welcome to "newsline." it is 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. egypt's military rulers have announced they'll lift a state of emergency during the day. the date marks the first anniversary of the birth of the democratic movement that ousted hosni mubarak. lifting the state of emergency was one of the protesters' main demands. military council chief mohammed

hussein tantawi spoke to egyptians in a televised announcement. >> reporter: egypt and its people celebrate the first anniversary today of the january 25th revolution which ushered in a new era for the people of egypt who made sacrifices to achieve freedom, a life of dignity and social justice. >> the state of emergency was imposed in 1981 after the assassination of president anwar sadat. the laws give the military the right to imprison people without warrants. egyptians view them as a negative legacy of the mubarak era. the council chief says authorities can still arrest people for what he called acts of thuggery. he failed to spell out the details. the military has often labeled organizers of anti-government demonstrations as thugs. six gulf nations are to withdraw monitors from syria for failing to stop the oppression

by the government of president bashar al assad. they made the announcement on tuesday. the league sent 150 monitors to syria in late december to prevent the assad government from clashing with protesters, but the mission has failed to stop the crackdown on civilians. the countries will work with the u.n. security council to pressure assad to step down as soon as possible. syrian foreign minister walid al muallem says some have joined the conspiracy against syria. if iraq four car bombings have hit shia areas of baghdad killing at least 13 people. two vehicles exploded in the sadr section of the capital. soon after two car bombs went off in other predominantly shia areas. among the 13 killed were pedestrians walking nearby. 70 others have been wounded. police believe the blasts were

targeted at shia muslims. the religious rift has worsened in iraq after the shia-led government under prime minister nuri al maliki issued an arrest warrant against sunni vice president tarik al hashemi on terrorism charge last month. the iraqi government suspended three sunni cabinet ministers from duty last week. after u.s. forces withdrew from iraq last month, the security situation has deteriorated. more than 200 people have been killed since the beginning of this month. the prospects for building new nuclear reactors in japan have dimmed since the accident last march at the fukushima daiichi power plant. even so, the japanese government is sticking to its policy of trying to win orders from emerging economies where demand for electricity is surging. in the middle east kingdom of jordan, some people have high expectations for japanese nuclear technology, but others are voicing concerns.

nhk world reports from amman. >> reporter: even though it is surrounded by iraq, saudi arabia and other oil-producing countries, jordan has no oil reserves of its own. the country relies on imports for most of its energy. jordan has long harbored ambitions of owning nuclear reactors as a means of boosting power self-sufficiency. the plan gained momentum with the discovery there four years ago of huge deposits of uranium. which can be used to make nuclear fuel. the yellow iish area contains uranium ore. firms are offering to help jordan achieve its nuclear dreams. among them japan has received praise from jordan for its technology.

>> it has been more or less shaken confidence and our confidence or distrust in the japanese technology. on the contrary, that we will learn from the best lessons. >> reporter: meanwhile, concerns have begun to spread among residents near the planned construction site in the north of the country. in june last year about 500 people took part in the rally against the nuclear plant. some even confronted diplomats from japanese embassy who were surveying the site. we asked one of the rally organizers to show us the site. he says he's worried there won't be enough water to cool the reactors because the location is so far inland.

he says safety cannot be guaranteed, as proven by the fact that a serious accident like the one in fukushima could happen in an industrialized nation like japan. >> translator: even japan, with such high standards of technology, is suffering from the nuclear accident. an accident in jordan, a country without technology, would do irreparable damage. >> reporter: japan's nuclear policies are being questioned in the wake of the crisis in fukushima. the accident has heightened the debate in jordan, too. over the feasibility of nuclear power and of building a plant with the help of japan. reporting for nhk world, amman. we earlier spoke to nhk world's kojima to see why the world's idea of exporting

nuclear power seems unchanged. >> nuclear power is a growing industry. it is estimated the number of nuclear reactors in the world could increase by up to 350 from 230. nuclear capacity would double and most of the demand would be from emerging economies. the united states, france and south korea, all countries with nuclear technologies are eager to export their reactors. japan is no exception. even after what happened at fukushima daiichi, the government still sees the export of nuclear reactors as part of it economic growth strategy. because only a limited number of countries have the ability to build nuclear plants nations like vietnam and turkey are interested in japanese technology. one once the nuclear association

says that the world will continue to rely on nuclear energy, so it's japan's responsibility to continue to contribute to improving nuclear safety. >> translator: countries which are planning to build nuclear power plants have high expectations for our technologies. we need to meet those expectations because japan is considered to be one of the leaders in the field of nuclear energy. >> well, what's clear is that public support for nuclear power has waned. an nhk poll last august showed 43% of japanese people want fewer nuclear power plants in the country. 33% said japan would abandon nuclear power altogether. the japanese government has already said it will reduce its dependency on nuclear energy, but they criticize reducing nuclear power at home while exports it overseas is a double

standard. they also say it's irresponsible because we still do not know the main reason for the nuclear accident. >> translator: many people in fukushima are still suffering from how to deal with radiation, and they are very concerned about what will happen to their health in the future. it is disgraceful to export the cause of the tragedy under such circumstances. >> prime minister yoshihiko noda said japan has a duty to share the lessons from the accident. if the government wants to export nuclear reactors, they need to keep their promises and show how they are going to guarantee their safety. >> that was nhk world's susumu kojima. u.s. president barack obama is putting the final touches on the state of the union. the president delivers the annual address on the state of the economy and his legislative

agenda. obama will deliver the speech this year with the presidential election in mind. americans head to the polls in november. so he'll speak to their economic concerns while laying out the themes of his re-election campaign. we'll carry the state of the union live here on nhk world. that's coming up at the top of the hour. now, japan's december trade data show deficits for the month and for the year. ai uchida from the business team with those details. >> japan posted its first trade deficit in over 30 years in all of 2011. this is due to a plunge in exports following the earthquake and nuclear accident last march. the finance ministry said on wednesday that the deficit came to about $32 billion. this marks the first annual negative trade balance since 1980. exports fell 2.7% in yen terms last year as the march quake and tsunami disrupted parts supplies lowering the shipments of cars

and other goods. meanwhile, imports surged 12% after a nuclear plant accident boosted demand for liquefied natural gas in order to power thermal generators. attention is now on whether the strong yen and europe's credit crisis will depress japan's export sector further. the international monetary fund has downgraded its outlook for this year's world economic growth. it says global financial conditions have deteriorated and risks have escalated. the imf released its growth forecast to revise its growth forecast, that is, to 3.3%, down 0.7 percentage point from its october global forecast. they say there are intensifying problems in the euro area and other problems elsewhere. it adds that growth in most other advanced economies is also lower. it predicts a significant slowdown in emerging and

developing economies. the imf kept the outlook for the u.s. economic growth unchanged at 1.8% and downgraded its forecast for the eurozone by 1.6 percentage points to minus 0.5%. the outlook for the japanese economy was downgraded to 1.7%, which is a drop of 0.6 percentage points. among emerging economies, the growth outlook for china was revised down by 0.8 percentage points to 8.2%. the imf also downgraded its outlook for the global economy in 2013. that's to 9%. this is also down 0.6 percentage points from the previous forecast. the european union is considering imposing sanctions on hungary for failing to take appropriate measures to cut its budget deficit. eu finance ministers agreed at a meeting that hungary has failed to comply with an eu

recommendation to bring its deficit below 3% of gdp. regulations introduced last month allow the eu to punish member nations for violations of fiscal discipline. the eu is likely to suspend grants and impose other sanctions if hungary does not change its budget policy. hungarian finance minister gyorgy matolcsy expressed confidence that the country will be able to avoid sanctions although resolving the problems will take time. time for a check on the market. on the tokyo foreign exchange the yen is lower against both the euro and the dollar this wednesday morning. the u.s. dollar currently trading at 77.81 to 82 yen while the euro is at 101.34 to 39 yen. investors are buying back the euro on eased concerns over negotiations between the greek government and financial institutions on debt reductions. buying momentum is carrying over

to the dollar. tokyo stocks are higher due to the weakening yen. the nikkei is currently at 8847, a gain of over 0.66%. market sources say that investors are taking their cue from the softening yen. they're buying export-related issues such as autos and electronics. a look now at the latest long-term interest rates. this is the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond. and let's also take a look at some other markets that are open this hour.

that is the latest in business for this hour. back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. a team of japanese scientists has created the first 3-d images of the internal structure of the influenza virus. their achievement could shed light on deadly flu virus mutations and help to develop new medicines. the team at the university of tokyo used an electron microscope to take 120 photos of the virus from different angles. they combined the photos to make a three-dimensional photo. they also discovered eight gene string-like substance. the team believes this substance contributes to flu virus

mutations. >> translator: if we can find a chemical compound that breaks the string-like substance, it could lead to the development of effective medicines for all types of influenza viruses. >> the remains of nine japanese soldiers from world war ii have been found in assam state in northeastern india. this is the first operation of its kind in 34 years. the japanese government resumed the task of recovering remains in assam later last week after security was improved in the area. a government team discovered remains on tuesday in nine of the 11 japanese tombs in a cemetery for british soldiers. the japanese names were written in roman letters on the gravestone. the government hopes to identify the remains by using lists of former japanese soldiers. some 30,000 japanese troops died in the battle in 1944 as part of a massive japanese campaign

against british strongholds in india. the search continues to find the remains of about 10,000 unidentified soldiers in northeastern india. google's video sharing website youtube says it is now streaming 4 billion videos a day. this is a 25% increase from last may. youtube announced this on monday and attributed the rise to the availability of the site on not just personal computers but smartphones and televisions as well. the site has been widely used for entertainment and corporate advertising. recently it's also gaining influence in political and social arenas. last year the site played a whole role in conveying the arab spring democratic movement. but youtube is facing issues over protecting copyrights. many videos include contents that have not gained approval for sharing by the rights holder. "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. a fund is being set up to help people who are not covered by the official compensation program for the nuclear accident. a government panel decided last month to pay reparations for emotional distress to the residents of 23 municipalities in fukushima prefecture. but western and southern regions of the prefecture complained about being excluded from the program. fukushima governor yu hhei sato decided to set up a fund to help these people. it allocates $400 billion fund

or $20 million in the fund for the current fiscal year. many japanese have learned the hard way that after a disaster, there is often no running water. to make sure they have enough of this precious commodity, some people are coming up with their own solution. >> this tokyo apartment building has a well next to the entrance. the building owner installed it so residents have a supply of running water during emergencies. he also installed an emergency toilet over a manhole in the parking lot. it is connected to the sewage system and flushed with well water. he wants residents of neighboring buildings as well as his tenants to use it during emergencies.

>> translator: in a big earthquake no running water is a big deprivation, so it will be really useful. >> reporter: the company that constructed the building has so far equipped 102 of its structures with wells. >> translator: since the march 11th earthquake, more clients have agreed to not only make their buildings resistant to earthquakes but to install a well. >> reporter: nowadays more home dwellers are building wells in their yard. but each well costs about $3,300, and you have to check with the local authorities as some have regulations. but since march 11th, this drilling organization has received as many as 150 orders per month, mainly from the tokyo area. >> the number of orders we're receiving has increased. they're from households,

communities, kindergartens and school that want to be prepared for emergencies. >> reporter: however, some people are finding out about a more simple way of digging wells. this man dug one in his yard to prepare for the next natural disaster. >> translator: i heard that people had a difficult time after the great hanshin earthquake because their toilets didn't work, but i learned i could dig a well on my own. >> reporter: you can buy the tools in stores for only about $40. he began by digging with a shovel, and then pouring water into the hole. he inserted a pipe and kept digging. the water softened the soil and the mud entered the pipe. he removed it and, to make the

hole deeper, he kept repeating the process. in just ten days, he had dug a well 8.5 meters deep. for three days after the march 11th earthquake, he had no running water at his house. so he flushed his toilet with well water and gave some to his neighbors. he started a website to show others how to dig a well. since the disaster, the number of hits to the site has increased by about 100,000. he has also received more than 200 e-mails from people interested in digging their own wells. >> translator: a low-tech solution like this holds up during a natural disaster. i hope that more people prepare themselves. >> interesting there. i'd like to dig a well myself

and be prepared, but i'll have to wait until it warms up a little in tokyo. it was hovering around freezing this morning. let's go sayaka mori for the weather picture. >> hello. welcome back to your weather update. let's take a look at what's happening across japan. the coldest air of the season is covering much of the nation, bringing heavy snow on the western side. the region may be seeing about 80 centimeters in the next 24 hours. the kyushu and shikoku areas could be seeing as many as ten centimeter even in the lower el valgss. that's quite a lot for this area. unfortunately, the heavy snow conditions will likely continue into thursday morning, but it's a completely different story for the opposite side of the nation. it will stay largely dry including the tokyo area today. as for china, a high pressure

system is in control bringing dry weather, lots of sunshine for you. so temperatures are looking like this. today we expect five degrees in shanghai and 1 degrees in beijing. still on the colder side in seoul with minus 5, but temperatures will get back to normal on thursday. tokyo is coming in at 8 degrees with the chance of snow this evening. now, moving on to the americas, lots of active weather is going on in the south and the west. the next powerful system is starting to affect the pacific and northwest as well as british columbia with very heavy precipitation as well as mountain snow. gusts could exceed 110 kilometers per hour on the coast of british columbia and an additional 45 centimeters of snow are possible in the mountains. over the next 24 hours, the pacific and northwest should get drier, but the rest of the area will remain stormy for the time being. now, across the south, a

separate system has been bringing severe weather to the southern plains as well as the lower mississippi valley. the risks of severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging wins and even tornadoes will likely continue here for the next couple of day. and some of the precipitation will also spread to the lower great lakes in the next 24 hour. so that the risk of flooding is going to become very high mainly along the mississippi river. so temperatures are looking like this. on wednesday, highs are getting up to 3 degrees in winnipeg and 1 degree in chicago. very warm in houston with 23 degrees and 27 in los angeles. finally, let's go over to europe. a new system is moving into the british isles, is spreading very wet and windy weather to much of the region. as it moves eastward, norway will start to see strong winds on wednesday. down towards the south very powerful and stationary lows have been bringing thunderstorms

and heavy precipitation as well as strong winds, and that will likely continue here for the next couple of days. meanwhile, a high pressure system is pushing on to central europe bringing dry weather. heavy snow in austria should be easing on wednesday. so that's good news. high, though, looking like this, we're expecting 11 degrees in london and the same goes for paris on wednesday. across the east, still on the chilly side. in moscow 11 degrees expect. that's it for me now.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi. we'll be back at the top of the next hour. and we'll go live to president obama's state of the union address. do stay with us.

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