welcome to nhk world "newsline." the streets of cairo fell into chaos wednesday as supporters and opponents of president hosni mubarak clashed in running battles. violence broke out when mubarak supporters entered tahrir square in the heart of the capital to confront thousands of anti-mubarak protesters who have been occupying the square for several days.

>> the standoff turned more violent when the two sides began throwing stones and petrol bombs at each other. the fighting continued into the night. the health ministry says three people were killed and more than 600 others were wounded. the number of casualties is expected to rise as the violence continues. egypt's state-run broadcaster is calling on people to leave the square. meanwhile, the country's opposition groups met after mubarak's televised speech on tuesday to announce that he would not run in the presidential election in september or seek another term. he also called for dialogue with the opposition. at the meeting, four groups, including one led by the former head of the international atomic energy agency, mohamed elbaradei, agreed to talk with the mubarak administration to ensure a smooth transition of power. but the influential opposition group, the muslim brotherhood, stood by its demand for mubarak's immediate resignation.

the muslim brotherhood says it will form a provisional government and skap a peace treaty with israel after forcing president mubarak to design. the group's deputy leader says the group has been part of ongoing anti-government demonstrations since the beginning. the 1979 pact made egypt the first nation to start talks withist. the president rasha al bayoumi says it will cancel the treaty. >> translator: we can't accept the treaty because it is undermined the pride and egypt and other arab nations. >> the deputy leader expressed hostility to the u.s. government for supporting israel and said egypt doesn't need american economic aid. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu has repeatedly voiced concerns over the possibility of an anti-israel administration taking power after a power shift.

the u.s. government is urging the egyptian army not to use force following wednesday's classes against protestors and supporters of president mubarak. >> the president's administration strongly condemn the outrageous and deplorable violence taking place on the streets of cairo. if any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately. >> gibbs said u.s. defense secretary robert gates, the chairman of the joint chief of staff mike mullin and other u.s. military officials at all levels are kag their egyptian counterparts. the egyptian army moves are being closely watched amid the deepening confrontation between mubarak supporters and opponents. the u.s. government has close ties with the egyptian military and provides more than $1.2 billion in annual aid. it helped to train senior officers for more than three

decades. there are increasing calls for egyptian president hosni mubarak to step down. the leaders of european union countries and turkey are demanding that he resign immediately. british prime minister david cameron told the uk parliament on wednesday that a transition to democracy in egypt must be carried out right away. he virtually urged president mubarak to resign. >> but what matters is not just the orderly transition but also that it is urgent, it is credible, it starts now. >> french president nicolas sarkozy says a rapid transition in egypt should start without delay. turkish prime minister tayyip erdogan said mubarak's plan is step down in seven months does not meet the people's expectations and the change should begin sooner. the united states has condemned the violence and reiterated its

previous calls for restraint by all parties in egypt. >> i could tell you that we are following the situation very closely. it is a very important development. >> she said there have been no calls yet from council members for a meeting on egypt, but she added the council hopes egypt will develop a political system that reflects the people's will. in other news a powerful cyclone yasi has hit the australian state of queensland. the government had warned residents before landfall that the storm could inflict some of the worst ever damage to the region. initially a maximum category 5 storm, packing gusts of up to 300 kilometers per hour, made landfall near cairns around midnight. it has since been downgraded to category 2 but remains very dangerous as it slowly weakens and moves southwest. strong rain and gales have already caused power blackouts in nearly 90,000 households on coastal areas. more than 10,000 people have evacuated to shelters.

two airports are closed and all public transport, including trains and buses, has been stopped. police and soldiers are piling up sandbags against the storm. it's feared that yasi could further damage the state's farming and coal mining industries already hit hard by recent heavy rain and flooding. and now for more on the weather in australia here is nhk's saki ochi. >> here's first a look and satellite shot showing this storm system heading right in through northern queensland, but it's still maintaining a lot of that organization. today really across the northern end of queensland, expect some very strong to damaging winds still possible. gusts are up to 140 kilometers per hour. pretty dangerous conditions will continue. the system is so strong that it's just going to continue to maintain that cyclone status until about tonight when it is expected to become a tropical depression and winds should start easing. but for the rest of thursday,

too, do watch out if you're in the area. the conditions are going to be quite dangerous. also for the coastline here, too, watch out as wave conditions are still going to be pretty rough in to the morning hours. also there's that rain to watch out for. still a lot more rain. and the really heavy rain will head right into central sections of australia without easing too much. coastlines, too, will continue to see unsettled conditions. that could exacerbate flooding conditions. we do want to watch out for that as well. >> thanks very much, saki. another case of bird flu has been detected this time in oita prefecture. it's an area where officials are battling to stop the virus from spreading. 38 chickens were found dead on wednesday afternoon at a poultry farm in oita city, home to over 8,000 birds. preliminary tests on the dead animals confirmed the presence of the virus. authorities later confirmed japan's 11th bird flu outbreak.

>> the prefecture has now finished slaughtering all the birds at the farm. it has also banned the transport of chickens and eggs within a ten kilometer radius of the farm and will set up disinfection points along major roads. it's a cold wintry day here in japan. on the traditional japanese calendar, tomorrow is the first day of spring. events are being held around the country to mark the change of season. nhk world's michelle yamamoto is taking part in one in tokyo. >> reporter: i'm at a 600-year-old buddhist temple, well known as a typical sightseeing place in the

capital. what you see behind me are people throwing something. it's an event held every year on february 3rd as people in traditional japanese costumes are throwing something from the temple balcony. what they are throwing are beans and candice. the bean throwers are yelling, "out with the demons and in with the good fortune." there is a traditional belief they cause famine and epidemics just before the beginning of spring. the bean-throwing event drives them away. on this box says "happiness" written by the priests of the buddhist monks. also it has a mark of the temple. why beans? it came from an old japanese belief that beans had miraculous

power, capable to kick away the demons. after you scattered the beans, you eat the same number as your age. i won't tell you how many i have to eat. this is what you do. it gives you good health and stronger health for the coming year. you can also buy these at stores. parents usually wear demon masks like this and the kids will throw the beans at you and they will run around the house. it's a very fun event you can do at home every year. the kids will cry, "out with the demons and in with the good luck." i would like to ask someone what they are wishing this year. [ speaking japanese ] >> reporter: she is wishing for good health and her little demon dog here is so cute.

also according to japanese calendar, we'll have warmer weather, the spring will be here and let's hope the beans do a good job and bring lots of good luck and happiness to all the households and to you. michelle yamamoto reporting from the temple in tokyo. >> bring me back the masks and the beans. thanks for that, michelle yamamoto there. leading u.s. media form news corporation has launched a digital newspaper exclusively for apple's ipad. >> i'm pleased to welcome you to the launch of the daily, a national news publication for the ipad that we have created from scratch.

>> corporation ceo rupert murdoch announced the launch of the ipad-only newspaper "the daily" in new york on wednesday. he said it will be able to show many photos and movies due to the ipad platform. the digital newspaper will cost 99 cents a week or just under $40 a year. murdoch stressed that the innovative ideas will go into the design of the daily. he hopes the low price will attract young people who are not interested in reading conventional newspapers or watching tv news. the european union is moving to diversify its sources of rare earth minerals. the move comes as china continues to restrict exports of minerals which are needed to make high tech products. on wednesday, eu industry commissioner antonio tadiani said the bloc needs to secure stable and alternative sources s of the highly sought-after minerals. he said the eu will tap greenland for rare earth.

the eu wants production started by 2015. the eu also plans to support efforts to mine the minerals in africa and south america. besides exploring new sources, the eu will also step up recycling of rare earths. it may file complaints if any countries limit exports of the minerals unfairly. and corporate earnings released earlier in japan. elpida memory showed a loss in the quarter. japan's only maker of the random access memory chips wednesday posted a net loss of $363 million compared to the previous quarter when a net profit of $113 million was shown. revenue at the same time shrank by 35% from the preceding quarter to $1.2 billion. sluggish demand worldwide for computers pushed down memory chip prices. the company said the selling

price was down 39% year on year and 37% down compared to the previous quarter. meanwhile, electronicsmaker panasonic reported positive earnings. this is due to strong sales of televisions and air conditioners in emerging economies. the company said it posted a net profit of about $1.4 billion from april through december. panasonic suffered a net loss of nearly $180 million in the same nine months last year. the firm said cost cutting was another factor to push up profits. let's take a look at the latest market figures.

an award-winning book about a japanese castaway reaches out to american children. john manjiro became the first japanese to set foot in the united states. he played an important role in bridging the two countries. we spoke with the minnesota based author to find out how the true story from nearly two centuries ago can inspire children around the world. >> 170 years ago japan was a closed nation. nobody was allowed to leave the country or return from overseas. foreigners were considered barbarians, a threat to the japanese people.

manjiro discovers what the outside world is like through deals in a foreign land. he learned to overcome difference necessary culture. the book "heart of a samurai" tells us that manjiro's challenges still resonate with a new generation. the author margi preus opens with a vivid description of the glittering sea. a teenaged boy from a rural fishing village survives a shipwreck. an american whaling ship rescues him. captain whitfield brings manjiro to the u.s. and becomes his guardian. under the name of john man, he studies the way of american culture and makes new friends, overcoming racial prejudice. he returns to japan after ten years and helps his fellow statesmen open up the country to a new modern era. >> margi preus, the author of "the heart of the samurai" joins us now. thank you very much for being with us today. >> thank you.

it's a pleasure. >> now, why was it manjiro? he's not a well known figure outside japan. what was it about him that led you to write this story? >> personally, i was drawn to him -- i was drawn to his character, the strength and the courage, the inherent drama and adventure in his life, of course, and also i'm very fascinated why some people can experience a lot of hardship and come out of it in triumph and some people are crushed by it. and i felt that the experiences that he had could have crushed another person, but instead it made him stronger. >> and you wrote about manjiro's hardships and also his excitement in america. was there a particular message? >> well, to be honest, when i wrote this book, i just wanted to tell a good story. i really was not thinking about a message. and if there's a message there,

it's really comes from manjiro. i think each individual reader gets something unique from reading and when i hear from kids, i feel that that's what's happening. i think the adventure of it is really what is appealing first, and i think that the deeper underlying message is something that just worms its way in, i hope. >> you mentioned your visiting schools and talking about the books with children. now, let's hear what they have to say. >> i think it was cool because i never thought whaling was superexciting kind of. >> i especially liked his experiences in america. >> they were set aside for a while, and now that he was one of the people that helped it out open it up a little. >> you wrote in detail about american whaling back then. was that in itself an adventure for you? >> i didn't think that i could

write about killing a whale. it seemed like it would be so hard. and it was hard. but it was kind of like when you skin your knee and you know you have to clean the dirt out of it and you just grit your teeth and do it. >> but still, it was a historical fact. >> yeah. and the other part of it was that i had to try to remain true to the sensibilities of those people and not insert 21st century sensibilities. we have much different feelings -- much more different feelings about whaling now than they did. so i had to take care to try to remain true to that while also remaining true to my own feelings about it. >> in your book you mentioned the word "opportunity," how the captain tells that word to manjiro. was that the message you wanted to convey to the readers? >> it's interesting that you ask

that. because the idea -- captain whitfield mentions to manjiro -- he brings up the word "opportunity," and manjiro has never thought about that. he has never really thought that he could do something different with his life. the reason i put that in the book, actually, was because i had been listening to an african-american writer speak about his childhood, and he had a very, very challenging childhood. and it was books that pulled him out of despair, and so i was really speaking to american children. we think of america as being the land of opportunity, but it isn't for everyone. it is for some people, but it doesn't feel like it is to everyone. and i guess i was speaking to those children who don't think that they have a choice or a

chance. >> thank you very much. that was margi preus, award winning author of children's books, speaking with us from new york. hi. welcome back to your world weather update. let's look at conditions across east asia. really looking at not too much going on in the way of rain. calm and dry for a lot of china as well as korean peninsula, even across japan too, today. looking at warmer sunshine coming on in. nice change here. in the south, though, southeast asia, philippines experiencing a lot of rain in the south of the country. that still continues today. there have been flooding reports. looks like it will remain prone to further flooding and

landslides for a while longer. here is a look at highs for thursday. 7 in beijing. 13 expected in chongqing, 19 for hong kong. 22 in taipei and 12 degrees for tokyo. a bit of a warmer day in store for you here. as for north america, things are settling down quite nicely across the united states following that major snowstorm. that is here heading out in to the atlantic. it shouldn't be lingering too much longer, but still, there's a chance of some heavy snowfall amounts impacting new england states as well as eastern end of the great lakes area. do watch out if you are in the area. travel conditions are not going to be good again tonight. in the south looking at a few showers showing up across the gulf coast states. a lot of that will be rain with thundershowers. but over towards parts of texas, we could be seeing snowflakes falling rather than rain. temperatures are quite low here. houston's high on thursday will be only 2 degrees. pretty chilly for you here. atlanta coming in at 7.

we've got 2 expected in denver and minus 12 for chicago. some very chilly air following all of that snow, and it is going to be pretty cold for you here. for europe, it will be messy in the north. a lot of windy weather as well as rain just moving through the northern tier of europe. that's going to be continuing today. also in the mediterranean, heavy showers have been impacting southern italy. that's now moving in towards greece as well as turkey. as for highs, looking a lot milder for a lot of europe. moscow remains just at zero. so you'll see a rain/snow mix today rather than just snow. minus one in warsaw. five in berlin. then double digits in paris. a little milder for you, too. a look at your weather for now. here is your three-day outlook. ♪

once again the headlines at this hour. the streets of cairo fell into chaos wednesday as supporters and opponents of president hosni mubarak clashed in running battles. the violence broke out when mubarak's supporters entered tahrir square in the heart of the capital to confront thousands of mubarak protestors who had been occupying the area for several days.

the standoff turned more violent when the two sides began throwing stones and petrol bombs at each other. the fighting ined into the night. the health ministry says three people were killed and more than 600 others were wounded. the number of casualties are expected to rise as the violence continues. egypt's state-run broadcaster is calling on people to leave the square. the country's opposition groups met after mubarak's televised speech tuesday to announce woe not run in the presidential election in september or seek another term. mubarak called for dialogue with the opposition. at the meeting four groups including one led by the former head of the international atomic energy agency mohammed elbaradei agreed to talk to the mubarak administration to ensure a smooth transition of power. but the band influential opposition group the muslim

brewerhood stod by its demand for mubarak's immediate resignation. the muslim brotherhood says it will perform a provisional government and scrap the peace treaty with israel after forcing president mubarak to resign. the group's deputy leader says they have been part of ongoing anti-government democratic distributions since the beginning. the 1979 pact made egypt the first arab nation to start diplomatic relations with israel. in an exclusive interview with nhk, the brotherhood's deputy leader spoke about his vision of the peace treaty. >> translator: we can't accept the treaty because it has undermined the pride and interest of egypt and other arab nations. >> he also expressed hostility toward the u.s. government for supporting israel and said egypt doesn't need american economic aid. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu repeatedly voiced concerns over the possibility of an anti-israel administration

taking over after a power shift. the u.s. government is urging the egyptian army not to use force following wednesday's clashes between anti-government protestors and supporters of president mubarak. >> the president's administration strongly condemn the outrageous and deplorable violence that's taking place on the streets of cairo. if any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately. >> gibbs said u.s. defense secretary robert gates, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen and other u.s. military officials at all levels are contacting their egyptian counterparts. the egyptian army's moves are being closely watched amid the deepening confrontation between mubarak supporters and opponents. the u.s. government provides more than $1.2 million in annual aid and helped to train senior

officers for more than three decades. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com