welcome to nhk world "newsline." european leaders ended two days of discussions designed to resolve their growing debt crisis. they agreed to help struggling banks in the region with direct financial assistance. the european stability mechanism or esm, will be used to recapitalize banks directly. the move comes in response to pleas from spanish and italian leaders. eu leaders also agreed on flexible way to use their funds to stabilize bond yields without imposing additional austerity measures on indebted countries. but that's only if they are showing serious efforts to restore their fiscal health.

countries receiving assistance will be closely monitored. supervision of banks in the region will be unified by the end of the year. this will set the stage for a european banking union. germany had been cautious about helping commercial banks directly. however, it later made concessions. the leaders also agreed to provide 120 billion you'reos for systemulating economic growth in private sector investment. at the end of the meeting, european council president herman van rompuy said the leaders were able to agree on measures to stabilize the market and promote european integration. health care reform has been a signature policy of u.s. president barack obama. the supreme court's decision on thursday to uphold the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the requirement for americans to buy health insurance or pay a tax, is a major victory for the president. but the republicans have vowed to fight back. the issue is likely to remain

hotly contested throughout the presidential campaign. nhk world's matthew field reports from washington. >> reporter: barack obama pushed through an overhaul of health care as a pillar of his presidency. but some americans question the legality of what's known as the individual mandate which requires americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine. the justices of the supreme court said the individual mandate is constitutional. >> today's decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure because of this law and the supreme court's decision to uphold it. >> reporter: americans buy medical insurance on an individual basis. as a result, one in every six people in the u.s. is not insured. obama signed his health care law two years ago. it allowed every citizen access to medical coverage. but republicans have criticized the reforms as restrictions on

personal freedom and are also concerned the changes may lead to tax hikes. the court's ruling means health care reform will remain in place. the administration has called it the signature accomplishment of obama's presidency. the republicans are expected to try to repeal the law in congress, and they are certain to make it an important issue in the run-up to the presidential election this november. matthew field, nhk world, washington. masehiko adachi is a senior analyst at the research institute. he explains the impact of the supreme court's decision on the upcoming presidential election. >> huge victory for obama's presidency. he will appeal to the american voters as his bill being co-decided. his bill is constitution al. and i got a boost from the supreme court and this is the direction we should move on. his campaign message will be boosted by the supreme court decision, i think.

romney camp will appeal to the bases. we've got to stop second term of the obama administration. what is said is that obama administration wasted three years and a half because he didn't focus on the economy at all, and his priority was the health care issues. and what romney said is he wasted his presidency. and he should have focused on the economic issues. that's going to be mitt romney message during this campaign. engineers are firing up japan's nuclear network this weekend. they'll be restarting the first reactor since the march 2011 disaster disabled fukushima daiichi and raised concerns about the safety of atomic energy. operators of the ohi plant in central japan will put reactor three back online this sunday. kansei electric power company engineers have been conducting

preparations for the restart. they've been cleaning cooling water pipes and checking for leaks. they found no serious problems. the prime minister approved the restart of two units at ohi two weeks ago. kansei electric spokespersons say reactor three will reach the critical stage monday morning. that's when the chain reaction of nuclear fission occurs. the unit is expected to start generating power two days later and take four more days to operate at full capacity, provided everything goes smoothly. kansei electric plans to restart reactor four at the ohi plant on july 17th. spokespersons say that unit will be at full capacity a week later. protesters gathered in front of the prime minister's office to demand the government cancel the plan to restart the two reactors at ohi. the social networking sites were used to coordinate the demonstration. >> translator: the government must figure out what went wrong

at the fukushima plant before restarting any reactors. >> housewives with children and businessmen on their way home from work joined the protest. a number of people in japan have become concerned about the dangers of nuclear power since the fukushima daiichi accident. nuclear experts have struggled for more than a year to understand the exact cause of the meltdowns and explosions at the fukushima plant. they expected an investigation by the facility's operator would provide some answers. tokyo electric power company released the final report of its investigation earlier this month. investigators conducted interviews with about 600 tepco employees, held on-site inspections and analyzed other data. tepco officials admit in the report that they failed to adequately prepare for a nuclear emergency. they also say the plan for the cooling system was inadequate but they defend themselves by pointing out the extreme

difficulty of responding to the crisis. nhk world's hidehiro haneda has been closely following the story ever since the accident at fukushima daiichi and has more details on tepco's report. tepco's investigation were expected to reveal the facts on what caused the accident. did the report clear things up? >> translator: my frank impression is that important issues of the nuclear accident are yet to be clarified. that includes the path where the massive amount of nuclear substances were discharged that forced many residents to evacuate, and the impact of the earthquake itself remains unclear. it is estimated that the reason why high level of radiation prevailed in iwate village and other places northwest of the plant was because the massive amount of radioactive materials was released from the containment vessel of the number two reactor on march 15 last year. that was because the pressure inside the containment vessel rapidly plunged.

but specific cause and path of it are not known although more than a year has passed. and it's not 100% clear whether the cooling systems and piping that are critical to safety were really unharmed by the quake. tepco's former vice president who chaired the utilities panel say. >> translator: we have performed all investigations possible so far. >> so tepco's report didn't live up to its expectations. have any other investigation provided more reliable information? >> translator: those also have problems. aside of the tepco's investigation, there are panels set up by the government and diet as well as private initiatives investigating the accident independently. they are looking into how plant operators and prime minister's office dealt with the accident.

but they haven't examined the cause of the accident and how the meltdown took place. that is because fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is still exposed to a high level of radiation. people cannot even go near some places. that's why it is only tepco that was able to conduct on-site investigation that is necessary to identify the cause. the reality is that proving that a cause of the accident is delegated to the operators themselves, but since the central player of the accident is conducting the investigation, objectivity and fairness of the final report are being questioned. you can't brush away a sense of mistrust that the utility is only releasing favorable data. an expert had this to say. >> translator: i'm very doubtful this report studies the accident

in any real sense. there needs to be a more independent analysis to pinpoint problems that need to be addressed. and where changes should be made. >> translator: the cause of the accident and lessons to be learned from this are attracting worldwide attention and must not be buried away. tepco should continue thorough investigation and verification. but a mechanism is needed to secure objectivity and fairness. the results should be compared with a third party investigation and truly elucidate the cause to improve safety measures. >> hidehiro, thank you. that was hidehiro hanada for today's "nuclear watch." the death toll is rising as monsoon rains cause havoc across

south asia. patchari raksawong in bangkok has this update. >> the number of fatalities continues to rise amid heavy rains in northeast india and bangladesh. floods and mudslides have destroyed homes and transport links have been severed. ap reports at least 27 people were killed friday as floodwaters raged across parts of assam state. officials expect the death toll to further. monsoon rains triggered floods that inundated more than 2,000 villages. about 1 million people have been forces to evacuate. >> translator: we face a lot of problems. floods swept away our homes. there's nothing to eat. no place to live. this village is completely submerged. there are two or three more villages hit by flooding. >> across the border in bangladesh, reuters says a

railway bridge has been washed away and roads are under water. the capital dhaka is cut off from many disaster-hit areas. landslides and flash floods have killed more than 110 people in south and southeast bangladesh. about 250,000 people are stranded. rescue operations are under way, but weather officials forecast more rain over the next few days. and next to singapore where a spectacular new city center park opened on friday. the crowded city state is normally known for promoting its expertise in finance, i.t. or life sciences. but by choosing to invest in a park, singapore is creating a new role for itself. and that is champion of the urban environment. nhk world's yuko funizaki reports. >> reporter: gardens by the bay is one of the largest urban park in asia. it was built by the singapore

government and a redevelopment zone at a cost of more than $780 million. prime minister is an advocate of turning singapore into a garden city. at thursday night's opening ceremony, he underlined the significance of the project. >> this is just one example of how we're transporming singapore's living environment. it may be a densely populate city, maybe one of the densest in the world, but we are determined and our people should be able to live comfortably, pleasantly, graciously. >> reporter: after five years of construction, first phase of gardens by the bay is finally open to the public. and behind me is one of the highlights of this garden. tree-like structures called super trees. like real trees, the futuristic super trees offer shade from the sun. they are also convert sunshine into energy using solar panels

on top. this domed glass conservatory is 38 meters high. visitors can enjoy more than 2,000 different species as they stroll along an aerial walkway. and that's only half of the planned 100 hectare facility that was open to the public today. >> it is the first tropical public garden that is done by people who live here who appreciate the vegetation that grows in the tropics, the wide range that most of the people never see. and also appreciate the problems of a garden in the tropics. >> reporter: park officials anticipate about 5 million visitors per year. the new tourist attraction isn't only a symbol of singapore's greening policy. it also looks set to contribute to the nation's tourism

industry. yuko funizaki, nhk world, singapore. >> from a new park to an ancient jungle. our next report comes from deep inside rural myanmar. the long isolated country has a diverse climate rich in trees and plants. for bottanists, it's known as the final frontier. during years of military rule there was little study of myanmar's natural heritage. but foreign researchers have received permission to go and explore. nhk world's hirosumi yamaguchi joined their field trip. >> reporter: the research extension took place at natma town national park in the western state of ching. more than 3,000 meters above sea level, the park seems like a promising place to find many unique plants.

this purple iris-like plant is, in fact, a kind of ginger which is found nowhere nels the world. orchids, rode dend runs are also in full bloom at this time of year. the start of rainy season. azumi is a researcher at the japanese public botanical garden. with permission from the myanmar government, she has spent the last eight years looking for medicinal plants in the national park. >> translator: i am always thrilled by new findings. that's why i love working here. >> translator: this is myanmar ginseng. the leaves are split like your

fingers. >> reporter: myanmar is bloom with plants that have potential medicinal ingredients. discovered just five years ago, myanm myanmar genseng contains more ingredients than its better known korean counterpart. plants that could have properties to lighten skin or prevent bad breath have also been found. fujikawa and her colleagues have collected as many as 15,000 specimens from which they have identified 30 new plant species. but the researchers' efforts are hampered by plant looters. local rangers say many plants have nearly gone extinct in the

past decade due to illegal efforts. >> translator: due to the lack of manpower, we can't protect the natural vegetation. >> reporter: fujikawa is also worried that as myanmar focuses on demkra ties aches and economic development, more and more plant resources could be lost. >> translator: onclost, plant resources can't be restored. i fear a situation where plants vanish before their true value has been discovered. >> reporter: myanmar's diverse plants have been hidden from the world for years. now the challenge is to speed up their study in order to preserve

this invaluable natural resource. hirosumi yamaguchi, nhk world, west myanmar. i'm patchari raksawong in bangkok. a city in california has filed for bankruptcy. a sluggish housing market has slashed its tax revenue, and the city has found itself unable to pay wages and pensions. the city of stockton with a population of 300,000 is located in san francisco's suburbs. it has become the largest city in the united states to seek protection from creditors. officials say the city has racked up debts totaling about $700 million. it will now suspend debt payments and cut employee wages. an increasing number of cities and towns in the united states have been hit by financial problems amid slow economic growth. in november last year, a city in southern alabama went bankrupt with the largest ever debts in the country.

last year, japan selected the f-35 as the next mainstay fighter of the country's self-defense force. it plans to acquire 42 jets over the next decade. but the project has been affected by cost overruns. the government has nevertheless decided to go ahead and purchase the first four jets of the new fleet. the japanese government earmarked nearly $760 million in the budget for 2012 to cover the cost of four planes, flight simulators and related expenditures. but cuts in the u.s. defense budget have delayed the plane's mass production and raised the price of the jets. each plane will cost about $128 million, nearly $4 million more than planned. government officials say this first contract will remain within the allocated budget by reducing the burden of related costs. united nations officials say nearly 100,000 syrian refugees

have been displaced by the military conflict in the country. they are asking for financial support from the international community. the u.n. high commissioner for refugees estimates that roughly $200 million is needed immediately to provide humanitarian aid. >> financial support is crucial in order to show a sign of solidarity and support to the hosting neighboring countries who have opened schools, clinics, infravucture to house the syrian refugees. >> u.n. hcr officials say 96,000 people have fled syria to jordan, lebanon, turkey and other neighboring countries. they expect the exodus will double in size by the end of the year. around 75% of the refugees are women and children. most of them are entirely dependent on humanitarian assistance. a chinese spacecraft is safely back on earth after a 13-day mission. the crew notched up a series of firsts for the country's space program. that includes the first docking with the prototype space

station. the shenzhou 9 uncoupled from the tiangong 1 space laboratory. among the crew of three inside was china's first woman in space. the craft gradually descended and entered earth's atmosphere. the landing capsule hit ground in china's inner mongolia region. state-run television broadcast live footage of the vessel's return. premier wen jiabao and other top leaders monitored the landing from beijing. the crew members greeted onlookers as they left the capsule. the manned spacecraft's voyage was an important step forward for china's developing space program. officials plan to build a space station for long-term stays by around 2020. it's been a wonderful day here in tokyo, but a storm building up in china. robert speta has the details. >> we do have tropical storm

doksuri here pushing off to the west. starting to see heavy rainfall pushing on across portions of southeastern china. it is racing towards the west-northwest at this time. about 20 kilometers per hour. expecting this to make a landfall going into your saturday afternoon hours. but as i already stated, though, heavy rain showers starting to move onshore. could be seeing 200 to 250 millimeters here from the guangxi region to hong kong where wind gusts have been recorded above 50 kilometers per hour already at this time, and even in the center of circulation up to about 108-kilometer-per-hour wind gusts estimated here as the storm pushes off there toward the west. elsewhere, though, off towards the north, a low pressure area moves through the korean peninsula. this is bringing some heavy rain showers into the next 24 hours. you could be seeing up to about 200 millimeters of rain across this area. and as it does push off toward the west, portions of western japan, you could be feeling the effects of this going through your saturday. but in eastern japan, quite a

different story. hokkaido, record-breaking temperatures today all the way up to the mid-30s. even south of that, high of 27. shanghai, though, up to 34. and ahead of this tropical system in hong kong, a high of 30 on your saturday. now into the americas, clear skies are dominating much of the region here. this is also contributing to some hot weather. near record-breaking or record-breaking temperatures across much of the east. but critical fire weather in the rest. already burning numerous areas out here. i want to take you to a video coming out of colorado springs, colorado, where you can see charred forests from the fire that broke out on june 9th. it actually scorched more than 350 square kilometers. about 350 homes have also been destroyed and thus forced about 30,000 people to evacuate. thousands remain under evacuation orders as the waldo

canyon fire becomes the most destructive fire in state history. the cause of the blaze still remains unknown as conditions are actually still dangerous for people to get out here and investigate it. if we can pull back the picture here, i can show you the critical fire weather is still in effect across this area. actually in denver, humidity is only at 9%. so very dry out here. any fires that do start up would spread rather rapidly. still across mh of this region. farther off toward the east, severe weather is lingering across the great lakes. actually reports of hail here. but south of that, the temperatures once again are the main topic. st. louis with a high of 42. this is record-breaking here. farther off toward the east, washington, d.c., and atlanta, up to the high 30s. in europe, also hot temperatures across much of central europe here. there's this big ridge of high pressure dominating this area. and it has been bringing heat warning advisories across most of this region. but south of that, a stagnant low is bringing heavy rain showers there towards the northern portions of the british isles.

even extending down on this cold front into france and germany. you could be feeling gusty winds and severe thunderstorms. hail has been reported there in belgium. but even farther south of that, once again, those hot temperatures. vienna with some sunshine here ahead of the cold front. temperatures looking like this. vienna, 31 on your friday. sunday, though, all the way up to 35. belgrade, 37 going through your weekend. now here's a look at your extended outlook.

we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks for joining us.

and have a great day wherever you are.