long road ahead. authorities in the u.s. investigate the dreamliner and find its batteries could keep it on the ground for sometime to come. u.s. transportation investigators cast doubt on a quick fix for the problems facing the dreamliner. they say regulators need to rethink their approval of batteries used in the boeing 787. a number of agencies are looking in to a string of safety incidents. deborah hershman chairs. she said a lithium ion battery sparked a fire a month ago on a japan airlines yet in boston. >> this investigation has demonstrated that a short circuit in a single cell can propagate to adjacent cells and result in smoke and fire. >> engineers packaged eight cells together in designing the

battery system for the dreamliner. hersman said they did not place them far enough apart so trouble in one of them could affect the others. she said investigators have not determined why the batteries short circuited. another battery fire forced the pilot of a dreamline tore make an emergency last month in western japan. u.s. authorities grounded all 787s. officials at boeing estimated the batteries were likely to cause smoke only once in every 10 million flight hours. japanese government analysts are trying to determine why russian military planes entered japanese airspace. the russian government said the incident never happened. two russian warplanes briefly entered japanese airspace station in the northern prefecture of hokkaido on thursday. forces scrambled to intercept. japan ease foreign ministry immediately launched a protest

with the russian's government. they denied japan's claim. they said no russian planes had entered japanese airspace. japanese officials plan to exchange data they obtained about the incident with their russian counterparts. they said they would try to determine what really happened. japan's government recently been concerned about possible violations of the country's territory. officials have been on the alert since learning that a chinese friday inaugurate locked radar on a japanese destroyer in late january. irani iranian's leaders are raising flags of pakistan. chinese officials announced this week that they would manage a strategic lly important port and not clarified what they'll use it for. a state-run firm will take over management of the port of gadar from a singaporean company. it opened in 2007 and filled with chinese assistance. it's situated near the strait of hor mess.

tankers travel through the waters every day carrying millions of barrels of oil out of the person shan gulf. chinese companies are also help construct and maintain port facilities but india's defense minister has some questions about this deal. defense officials worry the chinese are trying to increase influence in the indian ocean following similar efforts in the south china sea. south korea's next leader is calling people to come together with strategies in dealing with north korea. military leaders in pyongyang are claiming to carry out another nuclear test. >> translator: now is the time for both ruling and opposition parties to unite and call on north korea to stop its reckless behavior.

>> park met with the leader of the opposition democratic united party and the party, hwang woo-yea. they promised to work together. park will be sworn in later this month. she said further nuclear tests head of the ruling could hurt efforts by the south's new government to rebuild trust with the north. they're trying to use their influence with pyongyang. officials say wanted pass along the request that the north koreans exercise restraint and he reportedly dismissed the demands. populous. prosperous. pushing ahead. china's rise brought it wealth, power and problems. an income gap divides its people. pollution threatens their health and disputes at sea strain relations with its neighbors. find out the challenges china faces on "newsline."

officials at japan's finance ministry counting up the value of imports and exports and other cash flows. we have been going over the figures for us. what can you tell us? >> i have to tell you there's more to pay than to make in december. japan recorded a current account deficit for a second straight month in december, that is the first time since 1985 that the current account balance turned to the red for two consecutive months. finance ministry officials say the current account deficit for december about $2.8 billion. the trade balance registered a deficit of about $6 billion. exports fell 6.9% while imports were up about 0.8% from the previous year in yen terms. as a result, the current account surplus for the entire year of 2012 turned out to be the smallest based on comparable data available since 1985. the surplus fell 50.8% from the

previous year to $50.2 billion. and across oceans the president of the european central bank expects the region's weakness to prevail for sometime. policymakers at the bank decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged. it's at record low level to support europe's ailing economy. the members of the central bank decided the rate should be maintained at 0.75% for a seventh month in a row. european central bank president draghi said the decision is essential to support the region's economic activity which remains weak. >> the economic weakness in the euro area is expected to prevail in the early part of 2013. later, in 2013, economic activity should gradually recover, supported by our monetary policy stance. >> draghi said he'll continue

monetary easing measures while carefully watching how foreign exchange rates impact the eurozone's economy and prices. he added a positive sign. he said commercial banks paid back over $180 billion of funds the central bank has provided. he said this reflects improvement in the financial market. and now let's get a check on the markets. first, looking at stocks, tokyo share prices are trading lower as investors are taking profits. market sources say the yen's weakness is showing a pause and that the recent stock rally is supported by the slide in the yen. also, thursday's decline in new york is weighing on market sentiment. the nikkei currently trading at 11,226, a loss of 1.1% from thursday's close. now, moving on to currencies, the dollar is little changed against the yen as japan's current account balance figures were in line with market expectations. the dollar against the yen is changing hands at 93.66-71.

meanwhile, the euro, that's lower against the yen and that's after the ecb president expressed a cautious view on the region's economy. the euro against the yen being quoted at 125.40-45. looking at other markets in the asia-pacific, south korea's kospi up 1,935. let's look at australia. the benchmarken deposition trading higher by .3% at 4,950. well, a prominent u.s. investor set to challenge apple to press for greater shareholder benefits. an investment fund led by david einhorn on thursday took the tech giant to a new york court. the action came amid the company's dwindling stock price. einhorn says apple's management policy fails to ensure benefits alling for retraction and demanding preferred shares with

high dividends. this would unlock the cash hoard to investors. the activist investor wants shareholders oppose the plan for a clause of preferred shares. apple plans to make the change at a shareholders' meeting later this month. last year, apple offered its first dividends to investors in 17 years. the company plans to return $45 billion to shareholders over 3 years. but investor frustration is mounting as apple stock price has tumbled nearly 40% from last september. apple commented on thursday that management is currently discussing an additional cash return to investors. it denied that the proposed change to the articles would prevent issue shans of preferred stock. that's the latest in business for this hour. i'll leave you with a check on markets.

the 57-member organization of islamic cooperation has failed to agree on how to take a stronger stance against syrian president al assad. the group ended a two-day summit in egypt's capital cairo. a statement released in the meeting calls on member nations to play a greater role in ending the fighting in syria. earlier, egyptian president morsi called for stronger support for anti-government syrian forces. he said assad should learn from history it's the people who survive and not the governing forces. but iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is said to have rejected any criticism of the

assad administration. egyptian foreign minister says the leaders failed to include a firm anti-assad position in the statement because of strong resistance from iran, syria's ally. iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini rejected a proposal for direct talks with the united states, saying the country is pushing negotiations with the threat of military force. khomeini spoke on thursday in the capital tehran. the supreme leader say that u.s. politicians should know that pressure and negotiation are not compatible. he also said the ball is in the u.s. court, suggesting he wants to see further action by the country. his remarks come days after u.s. vice president joe biden said the united states is prepared to hold bilateral negotiations with tehran if the talks are real and tangible. negotiators from iran and six major powers including the u.s. will resume talks on february 26th after an eight-month

suspension to discuss iran's nuclear program. environmentalists hope up solar power as a shining example of renewable energy but competition clouded the outlook for people who make polar panels. executives at a japanese firm have their operations elsewhere in an effort to be more efficient. more from nhk world's chikashi takaoka. >> reporter: the factory started shipping home use solar panels on thursday. output will eventually reach some 3 million units a year. demand for solar power is rising rap rapidly, especially in japan and

europe. greater awareness of energy conservation is one factor. programs to facilitate trade in solar and other renewable energy have also helped. but price competition is intensifying. china is the world's biggest maker of solar panels. chinese manufacturers have cut their prices aggressively, putting foreign rivals under pressure. price cutting is the major factor of solar panel industry. in factory in malaysia is expected to reduce the cost of production by 20%. until now, pan sannic produced the key component the solar cells in japan and assembled the panels overseas. by sbeg grating production in one place, the company can reduce costs for transport and personnel. >> translator: price competition could continue to intensify.

we'll keep improving productivity to stay ahead. and improve our performance. >> reporter: solar cells are the critical component for generating solar energy. they contain valuable business secrets that manufacturers fiercely protect. panason panasonic's decision to shift production of solar cells overseas reflect it is brutal price competition is company must endure. nhk world, kadar, malaysia. emerging. citizens demanding democracy. the threat of violence. the push for peace. the shadow of conflict. get news and insight on south and southeast asia every weekday live from bangkok only on nhk world "newsline." from earthquakes to tsunami, when it comes to disasters,

people in japan know just how unforgiving nature can be. since 1997, just two years after the great earthquake, an annual exhi bugs of emergency equipment featured hundreds of products to help save lives in a catastrophe. organizers expect this year's show to attract a record number of people. nhk world's iku tanaka has the story. >> reporter: 226 companies and organizations are taking part in the event in yokahama. nearly two years have passed since the earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern japan. since then, designers have been turning out more and more lifesaving products. for example, is a moving shelter for fleeing from a tsunami. this huge object is actually an emergency shelter with an engine.

the shelter can hold as many as 25 people. it can move at a speed of 10 kilometers an hour for up to 100 kilometers. >> translator: we've had many calls from people interested in boats for escaping from tsunami. we developed this product to meet the demand. >> reporter: other products are for people who have lost their homes. this jacket has 44 pockets that can hold almost everything needed in an emergency. including food, water and blanket. a range of backup water and power supplies is also on display. this device can purify 2 liters of water in just 5 minutes. there is also a portable solar

panel with two wheels. it is small enough to carry around and set up anywhere and can charge 50 cell phones or light up a room for more than 24 hours. in the past, most businesses to the exhibition were civil servants involved in public safety. but organizers say now more people from the private sector are coming to the show. managers are looking for ways to improve disaster preparedness and protect their employees. many remember the events of 2011 when companies struggled to provide food and shelter to their workers. >> translator: we're trying to be fully prepared for various types of disasters. we're here today to learn more about what we can do.

>> reporter: disasters teach us lessons. and there's plenty to learn in disaster-prone japan. through events like this one, more people are learning how they can prepare themselves for the worst. iku tanaka, nhk world, yokohama. from the surface of the earth to distant galaxies, this mysterious image isn't composite or manipulated digitally. this is the work of an amateur japanese photographer. and it's attracting worldwide attention. >> it's gone 10:00 p.m. in the mountains of nagano. time for the photo shoot to start. he is the photographer.

together with his assistant, he's out to take another of his trademark images. the majesty of the night sky with scenes of nature in the foreground. >> i'll open the shutter. >> reporter: he uses a single camera to capture his images. he starts moving away from the camera. he shines his flashlight on some trees about 50 meters away. >> the greater the distance, the longer the exposure that is needed. okay. close the shutter. >> he gives

through a process of trial and error. it's a style that's completely original. last year, the royal greenwich

observatory in england picked him as one of the astronomy photographers of the year and praised him. >> translator: i'm surprised that people abroad chose japanese scenes ahead of the impressive landscapes in other countries. >> reporter: his assistant works as a local camera store. she was so impressed by his photos she asked to work with him. he says his photographs are more successful now thanks to his assistant. this is one of the photos he created called galactic lily. by sharing the workload, they produce images that seem almost three dimensional. on this day, they have gone in to the mountains to capture a typical winter image. the shoot starts at 11:00 p.m. the temperature has dropped to 1 degree celsius with a dusting of frost.

the image is called frosted leaf galaxy. the consolation orion glows majestically out of the winter sky. >> it was really cold but we got some great shots. i'm quite satisfied. >> there's plenty of room for improvement with my lighting methods. >> reporter: his photographs bring together the separate worlds of earth and sky. next, he's planning to add a further dimension by incorporating underwater shots. >> just beautiful there. well, people in northern spain are getting slowed down and in some cases forced to come to complete stop. mai shoji explains in world weather. >> hi there. northern spain is battered by significant amounts of snowfall. take a look at this.

heavy snow has hampered traffic in northern spain causing chaos. about 20 centimeters of snow has fallen over the past 24 hours in some places on thursday. several schools closed and many people were trapped in their cars and queue that went on for kilomet kilometers. more snow is expected today so conditions could get worse. in the satellite picture, you can see really typical winter cloud formation moving in to northern spain, as well. so this is dumping heavy humid flow if the northernerly direction and due to the cold air aloft creating snow clouds and will be continuing like sea-effect snow. down towards immediate trainian region, we have a couple of systems bringing unstable conditions continuously. we have numerous thunderstorm reported and gale force winds of 96 kilometers. another rainmaker towards the east covering moscow, too. out towards the north, the precipitation will be snow and about snowy and windy event for moscow with just temperatures

reaching freezing point. and pamplona where the video came out from, 6 degrees for your high so hence the snow in the evening hours. moving over to the american continent here, we're talking about very big winter storm to be in store for your weekend in the northeast. a couple of systems are involved with this. one is moving towards the east. this is over the great lakes region now bringing wet precipitation and occasion thunderstorms. towards the southeast, another system providing quite another -- quite some amount of thunderstorms, as well. traveling along the atlantic coast in to the weekend by saturday morning, this will be merging and becoming a potent system and battering these areas. we already have blizzard warnings and watches across the regions and includes boston, too, and winter storm advisers in the great lakes region, as well. now, this will be previding about 30 to 60 centimeters of snowfall including manhattan of new york and added with that

wind gusts of 120 kilometers per hour and both combined bringing you blizzard conditions. that means low visibility to about zero in some areas. a lot of flights already canceled. bracing for this storm. and looks like it will be canceling further and added to that the coastal flooding is going to be in the watch. in and around boston, as well, where the temperature is on the rise from yesterday. minus 5. we saw on thursday. but friday, just 1 degree. toronto minus 3. up towards houston, though, really nice and warm at 23 degrees. all right. over here in the eastern continental asia, talking about japan, winter storm warnings. i should say snowstorm warnings is posted widely in the northwestern regions here. gusts of 126 kilometers per hour is in store with waves reaching up to 9 meters high and the snowfall accumulation could be as much as 60 centimeters in 24 hours. here in china, we have got precipitation ongoing event. towards the north, around west

of shanghai, snowfall as much as 10 centimeteraiting for the big event this weekend, with that lunar new year coming up, shanghai, you are looking at 9 degrees for your high on sunday. you are seeing snow right now but that's tapering off in to the weekend and beijing pretty cold there but do bundle up if you have any outdoor plans. here's our extended forecast.