former egyptian president hosni mubarak is seriously ill. hosni mubarak is on life support at a military hospital in cairo. the former president ruled as the strong man of egypt for 30 years. protesters forced him from power last year. his health has deteriorated ever since. a court sentenced mubarak to prison for ordering security forces to kill protesters. his health only got worse. the state news agency quoted a doctor as saying mubarak had no

pulse when he arrived at the hospital. but a military source has denied the reports. he told nhk that mubarak is not dead. mubarak took over as president in 1981 after the assassination of anwar sadat. he went on to become egypt's longest serving president. protesters pushed him from power last year in the wave of the arab spring. many egyptians have found out that change is not all that they hoped for. the muslim brotherhood claimed its candidate mohamed morsi won the election last weekend, but military rulers have expanded their authority to civilian rule. tens of thousands of people gathered in tahrir square. members of the muslim brotherhood and other political groups and young people joined in. the supreme military council took over last year when mubarak stepped down. the generals are scheduled to transfer power to the newly

elected president at the end of the month. >> translator: the military rulers are trying to deprive a military president from his power turning him into a puppet. >> the muslim brotherhood held a majority in parliament. the country's highest court ruled last week that the elections were unconstitutional. on sunday they revised the provisional constitution. the revisions allow them to determine who will draft a new constitution and the changes allowed them to make laws until a new parliament is elected and to control the budget. the leaders of the g-20 major economies are concluding their two-day summit in los cabos, mexico. they urged the eurozone countries to take all necessary measures to contain the debt crisis.

>> translator: we have achieved an agreement to solve issues relating to the global economy. >> the discussions focused on spain's banking woes, and the greek political crisis. the declaration states europe's debt crisis is negatively affecting the economies of advanced and emerging countries. the g-20 endorses the eurozone's plan to renew a system to supervise banks and liquidate failed institutions. in a tone stronger than before, it presses the eurozone nations to swiftly move to stem the debt of the debt crisis and protect the unity of the zone. it states a vicious cycle of public fund ejection must be ended. the leaders call on a new greek government to keep the country in the single currency zone and tackle fiscal reconstruction and coordination with other members. the g-20 leaders also stressed

that economic growth must be pursued and not just stringent austerity programs in rebuilding finances. now, this is something investors, too, have been wrestling with for months. we're joined now from the business desk. what's the sentiment like today? >> it looks like at least for the time being investors are shifting their focus away from the european debt crisis. that's because we're seeing stocks in the u.s. and europe go higher in overnight trading. it looks like investors are hoping central banks around the world are going to take more action to shore up their economies. for more on that, and also for how tokyo markets are doing, we go to the tse. chindley, what's driving the mood in the markets? >> as you mentioned, u.s. and european markets did show a jump yesterday. that's on mixed signals from overnight developments. but anyway, the markets are optimistic that liquidity is going to be pumped into the

markets. in the u.s., housing data points to a recent slowdown in activity, but then pointing towards firm growth in the future. and over in europe, spanish debt continued to spiral upwards and germany's economic sentiment actually fell to the lowest in 14 years. all that is fanning the flames of hope for further stimulus measures from central banks, as well as rate cuts from the european central bank, and all that comes amidst for calls from g-20 leaders to stem the crisis. the nikkei is rebounding up to 8,735 points. now, we are likely to see bargain hunting today, including exporters and automakers, and especially t financial issues. taking a look at how foreign currencies are moving this morning, the euro is rising, and

it rose to a high of 1.2 level in overnight trade against the dollar. a one-month high. and also as the u.s. dollar is being sold on strong expectations of further monetary easing measures by the fed. the fed policy meeting ends later today. the yen is also being bought as a safe haven effort as the uncertainty continues to linger in the eurozone. let's not forget that greece is entering day two of its attempt to form a government. and that's adding to uncertainty in the market sentiment. now, later today in japan, you have the governor giving an official speech. and any ideas as to monetary easing measures from there will be closely watched out for. the japanese prime minister did say at the g-20 summit that the strong yen was weighing on japan's trade. and he pledged to restore japan's fiscal health through spending cuts and tax reforms. now, that includes doubling of the consumption tax, the 10% by

2015. but for now it's all eyes on the fed meeting and it will be tracking the latest twists and turns from here. >> thanks a lot for that update, from the tokyo stock exchange. the nikkei is up this morning. now, this just in, japan's trade balance in may showed a deficit for a third straight month. the finance ministry said in its preliminary report on wednesday morning that japan's trade deficit was over $11 billion last month. exports were up for a third month in a row. that's a 10% rise from a year earlier in yen terms. that's mainly due to an increase in shipments of autos and automotive parts. but imports also rose more than 9% due to a rise in imports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil. once again, japan's trade deficit in may coming in at $11 billion, over $11 billion. more for you next hour. i'll leave you with a check on

the markets. six world powers and iran have failed to achieve any major break-through in negotiations on tehran's nuclear program. but the door is still open for future talks. the two-day meeting in moscow ended on tuesday. negotiate eshs agreed to hold an expert-level meeting in istanbul, turkey, on july 3rd. in the third round of talks that resumed in april, u.s. and european negotiators urged iran

to stop enriching uranium to 20%. it's a level that could bring iran closer to acquiring weapons-grade material. iran had insisted western powers recognize its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes before discussions could start. although negotiators failed to iron out differences, they managed to avoid collapse of the talks. but the united states and european union will probably soon impress new sanctions. the supreme court of pakistan has disqualified prime minister yousuf raza gilani. he was told by the country's chief justice he was out of the job following an earlier conviction for a contempt of court. gilani was indicted in february for refusing to help a corruption probe into president asif ali zadari. the country's supreme court found gilani guilty in april. but it didn't hand down a prison sentence. the opposition demanded the top court remove him from parliament in line with the constitution.

it also insisted on his dismissal as prime minister. on tuesday, the supreme court upheld the opposition's petition, and disqualified the prime minister. gilani and the ruling party insist the fact he did not get a prison sentence means he was found not guilty. he has called a meeting at the presidential office to consider his response to the court decision. the tsunami that hit northeastern japan last year left more than 18 million tons of debris in its wake. disposing of the remains is proving to be a major and costly problem. the central government is hoping municipalities around the country will help with the cleanup, but few have stepped forward. nhk world has more. >> reporter: the city in the miyagi prefecture has the largest amount of debris, about 5 million tons.

those pose a problem. the temperature in this pile is about 80 degrees celsius. last august, one of the piles actually caught on fire. the government has been struggling to transfer the debris to temporary sites. only half of the debris have so far been collected. there's just too much, and no more places to store it. >> translator: temperatures will rise in summer, and flies could transmit infection. i don't think we can proceed with reconstruction, or even dream of the future as long as the debris remains. the government aims to dispose of all the debris by march 2014. part of its disposal plan would see municipalities around the country accept some 2.5 million tons. so far, six local governments have agreed, but they are

waiting to take just over 1 million tons, about 43% of the target amount. many local governments are reluctant to help out over concerns of radioactive contamination. recently assembly members visited the site in miyagi prefecture to see a disposal facility. they are hoping to reassure skeptical residents to the idea. >> translator: that's a bag filter on the side where hazardous substances are broken up into small particles and get sucked up. >> reporter: people in japan are critical of the slow disposal pace. they also say the government is not releasing any information on the safety of the debris quickly enough. facing growing criticism, the government in october said radioactive safety limits at

between 240 and 480 becquerels per kilogram after consulting international organizations. officials are considering whether to accept the debris. >> translator: the safety standards are not trusted by people in japan. aichi prefecture will set a different standard than the national one. >> reporter: the residents of aichi are not as accepting of the debris as the assembly members. a factory in the city is one of the candidate sites that the governor said will receive the debris. this man has a citizen group that is campaigning against accepting debris. he worked as a radiation technologist at the hospital for 25 years before becoming a farmer.

>> translator: nature still exists here. i feel that the potatoes we grow taste better. >> reporter: joined by like-minded citizens, he continues to study radioactive contaminants from the debris. >> translator: we have to protect our children. we shouldn't let our town accept the debris without having further confirmation. >> translator: the safety limits sharply deviate from waste disposal standards set in the past. they will allow contaminated materials to be moved around the nation, and destroy japan's beautiful nature. >> reporter: one year after the march 11th disaster, fears of radioactive contamination are keeping local governments around the country from agreeing to

accept debris for disposal. this has left the government in the position where it may not be able to live up to its pledge of completing the disaster cleanup by 2014. nhk world, ishinomaki. japan's science minister says the government will review last year's decision to withhold reliable data on the accident at fukushima daiichi. hirofumi hirano wants to know why they're keeping maps under wraps. they were taken immediately after the fukushima accident and showed high levels of radiation in areas to the northwest of the facility. u.s. authorities sent the maps to japan on march 18th and 20th last year. but officials at the science ministry and japan's nuclear safety agency didn't make them

public. hirano is defending how they haled the matter. he said their job was only to measure radiation levels on land. but he's urging the government to rethink its decision not to share the map information and put it to use. he also says government officials will continue to study whether making the maps public could have helped with evacuation efforts. the south korean capital of seoul will impose energy-saving measures including steep fines to prevent power blackouts this summer. the measures will run from july 1st to september 21st. a penalty of up to $2,500 will be given to restaurants and stores that use air conditioners with doors and windows open. public offices in the city will be required to cut power usage by 10% compared to the same period last year. in september last year, south korea experienced a massive blackout that affected about 2 million homes and offices after

power usage surged during a severe heat wave. the country plans to conduct a nationwide blackout drill on thursday. chinese in a cascade of color, music and acrobatics. it goes back more than 200 years, and it often draws on historical tales and legends. but young people show little interest in chinese opera. it may seem like a contradiction, but one expert is trying to preserve the tradition by changing it. our correspondent reports from shanghai. >> reporter: the swirl of a skirt flamenco style. male and female performers hardly ever touch, but these

performance depends on body contact. lots of it. as for orchestras, they hardly ever perform in chinese opera. these performers with its captivating blend of western culture and eastern tradition pleases the crowd. this is the troupe's principal performer. no matter what she dos on stage, singing, acting or acrobatics, she excels. in the world of chinese opera, she is a towering figure. the superstar says she has devoted herself to chinese opera ever since she began learning it at the age of 10. now she explores new styles. she hopes they will awaken the interest of young people. >> translator: we can captivate

our audience by adding new elements to the plots in music, but at the same time we preserve tradition. >> reporter: for her next show, she decided to adapt the hunchback of notre dame. it's a famous novel by victor hugo of france. a gentle young man with a severely deformed spine falls in love with the care-free dancer. but the story ends in tragedy. the story raises questions about how we value other humans. she thought that would strike the right chord with today's young people. on the university campus in shanghai, students form a long line. they want to see shi and her colleagues perform the hunchback of notre dame. the troupe sometimes takes its shows to universities to expose students to chinese opera.

for many students, it was the first chinese opera they had ever seen. along with many of those in opera, this is not found in hugo's novel. shi wanted to demonstrate the unique energy of chinese opera. the story draws to a close. the leading actor dances with the body of the young woman, who is dead. european dance inspired the choreographer to create this scene. the young audience loved it. >> translator: i used to think opera was boring, but the plot intrigued me and the performance was excellent. >> translator: it was terrific.

>> translator: it's important to preserve the tradition, and at the same time create something new. i feel i'm gradually learning what art is all about, and how we should present it on the stage. i'll devote myself to improving chinese opera, and cherish it as a gift from heaven. >> reporter: shi feels that young people crave for something that touches their heart. she has embarked on the quest of reshaping a tradition. but at the same time she manages to preserve it. nhk world, shanghai. a powerful typhoon has struck japan, leaving one person dead, and more than 50 injured. >> hi there. typhoon guchol is situated by

tohoku. gusts could exceed 120 kilometers per hour today and waves could reach 6 meters. in addition to that, it's in a period of springtime, so storm surge could be a big concern along the coast. flood warnings are widely posted along the eastern coast of tohoku. it looks like guchol will be downgraded to a remnant low and head towards hokkaido. so stormy conditions will once again hit this area. as we head into thursday. central japan will see clear conditions today, after the storm leaves, and temperatures will be rising above 30 degrees in some locations, including tokyo. as for southern japan, it's already experiencing another round of heavy rain. this is due to onflow moisture coming in from severe storm

situated to the southeast coast of china, packing some sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour with gusts of 126. it will likely move through the taiwan strait within the next 24 hours, possibly make landfall in taiwan. and then become a tropical storm and aim for western japan. so western japan will once again will be hit by stormy conditions later this week. areas like southern china, taiwan, and southern japan have been contending with a lot of rain due to a seasonal front. so the ground is already well saturated. any additional rain could worsen the situation. all right. temperaturewise, getting up to 32 in hong kong. and 30 degrees in chongching. another warmer day for you in seoul, the hottest day of the year with a high of 34. today another hot day for you. tokyo getting up to 31 degrees today. all right. heading over to the americas.

a series of low pressure systems will continue to produce wet and windy weather along the u.s./canada border. there will be a threa of severe weather from minnesota. the wind will shift to wisconsin. heavy rain has been coming down here. so flood warnings and watches are widely posted across minnesota and wisconsin. down towards the southwestern portion of the u.s., as this cold front moves through, cooler air will flow in and that will ease fire weather slightly on your wednesday. so that's good news. as for the high, heat is building across much of the eastern half of the u.s. 36 degrees expected in chicago. and 35 in toronto. actually, excessive heat warnings are in place along the northeastern coast of the u.s. getting up to 37 in new york city, and 35 degrees in washington, d.c. all right.

finally, let's go over to europe, as this front moves through. things will be turning quite severe across parts of germany, poland, and northern italy on your wednesday. towards the east, still hot and dry. we are looking at 22 in stockholm and 22 in moscow. heat warnings are in place for the balkan peninsula. here's your extended forecast.

our lead story this hour, hosni mubarak is on life support at a military hospital in cairo. the former president ruled egypt for 30 years. protesters forced him from power last year. a court sentenced mubarak to life in prison earlier this month for ordering security forces to kill protesters. his health deteriorated ever since. the state news agency quoted a doctor as saying, mubarak had no pulse when he arrived at the hospital. but a military source has denied the reports. he told nhk that mubarak is not dead. mubarak took over as president in 1981 after the assassination of anwar sadat. he went on to become egypt's longest serving president. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

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