hello and welcome to "newsline." it's wednesday july 3rd. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the president of egypt is standing his ground. even as he continues to shake beneath his feet. mohamed morsi delivered a televised speech refusing to step down and vowing to protect his democratically elected his opponents have been . gathering in the hundreds of thousands, demanding the islamist leaders resignation. morsi rejected the ultimatum from the military to resolve differences by wednesday afternoon. top engines say if he doesn't, he'll step in. he's asking the public to stay

calm. he says egypt belongs to all and that it would take time to improve the nation because of the corruption and remnants from the former regime. has had enough time and he needs to quit now. they are frustrated about the state of the economy and security. they have been out in force since sunday. the first anniversary of morsi's inauguration. >> translator: we are waiting for the military to take action. the military is our leader. >> about 100,000 antigovernment protesters gathered and tens of thousands more surrounded the presidential palace chanting morsi should go. the president's supporters want him to stay. thousands of them gathered in central cairo, some aring helmets and carrying sticks. a statement released by the ruling party, a political wing of the muslim brotherhood, says

martyrs may be inevitable to thwart a military coup. >> translator: the military should respect the decision the people made. they did this through the national vote and the presidential election. >> state run media reports say there have been further outbursts of violence between morsi opponents and supporters. they say at least four more people have died. foreign ministers are throwing weight behind a call for a nuclear-free korean peninsula. they released a statement to wrap-up the regional forum of the association of southeast asian nations. top diplomats from asn, japan, the united states and north korea met in brew my. the chairman's statement urges north korean leaders to fulfill their obligations under u.n. resolutions and the six-party talks on their nuclear program. the country is required to stop nuclear testing and development. the statement says most of the

participating nations support efforts to support denuclearization of the korean peninsula. the asean secretary says many say that is a priority. many blame the u.s. for raising tensions in the region. and he points out, they're demanding the u.s. first stop its threats before denuclearization begins. north korean diplomats have been holding a series of meetings to try to lead the ground work for the resumption of the six-party talks. their next stop is russia. first vice foreign minister will fly to moscow after passing through beijing. kim is scheduled to meet senior officials at the russian foreign ministry. he is expected to ask for their help in resuming the negotiations, which broke down in 2008. diplomats from the united states, japan and south korea say they won't come to the table until authorities in pyongyang take concrete steps toward denuclearization. analysts say the north koreans

may be looking to russia to counter that demand. japanese government officials are defending a program. the hunt yields valuable scientific data. the deputy foreign minister spoke in the hague. australia filed a complaint in 2010 to stop japan from killing whales in the antarctic ocean. he argues the goal of the hunt is to conserve the mammals. >> japan is conducting a chef scientific research program, because japan wishes to resume commercialwhaling, based on science in a sustainable manner. >> the australian representatives aren't buying that argument.

commercial whaling based on science. >> the australian representatives aren't buying that argument. >> japan says it is scientific whaling but we believe it is commercial. >> the australians say the japanese kill hundreds of whales every year and the meat ends up in restaurants and supermarkets. the hearings are scheduled to c the judges are expected to deliver a ruling as early as the end of the year. japanese leaders are spending more than $1 billion over the next decade to fund a variety of regeneral active medicine projects. the research is expected to help people with diabetes and liver failure. the japan science and technology agency announced details of the projects. they're trying to use intestinal membrane for the treatment. scientists taking part in other projects plan to use ips cells. researchers want to regenerate an insulin secreting organ to treat diabetes. another team plans to grow ips cells into liver cells. these would be transplanted into patients with liver failure. and a kyoto university research institute headed by this professor will provide the ips cells. another team at the university plans ips cells into

liver cells. these would be transplanted into patients whose livers are failing. a research institute headed by a professor will provide the ips cells. he received a nobel prize for his research in his area. the scientists are expected to clear the technical hurdles within three years. clinical research will be done over the next seven years.

executives overseeing the fukushima daiichi plant want to restart reactors at another plant they own. officials at tokyo electric power company want permission to resume operations at reactors at niigata prefecture at the sea of japan coast but they face stiff opposition. all but two reactors in japan remain offline following the 2011 accident at the fukushima daiichi plant. reactors must meet new safety standards that go into effect this month before they can go back to operation. the governor is opposed to the plan by tepco. he says there can be no discussion about restarting the plant until the fukushima accident is thoroughly investigated. tepco's board of directors decided to apply for a government screening of the plant as soon as the new guidelines take effect. >> translator: we would like to

explain to the residents why we want to make application to the government as soon as possible. >> tepco raised electricity fees last year to cover the growing cost of fuel for its thermal power plants, but it continues to struggle with a huge deficit. tepco posted more than $6.8 billion in losses for the year through march. the firm must return to the black by march next year in order to receive taxpayer money and bank loans to rebuild its finances. it says by operating just one reactor, it can cut fuel costs by about $10 million a month. delegates from around 120 countries say they must do more to protect nuclear facilities from terrorist attacks. they have agreed tosecurity gui the international atomic energy agency. they hosted a meeting in vienna, austria. it's the first such event to focus on nuclear security.

>> if a dirty bomb is detonated in a major city or sabotage occurs at a nuclear facility, the consequences could be devastating. the threat of nuclear terrorism is real. >> the delegates adopted a declaration, pledging to follow the iaea's nuclear security guidelines. they also agreed to minimize the use of highly enriched uranium. the material can be made into nuclear weapons. authorities say they're also concerned about terrorists getting hold of radioactive materials in hospitals and factories. people who trained foreign exchange pay 100 yen per dollar. the dollar has been below that level for a while. what's changed? >> the dollar is getting stronger, because we keep seeing positive or stronger data out of the u.s. and this makes investors think that the federal reserve could scale back on its stimulus program ear wha many eileen lee

tokyo stock exchange. elien, good morning. the big news is that the dollar yen is back at the 100 yen level. how are things looking like over there this morning? >> reporter: good morning, ai. first, let's take a quick look at where dollar yen is trading at this moment. the dollar is now at 100.73 to 75 against the yen. compared to the mid 99 level at about the same time on tuesday. and that's the highest we have seen in about a month. the dollar is really boosted by the recent string of strong u.s. economic data we received recently such as manufacturing activity, consumer sentiment and the latest factory artists. all that gives more credit to the view it will taper its monetary program sooner than many analysts expected. market players will watch out for the reports on frida meempl situation in the u.s. is one of the key factors that

policymakers watch. and, in fact, we may get some clues to the u.s. labor markets on the private adp jobs report due later today. and like you said, ai, the dollar is stronger against a broad range of currencies. euro dollar now at 1.297 to 2975. and checking on euro yen at the bottom of the screen is at 130.65 to 72. the yen and euro appear to be capped ahead of the upcoming european central bank meeting thursday. and now let's see how the stronger dollar is affecting the opening levels for here in japan for wednesday, july 3rd. the nikkei is higher by 0.40% at 14,159 points. nth.r closing above 14,000 and the top ix is higher by

0.09%. investors may continue to buy shares of major exporters today, especially automakers, as u.s. vehicle sales increased more than 9% in june. sales for toyota, honda and nissan increased year on year, so we may see some support for the share prices of these companies today. and we'll continue to keep track of more developments as we go through the trading day here in japan. back to you, ai. >> thanks, elien. eileen lee at the tokyo stock exchange. the bank of japans massive monetary easing has significantly raised the volume of money on the market. but loans to businesses and individuals have not increased as the central bank had hoped. boj officials said on tuesday that the monetary base stood at more than $1.7 trillion at the end of june. hitting a record high for four months in a row. the monetary base totals the amount of currency in

circulation, plus current account deposits held by commercial banks at the boj. the amount has increased 18.5% from the end of march, before the bank introduced an unprecedented level of monetary easing. but outstanding loans by financial institutions have been posting slow growth. they were up only around 2% from a year ago. boj policymakers aim to double the monetary base over a two-year period. they hope that supplying a huge amount of funds will help boost lending and revive the economy. the future of fiscal reconstruction in portugal now seems unclear, after two members of the cabinet resigned. deficit in portugal has been trying to rebuild its economy with tax increases and reduction of public servants. the nation has been receiving loans totaling $78 billion euros from the eu and other

organizations. on monday, finance minister gaspar stepped down, saying had he drawn public criticism. he has been a major driving force behind the government's austerity measures. on the following day, foreign minister apollo portus resigned. there was a new finance minister to continue the austerity measures. the opposition camp is calling for dissolving parliament and holding a general election. prime minister cuello stressed tuesday he had no intention to dissolve parliament. he also said he will not accept the foreign minister's resignation and will try to persuade him to stay in office. more headlines for you in business next hour. here's another check on markets.

the man who disclosed u.s. government surveillance programs has sought asylum from 21 countries. the former national security agency contractor, edward snowden, has already withdrawn his request from one. he says he won't try to stay in russia, where he's currently evading u.s. authorities. the u.s. government is urging countries not to help snowden escape prosecution on espionage charges. u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, met russian foreign minister sergei lavrov in ber my. he briefed his counterpart.

he is believed to have repeated the request that russia hand snowden over to the u.s. lavrov oh gave a different account of the meeting. he said the issue wasn't on the agenda. snowden has been holed up at a moscow airport for more than a week since he flew there from hong kong. some analysts say he may not be able to leave moscow, because the u.s. has cancelled his passport. on monday, snowden released his first statement since arriving in moscow. he criticized the u.s. government for revoking his passport and pressuring countries to block his asilum bid wikileaks published a list of countries where he has asked for asylum. venue za what is one of them. there is speculation he may leave russia with snowden after the summit. meanwhile, putin said russia would only consider snowden's request under one condition. >> translator: if he wants to stay in russia, there's one

condition. he must stop his activities aimed at inflicting damage on our american partners. >> putin's spokesperson, dmitry petitions could have said snowden with drew his request on hearing the remark. scientists in india have opened a new chapter in the country's space program. they have put their first navigation satellite into orbit. it's part of a plan to create an indian global positioning system. scientists plan to launch a total of seven satellites. together, they'll make up the indian regional navigation satellite system. the system will cover india and south asia. it's designed to be accurate to about 20 meters, precisely enough to locate cars and ships. the indian system is scheduled to begin operating in 2015. it will serve as an alternative to the united states' global positioning system. russia, china, the european union and japan have either completed or are working on their own networks.

neighboring pakistan plans to use china's satellite system. russian space engineers are dealing with a setback. a rocket-carrying communication satellite blew up seconds after launch. emergency teams sealed off the crash site to check for toxic fuel. the russian space agency launched the rocket from a facility in kazakhstan. it was carrying three satellites. 17 seconds after blastoff, the fuel ignited. the rocket burst into flames in mid air. the wreckage landed 60 kilometers from a residential area. agency officials are blaming engine trouble. three years ago, another rocket failed to send three of the same type of satellite into orbit. it plunged into the pacific ocean. space is at a premium in tokyo, especially on the sidewalk that runs around the imperial palace.

a growing army of joggers is using this route to stay fit, as popular among ex pats and foreign tour rifts, too. but for pedestrians, it's more than an annoyance, it's a real danger. we have the story. >> reporter: morning and evening, the route that runs around the imperial palace is filled with runners. on some days, there are more than 10,000. more and more office workers in central tokyo are keen to stay fit. and this is their favorite route to go jogging. the reason why this route around the palace is so popular is that it's almost exactly five kilometers long. and there are no traffic lights to interrupt the run. on weekdays, this route is busy. but on weekends, it's even more crowded. not just with individual joggers, but also groups. on some days, there are as many as ten organized runs each with

hundreds of runners. the route that all these joggers use is actually a public sidewalk. it's so crowded, some runners almost collide as they're overtaken. there are also plenty of near misses with pedestrians. or even worse. >> translator: sometimes when i step out of the way of a jogger, another one comes from the opposite direction. it really feels dangerous. >> translator: it can be scary at times. like when they overtake from behind you. >> reporter: the local authorities have put up signs, warning people to take care as they run. but the complaints keep coming in from ordinary pedestrians. over the past two years, there have been about 100 claims like this. some of them involve serious injuries caused by collisions with joggers.

>> translator: there could be a serious accident. we want to prevent any major incident from occurring. >> reporter: akiko has been a regular jogger on this course for about five years. she first began as a way to stay healthy. these days, she says, a growing number of runners are competing or trying to improve their times. >> translator: some runners wear number tags and like to clock their times. when there are groups of them packing the sidewalk, it can feel dangerous. >> reporter: to address this issue, the local government set up a committee to discuss ways to prevent accidents. including ordinary runners, as well as academics.

the panel recently came up with a list of nine rules. for example, all runners must go in the same direction. and they have to run in single file on narrow sections. on the question of holding organized runs around the palace, only one place can be used as the starting and finishing lines. organizers must also set a limit of 1,000 participants. and a maximum of 100 runners are allowed to start at a time. the others have to set off at staggered intervals. these regulations are due to take effect in september. with more and more people in tokyo taking up jogging, the sidewalks are getting congested. the new rules are a first step toward making the streets safer. for both runners and

pedestrians. kaz wacky here ma, nhk world, tokyo. >> time now to get a check on the weather. people in the western half of the united states are dealing with extremely hot weather. meteorologist saku mory gives us the latest. >> blazing hot conditions continuing across the western u.s. record temperatures set in some places. the reason is that this jet stream is still meandering further up towards the north, allowing hot air to flow in from the south. to show how the situations are, i want to show you this video. people are suffering from scorching weather with temperatures hitting 46 degrees celsius on monday. residents and visitors are rushing to swimming pools and air conditioning buildings to escape the extreme heatwave. in palm springs, the temperatures are expected to go to a seasonal level by wednesday. but it's not the case in the

rest of the western u.s. as you can see, temperatures could go up to 51 degrees in death valley on tuesday and wednesday. and record temperatures can be found on tuesday and wednesday in las vegas for the day, and 46 degrees on thursday. so stay away from the direct sunshine, and also these high temperatures and extreme low humidity are resulting in wildfires. and unfortunately, no improvement is in sight in the foreseeable future. there is a quite different scenario across the east. a stalled frontal system causing days of heavy rain, record amounts of rainfall have been measured in some places. unfortunately, this wet weather will continue into your independence day, and severe weather is also occurring across the north, actually three minimal tornadoes have been reported in connecticut, new jersey and some places. so watch out for the severe weather, as well. temperatures not going to be too bad across the east, but across the central parts, 32 in wichita falls, and during the morning hours, could drop down into the

mid teens. now in east asia, a tropical system has been downgraded to a tropical depression, still producing wet weather across northern parts of vietnam and surrounding areas. and more of a concern is going to be this low pressure system, the frontal system has been causing ongoing heavy rain and thunderstorms for the illinois river basin and southern parts of the korean peninsula. and the system is expected to move into japan. so wet and windy conditions are expected today. and waves could hit as high as 4 meters across the sea of japan site. temperatures are not going to be too bad in tokyo. 27 degrees for you. and 30 degrees in seoul, heating up once again. much hotter in seoul, across much of china. 36 in beijing. 37 in fujio. the heat will likely continue for the next couple of days. finally, in europe, we have a strong low pressure system drifting into the british isles in the western continent. we are seeing some short-term

heavy rain thunderstorms and also a risk of hail. the wet weather will affect germany on wednesday and poland on thursday. ahead of theel system, warm air comes in, so temperatures looking like midsummer. 29 degrees for you in vienna, 26 in berlin. and very hot across the peninsula. much hotter conditions expected as we go into the weekend. here's your extended forecast.

that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us.

and right now we've pulled off to the side of the road to take a little break. you see, we're heading north up 395, which cuts us right through the eastern sierra, which is one of the prettiest, most spectacular areas in our entire state. now, we're heading north about 20 more miles to visit a little town -- a town that's played a very important part in california's history. at one time, as a matter of fact, they tell me that this little town was the richest and the wildest place in the entire state. well, i think things have settled down there a little bit now, but it's still supposed to be extremely colorful.