hello there. and welcome to this edition of "newsline." it's wednesday, march 20th a national holiday here in japan. crews at fukushima daiichi worked through the night, fixing a problem that could have had dangerous consequences. the system's spent fuel rods in cool pools stopped working. the systems are running again. a blackout occurred at the facility on monday night. for a short while, workers

inside the plant's accident response center were left in the dark. tepco engineers noticed the systems had stopped working. the pools are connected to reactors one, three, and four along with another pool. the pools contain about 8,500 unities of spent fuel rods. tepco need does keep cooling water flowing into them or temperatures will rise. if it gets too hot fuel can meltdown and release a massive amount of radiation. engineers traced the problem to three high voltage switchboards. they say they've bypassed these devices and react slated the electricity. they've managed to get the cooling systems for all four pools operating again. but engineers say they stillva not figured out what caused the malfunction. tepco spokes person says the raid jags levels have not

changed. nuclear regulators say they'll allow two power reactors in western japan to continue operation until september. new safety guidelines will be introduced in july. the number three and four reactors ohi plant have been the oim two on line since last august. they cleared the government's earthquake safety test introduced after the march 2011 earthquake and tsunami. legally, the utility can operate the reactors until the next regular inspection in september. attention is focused on whether the new safety guidelines will be applied to the reactors in july. chairman said after the planned regular inspections the two operating reactors will be checked to see if they meet the new safety requirements the parliament of cyprus has

rejeked a bill to bail out the nation's financial sector. lawmakers refused to approve a levie levy -- the european union and other creditors asked cyprus to impose a bank deposit tax of up to 9.9%. in return the country would receive a bailout worth $10 billion or worth $13 billion. the cypriot issued -- the company's banks have been crippled by debt. cyprus is expected to start a fresh round of negotiations with creditors. but the two sides are unlikely to reach an agreement any time soon. insurgents have sent a message on the 10th anniversary

of the invags of iraq. they killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100. a series of bombs exploded in baghdad and several other cities. militants attack with car bombs. the iraq war began before dawn on march 20th, 2003, with u.s. air strikes on the capital. members. administration of former president bush argued that iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, but u.s. forces failed to find evidence of sum weapons. 120,000 civilians are said to have died from the fighting or from terrorism. u.s. troops pulled out of the country in 2011. the economy's recovering. iraq overtook iran last year to become the second largest oil

produce iramong the members of petroleum exporting countries. only saudi arabia produces more. the volume of foreign investment is 20 times grater than it was four years ago. residents of baghdad can now spend their money at a shopping mall in the capitol. still shias show little sign of letting up in their fighting. north korea's leader has called for rebuilding the country's light industrial sector. he said the aim is to become an economic power and improve the standard of living. state run tv reported that kim jong un made the speech at a meeting of industrial workers in pyongyang. he id denounced the joint exercises.

pyongyang watchers say kim jong's announcement is over severe economic conditions. he is now reportedly the father of a baby girl. a source familiar with north korea/china relationsing told nhk that kim's wife gave birth in late january. the source learned about the birth from an official of the ruling korean worker's party. former player dennis rodman visited the country. he said she talked about her new born daughter at a bang kwets. rumors began circulating last year that kim's wife was expecting a birth. people say she must have given

birth because she looks slimmer in recent pictures he has succeeded as the bank of japan's 31st governor. he told a recent diet hearing that he want does do whatever is needed to achieve the 2% inflation target. in upcoming policy meeting, he's expected to focus on easing measures. these would include the bank's purchase of government bonds. it buys bonds with maturities of up to three years. he will also likely accelerate the plan to purchase a certain amount of bonds every month without setting a time limit. now take a look at the market figures.

now take a look at the extended weather forecast for cities around the world.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." thanks for

today, this garden is part of the headquarters of the school of tea ceremony. it is normally closed to the public and filming is permitted

only on rare occasions. in japanese, the tea ceremony is a tradition of hospitality that brings significance to the spirit of drinking tea. it has inspired the creation of the garden we will see today. so let's visit this estate where the traditions of the tea ceremony have been maintained for more than 400 years. one of the schools of tea ceremony upholding the legacy of the great tea master. this elegant gate was a gift from a powerful man who lived in those days. the tea garden was laid out

according to his principals and completed. at the gate, the pruning of the shrubbery and the pavement are correct linear but once you enter the garden the atmosphere is strikingly different. this is the entrance to the garden. the garden leading to a tearoom, is written with the characters for dewey ground. a glimpse through the doorway pe peeks your interest. what will we see in the garden

beyon beyond. the ground is carpeted in moss. everything seems to have soft edges. ahead, is that a wall? actually, it's a gate. but one with a built-in surprise. if you want to keep going, you have to pass through this square opening. the gate marks a boundary. it stands at the threshold between the much deimundane wor and the tea ceremony. beyond the world of tea awaits, a world far removed from the hustle and bustle of every day

life. so you step through the gate. and find yourself admiring a serene woodland vista. individual leaves are wiped in preparation for the guests arrival. during the summer, water is sprinkled to give the garden a cool and refreshing moistness, as if a light rain has fallen. it's just one of many thoughtful touches. a small building comes into

view. this is one of the garden's tearooms. let's step inside for a moment. inside, you immediately feel at ease. maybe that's one effect of the green tranquil garden you've just passed through. there's a saying, a tea garden is simply a tearoom without a roof. to the right of the window gate lies another one. this is a little different. the path is narrower.

you can feel almost as if you're on a trail, deep in the mountains. he said his ideal road would con injure up a remote lonely road up to a remote temple. think back on this trip to reach the remote mountain temple. can't you just taste that hot delicious tea you'll receive inside? a path of weathered flagstones. the flagstones make it easier to cross wet ground and also guide guests to the tearoom.

pause and listen closely. you hear nothing but the breeze blowing. the lonely road to a remote mountain temple. is this what he had in mind? one moss covered rock just off the path of flagstones incorporates the tsukubai. here guests pause to wash their

hands. before you enter the temple, you should purefy your hands and mouth by rinsing them with water from a pure mountain stream. your destination comes into view. this is the most sacred of the tearooms. just three mats, about five

square meters. at the far end of the tearoom, a tea guarden is much different from one designed to impress aristocrats. he came to reject anything elaborate and ornate. instead, he chose plain down to earth hospitality. the tea garden, a space forever infused with hospitality.

this prefecture is home to a die ethnic group. this is a celebration for the new year and a prayer for good harvests. the more water splashed on you, the more good fortune you will have in the coming year. various water related events are held. for three days, the city is drenched in walter and carried

away by the excitement. 400 kilometers southwest of the pro vengs capital is this city. this subtropical region has an annual average temperature of 20 degrees celsius and a humid rainy climate. the population of the prefecture is around a million. most of whom belong to one of 12 ethnic minority groups. the most numerous of these are the dai ethnic group who make up 35% of the population. around the city, signs are written in the script of the dai people.

the river runs through. it forms the upper reaches of the may kong. southeast asia's largest river. along the city stretch rice paddies. in the language, it means 12 and thousand rice paddies, reflecting the many terraced paddy fields of the region. the water splashing festival is a prayer for protection from draught or flood. april 13th. this is the last day. year on the traditional dai calendar and the foers day of the festival. the festival lasts three days. ville ands compete in boat races on the river and other events are held around the city. the main water splashing comes on the final day.

a parade is held in the city center. the dai ethnic's homeland was around -- and they expanded south into today's it thailand and south. the customs have much in common with those countries. shouts rise from groups of dai people. it means water. dai people yell out the word for water not only at festivals but whenever they want to express feelings of joy. this is the traditional way of splashing water. the festival grew from a ritual of using the bow of a tree to

sprinkle well water drawn in the new year. the idea is to wash away misfortune for the coming year. the second day. festival, the temple. according to the dai calendar, the first day of the water splashing festival is new years eve. the second day is an empty day and the third and final day welcomes the new year. on the empty day, all old things are said to decay. in order to purge any defilement from the previous year various buddhist rituals are performed. white threads are tied to the fingers of the buddha statue. these threads are stretched from the monk's heads and dangled above worshippers.

the blessings pass from the finger through the threads. meanwhile, within the temple presipts, the ceremonial washing of a buddha statue is performed. the monks pour holy water into funnels. it falls over spouts onto the statue. people use the holy water to ritually wash the statue. they also scrub the water on their own heads and faces in sumly cation for a year free of misfortune. the third day of the water splashing festival. the dai minority ethnic group

see this as the first dawn of the new year in this province. today is the climax of the festival and water will be splashed in earnest. people look forward to this day all year. everyone heads to the city's plaza, care eyeing buckets and washbasins. the downtown culture plaza is at the heart of the action. any one can take part in the splashing. tourists as well as locals. at noon, the announcement is made. this signal is given, and water

starts flying. to the dai, water is sacred. the more drenched you are the more good fortune you will receive in the year to come. the temperature is 33.5 degrees celsius today. the splashing continues until the sun goes down. here and there at the water splashing festival, people are hoisted up on shoulders and tossed into the air. these are people of high standing in the area. after being hoisted up, custom requires them to make a donation. the donation vfls are placed in a bamboo tube to keep them from getting soaked. the notable is hoisted again and again until all the money he has on him is gone. the splashing is not confined to the plaza.

it takes place all over town. strapgers passing by splash each other, riding in a taxi is no protection. women are especially targeted. they say the more beautiful a woman is the more soaked she will be. the women don't mind. after all, splashing water on someone is considered a prayer for their happiness. this publicity crew for a stroller manufacturer gets a

thorough dosing. it's an ideal marketing opportunity for companies. so they assemble teams of young women to do publicity. the water splashing festival's origins are in india. it spread along with buddhism. in thai land, myanmar and other places water is believed to ward off misfortune. as quickly as people can flil water containers, they splash it away. they scramble to get more from home, hydrants, anywhere they can. in this day the city consumes 35,000 tons of water. the three day festival concludes with an ethnic dance performance that continues the prayer for good