolished censorship of all

publications. the time was to upload the photos he had taken over the years. the company agreed to publish his collection after recognizing his passion. it's quite rare for a foreigner to publish a book in myanmar. >> i was very surprised, like a foreigner, a japanese photojournalist, he took all the very rare pictures. he had taken all the pictures every corner of our country. this can be the documented photo book for myanmar. >> reporter: the face of the book is a portrait of this girl, his only shot with no caption. the girl is a muslim. myanmar's government sees them as an islamic minority who come into the country from bangladesh and other neighboring countries without permission.

the government does not recognize them as its nationals. uda decided not to write a description of this photo, fearing that the government might ban the book. uda visits a mosque with his new book. he wants to know what muslims here think of the people who share the same faith. >> do you know any rohingyas here? >> maybe a little bit. i can't say -- >> i see, okay.

>> translator: i'd be glad if my book helps people learn. there are so many different ethnic groups in the country. i hope they will see it's possible for different groups to live together. >> reporter: uda says he plans to continue taking photographs of people in all corners of the country. and that wraps up our bulletin. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. lovers of culture have a new item on their radar, a new kabuki theater has just been unveiled in downtown tokyo. architects built a replica within the new 29-story structure and were careful to recon structure its facade. a ritual prayer was given to open the building. luminaries mingled after the ceremony. and a kabuki actor says the

theater is like a home for his peers. >> theater goers will be able to visit beginning on april 2 know for a year of special performances. a severe cyclone will bring damaging weather in australia. robert speta is here. he has details on who's being impacted and the forecast for the rest of the world. robert? >> we're continuing to watch the severe cyclone. cyclone rusty, pushing off toward the south. actually at this time, looks like it's rather stalled out. almost stationary, just toward north, and that is the problem. because it is not moving forward at all, but the winds in the center of the storm, gusting up to 195 kilometers per hour.

and that brings the risk of storm surge, high winds, already power outages and dust storms. once we get inland, the continuous and heavy rain. so definitely very severe storm on tap here. making landfall through wednesday evening into thursday. already, the eye wall continues to linger right off the coastline and due to persistence of it, stationary at the moment. we'll see rainfall up and over 500 millimeters in some areas as it continues to creep ever so slowly toward the south. once it moves over shore, it will take off. that will bring widespread rainshowers across much of western australia. off toward the north here, the tropics and northern hemisphere, that's really quiet down here, but we have a stationary boundary start to develop out of china, that will push toward the east. actually through the overnight hours, on tuesday into wednesday. much of the area, 100

millimeters of rainfall, and generally about 30 to 50 millimeters on tap. some of the higher elevations could see 20 centimeters of snow. after it pushes by, it brings in a lot of warm air. temperatures will warm up. tokyo, 13 on wednesday, thursday, up to right around 15 degrees. same in seoul. but see all the area in the blue? that is going to start to invade toward the south. bringing much colder temperatures by the weekend. dropping back into the single digits across much of japan over to northeastern china. we take a look at the americas here, the main topic is this very classic storm system. look at that comma shape, continuing to kick up here, push across the plains into the great lakes. that is going to bring heavy snowfall along the northern periphery, upward of 30 centimeters.

anywhere you see in the darker color is really travel delays, heavy snow, bitterly cold windchills. 65 kilometer per hour winds is creating whiteout conditions and freezing rain, to the south, severe weather across northern florida, extended to northern georgia. an airfield in western florida reported 124 kilometer per our winds. a storm system not to take lightly. one of the reasons why it's so severe, it's moving fast. going into wednesday, across much of the seat. clearing out. cold air spills in behind it, a much drier, but really some cold air. a quick look at europe, though. tropical -- or just a disturbance here setting up across italy toward the balkans, that will bring snowfall to some

of the higher elevations, to the north, on the dry side across british isles, dry, cold, single digits. off farther toward the east, 5, and moscow, just near the freezing mark. here is a look at the extended forecast. >> we're back in 30 minutes with the latest. i'm gene otani in tokyo. thank you very much for joining us.