a transfer of power in yemen. it looks like the arab spring uprising is about to claim another leader. welcome to "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. the president of yemen has agreed to step down. ali abdullah saleh has held on to power for months in the face of protests and the momentum of the arab spring. he signed a deal proposed by neighboring countries to transfer his power to the vice president. saleh signed the agreement on wednesday besides saudi arabia's king abdullah in the saudi

capit capital riyadh. he hopes he will unite to overcome the country's troubles. it call for them to set up a provisional government. then yemenis would choose a new president in an election to be held within three months. anti-government protesters first took to the street in january. they've been demanding that saleh step down after more than 20 years in power. the transition in yemen followings a wave of arab spring uprisings in tunisia, egypt and libya and other countries across north africa and the middle east. still, some people in yemen doubt the president will give up power. fighting continues between troops led by president saleh's family and anti-government forces. world leaders have been pushing saleh for months to step aside. they're urging the emwhieny people to move quickly to emmyment the agreement. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon said that saleh told him over the phone that he'd decided

to step the deal. he said that he is hoping to visit new york for medical treatment as soon as he's signed the deal. the secretary-general said he is looking forward to seeing saleh. u.s. president barack obama said saleh's signing of the deal representing an important step forward for the yemeni people to determine their own future. the foreign ministers of japan and china have agreed that the two countries will strengthen their relationship. foreign minister koichiro gemba met with his chinese counterpart yang jiechi wednesday on his first visit to china since he assumed assumed the post. hitoshi hirouchi reports. >> reporter: more than one year has passed since a chinese fishing boat rammed a japanese patrol vessel near the disputed senkaku islands in the east china sea. gemba says that chinese side responses favorably to his

position on improving ties. >> translator: i believe japan/china relations, which have been shaky, are heading toward stabilization. i think we had very meaningful talks and deepened our understanding of each other, and we achieved results. >> reporter: the two leaders agreed to strengthen strategically beneficial ties. they also agreed to make final arrangements for prime minister yoshihiko noda's first visit to china next month. gemba asked for an early resumption of navy swag to signing a treaty on a joint gas development project in the east china sea. the talks have been since last year. gemba also called for the creation of a framework for

dialogue between the two countries to avoid potential maritime dispute. yang said china would cooperate on the issues. gemba asked china to alleviate or to lift import restrictions on farm products from japan as soon as possible. they were imposed after the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. yang said china would seriously consider the matter, employing scientific assessment to ensure safety. next year the two countries will mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties. the question of how far noda can solidify the relationship with china will attract attention during the first visit to china

since taking office. hitoshi hirouchi, nhk world, beijing. people on the south korean island of yongpyeong have gathered to remember the victims of a north korean attack. north korea's military pounded the island with artillery a year ago wednesday. yongpyeong is located near the disputed maritime boarder in the yellow sea. the victims of the attack were two south korean marines and two civilians. 100 military officers and other people gathered at a hillside park for a memorial service for the two marines. they could see north korea in the distance. organizers unveiled a monument bearing the portraits of the dead marines. following the memorial service people honored the two civilians

who died in last year's attack. they unveiled a monument near the factory where the victims were working at the time of the shelling. donors paid for the monument. about 3,000 people also went to the national cemetery for a memorial ceremony. prime minister kim hwang sik addressed the gathering. >> translator: my heart bleeds at the memory of the incident. the south korean government will never compromise when it comes to the safety and security of its people and the country. >> the south korean government has repeatedly demanded the north apologize for the yongpyeong attack. it also wants its neighbor to take measures to make sure something like that doesn't happen again. but members of north korea's ruling workers party aren't sorry at all. they once again defended their military's attack on yongpyeong island. the newspaper "rodong sinmun" ran a commentary on wednesday.

it calls the shelling a product of provocation and says south korea is solely responsible. the newspaper maintains the attack wouldn't have happened if the south had not intruded into north korean waters. last friday the rodong sinmun accused south korea of building up its military near yongpyeong island. it warned that could trigger all-out war. even though the two countries are at odds, they're still exploring ways to improve relations. so far this year senior government officials from both sides have held two meetings to discuss north korea's nuclear program. time now for business news with yonggi kang. one of europe's safest regions is now being affected by the region's debt problems. >> that's right, catherine. all eyes continue to be on europe. and we are starting to see the impact on german bonds. germany failed to get sufficient demand for it ten-year government bonds offered for

sale on wednesday. it's a sign that investors are avoiding even german sovereign debt, which has been considered relatively sound as the european debt crisis deepens. the german government planned to raise about $8 billion in an auction of newly issued bond, however the bids amounted to only about $5.2 billion. germany has had a demand shortfall in the past but not to this extent. the yield on the benchmark ten-year german government bond is at 2.1%. that's up 7 bases points from tuesday. on the european bond market overall selling was wide spread wednesday. the yield on the italian ten-year issue at one stage went above 7%, a level that will make it difficult for the country to rebuild it finances on it own. the yield on spanish government bonds also remained high at the 6.6% level. sources say that only the european central bank was a

major buyer of government bonds. u.s. stocks also tumbled on wednesday as weak demand at the german government bond auction sparked investor fears. selling pressure mounted in new york as market players were worried that the sovereign debt problem has begun to threaten even germany. the dow jones industrial average closed the day at 11,257. that is down 236 points or 2% from tuesday's close. sources say the selling spree was also triggered by the rise in italian bond yields. weak data on u.s. consumer spending and employment also weighed on market sentiment. and here in tokyo, share prices are hitting this year's intraday lows on thursday morning. that's below the level just seen after the march 11 disaster. the downward trend follows an overnight decline in new york. the nikkei index now stands at

8174. that is down almost 1.7% or 140 points. the tokyo market was closed on wednesday for a national holi y holiday. investors are investing in export related stocks. market players are concerned about a slowdown in the world economy due to the ongoing european debt crisis. currency trading is mountain on the euro. the euro is now trading at 1.3365 to 1.3369 against the dollar and against the yen the dollar is fetching between 102.99 to 103.4. the eu proposed on wednesday the introduction of a common bond for euro zone member nations. the move is aimed at preventing another european debt crisis. the european commission provided

three possible options. the first is to convert all government bonds issued by each member nation into common bonds. the second is for each state to issue both it own government bonds and common bonds. and the third is to let only certain member countries to issue common bonds. european commission president jose manuel barroso says boosting it is the only way to protect the european currency. >> it is also important to show to public opinion to its national investors that we are serious about stronger governance in the euro area, both in discipline and in cod stability bonds are exactly an example of that. >> the plan will need each to submit a budget and ask for a revision if necessary. germany already expressed its opposition prior to the release of the eu proposal. carmakers from around the

world are showkaying their latest models at an international auto show in guangzhou, southern china. around 80 firms are taking part to boost their presence in the world's biggest auto market. that's in terms of unit sales. chinese carmaker guangzhou automobile maker released a new vehicle. sales for this type of car have risen over 20% this year in china. japan's nissan markets a new model that exclusively caters to the needs of chinese consumers. another chinesemaker byd and japan's honda have released plans for electric vehicles. the country's new car sales in october fell 1% from a year earlier. the automakers are poised to take advantage of the chinese government's five-year plan to promote electric power cars.

and here's a recap of the latest market figures. that is all for now in biz news. back to catherine with the main news. >> australia has long accepted immigrants to help its economy grow. they've come from a variety of countries, but these days the government is keen on bringing in greek workers. as their country's wracked by financial crisis, many greeks find australia's job market attractive. here is our report from

melbourne. >> reporter: this woman and her children live in a melbourne suburb. several years ago she was rated as a skillful teacher and journalist. she left greece to make her home in australia. she works as an interpreter. >> she tells the doctor that her back was sore, her legs were sore, her hips were sore, but the medicine did nothing for her. i'm sure that if i was in greece, i wouldn't have any chance to be self-efficient with two kids, work and, you know, do everything. but here i can. >> reporter: about 25% of australia's populations are immigrants. the australian government used

to have an immigration policy that gave strong preference to white people from europe, but by mid-1970s, the country has finished dismantling the policy. the country's economic boom has increased the need for more workers so australia has accepted non-white immigrants. in recent years, the government had favored immigrants with advanced degrees, like doctors and engineers. australia hopes these skilled professionals help the country become more internationally competitive. >> for australia skilled migration is an absolutely essential part of the longer term structural reforms that our economy is undergoing. we also know that we are unable, we will be unable to fill them only from within the existing population. ♪ >> reporter: australia's government now tries to attract

immigrants from greece. even before this, greeks have long been settling in australia. enough greeks have moved to melbourne to form a large community. now australia tries to attract young, educated greeks who cannot find work in their home country because of its economic crisis. >> welcome to a land of endless opportunity. the western australian economy is experiencing increasing demand for skilled workers in a diverse range of industries. >> reporter: an australian job recruitment fairn october attracted a lot of interest in athens. 13,000 greeks applied for 850 openings. ♪ this nursing home took part in the event. it hopes to find skilled staff to care for elderly people.

>> there is an expanding population base. we didn't have a supply of those people here in australia, a ready supply. we thought we'd be part of that expo. >> reporter: this greek organization in melbourne has received a sudden influx of inquiries from greeks, hoping to move to australia. >> these are just the inquiries that were made in the past, let me see, two months. at the same time we've received 4,000, 5,000 phone calls. >> reporter: australia places a lot of importance on its immigrant workforce to keep the economy going. the government hopes the new arrivals make a strong contribution to the country's future. hiromi kurosaka, nhk world, melbourne. "newsline" is the place to turn to for the latest on japan post-march 11th.

we have two segments offering two unique perspectives on the fallout from the earthquake and tsunami. "nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." a team of japanese researchers has developed a reagent that can reveal the presence of cancer cells within minutes by making them glow. they hope the reagent will help detect cancer cells that are hard to see ewing ct scans. the team was led by professor yasuteru urano from the university of tokyo and hisataka kobayashi at the national institutes of health. their focus was an enzyme called cgt that appears on the surface of cancer cells. the team developed a reagent that glows green when it comes into contact with the enzyme.

the researchers sprayed the reagent on the abdomens of mice implanted with human ovarian cancer cells. one minute later cancer cells less than one millimeter in size began glowing and were clearly visible to the naked eye. however, only about two-thirds of the o ovarian cancer cells could be detected using this version of the reagent. research team says it hope to be able to improve the reagent to be able to detect 100% of the cancer cells present. >> translar: if we sprayed the reagent during surgery and found small cancers, it could solve the problem of diseases being overlooked. we will keep on working to put this method into common practice. >> the researchers say that cgt enzyme used this time also appears in lung, liver, breast cancer and brain tumor cells. members of the mexican army say they've seized $15 million

in cash that's believed to belong to a drug cartel. army officials on tuesday said soldiers discovered piles of american currency hidden inside a car in the city of tijuana near the u.s. border. this is the mexican military's second biggest cash seizure. the officials suspect the money was going to be used to smuggle drugses. tijuana is one of the cities used as a base for the narcotics trade. in august troops found a tunnel apparently designed to smuggle drugs into the unite. despite the mexican government's efforts to eradicate drug trafficking, cartels are able to maintain power because of their huge cash reserves. more than 15,000 people died in drug related violence in the country last year. the former president of olympus corporation has arrived in japan from britain to cooperate with an investigation into the optical equipmentmaker. michael woodford will speak to japanese authorities who are

looking into the company's cover-up of huge financial losses. woodford spoke to the media on wednesday after he arrived at narita international airport. he called on olympus to come clean about a scheme to hide its substantial losses from investors. >> what is the detail? who received money from olympus? which organizations or companies or people worked with olympus? we need answers to that. not just saying it was done and that's the end of the story. >> woodford also said he's prepared to return as president if shareholders want him to. the company fired woodford on october 14th. he said he was dismissed because he questioned large payments that were made in four acquisitions. olympus cited a disagreement over his management style. olympus executives later admitted the company had inflated payments for corporate buyouts to hide investment losses from the 1990s. woodford will meet the tokyo district public prosecutors and the commission of exchange and

securities. he remains an olympus director meeting on friday to question the company about the cover-up. a meeting of nuclear experts from around the world is discussing ways to promote medical research and treatment for radiation exposure. the two-day symposium got under way on wednesday in hiroshima. the gathering is the first of its kind jointly sponsored by hiroshima prefecture, medical organizations and the international atomic energy agency. one of the speakers was fukushima medical university professor seiji yasumura. he's in charge of conducting a survey on the health of residents in fukushima prefecture following the nuclear disaster. professor yasumura warned that the budget for the survey is not sufficient and may run out. he also said that few people are filling out the surveys that would help him estimate levels of radiation exposure. he said help is needed.

iaea general director daud mohammed said the agency will provide all possible support to fukushima prefecture if requested. tokyo had been experiencing cold weather the pt couple days, but we're having a mild thursday morning. let's take a look at the global weather forecast with sayak sayaka mori. >> let's start over east az xwrap the pacific side of japan is looking at nice and sunny weather, but the opposite side of the country is dealing with very stormy conditions. a strong low pressure system is bringing strong winds, heavy rain and thunderstorms across the western flank of japan. this is still developing, so it will produce blowing snow across hokkaido and the tohoku region. and we're anticipating up to 30

centimeters of snow in hokkaido within the next 24 hours. the blustery conditions will likely condition into friday and again winds are very strong. that could create high waves along the west coast throughout the day. the korean peninsula and much of china are experiencing very dry weather. some precipitation is popping up across the midsection of china, but that's not on the severe side. down towards the south, it is largely wet across the philippines and you may see scattered thunderstorms throughout today. out west, the southern half of vietnam is still dealing with ongoing rain. and the central portions will see rain developing over the course of today. as for highs, warming up to 18 degrees in tokyo and 24 in hong kong, but cooling down to only 3 degrees in seoul despite the sunshine and minus 9 in ulan bator. heading over to europe then, high pressure systems are blanketing most of continental europe, bringing dry weather,

lots of sunshine for you. but we've got an area of low pressure across the western mediterranean. and this system has been producing torrential rain across spain as well as itty causing deadly flooding. we have some footage coming out of this area. this is from spain. wednesday was a stormy day for the eastern part of the country. high waves created dangerous conditions along the mediterranean coast. heavy rain flooded roads and submerged cars. the same system brought heavy rain to southern italy as well. the rain caused extensive damage as floods also swept away cars and buried homes in muddy water. now the system is on a weakening track. however, it will continue to produce heavy rain and severe thunderstorms across the same area for the next couple of days. the ground is already very well saturated so we are concerned about further flooding as well as landslides here. a long frontal line is producing

a mix of rain and snow across norway and southern sweden and rain across the northern portions of the british isles. rain could become heavier across northern uk as well as ireland as we head into starting thursday evening. meanwhile, separate systems will lead to widespread cold precipitation thand affect northern russia in the next 24 hours. we're expecting 12 degrees in london and 9 in paris and 14 in madrid. very cold in moscow with minus 2 and zero degrees in kiev. all right. that's it from me now. here's your three-day outlook.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.