an appeal for calm. barack obama urges benjamin netanyahu to take a diplomatic approach to iran. the u and israel are linked by their history. they've walked together on the bumpy road to peace in the middle east but their leaders

have not enjoyed an easy relationship. now u.s. president barack obama and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu are at odds again, this time over iran. they met for three hours in the white house. israeli leaders do not believe u.s. sanctions against iran's nuclear program are working. they've threatened to launch a preemptive military strike against iranian nuclear facilities. obama's trying to steer them towards another approach. >> when i say all options are on the table, i mean it. having said that i know that both the prime minister and i prefer to resolve this diplomatically. we understand the costs of any military action. >> when it comes to israel's security israel has the right, the sovereign right to make its own decisions. i believe that's why you appreciate mr. president, that israel must reserve the right to defend itself.

>> officials in the obama administration say they'll continue to press israel to seek a diplomatic solution. they say a strike by israel would have dangerous consequences across the middle east. the director general of the international atomic energy agency has expressed concern over iran's nuclear program. yukiya amano says that iran is still enriching uranium and has started a fresh program at a new nuclear facility. amano spoke at a board of governors meeting at the agency's headquarters. he said iran is not fully cooperating with the iaea. he said it's impossible to determine the extent of iran's nuclear program. >> the agency is unable to provide credible intelligence about the absent of material and activities in iran and, therefore, to conclude that all nuclear materi in ira is i peaceful activities. >> china's national people's

congress is meeting all this week in beijing. let's get ai uchida from our business desk with more on that. >> premier wen jiabao has announced several shifts one being slower growth the other being that his government will wean the economy off it reliance off external demand and foreign capital. wen made the remarks in his annual work report to the national people's congress in beijing on monday. >> translator: this year's first priority is to expand domestic demand especially consumption. we should pursue the goal of long-term stable and rapid economic development. >> china's economy is heavily reliant on exports and foreign investment and has been hurt by the credit crisis in europe. but analysts say the world's second largest economy is better placed to boost domestic consumption than japan, the united states or european countries. japan and vietnam are

hancing their ties japan's p biness gro is visiting the southeast asian nation this week. the two sides are talking about continued cooperation in infrastructure development including construction of nuclear power plants. japan business federation chairman met the vietnam trade minister on monday. the japanese delegation is touring southeast asia through saturday. the vietnamese minister called for japan's assistance stressing the importance of progress in infrastructure for the nation's enomic expansion. he said mutual cooperation was necessary to creating a favorable business environment and to promote continued growth of asian economies. he also called fon vietnam to help japan join the transpacific partnership trade talks. vietnam is one of the nine nations discussing the free trade initiative. the vietnamese minister expressed his support. he declared the two countries

are indispensable partners for economic development in the asia pacific region. one of japan's bgest bilehone carerss gting into the solar power business. softbank says it will build four solar energy plants as it branches into renewable energy ventures. construction of two plants starts next month. one plant is in kyoto, western japan. the other is gunma, near tokyo. the company aims to start operations in july and then sell the energy to power companies. softbank says its station in kyoto will generate enough electricity to support 1,000 households annually. the gunm facility wl bble power 640 households. the schedule to build two other plants in toke oshima prefecture in western japan is not yet decided. it's expected those facilities together will be able to power over 1500 households. and share prices are

actually in the negative now here in tokyo this tuesday morning. the nikkei now in the negative by but less than 1 point at 9697. the broader topix also in the negativet 832. earlier markets were up. market sources say investors were buying shares after the overnight release of better than expected u.s. economic data. however, some institutional investors are selling to lock in profits. and taking a look at currencies, the dollar is high against the yen in tokyo trading this tuesday. the dollar/yen at 81.46 to 48 euro/yen at 107.69 to 74. the dollar is being bought in anticipationf a u.s. recovery. but the up side the capped as investors are moving to sell it ahead of the yen before the fiscal year end. let's take a look at the latest

long-term interest rates. the yield on the benchmark ten-year japanese government bond is higher by just about one basis point. tokyo prosecutors are expected to question former executives of a software firm on suspicion of making a false corporate buyout announcement. executives of tokyo based solardam technologlleged announced in 2009 that they'd raised about $18 million from issuing new stocks. they said they used the money to buy an environmental consulting company beige basted in beijing. it is listed on the jazdaq securities change. sources say they never raised the funds for the acquisition. prosecutors believe they tried to deceive investors with the false announcement. it's also suspected that they intended to illegally raise it share price. prior to the announcement the firm's stock was trangt $120 but within a year it had

soared by more than ten times. all right. south korea and singapore markets are also open. let's take a look at those. next day of trading here on the tokyo markets. that's the latest from business. back to catherine now. >> thanks have very much ai. nhk has found that at least five people starved to death last year in the evacuation zone around the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. police and medical authorities examined the bodies. they say the victims appeared to have been stranded.

>> translator: if the nuclear accident had not occurred some of these people might have been rescued. they had no mean to ask for help. we have to learn from these cases about how to manage that kind of situation. >> the government issued an evacuation order one day after the nuclear accident. but some residents were left behind. one of the five was a man in his 70s. he was found dead in late march on the second floor of his home. the tsunami had damaged the first floor. he lived about five kilometers from the plant. another was a woman in her 6.0s. she was found dead last april. she lived alone and had trouble walking. now to our series "lessons of march 11th, one year on."

we're looking back on last year's magnitude 9 earthquake which triggered a tsunami and nuclear crisis. more than 15,000 people died. about 3300 others are still missing. we're bringing you reports this week from the hardest-hit prefectures in japan's northeast, iwate miyagi and fukushima. nearly 300 people remain unaccounted for in minami-sanriku. one man has not seen his son. he's come to a difficult decision. >> reporter: on the cold day in february he shows us where he once lived. >> translator: there was a bathroom here. and my son's house was over there. >> reporter: a house that sheltered generations of his family. now just a foundation.

but he lost much more on that day. his son nori tack ka who lived in minami-sanriku. [ sireness ] the march 11th tsunami, he was a man with officials at the local government in the control center. rescue operations. the water started to flood the three-story building. the officials ran to the roof. but the tsunami swallowed the

structure whole. it swept away tanaka and others. >> translator: noritaka was honest sincere and modest. >> reporter: he could be called courageous as well. noritaka wasn't even supposed to be at the center. he'd be in the hills around minami-sanriku conducting the survey when the quake hit. he descended immediately and went straight to the control center. he wanted to help any way he could. >> translator: he probably felt responsible as a town official. but i believe he shouldn't have run toward the tsunami. >> reporter: makino along with other families search for any

information of the missing on march 11. >> translator: i read the inquiries of about 5,000 people. soon i was overwhelmed. i felt helpless. and finally gave up. >> reporter: he gave up but he still hoped to find his son's body. however, months passed without any news. so in february makino made the difficult decision to hold a funeral. he wanted to honor his son ahead of the first anniversary of his disappearance. noritaka put letters written to him by his children in place of his ashes.

[ chanting ] >> translator: how depressing. to honor my son, i have to hold a funeral without his ashes. but if i don't, i feel my son cannot rest in peace. >> reporter: and so reluctantly makino said good-bye to his son. but he's still wait inging. >> i am hoping dna tests identify my son soon. i'm expecting that will happen. i cannot bear to think my son's body is lying somewhere unattended. >> reporter: makino like many others in the northeast, will continue to do what they've done for months now. wait, and perhaps reflect on all that they lost one year ago.

daisuke azima, nhk world, minami-sanriku. an earthquake that jolted a nation, a tsunami that swallowed the coastline, a nuclear plant that spiraled out of control. japan marks the first anniversary of the march 11th disaster. what lessons have been learned? find out on our special program "lessons of march 11th one year on" sunday march 11 2:00 p.m. on nhk world. thousands of people took to the streets in moscow to protest vladimir putin's victory in sunday's presidential election. about 20,000 protesters rallied at a square near the center of the capital. opposition leader grigory yavlinsky and another protest leader expressed their discontent. they allege that the voting was rigged. they say the results could be

putin ruling russia for a long time. yavlinsky was denied registration in the race. one demonstrator said putin is trying to monopolize power and that the country will degenerate if the administration does not change. another said there's no reason to stop the protests. more protests are planned for saturday. police have detained a few for public disorder. putin supporters staged their own rallies closer to the kremlin where the president's office is located. gunmen wearing military-style uniforms have launched simultaneous attacks on police in western iraq. they killed 27 officers. the gunmen targeted checkpoints in hadithah about 200 kilometers northwest of baghdad. theolice returned fire. they say three of the attackers were killed. the rest escaped in vehicles. a spokesperson for the governor

of anbar province said the incident bore what he called the fingerprint of al qaeda. iraq is preparing to host an arab summit later this month in baghdad. government officials are tightening security throughout the country. they hope to impress arab leader with their progress in security and reconstruction. next we go to bangkok to find out what's making headlines in the region. >> pakistan has asked them to issue an arrest warrant for pervez musharraf. the one-time military leader is living in self-imposed exile. pakistan's current leaders want to prevent him from returning to politics. >> reporter: pakistani law enforcement officials told nhk they have taken steps under international law to arrest pervez musharraf. the former president is already want in pakistan over the

assassination of 2007 of ex-premier benazir bhutto. musharraf has been accused of failing to provide her with adequate security even though he was apparently aware of plans for her assassination. musharraf lives in self-imposed exile in london and dubai. even if interpol does issue a warrant for his arrest it's up to each country to decide whether or not to detain him. musharraf has expressed the desire to return to pakistan and even run for office again. but ek perts point out the country's current leader will do everything they can to stop him from returning to politics. reporting for nhk world, islamabad. the malaysian football team used to be one of the best in asia. it played at the munich olympics in 1972 and earned a bronze

medal at the asian games. but according to the latestifa rankings malaysia has slipped to 148th in the world. a major effort is now under way to groom a new generation of players. nhk world reports from kuala lumpur. >> reporter: football is hugely popular among young malaysians but you wouldn't know it from the country's domestic league. the stadiums are almost empty. malaysians prefer the english premier league. fans gather to watch the games broadcast live. >> translator: the level of football in malaysia is too low. it's not interesting to watch. >> reporter: one of the factors behind the decline of malaysian football and its lack of ethnic diversity.

malaysia is a state where malays indians and chinese coexist. chinese make up a quarter of the population but they don't have a single player on the national team. at it peak malaysian football included several chinese players including soh chin aun. but playing football isn't always an appealing career. malaysian chinese are often highly ambitious. they prefer to go into business and make money rather than play sport. the lack of ethnic chinese players is limiting the potential of malaysian football as a whole. a new initiative aims to reverse this trend. many pupils at this elementary

school are ethnic chinese. the coach from a local football team comes to teach them twice a week. >> translator: i participate because it's a good way to train myself. >> translator: sometimes my teacher scoldse ding class because i can't stop thinking about football. >> translator: if our three minorities manage to come together malaysia will be strong again like in the 1970s. >> reporter: this 11-year-old shows promise. he signed up to train with the football squad of a powerful team. he's practicing his skill together with malay and indian children. >> translator: i'm really happy to play in this team bause the other kids around me are so talented. >> reporter: malaysia hopes that bringing together it ethnic

minority minority. the goal has been set. it will take a few more year before the country can once again be on the international stage. reporting for nhk world, kuala lumpur. and that wraps up our bulletin. well it's unusually warm in kythis morning. sayaka mori joins us now with the forecast for here and elsewhere. >> yes, it's going to be very warm here in tokyo. the expected high is 18 degrees, which is feeling like mid-april, so spring the just around the corner. as for rain a long frontal line is still with us producing widespread showers to much of japan. most of the precipitation should be gone by this afternoon. however, the southern islands will continue to see thundershowers in to wednesday and snow in hokkaido will continue into tonight.

meanwhile, our low pressure system, that is producing the snow condition in northeastern china as well as more than half of the korean peninsula will move out to sea and head towards northern japan. down towards the south thundershowers -- i should say rain showers are developing in southern china up to 100 millimeters is on the course here. temperature wise getting up to 24 degree in hong kong with the chance of thundershowers. 29 in taipei with some light rain cooling down to 6 in seoul and again 18 in tokyo. the warm conditions will continue into tomorrow. now, heading over to the americas, it's nice and settled across most of the u.s. but to the north we've got an active low pressure system moving along the u.s./canada border and a cold front flanking southeastward. let me show you the setup on tuesday so areas from the west coast all the way to teern grak region, you are going to see widespread snow showers and heavy rain along the coast of california and there will be a

risk of fire weather in parts of the southern and central plains as well as the lower colorado river on your tuesday because of warm and dry weather coming in from the south. so temperatures will be warming up to 26 in houston and 23 in oklahoma city. and getting up to 21 in denver which is about ten degrees higher than average. now moving on to europe, it's staying dry and settled across the west but there are multiple systems in the western continent brig wet and windy conditions. but those are weakening systems, so heavy rain in france thunderstorms in italy, as well as a mix of rain and snow in the southern balkans as well as turkey italy will continue to see the heavy rain on your tuesday. and up towards the north, staying dry in the british isles at this moment but rain is expected to affect the northern half of the british isles. temperatures are as follows. getting up to 8 degrees in

london and the same goes for paris. 6 degrees in vienna with plenty of sunshine. before i wrap up, i want to show you some video coming out of southern argentina. massive chunks of ice broke free from the perito moraneno glacier in santa cruz and fell into argentina. the country's iceberg, the country's most famous covers about 200 square kilometers and rises up to about 70 feet above water level. the glacier last erupted in 2008. a spectacular sight there. all right. here's your extended forecast.

u.s. singer cyndi lauper has brought smiles to children in northeast japan who survived last year's earthquake and tsunami. the pop star who is in japan for a conce tour visited an elementary school in ishinomaki city, miyagi prefecture. ♪ girls they want to have ♪ that's all they really want ♪ >> lauper sang several of her hit songs for the school's 350 students. afterwards she presented the school with ten cherry saplings. >> you are not forgotten, and we brought trees in hopes for renewal for you. >> the school says it will plant

the trees on graduation day later this month. last year lauper arrived in japan on march 11th, the exact day of the disaster. many foreigners left jan number the immediate aftermath, but she stayed on and performed her concerts as scheduled. that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.