of their responsibility and calls for the company's management to be changed. president tanaka already said he sbebds to intends to resign. he'll hold a news conference to express how they will handle the panel's findings. the panel said the culture was behind irregularities. it said subordinates found it difficult to refuse orders from their superiors. one example is the so-called challenges in other words, ambitious targets top management handed down to the division chief. the division heads were under heavy pressure to chief those goals. then toshiba president nishida

issued a demand in 2008 to the personal computer division that calls for an increase of about $40 million at the current rate this was one of the so-called challenges set a month before the firm compiled its earnings report. the panel points out that this practice led to the accounting irregularities. the requests accelerated when another president took office. in a september 2012 meeting top management strongly urged the personal computer " division to improve profits by about $100 million in three days. division employees reportededly wanted to stop the practice but sasaki dismissed the idea. tanaka reportedly knew about the irregularities but failed to put an end to the practice. it's time to check on the markets for this tuesday. u.s. stocks rose overnight as macro worries abait to see how

markets are doing, before we do that the dow jones industrial average ekeed out gains and the tech heavy nasdaq hit a record high at 5218. we go to mai at the stock exchange. how are markets reacting after the holiday weekend? >> good morning, catherine. so we're seeing a good start here in tokyo following the positive move on wall street. in japan the nikkei is opening half a percent up 20,753 and topix is also opening higher 1671. now the nikkei hits a three-week high friday rising 4.4% last week posting its biggest weekly gain since october. some analysts are saying this weekly gain represents that japanese markets are resuming their bull run and as we say catherine over in new york the

tech heavy nasdaq hits another record high for three days in a row held by a batch of strong earnings including morgan stanley, the last of the six big american banks to report their earnings following jpmorgan citi company, wells fargo, banks of america, goldman sachs and mostly beat market expectations and last week strong earnings coming out from the internet and tech sectors like google and netflix. the focus falls firmly on earnings and as well as growing divergence in central bank policies in the u.s. and elsewhere. as we all know with worries over greece and china aside for now, investors are sort of unwinding their downside hedges in various markets. catherine? >> what is happening in commodity markets? >> we're seeing a broad selling especially gold prices.

they are being seen as a safe haven and hedge against inflation and weak dollar. investors are letting go of that safe gold. the dollar is gaining ground and the federal reserve will raise rates in this year dollar is around 124.33 near its one-month high around 124.4 yen. market watchers say monday's comments of the st. louis fed chief, he reportedly said that there's more than a 50% chance the fed's rate hike in september. the dollar is near its three-month high against the euro. that's a wrap for now. i'll return with morning updates in a few hours. >> that was mayu yushida. now let's look at an overview of the market figures before we go on to other headlines.

officials from the united states and cuba have reached another historic milestone. they've officially restored diplomatic relations for the first time in over 50 years. ♪ on monday, the cuban intrasection in washington became the cuban embassy. officials raised the cuban flag over the building and people sang the country's national anthem.

cuban foreign minister bruno rodriguez met his u.s. counterpart, john kerry, at the state department. the two held a news conference. >> the cold war ended long ago. and at the interest of both countries are better served by engagement than by estrangement, and we have begun a process of full normalization that is sure to take time, but will also benefit the people in both cuba and the united states. >> we both ratified our interests in normalizing bilateral relations. knowing that this would be a long and complex process that will require the willingness of both countries. >> both sides plan to accelerate talks on normalizing relations, and lifting the sanctions on cuba. but in the u.s., republican lawmakers are criticizing the obama administration's move. they say he's conceding too much to cuba. china's ulg communist party has suspended a high ranking member.

the case has gained international attention since it was disclosed in december he was under investigation. xinhua news agency reported monday a decision made at the meeting of the party's leadership. ling served until february as advise advisory to the body of government. he's suspected of taking bribes. officials with the supreme people's said prosecutors opened an investigation into ling and decided to arrest him. the case highlights president xi jinping's top stance on corruption. executives with soccer's world governing body are taking steps to choose a new president. they're replacing sepp blatter who was elected at fifa's extraordinary congress on february 26th. >> we want to go -- go again into a reform process. >> executives held an extraordinary meeting on monday

in zushic zurich, switzerland. they decided to set up a task force to propose reforms. they say the group will be made up of ten representatives of regional confederations. they say a neutral person will serve as chair. u.s. judiciary authorities indicted 14 people in may over a bribery scandal. proposed reforms would include enhanced integrity checks for executive committee members and public disclosure of their earnings. officials say the proposals will be presented at the next executive committee meeting in late september. they'll then submit them to the congress in february for approval. india has planned to build a high speed rail network. officials have released a report that recommends a technical

standard almost identical with japan's ship kan is enbullet train. the report shows the results of a feetibility study jointly conducted with japan. it covers a plan to build the first stretch of a 500 kilometer rail line in the country's west linking mumbai and amababad. they recommend lightweight and wide train lines. the report gives a boost to japan's efforts to export the technology to india. construction costs of more than $15 billion and says the service could launch in 2023 if work starts from 2017. top security officials of japan and monday goalia discussed north korea's abduction of japanese nationals.

the head of japanese national security secretariat was on a three-day visit to mongolia. he sat down with his counterpart. the central asian nation has ties with north korea. they say the japanese side thanked the mongolian government for helping with the abduction issue. they intend to continue the efforts. he later met with the prime minister. the leader also promised to carry on supporting japan in its goal to bring home its citizens kidnapped by north korean agents. mongolia has used ties to open a diplomatic channel. it has hosted intergovernmental talks between japanese and north korean negotiators in ulan bator. prime minister shinzo abe has pledged to try to seek understanding for proposed security administration. he made the remarks in a tv program broadcast on monday.

i acnoblged the security bills have yet to gain full understanding from the public. he'll use the debate to explain the legislation. he said he wants to show why it's wrong to call the bills war legislation and wrong to claim they could lead to military conscription. he noted japan's innovation party offered counter proposals. he said both the governments and opposition groups have a responsibility to find common ground. rvelgs a group of scholars say many oppose the opposition saying it ignores public opinion. >> translator: we protest with deep anger the forcible passage of unconstitutional bills. >> about 150 scholars made the appeal at a news conference in tokyo. one of them was physics foe bell

prize winner says the government is trying to undermine article 9 of the constitution which renounces war. >> translator: it's outrageous for the government to say that japan can go to war web official officials think it's an emergency situation. >> the scholars say more than 10,000 academics and researchers expressed support. the group plans to hold a rally on july 31st in front of the diet building. japanese astronaut is preparing to make his first trip into space on a russian spacecraft this week. he's scheduled to spend about five months in the international space station engaging in a variety of scientific experiments with other astronauts. the so i youz is soyus is set to lift off shortly after 3:00 a.m. local time on wednesday. the rocket for the spacecraft was set on its launch pad on monday and final preparations are underway.

it will reach the international space station about six hours after liftoff. yuri will see the docking of japan's cargo craft with the iss in august. he is a former air self-defense force pilot and will become the tenth japanese astronaut. >> translator: i had a chance to talk to him yesterday and he seemed very relaxed. i hope the launch will succeed and he makes great contributions up in space. >> the launch was scheduled for may, but was delayed by two months after an accident in april involving an unmanned transport craft with the same type of rocket. now in an earlier broadcast we mistakenly said the wrong liftoff time. the correct time is 3:00 a.m. earlier. we apologize for the error.

bathroom and kitchen towels can sometimes start to get unplez atun unpleasant after a couple of uses. stylish solution to a smelly problem. >> this is the new product the company has developed. the towel on the left has undergone a special process to keep it smelling fresh. the one on the right has not. they were moist. ed and kept in separate containers for about three months. mold developed on the untreated towel. but the treated one stayed white and fresh smelling. that's because the growth of bacteria was kept in check. imabari city in western japan is known as the center of towel production but its products are facing steep competition from

cheaper chi knees erer chinese imports. the company that made the towel is located here. the secret is a liquid containing platinum nanoparticles. platinum breaks down odor causing elements such as amobia and controls the growth of bacteria. that keeps wet towels odor free even after multiple uses. this is how the odor-eating towels are made. first, the fabric is soaked in a platinum nanoparticle liquid. then it's pressed with rollers to set the plat nim nanoparticles. this ensures that the effect lasts even after the towels are washed. >> translator: these are the products we've made so far. >> reporter: the company first tried the process on sheets and pillow cases.

but such large items require a huge amount of the platinum nanoparticle liquid which costs ten times more than the deodorant. it was difficult to turn a profit. so the firm decided to make hand towels instead. nearly 2,000 hand towels can be made from a 100-meter length of fabric, each one is 20 centimeters square. the firm uses its special dyeing technology to produce hand towels in 30 colors. company officials designed stylish packaging and attractive displays selling the towels in major cities. >> translator: people can simply leave their used towels in their lockers after work after lunch or after jogging. the towels won't smell even after a week. we can't wait to see how people

will use our towels. >> reporter: imabari's towelmakers are facing increased pressure from competitors but hoping these special products will help them mop up profits. saklin lies to the northern high land of hokkaido. it's under russian rule. group of japanese tourists visited the island to learn more about the historical links. nhk world reports. >> reporter: they make their way to the northernmost point of the island. here they can look out over the strait that separates japan from the island. in the city of wakanai, the 34

participants visited a museum to see a map of sakhalin. the japanese explorer traveled to the island in 1809. the next day they sailed from a ferry. an hour and a half after leaving the border. >> these certificates approve we crossed the border. >> reporter: everyone on the ferry can take one of these cards as a souvenir. after five and a half hours they reach the port of korsakov. this place is where the japanese army first landed in 1905 the at start of the russo-japanese war. a large stone mob umt used to

stand here but it was knocked down after soviet forces seized the area in the closing days of world war ii. >> translator: i can make out most of the words. it's painful to see it. it makes me a little sad. >> reporter: next they visited a museum in the islands amain city. the building say little changed from the time of japanese rule. >> translator: this stone used to stand at the former boulder between russia and japanese territory, it was the one and only lapped. >> reporter: the following day they visited the city. this abandoned paper mill was one of nine operated by japanese companies before world war ii.

the site has a special significance for one member. >> translator: my grandfather used to work at this plant. my mother lived in a company housing plot here. it's nice to know it's still standing. >> besides the historical site the groups visited places of mod he were day sakhelin. most of the natural gas is likely to be exported to japan. this underlines the close connection. >> it feels like my black and white image has become a full color picture. >> the npo is planning similar tours from other parts of japan.

trance cross-border areas have a lot to off for tours. they're close to japan but they have different food different languages and different people. >> reporter: the aim is to give a deeper understanding of both the pats and the present. nao takastsu stakatsuka, nhk world. the we'd like to apologize for errors made in the earlor story. the correct type of the spacecraft live yauft is 3:00 a.m. local time on thursday. the soyuz is set to lift off in kazhakstan shortly after 3:00 a.m. local time on thursday. now it's time to get a check of the weather. people in poland are cleaning up after vast areas across the country.

>> we are seeing some potential severe weather once again across poland. in fact, we have some casualties reported in poland. we do have images coming out from there over the weekend. this video shows the severe weather that blew through poland. killing one person an injuring over a dozen. the storm blew down trees, blocking roadways and taking down power lines. over 300,000 homes lost power. mostly in the northern and eastern regions. emergency personnel also stated very busy responding to over thousand emergency calls in a 24 hour period. take a look at that car. the local meet logical office also sated there's a chance of more storms in northern poland on tuesday. we do have a couple of systems that's affecting these locations. it's now pulling in all the way towards the east, covering even moscow for the next round of severe weather. thunderstorms, severe gusts, large hail, tornados cannot be ruled out.

we do have another system pulling into the british isles bringing some very wet and windy conditions. the high pressure system is really pumping that heat from the mediterranean making for another round of very sunny skies and extreme hit. seville reaching high 30s all the way into your wednesday. that's not too rare what is rare is rome will be in the 40s on your wednesday and the heat will be still moving into your thursday. milan's also seeing very high temperatures which is likely to prolong. heat is also a problem here in japan, but we are looking at rain clouds developing here. okinawa has seen 200 millimeters in 24 hours. but kagoshima over 400 millimeters in 24 hours. 98 millimeters fell in just one

hour. the same thing will happen we're likely to see about 200 millimeters of additional rain. in cue yew shoe 180 in parts of shikoku developing overhead. this area also will be pulling in with lots of very hefty amounts of rainfall. soak kafrl amounts will be pulling into hokkaido. meanwhile, pop-up thunderstorms, especially after the daytime heating should be aware of across parts of kanto and honshu. we have halolo pulling across the islands affecting us by tuesday. however, it looks like it may be pulling into the mainlands of japan. we'll keep a very close eye on this. gusts are already packing 145 kilometers per hour at the center of this system. now, we are looking at another round of very heavy rain on the korean peninsula as well as down here towards the south. the southern areas of china the hong kong area is going to be seeing another round of very heavy rainfall. about 220 millimeters which is certainly enough to lead to flooding concerns.

temperatures are soaring into the high 20s in beijing and seoul. here in tokyo at 34 degrees. the heat will be continuing for the rest of the week. so please stay hydrated. try to look for cooling shelters across japan. i'll leave you now for extended forecast.

and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for staying with us.

>> euromaxx highlights, and here is your host ann o'donnell. ann: hello, and welcome to euromaxx highlights where we put together our favorite reports of the week. let's have a look at our top three. lost places. photographers share their fascination with abandoned

buildings with us. white nights. we take a tour of saint petersburg during the special midsummer season. and urban art. artists from around the world turn a berlin street into an open air gallery -- into an open art gallery. we start off in the austrian capital and venture to the spanish riding school, one of vienna's most popular tourist destinations and