i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. japan's crippled nuclear plant are working harder to fix a problem. the fukushima daiichi site got in the ground. workers check the radioactivity. it was over had been the day b.

radioactive tritium had tripled to its highest leveled. the well is 10 meters from a tank that stores radioactive water. more than 300 tons of water leaked from the tank in august. workers think some seeped into the soil and they think some flowed through a ditch into the ocean. officials with tokyo electric explained how workers are tackling underground contamination. crews are removing soil near the storage tank but struggling because of pipes and other fixtures. they say workers will dig another well and use it to pump radioactive water out of the ground. more rescue workers headed to the scene of a disaster south of tokyo. 25 people have been confirmed dead after a powerful storm hit wednesday. teams are searching for 21 others who are missing. the crew of a maritime defense

force has made its way to the island. the crew is carrying trucks and machinery that will be used to remove mud, driftwood and debris. record rainfall soaked a mountain slide sending part of it sliding down toward a community. self-defense force commanders have sent in an additional 130 personnel to help are the rescue and recovery effort. 1,000 police, firefighters and sdf personnel are surging for the missing. the work has been tough and time consuming. another storm is expected to hit the island on saturday. residents are anxious. >> i can see the fallen mountainside from my home. i can't sleep if it rains again. >> people are working at the town hall to make 1 thousand bags. municipal authorities depleted their stock on the typhoon.

oshima is part of the tokyo metropolitan area. the tokyo governor has pledged to help prevent another disaster. he unveiled plans to build sandbags measuring hundreds of meters in length that will be used in the devastated areas. european union leaders are celebrating a step toward free trade with one of the world's biggest economies. they signed a tentative deep with canada to drop all import taxes. european commission president and canadian prime minister announce add deal after four years of negotiations. they plan to bol issue 99% of the import tariffs. the few exceptions include taxes on eu dairy products and canadian beef. canadian leaders agreed to give access to government procurement

dollars at the federal and provincial leaders. eu leaders ratify the agreement in two years. negotiate free trade agreements with more than 80 countries. the deal with canada is their first with the nation in the group of eight. eu leaders also pushing for closer economic ties with china. the trade ministers of member states agreed to start talks with chinese leaders in hopes of concluding an investment treaty. saudi leaders turned down a nonpermanent seat on the u.n. security council. they say that the body at first needs reforms. officials with the saudi foreign ministry says the security council failed in its duties toward syria. they criticized members for not imposing sanctions on the assad administration and allowing government forces to kill citizens with chemical weapons. the security council has five

permanent members. it also has 10 nonpermanent members elect freddie five regional blocks and each sesk two years. saudi leaders declined a nonpermanent seat the day after their country won it. the saudis are trying to topple the assad government in syria. they supplied rebels with money and weapons. government officials in myanmar say a man arrested for bombing a hotel in the biggest city has revealed his motive. he said he was trying to scare away foreign investors. a homemade bomb went off monday in a room in a luxury hotel. the blast hurt an american guest. police detained a man who had occupied the room the day before. government officials say the mayonnaise former member of an ethnic rebel group that fought for autonomy. he told police he opposes any

increases in tourists and investents abroad. officials say rebel group is denying involvement in the bombing. the group signed a cease-fire agreement in january of last year. members have been fighting government forces for more than six decades. leaders in two of china's biggest cities are deploying new weapons in the fight against a growing problem, air pollution. they are launching tougher measures to combat particles known as pm 205. state run media say officials are preparing counter-measures based on concentration of particles and how long they are likely to linger. the toughest measures will kick in if pollution is likely to hit six levels on the highest scale and stay has high six day. officials will keep people off the roads alternative days based

on license plates and close elementary, middle and high schools. the highest means a daily average of 250 micrograms per cubic meter. if officials believe the pollution will stay at the next highest level for three days they will suspend some factory operations and stop work on construction sites. leaders in shanghai say they're trying to cut their city's pm 2.5 pollution by 20% by the year 2017. they plan to order coal-powered boilers be shut down or converted to run on natural gas. more than 2,500 of those boilers operate at factories and other facilities across the city. leaders also say they'll crack down on vehicles that spew exhaust gases in excess of environmental safety standards. wildfires raging in eastern australia have destroyed more than 100 houses and claimed their first victim.

firefighters are trying to put down blazes in and around a national park about 80 kilometers west of sydney. temperatures over 30 degrees celsius sparked fires across the region. strong winds then spread the flames. >> the wind blowing a tree onto electricity lines, and this whole street went up, just like -- very, very quickly. it was terrible. >> officials with the fire service say a man died while trying to protect his home. they say temperatures will rise again over the weekend. so they're urging residents to stay on the alert. here is the three-day world weather forecast.

that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm keiko kitagawa in tokyo. thank you for watching.