welcome to newsline it's wednesday february 25th. top diplomats from four countries are calling for peace in ukraine. the foreign ministers of france germany, russia and ukraine are urging respect for a fragile cease-fire. and they pledged more resources for the organization monitoring the truce the ministers met in paris for the first time since the peace plan took effect last week. >> we the four ministers call for the strict implementation of all provisions of the minsk

agreements starting from a comprehensive cease-fire, and withdraw of heavy weapons. >> the ministers called for a cease-fire monitoring mission to be reinforced and extended for another year. ukrainian foreign minister hinted at a gap in opinions with russia over the capture of ae cease-fire took effect. >> unfortunately, there was no political agreement on how to condemn what happened. all tragic events and all infringements for cease-fire. >> this week marks a year since an uprising in ukraine toppled a pro russian president and sparked a war.

separatists and government forces have been battling over territory in the eastern part of the country. more than 5,600 people have been killed. an armed man opened fire at a restaurant in the czech republic. he killed eight people before turning the gun on himself. the man burst into a restaurant in the eastern town and started shooting inzrem nantly. there were about 0 customers in the restaurant. the shooter was a local man in his 60s. he said it was not a terrorist attack. the gunman had called a tv station in prague. he said he had problems with various people and had no choice but to carry out the attack. gunmen have kidnapped a french woman and her yemeni driver. the french foreign ministry has renewed a call urging all its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible. reports from yemen say the woman

was on her way to work. she's in the country on a project that promotes development and fighting poverty. no details are available on her captors or why they took her. security in yes, ma'ammen has been deteriorating. the president was put under house arrest but later fled to the south. on tuesday, he retracted his intention to resign. the shiite militants said he's lost his legitimacy. yemen has seen clashes between rival groups. the country is home to one of the most active branches of al qaeda. japan and several western countries have temporarily closed their embassies. policy makers at the u.s. federal reserve have kept interest rates low for years, it looks like they're in no hurry to raise them. what's kept them so low for so long? >> good point, katherine, especially since some recent

data showed that the economy is -- fairly positive data coming out of the u.s. the argument is just that. certain parts of the economy are doing a lot better. there's a lot of uncertainty in other economies that could interfere with that recovery. and it looks like janet yellin has taken all this into consideration. she hinted the central bank may not raise its policy interest rate until june or later. >> the assessment can be patient beginning to normalize policy meaning the committee considers it unlikely the economic conditions will warrant an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate for at least the next couple fomc meetings. >> yellin told the senate banking committee, she's upbeat about the improving job market inflation is still weak in the u.s. europe and other regions face economic difficulties. yellin said fed officials will

begin looking at the idea of raising rates on a meeting by meeting basis if the u.s. economy keeps improving. she suggested the fed will change the patient wording before it considers a rate hike. greece got the official nod from eurozone finance ministers for a four-month extension of its bailout reform plan. finance ministers of the 19 member eurozone approved the list of reform measures presented by greek authorities. the minister said in a statement, the list is a valid starting point but concerns remain. they're calling on greece to further develop and broaden the list in consultation with other eurozone nations. greece's structural reform plans are intended to rebuild the economy, boost growth and increase revenue. the plan calls for reducing the number of government agencies fighting tax evasion and corruption as well as cracking down on tobacco and fuel

smuggling. the list also includes relief measures such as free electricity, medical care and meals for the poor. greece's anti-austerity minister may have an uphill battle with the reform and other euro nations. the compromise runs counter to his election pledges. now, let's see what's happening on the markets this morning. global investors seem to take comfort about the timing of a rate hike despite the record ties on wall street share prices are trading in a tight range. the benchmark nikkei trading flat pretty much unchanged. it is in the positive now. some investors are selling stocks on a stronger yen. the dollar is weaker against the yen. after rising initially on yellin's testimony, it is now trading right below 119.

118.66 to 71. the euro is almost unchanged against the dollar. as traders had already factors in the approval of the greek budget reforms. the single currency in the mid 1.113 levels against the dollar. south korean stocks are falling. they're continuing a bullish streak for a sixth straight session. the cost is up 6/10 of a%. over in australia, the benchmark is trading up higher a little more than 8/10 of a%. many investors in the u.s. australia and other countries have been putting their money in infrastructure fund markets. officials at the tokyo stock exchange have decided to get in on the act. they plan to open a new market as early as april. other targets of investment include airports and railways.

investors will share the prophets from those facilities. officials plan to establish rules for the new market they hope to begin listing funds by the end of the year. that's the latest in business for this hour i'll leave you with a check on other markets. officials are reporting

another possible leak of radioactive water at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. they first discovered the problem nearly a year ago, but waited until now to inform the public. officials at the plant's operator say workers first found rainwater pooling last april on the roof of the number two reactor building. testing revealed the water contains relatively high levels of radioactive substances. the water may have spilled into the pacific ocean through a drainage channel. workers became suspicious about an uptick in the concentration of radioactive substances in the channel every time it rained. then they discovered the pool of water. officials with the operator tepco say they've seen no major changes in the level of radiation in sea water near the plant. they plan to lay sandbags in the roof and on the channel next month to prevent further leaks. officials disclosed their findings two days after workers detected high levels of

radioactive substances in a different drainage channel. the chief of a local fishery's association said he was shocked to learn that contaminated water had leaked beyond the port at the plan the. he said the news has triggered more disrupt toward tepco. a remote japanese island in the pacific ocean is growing. an underwater volcanic eruption started a year ago, and has increased the land mass 11 fold. the eruption started in november 2013. it created a separate island lava eventually connected the two islands. 950 kilometers to the southeast of the capital. a coast guard patrol aircraft reports that a crater was spewing out volcanic rock five or six times per minute on monday. a plume of smoke rose over 1,000 meters. infrared footage taken by a coast guard vessel showed lava

falling from the crater. the size of the island is now 2.45 square kilometers. the earth shifts to use caution while navigating the area. chinese tourists are heading to northern japan for a delicacy 37 the tourists are snapping what they say is a tastier and cheaper variety. >> this prefecture is known for a sea cucumber. and winter is the peak season. in china, sea cucumber is a gourmet food. people also like its beauty benefits. it can be simmered sauteed or cooked in a variety of other ways. chinese people like japanese sea cucumber because it has pink

flesh. in search of sea cucumber five families from the north of china have come to the area on a tour. to sample the delicacy they also hope to take some home. the cucumber is known in china. the city has organized the tour to promote the product. the first stop, a local chinese restaurant. the dried sea cucumber is soaked in water. >> translator: sea cucumber from the bay is thick and firm which makes it a good variety. >> eating sauteed or simmered

with spinach and pork. the dishes are served. they love the texture of the variety. >> translator: i've eaten many kinds of sea cucumber, this is the best one ever. >> on day two, the tourists visit the plant where the cucumber is processes. here some caught in the bay are dried, the tour members captured it all on their camera. after being dried for three months, the delicacy is stored in this room. they are key eaters they ask how old the sea cucumbers are,

and how many are in a 500 gram bag. in china the specialty is sold for about 3,000$3,000. but on this tour they pay after that amount. >> much better than what the chinese sell for the same price. >> they like our product because of the bumpy surface. i think with good pub listity, it could become an international brand. >> they have high hopes that gourmet tours like these will lead to more exports to china. nhk world.

south korea's president is marking the second inanniversary of her inauguration. she grapples with a slump in public support. >> we have been trying to lay the foundations of economic and political reforms. now, we have to start laying the bricks to build on it. >> she enjoyed an approval rating of more than 60%. she won praise for her diplomatic work. support fell sharply after a ferry disaster last april. puck and her government came under fire for their handling of the incident. people are complaining that income inequality is growing, and there aren't enough jobs for young people.

her support rate fell below 30%. >> translator: she's too stiff, she should be more flexible. >> i supported her because she's a woman. i once believed she could change our country. >> the president has tried to inject new life into her administration, she nominated a new prime minister and last week replaced her chief of staff. her low ratings could hurt efforts to build ties with japan. she's likely to be more flexible in dealing with the issues dividing the two countries. indonesia and australia are at odds after the fate of two australian nationals condemned to death for drug smuggling. they have warned other countries not to interfere. they're part of the so-called bali nine they were convicted

in 2005 as the ring leaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of indonesia. indonesian president reiterated on tuesday, that the executions would proceed. >> translator: there shouldn't be any intervention on the death penalty. it's our sovereign right to exercise our law. and the death penalty exists within our law. >> clemency was denied to the two convicts, they challenged the ruling. the fate of the two australians is being closely watched in their home country where capital punishment has been abolished. the australian government says it would consider recalling its ambassador to indonesia, if the executions are carried out. complicating the matter is indonesia's status as one of

australia's main trading partners and the gateway to other asean markets. this is not the first time bilateral relations are strained. a crisis erupted after revelations australian intelligence had monitored phone calls of the then president and other senior indonesian officials. the association of southeast asian nations plans to launch an economic community in december which will create a huge market of more than 600 million people. a reliable railway system holds the key to handling the expected increased load of goods and people. nhk world reports on how asean countries are trying to change their railways. >> reporter: trains are running behind schedule. the system is a far cry to being

the transportation issue for people and goose. >> i sometimes can't make it to my appointments as trains come late. >> i wish the trains were faster and more comfortable. >> rail systems are meant to carry heavy roads or schedule at reasonable costs. but in southeast asia rail construction has not moved forward, due to adequate funding. people mostly travel by air, wild goose are mostly transported by sea or road. hopes are now running high for a new railway with bangkok and one other area. under the project construction is expected to begin in

september. >> we will determine where to construct the railroad and prepare for building new stations. >> reporter: another project stretching from east to west is also being planned. it would connect three major cities. ho chi minh, pyongyang and bangkok. leaders are being encouraged to help more people to travel. >> a project is now underway to connect the malaysian capital of kuala lumpur and singapore by means of a high speed train ride. some 40 million people travel between the two nations every year.

kuala lumpur is 300,000 kilometers from singapore. but most people travel by air. only three trains per day. and the one-way trip takes seven or eight hours. expectations are high for the high speed train line. the project leaders aim to launch the harvest in 2020. international beating for construction is expected to be held later this year . >> an expert says that asean nations that are building high speed rail wings need to ensure the lines are sustainably managed. >> i feel there's another very important factor, which is the financial sustainability.

how to provide and sustain, and agreeable financial model between this country. i think is going to be an even bigger challenge become the technology. beyond the technology. >> want to improve the railway network in asean, is being stepped up ahead of the launch of its economic community. the new trains will carry people's hopes for regional integration. nhk world. it's time now for a check of the weather, people in north africa are dealing with a winter chill this week. even residents in morocco are bundling up and seeing snow. >> what we have been seeing over this past week in the heart of

winter is this chill that's just been dominating much in the northern hemisphere. you've been seeing record breaking temperatures, what i want to mention here across europe, you've been seeing the jet stream dip down parts of northwestern africa we're looking at some fairly heavy snowfall. let's go to video we have coming out of morocco. you're talking about the sandy beaches along the west coastline here, but the mountains recorded over a meter of snow on sunday. workers in the highlands were isolated for five days due to these blocked roads, the winds were not helping them to clear their way. they haven't seen this much snow in recent years out here. definitely a very unwelcomed sight. fake a look at the satellite imagery, this is from back on sunday. you have the cooler air coming up the north. it dumped it off here, and ran into the mountains also. by extending off there toward the east.

now, here on wednesday, we're seeing a similar setup. we have a low back over italy, that's wrapping in that cool air yet again. i think you're going to miss out on the worst of this you're going to be looking at that threat of snowfall out here. as far as italy and over to the balkan peninsula, really looking at the threat of thunderstorms out here heavy rain severe wind gusts that could be included with this low. the big problem with it is moving very slowly. and that means a long duration event. not very welcome. if you have any travel plans across this region you doen watt to be aware, there are going to be some showers and possibly some delays out in at the airports. showers in your forecast as mentioned, more with a high of seven, and moscow getting up to three there, staying on the chilly side. let's see what's going on in india now. i want to mention this what we have is this low that tracked in from the southwest. move over pakistan and pulled in the moisture out of the

arabian sea. all that moisture doesn't drop too much down here toward the south, once it hits the mountains, it squeezes out like a spurngng, we've been seeing some showers out here. if you're a farmer you need the rain definitely making for a rough go across much of this region. now, wrapping things up here in eastern asia let's talk about the dust which has been impacting much of eastern china over through the korean peninsula, it's clearing up now, we're starting to see several of those develop, that's going to stir up the atmosphere we'll bring the rainshowers down toward the south. most of it should stay north of hong kong. widespread snowfall here and eventually that will make its way over through hokaido as we go ahead into thursday and friday. the thing is earlier this week. we saw some rather warm temperatures out here and much of japan for that matter a five this is just outside of a

popular ski dings. upwards of five we saw a significant snow melt. this was the high right around freezing. now staying just above freezing as we see that snowfall come in we have this isolated -- that's going to be fresh snow. all you need is a skier to come across that and it causes the threat of avalanche. something to look out for if you do plan a trip out here to the mountains. for now, i'll leave you with the extended outlook.

that wraps up this edition of newsline. thanks for joining us.

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>> hello and welcome to "global 3000." at what point does development aid begin to do more harm than good? join us as we tackle this topic and much more. here's a look at what's coming up on today's program.

poverty as business -- a critical look at kenya's aid industry. thirsty neighbors -- honduras and el salvador share the same shrinking river. and off the streets and into the kitchen -- a fresh start for homeless children in cambodia. international aid is big business. so big, in fact, that some recipient countries are finding that poverty can be as profitable as tourism.