we'll be back at the top of of the hour with more news. >> stay with us.

glad so to have you with us. it's tuesday, march 26th.

theff in syria are packing up and getting ready to move. u.n. spokespersons say about half of their foreign employees will leave the country. >> they have assessed the situation and decided to reduce the presence of international staff in damascus due to conditions. >> motor shells landed near a hotel housing u.n. staff damaging the building and a u.n. vehicle. he says about half of 100 foreign staff members will move to lebanon or egypt. as those employees pull out the secretary general is sending team to investigate allegations by syrian forces. they say they used chemical

weapons near the northern city of aleppo. he hopes the team will not consistent only of u.s. and european investigators. rebel forces are now in control of the african capital. both sides signed a cease-fire? january. the rebels broke the agreement last week when they entered the capital. they took control of the city. their leader named himself interim president. they have announcdenounced the for breaking the cease-fire. the u.n. secretary general is calling for the rule of law to return as soon as possible. he says he's deeply concern over

reports of serious human rights abuses. he's on his first trip abroad as leader. he is spending several days on the continent. a part of the world his country has come to rely on for trade and natural resources. the president delivered a speech at a convention center. chinese aid helped fund the center. the president said the chinese will pursue their own growth while continuing to help their african friends as much as they can and enhancing ties with them. he said financial support will come free of political conditions. some western nations consider human rights issues and democratization. the former president promised

$20 billion in loans to africa over a three year period. a passenger yet that's been sitting idle at airports took to the skies again. problems with the battery system have kept them grounded since january. crews took off on monday at an airport in washington state. the flight lasted two hours. if there's no problems they will conduct a second test flight in the coming days. they are checking the redesign of the battery system and other parts. spokespersons say the company will submit data to the federal aviation to get them to dreamliners again. a 787 made an emergency landing

in western japan because the battery system was emitting spoke. a battery of a japan streamliner caught fire at an airport in boston. boeing representatives say they have delivered 50 dreamliners to eight airlines around the world. about half of the planes are in japan. people with bank accounts in cyprus are worried, angry or both. big depositors will suffer big losses. we have more from the business desk. what's the situation? >> it's a prerequisite for a bail out plan. people with more than a certain level of money in the bank will have to forfeit some of their deposits. on monday an appeal was made to the public. he hopes the agreement will save

hids nation from financial failure. they agreed to the plan. it shuts mediterranean's second largest bank. following the agreement there was a tell televised address. the agreement rules depositor of more than 100,000 euros or $130,000 will have to take losses and deposits of more than 100,000 euros at bank of cyprus will be frozen. all banks have been closed since march 16th to avoid a run on deposits. they will stay closed until thursdays. they fear the bail out plan may end in confusion. russia's leaders are backing the eu bail out for cyprus.

they say they're ready to renegotiate terms. russia has lent cyprus 2.5 billion euros or $3.2 billion. officials will discuss easing the terms. the eu bail out includes a condition to shut down cypruss second largest bank and it inflicts heavy losses that will affect many russian depositors. prime minister has criticized the plan saying it's tantamount to theft. at the same time russian leaders are keen to avoid further turmoil in the euro zone. worries are still hurting business sentiment despite a cyprus accord. stocks in new york ended lower on monday.

the dow jones fell more than .4 of a percent to finish the day at 14,447 and the euro is trading lower against major currencies. to see how this is affecting markets here in japan let's go to ramin who is at the tokyo stock exchange. concerns still seem to be far from over. >> exactly. it does seem to be rearing its head again. that's as the u.s. economy shows signs of vitality. here in japan the japanese government beginning steps to implement major changes after decades of inflation. concerns are coming from europe and affecting global markets. let's see how we're opening up here. the markets this time yesterday

got a big boost. we did see the euro surge. the relief seems to be short lived as we're seeing in the opening levels. the rescue deal for cyprus could serve as a template for other european countries with strug e struggling banks. that comment really heightens some of the worries in global markets that the deal that was made may result in more problems down the road. now a bit of a negative reaction here in tokyo. we also might see which is a bit of a worry is a return to safer assets by investors including the yen. >> many investors watching the yen's movement. the japanese currency has been on a major weakening trend. where do we stand this tuesday morning? >> that's a big focus. you mentioned the moves by prime minister abe.

let's look at some of the currency levels here and the pairs today. we've seen some volatility with the euro/yen. if you remember yesterday it jumped from 122 levels before the markets opened on monday to upper 123 levels after the news of the cyprus bail out agreement. now as you can clearly see it's at 120.90 to 95. definitely volatility. the dollar/yen 93.98. it's a little weaker. also one thing to mention here japan's, south korea and china to hold negotiations in seoul later today. a negative start for the nikkei

and the topix. >> thank you. tokyo is down over 1/4 of a percent. we're not the only market open at this hour. take a look. the top united nations to myanmar is fighting. it's left dozens dead and the clashes appear to be spreading to other towns.

the u.n. general visited areas where many muslims were forced to flee their homes. he expressed concerns about the violence and denounced those responsible. >> they be caught and punished. >> the violence erupted on wednesday after an argument at a gold shop between a buddhist couple and the muslim owners. during the fighting nearly 200 buildings and houses were set on fear. a state of emergency was declared on friday. he put the military in charge of security. the violence has spread to two other towns over the weekend. last year fighting also led to a state of emergency there. the conflict left about 170

people dead and displaces as many as 100,000. the workers who clean homes and take care of children in hong kong are talking over a high court ruling that will affect their future. judges on the court of financial appeal ruled against granting residency to two philippine maids. the decision affects tens of thousands of foreign workers in the financial hub. the judge rules that the maids are not eligible to apply for permanent residency. the women have been working in hong kong for more than 20 years. foreign domestic helpers are told from the out set that admission of hong kong is not for the purpose of settlement. foreigners would normally qualify to become permanent residents after spending seven years there but domestic helpers don't have the same status. >> it's regrettable that the opportunity has been loss on

this occasion to strike a blow for equality and nondiscrimination. >> hong kong is home to nearly 300,000 maids from asia and south eastern countries. >> translator: why are our contracts different from other foreigners. we are unhappy because the hong kong government treats us unfairly. this is discrimination. >> the lower court ruled in 2011 that the maids had the right to seek permanent residencresidenc. critics say granting residency would bring an influx of more foreign helpers. they say that could strange the social services, health and education system.

police in south korea say clues from a cyber attack last week on major banks and broadcasters point abroad. they say a malicious code originated from internet protocol addresses in four countries including the united states. malware infected servers at three tv stations and three banks. that triggered massive network failures last wednesday, disabling more than 32,000 computers. police and members of a south korean government task force have detected ip addresses allocated to the u.s. and three european countries. they have not disclosed the specific names of the european nations involved, but they've asked for cooperation from relevant authorities to track down the original source of the cyber attacks. investigators are also checking whether ip addresses in any

other countries were used. south korean defense minister kim kwon-jin has warned north korea ahead of a contentious anniversary. 46 south korean seamen were lost three years ago when north korean forces allegedly sank a warship. kim visited the island close to where the ship went down. he told troops to stay on high alert. >> translator: if north korea provokes us again, we have to retaliate strongly to prevent them from even thinking about attacks in the future. >> international investigators concluded the ship was torpedoed by a north korean submarine, but pyongyang denies involvement. north korea has reacted angrily to u.s./south korea joint military drills, meaning tensions remain high ahead of the anniversary.

traditional japanese textiles usually found under foot are popping up in different places. these coin cases and belts are made from a cloth. it covers the edge of floor mats to keep strands of straw from unraveling. fewer japanese use the mats so some are trying to stay in business by looking abroad. >> reporter: these products went on sale at a trade show held in paris last month. they were made in a historic town in western japan long known be for its textiles. drawing the attention of visitors were colorful hems. many of them were made from synthetic fabrics. they make straw mats used in traditional japanese rooms more durable. >> most interesting is --

>> reporter: this cop makes 80% of all of these made in japan. now half of them have gone bankrupt. this maker has been be producing and selling them since 1950. it accounts for half of the hems produced in the country. but the company sees difficulties ahead. >> translator: the market has shrunk quite a bit, and we are just trying to survive now. we can't afford any further drop in orders. >> reporter: about ten years ago, this business started making things like coin cases and belts using the hem cloth. to boost sales it decided to look for markets abroad. this man is in charge of overseas sales.

for the first time he showed the products he planned to introduce in paris to the company president. >> translator: these are coin cases and card cases. with traditional japanese patterns. we think they will be popular abroad. >> translator: it would be best to hit them with traditional japanese patterns. >> reporter: at the trade fair in paris, he talked with as many people as he could find. he was able to clench a deal. he delivered the products to a sundries store in paris. a japanese man and his french wife are running the store. it carries japanese style items. the wife who is the boyer likes things made with the hem cloth.

these items drew the attention of a regular customer. >> translator: this is made with hem cloth. >> translator: it's wonderful. >> translator: they'll certainly sell, especially the little things. >> translator: our products are appreciated overseas a lot more than i thought. >> reporter: using the experience in paris as a steppingstone, the company is hoping to expand its sales network overseas. chess fans watched in 1997 as chess player lost to a computer named deep blue.

japanese players of the game followed along last year when a retired master lost to another computer. this man died in december of cancer. he left other players this message. he was already retired when he lost. so no professional player has lost to a computer. but that could well change with the competition under way now. nhk world reports. >> reporter: players face an endless number of choices on every move. the game has turned to the tenth power more patterns than chess. it shares the same roots as chess. they both come from an indian game that arose in the sixth century. the biggest difference between

this and other variants is the drop rule. pieces can be returned to the board to be reused as one's own. some of the game's top players are testing their abilities against computers. this man is just 18 years old. he lined up against a developer and his program. amateur developers and professionals from universities and corporations have been fine tuning their software. they compete in annual world championships. the top five developers got to enter their software in this competition. he and others sat down at 10:00 in the morning. his computer checked more than 10 million moves per computer. hour after hour. gradually, he gained the upper

hand. finally, after more than eight hours, the machine conceded defeat. >> translator: i was nervous until i sat down in front of the board. but once i was seated, i was able to collect my thoughts, and and i will fun playing against be the computer. >> reporter: players and computers will compete for the next four saturdays. in a final battle a top player will take on an automated opponent with a twist. a super computer will draw on the power of nearly 800 machines. nhk world, tokyo. the sun's out here in tokyo. we see what's up ahead in world

weather. >> it's going to be chilly throughout the day. it's mostly dry throughout the country. we are seeing snow showers lingering in the north western flank of the nation. that should be easing as this high pressure system moves in from the west. we are looking at rain showers, actually snow showers for the north. that should be reaching north eastern china today. to the south a rainy day for your southern china. risk of hail and thunder storms likely here as well as gusty winds. we'll probably see as much as 100 millimeters of rain into this evening. watch out for flash flood. some of the precipitation should be reaching taiwan as follows. down towards the south scattered rain for much of the philippines and the south eastern corner of the peninsula. you have had hail early this

morning. here are your highs on tuesday. very hot across the south. 37 degrees in bangkok. warmer than seasonal with a high of 217 and shanghai a few degrees colder than seasonal. still getting back to double digits in tokyo. 13 degrees with sunshine in in north america a major spring storm which dumped heavy snowfall across the lower mississippi valley. the lower great lakes region has pulled away but still very strong winds are prevailing and that's causing heavy snow showers for the appalachians. this system will move away. however those conditions will likely continue throughout your tuesday. behind it a fair weather maker is blanketing much of the central parts of the u.s. and canada and because of dry weather and less windy conditions we have a freeze warning posted for the gulf coast. out west we're seeing rain showers instead of snow even in

higher elevations in the pacific northwest but the rain should change over to know by the time it reaches the northern rockies. here are your highs. we'll see a significant warm up across the west. 10 degrees higher than yesterday. that was monday in denver. 5 degrees expected on tuesday and 12 in oklahoma city. that should jump up to 18 degrees, 19 degrees on wednesday. finally in europe there's a lot to talk about. we have a winter storm system moving traveling over russia. hungary you'll see as much as 10 centimeters of snow. the system will continue to produce a risk of flooding across the same area. the system will then affect turkey on tuesday and cyprus on wednesday with the chance of

light rain. out west very wet and windy. high waves will be a concern as well and light snow showers for the north eastern corner of the british isles. very chilly. only 0 degrees in berlin. here is your extended forecast.