welcome to nhk world "newsline." tension is rising in iran as the government and conservatives are poised to crack down on protesters. supporters of iran's reformists have held protests in various parts of the country this week. in the capital tehran thousands of protesters clashed with the security forces. reports say that at least two people were killed, and 150 have been detained. on tuesday security forces continue to be deployed in

tehran. president mahmoud ahmadinejad said on state-run television that there is a lot of animosity against the government, but these people will not achieve their goals. in the country's parliament, speaker ali larijani read out a statement denouncing reformists. lawmakers shout that had former prime minister mir hossein mousavi and former president mohammed khatami should be put to death. in response to the turmoil on the streets of tehran, u.s. president barack obama has criticized the authorities there for firing on anti-government protesters and detaining dissidents. he encouraged iranian demonstrators to be brave in calling for greater freedom. >> my hope and expectation is that we're going to continue to see the people of iran had the courage to be able to express their yearning for greater freedoms and a more

representative government. >> obama says he finds it ironic that the iranian government pretends to celebrate what happened in egypt when it has gunned down and beaten people who are expressing their views peacefully. obama said as a consequence of what's happening in tunisia and egypt, governments in the region are starting to understand that power cannot be maintained through coercion. he said he hopes middle eastern governments behave in a way that is responsive to people's hunger for change but avoids the likelihood of violence. anti-government rallies are also continuing in yemen and bahrain with demonstrators clashing with security forces. protesters took to the streets in the yemeni capital sanaa for the fifth straight day on tuesday to demand the resignation of president ali abdullah saleh. about 1,000 people marched toward the presidential palace, but they were blocked by riot police. the demonstrators clashed with supporters of the president. in bahrain, majority shia muslims are staging protests against the sunni-dominated

government. one person was killed in the capital manama on tuesday when police clashed with mourners at the funeral of a man who died at an anti-government rally on the previous day. king hamad said in a rare televised speech that peaceful protests are legal in the country. he promised to investigate the deaths and carry out political reforms. egypt's supreme court council of the armed forces has order its committee to draft constitutional amendments within ten days. the council chief mohamed hussein tantawi gave the order to the eight committee members on tuesday who met for the first time. the military council said it plans to put a draft constitution to a referendum within six months this. would establish a democratic election system before holding presidential and parliamentary elections. the committee members had begun discussions on six matters to be revised in the constitution. these include qualifications for running in presidential and parliamentary polls, the term of

the president and the process for amending the constitution. the military council has limited the number of articles to be revised so that it can complete the process in a short time. the move is apparently aimed at showing the council wants to make a quick transition to a democratic government. hundreds of tour guides in egypt have made a worldwide plea for travelers to come and visit the country now that anti-government protests are over. people associated with the tourism industry rallied at the great pyramid of giza near cairo on monday. they sang the egyptian national anthem and hoisted national flags of many countries. ♪ >> just to tell everyone that egypt is safe and come back. we are ready to host a lot of people. maybe millions and millions that we used to have so we are ready. please come to egypt. >> it's estimated the egyptian tourist industry suffered losses of more than $30 million per day during the three weeks of

anti-government demonstrations. the tourism industry generates more than 10% of egypt's gross domestic product. many believe the revival of the industry will be key to the country's economic recovery. north korea is trying to create a festive mood as the country's leader kim jong-il marks his 69th birthday on wednesday. on the international figure skating event and a flower exhibition were held on tuesday, the eve of the leader's birthday. state-run media reported that a helicopter delivered goods or gifts to residents on a remote island. on the same day a gala ceremony was organized in pyongyang, but neither kim nor his third son and heir apparent, kim jong-un atte attended. at ceremony the country's number two leader blamed south korea

for the breakdown of last week's bilateral military talks saying the south are h rejected dialogue. north korea has been proposing talks with the south since the start of the year. on the eve of the north korean celebration kbs television on tuesday evening aired footage of the man believed to be the second son of kim. the man believed to be kim jong chol was spotted and the concert of british guitarist eric clapton in singapore on money. the man in a t-shirt and pants was accompanied by 20 people. he didn't answer questions from the television crew and left the scene while one of the companions asked them why they were shooting the video. kim jong chol is said to be a span of clapton and was spotted at the concert five years ago. if the man was kim jong-il's son he was outside the country before his birthday. the second son plays a less report role now that his younger brother has effectively been appointed to succeed his father. the commanders of the u.s.

forces says the annual military exercise with south korea will focus on deterrents and defensive operations. the joint drills are due to start at the end of this month. the exercises, which were formally announced tuesday, will involve around 200,000 south korean and 12,000 u.s. troops. they will run from february 28th through march 10th with further drills planned through the end of april. south korean military sources say u.s. aircraft carrier will also be taking part. they are expected to simulate operations at command posts, preventing enemies from using weapons of mass destruction and responding to localized military provocations. commander of the u.s. forces in south korea general walter sharpe says the aim of the exercises is to practice crisis management, deterring and rapidly overcoming provocations and defensive operations. the last time a joint exercise was held was in november and december last year, following north korea's shelling artillery

into the south yeonpyeong island. north korea is expected to be fiercely critical of the exercise. russia's foreign minister has warned japan that negotiations over territorial dispute will not progress until japan accepts the outcome of world war ii. speaking in london on tuesday, sergei lavrov referred to the dispute over four russian-held islands seized immediately after the war. he reiterated russia's position that the island became its territory as the result of japan's surrender. japan maintains that the soviet union unlawfully seized the islands. earlier this month, prime minister naota kan criticized russian preponderance of the evidence dmitry medvedev's visit to run of the islands in november as an unforgivable act. since then russia has stepped up its criticism of japan over the territorial issue. lavrov also hinted that japanese foreign minister seiji maehara appear positive for the joint development of the islands when the two officials met last week. japan has been opposing joint

projects, saying they would justify russia's control over the region. two suicide bomb attacks in russia's southern republic of dagestan has killed two people, including a police officer and wounded at least 20. russian police say a woman detonated explosives outside a police building in gubdan building on monday night. hours later a car driven by a man exploded at a security checkpoint on the edge of the village. authorities say they suspect the attacks were carried out by a group based in the north caucasus. last month a suicide bomb attack that killed 36 people at an international airport in moscow is also suspected of being the work of an islamic militant group. italian prime minister silvio berlusconi has been indicted on charges that he paid for sex with an underaged girl. judicial authorities in milan announced on tuesday that

berlusconi is charged with paying for prostitution and abuse of power. his trial will start in april. prosecutors say the prime minister paid money and had sex with a girl who is 17 at the time at his home near milan last year. he's also accused of pressuring the police to release her after she was arrested on suspicion of theft. berlusconi has denied all the allegations. the girl also denies having sex with a 74-year-old prime minister but admits receiving from him about $9,500. the indictment deals another blow to the embattled prime minister who supports -- whose support rate has fallen to around 30%, the lowest since he took office. a japanese government panel on child abuse is calling for parents who hurt their children through violence or neglect to have their parental rights suspended for up to two years. the panel submitted a report to justice minister eda on tuesday. the report recommends that in addition to relatives and

prosecutors, children themselves and their guardians should be able to seek a court order to suspend the authority of parents. under the existing law it's possible to strip parents over rights of their children without setting a time limit. the absence of a time limit has made relatives and child welfare centers hesitant to file to remove parental rights. the justice ministry plans to compile a bill to revise the civil code based on the panel's recommendation. it aims to submit the bill to the diet as early as march. in business news, the operator of the new york stock exchange has announced a merger with a german bourse. the move would create the world's largest alliance for creating stocks and derivative products. nyse euro next said it agreed to merge with deutche bourse.

the deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year. the german side will hold a 60% stake in the new company and nyse will only rest. the new york stock exchange hats world's largest market capitalization of listed companies. the dow jones industrial average, a key index traded on the exchange, has a strong influence on financial markets worldwide. sources say nyse aims to boost earnings by leverage deutche bourse's expertise in derivatives trading. competition is increasing as more of the world's financial markets seek realignment moves. the london and toronto stock bourses announced a merger last week, the growing rivalry may also force the tokyo stock exchange to review its strategy. its presence in asia is on a decline having been overtaken by the shanghai stock exchange in terms of trading volume. u.s. retail sales in january edged up from december, marking an increase for the seventh straight money, but rate of growth fell short of market expectations.

the commerce department said on tuesday that january's retail sales in the united states stood at slightly above $380 billion. that's a rise of 0.3% from the previous month, but much less than the market forecast of about 0.6%. by sectors, sales of department stores and large retailers grow 0.8% while those in cars and auto parts expanded 0.5%. gasoline sales also rose 10.5% due to higher prices. meanwhile prices of building materials tumbled nearly 3%. those of furniture and clothing were down 0.3%. the fashion world has gathered in manhattan for one of its most prestigious events. this semi-annual event brings in over $380 million in business. it can also make a huge impact on the way people dress next season, and that could be a whole lot different than last

year. nhk world's rosa sabrina as the story. >> reporter: each fashion week there are over 250 shows and presentations attracting over 100,000 people. i am here in the lobby of the new york fashion week tent. this season designers are showing their fall/winter 2011 collection. the people in the global fashion industry are coming here to learn about the new upcoming trends. a red silky dress. and a purple ensemble. much to everyone's surprise, bright colors are back. in recent years designers turned to black, gray and other somber colors for the fall/winter collection. but this year things are different. ♪

she designs more than 20 brands worldwide. >> i just wanted. it was something about color because last season was very dark so we kind of learn from our mistakes and move forward. >> reporter: this year the company switched to more dynamic colors, especially vivid reds and blues. on the right is their collection from last year. the contrasting colors is clear. designers are not just stopping at color this fashion week. they are also incorporating luxurious materials into their design, like ostrich feathers to adorn dresses and coats. how are the changes going over?

>> nice to see some bright colors coming back. it's surprising, but i think it will be nice for winter and fall. >> i want to buy more clothing, jump into spring with basically a new wardrobe and just have more fun with it. >> reporter: experts say the move to brighter and more elaborate fashions reflect the customers' beliefs that the economy will recover. they say the upturn is evident in personal spending and share prices. >> we're starting to feel optimistic about the future, even though the economy is tough. we see a light at the end of the tunnel, and we want to have clothes thattimism. >> reporter: if the experts are right, the bright colors and lovely designs are a welcome sign that we are moving towards

a better time again. rosa sobrino, nhk news, new york. >> tokyo stocks rose moderately on wednesday morning. the nikkei average ended the morning session at 10,788, up 0.39% or 41 points. buyers gained the upper hand on optimism over an economic recovery on the bank of improving corporate earnings. the yen dropped to a two-month low against the dollar and also boosted investor sentiment. turning to currencies, taking a look at the tokyo foreign exchange. the dollar trading slightly higher against the yen on wednesday morning. the greenback currently changing bands at 83.76-81. euro/dollar 1.3533 to 35. euro/yen, 113.33 yen-37 yen. sources say the dollar buying is limited as investors stay on the sidelines. they had a u.s. housing in production data due out later in the day.

bigger countries are not always better off when it comes to communicating across a vast land area. until recently, russia used to have 11 time zones. so when it was 8:00 a.m. in moscow, it was already 5:00 p.m. at the eastern border, a nine-hour difference. now to make the country run smoother, the government has started cutting the number of time zones, but in at least one region the locals aren't happen. >> reporter: over 1,000 people protested against russia's government last december in a region in the far east.

last spring the government reduced the nine-hour time difference between there and moscow by one hour and plans to subtract another. the locals are angry with the government's decision. >> translator: it's a human rights violation because it misses up the natural rhythm of our daily lives. >> reporter: it's not going to be good for our physical well-being. that much is clear to me. >> reporter: authorities are trying to celebrate the time zone. this is not the first time the russian government has invoked changes.

>> reporter: they switched to the new time zone last year. now winter darkness falls around 4:00 p.m. people are still going about their daily routine. svetlana strongly opposes the government edict. she has to keep the lights on longer than before. >> translator: the electricity bill doubled. it's terrible. >> reporter: her children now get out of school after dark. so she dropped her work to pick them up. >> translator: i'm really worried about my children.

the government just made a top-down decision, and it causes trouble for all of us. >> reporter: an incident last november heightened her fears. an 11-year-old girl walking home from school in the dark went missing. locals still search for her, but they have no leads. many residents are distressed about the side effects of the extra darkness. >> translator: the crime rate will rise, and children will be in danger. i'm against the government altering our time zone. >> reporter: the government's attempt to reduce the nation's time difference sunday way. but it will meet more opposition from the people.

hi. welcome to your world weather update. east asia still looking at wet weather for the southeast corner of china here, and that is looking to hang around and not move a whole lot over the next day. we're seeing that instead that rain area in fact expand and head towards the korean peninsula as well as japan, so southern areas of south korea and japan will both be seeing that wet weather start up in the evening hours today. otherwise staying dry for northern china, and then for the philippines in the south looking at scattered showers again today across the country, but looking especially like we might see some heavier downpours in the south of the country. as for highs on wednesday, 12 in tokyo and 5 for seoul and 9 in shanghai and then 16 degrees for

taipei. north america today will remain really messy and stormy out west. multiple systems are going to be creating that wet and stormy weather with plenty of snow for the upper elevations. it looks like northern california may see some of the heaviest snowfalls in upper elevations and that rain is in fact now starting to spread into southern portions as well. snow will also really extend into the inner mountain west and aim for the rockies over the next few days. also for canada, looking at the snowy area that moved quickly into eastern canada, so overall pretty unsettled if you are going to be across the southern tier of canada today. midwest of the united states, a couple of quick showers showing up. very little in the way of snow likely because it's really warm here. we're seeing a really big rising trend going on in terms of temperature. 11 for your high in chicago and 6 in toronto. expecting 7 in new york and 13 degrees for d.c. so finally some

milder weather for those of you here. as for europe today, well, it's still going to be dry out east. we've got this high pressure area still in place but slowly looking at that wet weather to move on in. areas like italy and the balkan peninsula will see showers come on. balkan peninsula will only see wet weather on the west coast for the next 24 hours, while the iberian peninsula, still really messy for you. another round of rain will really spread across the peninsula, and there will be strong winds in addition to all that have wet weather. british isles and on towards the scandinavian peninsula, looking at scattered showers that move on through. nice drier change, however, for turkey. there is going to be that rain and still lingering tonight but definitely on its way out. 3 degrees for your high in vienna and 1 in berlin. minus 4 in stockholm and then minus 16 in moscow. eastern europe will be seeing dry but very chilly conditions again.

finally heading into south africa, the south of africa, that is madagascar looking at more wet weather again today, and this is going to be a continuing trend for the next couple of days still, especially coastal areas looking to receive upwards of 250 millimeters or more of rainfall. that's been an ongoing story since this week, so lots of rain piling up here. that real raises the risk of flooding and landslides and mozambique, too, looking toic pick up on the heavy rain as well. that's a look at your weather for now, and here is your three-day outlook.

taking another look at our lead story. tension is rising in iran as the government and conservatives are poised to crack down on protesters. supporters of iran's reformists have held protests in various parts of the country this week. in the capital tehran thousands of protesters clashed with the security forces. reports say that at least two people were killed, and 150 have been detained. on tuesday security forces continue to be deployed in tehran. president mahmoud ahmadinejad said on state-run television that there is a lot of animosity against the government, but these people will not achieve their goals. in the country's parliament, speaky ali larijani read out the statement denreformists. lawmakers shouted that mir hossein mousavi and former president mohammed khatami should be put to death. we'll be back with more news in 30 minutes. i'm gino tani in tokyo.