♪ dreamliner down. the crew of a boeing 787 makes an emergency landing in southern japan. the people who make the dreamliner passenger plane have spent the past few weeks responding to incident after incident. now they'll be forced to respond to another one. officials at an airport in western japan say an all nippon airways boeing 787 has made an

emergency landing. the officials at takamatse airport say the crew detected smoke. the officials say the plane was heading from an airport in yamaguchi prefecture, western japan, to hanada airport in tokyo. it was carrying 129 passengers and eight crew members. airline officials say they evacuated the plane shortly after landing. authorities at the airport closed the runway. officials at the departing airport say they didn't notice anything unusual before the plane took off. dreamliners have suffered a series of technical problems this month, including a battery fire and several fuel leaks. two explosions have torn through a university in aleppo, northern syria. activists say 83 people were killed, dozens wounded. it's not clear who is behind the attack. the explosions blew the walls off buildings at the university of aleppo and set cars on fire. government and opposition forces have competing narratives of

what happened. the state-run news agency blamed opposition fighters. it said what it called terrorists fired rockets, killing students and people taking shelter in the dormitories. and opposition activists said government forces were responsible. the activists quoted a student as saying that students were taking exams when planes attacked. opposition fighters have renewed their offensive in the area of northern syria around aleppo. government forces have responded with air strikes. international nuclear inspectors are hoping to get back to a place they've wanted to return to for years. a team from the international atomic energy agency has left for iran. the inspectors want to get into a military site they believe may be used to develop nuclear weapons. the inspectors have made repeated requests to visit the facility southeast of tehran. they believe iranian scientists have tested explosives at the parchin military complex as part of an effort to produce nuclear weapons. but government officials have

received them access. they say the facility has nothing to do with nuclear development. >> we hope that we will be allowed to go to parchin and if access is granted we will welcome the chance to do so. >> representatives of six countries are taking another diplomatic tack. they're scheduled to meet with iranian officials later this month in istanbul. now, israeli leaders have threatened military action if the diplomatic efforts do not resolve the standoff. indian prime minister manmohan singh said relations with pakistan are no longer business as usual. he's criticizing pakistanis for what he called a barbaric act in the disputed region of kashmir. the indian and pakistani militaries fought three times last week along the line that divides them. soldiers on both sides were killed. indian government officials have

asked their pakistani counterparts to investigate the deaths of two indian soldiers whose bodies were mutilated. the pakistanis have dismissed the allegations as propaganda. india and pakistan have fought two wars over kashmir. diplomats started talking again two years ago to improve ties. but indians have been demanding that their leaders take a hard-line stance since the fighting resumed. transport safety is a constant issue in egypt. a military train derailed just south of cairo early on tuesday. at least 19 people were killed and over 100 injured. the train was traveling from central egypt to cairo carrying 1,300 soldiers. the last two cars detached and derailed. one of the soldiers said there were problems before the accident. he said the train kept stopping. a hospital official near the site said many victims were in critical condition. two months ago a train and a school bus collided in the

central province of assiut. over 50 people died. president mohamed morsi appointed a new transport minister this month to overhaul the railway system. executives at japanese manufacturing firms are starting to get excited. economic conditions could be tilting in their favor. ai uchida joins us now from the business desk. so ai, what's changing for manufacturers? >> catherine, it could be the weakening yen. you might remember it started to weaken last november. japanese government officials just released data for that month that showed that companies are investing in more equipment for themselves. it's machinery orders, a key economic indicator on corporate capital spending. officials say machinery orders in november rose for a second straight month. cabinet officials said on wednesday major machinery makers received over $8 billion worth of domestic orders in november 2012. now, that's up nearly 4% from the previous month in yen terms.

the figure excludes orders in the volatile ship building and power plant sectors. orders from manufacturers grew by almost 4%. those from non-manufacturers also rose more than 6%. and let's now get a check on markets. first we're going to look at stocks. tokyo share prices are lower as investors are taking profits after four sessions of gains. the nikkei average at 10,757. that is a loss of 1.1% from tuesday's close. now, sources say market players are selling export-related issues as well as other overbought stocks as a pause in the yen's weak trend is weighing on sentiment. speaking of which, the dollar is slightly lower against the yen. profit-taking is kicking in here too. this is after the u.s. currency had reached the upper 89-yen level on tuesday. currently, it's at 88.46-51. now, some traders are still

placing buy orders on the dollar. that's because some expect the bank of japan will come up with bold actions at its next policy meeting. more on that in just a few minutes. but the euro's also lower against the yen. the euro/yen currently changing hands at 117.74-76. taking a look at other markets in the asia pacific region, south korea's kospi, that's trading higher. up half a percent. 1,994. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is up by 1/3 of a percent. 4,733. well, policy makers at japan's central bank will discuss whether to take further money-boosting steps at a two-day meeting starting next week. they're apparently responding to the governments call for more powerful measures to tackle deflation and support the nation's recovery. a 2% inflation goal is expected to be included in a document to be exchanged between the bank of japan and the government. the b.o.j. policy makers are to

show in writing how they plan to achieve the target requested by prime minister shinzo abe. now, it's likely to be a joint statement and not a legally binding policy accord that abe had originally sought. the aim is to maintain the central bank's independence. b.o.j. policy makers are considering expanding their asset purchase program to inject more liquidity into the money markets. the current limit for buying government bonds and other assets is about $1.1 trillion. now, as the central bank and the government are moving toward closer collaboration, economic revitalization minister akira amari has decided to attend next week's b.o.j. meeting. amari is expected to inform the central bank that the government plans to do its best in achieving economic growth. it's also anticipated he may urge the central bank to work on bold measures for more monetary easing. generally, senior cabinet members and not a minister

attend the b.o.j. policy board meeting. more business headlines for you next hour. here's a check on markets. ♪ ♪ japanese prime minister shinzo abe is setting off on his first overseas trip since taking office last month. he's taking a tour of southeast asian countries. abe will make stops in vietnam, thailand, and indonesia. government officials say he's trying to organize a coordinated

response to chinese maritime activities. they say he wants to work with other leaders to guarantee free and safe navigation through the east china sea and the south china sea. the officials say abe and his counterparts will discuss intrusions by chinese ships into japanese waters near the senkaku islands. japan controls the islands. china and taiwan also claim them. abe says china has tried to change the status quo by force and unilaterally escalate the situation. hundreds of fans have gathered to show their support for a popular chinese author. he's expressed his support for journalists who have been censored by chinese officials. more than 800 people came to a book signing event in shenzhen for li chengpeng. he writes about social injustice in china. officials forced the southern weekly newspaper to rewrite an editorial calling for social freedom and democracy. li wrote on the internet that china does not need an aircraft

carrier. he said it needs a newspaper that reports the truth. users have been spreading what he's written. authorities banned li from speaking at an autograph signing session in sichuan province. he wore a face mask in protest. at an event in beijing he was punched and threatened with a knife. >> translator: i'm angry about the way the authorities censored this. >> translator: no one can distort public opinion. >> reporter: several protesters scuffled with li's fans outside the venue in shenzhen. police had to intervene. the internet is now part of everyday life for more than 40% of china's population. that's up nearly 51 million from a year before. and most of them use mobile phones to go online. a survey shows 564 million people in china had internet access at the end of last year. 420 million of them access the web through mobile phones,

including smartphones. the number grew 18% since a year ago. more than half of china's internet users have accounts for the country's version of twitter called weibo. criticisms against government corruption and the widening income gap appear often. the service now has 309 million accounts. the chinese government introduced a law last month to oblige internet users to register their real names for online services. it says the measure's designed to protect personal information. but many users don't buy that. they suspect the government is trying to tighten controls. school children on an island off central japan follow a rather unusual curriculum. they serve as tour guides to visitors to their community. and most of them have plenty of

nerves ahead of their debut. >> reporter: sugashima is a sleepy little island with a population of about 700. it's a quiet place where life moves at a slow pace. but sugashima has a long history and this attracts visitors. five years ago the island served a program for third-graders to train as tour guides. for the children it's quite a challenge to talk to people they have never met before. today, a professional guide has come to the island to show the children how to lead a tour. but most of the children are

very shy. the children don't know what to say to visitors they're meeting for the first time. it's a worry. one of the third-graders is mi kodera. the night before her debut as a tour guide, she talks it over with her mother. >> translator: mii is very shy and doesn't know how to talk to strangers. finding out things about the island and trying to explain them to other people will help her in other aspects of her life. >> translator: tomorrow is the big day.

>> reporter: a group of 40 people have arrived to visit the island. they've come from near and far. the children start their first ever tour. when a visitor takes mii's hand, her shyness disappears. the visitors spot something intriguing. they walk up the hill in the center of the island. after 30 minutes they reach an old concrete building.

next, its mii's turn. she found it wasn't so hard speaking with strangers. at the end of the tour the visitors are given special presents, little bottles filled with shells and sea glass that the children collected from the beach. >> translator: being shown around by these sweet young guides in this natural environment, it's really given me a fresh energy. >> reporter: for these young tour guides showing visitors around the island they call home is also a great opportunity to grow up.

every year at this time scientists race to the antarctic. they use the small window of summer to study the frozen continent. more and more they're documenting changes they believe are linked to global warming. australian researchers have a strong presence at the south pole. they're essentially in their back yard. nhk world's takeo nakajima shows us what they're working on. >> reporter: it's summer in antarctica, and it's a busy time for animals, from penguins to scientists. experts at australia's four observation bases are hard at work, documenting climate change. they are also seeing its effects firsthand. planes use ice runways to bring in researchers and goods.

but those runways haven't been as reliable in recent years. when temperatures rise above minus 5 degrees celsius the surface begins to melt. that makes landing and taking off risky. 80% of flights planned in 2011 had to be canceled. >> the season when we can use it -- or to turn it around, the part of the season when we can't use the runway will get longer and longer. so it's natural that we would be looking and we will be looking at other alternatives for moving people in and out of antarctica. >> reporter: australia's antarctic division in tasmania oversees south pole operations. we went to the southeastern island to talk via satellite link with a base leader. >> can you tell us the general information of your base? >> casey station is the largest

of australia's research bases in antarctica, and during summer we can have 100 or more people here at our peak times. most of the science is done during summer. that's when the animals are here. that's when the day is longest. so there's more opportunity to work. >> reporter: the experts are trying to understand the impact of climate change by examining links between ice volume and wildlife. this unmanned apparatus can check the condition of underwater ice. it can precisely measure thickness and record changes in volume. scientists also use krill as a sort of canary in the coalmine. the small crustaceans live below the ice, and they are a key food source for marine animals. but estimates suggest their

population is in decline. antarctic division in tasmania breeds krill in antarctic conditions. researchers officially change the environment to monitor the impact on crustaceans. they are trying to find out if the thinning of the ice could affect krill numbers. bigger animals at the south pole provide even more data. scientists in the university of tasmania have attached small devices on elephant seals to record their movements and the temperature of the sea where they swim. they're aiming to determine how changes in the ice volume and water temperature affect behavior. >> the elephant seal numbers have been declining over the last 20 or 30 years. and it's almost certainly due to some change in the marine environment. we can make predictions about how the animals are going to

respond as the climate changes into >> reporter: australian officials and experts say their effort isn't just academic but realistic and practical too. >> certainly climate change is a really big concern to us. concerned about antarctica because of the impact it has and the practical consequences. it affects the ocean around it and therefore the fisheries upon which we rely. >> reporter: some of these studies have been going on for a few years. some only a month. those involved hope the project will provide important information to help in the fight against global climate change. takeo nakajima, nhk world, hobart, tasmania. time now to get a check on the weather. people on the streets in tokyo are watching their step as they get around today. meteorologist sayaka morery explains.

>> hi there. on monday we saw very heavy snow in tokyo. because we are not used to heavy snow, people are having trouble walking on icy roads. let's take a look at some video from tokyo. people on japan's pacific coast woke up to frigid temperatures today. tokyo's snow was melting. but when temperatures plummeted the slush froze. icy roads are making it difficult for people to commute. and the cold isn't helping. tokyo's snow is still four centimeters deep. so quite dangerous situation out here. snow is affecting northern japan, but that's easing. however, the next disturbance is moving into the same locations, bringing a new mixture of snow and rain once again. out toward the west a big high pressure system is keeping things dry and settled across mongolia, china, as well as the korean peninsula. we are still -- we have still dense fog alert posted for some locations in china, but as this high pressure system descends

down conditions will finally ease tomorrow this afternoon. down toward the south this low pressure system is dumping torrential rain across mindanao. rain will also spread into visayas as we head into tomorrow. temperatures are looking like this. not too bad in tokyo. 7 degrees here. 0 degrees in seoul. and 2 degrees in beijing. and down toward the south 19 in hong kong and the 30s in bangkok as well as manila. in north america across the southeast lots of things are happening. this is due to a stalled front as well as a strong low pressure system. we have actually winter storm advisories and warnings posted for eastern texas up into new england. new england, you could be seeing as much as 20 centimeters of snow into the next 24 hours. flood warnings are posted for the green areas, and we also have ice storm warnings posted for the areas colored in dark purple. ice storm warnings mean that

there will be a thick layer of ice on roads so, traveling is quite dangerous. actually, travel is strongly discouraged. but if you must travel, keep an extra flashlight and bring some food and water for emergency cases. out toward the west, looking dry, and lots of sunshine for you and temperatures are on the rise. we will show you the figures in just a moment. but snow showers affecting central canada and the dakotas because of strong winds. you could feel much colder than the actual numbers. minus 19 degrees expected in winnipeg on wednesday. in contrast, 20 degrees in los angeles. 23 is your expected highs on your thursday as well as friday. and out toward the east, 5 degrees in new york city. you could be seeing some sleet on wednesday. that's it for now. and here's your extended forecast. ♪

♪ ♪

♪ our lead story this hour, officials at an airport in western japan say an all nippon airways boeing 787 has made an

emergency landing. the officials at takamatsu airport say the crew detected smoke. the plane was heading from an airport in yamaguchi prefecture, western japan, to hanada airport in tokyo. the transport ministry says the pilot reported to airline officials that there was smoke in the cockpit. the plane was carrying 129 passengers and eight crew members. officials say everyone on board got out safely. authorities at the airport closed the runway. officials at the departing airport say they didn't notice anything unusual before the plane took off. dreamliners have suffered a series of technical problems this month, including a battery fire and several fuel leaks. we'll be bringing you more on this story as the details come in. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the hour.