freak stale zooishgs freak e . greek stalemate. he has given up hope of forming a coalition government. the new dpems partnership with the party introduced austerity measures. the coalition lost the parliamentary authority on sunday in a general election. they held talks with leaders of the other parties. the heads of all of them refused

to join a coalition. sumara says he has abandoned the talks before the end of three days he had to form a government. the chance to build a ruling coalition will now pass to the leader of the radical left coalition, but he says he'll only work with left wing parties. that makes a parliamentary majority unlike. then the party will be handed a chance to build the coalition. if none of the parties can form a governing aalliance, a new election will be called that could reignite concerns over greece's ability to implement reforms. european union officials are urging greek politicians to form a government as soon as possible. they want to ease mounting concerns about the implementation of austerity measures. >> greece must remain a member of the euro, for instance, but everybody has to carry

responsibilities here. we can do lots to assist greece, and we are doing so. our member states, our taxpayers in other european member states of the euro area are providing the solidarity. >> eu leaders say they'll continue it to offer emergency financing, but they say the greeks must follow-through on their commit to push through reforms. german chancellor angela merkel and french protection elect francois hollande inauguration. merkel has ruled out any changes to the treaty. the german leader said she still hopes to establish trust with hollande so they can work together. the leaders have different views of europe's growth strategy.

hollande wants to use spending, and merkel wants structural reforms and deregulation of labor markets. ai joins us now. what's the reaction? >> the investors have waited for a long time for the eu to agree on a fiscal treaty. they'll eye the french/german plital relations carefully. u.s. digested the results of europe, the dow ended lower while nasdaq managed a game. for more in tokyo we have ramean melagard from the tokyo stocks exchange. what can you tell us at the open? >> thank you very much, ai. french and german stocks ended high after opening lower. concerns after the french elections eased a little bit, but also hopes the spanish

government will come up with measures to use public funds to help shore up its banking sector. in the u.s. the nasdaq did close a touch higher. we saw gains for apple's shares while the dow was way down a little bit about shares in hewlett-packard and ibm weighing on that index. let's have a look at how things are kicking off here in tokyo. switching there to the nikkei and the topix boast indices are trading a touch higher this tuesday morning. the nikkei had the worst points last day this year yesterday, but it was mostly really catching up after the holidays that we had last week. so we're seeing a little bit of a rebound here. maybe a buying opportunity for some of those heavily sold off issues yesterday. ath that includes blue chip exports hit hard yesterday. we saw a reversal today from the yen's gains yesterday. let's have a look at the foreign currency levels. we can see exactly the picture there, especially with the the

euro. if you look at the bottom of the screen there, 104.30 to 35. this was trading around 103 yesterday. so you see there the yen weakening a touch against the euro. as i said there, some concerns there easing a little bit after the french elections. so that's really the main picture as far as the stocks and currencies. ai. >> ramin some could you earnings reports due in japan as well, sinlt that right? >> exactly. big focus on toshiba. they're due out with earnings later today for the year through march. of course, it's one of the biggest players in the flash memory chip sector and provides components for smartphone including the iphone. they're a leader in electrical power and industrial systems as well. it's a big focus for the markets. elsewhere we hear from one of the trading houses, one of the big five here in japan. strengths in chemicals,

commodities and textiles and also it's a leader in china and u.s. markets as well. so across different sectors there with toshiba covering a lot of different secretary otor market. tomorrow, of course, ai, we have the big one of the week. that's toyota, and that will give a good indication as to its sales compared to this time last year. toyota came out and said domestic sales have increased and also sales in the u.s. have increased. we have to see also how this yen has played in the bottom line of a lot of these companies. so that's it for now. back to you, ai. >> all right, ramin. sounds good. both the nikkei and the topix over three-fourths of a percent. tokyo electric power company will choose a new president. the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant will promote an executive

in charge of compensation for nuclear accident victims. tepco plans to select the next president in an extra board meeting on tuesday. the 59-year-old will officially replace the current chief in june after the company gains approval from shareholders. he's been supporting the victims of the nuclear disaster. his promotion is seen as a bid to reyoojuvenate management. tepco faces mounting challenges that include the decommissioning of damaged plantds while providing a stable power supply. this is in addition to the huge compensation payouts. more business for you next hour. i will leave you with a recap of the market figures.

syrians went to the polls on monday. they held parliamentary elections for the first time under the new constitution, but the vote took place as the government cracked down on citizens. the election was the first under the three-month-old constitution. the new rules allow opposition parties to compete with the governing ba'ath party. more than 7,000 candidates vied for assembly seats. about half are members of the ba'ath party or people with links to the party. the results are expected in several days. members. opposition told nhk that many

voters responded to their call to boycott the vote. critics say the multi-party elections are an effort to convince the world that the assad government is pursuing democratic reforms, but activists say 25 people were killed in the latest round of violence. a u.n. spokesperson said only a comprehensive and inclusive political dialogue can lead to a genuine democratic future in syria. he said the elections are not taking place within such a framework. putin has begun his third term as russia's president. he's returning to the post after four years as prime minister. putin took the oath of office in a ceremony at the kremlin following his election victory in march. >> translator: i pledge to guarantee the people's rights in executing the duties as president.

>> putin said he would protect russia's national interests and security and the well-being of its citizens. the 59-year-old putin served as president for two four-year terms from 2000 to 2008. he then became prime minister under his successor, medvedev. the constitution bans a president from serving three terms in a row. but he may now be in office until 2018 as a constitutional amendment has extended the president's term to six years. putin has nominated his predecessor, medvedev, as prime minister. russia's parliament is expected to approve the nomination on tuesday. analysts say putin faces an unprecedented level of criticism that corruption has become rampant during his 12 years as president and prime minister. the air forces of south korea and the united states have begun their largest ever joint

drill. security analysts say they're trying to put pressure on north korea. the annual drill called max thunder began on monday west of the korean peninsula and will run through may 18th. south korea and the united states hold drills twice a year to prepare for possible air battles with north korea or attacks on military bases. a south korea defense ministry spokesperson says the exercise involves more than 60 aircraft including fighter jets. surveillance planes are also involved. south korea says it deployed cruise missiles that can strike any part of the north after north korea's failed attempt to launch a long-range missile last month. the north claims it was a rocket carrying a satellite. north korea's second highest ranking official is scheduled to visit its close ally indonesia next week. na they're likely it to seek backing for their country as the

north is further isolated internationally after the launch of what it called a rocket. the indonesian president's office said the president of the supreme people's assembly will make an official visit from sunday to wednesday. it will be kim's first visit to the country in seven years. he plans to meet the indonesian president on tuesday. the u.n. security council adopted a presidential statement condemning the launch for using ballistic missile technology. north korea and indonesia have enjoyed a strong relationship as part of the nonaligned movement. sri lanka's government is trying to nurture a new generation of skilled workers. they're needed to rebuild the country's economy. sri lanka's 20-year-long ethnic conflict ended three years ago. now the government plans to win lucrative outscores and financial services contracts and for that it needs lots of accountants. nhk world reports.

>> reporter: students at this junior high school in colombo are learning how to manage a shop. >> translator: how would you use 100,000 rupes in capital? a shelf to display products costs 20,000 rupes and you need money to buy goods. how much would your profits be? let's calculate. >> reporter: accounting is the part of the curriculum at all junior high schools in sri lanka. it's part of a national effort to nurture skills that will benefit the economy. >> translator: we can learn practical matters. it's a very good subject. >> reporter: sri lanka is more stable since the civil war enlded three years ago. its economy grew over 8% in each of the last two years.

more foreign businesses are setting up shop to offer services like accounting for corporate clients overseas. this india-based firm has 400 employees in sri lanka. many of them are certified accountants. >> the main plant is based in the uk. currently working on the accounting side, so we're mainly the operational aspects of it. >> reporter: the boom is encouraging many younger s eer lan lankans to look at careers in accounting. they offer courses to nurture their skills. sarah enrolled two years ago.

in this class groups of students discuss management strategies for opening a business school in asia. watching at the back are human resources officers from foreign companies. they are hoping to find competent, new employees. >> people we can use right now or tag people to use in the future. >> reporter: sarah was more active in the discussions. she won high marks from the observers. >> this is one of the best places to be. it's a beautiful place. there's a lot of opportunities. i would like to get the experience at some place like big companies where they handle

like international traders as well. >> reporter: sri lanka is producing a new generation of skillful accountants. they carry the hopes of the nation on their shoulders as sri lanka looks to build a brighter future. nhk world, columbo. people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of the 2011 disaster, but it won't be easy. they have to rebuild homes, businesses, sbur xhints. we'll show you their struggles and successes on the road ahead every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. japan time here on "newsline." japan's reconstruction efforts following last year's disaster are march 11th will be highlighted in the country's pavilion at expo 2012 in south korea. the japan pavilion was opened to the media ahead of the start of

the expo in south korea on saturday. its main exhibitionoo features an animated film of e sa t theto of a sixth graderhonimatioa vk to rui tiromnier across the worldil s expectedurgtsasalst fans.s.as hl

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than average. the rest ofslso experiencing dry conditions, but this low is min into norther japan this afternoon, so tha will create some showers here. meanwhi meanwhile, light showers are affecting across the southern half of e b that should dissipate tomorrow more raire affecting china ss. there's a new low pressure utrnhi producing heavyos rain up to 100 millimeters is ex i t next 24 hours in someareas. for southeast asia, scattered thunrs aevg here, and like yesterday northerniland is laos will sehe heaviest rain. tuted, so any additionalry well rain is not good news here. as for the highs, 33eges in th plenty of sunshine he.

i shanghai, and reaching 30 degrees ineing a22 degrees in seoul. a little bit cooler than yesterday. movingvetohe americas, it's mostly dry across the west, but very unstlen the east. a low pressure system and the front is pducingespread thundershowers from the great lakes region allheayown to southern texas and arkansas, too. some wintry precipitation in and around lodo b snow shut dissipate into tuesday. the heaviest rainan be found from theower mississippi llntewmeco. the threat of severe thunderstorms, large haim, damaging winds and even tornadoes will remain overnight nd. on tuesday heavy rain will shift to southern texas as well as the northern part of mexico. up towds the rthiset drier in the ohio valley, but instead parts of new england and the northeastern states will see

wet weather o yr tuesday. behind it there's a new low pressure system moving into the great lakes region, so some lit owsxpected in chicago on your tuesday with the high of 22 degrees, 19 degrees in toronto, down towards the southnosnges0egrees warmer than it was on monday with a high of 28 degrees. now, moving over to europe, a ghreursyem is brig dry conditions across most of continentalal euro aro,ut tse w esre systems move into the western continent and the lower portion of the scandinavian peninsula bringing wet and windy weather on tuesy. sore like southern norway anded sweden see late season mountain snow. out towards the east, a separate systems pdung sere weather in parts of eastern europe and that will move into western russia over the next 24 hours. another warm day for you in sc wh a hh o 22 degrees

despite rain, 23 in kiev with thundershowers. reaching the -dre mkn athens, but towards the west still on the cool side in london with a high of 14 degrees. i'll leave you now with your exnd fect.

our lead stories this hour. th lder of greece's new democracy party says he has given up hope of forming a coalition government. the new docts ptnsh with the pasant party introduced austerity measures. the coalition lost it's parliamentary majority on sunday. antony samara held mtisith the leaders. sumara says he has abandoned the talks before the endf e theayse d to form a government. the chance to believe a ruling coalition will pass to the leader of the radical left coitn. alexei says he'll work with left wing parties and makes a parliamentary majority unlikely. if they fail, they'll be handed

a chance to build a coalition. if nonean form a verning alliance a new election will be called to ignite concerns over greece's ability it to reimplemt reforms. european officials are urging greek politicians to form a government as soon as possible. they want to ease mouing concerns about the implementation of austerity measures. >> greece must remain a member of the euro, for instance, but everybody has to carry the responsibilities here. we can do lots to assist greece, and we are doing so. our member states, our taxpayers in other european member states of the euro area are providing the solidarity. >> eu leaders will continue to offer emergency financing, but they say the greeks must follow-through on their commitments to push through reform. that's all for this edition of "newsline." do stay with us.

[drum & synth fanfare] (jane joyce) yellowstone national park is one of the best places in the modern world to observe the complex processes that shape natural ecosystems, and how one change can trigger many unexpected ones. in the early 1900's, because yellowstone's wolves were considered a menace by humans; the animals were deliberately killed to reduce their population.

once the wolves, yellowstone's top predator, had been eliminated, the elk population surged and devoured sprouting aspen and cottonwood trees in yellowstone's northern range. in 1995, in an effort to control the elk population "naturally," gray wolves were reintroduced from canada into yellowstone national park. as expected, the wolves preyed on the elk herds, by now, cutting their numbers in half. but unexpected changes occurred as well. as a consequence, aspen and cottonwood trees are again growing tall. their regrowth has allowed the beaver population to increase. small beaver dams have reappeared, and the ponds behind them allow trout to flourish. more succulent plants survive in the ponds' wetlands, providing critical food for grizzly bears as they emerge from hibernation. the cascading changes taking place at yellowstone national park vividly illustrate how one action ripples through an entire ecosystem. nature is healthiest where a web of interconnected life thrives.