saheki reports. >> reporter: the city is welcoming the athletes, the audiences and the troops. london is in a security remains a pressing issue. private security firm admitted two weeks ago it could not provide the number of staff it had promised. the british government decided on july 11th to call up an extra 3,500 troops to fill the shortage. security is tight, ahead of the big event. the military has deployed ground-to-air missiles on the rooftops of the apartment buildings near the olympic venues. the navy has anchored its largest ship on the river thames.

some londoners are welcoming the mood, but others are worried about the increased security. >> i think it's probably a good decision to make sure the games are safe for everyone. >> it's a bit worrying that they should need so many troops here or feel they should need it. >> reporter: the government says it has decided to deploy more troops because it wants to leave nothing to chance. coordinated attacks on london's transport system killed more than 50 people on july 7th, 2005. the bombings came one day after the city was selected as the host of 2012 games. the high level of security in london reflects the government's determination to prevent terrorist attacks during the olympics. akira saheki, nhk world, london.

salespeople of america's favorite smartphone maker sold many units of their flagship products this spring but they were hoping to sell more. ai uchida, what is this all about? >> all about corporate earnings this time of the year. apple's numbers in the three months through june fell short of forecasts despite a surge in profit. looks like many consumers are opting to wait for the release of that i new iphone model. the u.s. electronics giant said on tuesday that its quarterly net profits stood at $8.8 billion, and that is up 20% from a year ago. sales also jumped 22% to $35 billion. but the strong figures were still lower than many analysts had expected, that's because unit sales of the iphone fell 26% from the previous quarter. the hugely popular smartphone accounts for neither half of apple's total sales. many consumers postponed their

purchase of the product. they have apparently been anticipating the launch of a new model in the near future. meanwhile sales of the ipad tablet soared 84% compared to the previous year. its new model had just come out in march. apple's top executive, tim cook, expressed confidence in the firm's ability to boost its earnings further. he says apple will continue to launch innovative products. now over in spain, the country's government bond market took a hit once again, sending bond yields to a record high. that's because investors expect the country's finances will take another step for the worse. the yield on the ten-year government bond rose above 7.6% at one stage on tuesday. this is the highest level since spain adopted the euro. the yield posted a new record for a second day in a row. an interest rate above 7% would make it difficult for the

government to rebuild its finances on its own. investors sold long-term bonds on reports that several regional governments in spain may ask the state for financial help. spanish business newspaper reported tuesday that the country will ask for a full bailout from the eu. spain has already obtained financial aid for its commercial banks. meanwhile, european stock markets extende their losing streak on tuesday. the benchmark index in madrid plunged 3.6%, and milan closed 2.7% lower. greece's financial health is getting a checkup this week. inspectors from the european union and the international monetary fund are visiting athens. the president of the european commission, jose-manuel barroso, will also be there. they'll all be assessing the country's progress in slashing its debt. european union spokesperson says

barroso will meet with greek prime minister antonis samaras, hoping it will help greece get out of its debt crisis and a request to ease the cost-cutting condition that is a prekan for bailout funds. inspectors from the eu, the i in, f and the european central bank arrived tuesday in athens. they'll be looking at how greece is implementing debt-cutting measures and report their findings to the eu. european officials hope the report will speed up talks with greece and lead to a revised aid package in september, but negotiations are expected to be difficult, because greek leaders have been unable to cut the number of public sector workers and privatize state-run firms. and now it is time to get a check on tokyo markets. wall street ended lower for a third day in a row on renewed concerns about greece, as well as lackluster earnings reports, as we just went over.

to see how stocks are trading this wednesday in japan, let's go to ramin mellegard, who is at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, we have some economic data here in japan, but give us a breakdown as well on the effects of apple's earnings results and the eurozone bond yields. >> yes, thank you very much, ai. we did have some trade balance numbers before the markets opened. let's have a look at those and a little bit of a surprise there showing a surplus, the first time in three months of deficits, a surplus of $791 million, and a lot of market analysts were expecting a deficit, so that's a little bit of a turn. let's see how the nikkei and the topix are kicking off this wednesday. it's pretty clear the market's taking more of a direction from the eurozone debt issues and we're seeing the nikkei down over 1%, 8,394, so we've broken below 8,400. yesterday we were talking about breaking below 8,500 so that's

another level to deal with. topix 710, renewed concerns about greece and continuing high bond yields in spain and italy is setting off alarm bells yet again and market players here are concerned about the effects on global markets, as we're clearly seeing here at the open. earnings from apple as you also mentioned there may play a factor in relating shares here for componentmakers, a lot of japanese companies make a lot of components that go into the iphone, as well as the ipad and other apple products. apple shares were down around 5% in afterhours trading so that might also have an impact on those shares as well. still really renewed concerns about greece meeting its debt obligations, will be the main market driver, again, as we're seeing here with theikkei down over 100 points, just in the first few minutes of trading. all uncertainty about any clear-cut resolutions to the eurozone debt issues and that's also weighing on the euro. so let's have a look at the currency levels as well. the dollar also gaining against the euro, the euro fell to a new

two-year low on tuesday but really the yen against the euro, the yen gained for a fifth day against the euro to reach almost a fresh 12-year high. now markets are really watching closely to see if japan's government does or says anything more regarding the yen's gains. already yesterday we had finance minister jun azumi stating his readiness to take any decisive action against excessive gains in the yen, so markets on a bit of alert here, ai. >> look at the euro/dollar as well, 120 there. well, ramin, of course here in japan we're also goi to get a slew of earnings. what is expected? >> yeah, exactly, a lot of focus there. we have canon, nintendo, industrial robot maker fanek, hitachi machinery, relating to the slowing growth we've seen in china and japan's second biggest mobile carrier, kdbi which carries apple's iphone. that will be interesting to see

and we'll watch the shares throughout the day. >> thanks a lot ramin, ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock ex-change. as he told us we're seeing a negative start to our stock markets today. let's see how other asian markets are doing. engineers at the ohi plant in central japan have you canned is in getting a second reactor generating power at full capacity. the nuclear facility is the first to resume operations since last year's accident at fukushima daiichi.

the number four reactor reached full capacity wednesday. the number 4 reactor restarted on july 18th. ohi's number 3 reactor resumed operation earlier this month and is also running at full capacity. the two reactors have the biggest output of those run by kan decide electric. the service area covers the country's second largest city of osaka. >> translator: we are now able to provide enough stable electricity. this is a big relief. >> power-saving targets will now be lifted on the service areas of three other ustilts in central and western japan. the government gave the go ahead for ohi's restart last month saying its safety has been confirmed, but a panel of experts is calling for a fresh survey of underground cracks at the plant to check if they are active faults. new research into last

year's fukushima nuclear accident that workers' attempts to reduce danger in fact caused a substantial radiation leak. researchers from tokyo university and japan's atomic energy agency examined operation records at the plant's number 2 reactor. they compared these with radiation data from the surrounding environment. the group examined radiation data from a monitoring post at the fukushima daini plant, about 10 kilometers south of the daiichi plant. data shows radiation spiked three times from the night of march 14th to the morning of the 15th. a wind was blowing south from the daiichi plant. at that time, workers at the number 2 reactor were desperately trying to cool it down. they were unable to pump water into the reactor because of extreme pressure inside caused by steam buildup. the workers decided to open safety valves to release the steam into a containment vessel

around the reactor. but the researchers suspect that the reactor's fuel might have already started melting down, damaging the containment vessel and releasing radiation into the atmosphere. this would explain the high radiation levels found at the monitoring post. each spike occurred about one hour after workers attempts to relieve the pressure. a japan atomic energy agency senior researcher says it's serious if an operation designed to protect the reactor led to a significant radiation release. >> translator: i think workers at the site had no choice but to relieve the pressure inside the reactor. >> the researchers say the radiation from reactor 2 was 10 to 20 times higher than other reactors, which suffered hydrogen explosions. workers have been using

water to keep the reactors cool. now they have a massive amount of radioactive water to clean up, 170,000 tons in all. engineers believe they've found a solution. right now workers at fukushima daiichi use a tool that only removes cesium. the new device unveiled tuesday can neutralize cesium along with 60 other contaminants including strontium and cobalt. water contains radioactive materials. operators at fukushima hope to test the new device in early september. they haven't decided what they'll do with the water once it's filtered, so it will be stored on site. the operators of a nuclear facility north of fukushima daiichi are trying to learn from last year's disaster. they've run a drill aimed at protect the the plant's three reactors. facilitators role play the

magnitude of the tsunami hitting the power company's plant in miyagi prefecture. some 350 workers practiced restoring energy in the event the generators broke down. onagawa workers also practiced injecting water into reactors using special vehicles introduced last march. children who experienced the earthquake and tsunami last year have been creating craft work with debris from the disaster. a special exhibition of the work was held in italy. what sort of feelings are the children putting in their work? nhk world's michelle yamamoto reports. >> reporter: this is an exhibition of craft work by children who survived last year's march disaster.

they're unique. every item on display has a face, and it's very charming. all these one-of-a-kind items are made of wreckage from the disaster that's been dug out piece by piece, washed away driftwood, kitchen tools, buckets, have all been given new life. look over there, another funny face, but in fact, it used to be a sandal. these are all the work of children who survived the disaster. they're full of humor, which makes visitors smile. >> translator: it's amazing that every work has a smiling face. >> ishinomaki city, miyagi prefecture, is the home of the children who created the craftwork. local people are still tackling the debris.

these children took part in the project to create the work that's now on display. on the first day of their holiday, the children got together for the project. although the large mounds of debris had been cleared, small items still remained. artist tomu inuguye encourages the children to put their thoughts into what they create. he's known for his talent for turning driftwood and waste materials into art.into what th. he's known for his talent for turning driftwood and waste materials into art.thoughts int. he's known for his talent for turning driftwood and waste materials into art. ra then they started making their artwork on their own. they really enjoyed what they were doing and their work was surprisingly interesting. >> reporter: 11-year-old suzunae imai lost her grandmother in the tsunami, but she's held on in the hard-hit town, for the past year.e imai r in the tsunami, but she's held on in the hard-hit town, for the past year.

suzune has come to the beach with her friends to find wreckages for their craftwork, but she stays in the car. now the work begins. this piece was a surprise. all of suzune's work in past exhibitions had smiling faces, but recently, after taking a break for a few months, she's been creating faces that look angry or upset.

suzune says that she tried to think only happy thoughts shortly after the disaster, but now, she wants to let all her feelings burst out as they come to her. >> translator: i think it's goo you're getting back on your feet, not right after a disaster. that's why i think it's important for them to put their current feelings into their work. >> reporter: tomo, the project's organizer, plans to continue his efforts to encourage the children's creativity. he also wants to set up a studio where they can exhibit their work. it could become a place where

these children own children one day to explain what happened in march, 2011. nhk world, michelle yamamoto. in other stories we're following here on "newsline," south korean prosecutors have arrested a long time aide of president lee myung-bak on bribery allegations. kim hee-jung was arrested for allegedly accepting money and goods worth about $87,000 from a bank chairman. kim had recently held a senior post at the presidential office. he is the third to be arrested. the president's brother is under arrest for allegedly accepting bribes while he was a lawmaker. president lee issued a statement apologizing to the public for the series of scandals involving people close to him. some south korean media have begun calling lee a lame duck president.

filipino president beanything doubenigno aquinosed his state of the nation to appeal to the people on the issue. charmaie deogracias reports. >> reporter: in his annual speech on monday, president aquino stood firm against china about sovereignty of islands in the south china sea. he announced plans to strengthen the armed forces with one new frigot and two new helicopters for the navy as well as two transport planes for the air force.

>> reporter: when it comes to military power, the philippines can only dream of matching china. the navy still uses old u.s. ships dating back to world war ii. plans to upgrade the fleet include purchasing more recent secondhand american vessels. on the diplomatic front, there are also challenges. at this month's asean foreign ministers meeting, the philippines wanted the bloc to recognize in writing a recent standoff between its vessels and ships from china. but the chair country cambodia refused. cambodia's biggest financial supporter is china. criticism of the president's handling of the south china sea affair is rising.

aquino used his speech to call for public support. >> reporter: the south china sea looks likely to dominate important meetings later this year including the asean and east asia summits. before then, aquino's challenge is to unite asean and to win backing from the international community, especially the united states. charmaine deogracias, nhk world, manila. we go to sayaka mori now for a look at the weather forecast. >> typhoon vincente is downgraded, and winds are dying down, heavy rain will continue because the system will continue

to drag ample moisture from the south, so areas, northern vietnam, and laos, you're going to continue to cope with heavy rain throughout the day. up towards the north, we have a low pressure system moving into the beijing area. if you remember record amounts of rain battered this area over the weekend, so any additional rain is not good news, however, thundershowers will likely continue into tomorrow. as for japan, staying stormy across the northern half of japan. thunderstorms, gusting winds, and even hail are expected. all right, temperature wise, getting up to 32 degrees in kyo, so very hot. sweltering hot conditions will likely continue into the weekend, but hotter than tokyo across the western half of japan, we've got heat advisories in place across this area. out towards the west, 29 in beijing because of the heavy rain. all right, moving into the

americas, many areas are experiencing stormy weather and hot conditions. we've got still -- we've got a low-pressure system and frontal line stretching from the northern plains into the eastern u.s., spreading thundershowers. it looks like over the next 24 hours, severe weather will be shifting towards the great lakes region and we'll likely see flooding rain in parts of minnesota and wisconsin. well, down towards the south, monsoonal moisture is still providing -- still producing rain across the central and southern rockies today. and to the north, stormy weather's continuing in alberta and saskatchewan, but that will be shifting towards the east. temperature wise, to the south of the front, heat is still continuing, 40 degrees in which cheetah, ten degrees higher than average, 37 degrees expected in chicago on your wednesday. all right, finally let's take a look at what's happening across europe. ongoing thunderstorms and heavy rain in italy and the western

balkan peninsula will finally move into central europe, but remaining stormy in the west coast of norway. it looks like heavy rain in the central location of the british isles should be dissipating over the next 24 hours or so, and down towards the south, we're expecting much needed rain for the buy iberian peninsula on wednesday. many locations are experiencing above-average temperatures. getting up to 30 degrees in london and the same goes to paris. very hot in madrid with a high of 37 degrees, and out towards the east, 28 in warsaw and 29 in kiev. the balkan peninsula, still dealing with excessive heat. look at this, 37 in bucharest and the same goes for athens on your wednesday. all right, that's it for me now, and here's your extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. xnóx

huell howser: hello, everybody. i'm huell howser, and we're taking a road trip to hangtown. >> well, here we are in gold country at a very historic spot. >> well, here we are in gold