a stalemate in greece gives voters a sense of deja vu and the markets a shock. voters in greece are headed back to the polls, and they may be headed somewhere else, too. political leaders failed to agree on how they could work together in more than a week of talks. so greece is set to vote in another parliamentary election, and they could be destined for an exit from the eurozone. leaders of the main political parties met to discuss whether to accept a proposal from president carlos papoulias.

the talks broke down as they have over the past week. the new democracy party came first in the may 6th election. it supports austerity measures. the radical left refuses to join any government that will imme meant the spending cuts. >> translator: we blocked the formation of a government that would continue the austerity measures. let's put an end to the policies that shatter people's lives. >> translator: if we change the austerity measures, our economy will collapse. staying in the eurozone is our first priority. >> the election is expected to be held in mid-jup. the focus of the fresh vote will be whether the country could adopt, or should adopt austerity measures. the latest opinion poll shows the radical lest coalition is expected to win the most votes.

if greece forms a coalition government led by the rad dal left, the european union may decide not to implement its aid package. many eu members said countries who cannot follow the rules should leave the eurozone. if the next government rejects austerity measures, they will decide whether greece should stay in the single-currency block. angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy's successor takes a different view. now hollande and merkel are trying to figure out how they'll work together. this is the report from berlin. >> reporter: hollande fru lew t berlin on tuesday, after he was

inaugurated as president. during his election campaign, hollande responded to the debt crisis, by focusing on austerity. differences between the two leaders raised concerns that the two key eu members would not be able to take concerted action. back in the news conference, they stressed that they will continue to cooperate despite their differences. >> translator: i am visiting berlin because i want to show our friendship with germany. we will work together to overcome our differences. >> translator: we agreed that we have an obligation to tackle the crisis together. we have different opinions, but

also something in common. so i'm looking forward to working with the new president. >> reporter: the two leaders indicated that they will discuss economic growth measures. they also expressed hope that greece will keep its agreements with the european union. and stay in the eurozone. hollande said he wants to tell greek leaders that the eu will take steps to promote growth. and hollande and americale wanted to assure that they will continue to work together. nhk world, berlin. the economy showed no expansion in the january-to-march quarter. the european union statistical office said first-quarter gross domestic product remained flat from the previous three months

when gdp shrank 0.3%. the area's economy remains under huge pressure. among the 17 nations in the zone, italy's economy shrank 0.8% marking a decline for a third quarter in a row. spain dipped to 0.3%, falling for the second consecutive quarter. no comparable quarter-to-quarter is available for greece. in contrast, germany's economy bounced back to expand 0.5%. brisk export growth helped the region's economic powerhouse. the latest gdp numbers show that germany's economic strength helped bolster the performance of the region as a whole. at the same time they highlighted the growing disparities among the eurozone economies. now, the u.s. treasury secretary applauded the region's efforts.

what was he trying to say there? >> he was specifically referring to the region's shift from tough austerity measures to a focus on growth. by the region's leaders. u.s. treasury secretary timothy geithner said europe is making progress in dealing with the debt crisis. >> the greeks have a particular challenge. i think it's a welcomed debate. they have a stronger set of tools to manage the crisis now in place. that allows them to shift the focus for more growth. >> geithner said in a speech in washington on tuesday that europe is taking measures to restore fiscal sustainability at a steady pace. he also mentioned that discussions have begun to promote spending on infrastructure in debt-ridden nations to support their economies. geithner added that europe has become aware of the need to boost the global standing of these countries, with excessive

debts. but he warned against slowing down efforts to overcome the crisis. investors certainly did not share geithner's enthusiasm. overnight u.s. and european markets headed lower across the board on continued concerns about greece and the euro. for more on how stocks are trading this wednesday morning, we're going to go to ramin live at the tokyo stock exchange. traders here in tokyo and other asian markets may yet again be braced for further losses today. how are things looking over there at the open? >> very good morning to you. and really, asian markets and tokyo markets continue to be gripped by events in europe. really, it's not only just the fear of greece exiting the eurozone, but what may happen to eurozone economies, or as the markets like to call it the contagion factor. so let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and topics this wednesday morning. you can see continuing downwards

for both indexes and nikkei continues to trade below that key 9,000 level. it closed below that for a third day in a row yesterday. exporters also lower, sharp, panasonic, as the yen continues to pretty much hold strong there against the dollar and the euro. we also had earnings for the three mega banks. mitsubishi, and miso financial group, all posting gains in net profits. and a lot of japanese banks also trying to increase their overseas acquisitions. we already saw that with mitsui last year, for instance, when it bought out royal bank of scotland's aircraft leasing unit which was very profitable. we'll continue to watch banks and brokerages today. switching off to currencies, let's look at how the yen is playing against the dollar and the euro. we've seen it actually back off

a little. trading around the upper levels yesterday. the euro continues to be weak. and 102.21 to 26. that's obviously gripped by events in europe. >> ramin, what about the economic data? have they been pushed aside maybe, despite promising numbers out of the u.s.? >> exactly. if you look at some of the fundamentals, it has been a little bit of mix. yesterday, for instance, we did have inflation data out of the u.s. the index was pretty much flat for april. also home builders' sentiments, at the highest since 2007. these should be positives. however, retail sales also a little bit weaker than economists had expected. but coming up, of course, we still have industrial production due out, and also housing starts, housing sector obviously a key factor in the u.s. economy as well as weekly jobless claims later on thursday. some of those will be closely

watched. but really looks like markets continue to be gripped by events in europe. we're seeing that reflected in the nikkei and topics this morning. back to you. >> ramin, thanks a lot for that update, from the tokyo stock exchange. we have our own set of economic data from here in japan. the core machinery orders fell in march for the first time in three months. the cabinet office said on wednesday that major machinery makers received private sector orders worth about $9.3 billion from domestic firms. that is a decrease of 2.8% in the terms from february. the figure excludes machinery orders for ships and power plants. orders from the manufacturing sector fell 8.4%. nonmanufacturing orders also declined by almost 4%. that is the latest from me for this hour. i'll leave you with the latest market figures.

japan's defense ministry says chinese navy vessels havee pacific ocean. it says chinese navy is improving its capability for long-term operations in the pacific. the patrol aircraft confirmed on tuesday morning that two frigates passed through international waters.

they later headed to the east china sea. the vessels went to the pacific on april 30th by navigating off southern japan. they conducted the drill about 700 kilometers east of japan's southern-most territory. the areas close to the u.s. territory, as the northern mariana islands. the chinese navy has been conducting exercises in the pacific for several years. but the ministry says the vessels have never gone this far before. earlier this month, another chinese fleet carried out a drill for several days, about 470 kilometers south. china's ambassador to japan has warned local lawmakers that supporting a meeting of china's exiled uyghurs will damage bilateral relations. ambassador made the warning last week. the world uyghur congress is discussing how to help the

ethnic minority which lives in theutonomous region of china. the ambassador said in the letter what he called backward japanese moves on china's region are hindering bilateral relations. he warned approving the meeting would constitute interference in china's internal affairs. but a leading member of the opposition countered that the ambassador's letter interfered with japan's internal affairs. a woman who belongs to the diet group made the claim when he met with uyghur leader ra by a kadeer. the fallout from the conference may have already begun. a delegation from the japan business federation met chinese vice premier. but china cancele a similar meeting scheduled the following day with chinese foreign minister. the federation says it doesn't know what's behind the abrupt cancellation.

south korea says disruptions to the gps navigation systems of hundreds of civilian aircraft and ships have halted since monday. officials blame the north for the interference over the past 16 days, and warned that it may resume. aircraft to and from south korea have been reporting problems with the nation's sunlight based global positioning system since late last month. but south korea's ministry of maritime affairs says no such trouble has been reported since monday. in talks with chinese president in beijing on monday, south korean president agreed that china and south korea will cooperate on the matter. the south korean government says it does not know if chinese authorities were involved with north korea on the air traffic interference. the governments of myanmar and north korea have a long history of keeping secrets.

myanmar's president admitted they traded arms with the north koreans over the past 20 years. now he says they'll abide by a u.n. security council resolution banning all arms trade with pyongyang. a south korean government official says they disclosed the deals with the south korean president. the first south korean leader was the first to visit in almost three decades. he denied suggestions they are cooperating with counterparts in north korea on such a project. the president acknowledged officials in myanmar bought conventional weapons from north korea before the two countries restored diplomatic ties four years ago. the president of south korea is visiting myanmar 29 years after one of his pre decessors survived a bomb attack there.

>> myanmar visit is the first since the so-called incident in 1983. lee on tuesday met with pro-democracy leader aung san suu kyi who was elected to the parliament. after talks with the leaders of china, and japan, the next day he met aung san suu kyi and expressed support for myanmar's democratic reforms. aung san suu kyi responded that economic prosperity and freedom should go hand in hand. it's been 29 years since a south korean president visited myanmar. in 1983, president chun du fong was targeted in a bomb attack in the former capital city. today known as yanggone. chung escaped injury but 21 south korean officials were killed. the government of myanmar at the

time blamed the attack on north korea. president lee's historic visit comes as other countries, including japan and european nations also try to strengthen ties with myanmar. he wants to secure a foothold for south korea in this promising market, as it emerges after decades of isolation. indonesia welcomed north korea's second-most senior official to jakarta on tuesday. indonesia is one of an increasingly small number of countries to maintain friendly relations with north korea. the meeting took place as international pressure against the north intensifies with speculation it's preparing a nuclear test. nhk world has the report. >> reporter: indonesian president held talks on tuesday with kim. the president of north korea supreme people's assembly. they agreed to boost mutual

exchanges by senior officials, and work to increase bilateral trade. indonesia and north korea have enjoyed close relations, since indonesia's commitment to the non-align movement in the 1960s. international pressure against the north has increased since last month firing of what several countries claim was a ballistic missile. kim's visit is seen as an attempt by north korea to an understanding for its position from friendly nations. sources say kim extended an invitation to the president to visit north korea. the proposal was reportedly welcomed by the president. but despite the friendly tone, indonesia's foreign minister warned north korea against

conducting another nuclear test. >> we would not find any nuclear testing to be helpful. it would definitely be harmful to the stability of the region. >> reporter: indonesia seems keen to make sure the channels remain open. that could allow indonesia to preserve some influence over the reclusive state and play a role alleviating tensions in east asia. nhk world, jakarta. turning to singapore, where this week is all about fashion. young designers from across asia are competing to make a name for themselves. and singapore also hopes to establish a reputation as asia's capital of style. mark ho reports. >> reporter: models are

strutting down the runways as part of a series of events in a launch into a leading fashion club. singapore fashion exchange is an annual event designed to turn the city into a cutting-edge industry. on monday, 12 promising designers from out of east asian countries, japan and south korea presented their collections. the event could also help boost tourism. new middle-class consumers from across the region flocked to singapore to shop for global fashion brands. >> it takes time to develop ourselves as the fashion hub. but i think we're slowly but surely getting that. we have all these events, and the rest of asia look to singapore.

>> reporter: through events like these, singapore is trying to attract more apparel companies and nurture a new generation of home-grown designers. mark ho, nhk world, singapore. and that's going to con clutd our bulletin. let's go to rachel ferguson now for the world weather forecast. >> well, as we head on into our wednesday, it is going to be beautiful across much of japan. up towards the north, though, still seeing hokkaido under the influence of the low pressure system bringing all the rain. we have the front still stalled out across the southern japanese islands and southern coast of china. much of the rest of china will be dry, which is certainly very good news for portions up to the northwest. however, there will be a few showers across the korean peninsula, and also for

northeastern china, nothing too heavy here. some of the showers down to the south, though, could be a little bit on the heavy side, including in hong kong. and when we go a little bit further down towards the indochina peninsula, hef ri rain is targeting the eastern half, now it's shifted over to the west and thailand is going to be under the influence of a strengthening southwest monsoon. so heavy rain impacting the country. it's going to be 37 degrees in bangkok as well. we're seeing the extreme temperatures throughout much of the country. 28 degrees in taipei. getting up to 27 in beijing and 29 in chong ching. just a few days ago your high was about 11 degrees. that's certainly a bigjump. plenty of sunshine at 28 degrees here in tokyo. heading on into north america. severe storms have been impacting texas. we've had reports of large hail here. hail and gusty winds also reported in georgia, florida, and north carolina. you can see this front just stalled out across much of the

atlantic coast. well, it's not going to be moving very far today. staying very wet and unstable with thunderstorms right up into the northeast. however, it is going to ease a little bit. so staying wet and unstable, but not quite as heavy as it was on your tuesday overnight. down towards the south, we have the first named system in the eastern pacific. this is a tropical storm moving west at 17 kilometers an hour. it will continue on its westerly path away from any land masses. and it is going to start to weaken off, becoming a remnant low by friday. that's certainly good news. but we'll still keep an eye on that one for you. still dry and clear across much of the rest of the continent. seeing a few thunderstorms popping up across the rockies. because it is very hot across much of the west. up towards the north, 19 degrees in seattle. cooling down a little bit. but not too bad. 28 for you in denver. and then in the desert southwest, still extreme heat here, 39 degrees in phoenix. there's also good recipe for

wildfire here. strong gusts across the southwest as well as that heat. so something to be aware of as we head into wednesday. all right. into europe, central and eastern locations, you're going to have very, very good potential for short-term heavy rain as well as lots of lightning today. the west is starting to clear up a little bit. the british isles getting a bit of a break. it will be fairly cool, just 13 degrees for you in london. 15 in -- 14 in london, 15 in paris, 14 in berlin as well as vienna. moscow getting up to 27 degrees. down to the southwest as well, in the opposite corner we're going to be seeing the heat continue here, rising up to 34 degrees in lisbon. southern spain, southern portugal do have warnings for the heat. take care and i'll leave you now with your extended forecast.

our lead stories this hour, greeks are headed back to the ballot box next month. their political leaders failed to form a coalition during more than a week of talks. leaders of the main political parties met again, this time to discuss a proposal from the president. pa poup yas suggested a government that provided experts. talks broke down as they have over the past week. the new democracy party came first in the may 6th election. it supports the austerity measures. the radical left coalition

finished second. it refuses to join any government that will implement the spending cuts. the focus of the fresh vote will be whether the country should adopt austerity measures. the latest opinion poll shows the radical left coalition will win the most votes. they opposed teaming up with any party that supports austerity measures. the european union may decide not to implement its aid package. some eu leaders are saying member countries which cannot follow the rules should leave the eurozone. if the next government rejects austerity measures, they will decide whether greece should stay in the bloc. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

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