china's official news agency announced that wang has been indicted. he was once head of the public security bury eau. he led an anti-gang and corruption campaign there under bo's watch. in february wang was dismissed as vice mayor. he fled to a u.s. consulate, and then investigators started to question him on allegations of corruption. that triggered a series of events that led to bo's downfall. bo is now under investigation for violating communist party discipline. bo's wife was given a suspended death sentence last month for murdering british businessman neil haywood. she say wang tried to cover up the involvement in the murder. china is hinting at possible countermeasures against the japanese government's plan to purchase the senkaku islands in the east china sea. japanese officials said earlier that the gover a broad agreement to buy the

eyelets from the owner to establish effective control in a peaceful manner. chinese foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated that the islands belonged to china. >> translator: japan is moving to nationalize the islands. this hurts the chinese people's feelings. >> hong said china is watching developments and will take necessary measures to defend it's sovereignty. a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off coast ka resta reeic. officials ish ued a tsunami warning. it occurred at the pacific ocean on wednesday.

the epicenter was 141 kilometers off the coast of the capital, san jose. the focus is estimated to be 40 kilometers deep. the earthquake damaged building in the capital and it knocked out power and telephone service in some areas. a costa rican television station broadcast video of people fleeing a shopping center and hospital right after the quake struck. it cut water supplies in some locations. some people are having difficulty getting information about the earthquake. there was a brief scare at france's oldest nuclear plant. steam leaked out during routine maintenance, but the operator says no radioactivity leaked from the facility. the leak occurred at the hauh hin complex in eastern france. spokesperson for the operator say hydrogen and peroxide water generated a burst of steam in a chemical reaction. they say the work was being

carried out in a separate facility away from reactors. officials from the plant union say two workers were slightly burned. in april a minor fire occurred at the 34-year-old plant. president hollande as pledged to close the facility during his term in office. two of japan's nuclear operators have decided to conduct surveys about a nuclear power plant and reactor in central japan. they'll check whether active faults below the facilities pose a threat. the surveys will be conducted at the mihama nuclear power plant and at the experimental fast breeder reactor monju. the operators submitted their survey plans to the nuclear and industrial safety agency on wednesday. the move is in response to inspection orders issued by the regulator.

they say if active faults located 500 to 1,000 meters away shift, the two reactors will move as well. the underground survey will try to determine when these rifts have moved in the past. the analyses will also include a study of geographical features outside the facility and the nearby sea. they plan to conduct the surveys over a six-month period and report the results by the end of next march. policymakers around the world are trying to figure out how to protect against the risks a slowdown. many hope central banks will do more to stimulate the economy. we have that story and more from the business desk. what's the focus now? >> katherine, we have some important central bank meetings coming up this week and next weekend. the next big focus is obviously the european central bank's policy meeting. policymakers are set to discuss a new government bond purchase

program on thursday. they aim to stabilize the bond market and lower the borrowing costs for european nations with mounting debts. the ecb has proposed certain conditions for buying state bonds. individual euro zone nations need to contribute bonds for the operation. struggling nations asking for help need to commit to returning their fiscal status back to health. the german bank opposes the program and says it would threaten the central bank's dependence. they say they plan to discuss a possible cut in the key interest rate to boost economic growth. the euro zone economy shrank again due to the ongoing debt problems. now let's get a check on the markets. overnight u.s. stock prices ended mixed again. to see how they're trading thursday in tokyo, we go to ramin standing by.

ramin, how are things kicking off this thursday? >> very good morning. let's have a look at the opening levels for the nikkei and the t topix. they're both trading just bea y barelies in positive and they're up a tenth of a percent. let's not forget the nikkei closed at a one month low on wednesday and it was down for a fifth straight day. china-related stocks were lower and continued concerns about the u.s. economies not helped by a stronger yen in the last couple of days. economic recovery in japan also a major focus for investors as political gridlock sets in here with on opposing political parties at loggerheads over aa bill which at its center surrounding the issuance of debt-covering bonds. if that bill is derailed, there could be more of a big issue regarding long-term direction of

interest rates here in japan. so we're going to be focusing on that as well. now, apart from interest rates, of course currency markets are a major focus. we've been touching on the european central bank meeting later today, and the euro has been trading slightly higher against the yen and just having a look at some of the currency levels for this thursday as tokyo stocks kick off and the currency markets, of course, are a major focus. dollar yen at the top of the screen relatively unchanged, but euro yen now is 98.79 to 82. that's a big focus, of course, up to and following the european central bank meeting later today. >> ramin, katherine was talking about risks of an economic slowdown, and it seems like everybody is talking about the next week being vital for markets. what is exactly at risk? >> you touched on it and katherine touched on it.

the european central bank meeting later today. of course the news conference by mario draghi. he's talked a lot about the euro and bond buying. and investors, traders and market players want to know if that comes through. tomorrow the other event risk is the u.s. jobs numbers, which is going to be crucial to see any direction for the u.s. economy. next week the fomc meeting, which wraps on thursday. before that, of course, then there's a german court ruling which has a lot to do with the european bailout funds. if that doesn't go through, then that will give a lot of headaches for eu leaders and traders and market investigators. quite a lot there for investors to take in with politics, key data and a lot of other events which may play into markets. back to you. >> thank you very much. that was ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. well, spain and greece are struggling with their debt crisis, finland has the top aaa

credit rating in the euro zone. the finnish prime minister stresses that the nation is committed to the euro, but he has some reservations on the extent europe should help ailing member nations. we spoke with them in tokyo to find out more. >> good morning. >> good morning. very good to see you. >> first of all, the european financial crisis, what is your current assessment, and what is your view on the eu's actions so far? >> i'm a little bit more optimistic, because now there's serious talks and plans about what can be done. countries like italy sp spaiand are doing an extremely good job at the moment. they're doing austerity measures. >> despite the prime minister's positive assessment on recent developments, he had some

doubts. >> people are tired for the bailout packages. we don't like the idea of euro bonds, because we think that it's always good if sovereign states or countries are responsible for its own debt. we don't not to take to market pressure from the sovereign bond market, because it's always stronger than a political surveillance. >> so i guess you're telling us that if finland is taking responsibility, countries such as greece and italy should take responsibility as well? >> our proposal has been that the countries in the situation would issue covergovernment bon meaning they can use them as a cover or the collateral to the private investors. we did the same at the beginning of the '90s. we securityized government

housing loans and used them as collateral to the private investors. we succeeded to lower the interest rate very substantially. so this could be part of the solution, and then eu can do what it sees is wise to do. they must find a sustainable way to make sure that europe will last. >> just minutes away from the european central bank's policy meeting, the prime minister said that the bank was moving in the right direction, but he warned that we cannot rely solely on ecb support. >> it's been really reliable partner during the crisis, and they have done a good job. i hope that there is not overlapping expectations, because the central bank of europe cannot devise new things every week. draghi has said what he said

earlier, and they behaved accordingly. no need to expect too much every week. foreign and trade ministers at the asia-pacific economic cooperation forum are preparing to begin their second day of talks the russia's far east sfe. they're trying to reach a deal on cutting tariffs in pacific rim economies. the ministers from the 21 economies discussed how to respond to the rising prior of agriculture products on wednesday. they agreed to eliminate protection measures or resort to export controls, but they failed to bridge differences on reducing tariffs on environment related products. japan insisted that expanding free trade and environment products will contribute to the region's economic growth. china and other countries intent on promoting their domestic industries took a more cautious position. that's all for new in biz

news. here's a recap of the latest market figures. summer is still here in the northern hemisphere, but japanese toy manufacturers are thinking of winter, christmas to be exact. they're showing off their latest products at a two-day trade fair in tokyo. we go there. >> it's beginning to look a lot like christmas in one corner of

tokyo. there's a tree, plenty of toys and even a handful of santa girls. christmas is still more than 100 days away, but japanese toy manufacturers are getting ready. 51 of them are displaying more than 10,000 products at this trade show. the event is for buyers and sellers only. people who work in the toy industry are excited to see what's on offer. >> i came here to check out the toys. >> the event is a chance for japanese toy manufacturers to show how they're adapting to changing times. >> translator: it's true that our market has been struggling because of the decrease in the number of children, but we have been making efforts to expand

the market by developing toys targeting adults and using high technology. >> many toy manufacturers are trying to integrate smartphones with their programs. this is called a smart pet. you can't interact like you can with a real dog, but you can still get a react. users can feed them virtual food and make them come when called. manufacturers say children find these types of toys easy to use because their parents are exposed them to smartphones and tablet computers. >> translator: it has become a favorite toy with families and with people interested in having pets. we will start selling this within the year in the u.s. and in the uk. >> this book is aimed at

japanese parents who want to expose their children to english from an early age. it teaches kids how to you pronounce basic english words. >> tiger. >> then there are toys that only require dexterity and a bit of imagination. nanoblock has become a hit in japan and abroad. manufacturers sell passes and pieces that can build specific landmarks such as world heritage sites and the new tokyo skytree. experts say adults are showing more interest this this product than children. more than 80% of these toys are currently produced in china, but given the increase in chinese labor costs, manufacturers are looking elsewhere in asia. >> translator: we have to consider the risk of basing production in one country. companies are attempt ing to

diversify their plants looking at countries such as thailand, philippines, vietnam and even myanmar. >> santa claus won't start delivering toys for a few months, but the elves who help load up his sleigh are doing what technical to make sure the gifts this year will delight and inspire. nhk world, tokyo. every three years a major arts festival is held. this year one of the events was staged in an area known for heavy snowfall. it was a dance with a difference. >> winter in niigata. the snow is deep. the plows have plenty to do. but in the heat of summer, it's

unusual to see snowplows in action, least of all performing ballet. an american artist came up with the idea. she was inspired to create this ballet as she was fascinated by the unusual shapes of the snowplows. >> it's surreal. it's weird. and maybe shifting, shifting what you usually see and i want to say to them look at them. look how wonderful they are. >> 13 snow workers agreed to lend their operating skills to a performance of the tragic love story romeo and juliet. >> translator: as long as our teamwork is good, we can evoke

feeling even using machines. i hope the audience feels the emotion underlying this work. >> in ballet the dancers have to be in harmony, but plow operators usually work solo. synchronizing the movement of their trucks doesn't come eas y easily. >> will it take long? >> i'll do my best. >> through a process of trial and error, the on the choreography. the day of the performance arrives. about 300 people have come from across the country to see this unique performance, a snow plow ballet.

all their hard work and practice pays off. the movements of the machines are perfectly synchronized. the four-wheeled romeo and juliet take center stage. they express their love through the subtle coordination of the movement. but the lovers are parted. love and sorrow, even though the dancers are just machines, the emotions are very real.

>> translator: they express complex emotion, human emotion. it was great. >> through the medium of dance with humor, people are being inspired to look in a different way at the snow plows that are part of life many winter in the snow country. >> the snowplow ballet will be performed again on september 15th also. let's now go to rachel ferguson for a check on world weather. >> we're going to see a lot of thunderstorms across japan today. there's a long front line currently aaffecting the sea of japan side of the country. you could see gusts of 60 kilometers an hour and about 100 millimeters of rain in some places with this system. it will move towards the east most of the day. in beijing, short time rain and

nothing too severe. along the coast and towards the south of china weapon find persistent rain. it's been raining fairly heavily for most of the week. likewise vietnam is going to be seeing heavy rain as will northern and central parts of thailand. that heavy rain has been ongoing, and it certainly will up the risk of continued flooding. all right. temperature-wise those very hot temperatures are starting to subside as we head into autumn, but we will see a warm day in tokyo, 32 degrees, 34 in taipei, meanwhile towards the north 24 in beijing, so a little cooler here. okay. let's head into the americas and talk about hurricane leslie which is this massive cloud you see here. it's heading to bermuda and is intensifying and is expected to be a category 2 storm before it moves over bermuda for the time being. it's moving slowly and

erratically at the moment, but is generating strong winds which in turn generate sea swells which affect bermuda and the northern leeward islands and virgin islands and puerto rico. that's something to be cautious of near the water. dangerous rip currents could result. we have a low sitting here towards the eastern gulf of mexico coast, and this one looks like it could develop. we're seeing some showers here towards florida, but this one certainly looks like it could intensify. just keeping a close on eye on it into thursday today. meanwhile heavy rain from the mid-atlantic up through eastern canada. we'll see a few thunderstorms in that, too, and pretty intense thunderstorms through the great lakes region into the lower mississippi valley. illinois and indiana looks like they get the worst of it today. we talk about damaging winds and the potential of hail as well. it's looking clear and calm and much cooler as well for example

in vancouver. 24 degrees is not too bad, 20 in winnipeg but we have persistent heat in oklahoma city at 37. as for europe, things are fairly quiet through much of central europe and in towards the east, but there's a very persistent low over italy and sending storms through into the eastern/western balance kakans d say. thursday is still fairly stormy. to the north we have just a series of systems, lots of moisture coming in. there's a low sitting over iceland at the moment and another one. that's coming into northern portions of the british isles as well as canada nascandinavia. temperatures are going to be cooler to the north, 15 in stockholm and 18 in berlin. we have 34 in athens and out towards the stwouthwest and 32

lisbon as well as wildfires here. i'll leave you with your extended forecast.

one more story before we leave you. two astronauts have stepped outside the international space station again. they went on a spacewalk to finish a job they'd left undone. japanese astronaut hoshi and his american colleague tried a week ago to buckle down a power switching unit but they couldn't attach it. they had better luck this time. they coaxed it into place and restored a key part of the station's power system. they replaced a camera attached to a robotic arm. it took them six and a half hours. that wraps up this edition of "newsline." thanks for joining us.

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howser: well, there we were on a picture-perfect california morning, heading out to san miguel island, one of our state's channel islands. now, any good map will tell you san miguel is located 55 nautical miles off the coast of ventura, and it's 8 miles long, 4 miles wide. what a map won't tell you are the rich human stories